Photo Wednesday

**** Update ****
The local newspaper here covered our half marathon on saturday! i wondered who the photography was. Online, one pic of us made it into the online photo galleries. There's the link. Also, here's a link to the article. It does not mention us. but is still kind of cool.
**** end update ****

These are not in any particular order. But I will tell you what they are.

We got the kids up on the road in our neighborhood so that Bigun could try riding her new bike for the first time. Hence, the helmet.

There's something about a white patent leather jacket for an 18 month old that is soooooooo cute! This is just a candid moment in the bike ride.

Teaching Bigun to steer, pedal and brake. It does a daddy proud. That little pink bike is just adorable. And she got the hang of it after a while. The first time I wasn't holding onto her jacket, she steered herself right into the curb and fell over into the yard. But there were no scrapes and everything was ok. She did cry some, but then got back up and started pedaling again. As a parent, it's difficult knowing your kids are going to do something where they will get hurt. But that's the fun part of learning. You fall down sometimes, get up, dust yourself off and start pedaling again. Then when they get the basics it brings a newfound freedom, the joys of which are unparalleled.




I pulled out the old mountain bike for a little spin, and they were chasing me. It's fun to see them run. And I'm always surprised when the wheels still turn on that 15 year old mountain bike.

Ah the infamous broken toe. Purddy, ain't it? By half marathon time, the color was back to normal and there wasn't really any pain left, just sort of a little discomfort.

Wifey and the girls in their normal positions this time of year, under a blanket watching tv.

Bigun got drunk enough (those empty bottles?) to fall asleep on the floor on a stuffed penguin. She calls that blanket her "magic blanket" because it's a source of comfort anytime she wants it. Santa brought the bike and penguin, and Wifey's dad gave each of the kids a magic blanket.

Here's the entire greater Flynn family. From left to right, it's my brother Michael with his wife Summer, then Morgan holding Bigun. My grandmother (Dad's mom), Wifey, me, and Evil Genius. This was taken Christmas morning. EG tried to un-decorate the tree immediately after this was taken. At least the bottom 2 feet of ornaments.

This one is also Christmas morning, just the four of us.

EG got a bit of a Michael Jackson effect from the heat grate at Wifey's dad's house in Raleigh. That wild hair blowing in the wind makes me smile. We're due for another visit up to see him soon.

And we finish with a pic of us Wifey and I at my company's Christmas party from Dec 20th. Her dress was stunning, jaws were dropping and a bunch of people got drunk and signed up for weight watchers after she made them feel fat. It's a natural occurrence, I guess. Nobody had seen her since last year's party, she lost over 80 lbs between the two.

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Fitness

From a fitness point, it's time for me to get all of the kinks worked out. Time for all of those things that I've been putting off until January to actually get done. Gotta join the pool, get the last few accessories that I need for the bike, join the Greenville Spinners bike club and Greenville Track Club. Wifey wants to join the GTC too. This year I'm also going to run enough tri's to actually register and get a live USAT number. It's kind of scary how many other organizations get you for $30 at a time. It adds up fast.

And I need some crap still. I'm currently drooling about an indoor bike trainer, I've got bike shoes but still need pedals/cleats. Some new bike gloves would be nice. I also need a swim cap and still need a haircut. But I did find some goggles that I think will fit.

I haven't run since the half mary on saturday. In fact, I have only been outside of the house twice, teaching Bigun the bike stuff above, and one other trip to the mailbox. But nothing actually past the end of the driveway. It's driving me insane. anyone else stir crazy? it's one of the joys of working at home.

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Garden

Nothing has happened to the garden recently. It has rained nearly every day for the last few weeks, which would be wonderful if I already had the soil amendments tilled in. I still have to spread out last year's compost, pull out all the stuff for this year's pile, clean out the beds.... boy it piles up fast.

Also the seed catalogs have started piling in. My favorites are the Park Seed company, because they are in Greenwood where they run the SC half iron, a local favorite race. Ison's is a real gem from Georgia. They are known for their muscadines and grapes, and I'm getting a bunch of berries from them this year too. I normally put together a large seed order from Seeds of Change too. They are completely organic and carbon-neutral, and I'm really down with that. So it takes a ton of organization while nothing is growing. But it looks like we're going to get a good garden going this year.

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OMG I hope I can get to the gym soon, I'm going crazy here. Have a great week!