Race For The Cure 2008

Today we participated in the 2008 Northwest Ohio Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in downtown Toledo.  This year was surprisingly harder than last year, even though the pain of losing Melinda was so raw back then.  MAybe that was what was different.  I was so energized back then, but afterwards, the depression of living without her really set in.  I stopped exercising regularly until late this Spring, too late to have any hope of entering the Metroparks 5K which usually sets the tone for my final 2-3 months of training.  I did put in some raod miles this year which helped, but I was not as ready as I was last year.  This year for the first time, Becky, Alex, and Aaron decided to walk the entire 5K course instead of the shorter 1 mile course they had done with Aaron in a stroller in the past.  The morning was cool, but sunny.  This was a great day for Becky to wear the pink ribbon sun hat her mom had made her.  You can also see one of the pink ribbon pins they made that I blogged about earlier.

I ran the race almost the entire way.  Near the end my feet were getting painfully numb and I had to stop running for 5 minutes and just walk it.  I picked up the pace when I could feel my feet again, and was running when I crossed the finish line at 45:02.75, much slower than last year's pace. This year the race course looped on itself in such a way that I could go quickly from the finish line to the halfway mark and catch up with my Becky and the kids who were walking the entire course. I was able to finish their leg with them (and carry Aaron on my shoulders for part of it) which was a real treat.

Even the police horse got into the spirit with some pink bunny ears.  There were over 18,000 official participants this year.  While I know I could've done better, I was so proud of my family for going the extra mile (or two) this year.

Sitting in Sam's Lap

There is a bench on the school campus with a statue of Samuel Clemens (aka Mark Twain) relaxing on it. After Scouts today, the boys took the opportunity to pose on it, with Aaron sitting on Sam's lap.

Junior NASA Astronauts 9/23

Grammy Hardage found these cool junior astronaut outfits with real NASA logos for the boys.  They come with helmets whose visors open and close and have astronaut sound effects. They got space boots that fit their feet.  I love how Alex has his serious astronaut face on, while Aaron is as pleased as punch.

They each got NASA backpacks that the outfits fit into when they're not playing with them.  They also got NASA caps that you're seeing the back of there.  Thank you Grammy!

Show-n-sell Bass Pro 9/20

This year we were much more on the ball with fundraising popcorn sales for Alex's Cub Scout pack.  Becky preordered a LOT of popcorn yesterday, most of which is now either in or soon will be down in our basement.  This allows us to fill people's orders within a few days, rather than a few weeks.  It also allowed us to participate in Show-n-Sells.  This is where we hangout at the exit of a store asking everyone that comes out if they'd like to buy some Scout popcorn.  Becky got one of the first spots lined up at the new Bass Pro Shops in nearby Rossford.

For four hours we stood in the sun (OK, we brought a beach umbrella) and tried to cajole people who had already spent money inside the store to buy a little more.

A big highlight was the Corn Hat.  The boys took turns wearing the corn hat which actually got us noticed.  I think a few people even offered to buy the hat (not for sale).

We even got free sample popcorn from the area Scout Council that we made ahead of time and portioned into paper cups for the boys to pass out in front of the store.  This also got us some business.  We did better than we expected we would, but we also took a lot of popcorn home.  We got a lot of participation from the kids and parents.  The store was running a scavenger hunt that day, so we took the boys in shifts to try their hand at winning Bass Pro swag.

Tiger Den

This is Pack 90's Tiger Cub den in their best tiger pose. Laurie is the mom of one of the Tiger Cub scouts and agreed to be the Tiger Cub Den Leader. This makes our Pack 90 member count up to 12 from the 6 we had last year.

Baby Hat

Becky crocheted this cute baby hat for a friend who is having her first daughter. Very cute.

Neighborhood Bandit

Before you scroll down, can you identify this thief sneaking around our neighborhood? You can see his eyes looking at you from around the tree in the center of the picture.

We've seen this raccoon before, but Becky was quick with the camera this morning. We think he lives in another tree at he house next door to this one. Maybe he's scoping out new digs.

Aaron Underwater

We love our waterproof camera, about as much as Aaron loves swimming.

Aaron Flipping Over

Becky took this video during swim lessons today.  We've been trying to get him to flip over for weeks in the pool.  He has a good freestyle stroke, but wouldn't come up for air and keep going.  He would exhaust himself trying to swim as far as he could without taking a breath.  OK for short distances in the pool, but potentially dangerous if trying to swim to safety. His swim teacher, Monica, has been trying to get him to take some forward strokes, flip over into a back float to catch his breath, then flip over to a freestyle stroke again.  She told him to take as long as he needed to catch his breath before flipping back over, which is why you see him staying in that back float for a minute or so, gathering his nerve.  He does even better when he swims back from her to the steps, doing the flip over routine twice.

AAA Fair

We've been members of AAA for almost 15 years now.  The NW Ohio branch throws a party in their parking lot every year to thank its members, entice new ones, and showcase other services and affiliates that come with membership.  We like to stop by for the fun and games for the kids.  This year they had a Spider-man car that the kids thought was pretty cool.

The games were standard carnival games, but they were set up so that kids could get some kind of prize no matter how well they did.  Alex here is trying his best at a ball toss knocking over clown dolls.

Aaron did well at a skeeball-type bowling game.  They had music and food carts so we had a little picnic there and enjoyed the nice early fall day.

Making Goals

Today's Home Depot Kids' Club project was making football goals, just in time for football season.

They came with a template for making paper footballs that could be flicked through the goals.

Ready....Set.....HIKE!

Paper Scout Planes

Becky got the Scouts to make paper airplanes from a pattern book that she found.  They decorated them in the art room and then...

...went outside to the jungle gym to launch them.  They had a blast and it was a great kickoff to the new Bear den.

Pink Ribbon Pins for Komen

Becky and her mom have been crocheting these pink ribbon pins for several weeks now.  They're selling them for $10 and all of the money is going to Komen for the Cure.  If you haven't gotten yours yet, please contact us and we'll get one to you.

July Blog Posts

Though July was as long as months go, I only had 8 posts this month and they are finally completed. There are some good ones here, including the wild animal attack that the boys and I endured and an impromptu rock concert on our front lawn. You can find these and the other 6 posts here.