Triathlons, Dora and the Croup

Ok so with this post I'm not even sure where to start. The past week and a half have been completely consumed at our house with a sick little girl, training for a triathlon, and accepting Dora the Explorer into our home. As you can see from the picture posted, Chad competed in his first triathlon!!! I was so proud of him. My dad kind of roped him into doing the Orem City Tri with him so he wouldn't have to do it alone. Chad is pretty athletic, so he rose to the occasion. Although he is naturally active, he has not really worked out or exercised much in the past few years. Needless to say, he had a lot of catching up to do. He was such a trooper. Chad would go running or biking every morning and then go to the gym every night to swim. He did awesome! For having started training just a few weeks before the triathlon even took place, he came in 15th out of 28 in his age group and 107th out of over 300 over all. I was just impressed he finished at all. And not only that, but he beat my dad and his dad (who also decided to join in the exercise fun)! So I'm happy and excited for Chad to get into this. Not only is it a super healthy thing for him to be doing, but he absolutely loved doing it. He's already looking forward to his next tri in June! p.s. I take awful action photos. Sorry Chad!






Ava has had croup for almost two weeks. It has truly been an awful 10 days. I don't mean to complain or sound negative, but I just can't sugar-coat this one. It's been terrible. Ava didn't sleep at all, which means Chad and I didn't sleep at all. Her fever was seldom below 103 degrees and on top of all that, she has been very very fussy. I don't blame her- I know it's not her fault, but it gets very hard to handle for that long. On top of everything, with Chad's busy work schedule and training, we didn't see much of him last week which was hard for me to help Ava by myself. I think I get a little needy when I worry about Ava so much. Anyway, I'm HAPPY to report that she is doing much better. After a few doctor visits and a shot in the back side, Ava is doing well.


My last note really quick is that I completely caved this week. I'm not sure if it was the lack of sleep or I just felt bad for Ava, but she loves Dora the Explorer. LOVES her. I don't really mind her on TV, but I vowed I would never be one of those moms who dressed their kids in SpongeBob or Minnie Mouse or Winnie the Pooh. (No offense to you moms that do, I get it now! And I'm sorry!) I have just always felt that it totally and completely lacks any sense of style or fashion. Needless to say, I get it now. Ava found these pink and purple croc-style shoes with Dora and Boots on top of them. She saw them at Target and wouldn't let them go. She took off her own shoes and put on the Dora shoes. I couldn't get them away from her. So I did what any exhausted, worn out, tired and loving mother would do- I bought her the Dora shoes (which were on clearance for $4). She wears them everywhere- church, around the house and even to bed. I'm just glad it makes her happy!