Fall in MN

Fall in MN goes by quick, usually due to the impending winter doom. This year's fall was longer than most, but still seemed to fly by.



Then we had a great time showing off the cutest little superheros on the block for Halloween.


A night on the town for mom and dad to celebrate 7yrs of marriage and a new addition to the extended family certainly gave us a lot to be thankful for this holiday season.

Mutton Bustin'

While mom and dad were having fun with some old friends, the kiddos were having an experience of their own. Mutton Busting is the practice of strapping a small child onto a sheep and hoping for the best. Good times.

It's Going to be a Super Halloween

And they shall never reveal their secret identities...

Guess Who's Walking

The summer has gone by quick and a lot has happened, so let me catch you up. Little girl now has the ability to walk, although this power is rarely used. She would much prefer to climb up and down the stairs all day long. We had some good times up at the cabin. The dude got a valuable lesson in rock skipping from his grandpa, who claims to be the world's best. We had family in town from New Mexico and Spain. It is amazing how every time we get the kids together, they run around and giggle the entire time, while barely speaking the same language. A summer full of triathlons was capped off with the dude's very first race as well. He finished in 49.2 seconds in a race dedicated to helping the monarch butterfly.

One Year Old

Baby girl is officially not a baby anymore! I think she was a little weirded out by all the attention and she had a very suspicious look on her face when everybody started singing "happy birthday" to her. She got over it of course when she tasted cake for the first time in her life.

Race Day

Race day came and went, and it was an incredible experience. The Minnesota chapter of the Team in Training (part of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society) raised approx. $280,000 for blood cancer research. Being part of this group and sharing stories of triumph and tragedy has been more humbling then I expected. The challenges that everyone involved have gone through, or are currently going through, makes one appreciate life and loved ones in a whole new way. Visit here to find information on your local chapter.


Everyone competed hard and had a good time. Jeanine and her dad placed 1st and 2nd in their respective age groups and her brother endured an incredible amount pain, due to a degenerative disc he inherited from his mom, and still finished the race with a triumphant "GO TEAM!". Cheering for all remaining TEAM-mates as they finished their races was awesome. The determination to fight for something bigger than the fleeting pain of race day could be seen on the face of every TNT member I came across.


In addition to great-grandma and couple of family visitors from Australia, we had Julie the baby-wisperer on hand so baby girl could concentrate on taking naps. Of course Cheerios and inspecting mom's bike can be very distracting.

4th of July

We had a wonderful time up at the cabin over the 4th of July. Most of Barb's family was in town, which was bitter-sweet as she is greatly missed. But of course, in her honor the party went on. The kids swam all day, every day and everybody had a good time breaking in Bob's new cabin.



And of course, who could forget the fireworks?

Team In Training

Friends & Family,

It's hard to believe it has been six months since my mom lost her fight against Leukemia. In some respects, it feels like yesterday I was cheering her on as she boldly prepared for each grueling round of chemo. When you live your life hanging on each passing minute, hour, and day you lose track of the passing seasons. During the past year, time was not dictated by a clock or a calendar; it was marked by quality time spent with my mom. We experienced minutes that grudgingly lingered on like hours and hours that soared past like minutes. It was your love and support that enabled me to be by her side throughout her journey.

Your commitment to support my family continued even after my mom passed away. In the past six months, we have collected donations totaling nearly $13,000 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society by participating in the Lifetime Fitness Triathlon as members of the Team in Training. By making a contribution and helping my family meet our fundraising goal, you have chosen to continue my mom’s fight against this horrible disease. For this, I am truly grateful and overwhelmed by your generosity. Thank you!

If you haven’t gotten a chance to make a contribution, it is not too late. The Lifetime Fitness Triathlon is July 10th and we will continue to accept donations right up to race day. Mike and I received our race day suits and are pretty pumped to break them in! It was initially very difficult to begin preparing for the race following the tragedy we experienced. Knowing I was training not just for a race but to assist in the search for a cure has instilled a new sense of purpose and vigor to my workouts and my life.

Throughout my life I never paid much attention to the concept of time. As a child, it seemed to move very slowly, as it was an obstacle to be overcome in anticipation of future events. When I began competing, it became a metric of achievement. Today, I have an entirely new appreciation for time, because I have faith in its ability to heal.

Go Team!

Jeanine

Donations accepted online at
http://pages.teamintraining.org/mn/lifetri10/OssyPosse

Cabin time

I can't believe it is almost halfway through the summer and this is the first set of pictures for the blog. Here are some good ones from up north. The dude's little sister is only 11 months old and already a better dancer. I guess she did inherit something from her mom after all.

Photo Shoot