Rafting

David and I planned a rafting trip on the Deschutes river with some of our friends. We camped Friday night and then headed out on to the river on Saturday. It was HOT and the rapids were great. Here we are heading in to Boxcar. You can click on the photos to enlarge them.



Yikes here we go...




Whew we made it!


Heading in to Oak Springs. I like how Regan and I are jumping in to the boat, forget about paddling we were more worried about falling out.



Look at Izaak in the front he's having fun.

4th of July!

We had a great 4th of July weekend. Uncle Derek & his soon to be wife Alison visited from St. Louis. It was fun to hang out and relax with family. I of course forgot my camera but Adrienne posted some great pictures from the weekend on her blog 4th of July.

Multnomah Falls

We went on our first family camping trip for the year at the end of June. The camping location was okay...as we headed late Friday afternoon to find a first come first serve spot and eventually ended up at a KOA campground. Since we've never done that before and vowed to never again it was all about the experience. However, we did our first family hike up to the top of Multnomah Falls that Saturday. Mia had to be carried a bit but Olivia powered through the trip. It was a fantastic day and the kids seemed to enjoy the experience as well.

At the first bridge before making our way up to the top.


Keeping Olivia entertained on the climb. Look stand in there and we'll take your picture.


The view was amazing.


Family picture at the top.


Taking a break and having our lunch at the top before we headed back down.

Coeur d'Alene

We had a great time in Coeur d'Alene. Jen & Graham entertained us the entire weekend with dinner and trips on their boat. The girls and I had a great time and David seemed to enjoy the distraction while preparing for his race.

Graham & Olivia touring us around the lake.


Mimi enjoying the boat ride.


All the kids checking out the swim course.


All the adults headed out for a boat ride and dinner. Clearly I was having the best time ever.


David was so relaxed the night before the race. I was shocked but it was so nice to see him enjoying the experience & the company of our friends.


Go Daddy Go!!!


Finished and even with a 15 minute PR...WHEW HOO! As always it rained the final hour of the race. It was fun standing at the finish line cheering on all the athletes. David didn't see us but he said he was so focused on getting to the finish line it didn't matter if we were all yelling our heads off when he ran by...which we were.


It's nice for Ironman season to be over. We are going to enjoy our weekends as a family & hopefully do some camping trips this summer.

Ironman Coeur d'Alene

Ironman Coeur d'Alene is Sunday, June 21st

Well, here we are again heading to our 4th Ironman experience. David will get to spend his Father’s Day swimming 2.4 miles, biking 112 miles, and running a marathon. I mean that is the dream for most fathers, right? David started training in January and has done 2 ½ marathons, 2 ½ ironman races, and two 10-day camps with his coach. He had his first bike crash in mid-May which he came out with only a nasty hip wound and scraped up elbow. That definitely didn’t slow him down as he was back on his bike the following weekend in Kona. However, he did have a new found respect for the cyclists on the Tour de France that crash and get right back up to finish the race.

We are heading to Coeur d’Alene this week. I’m looking forward to having the Christensen & Bergler families with us to cheer our Ironman on. I know David is very thankful to his Coach Mitch Gold, Counterpart Coaching. His continued support and organization of planning around our personal life is greatly appreciated.

David will be wearing his blue and orange Ironheads gear. His bib number is #655. You can also check the status of his results and see a live feed of the race via Ironman Live. The race begins at 7am PST and David should finish sometime between 6-8pm. We hope all is well with you and your families.

Thank you to everyone for your continued support…race on!
Love, the Christians

Goodbye babies...

We've been talking forever with Mia that it would be time to give up her babies (blankets) by her 4th birthday. She only sucks her thumb when she has them and she is only allowed to have them at bedtime. Well, we were at the dentist this week and he told her if she stopped she would get to pick out a prize from him. This apparently was enough ammunition to get rid of the blankets. She came home and told David about it. So they went and gathered her blankets up and put them in a bag. I was shocked she was still going for it. Bed time came and she cried a bit and went fast asleep. The next night no tears & off to sleep. It's only been 2 nights but she hasn't asked about them and says she's a big girl now. I'm so impressed!!!

Here's a drawing Mia did at school for Father's Day. Can you tell that the two of them have been talking a lot about the babies?



Don't worry we didn't give them away. I told her I was going to keep them safe for her to give to her kids one day...she thought that was so funny!

Maui

The girls and I were so excited to join David in Hawaii. David was in Kona for 10 days at a training camp. I kept saying I'd switch places with him but he liked to remind me that 500 miles on the bike, running at least 30 miles and swimming wasn't exactly relaxing. So, we flew to Maui and he met us there. The weather was perfect and we enjoyed our getaway.

Olivia's favorite thing to do at the pool...whew hoo!


Mia's favorite thing to do at the pool just float with her goggles on her head.




Morning walk along the beach.


Trying to keep her balance.


David & Olivia snorkeling in front of our hotel.


Heading to Molokini...


As you can see Mia enjoyed the boat ride and Olivia not so much. She was good to go after throwing up over the side of the boat.


David & Olivia snorkeling at Molokini. Mia and I didn't last too long it was a little rough for us.


Hey a turtle...


I love this picture of sisters.


We ate dinner outside almost every night and were able to enjoy the sunsets.


Visiting the Banyan Tree.