Diva Premeire: King Arthur's Quest

Yesterday was Leah's premiere in the world of theatre in a presentation of King Arthur's Quest at Mary Woodward elementary school.

The play was well produced with cool costumes and it was amazing how well prepared the kids were with only a week of practice. Hosted by the Missoula Children's Theatre, a traveling non-profit that has a mission: The development of life skills in children through participation in the performing arts.

Leah was one of the Camelotians (a citizen of Camelot), specifically a hard working baker. She particularily liked the boogie dragon music production. Ask her about it!

2009 Jog-a-Thon

Both Cole and Leah participated in their schools annual Jog-A-Thon on Friday October 2nd. Trisha and I volunteered and I got to still run with both kids. Cole hesitated when I asked if he wanted me to run with him...he is starting to worry about the cool factor ;-)

Cole and Leah did amazing with Cole running 24 laps (@ 3 miles) and Leah completing 27 laps. Cole had some gut cramps that slowed him down (too much water) but was good at keeping on moving even if he had a grimace on his face ;-)

The rain held off to just as the last group of kids finished their running and we finished taking down the temporary track field. Nice!

Tigard Youth Track Home Meet

Back on May 2nd, Cole and Leah competed in their second track meet of the year.

This was the home meet for our Tigard Youth track club at the local high school.

Both raced in the 800 racewalk and then two sprints: 100 and the 400.
I was bursting with pride with all the results and the efforts that they did out on the track.

We called it a day after these 3 events and MAN were we glad we did. Just as we were leaving the wind and rain reached close to hurricane levels and ended the meet.

We are excited to hit the last meet of the year for us on June 13th in Salem.

Cole and Leah have worked really hard this year and it is cool to see them learning how to dig deep and enjoy the personal satisfaction of giving it all they got!

Day around Mt Hood: Tubing at Summit Ski Area

Last Thursday I took a day off work and joined Cole, Brian Wiggs and his boys, Jon Knapp and Michael Miller from the Micah Project for a day of fun in the sun up on Mt Hood.

After spending a bit too much time driving around the mountain looking for the best tubing (most of the hills were unfortunately closed :-( ) we made it back to Summit Ski Area and some tubing.

The driving around was not a waste however. We got to spend time talking and experiencing some of the breath taking views around Mt Hood. The pictures hardly do it justice.

The tubing was fun and the temperature was unseasonably warm. Once the snow warmed up the tubing got pretty slow so we decided to hit the van again.

We took Michael up to see Timberline Lodge and more great views of the mountain. Reminded me of the PCT 50 run last July...there was almost more snow up on the mountain then.

Then we jumped back in the van and headed to Calamity Janes in Sandy for a early dinner. Now on my boot camp program pretty much nothing fit my fueling plan. And the item Cole picked, hot fudge and marshmallow hamburger, will likely never be part of my diet. Cole loved it, snarfed it all down with the only comment being the fudge and marshmallows did not go well with his fries!!

Family, friends, fun and food...good day!

Christmas Eve Church Service 2008

With the history setting winter weather we have had in Portland this past week most, if not all, Christmas Eve church services were canceled.

Not to be deterred, Cole planned a Swanson family service complete with home made program.

He designated himself as the "priest" and piano player with Leah as the special music and assistant. Trisha and Grandma provided the catering. Apparently I was the silent benefactor :-)

We opened with Christmas carols with Cole and Leah doing the piano accompaniment.

Cole then read the Christmas story from the Gospel of Luke.

This was followed by candle lighting and prayer time to remember those in need and to thank God for all the wonderful things in our lives.

The service wrapped up with chocolates and cookies provided for all the parishioners and service participants.


Merry Christmas to all from the Swansons!

Gymnastics 2008

Leah took part in a four event gymnastics exhibition today: uneven bars, trampoline, floor and balance beam. She did a great job and her hard work really showed in her focus and execution.

2008 Christmas Tree

We had a break in the weather today where it was warm and almost sunny. Since I am away next weekend racing down in Sacramento for the CIM, we headed to the tree farm to harvest the family tree for 2008.

We have gone to the same place for the last 3 years: Vandermost Christmas Tree farm on SW Vandermost Road off of Scholls Ferry. You can cut down any tree on the acreage for $25. Small or large.

We tend to go large and have been happy with the 2 past years trees.

This year I made sure to pick a handsaw that was sharp. So once we had hiked through the "forest" and found our tree, the work of cutting it down was vastly easier than last year.

So with little incident, the beautiful tree was loaded on the car, driven home and is now waiting to be decorated in the front room.

Thanksgiving Running: Give 'n Gobble 5 km

We generally try to do a race Thanksgiving morning ever since moving to the United States in 1999. The weather in Portland has generally been warmer than Minneapolis for running on turkey day.

This year we ran the Give 'n Gobble 5km in Sherwood, Or. A map of the course can be found here.

I raced the 5km as my last speed work leading up the California International marathon on December 7th.
I ran OK posting a 19:05 (6:08 minutes per mile).
1st in my age group and 7th overall.
The legs felt good. I just could not quite find a groove with the course. A little climbing and such in the first 2 miles and then about 1 mile of paved trail running. The trail is fun but not conducive to really fast times with some really tight corners that I ran tentative with the moss and frost. I know, excuses, excuses :-)

I then back-tracked to find Trisha and the kids and ran in with them for about the last mile. Cole's ears where cold as it was about 33 F but the sun was out. Leah was dragging when I met them but boy did she pick it up on the downhills. They did great keeping moving by alternating running and walking. Pushing to the finish, they finished their first 5 km race in 41 minutes (13:11 minutes per mile).

It was great to see our friends from church out doing the 10 km: Jon Lindsey, Jason and Jennifer. I went back again for more cool down to run in with Jon for the last 3/4 mile. Maybe next year we will move up to the big race as well :-)

The race was well organized with the route marked extremely well. Russ Zornick was doing the timing so I would expect the results to be up here soon (possibly as early as tonight). (UPDATE: results are up here and WOW...the race had 702 people running the 5 km!)

Happy Thanksgiving. Boy are we blessed!
Now off to EAT!

Florida Sandcastles

Our family spends a lot of time on the beach when we go to Indian Rocks, Florida. We keep busy building creations in the sand. Everything from plain piles of sand to snapping turtles to standard castles.

Some of us are the designers and the diggers, some the sculptors and others the supervisors, critics and admirers.

These are our creations for Florida 2008.

We imagined.
Then we enjoyed building and playing with the sand.

We also made sure to run around laughing as the sea reclaimed the sand we had borrowed.

Halloween 2008: Candy!

We are back from the annual candy grab.

The weather cooperated with it being warm and dry with no wind.

Cole dressed up as a "50s" guy and Leah was Princess Leia...easy, simple and mobile.

Tomorrow we are off for our annual migration south to Florida...reading, running and sleeping on the beach...wahoo!

Trisha and I are even planning to squeeze in a 5 km race: Richards Run For Life 5km :-)

2008 Jog-a-Thon

It was the annual Jog-a-thon for the kid's school today. The kids collect pledges for the number of laps they are going to run and then the school collects the pledges to bolster their budget. The kids have fun, the school gets money: everyone wins!

Both Trisha and I were able to be there to volunteer for the 30 minute segments that Cole and Leah ran with their classes.

Cole was up first at 10:50 am.
He ran the entire 30 minutes with no walk breaks. My running heart was bursting out of my chest with pride as he dug deep and completed 27 laps of the loop on the sports field of the school. This was 3 more laps than last year so a great PR. It was cool for me that he still wants me to run all the way with him...and that at least for another year I can keep up with him :-)

Leah's run started at 1:20 pm. She did great completing 25 laps...1 more than last year...PR!. Leah was laughing and dancing in the rain for part of it, and then doing hurdles over the course cones down the back part of the track. It was great to do all of the laps with her and end walking hand and hand to the finish line.

Both kids did great with their pacing as it is sooo hard not to go out too fast for the first lap. They really have learned that it is easier to run a steady pace for the whole time.

Great event completed for another year. Now if only we could talk the school into doing this every month!

Hanging with the Family

This past weekend we finally synchronized our schedules to enable a visit with my brother and sister-in-law David and Nicole. Making the most of our time together we did special events as well as just kicking our normal schedule.

On Friday we all played hookie for the afternoon and headed to OMSI. We got there around 1 pm and spent a great 4 hours playing, reading, asking questions and experimenting throughout the science museum.

All that fun learning and science really builds an appetite so we headed off to a pasta feast at the Old Spaghetti Factory.

Saturday morning was started with Leah's soccer game at 8:30. She played really well and even showed off to her aunt and uncle by scoring 2 goals!
Dave and I got out for a neighborhood run. He has really been kicking in the training and it was great to see how much stronger he was on the hills and overall speed.
Cole had an afternoon soccer match. For the second week in a row his team was out played in the first half. Then in the second half with superior fitness and better teamwork, Cole's team worked hard to tie it all up in the last couple of minutes.

After a great dinner whipped up by Trisha and Nicole, the boys took the kids swimming at Tigard Aquatic Center while the girls hit the movies.

Sunday, Dave and Nicole enabled Trisha and I to hit the trail together in Forest Park. It was a great morning run getting some great exercise and couple time in. A nasty hill climb up Firelane One...try it, you will like it!
Dave got his run in as well by heading out for a neighborhood loop with the kids on the bike.

We then all showered up and headed to church for another great sermon in the study of I Corinthians. Another week of "mature content" this time dealing with divorce. This follows the previous week and potentially most downloaded podcast in our church history: Finding Sexual Fulfillment in Marriage :-)

Trisha then headed to Coffee Creek Correctional Facility for the Race for the Cure event she coordinated. I am buggin' her to write up a blog post on this amazing opportunity that she has used to help mentor inmates.

We headed to Elmer's for lunch. The food was good, the service was terribly slow :-(
The weather took a turn for the worse in the afternoon so we settled on a pickup game of soccer out in the cultesac. Some time was spent watching the downpours pound the field.

Full weekend and a great visit that we need to do more often!

Sunset Bay

On the labor day long weekend we ended the summer camping with the Mavros at Sunset Bay state park. In every dimension it was a great trip!

Friday Aug 29
The trip started by leaving Tigard around 3 pm. We had great traffic, Fresco style dinner at Taco Bell, with arrival at the campground around 8 pm. We set up in the fading light and settled in for good conversation and stories around the campfire.
We had sites A34 and A35 These are both nice with lots of space and close enough to the bathrooms and showers without having neighbors looking right into your windows.

Saturday Aug 30
Trisha started the day out right with a run on the Oregon Coast trail heading south from the campground to the Shore Acres garden...with a few unplanned detours due to lack of great signage on the trail ;-)

Then it was time to head to the beach. Initially it was just plain cold and windy like most Oregon beach days. Then we did some scouting. Down at the north end of Sunset Bay we found a little piece of beach heaven. Sheltered from the wind and the waves, this stretch of sand was calm, quiet and HOT. We staked our claim and kept coming back each subsequent day.

The evening was filled with the roar of engines and failing u-joints: the Coos Bay Speedway mud drag races.
It got cold but the cool trucks kept the adrenaline pumpin' No one can claim we don't try to be well rounded after attending this event. "Back woods culture" that we all enjoyed :-)
Check out the movies at this link for a taste of the action.

Sunday Aug 31
Our family made breakfast for the group with pancakes, bacon, and eggs. During breakfast we got caught with a sudden rain squall. It quickly passed and the sun began to peak out.

The Mavros headed to check out Bandon Dunes golf course. Apparently this is were golfers go when they die :-)

We headed out for a 2 mile hike to the Shore Acres Gardens. These gardens are part of the amazing history of this area all centered on the Simpson family. They are now a park with free access and definitely worth a visit with nice a pond, rose and dahlia gardens. We only got off the main trail once...but noticed when the greenery started closing in :-)

The weather just kept improving into the afternoon so we headed back to the beach.
Sand sculpture time! We worked on a whale and volcano and just plain digging in the sand. Nice!

I went out for a 7 mile leg stretcher starting at 6:30 pm from the campground to Simpson Reef. This section of the Oregon Coast trail was great for running, mostly flat with little hills for the down and ups of the inlets. This is my first run where I have seen marine mammals on en route: 8 harbor seals pulled upon the rocks for the low tide. Beautiful run that I did not want to end but I had promised to be back for supper...and I was hungry!
Then an evening of great food and campfire stories with the families.
At the end of the evening on our way back from showers Trisha and I heard a splash in the stream. With the flashlight we were able to pick out a large and small beaver making their way down the creek. Very cool.

Monday Sept 1
We set the alarms and headed out early to make the morning low tide. We met at Cape Arago state park to have a park ranger guide us through the tidal zones down near the cape headland. We spent about 2 hours exploring the different zones finding starfish, anemones, gumboot chitons and sea urchins. On the way back we took a close look at a sea lion that had washed up on the shore. Let's just say that the only movement was zealous twitching of the maggots doing their cleanup duty. The kids were enthralled :-)

A short half mile drive and we jumped out of the car at Simpson Reef to find a local sea awareness society setup with field scopes to view the sea lions and harbor seals. We took about 45 minutes watching the animals that are mostly transients headed between California and Alaska.

Back at the campsite to head out for more beach time. The kids worked on volcanoes and rounding up all the sand shrimp on the beach. Leah, Hallie and I spent some time working on the sand sculpture for the day: an octopus.

After dinner and seeing the Mavros on their way, we hung out and told stories. Then the kids started to terrorize the termites that were taking flight from the rotten log at the back of the camp.
Later after s'mores and banana boats, we headed to brush our teeth and once again had the good fortune of seeing the resident beavers. This time they let us watch with the flashlight as they snacked away on the blackberry leaves.

Tuesday, Sept 2
After both Trisha and I completed our morning runs on the trail, we finished packing up the campsite by a less than early 2 pm :-) Nothing left to do but head for a final trip to the beach!
Sadness ensued when we loaded into the car at 4 pm to head back to Portland.

An awesome trip that we are sure to repeat!

Nehalem Bay 2008

This past weekend was our church's annual family camping event out at Nehalem Bay near Manzanita, Oregon.

Unfortunately, unlike last year, the weather this year was cold and foggy with even some rain. On Saturday I do not think the temperature peaked above 60 F. This did little to dampen the fun as we just got to spend more time eating and hanging out near the campfire to staying warm. It did preclude building any of the traditional sandcastles as it was just too cold and misty out near the surf.

We arrived Friday night after work and settled in with the Rouses in F41. This was a nice sized site backing onto shore pines leading to the ocean.
Trisha and Chris did a beach run Saturday morning while I got out for about 1 hour along the beach near noon. The best weather was while I was out running with the kids hanging out diggin' holes in the sand and running in the dunes.
Then it just got colder and we headed back to the campfire.
Saturday night we had a campsite church service to ensure we did not get rained out. This was a good choice as Sunday morning dawned a little warmer but with thunder and rain. So we packed up and headed home in the early afternoon.

Bummer with no sun but great time hanging out and catching up with friends.