Hugs and kisses, too!

Caroline is the sweetest little girl in the world. She has always given such good hugs, even though Ginger might beg to differ. I think she is still skeptical from the hair pulling. For months now (not sure how many but it has been a while), if she was holding a doll or stuffed animal, we would say, "love your baby" and she would hold it so sweet and sway with it so sweetly. Well, recently, she topped the cake. She gives little kisses on the cheek now (she also kissed my knee the other day in the kitchen when I was doing dishes). So sweet!

Oxford Endurance Weekend

Last weekend, Jeff competed in the cycling portion of Oxford Endurance Weekend. There were three cycling events: 8:30 a.m. Saturday--Race of Truth Time Trial (13 miles), followed by the Plein Air Classic (22 mile road race) at 1:00 p.m. On Sunday at 9:05 a.m., the event concluded with the Oxford Square Criterium.

That's Jeff in the middle, waiting for the time trial to start. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the time trial, it is a race against the clock. Here, each competitor starts individually in 30 second intervals.


Still waiting, but ready to go!


Caroline conducted official business while we waited on Jeff to complete the time trial.

I was unable to get any pictures from the road race. Caroline was finishing her nap as it started but we were able to see Jeff right after he finished. It's a good thing we didn't go for the race because, according to my phone, it was 102 and it said "feels like 126" which I assume meant that was the heat index! In case you don't get the idea, it was extremely hot!!!


Jeff racing in the criterium in Downtown Oxford. This race lasted for 30 minutes and consisted of laps around a part of downtown and the square.

Here's another shot of Jeff in the criterium. He had a strong race and was able to separate himself from many of the other competitors.

Overall Results:

Jeff finished 6th in the time trial, 13th in the road race, and 4th in the criterium. Points are awarded according to your finish in each race. Among those competing in all three events (the Omnium), Jeff won 3rd place overall. Also, the top 3 overall in the Category 5 Omnium were all from Tupelo: Adam Morris finished 1st, Josh Westmoreland finished 2nd, and Jeff was 3rd.

Caroline's 15-month checkup

Caroline went to the pediatrician on Tuesday for her 15-month checkup. We had a 9:00 appointment and I thought we wouldn't have to wait much and we would be out of there quickly. We actually got there a little early and there was no one in the waiting room. Wow, can you believe that? We waited and Caroline played and ran around until her name was called at 9:15. I undressed her and got her weighed and measured right after getting to her room (she weighed 19 lb. 14 oz. and was 31 in. long). Then we waited...and waited. Dr. Nikki was making rounds at the hospital and we didn't see her until 9:55. Needless to say, Caroline got restless waiting in her room. I did my best to keep her entertained. She drank lots of milk and ate Cheerios, we played Peekaboo with her blanket, and I sang to her and danced with her. She was good for Dr. Nikki, but she was ready to go. Then, it seemed like we waited forever again for the nurse to come in with her shots. Then, she screamed, of course and then we finally left at 10:35. Thank goodness this is her last set of shots until she starts school.

Weekend in Memphis with Friends

We went to Memphis for the triathlon and to see some friends of ours. We stayed with one of my best friends from college and her husband and two dogs. Thank you so much Leland and Joseph for letting us stay with you! We had so much fun and stayed up late talking, catching up, and reminiscing. Ginger even got to go, too. Ginger has never been to someone's house where she was treated like a princess and the dogs that lived there were treated like the step-children. It was so funny. Ginger got to stay in the main part of the house wherever we were, and their dogs either stayed outside or in their bedroom.

Sharpshooter Super Sprint Triathlon

This past weekend, Jeff and his good friend/training buddy Adam Morris competed in the 2nd Annual Sharpshooter Super Sprint Triathlon in Memphis. It was a 400 meter swim at Herb Parsons Lake, followed by an 11 mile road bike ride, and then a 2 mile trail run. Jeff finished 3rd in his age group and 36th overall with a total time of 1:01:38. Adam won his age group and finished 8th overall with a total time of 53:31. Way to go guys!

Are we ready? Getting psyched up before the race.


Jeff getting final encouragements from Caroline


...and off on the bike

...and we're done.

Our two winners from Tupelo! Congrats guys! Their trophy is a pewter belt buckle (very unique, going with the Sharpshooter name).