We just ate in the dining room, for the 1st time in 4 years

Totally crazy, we just ate dinner in the dining room.

Huh???  You may be wondering why that's crazy.  But in our house for approx. 4 years, our dining room was not used for dining in, instead it's been used for working-out.  It's been our home gym since we started training for our 1st ironman, which we did in 2009.  We bought a treadmill and a computrainer, so that as working parents we'd be able to train whenever it fit our busy schedules.  And a gym it's been until just the other weekend.  Dahlia, who just turned 5 the other day, does not remember ever having a real dining room.

Unfortunately our basement ceiling is low, so the dining room was really the only option in our house, but after all these years, we miss having a dining room.  But, since Bill has rarely used the treadmill in the last few years (having more opportunities to get it done outside), we determined that, short me would be able to run on the treadmill in the basement despite the low ceiling and Bill didn't need it.  Hence we decided to move it downstairs.

And the other weekend when I'm in the middle of icing Dahlia's birthday cake, Bill decided it was moving time.  I took an icing break and we took a long time just getting it through the dining room door into the hall.  It is long, wide, and very heavy!  After various discussion on how to proceed and with a few bangs in the wall we made it down to the landing.  This was extremely difficult and at one point Bill was somewhat trapped between the wall and the treadmill at the bottom of the landing.  This was scary.  And then we couldn't figure out how we could get it the rest of the way down, safely!  And I had to finish icing the cake, the party was starting in not too long.  So we left a treadmill in the stairwell.  Bill called his brother-in-law and he and our nephew came over and eventually they got it down to the basement.

Okay so there is one other sort of funny story, yeah I think the treadmill got slightly broken during the move. I tried running on it yesterday and usually like to run at a small incline (2).  So I hit the incline button 2xs while I'm running (2 hits means it goes up to the 2nd level, 3 hits = 3rd level etc) but this time it just keeps going,  I am of course getting pretty close to the ceiling.  I hit down button, it stops going up, but doesn't go down.  It currently looks like I'll be running at an incline indefinitely!

Carpets got steamed cleaned in the dining room (thanks mom-in-law) and the table and chairs got set up and today we ate diner in the dining room.  It was extra delicious! 

Of course Santa loves swimming too

HAC had a fun holiday party! With 50 kids in the water and a few parents, we divided into 6 teams and had relays and games.  We didn't quite get to all of these, but those we did do worked quite well.  I found it helpful to have a parent on deck with each team.  The parents had the following list of games, and could easily explain the game to the teams:

HAC NOVICE HOLIDAY PARTY

Human tree decorating – (all start on one side) One person (the tree) swims across pool, puts shirt on and stands on deck. Starting when shirt is on, the rest of team, 2 at a time, swim across and pick something to decorate the human tree with, as soon as the 2 are back in the water, the next 2 can start swimming across while the previous 2 swim back. Repeat until the 1st team has used all their decorations. Then all teams have to stop decorating. Judges pick the best decorated human tree.


Christmas song puzzler – (all start on one side) as a team all swim across the pool, work together to figure out the Christmas song puzzler, when correct, repeat (4 puzzles) The 4 puzzles were (see answers below, hints were given):

1. Eight P.M. to Six A.M. without Noise
2. Desire a Pair of Incisors on December 25
3. Homo Sapien of Crystallized Vapor
4. Fantasia of a Colorless December 25
   

Soggy Santa relay – (half team on one side, half on other) put on Santa hat and beard, swim across pool, take hat and beard off, pass to next person & repeat until everyone has had a turn

Sleigh ride - (half team on one side, half on other) pair up, each pair takes turns swimming across the pool, one member of the pair is the sleigh and gets pulled across the pool by the other member of the pair by holding their leg (first person is swimming with their arms; second person is kicking- aka partner pull) 

Gift giving relay - (half team on one side, half on other) swim across pool with gift bag, trying to keep gift dry, give gift to next person & repeat until everyone has had a turn. Time teams. Wring the gifts out into a bucket and measure. For each cm deep with water in bucket = + 1 second to the time.


Candy cane lane - swim across the pool riding the biggest candycanes ever (pool noodles), pass the candycane to the next person & repeat


Holiday cook off - (half team on one side, half on other) wearing over mitt, hold spoon and push bowl across the pool, touching bowl with only the spoon & repeat


Snowball toss - in shallow end, line each team, with half of team on one side of black lane line & other half on other side & face each other. Pass the (snow) ball, back and forth up the line, don't skip anyone


Ornament exchange - line teams up in shallow end. Put ornament under the first persons chin, with no hands exchange the ornament to next person under their chin, repeat


Merry Christmas Marco Polo – pick someone to be "it" with eyes closed they say "Merry" then everyone must say "Christmas", "it" tries to tag someone by listening to sounds only (eyes stay closed)

We ended the event out of the water, with a potluck of treats. 

Happy holidays!! 


Answers to Christmas song puzzler:

1. Silent night
2. All I want for Christmas is my 2 front teeth
3. Frosty the snowman
4. Dreaming of a white Christmas
   

you don't necessarily choose when opportunity knocks

It always seems so busy trying to get ready for vacation.  Add both Bill & I doing Ironman and travelling with the kids, made it even more so.  We have one bike box, so had to borrow the 2nd one (thanks Al); we (& the purse) certainly felt the airline luggage restrictions (& charges).  Transporting all 4 of us, luggage and bike boxes to the airport also took extra preparation as we needed a big enough vehicle...
The weekend before we left was the 1st novice meet of the year, as novice co-ordinator this year it meant some new tasks for me to take care of and the next meet to get ready for was the day after we arrived home.  I needed to have the workouts planned and sent to the coaches covering me etc.  It was also the HAC banquet the weekend before we left and then Dahlia's birthday was the week after we got back.  I managed to throw together 2 little parties for Dahlia, one with family (thanks to my parents for letting me use their house) and one for friends (her 1st friend party, we had it at an indoor playground).
And then of course there is Christmas!  It would come fast after our holidays... One weekend there were 5 parties to take part in -> can you say partied out? (I never thought I would, but I did!)

Add to all this, I make a pretty significant decision, to change employers.  The Friday before we leave for Mexico, a client offers me a job.  Packing and thinking about my future (I was bound to leave something important at home).  I had my 1st job interview in approx 15 years that weekend.  And the day we were about to leave I handed in my resignation.  After the trip, I went back to the office for 1 last day; the whole office took me out for lunch and we even had cake!  It was a bit sad, but at the same time I'm super excited!

Sometimes opportunity knocks when you least expect it or are ready for it...

Cozumel vacation ~ pictures say it all

Cozumel, Mexico - November 2012 -
This was my first all inclusive vacation, and the verdict is still out, there was some good and some not so good.  10 days is too long for all inclusive I think.  I need more variety and to not feel like going out is "wasting" money.  At the same time buffet meals are great when you have someone like Dahlia, who you never really know what her tastes are going to be that day until the wrong thing has been order...  and having a bar that is like your own home, well that is pretty sweet.  But even though I'm not sold on all inclusive vacations I think you will see we had a wonderful time.

Fun flight over -
Our flight over was filled with people for the race, it was probably the flight with the lowest bodyfat % per passenger ever...  The problem was that with so many Ironman racers there was an unusual amount of oversized luggage (bikes).  The plane was delayed for 1/2 an hour as they tried to repack and then there was  panic in the air as the rumor went through the plane that numerous bikes were not onboard.  When we arrived, there was more confusion as they sorted out what was missing, and I believe this and being understaffed to handle it caused the longest check through custom I have ever been through.  We were lucky though and both our bikes made it.

The resort -
It was a nice resort, but we did find the room small for the 4 of us and 2 bikes.  Thankfully there was fun to be had outside of our room.
There were 4 pools to enjoy.

Welcome to Cozumel!
Cadence checks out one of the pools the evening we arrive

Dahlia enjoyed the waterslide/kids pool the most:

(don't tell but Cadence might have enjoyed it too)











There was a playground:

We played ping-pong:

A clown made us balloon things:

Bill, his dad Ross and brother-in-law Gord tried snorkling on site while Dahlia and I paddled on a banana boat:

a little rough

grandpa

Bill snorkling

Iguanas hung-out right outside our door:

We relaxed in our hammock or in beach chairs:

The beach and water was beautiful, sunrise, mid-day or sunset:

We also did a couple daytrips off the resort:
we did a pre-race bike ride around the bottom of the Island:

a trip into town:

we went on an amazing snorkling tour:

and we interacted with dolphins: