Growing up

Hard to believe Cale is two. I was just looking back at how he has grown. What a blessing having him has been. Having kids is tough, exhausting, and frustrating at times, and energizing, motivating, amazing, and wonderful all at the same time. It is something that I am glad God is not allowing me to miss.

Cale's real birthday

We had Cale's party on Saturday but Wednesday was his actual birthday. We normally go to Tony's on Wednesday night so we decided we would celebrate there. We brought the big gift from Grandma Sue with us for him to open. He blew out his candles with a little help and loves his new rocket from Grandma. His new favorite saying is 'notnot moon', translation astronaut goes to the moon! Got to love it!

Cale's Birthday (posting a little late :)

Cale turned 2! We had a construction zone party and invited all of his friends. He woke up that morning to 2 big trucks/loaders and then later on that afternoon we had his party. We had about 9 kids under the age of 3 decorating cupcakes! Elise won the prize for the messiest and most tasty looking cupcake. All and all it was a blast!

Thanksgiving with Team O

We had Ben, Chris, Jeannette, and Tray over to our place for Thanksgiving. I started the morning with a great 6 mile run, and then we started the prep. Ben made the creamed corn, pumpkin cheesecake, and helped with the turkey, potatoes, and made the gravy. JP did the turkey and stuffing, and I did the green bean casserole, rolls, cherry jello and mac and cheese. I think we had enough food to feed an army.

Buster and Pepper got the treat of a lifetime from Ben when we were done :) We did not see them for awhile after this...

Then we all snuggled up to watch football and take naps.
Buster even found a new place where he could relax, that is until a little blond toddler ran towards him going 'bustr off, bustr off'...

We have so much to be thankful for, God has blessed us in so many ways. Hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving.

Video Games at age 23 months!

Dad has got Cale playing the Wii! Well actually he just likes to put the controller strap on his wrist like Daddy and then stare at the screen while Dad plays. I was just rolling watching these two 'play' Wii tennis on Sunday afternoon... It won't be long until they are playing for real.

Indian Cale!

Before Thanksgiving Cale came home from daycare with a head dress that he had made as they were learning about Thanksgiving. He was so cute, he would run around the house making Indian noises! He loved his 'hat' so much that the Sat after Thanksgiving he demanded to wear it when he went down for a nap. The had did not with stand the tossing and turning of a toddler nap so it is no longer with us :)

ZOO!

A couple of weeks ago JP had the great idea to go to the zoo. We took Sunday afternoon after church and took Cale to the zoo. He had a good time. We started with a look at the monkeys. For the rest of the afternoon Cale would not stop going ''ou ou ah ah" like the monkeys, super cute:)

We saw all kinds of animals and had a great time (besides one small incident in the bird cage where Cale was attacked by birds (lesson learned: don't give the two year old the bird feed stick). I freaked him out a bit but he pretty quickly got over it.

He loved the chee-chee-ta, elephants, giraffes, monkeys, and the lion. All it all it was just so great to have a family outing!

Halloween...Booo!

For Halloween this year we decided to go to our church's fun festival. All of Cale's friends from church where there. We started out in his lion costume, but after about 30 minutes we realized that he was getting a little warm so out of the lion costume he came. Being the super mom that I am (kidding) I just whipped out the superman costume that I had brought (see other lion post) and off he went. I actually think he made a cuter superman than lion. After the church we went to our friend's house for a couple of houses of trick or treating just for the experience for Cale. He was a little scared at first, but by the time we got back to our friends house he was running up to the door holding out his bucket for more candy!!

Pumpkins!!

Every year we go to our friend's house just before Halloween to carve pumpkins. We eat great food (they are great cooks!) and then carve pumpkins out on the deck. Each year there are more and more kidos to help out. Here is Cale helping Kurt scrape out his pumpkin!

Kristen (about to pop) and Claire and Harper observing Jon carve...

Kurt then starting to 'cheat' using power tools to carve...

And the final display of the final products. Can you guess which is mine, remember what a competitor I am...

The ghosts of coarse, the second from the left on the top....winner with out a doubt :)

BOOO!

Lion says Roooaaarrrr!

Cale loves to say Roooaaarrr! We always ask him what does a tiger or a lion say and he roars like a little champ. So for Halloween I could not help but get him a lion costume. JP did remind me that we do not live in a cold climate so this outfit might be a little warm for him. I actually bought him a lighter costume (superman) later in case of a warm night! But for the fall fun festival at his daycare we when with the lion outfit. I figured he only had to be in it for an hour or less so it would work. JP and I actually got off work early and went to see all the kids dressed up. My lion was the most perfect lion ever!!! He just needs to stay away from that LSU cheerleader, trouble Cale, just trouble ;)

Ossenfort Wedding

My brother in-law and his girlfriend decided a couple of weeks ago that they were going to get married. They have known each other for a couple of months so we were all a bit on edge with this seemingly sudden decision. Once we met Jannette we felt much better, she is great for Chris. They are a very cute couple. We were very happy to find out that we were invited to the improptu 'wedding'. Jannette's folks live close by so the wedding was going to but just immediate family and their 2 closest friends. We flew JP's folks out for the event so they could be here. It was a very sweet, special time for them. We all met at a park in one of the nice parts of Dallas. I was the 'photographer', no pressure taking pictures for a professional photographer at his wedding. Here are a couple of the shots, not bad for an amateur. We are very happy for them and wish them all the best :)

Trip to see BahBah!

Well I have been quite the slacker on posting these days. I have been a bit busy with work (working Saturdays and all) and the fall is always so hectic with the holidays and Auburn football.

Back in the beginning of October Cale and I traveled to Storm Lake IA to visit with my Grandparents. My mom flew through Dallas so we traveled with her, which was fun. Cale was the traveling angel as usual. My mom's dad and my dad's mom live there in two separate places a couple of blocks from each other. Cale was so super sweet with all the new people that he met, not scared at all. I was a very proud moma! We had a great time, but Cale was pretty miserable at night with a bad cold. By the last two nights my mom and I were not getting much sleep with Cale in the room with us (poor thing could just not breath).

We had a four generation picture taken when we were there, which was very cool.

When I was little I used to call my grandfather BahBah, Cale picked this up pretty quickly. He was so cute calling his sweet great grandfather BahBah just as I had when I was his age!

We also visited a brand new park while we were there, Cale had a blast playing and watching the construction equipment just on the other side of the fence!!

I have been Tagged

I was tagged by Erin so here it is...
MAN TAG:
1. Who is your man? JP
2. How long have you been married? 9 years in December
3. How long dated? 4 years
4. How old is your man? 31, so much older than me :)
5. Who eats more? JP
6. Who said “I love you” first? JP, he is actually a very emotional being
7. Who is taller? JP
8. Who sings better? neither
9. Who is smarter? JP, he got me through me engineering degree, he was one quarter ahead
10. Whose temper is worse? mine
11. Who does the laundry? JP, he took over so that I would not have to replace clothes I did not wash per the instructions
12. Who takes out the garbage? JP
13. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? me
14. Who pays the bills? JP
15. Who is better with the computer? we fight over this title
16. Who mows the lawn? neither of us
17. Who cooks dinner? we eat out more than I cook but I try
18. Who drives when you are together? JP mostly, depends on who's car we are taking
19. Who pays when you go out? either of us
20. Who is most stubborn? me, I am very spoiled
21. Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? either, no clear winner here
22. Whose parents do you see the most? mine, JP's live a little ways from an airport and it is a 12 hour drive by car
23. Who kissed who first? JP kissed me first, you can ask him about the 'wow' story
24. Who asked who out? I think JP asked me out first but it has been so long ago, we just hung out all the time
25. Who proposed? JP proposed to me on the beach on new year's eve 1997
26. Who is more sensitive? probably me
27. Who has more friends? JP, much more of a social butterfly
28. Who has more siblings? JP--2 brothers and a sister
29. Who wears the pants in the family? hmmm, interesting question

I don't know who to tag...

Race Win!!

Age Group Place
1
Overall
Place
47

Name
Cari Ossenfort
Bib No
732
Age
31
------- Swim 750m -------
Rnk
1
Time
12:50.9
Pace
1:43
T1
Time
2:44.7
------- Bike 12mi -------
Rnk
1
Time
34:07.9
Rate
21.1
T2
Time
1:13.8
------- Run 5K -------
Rnk
5
Time
25:48.5
Pace
8:16
Total
Time
1:16:45.9

Not bad, I will take it. I decided at the last minute to try and do a couple of sprint races at the end of the season this year. The hope was to do pretty well and help my season rankings. Stonebridge ranch Triathlon was a race I had done well at in 2004 and was close by in McKinney so I figured I would give it a try. I was a bit nervous seeing as how I have missed many workouts due to work schedule over the past 4 weeks. I have only been riding on Wednesday nights most weeks and have only been given permission to run a week and a half ago (hip stress reaction, 6 weeks no running). My 4 runs prior to the race confirmed for me that I could go the distance but I was still concerned that my running shape would not allow me to go very fast. I had a great race. JP and Cale and I trekked up to McKinney around 6:15am. My wave was set to start at 8am. We got there and got a great parking spot across the street from the transition area. I got set up, not nervous at all, no hard expectations. We watched the Olympic race start. We then saw a couple that we had met at church a while back, Sara was doing her first triathlon so it was fun to talk to and try and encourage her before the start. Off we went, into the water. It seemed there were lots of fast girls in my heat (that was because all females started together for the sprint race). I had a good steady swim. Working hard but not in panic mode. Had some nice open water coming back in. 750m swim, done. Up the hill and down to the transition area. Out into the wind (up to 20mph). First ten minutes were uphill and into a headwind. Just working hard knowing that I would get a tailwind on the way back in. Turn to cross wind, then turn to tail wind (got to 30mph, wooohooo!). Then the second loop. Felt good and strong. 12 mile bike done with a 21.1mph average. Coming out of transition to the run I see Pamela and John, friends from church, so great to see them and baby Anna out there cheering me on (Thanks!). Now to run for dear life to hold on to my placing. Looked for females coming back in on the out and back course. One, two, three, four, five, six, oh dear I am in the top ten females if i can hang on. I ran as strong as I could and actually held my position. Felt great crossing the finish line! Gave it all but was not sore or anything afterward... guess that is the advantage of being trained with a large long distance base and getting in some quality workouts when I can not get in quantity workouts! (quote from coach Chuck).

Sherpa!?!

My sweet husband has been given the name 'Super Sherpa' after being the best support crew for Katie, Todd and I (as well as some others along the way) for 3 Ironman Triathlons. I had been to one other Ironman as a spectator my self to watch my friend Chris do IMCDA in 2005, I was pregnant with Cale at the time and just watched and cheered her on.

This year my friend Katie was doing IM WI and I decided to go cheer her on. We have been racing together for about 5 years now and we know each other very well. I knew this year I might be able to help Katie's parents be Sherpa's for her in WI. Katie's Dad was having some issues with his feet, so it was going to be a goal to minimize the amount walking on race day.

Race day was a beautiful, perfect weather. We took the shuttle to the start. Katie started to get ready and realized that she had brought Heidi's wetsuit (just a few sizes to small!). My fellow supporters Ron and Heidi kicked in to high gear and got a free rental wetsuit and got her on her way. We then watched the swim. Heidi and I stationed ourselves at the swim out and Katie's parents, Ron, and Linda went to the bike out. Katie threw the rental wetsuit to us on her way by, we returned it before heading to the bike course (I just laughed knowing that Katie had thought up that plan on the swim, I probably would have done the same thing). Then back to the shuttle to the car and out to the bike course. I drove Katie's parents and Ron, Heidi and Linda took the other car. We stopped and fueled up at McDonald's and then out to the spot at ~mile 45, no walking from car to race course at this spot, good to go. We saw Katie and 2 other guys that Heidi and Ron were looking for. Then we stayed there to see them go by again ~mile 82 on the second loop. Then back in the car. I dropped Katie's folks off at the transition area and went and parked the car, no walking, good to go. I actually got a great parking spot! That would be key later on. I go to the bike in and let Katie know where to look for her parents. We all see each other, she looks great and her Mom and Dad were relieved to know she was off the bike. Now we walk (about 2 blocks) to the car and wait on Ron's car to head out to the run course (this way we could keep the key parking spot for bringing Katie home). We get the car from them and I head out to the run course (Ron and Linda took off running the course). We make it just in time to see Katie come through at mile 8, this spot was key, right by a parking lot, no walking. She is ranting about how tired she is 'burned out'! We tell her to keep it up, just forward momentum. We see her again in 2 more miles (from this spot you could see three different spots on the run course). Then we wait and cheer on the other competitors. We were watching her time, she was doing great, we start to get up to watch her come through again and realized that we had not seen the third spot where we could have seen her, it was behind (and about a block away) where we were sitting. We felt a little dumb having been sitting so close and not going over there to see her the third time on the second loop. Oh, well here she comes again. We see her this time and she looks great, we told her we were headed to the finish. Ron and Linda run her in from there, and evidently get the crowds to cheer for her all along the way! I take Mom and Dad to the finish, park the car in the garage under the transition area (I only had to go around a couple of orange cones!), no walking. We cheer her in and make her pose for some pictures. What a great day it was. I get her bike while she gets her bags and then we head to the car. As far as being a sherpa it was a great day, 3 illegal U-turns, minimal walking, lots of TX flags, great parking spots, and cheering on your best friend finish her final North American Ironman (that would be 7 completed). Priceless.

Time at the lake with Grandma!

For labor day JP and I took Cale to see Grandma Sue and Ron at her lake house in Tim's Ford TN. What a great weekend at a great house. 3 days of relaxing, eating and boat and seadoo fun! We got there on Friday night and headed to the lake. My Aunt and Uncle and their granddaughter Caroline flew in about an hour later. Saturday we woke up and ate a leisurely breakfast then out on the boat.

Cale was a trip on the boat. He walked around like a weeble wobble (he even fell down a couple of times!) He would enjoy the wind for a couple of minutes and then fall asleep. He did the same thing both days we went out on the boat :)

We visited Lynchberg, where Jack Daniel's is made. Cale and Caroline just had fun playing around on the grounds.

We need to get out to NC to get Cale and Caroline together again soon!