Busy times.. Happy Holidays

I have NOT been a very good blogger lately.  Alas, life has been time consuming.  My last post went up at the end of September and A LOT has been going on since then.  Here are the Top 5 highlights from the last 2 months:

#1  - We bought a house and moved in!

After several months of searching and frustration, we were blessed to find our first house! We closed and got the keys on October 16th and spent the rest of the month packing, moving and saying goodbye to our little townhouse in Fremont.   Steve and I spent 6 years in that place and made a lot of memories there. It was sad to leave, but exciting to start the next chapter in our lives.

Our new house is in North Seattle and we love it!  Big yard, more space and it's all ours.  It'll take some time to get settled in, but it already feels like home.

Home Sweet Home!

# 2 - Happy Halloween and Annie's first Trick-or-Treaters!

I was SO excited to finally live in a neighborhood that would allow little goblins to knock on my door and ask for candy! Every time the door rang, I squealed with joy and Molly freaked out, and I'm sure the neighbors thought a bunch of freaks had moved in next door.  We also hit up an annual Halloween party with friends that was a blast, as it always is.

I'm ready for you trick or treaters!

Becky the Killer "B" ha ha :)

My hubby is such an ape sometimes.

#3 - Molly turned 1

Our sweet Molly celebrated her first birthday on November 23rd. She got lots of cuddles, played fetch for hours and got a special mega bone, which she ate in a day in a half.

Fetch!!

#4 - The Huskies go 8-4 and are headed to the Fight Hunger Bowl on December 27!

Every Saturday you'd find the Johnson's either down tailgating in Padelford or posted up somewhere to watch an away game.  The highlight of our tailgate season was the Oregon vs. Washington game in early October when ESPN Gameday came to film at the UW campus.  This was by far the earliest tailgate of my career, but well worth it to carry our sign up to Red Square and be a part of a really fun and energized crowd.  Unfortunately, the Dawgs lost that day.   They went on to win every home game after that, including the Apple Cup over Thanksgiving weekend.  It was a good season Dawgs, and I look forward to a win over BYU on the 27th!

Yes, we had a gallows with a roasted duck. Don't be so sensitive.

Apple Cup!

#5 - Getting ready for the Holidays!

And now Christmas is just one week away!  Wow, time flies. We've got the lights up on the house, our Christmas tree is decorated and I've been through 2 batches of eggnog so far.  I still have a bit of shopping to do and a few more loose ends to tie up, but I think I'm ready!  This will be the first Christmas I've hosted with my family and Steve's at our new house and I couldn't be more excited.

So... here is wishing you and yours a most joyous holiday season and a very happy New Year!

More regular blogging to commence in 2014, I promise.

Issaquah Triathlon Race Report

Well, we did it!!! We completed the Issaquah Triathlon this Saturday! I'm so proud of us all! Here is my race report.

June 1, 2013 - Race Day!:  The day started before sunrise.  We woke up bright and early to hit the road by 5:15am.  Next stop, Lake Sammamish State Park in Issaquah.  I was surprised that so many people were already there when we arrived.  We found the transition station and set up our bikes and gear.

Transition Area with the lake in the background.

I was #1295. This was my transition area.

A little sleepy looking, but ready to go!

By the time we were all set up it was almost 6:45am and we had to make our way down to the waterfront for the mandatory pre-race meeting.  I had rented a wetsuit for the swim, so I suited up and we headed down to the water. Sorry, no pictures of that awesome outfit! Steve (Mr. Polar Bear) opted to go without the wetsuit. Bold move Mr. Johnson. The water temp registered at 59 degrees Saturday.

The race started in waves designated by age and gender.  I learned that I was in the 30-34 female wave (even though I am still in my 20s for 9 more days thank you very much!!! gah!).  The waves are approximately 20-50 people. You start in the water about thigh deep.  The first wave started at 7:00am.  There would be a few waves to go before my wave started at 7:12am, including the Men's 30-34, which Steve and our friend Colt started in right before me.  I gave Steve a big hug and a slap on the butt and sent him off to the start shoot.  He took off hard from the start and was leading the pack when I had to go get in line for the start of my wave. I lost sight of him after his group passed the first buoy, but it was time to focus on my start now. Here we go! 

The Women's 30-34 wave lined up and was in the water by 7:11am, with one minute to go.  Our wave was on the smaller side, so I took a position up front and to the outside.  The countdown started and before I knew it the bell rang and we were off!!!!  I went hard to start and I was actually out in front! Holy #$%^!! I'm really doing this!!! Then I hit the first buoy and my wind was gone.  I flipped over and backstroked enough to catch my breath, but I just couldn't get back into my groove after that. The lake was choppy and I couldn't get my head above the waves enough to get a deep breath doing a freestyle stroke, so I finished the rest of the swim with an all out backstroke (which I hadn't practiced at all!). I was discouraged and thought for sure I'd blown it. I'm pretty sure the race marshalls in the kayaks out there might have heard a few expletives as my little frustrated head bobbed along the remaining 300 yards or so. Ah well. By the time I was (finally!!) getting out of the water the Men's 35-39 wave that had started behind me was clicking at my heals.

I ran the 100 yards or so from the water to the transition station and started getting out of my wetsuit and into my bike clothes. This was transition #1.  I had worn bike pants under my wetsuit, so I just had to peel off the wetsuit, get my shoes and socks on, slip on my race shirt and snap on my helmet.  Easier said than done when you are soaking wet and panting like a dog.

I pulled myself together and wheeled myself out of the transition area.  I mounted the bike and off I went.  The bike ride was tough.  I felt like I had "on your left" written on my back as I kept hearing it yelled out behind me as what seemed like the Tour de France passed me by.  There were two wicked hills at mile 4 and mile 9 that more than tested my resolve.  The only person I passed on the bike leg was a poor lady pushing her bike up that second hill.  At some point I decided to just enjoy myself and that's when I started singing.  The only song that I could think of was Donna Summer's She Works Hard for the Money.  I got more than a few laughs and a couple thumbs up gestures as I sang away the last few miles.  Then before I knew it, I'd done the 15 miles and the bike ride was ending.  I wheeled into the transition area, remounted my bike, took a giant swig of Gatorade and then I was off for the run. That was transition #2.

The final leg!!!! The run was an out and back trail run - 3.1 miles. As I hit the trail out, Steve was running in. Yay! Go us!  My legs were jelly the first 2 miles before I finally hit my stride in the final minutes. And then I saw it...... the big balloon arch marking the finish line! I gave it everything I had left and sprinted across. I did it!! I'm a triathlete!!! Steve, having finished just a few minutes before, was right there cheering me on.  It was an awesome feeling! Hugs and high-fives all around!

The whole triathlon crew:  Annie, Steve, Ken, Brittany, Chasity & Colt.

Steve's goal was 2 hours and mine was 2 hours 30 minutes. I was amazed when the results were posted.  We blew those goals out of the water!!!

Annie
Total Time -   1:42:29
Swim -                8:17
Transition 1 -      3:49
Bike -                59:58
Transition 2 -      1:01
Run -                 29:26

Steve 
Total Time -   1:40:41
Swim -                6:59
Transition 1 -      5:24
Bike -                57:43
Transition 2 -      2:56
Run -                 27:41

And there you have it!!  Steve is already talking about improvements we can make for next time. I'm just going to relish in this accomplishment for awhile before I think about "next time."

Two Years

Two years ago today I married my best friend and happily became Mrs. Johnson.  

Happy Anniversary Hubs.

I do love you so.

I went from Phoenix Arizona all the way to Tacoma....

The hubs and I just returned from a  lovely weekend in Arizona where we celebrated Angie and Torrey's wedding.  Congratulations to Mr. & Mrs. Meyers, it was a beautiful day and we were so happy we could be there!!! 

A toast to the Bride & Groom

We even marked our territory at the Rusty Spur Saloon in honor of the two newlywed Huskies - Go Dawgs!

Welcome Everett Ian Rasmussen!

Happy Birthday to Everett!! 

Born Friday, April 5, 2013 at 1:30pm.

8 lbs. 5 oz. of beautiful baby boy.

Congratulations Quinn and Matt!!!!!

♥♥♥ Sending all my love to you and your newest family member (and Blinky too!) ♥♥♥

Happy Day!

Today is a very happy day!  One of my closest and dearest friends, Quinn, is having her baby boy.  I'm filled with joy and anticipation, and sending her ALL of my love.

I absolutely can not wait to meet the little man.  I hope that he has Quinn's compassion and sense of humor, and Matt's patience and nurture....  and if he is even half as good looking as they are, he's going to be quite the heartbreaker!

Quinn and Matt - You two are going to be amazing parents. I love you and I'm so happy for you.
 

A Very Happy Birthday to ________________________________     


to be continued.......