Earle Reunion

I know these pictures are overdue, but I thought I would post them anyways. The weekend of August 16 & 17 the Earle extended family got together. Well, just the immediate one - Tom`s family and his sister`s family.

Saturday we gathered for lunch before the haying crew left. We ate supper in shifts to accommodate the haying. It worked quite well.

I couldn`t resist taking this picture. Granny was so excited that her family was all going to be together for the weekend. She spent many precious moments with her great-grandchildren.

These balls were the entertainment for the weekend it seemed. Lane and Damon are just vegging out in the shade with the rest of us. Thank goodness we don`t work on Sundays - we were able to enjoy every bodies company.

Granny enjoyed walking Nathan around. He isn`t walking on his own yet, but give him two fingers and he walks faster than you.

Sadie got a little thirsty, so she helped herself to Ruth`s water.

Sunday afternoon Jesse and Uncle Greg took on Jesse and Uncle Tim to a game of soccer. The rest of us were too lazy to play so we lined the sidelines and cheered them on.

YA-HA-TINDA

After my triathlon, we headed west of Sundre with Ryan, Lani & Whitney to the Ya-ha-tinda. It is the bumpiest road I have ever been on but a beautiful drive all the same.
We walked up to Big Horn Falls for a short visit before Whitney declared rather loudly that she was ready to be fed.
Here are Lani, Whitney, and Ryan. Whitney wasn`t too sure of her backpack. But we realized once we got there it was cuz she was hungry.

A little bit further

Well, I found another triathlon to compete in this year. It was hard to find ones that were relatively close and not on a Saturday. Saturdays are meant for haying if the weather is good so I couldn`t commit myself to a Saturday tri. My hairdresser actually mentioned that there is one in Sundre. So I checked it out and it was on a Sunday.

I could not have asked for a better day. There was no wind and about 18 degrees out. The Vulcan Tinman that I usually do in June is 20 lengths, 15 km bike, and 5 km run. This was a little further with 30 lengths, 20 km bike, and 5 km run. I was really nervous going into it cuz I felt I hadn`t trained enough for the extra distance. My swim went great but my transition to the bike is what hurt me. I was one of the first out of the pool but had 3 or 4 people pass me cuz they were faster in the transition. Oh well. The bike was a beautiful ride but really really hilly. Then came the run up snake hill and my legs had almost had enough. But I finished it in 1:35. I am pleased with that.

I couldn`t have done it without Tim though. It was really nice to have him there when I got out of the pool, off the bike, and at the finish line. The only time he really can watch me is in the pool (12 min). So for the rest of the time he just hung out watching others go through. I asked him to get a picture of me at the finish line but the batteries went dead when he took the picture. Oh well, I got one to prove I did it. Tim commented that he felt rather lazy watching me come in and out of the transitions. But he can`t swim - he just sinks. Next year I think we will try a team one so I can swim and run and he can bike. We`ll see.

One great thing is I got to catch up a little with my university roommates` husband. We haven`t seen them in about a year. Tyler was doing the Tri-It Triathlon (12 lengths, 5 km bike, 2 km run) with a friend so Melissa and the kids weren`t there. But it is nice to catch up a little in person rather than on facebook.