Vacation on Lake Winnie

Family bonding.

We've been home for just a few days and already we miss Lake Winnipesaukee.  Lilly's misses her cousins, Jack misses eating the sand, Amelia misses her 'downtime' and I miss everything else.  After days of sun, beach, boating, beer and family, it's hard to adjust back to the daily routine.

We packed so much into the past week, and yet, there were so many things we didn't get to do:   breakfast at George's, chocolate milk from Moulton Farm, and fireworks in Meredith Bay to name a few.  But there will be plenty more chances to do the usual eating and drinking too much and fireworks from the boat.  This was a special year that stands out for all the 'firsts' and special memories that only come along once in a lifetime.

In our own little family, Jack took his first ride on Pop's boat.  Lilly made sure he was snug and secure in his life jacket before taking off.  At the start it was difficult to tell if he was enjoying it, but once we zipped it down a bit and Jack could breath again, he actually seemed to like it.  Although he seemed content to crawl around the boat and see how close he could get to climbing off, next year I'm sure he'll be ready for his first water skiing run.

Not Breathing.

Breathing.

Lilly spent about 80% of her waking hours in the water and ventured far from the wall that she preferred to stick near last year.  She spent 100% of her waking hours talking to everyone, including the dogs, Maggie and Blue, who learned quickly that pretending to fall asleep was possibly the only way to end a conversation.  On that note, there isn't a big enough way to say thank you to Liz for 'surprising' us midweek by arriving with AJ, Lauren and Paul.  Aside from having almost the whole family together (Duane was missed and many beers were left waiting for him), it gave the little cousins some much needed time to play and talk and run and talk and go on golf cart rides and talk together.

In really deep water but Lauren can still stand.

Racing to another good night's sleep.

Amelia and I were just glad to be in the sun, away from the office, on the golf course and enjoying the calm before the chaos of moving house in a few weeks.  There are never enough hours to spend on the beach playing in the sand and water with Jack and Lilly but we enjoyed the time we had and have many new memories to take home.

Fashionable in sunglasses.

Just 'hangin' around.

There were so many things that made the week special.  We celebrated my parents' 60th birthdays (early) with an amazing night out to dinner.  It was a small gesture for two people who have given so much and to whom we owe so much, especially for all the times we've stayed at the house!  We all reminisced and laughed, drank wine and scotch, honored Mom and Dad with their very own birthday cake (note Mom's face...) and talked about all the exciting things to come in the next few weeks and months.

So happy to be getting their own cake... with a song!

60's are the new 50's - looking good Mom and Dad.

Two of these things stand out as particularly exciting.  Sometime in the next few weeks, Carolyn and Jeremy will welcome the first Hastings baby.  There were a few rumblings midweek that made us think this might be the first NH-born Clark, but the baby decided to stay out of the heat for at least a few more days.  We're all looking forward to meeting the newest niece/nephew/cousin and are counting down the days!

Only two Hastings... not for much longer!

Equally exciting was Sarah and Ross' engagement.  Ross picked the most romantic spot in all of New England - Crayfish Island - to ask Sarah to be his wife.  It would be impossible to imagine anyone saying no in such a setting.  And since Ross was successful in holding onto the ring while kayaking out to the island, there was added incentive to say yes.  It was a smiling crowd that greeted them on their arrival back to the beach.  We couldn't be more happy to have Ross join the family, and who doesn't love a wedding!?!

Happy Couple

What else do you do with a magnum of Veuve?

All of these celebrations and firsts are a huge part of what makes the Lake so special to all of us.  And this will definitely be a year to remember.  More often than not though, it is the quiet time on the beach watching the cousins play, the conversations on the boat while anchored off Timber Island, the big family dinners followed by games of setback, and ice cream runs to Town Docks that make the Lake our home away from home, and a place we will love coming back to year after year.

Sprawled out on the beach.

The best way to dry off.

The best way to get wet.

Duane looking a lot like Dad.

Glowing - because of the sunset, or dinner without kids?

Maggie and Blue enjoy a moment of silence from Lilly.

Ironman Coeur d'Alene

The swim start, June 2008

Tomorrow morning, 2600 miles away in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, 2800 athletes will begin their day as the sun is rising.  While Enya plays on the speakers overhead, they will be getting their bodies marked and putting on body glide and wetsuits (which if done correctly, Dad, prevents horrendous chafing) and a pink or a blue swim cap.  At 7am, these 2800 people will embark on a 140.6 mile journey that begins with a cannon going off, a Van Halen or Bon Jovi song blaring, Mike Reilly's words of encouragement and thousands of cheering spectators.  Four years ago, Jim and I were among those 2800 athletes.

Coeur d'Alene is one of those places that holds a special place in my heart.  Being there in 2006 when we watched Joseph race, celebrated Edward's birthday and ended the week with Jim's proposal, gave the town a strong start in my good book.  Going back there and racing in 2008 made it unforgettable.  It reminds me of family meals by the water, as many Leopard Lattes as we could drink, and riding around learning how to take food and water from aid stations (aka Mum, Joseph and Edward).  I think of Leavenworth, the Bavarian town full of hat shops and German beer.  Coeur d'Alene reminds me of being out on the race course until well past midnight the night before Joseph's race, chalking as much of the course as we could with creative slogans like, "www.120.com", "Hold 120's medal while he kisses your girlfriend", "Joe is butter cuz he's on a roll", and "watch out, #120 just passed you."  In fact, I recall cheering for Joseph on race day and some people that he was riding near (or drafting, the jury's still out on that one) responded by saying, "you're #120?  120 is all over this course!"

This was brotherly love at its finest

The "chalkers"

Our chauffeur! 

We even decorated our cars

A race morning hug

Joseph, with his signature bagel, coming out of T1

Edward's 19th Birthday

Leavenworth

I was SO excited when I found this picture.  Ellie gave Jim this magazine and he was less than thrilled.

Engaged!

The view from our celebratory brunch!

Future third children in-law.

I think back to our race day, in 2008, full of nervousness, but mostly excitement to get the race underway.  I think of the hugs before the race, the anticipation of the unknown and the arctic water we would be swimming in.  I think of Dad's race advice: "Go slower than you think you should.  If it's easy, great.  Let it be easy and pick up the pace at mile 17 on the run."  I remember thinking, "this is easy", but always going slower than I thought I should.  And then, at mile 18 on the run, my thoughts switched over to..."oh, Dad does know what he's talking about...thank God I didn't go out too hard." At mile 18, I had no idea how I was going to make it to the finish line, but I knew that somehow I would.  It helps having a family full of Ironmen to motivate you!

Practicing the water bottle hand-off

I don't know who was more excited about the successful hand off...Mum or Jim!

I think of seeing Jim out there on the bike course at the turn around, and discovering that he was riding a few people behind me the whole time.  He and I have different memories of what happened after that meeting.  He says I took off.  I say he fell back.  Either way, it's pretty cool to have race pictures with the two of us riding together.  What are the chances of that happening, with 2800 people out on the course?

I seriously had no idea that Jim was right there!

I think back to seeing Jerry and Duane out on the course.  It's pretty amazing to have people that you care about racing out there with you.  Early on, we all exchanged cheers and high fives.  By the end, it was a small nod of the head.

I think back to the family cheering squad.  Both the Stephens and Clark families represented in full force and were spread out all over the course.  We had a great time together before the race and then celebrated in style, as both families love to do, after the race.

The sign making begins...

one of Joseph's helpful signs

Carolyn and Sarah even managed to work UBS into their sign!

a perfect Mum sign

Part of the fun of these races is the houses we stay in.  Families rent out their houses for the week and this house housed a high school boy, who went by the name of Frommer.  He had these posters in his room...

...and Jim's dad turned them into this amazing sign!

Impressive t-shirts

I think of those last steps of the run, hearing my favorite spectator of the entire day telling me that the finish line was just around the corner, and then hearing the cheering of the crowd and Mike Reilly's voice, knowing that in a matter of minutes, he was going to announce my name.  I don't remember running down the finishing chute...looking at the pictures, I remember the feeling though.  Head straight ahead and glazed eyes looking straight at that finishing line.  After hearing the words, "Amelia Stephens, come on home.  You are an Ironman," I will never be the same.  It's a blessing and a curse, because for the rest of my life, I know what I'm capable of and will not be able to settle for anything less.  I remember watching Jim finish and bursting into tears because we did it.  For six months, we trained harder than we knew was possible.  In November of 2007, Jim had never swam competitively.  Neither of us owned bikes.  And together, in June 2008, we raced our first Ironman.

Race morning

After Dad applied the body glide and missed a huge portion of my neck, which I didn't discover until after the race.

When I think of Coeur d'Alene, I'm flooded with memories.  I love the town, I love the race and some day, I know we'll go back.  Who knows? Maybe, when Jack and Lilly are older, Jim and I will train together for this race again.