Ironman and Thanksgiving

Two big events passed in the month of November: Richard's first Ironman as a daddy and Mack's first Thanksgiving!

Richard went out to Phoenix and competed in IM Arizona. It was not his best race ever but he completed it in under 10 hours, which wasn't up to his normal super-human standards but still above normal-human abilities :-) He ran/walked/sat around during the marathon but got to finish up the last 6 miles with his buddy Jon, who had an awesome race (his best ever IM) and I watched them cross the finish line together online (which was a miracle given the pouring down rain was interfering big-time with my satellite internet connection out here in the country). My mom came to take care of Mack and keep me company while Richard was away, so we had a nice visit together. And our neighbors also came over to help me manage my anxiety levels during the Ironman watching. I tell you, it's tough being an IM spectator...even long distance!

Thanksgiving was a amazing and I have a lot to say about it but I think I'll just make a list of the highlights:

1. Went to the mountains with my mom, dad, Jon & his fiance Dare. It got really cold on Thursday and Friday!

2. Cooked all day Thursday and then ate ourselves silly...yummmm. Mack really enjoyed his first turkey-bites.

3. It SNOWED while we were eating our Thanksgiving meal...how much more perfect could it get? It didn't last long but it was really pretty while it did.

4. A beautiful and challenging 5 mile hike with Richard & Mack on Saturday - probably one of our best family-times yet.

5. Mack's first Christmas tree: he slept through the selection and the cutting down of the tree (the hike and Christmas parade prior to the tree-cutting really wore him out) but woke up in time to see it tied to the top of the car. Richard selected an excellent tree for us all on his own!

6. Mack will be a pool shark when he grows up. The house had a pool table and it quickly became Mack's favorite toy...especially when Uncle Jon was hanging out with him.

7. We were able to visit with Richard's brother David, who we hadn't seen in about 2 years.

8. Got home early on Sunday enough to put the Christmas tree in the stand and get to bed at a decent time. That in itself was a Thanksgiving miracle! As you can tell, Mack was incredibly thrilled about it. The cutest thing is that we taught Mack how to smell the Christmas tree and now everytime he sees it, he reaches his hand towards it and sniffs!

MORE pictures: http://www5.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=2756957008/a=76796422_76796422/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/