This Just In: The Lost Hawaii Files

In our summer cleaning/reorganizing, Jon and I recently uncovered a roll of 35mm film used in our dive camera in Hawaii back in March. We are all so spoiled in today's world with the instant gratification afforded to us by the digital age; so the one-hour developing of this particular roll of film seemed as if it took eons. We knew the photos were from our recent trip, but of course we had no clue what we actually shot, or even if any of the shots turned out.  Here are our six favorites.

Aha!  PROOF that Mickey and Boba Fett actually made it into the surf at Waikiki

Catamaran cruise we took one evening

Jon being silly on the cruise...

Oh, goody... another one of me checking those air gauges

Dave and me on the lookout for cool stuff

Me capturing a shot of one of those beautiful turtles

Yellow Stripe Belt

Andrew earned his yellow stripe belt on June 8. Here are my favorite photos from that evening.

Personal Record!

I pushed myself this morning to break my 10-11 minute/mile rut, especially after feeling badly about my performance on July 4th. I did my favorite 3-mile course around a lake near our house, and averaged 9:52! This is very exciting to me. I have also run 56 of my 100 miles/100 days. Our next race is July 28 and I hope to make a 9:00 pace by then.  People who place in races run a 7-minute mile.  Jon and I both have a ways to go for THAT (finishing is our main goal for now) but this is a start!

Yesterday's Fireworks

Born in the USA 4-Miler

Jon, Andrew, Ethan and I rang in the 4th this morning with a 4-mile race downtown around beautiful Forest Lakes.

It was a little more challenging than necessary.

Challenge #1:
 We had a sitter lined up. She was due at the house by 6:45 so we could be out the door at 7.
 She never showed.
 At 7:05, we made the decision to load the double jogging stroller and head to the race, anyway. Since I wasn't going for a wonderful pace anyway, I volunteered to push the 100 lbs of boys so Jon could hopefully attain his PR (personal record) in this one.

Challenge #2:
 The course was advertised as "fast and flat." This was even printed on the t-shirts.
 Fast and flat, it was not. It was lovely and lakey and shady, but NOT flat. Pushing the boys was a toughie.

Challenge #3:
 Before the starting gun, I noticed the back left stroller tire was flat. We trudged along, anyway. 100 lbs of boys then just turned into about 115 lbs.

Challenge #4:
 H.U.M.I.D.I.T.Y.

Challenge #5:
 Ethan took the front seat and Andrew was in the rear.  He's only about 5 lbs heavier than Ethan, so even though we have definitely been pushing the stroller's weight limits lately, it was going to have to be okay.
The front seat placement keeps Ethan from kicking his brother in the back, which he sometimes likes to do on runs.  However, during this race, he enjoyed continuously unbuckling himself and attempting to leap out of the seat, which almost gets him run over AND makes poor Andrew tip over onto the ground. 
So, there were about 7 mid-race stops made to lecture and re-buckle the crazy 2-year-old.  Momma was not happy about this.

Challenge #6:
During my "run" (I averaged a 13:22 pace), Andrew kept asking me when the race was going to start.  This was not very confidence-boosting.

Despite its many challenges, the race ended up being very fun, especially for Andrew, who had never been part of a running race.  This was his first, my 8th this year, Ethan's 7th, and Jon's 5th. Jon was AWESOME today and finished his 4 miles with a PR of 38:33.

Happy Independence Day, everyone!

Andrew the Spiderfish

The boys are lovin' the summer holidays spent in our development's pool!

Dora Dog's Hip Woes

Our 6.5-year-old boxer, Dora, had ACL surgery two years ago on her back right leg. The vets all say that if the dog is predisposed to this condition, the other leg will go within a year.  We thought we dodged a bullet when the two-year-mark hit and her leg seemed fine.

Then, a few days ago, she started favoring the back left leg.  No weight on it at all. Here we go.

Today's vet visit, however,  involved x-rays and news that we were not expecting.

As it turns out, her knee is okay (not great).  The major worry is her left hip, which apparently is extremely arthritic and has very little remaining cartilage.  That explains the pain and favoring of the entire left hind leg.

the extreme white section shows the metal used in her ACL surgery

here, they got a shot of the knee to try to determine if it was the ACL.  It was not.

finally, she is on her back in this pic.  when you compare her right and left hips, you can clearly see how the left one is completely out of alignment.

So, our next step is to set up a consultation and probable surgery with the same orthopaedic vet that did her knee. This will hurt our pocketbooks but heal Dora and extend her life into many more happy Boxer years.