And, of course, we took a break to watch the ball drop (on three hour tape delay) in Times Square, bang on pots and pans in the street, sing Auld Lang Syne, ooh and ahh and the neighborhood fireworks, and watch some of the Rockin’ New Years West Coast party.

Some of our favorite things about sleepovers on NYE is that you don’t have drive home when you’re really tired and that you get to hang out all morning with friends, eat breakfast, and be lazy! John and I didn’t get to participate in as much of the laziness as we once did since Sage was awake half the night, but we still very much got to enjoy being with friends and eating an amazing quiche and muffin breakfast!

Some action shots from the evening Olympic events:

Not sure when this tradition started but for many years we have celebrated Pete’s birthday by taking a weekend to camp at Nehalem Bay State Park in Manzanita. You never know quite what you’ll get with June weather–typically it’s a bit less than warm and often with some sprinkles. Now and again you’ll get a beautiful weekend, but we never hold our breath for that. This year when the conversation came up about the annual birthday trip we reassured him that we’d be excited to go to the coast and give Sage her first camping experience. It turned out that this was one of the more wet birthday weekends in the recent past, but we made the most of it.

Thankfully one of Pete’s most recent projects, the “Super Tent” gave us the warmth and protection from the rain that we needed. We spent most of the weekend hanging out in the tent, napping, reading, and playing with Sage. There was a bit of a break on Sunday and we were able to hit Short Sands for a couple of hours of surfing.

It also happened to be Father’s Day weekend and I think John was able to spend the day exactly how he would have wanted: With his daughter at the beach and catching a few waves. That wish might change in the future to be surfing with his daughter (he’s already talking to her about it ). Our weekend ended in a Dad’s Day cookout at the Carlsen’s of Cannon Beach. Catching up with friends, admiring new babies, and enjoying a delicious spread of food. A great end to the weekend!

Sage did great on her first camping trip. Being in a campground, I was anxious about waking people up, but we figured it out and she managed just fine. We’re hoping she’ll be as much of a fan of the outdoors as we are and we did our best this summer to make sure she had a few opportunities to try it out. More to come on the other adventures!

As you can see, everyone was happy with the choice to head to Portland on Sunday for grilled cheese sandwiches. We have been hearing about this food cart called the “Grilled Cheese Grill” and have been intending to check it out and get in on some of the delicious, cheesy action. Our calendar has been fairly open the past couple of weeks as we haven’t wanted to schedule anything “just in case the baby comes.”  Sunday lunchtime found us without a baby and without plans so we headed into Portland with friends to see what our tastebuds could find at The Grill.

No one was disappointed in their selection even though our choices ranged from “The Baby Cheesus” to “The Shocker” to “The Jenny Lou” and others. Ingredients included jalapenos, bacon, havarti, pepperjack cheese, maple bread, beef patty, American cheese, colby cheese, etc. Everything was delicious and grilled to perfection. As a fun bonus we got to eat on the second story of a double decker bus, which has been converted into the dining room for the cart (see below). Fun all around! I love Portland!

Over the weekend at least 50% of our conversation was centered on weighing the pros and cons of campervans. We’re still not totally decided and now we need to rent a tent trailer to give equal representation to the other side, but it was fun and novel and a lot warmer than tent camping!

If you’re interested in giving camper-vanning a try and want to rent one, let us know and we can connect you with the owners of this van!

"Chopping" Wood

Look Familiar?

This year was particularly entertaining as our friend Molly was committed to trying to be hypnotized. She was successful and, along with the other 10 or so folks, entertained us for a good half hour. We go to the Hypnotist show nearly every year, but having someone on stage that you know gave new life to the show and we got the “behind the scenes” perspective after it was all said and done.

A few glimpses of the day:

What would the fair be without Grandma Edna?

Eric's first ice cream cone of the day...not his last

Molly was not happy that her "horse" was shot dead

We have the tradition of going backpacking on our anniversary–trying to get to a different spot each time.
Year 1 – Mt. Hood National Forest (OR)
Year 2 – John was ill so we didn’t get out this year
Year 3 – Olympic National Park (WA)
Year 4 – late celebration backpacking in Yosemite (CA)
Year 5 – Jefferson Park (OR)
Year 6 – North Cascades (WA)

The North Cascades did not disappoint and I can understand why this spot is a favorite among world travelers. We did a particularly spectacular hike, starting at the Harts Pass Trailhead (about 30 miles south of the Canadian border) and following the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) to our last camp spot, Goat Lakes. This hike boasts seven ridges and it felt like about 70% of the hike was ridge line, which is our favorite type of hike. On this hike you start at a high elevation and stay at a high elevation. Not too much work for a huge reward.

We did have to dance around some crummy weather, but we were able to get on the trail on beautiful afternoon, make it to our second camp spot before the rain came and then hunker down for almost 24 hours until the rain passed. Although it might sound like 24 hours of rain would be miserable, we loved it and took full advantage of the ample opportunity for napping and reading. Just when I was making a mental list of things to do like tent yoga, the rain cleared and we had another two days of gorgeous weather and views.

There’s just nothing that compares to getting off the grid for a few days, working hard and resting hard. It was also a good chance for us to spend time processing the fact that we are having a baby! Over the days of hiking and huddling in the tent, we had great opportunity to really start thinking about all the things that go along with having a kiddo.

Here’s what you have been waiting for… photos!

If you have any suggestions on where we should go in the future, send them our way!

I chose a couple of mantras to focus on during the race. One during the swim was “slow and steady.” I wasn’t trying to push myself too hard on the swim, I wanted to feel good by the time I got out of the water and I wanted to swim the whole thing without stopping. I did both! One of my favorite moments of the race was about halfway through the swim when I recognized that I was in the middle of a lake and wasn’t nervous at all! I’d say that was a huge accomplishment since I started training thinking that I might have to back float the entire swim part. I don’t think swimming will ever be my strong suit, but it was so fun to see the progress made over the past 4 or so months of swimming regularly.

Something Laura and I quickly realized about triathlon training is how much easier on your body it is than running, which was both our of primary form of exercise before this. Our bodies have definitely thanked us for easing up on the pounding. Also, the majority of the top competitors were in their 40s so it seems this is a sport for which the age for peak performance is ahead of us, rather than behind us. I think this will be a great lifetime activity–easier on the body, but fun!

We arrived in Eugene around dinner time and drove around looking for a spot to eat–we quickly found Track Town Pizza, located just across from Hayward Field and the campus of the University of Oregon. The pizza was delicious and the restaurant had a fun atmosphere as the place was packed with high school kids competing in the weekend’s state track & field championships.

Saturday was spent almost entirely on our bikes. We cruised down to the Saturday Market and then spent a leisurely few hours riding along the Willamette River on a 10 mile multi-use trail that goes on either side of the river. It was awesome! We managed to sneak in a nap after the ride and then rolled back down to the river and put John’s inflatable kayak in on a canal that paralleled the river and took us by some lovely homes. By the time we were done with our multi-sport day, we were quite hungry. Per the recommendation of a colleague we found the Glenwood Restaurant and enjoyed a simple and tasty meal, including their “famous” tomato-cheese soup.

Sunday found us back on our bikes riding out into the hills of Eugene on a course recommended by the owner of the guesthouse we were renting. A little more challenging than the slow-paced ride the day before, but quite scenic. We headed home after the ride, having thoroughly enjoyed our short trip to Lane County. There’s much more to explore on bike, river, and hiking trail so we look forward to returning some time!

With a bit of convincing, our husbands, John and Keith, joined us in the event. In addition to doing the whole thing with us, they willingly helped us in our transitions, having the car opened and ready, taking our bikes from us and locking them up, and even enduring the 15 minutes of swimming in a cold lake through which we put ourselves. Just like our last triathlon experience, we learned a lot and were so glad to have given it a go. Swimming in a lake, in a wetsuit is a totally different experience and it was helpful just to understand what that is going to be like. Also practicing the transitions between the swim and bike and bike and run was great as we know better what we need/don’t need to do.

The irony of the day is that we showed up to the lake and there was actually an organized triathlon taking place. We chose to start ours on the opposite side of the lake… we didn’t want to show anyone up (or embarrass ourselves). It was a fun morning (it really was fun!) and we are looking forward to the real deal in just under two weeks.

Laura and I are now six weeks into a 12 week training program which gets a relatively fit someone ready to participate in a sprint triathlon. It has been a really fun challenge and so cool to see yourself improving, especially in the swim category where I had a pretty low level of fitness and confidence. We are really glad to have participated in the Albany race and we learned a ton from the experience. We’ll be competing individually in the Blue Lake Triathlon outside of Portland on June 5 and look forward to meeting this training goal!

Thanks John and Keith for coming and cheering us on and documenting the race! (More pics on Facebook)

"Team Macander" finishing together

Icing the elbow at home

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