Friday night I came home from work to find two 13 year old girls at my house instead of just one. This...means trouble. After a very quick beat down for not doing required chores in spite of having company (I don't care if you've got company: the dogs need to eat!) , I managed to feed them enough to shut them up for a few minutes. Then I in my best "I'm the best mommy ever" voice say "Who wants ice cream?". Of course, everyone wants ice cream. So I say "Fine, but you have to walk for it." Oh the humanity! It was a 4 count them 4 mile round trip to Baskin Robbins, exactly twice as far as it is to get the less fattening soft serve cone at McDonalds. insert evil laugh here.
Saturday morning we got up and J loaded our bikes while I stumbled about trying to find proper attire and somehow pour coffee down my throat at the same time. We headed over to Burns Park where the Ozark Extreme Team was conducting a clinic on Adventure Racing. Now I've done a few races but I always leave the navigation part up to J. He's good at it. But he's irritated by my impatience with navigating. So I thought it might be a good idea for me to learn how to do it from someone who I don't have to share a house with afterward. J taught me how to plot UTM coordinates on a map a long time ago so a refresher was a good idea. Plus, the last few races we've done had points plotted in advance so only the actual navigation was necessary. What I don't get (and to some degree still struggle with) is Topography. Each time I try I learn something new so it's time to try more often. We spent some time in the woods chasing after checkpoints. J went with me to make sure I didn't get lost or eaten and I did okay on my own until the very last point. Frustration set in. There was cursing involved. But I did figure it out finally. And discovered a big weakness...judging distances while off the trail. Work is required on that one. After a quick lunch and an even quicker short mountain bike ride I had to bug out to take the small one to a school thing and by the time I got back, the riding was over and the bike maintenance class was underway. Learned a lot...have a list of weaknesses to work on. Oh boy.
As usual, pictures were taken but I don't have access to them yet.
Sunday I thought we'd be doing a ride or hike but instead...we took the little one to the zoo. The last couple of years she's thought she was "too big" for our little zoo. We had a good time though. We made sure to check out the winged wonders show before leaving. It was pretty cool. I have to say though...people please...if you are instructed to stay seated, STAY SEATED. And keep your kids seated too. And sit on the outside edges if you want the full experience. But not if you have little kids who scream if animals come anywhere near them.
After shopping for plants, paint supplies and groceries, the night ended with an epic Dutch Blitz card game. Noice.
Another bad food day with hot dogs, funnel cakes and homemade shortbread. And no training. yikes.
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