September 19th was Chelsea's baby shower, and it turned out so great! My sister-in-law is having a baby girl, and the theme of the party was princess, in pink, gold, and pearls. There was a mountain of presents, and the food was looked so pretty and tasted delicious! Plus, it was fun getting to hang out with friends and family in celebrating a new addition to soon join the family.
We played Baby Shower Family Feud, we ate cake, cupcakes, fruit and yogurt dip, and chocolate covered oreos, we drank punch, we oohed and aahed at the adorable baby onesies and homemade blankets, and had a great time all around.
Eleanor is going to be spoiled little princess, that is for sure!
It would have been much more enjoyable, but we got rained on as we were walking to the arena. We had parked in the free parking area and had to walk, which was fine with me, until we got about half-way to the arena and it started pouring huge droplets of rain, and we had no umbrellas or jackets. By the time we got inside, my once cute and curly hair was a wet mess, my jeans were drenched from the knee down, and my shirt clung to me for dear life. Once we found our seats, the "pre-show" had already started. The seating was awful, with steep and narrow aisles and incredibly uncomfortable wooden chairs that made you feel like you were sitting in your neighbor's lap.
The show itself was good, and the skaters were very talented, but I couldn't shake my grumpy demeanor because I couldn't dry off in the cramped seat, and I was cold from being wet in an ice rink.
After the show had ended, we walked around the fair to dry off and get some fair food. Chris bought a deep fried Snickers, April had some deep fried Wisconsin cheese, and I ate chocolate covered cookie dough sprinkled with real bacon. The fair is the only time I get somewhat adventurous with my food, but not so adventurous that I'd eat bugs. No thanks...I'll pass on the candy coated scorpions and cricket pizza.
Thursday, September 24th, was Deaf Awareness Day at the fair, so I went back to support my college's Deaf and Hearing Social Club, and to support Deaf Awareness Day. I got to see an interpreted magic show, which was pretty cool! I was supposed to be observing the interpreter, but I kept finding myself looking at the magician instead. Oops...
Yesterday (September 26th) however, was the biggie!
Chris has been training for his aquabike for a long time, and yesterday was the big day. Chris had a 1.2 mile swim, followed by a 56 mile bike ride, and then a 100 yard run across the finish line. I know how hard Chris has been training for this event, and how many times he has sacrificed sleeping in for waking up at 5am to ride his bike, or to go swim in the lake.
We got up at 4:15am and got to Lake Hefner at about 5:15am for the event. We had to park a decent way away, and then Chris had to get his things situated and ready for the race, which didn't start for a couple of hours. I wasn't able to stay, because I already had plans to attend the 3rd Annual ASL Walk at the zoo. I dropped Chris off and met Chelsea and some other friends at the zoo at around 7:30am. We walked the mile loop and chatted for a few hours, and then Chelsea and I went back to my house to get ready for the post-aquabike celebratory BBQ.
At 12:28pm, I got the call from Chris saying he was about 45 minutes away from crossing the finish line. Chris' mom, step-dad, half sister, pregnant sister, brother-in-law, brother-in-law's brother, his wife, and I all piled into a van and a jeep to go watch him cross that finish line.
I could see the transition area across a grass field from the finish line, and knew that he would be running out of that area to loop around the field, and I kept my eyes glued to it, waiting for my husband to come towards us. When he finally started to make his way to the finish line, my heart was pounding and I was on the brink of tears. My heart was (and still is!) so full of pride and joy that I wanted to burst out into tears. Chris crossed the finish line, and after getting his medal and a water, we swarmed him with sweaty hugs, congratulations, selfies, and a kiss from me. He was so tired, but so proud of himself, as he should have been!
We got Chris back to the house, finished setting up for the BBQ, and let the party begin! Unfortunately, the guest-of-honor wasn't feeling his best and didn't get to enjoy the food to the fullest. There were plenty of leftovers though, and after a 10 minute power nap and some heavy duty pain killers, he was able to eat some food.
Today, Chris is relaxing and enjoying his day off. The house is nice and clean, he has no homework tonight, he has more than enough leftovers to eat so he doesn't have to cook anything, and he has the house to himself all day!
Way to go Chris!!! I love you and I'm so proud of you!
Way to go Chris!!! I love you and I'm so proud of you!
