Kids of Steel Triathlon ~ Success!

Many of you know that I have been absolutely swamped with my role as Race Director for the Kinetico Kids of Steel Triathlon. It has been an incredible amount of work but I am finally done!

It wasn't without some major hurdles though. We expected the road closure to begin at 7am to allow for athletes and their parents to arrive on site but when I pulled onto River Valley Road at 5am it was already blocked off! I had to run to all of the blockade points and open everything up for the athletes. Then when I arrived in the parking lot of the club there was a giant moterhome parked where the transition zone was supposed to go! I had a full on temper tantrum and then got over it and moved on. 

The kids had such a fantastic day. Everyone was really positive and the kids all cheered each other through the finish line. The feedback from the parents was overwhelmingly positive and encouraging and the entire event was perfect. Hopefully I will be able to do it all again next year!

On the Friday morning before the race we also had the opportunity to head down to a local radio station to talk about how great the KOS program is. We took part in their Friday morning dance party and you can check out the video of that HERE.

~ At the Now Radio Dance Party ~

~ At the Now Radio Dance Party ~

~ 6-7 Age Group Athletes ~

~ 5 & Under Age Group Athletes ~

~ Medal and Awards Ceremony ~

Mrs. E

Edmonton Triathlon Festival ~ Para Triathlon

This past Friday was the kick off for the Edmonton Triathlon Festival.

I had a media event to go to early in the morning and then I was lucky enough to act as a volunteer at the Para-Triathlon event. Para- Triathletes are so incredible! They compete in a sport that most "able bodied" (I hate that term because I think that para athletes are perfectly "able") people wouldn't even dream of trying. The athletes are categorized into six different categories based on their "disability". It is so awesome to see the way these athletes adapt the sport to suit their abilities. Many of them are just as fast or faster than those competing in the age group races. 

If you know of anyone who would be considered a para-athlete, encourage them to try para-triathlon. It is a sport that will be making it's Para-Olympic debut in Rio!

Check out some photos of the day:

Mrs. E

Date Night ~ Canada Day Edition

I love my husband. 

He always knows when I am in need of a break. I am the type of person who will work like crazy to get something done. Unless someone forced me to stop working or put something down and come back to it later, I would never take a break. This was the case with the Kids of Steel Triathlon. 

I had been working like crazy and was completely absorbed in getting all of my tasks completed. David could tell that I was stressed out and exhausted. So on Sunday of the long weekend, after we attended the Great White North Half Ironman, David told me to pack an overnight bag and get ready to go. 

We dropped Sydney off at his parents and drove downtown where we checked in to the Hotel MacDonald. We went for a dip in the hot tub and had a massage and then we got dressed to go out for dinner. All the while, David was being completely thoughtful. He made sure that there was a water and a diet Coke waiting for me when I got out of my massage and gave me more than enough time to get ready. It was all so sweet. 

We walked to Corso 32 for the most incredible meal. The food was fantastic, the wine was amazing and it was so great to be away from the Triathlon for a bit. We started with the in house made warm goat cheese and a delicious grilled cheese with asparagus and an egg... delicious! We then shared their special which was one large ravioli filled with ricotta and goat cheese covered in a rich cream sauce. David's main was the Pappardelle which was beautiful hand cut pasta with house made spicy wild boar sausage in a red sauce. I ordered the Black Truffle Fonduta Ravioli which was perfect and incredibly tasty. All of the house made pasta was the perfect consistency and it was so light! Unfortunately we were so full after everything that we didn't order dessert! I was a little sad to walk out without trying the Chocolate Torta but it is just an excuse to go back to dinner again. 

We walked off some of our meal on the way back to the hotel. When we arrived the sun was setting and it was the perfect opportunity to sit out on the patio over looking the river valley and enjoy the view. We finished off the night by watching the Canada fireworks from our beautiful room. All in all it was an incredible night and a great break from all of my stresses. 

Thank You David!

Mrs. E

Our House - New Lighting

We need to talk about how awful the current lighting situation is in our new house. It's horrible. 

I feel as though they wen through a catalog from the late eighties or early nineties and decided that they wanted everything to look super boring and dated. We have some seriously ugly lighting. Take a look:

David and I started taking a look around for some new pieces to replace the current pieces of crap. We managed to come across a line of lighting that we really like in Home Depot. David doesn't really know what he wants, he just know what he doesn't like. And I really want an eclectic mid-century style home that show cases all of the gorgeous artwork that we have accumulated over the years. These lights go with the vision that I have for our new home exactly!

 

What do You think?


Mrs. E

Our House - Design Decisions

I have been so excited to make our new house our home. 

When you move into a new house there are always so many things that you can't wait to change. I had a listed of changes I wanted to make before we had even signed all of the paperwork! The first problem was that the ENTIRE house was beige. I am not talking about one or two things... I mean everything! The walls the carpet, the lino, the cupboards, the trim, the doors, the outside.... everything. We fixed that problem by painting the walls a beautiful soft grey:

~ Natural Grey - Behr ~

It took a lot of time and effort, but it is almost completely finished. We still have to paint the washrooms and the stairwell but that will come with time. 

David is at home today painting all of the trim and baseboards with his mom. She is a teacher and is on summer holidays now so she has been a huge help. We decided to go with a warm white:

~ Picket Fence - Martha Stewart ~

I can't wait to get home today to see it! 

Slowly but surely the house is becoming our own. I will post photos and more progress reports as we go along. But for now... I can't wait to get home to see the progress that has been made!

Mrs. E

Sydney is a Dare Devil

Most of you who know me, know that I grew up out at the lake. 

Pigeon Lake is one of my favorite places in the world. I have fond memories of jumping on the trampoline, swimming in the lake and tubing behind the boat. All of my time spent out at the lake came full circle last weekend when we took Sydney out to go tubing for the first time. 

My aunt and her husband are in town from Scottsdale with their three kids so they all got to play and enjoy the sun together. It was emotional seeing Sydney experience something that I used to love. Don't worry.... they were getting pulled SUPER slow. 

 ~ Here are the kids all ready to go ~

~ Sydney and Will Hanging out and staying warm under a towel ~

~ Watching Syd and David on the tube ~

~ She was thrilled! ~

Mrs. E

An Incredible Mom

Every so often, I meet a mother (other than my own) who amazes me.

Being a parent is difficult. It is demanding an exhausting and you never quite know if you are doing the right thing. I know this and I am only a year and half into it. I can only imagine what parenting challenges the next few decades will hold for me. Being a parent is also the single most rewarding job in the entire world. It is worth every ounce of energy you put in and more. 

The amazing mom who I am speaking of is Sheila Findlay. She will drop anything to be with her kids and supports all three of them equally in their endeavors. It just so happens, that one of her children is going to the Olympics this summer. Proctor and Gamble have put together an incredible video about her and her daughter Paula. Be prepared with some kleenex... this one is a tear jerker. 

Mrs. E