Lake Waconia Triathlon

So last


weekend we were in Lake Waconia for yet another triathlon. It's been like 6 or 7 straight weeks of racing for Curt! Yowzers! We thought he would have a break this wknd, but he decided at the last minute to fly to Portland to do the USAT Age Group Nationals. I'm glad he went because we have no idea what our schedules will be like next year. Plus he's had a pretty decent season of training. It will be cool to hear how he does!

a sampling of hyvee pictures

Check out Curt's blog for a full recap of our time in Des Moines, Iowa for the Hyvee triathlon. Unfortunately, I have yet to get a good snapshot of him on the bike. It's quite the challenge. Anyway, as a spectator I was in awe of the vast number of cheerful volunteers. There was one young man who stood out in my mind. The day before the race he helped usher us into the athlete parking spot. Remember...it was 90 plus degrees out. The sun was beating down on him and it looked like he was out there for hours. The crazy thing....he was at it again the next morning ushering athletes into the parking lot at 4 am!!!! And he was just as animated and cheerful as the day before!!! Another older gentlemen volunteer made an impression on me too. While waiting for Curt to come in from the bike segment I waited on a high traffic corner. Bikers were leaving the park and spectators were coming in and out from all sorts of directions. To prevent a major collision, they stationed a volunteer to help spectators cross safely. This man was perfect for the job. He was loud, bossy, and humorous all at the same time. He would say this, "People, if you are gonna cross, cross today and not tomorrow. What I mean is run like hell! Move!" It was so funny.

Pretty in Pink

last week we found shoes and accessories for the bridesmaids. It was a success! We browsed pretty much every store at the Mall of America. On a whim (actually to go to the bathroom) we stopped in Sears. We ventured over to the jewelry area and found some really cute pink colored pearls. Then we remembered trying on some really cute pink shoes at DSW and decided to go back and buy them.

Hot, hot, hot!

Cooler weather rolled in last evening making this morning oh so fabulous! It's about 68 degrees and perfect outside! I love it. I went for a run this morning and totally appreciated the level of comfort I was feeling, although I was really sore from yesterday's yoga class. I also was motivated enough to swim the distance of the triathlon in the outdoor pool. I wish all summer days were this comfortable. I'm convinced that my blood starts to boil, my eyeballs start to melt, and my brain starts doing somersaults inside my skull when it's warmer than 85 degrees out.

Last week it was too hot to turn on the oven or stove top so I tried making meals that required no heating. We were able to enjoy some sangria, tabouli sandwiches, and an apple spinach feta cheese salad with a maple syrup dressing.

Manitou Triathlon

Here are pictures from the Manitou Triathlon in White Bear Lake. from last weekend. It was another gorgeous day and Curt raced hard. 2nd place! He also managed to avoid the swimmers itch that was apparently a potential hazard for the racers. Itchy itchy. The bottom picture is of the swim start. Notice how excited Curt is to start the race...so excited that he has some extra spring to his legs!

Calvin is graduated!

A day of shopping

Woohoo! Today Carolyn, Shanna, and I will be swimming together at Lifetime and shopping at the Mall of America. Our assignment is to pick out shoes and jewelry for the wedding. Photos will be coming.

later.

Summer List of Wedding Things

So here is our list of things to take care of before August for the wedding:

1. Get Curt's wedding band
2. Take our engagement photos
3. Make our card holder for the ceremony and reception
4. Get wedding dress altered
5. Confirm hair appointments
6. Mail out invitations by end of August
7. Talk to our Host and Hostess about wedding details
8. Apply for marriage license
9. Finalize Ceremony music
10. Put together Song list for Reception
11. Register for gifts at Target, Macy's, and Crate and Barrel
12. Remind guys to get measured for tuxes
13. Finalize Ceremony details
14. Put together Ceremony Program
15. Write vows
16. Create slideshow photo montage
17. Create video love story
18. Keep track of vendors and payment schedule
19. Buy frames for table numbers
20. Confirm cake flavors

Pictures of a Cute Baby

Claire is getting pretty darn cute. She has a cute toy...a wrap around monkey that sometimes clings around her neck. Anyway, I am proud to say that Claire is fun hangout buddy!

Buffalo Triathlon

These are various pictures of Curt from the Buffalo triathlon last wknd! Enjoy!

quick wknd update

we have a lot more pictures to share. we will work on getting them up by midweek. but to recap another great wknd:

friday: met with our wedding coordinator at Country Inn. talked about really specific details. it definitely got my brain back into wedding mode. we decided on four options for dinner. rolled chicken breast (with spinach and feta), salmon, a vegetarian mexican lasagna, and a kids dinner. then we had a nice, relaxing dinner with Brent and Shanna at TGIF.

saturday: I met up with my friend Mina at the Tea Garden in uptown. then Curt and I went to Costco to load up on certain foods before stopping at Chipotle for burritos.

sunday: The Buffalo triathlon. I am counting on Curt to provide an update on the race. It was a decent morning despite the weather being very unpredictable. One positive moment from the day was Heidi's "kick butt" performance. She won it! after the race we had lunch with Curt's mom and dad at Ruby Tuesdays. We ended the day by stopping over at the Kachelmyer's for a very summer like meal of kabobs. yum. Baby Kachelmyer was as cute as a button. she's the best.