10-Miler Route Long Run

Boring Title, Exciting Run (sort of). If you count a bunch of hills and freezing your bum as exciting, then this run was exciting. Gayatri and I met Elizabeth and her friend, Leslie, for our long run Saturday. We started at the Rock, and ran a bulk of the EAS 10-miler course.

I have never run on Pecos before, and I was sad that it was still dark when we went through there. I like to look at the lovely houses and yards to avoid thinking about the hills I'm struggling up. I do think it was on one of those hills that I ranted, "Why did I pick this route?!"

We were pleasantly surprised to see Gazelle water at Scenic and River Road. The sun was up by then, so Gayatri could see the Bavarian Mansion (as I call it) on Scenic. Gayatri has never run on Scenic, so she hasn't had the pleasure of gawking at the homes. Elizabeth has been to a party at the Bavarian Mansion and talked of this immense and beautiful deck along the back. We all commented on the gargantuan home that has its own bridge over the road to get down to their boat dock. We debated on it being a single-family home or something else. It's ridiculously huge, and rather absurd, imo. Although, I think all gigantic homes are absurd (and I mean GIGANTIC and ABSURD).

We finished the run on the trail to get the extra 1/2 mile in. Elizabeth ran to Runtex to get more milage, while we drove over to Runtex. It was a nippy morning, and the sun felt soothing on my back during stretching. I had to dash off to get to Joshua's soccer game and then zip from there to a birthday party and rush from there home to shower and prepare for the small town wedding.

One day I want to have nothing at all to do, and I want to wake up and say, "What do you want to do today? What sounds like fun?"

Small Town, Saturday Night

I saw a lot of small towns yesterday that I had never seen before. I drove through Crawford, Texas, and saw a big sign of President and Laura Bush on the outskirts of town. Anyone ever heard of or been to Valley Mills, Texas? What about Hico (although we didn't drive through it)?

I often wonder what life is like in each little town we drive through. Would I be happy in that little town? What do folks do? I could work at David's Supermarket, which we got a big kick out of seeing in several of the towns. David's Supermarket uses those old hand-made grocer signs to advertise sales. I could send my kids to the one and only school for the town, and they'd stay there from kinder through 12th grade. I asked David what he thought about living in those small towns and he said, "oppressing." That's my positive Darling!

We drove to Glen Rose for a wedding. Actually, the wedding was in Granbury. The boys' first nanny (and Elijah's first teacher ever) got married. It was a sweet wedding in a quaint ranch setting under trees, near a lovely pond with cows mooing in the background, crickets chirping, and someone in one of the front rows farting so loud at the beginning of the ceremony that Joshua could not stop laughing throughout. Oh, I hope that fart isn't on their video.

We drove back to Austin after the reception (left about 10 or 10:30pm), and Audra had warned us to watch our speed. I had just hours earlier wondered what folks do in these small towns, and now I know what the sheriffs do. They wait inches from the 30mph sign to catch speeders. David got pulled over for going 41 about 25 meters after the 30mph sign. Joshua has been wanting one of us to get a ticket to see what it's all about. Well, his wish came true.

The sheriff was pleasant with his small town, Texas accent. He didn't write a ticket for the insurance card that was 5 days expired knowing that we probably just hadn't put the new one in the car yet. He only wrote a warning for the speeding and asked David to "slow it down." He did, however, write a ticket for David's expired driver's license. I was dumbfounded, "Don't they send notices that it's going to expire?" He asked David why he was driving with it expired, and David honestly told him he had no idea it was expired and that he hadn't received a notice. His license is a bit over a month expired. I wonder if we got a notice and it got set aside or thrown away. If so, it cost us $200.

Things like this always happen to us. Is is just us or other people, too? I really think it's just us, or at least us in over-abundance. Think good thoughts that the judge will let David off once he sees that David got his license renewed immediately. It would be nice to use that $200 for something other than supporting the small town of Walnut Springs, Texas.

How many bones in your body?

I saw my hand bones today at the Hand Doctor. Very interesting. Did you know there are 29 bones in the hand? And your wrist has 8 bones? That's just your wrist. Well, my break looks pretty scary from a certain angle, and that is the word the doc used. No wonder there's a lump sticking out of my hand.

Good news is that I don't have to wear my splint anymore. I'm healing up nicely, and the doctor was surprised I walked around with the break and didn't have any pain as he was squeezing and pinching my hand. Well, it has been over 3 weeks, ya know. And the squeezing and pinching did hurt, but he was pinching hard.

I got the feeling the doctor was flirting with me. Not overtly flirting, but I just got this feeling. E and J were there with me, and he asked some questions about them. He asked a couple questions of me that didn't really pertain to my hand break. Maybe he's always a friendly, curious fellow who looks intently into patient's eyes. Maybe I'm old and out of the loop re: flirting and someone being interested in me.

The nurses gave E and J these awesome lollipops that have a skeleton hand instead of stick (well, actually, Joshie got a skeleton leg and Elijah got the hand). The Hand Doctor shares office space with the Foot & Ankle Doctor, fyi.

So...no one scold me when I am splint-less b/c I got doctor's orders to cast it aside. LOL. Super bad pun, sorry.

400's at the track - Wednesday, 10/24. My absolute favorite workout (seriously!). It was super windy, and there was one rep that I honestly felt like I was going to get blown off the track. I didn't want to do 10 because I've been so dog-gone tired lately, but I knew Gilbert wouldn't let me get away with anything less.

We started slow (Gayatri, Sarah, Allison, and I). Actually, Allison may have started faster than us and joined up later on. I know Starr started fast and met up with us for maybe one or two.

Most of mine were around the 2:00-2:10 area with a 1:58 for my 6th, which was way too fast at that point. Benard said we were having too big of a gap between our first one (super slow) and our middle & ending ones. Gilbert always wants us to get faster as we go, and we just aren't experienced enough yet to run the exact pace each time. Well, I am better at it than I was this past Wednesday. I generally need to run them alone if I'm going to get the same time each lap.

Anyway, I completed 10 and my last one was my fastest. The last three were so hard with the wind and fatigue. At the end of each, I sort of felt loopy and wondered if a migraine was around the corner. No migraine showed up that day.

Blah, blah, blah...this is so boring.

7 miles tomorrow morning, and we are running part of the EAS 10-miler route. Gayatri wants me to run the race with her, but I dislike road races. Out of love for her, I'm considering it.

According to Elijah, there are 206 bones in the body.

I like soft

How fast can I write about the end of my week? I'm supposed to be getting myself and my kids ready for school.

Thursday the boys and I went to Fitness Life, and I ran on the treadmill for 35 minutes. I hate running on the treadmill. It seemed harder than running outside. I know everyone says the opposite, but it was harder. I also question the accuracy of the min/mile level. I was huffing and puffing on that thing. One last thing about gyms: do we really, truly need all the mirrors?

Saturday I met Gayatri (Guy-uh-tree) at 6am for our 10-mile run. We chose the trail because it's softer, and we like soft. We went in the direction of the mile markers to save the east side of the trail for daylight. The trail was soooo dark, and we both commented on how our eyeballs were straining to see. It was a pleasant run, and neither of us felt fatigued or irritable.

I pre-cut a goo b/c I can never open them. I put foil and tape around it, but it still got all over my shorts and me. I prefer Clif Blocks anyway, but I didn't have enough of those. Lessons learned...

Across from Joe's Crab Shack, near the end of our run, Gayatri says, "Is that a house or the Alamo?!" I turned to look at the structure, and yes, indeed, one would wonder if it was a house or a replica of the Alamo. Okay, so it doesn't really look exactly like the Alamo, but it's close. And when you are 9 miles into your 10-mile long run, everything is funny. We thought the house was absurd built right on the edge of the cliff on Riverside. Anyway, next time you are over there, ask yourself the same question.

This was Gayatri's first time to run the entire 10-mile loop, so excitment was in the air. Stretching was cozily warm as the sun hit my back. Gazelles were friendly and talkative (I wish I had introduced myself and vice versa). I helped Minnie with the shirts (I was SO HAPPY to see Minnie), and I met Lynne Dobson. Her family has a connection to David's family that involves a really, yummy hamburger.

Now Where Was I?

More catching up...

Yes, I fractured my hand on an apple-peeler-corer-slicer. Imagine karate chopping a metal bar, and you'll get the idea.

Last time we were here (before the broken-hand interruption), I was wooing you with a Fitness Life and 900s report. Now if that isn't excitement, I'm not sure what is.

Fitness Life (Joshism) opened last weekend, and my kids were begging to go. We skipped church (super bad!) and went to the gym. It is amazing. The kids' area is awesome, and older kids will not mind going there one bit with computers, a huge indoor playscape, and their own basketball court. I think there is an outdoor play area, too.

After dropping the boys off, David and I walked around looking at everything. I'm so excited about the pools. I will be able to swim laps regardless of the weather, and I know my kids will be happy in the kids' area. There is an indoor leisure pool with two big straw slides, a mushroom fountain, and water shoots. There were so many families there Sunday evening when David took the boys back to the pool. It was quite overwhelming.

We ended up in the cardio area. I'm not a fan of indoor gym cardio, but sometimes you do what you gotta do. I really didn't want to workout since it was a day off for me, so we rode bikes for 15 minutes. We then went to do Gilbert's core workout with medicine balls, but I couldn't catch the ball thanks to my broken hand (at this point I hadn't seen the doctor yet). So we did some crunches and "Smash It!" and other ab things.

Did you know there is a family basketball court and a cafe? It's so worth joining if you have a family. We got the boys and played some basketball (why are the goals at normal height in the family basketball area??). After hoops, we ate in the cafe, which we promised ourselves would not become a habit. Did you know you don't even need cash or a debit card b/c they can use your gym ID? How very clever of them and dangerous for the rest of us.

Monday...

900s, 2nd favorite workout. You know, I probably love Meriden more than this one, but it's been eons since we did Meriden so I have forgotten. I ran over from Runtex thinking I was behind everyone, and I ran way too fast for a warmup. Turns out, Gayatri arrived at Runtex a few minutes after me so was behind me the whole way.

The weather was really pleasant, but that sewer smell down near the pool and train track was there again. It didn't used to be there, but the past year or so of doing 900s, it's there. If you are bored at that point of your run, you can hold your breath and see what happens to your pace.

I did three at a reasonable time, faster than I wanted since it's supposed to be a "comfortable pace." A bunch of folks lined up to do a fourth even though Coach had said three, but I didn't. I needed to leave and planned to head back to Runtex. Coach starts a speech, so I end up getting a ride back with Sage Sarah after his talk is over. I think around this time is when I promised my class that I would see my doctor about my hand.

My legs felt pretty pooped on the last repeat, but overall it was a good workout. I wish I had time to run back to Runtex, but Time waits for no Mommy.

Good thing I'm left-handed

Am I the only person who walks around for two weeks with a broken hand? Am I the only person who convinces herself that it's not broken despite the intense pain, and really, who breaks their hand on an apple-peeler-corer-slicer?

Yes, I have a fracture. Yes, I finally saw the doctor only because I promised my Gazelle friends on Monday that I would. Fortunately, the break is healing in alignment. My doc wants me to see a hand specialist, but I don't really see a need for that (Zaundra, just ignore that I wrote that). I'll get one of those black hand/wrist splints, and be gentle with my hand. It's my right hand, so it hasn't been so bad. But of course, it's a right-handed world (you true lefties know exactly what I'm talking about).

It really does feel so much better than it did...

Catch-Up

I feel like I'm always trying to catch up with where I'm supposed to be ("supposed to be" being a place arbitrarily set by myself). It's a challenging semester as I've mentioned before. I love that we are an active, busy family, and yet, sometimes it really drives me bonkers. So I'm posting now about a run I did days ago. In this case, is late really better than never?

Saturday I met Gayatri at 6am at Runtex. I haven't been to Runtex that early since I stopped going to the morning class two years ago. I got to hear Gilbert's pep talk to the Marathoners. I felt like a poser there, but I did it for Gilbert. He asked me to help with the shirts at 8am.

Staley and Zaundra ran with us, and we chose the 7 mile loop on the trail. Gayatri wanted to run 8, and I was adamant to stick to the schedule to save my IT band some pain. I felt really good, and we kept our pace nice and slow. Zaundra told us to go ahead about 4 miles into the run. At Mopac, Staley and Gayatri headed down Lake Austin Blvd. to get in another mile, and I ran the last two alone.

I enjoyed this much more than I thought I would. I felt really strong, and I wanted to run these last 2 miles faster than our previous pace. The weather was gorgeous, and I can say that I forgot how nice it is to see the sun rise while running. Two weeks in a row I've had that pleasure, so there is some reward to getting up so dang early.

I didn't specifically time my 6th mile, but I know I went faster. I did time my last mile, and I was so happy to see I ran a 10:13 pace. It wasn't really much of a struggle, and that's not too far off my tempo pace. If someone would have asked me if I could run a 10 minute pace at the end of 7 miles, I would have laughed.

Selling shirts was hectic but fun. I wish I could have met all the people I sold shirts to. Pictures were fine. I've missed all the other group photos due to soccer games or being out of town, so this is the first time I'll be in the photo. Of course, David won't be in the pic as he was home with the boys, and 8am is too early for them to get downtown on a Saturday (remember your Saturday morning cartoon days?).

I'll be catching up later on our fabulous trip to Fitness Life on Sunday, and my 2nd favorite workout on Monday: 900s. Please know that my tongue is in my cheek right now. ;-)

A date I couldn't turn down

Wednesday was Tempo, my absolute favorite workout. < insert extreme sarcasm > Wednesdays are difficult for me b/c I take Elijah to piano from 3:15 - 4:15pm right next to the trail. I drive him home, change clothes, and drive right back down to the trail. I'm a very busy person, and we are a busy family. I'm away from home M,T,W evenings, and it gets old. So, some Wednesdays I just don't go to workout.

Of course, Tempo would be the perfect day to skip workout. Last tempo, I ran on my own during piano and hated it. I vowed to not run tempo alone again, and I fully intended on going to class.

Gilbert spoke to David Wednesday afternoon, and David said I would not be at class (he had heard me moan and groan about how difficult it was and how much I have to do for family, work, my class, etc.). Gilbert made a comment about it being Tempo...how convenient, right? Well, David hadn't talked to me and didn't know that I was adament about going.

I got home from piano (and traffic, yea!) a bit before 5pm. David fills me on the Gilbert phone call. I tell him I'm going to class. He then does something he has never done before. He invites me to run with him. Okay, so it was not a formal invitation, but he said, "Well, you can run with me later at the soccer fields." Whoa a minute. I just got asked out on a running date from my husband. My hubby who normally runs 4-5 minutes/mile faster than me. My husband who has run with me in the past on his "super-slow" recovery runs. My husband who is injured and slowly trying to come back. My husband who I've been worried about because he's so quiet about his injury and even more quiet about how it's affected him and his goal for a sub-3 marathon in December.

What do I do? What do I do?

I call Holmes and tell her my dilemma. I have to go to class, or Gilbert and everyone will think I skipped just because it's Tempo. I tell her all my crap I have to do, and how it's already 5:15pm and blah, blah, blah. She is so wise. I shall now call her Sage Sarah. She simply asked, "So your goal today was just to run?" Well, yes. Then she said she really didn't see a dilemma for me. One should always run with an injured spouse if they invite you on a running date. Ah, so brilliant!

So Sage Sarah goes to class with the instructions to tell Gilbert what's up with me. She ended up doing a really great tempo, btw. Go Sarah! I found out that Gayatri had a rough tempo running with blisters from her inserts she bought last week at Runtex. She finished with a really decent time anyway. And I heard today that Allison ran her same tempo time after being so sick for over a week that she had IV fluids at the hospital. I'm not so sure I'm as tough as those gals.

And me? I ran with David at the soccer fields. I warmed up with Joshua kicking the soccer ball and doing running drills with him to practice passing in front of the person running. David mapped out a mile lap around the Westcreek soccer fields, and I ran two laps. I tried to run fast on the parts where Joshua or Elijah wasn't running with us. It wasn't a tempo effort, but there were a couple of times I was pushing.

One nice thing about the evening was doing things I needed to do before 9pm, but the best part was running with David and seeing him run. True, he's going slow. It's embarrassingly slow according to him. But he's running, and he looks great. I think he plans to stick to the grass for a while longer. I still have my fantasy that he somehow is able to run his marathon in December.

Good Reads

In this installment, I share what I'm currently reading as well as a poem. If you want to play "Name that Poem" please do. I love seeing if anyone not only reads the poem but makes that extra effort to name the poet and title.


I'm reading The Elegant Universe by Brian Greene. I've had this book for a couple of years, and I've tried on and off again to read it. I generally read before bed, and this book requires much more brain activity than my pre-bedtime brain can muster. I would read and re-read the same sections trying to understand the theories (my degrees are not in Physics or Math, fyi). However, I love this theory, and we've watched the NOVA production a few times.

It was my turn to choose a book for my book club. I've thought about choosing this one in the past, but I finally did it this time around. Others reading it with me and then discussing it with me is a great motivator. I've asked David to read it with me many times. I imagine the wonderful discussions we'd have over string theory and could it work and how it works. He hasn't expressed any interest in reading it, but he did watch the NOVA shows with me.

So, if you are looking for something really great to read, I recommend this book. If you try to read it and just can't, then please do at least watch the NOVA production (which you can watch free online on the NOVA web site).

On to the poetry. Have you ever head of a Found Poem? Look for some today or tomorrow or the next day. It's fun; I promise.

Is this a poem? You decide...

When there's nowhere else to run
Is there room for one more son
If you can hold on
If you can hold on, hold on
I wanna stand up, I wanna let go
You know, you know - no you don't, you don't
I wanna shine on in the hearts of men
I wanna meaning from the back of my broken hand

Another head aches, another heart breaks
I'm so much older than I can take
And my affection, well it comes and goes
I need direction to perfection, no no no no

Help me out
Yeah, you know you got to help me out
Yeah, oh don't you put me on the back burner
You know you got to help me out

And when there's nowhere else to run
Is there room for one more son
These changes ain't changing me
The gold-hearted boy I used to be

Yeah, you know you got to help me out
Yeah, oh don't you put me on the back burner
You know you got to help me out
You're gonna bring yourself down
Yeah, you're gonna bring yourself down

I got soul, but I'm not a soldier

Over and in, last call for sin
While everyone's lost, the battle is won
With all these things that I've done

Elijah's Title: Running, Trekkies

I'm going to do the MS150 next April. Sarah (aka, Holmes) did it last April and really enjoyed it. I can't even really imagine riding all day (literally) and then getting on the bike again the next morning and riding again all day. I better start imagining it though because that will be me next April. David said it can be my anniversary and birthday present. Nice. I have to fund raise at least $400, so don't be surprised if I hit you up in a few months.

Saturday long run: 9 miles. I did it. It was fine. Staley ran with me and Gayatri. He brought a pleasant change from the usual girl chatter, and he made sure to point out at least two dead animals on the road (thanks, Staley!). He was also a good cheerleader for us and kept us going a few times. This was a "short" run for him, so it didn't seem to phase him at all. It really didn't phase us either though, except the hills on Enfield. He left us with about 1.5 miles to go, which I'm happy about. I think we held him back most of the way.

We did succeed in starting out slow. I'm happy overall with the run. My legs were aching the last couple of miles, and my feet were really not comfortable. After the run, I simply had to take my run shirt and bra off. Some t-back bras are so uncomfortable and cause pain in my shoulders and back. I won't get started on my bra rant. (I know, save your applause)

After stretching Gayatri and I went to Runtex for new shoes. It's been a few weeks that I've needed new shoes, and I felt it on this run. Gayatri ended up with no shoes. :-( She'll get 'em though when Gilbert or Benard can help her choose between a couple of pairs.

My boys are healthy again. David's been biking, swimming and aqua-jogging. He's tight-lipped about the status of his leg/shin. My hand still hurts, but it's feeling better (I can actually type without wincing). We are going to have Family Movie Night, and I hope my kids will sit through Trekkies. David and I saw that documentary years ago, and we laughed and laughed. I do love Star Trek so much, but not nearly as much as those folks featured in the movie.

Coming soon...

to a blog near you: Attack of the Apple-Peeler-Corer-Slicer! It's a must-read account of an accident-prone runner and a high quality kitchen gadget. The dangerous APCS is a vicious machine aimed at maiming anyone not paying 100% attention to what she is doing. It can core! It can slice! It can peel fruit skins in one long ribbon! It has sharp prongs that can puncture even the hardest membrane! Read on, if you dare...

I was giddy about my lesson plan this week: apples. So many ideas and activities to do with 3-year-olds and apples. Wednesday I planned to make applesauce. I pulled out my good ol' apple-peeler-corer-slicer from the cabinet and dusted it off. How fun this will be! The kids can take turn peeling and slicing apples. I can teach science and target their gross motor skills in one lesson.

All is going well, and the kids are fascinated with the peeling and slicing. They are eating the peels and lauging at how long some of the peels can be. They are sweet and patient while waiting their turn to crank the handle and peel/slice/core an apple.

I put an apple on the prong, and the apple stops before it's supposed to. My hand keeps going, and all I feel is intense pain. Twenty eyes are watching me, and twenty ears are listening to every breath I take. I want to scream. I want to cuss. Instead, I grab my hand and say rather softly and pathetically, "I think I just broke my finger." It hurt so bad. The kids don't care. They want to have their turn on the apple machine.

Luckily for me, another teacher came in and was able to get me an ice pack. I got to hold it on for a good 20 seconds before the kids starting rioting for more apple peels. No rest for a wounded preschool teacher. We finished up the apples, and all the kids were happy. I was not happy. My hand throbbed. I realized that it wasn't my fingers but my outer palm and back of my hand near my pinky that were hurt. My hand was swollen and starting to bruise.

The applesauce turned out delicious. You should all make some at home. You might never eat store-bought again. Everyone asks how I hurt my hand. Who hurts their hand so badly on an apple-peeler-corer-slicer?

I scheduled a doctor appointment after barely bumping my hand against the car door (intense pain). I canceled the doctor appointment Thursday morning when I realized that even if it somehow was fracture or something was pulled badly, all they would do is tell me to ice it, take ibuprofen, and wear some sort of ace bandage or hand/wrist cast.

I went to Gazelles' class Wednesday night for 700s. I wondered how my hand would feel running - if bouncing would hurt. I warmed up with Barb, and if I held my hand at an odd (but not awkward) angle, then it didn't hurt. I did five 700s in a sort of ladder: fast, less fast, least fast, less fast, fastest. That wasn't the plan, but that's how it came out. I was happy with my times and effort. I was happy to see Kerri and Guy. It feels like I haven't seen them in forever. I was really happy to see Sarah show up after she sat in traffic for an hour. Good job, Holmes, for not turning around and going back home *and* for running so fast on your last 700. :o)

Tomorrow is a 9 mile long run. My hand still hurts something awful, but it's not as bad as Wednesday or yesterday. I haven't run 9 miles since February 2006. It will definitely be interesting to see how I do after being sick, having sick kids, and having a very, very serious hand injury. ;)

Survivorfam

Have you ever seen Survivorman or Man vs. Wild?

Well, we did it. We survived our first Cub Scouts camp-out, and it actually wasn't half-bad if you don't pay attention to the comedy of errors.

We left later than planned because we weren't packed and waited until the last minute to get all supplies (very Familyvance of us). Thankfully, Pat Legate loaned us some much-needed camp equipment such as self-inflating mattresses, cool headband lamps, small tables, and some silky-soft sleeping bags. The drive took longer than the hour that was advertised, but we made it there. However, we didn't make it there in time for Elijah to participate in the games, which was a disappointment to him. He took it like a champ though and was happy just to be there.

David and Elijah set the tent up like pros. We shared a pad with another family from our den, actually the Den Leader and his son. We had a two-person tent, 7x7, which surely would fit us. It did fit us, but I see now why it might be better to not have a family of 4 in a 2-person tent.

The boys were giddy and played in the tents. Our Den Leader brought a small grill, and we started hot dogs. Within 20 minutes, it started raining. It rained enough to create mud and wet the chairs and the bottoms of the tent where the rain tarp didn't protect it. Naturally, I had spread the bedding out and the pillows were right against the tent side. So two pillows got wet. Guess whose? Mine and David's of course. Better ours than the boys, if you want to minimize whining.

We took a hike to another section of the park where others from our pack were camping. Fortunately, it had stopped raining, and we enjoyed a nice s'more-making session and sing-a-long with the pack. Yawns all around, and we walked back to our camp in the lovely starlight. Elijah says, "It was about a mile walk."

Now comes the fun part - sleeping in the tent. I guess I did actually fall asleep after listening to the women in the camp next to us talk about Clue in detail. I don't know if they were playing the game or just talking about how to play the game, but when I say, "in detail," I mean IN DETAIL! David and I woke up on and off and shifted and turned. The boys seem to sleep fine, and they have no problem spreading out. About 3:15am, David gets up and moves to the van to sleep. Elijah seems feverish, and we wonder if he's come down with Joshua's illness from earlier in the week.

Morning dawns, and we've survived camping. I get out to head to the restrooms (there were very decent restrooms and showers very near our campsite). I try to unlock the van by sticking my arm through the window crack (see, I'm trying not to wake David up). Instead, I set the panic system off and wake up anyone left asleep in a 1/2-mile radius. We try to turn it off, but we can't. I lost the clicker a few weeks back, and a few years back David lost the other clicker. So we have no panic button to push on our clicker. We put the keys in the ignition, turn the car on, push all sorts of interior buttons, and finally David disconnects the battery. Phew.

David spends much of the morning trying to get the panic system to disarm. We still don't know why putting the key in and starting it did not work as it says in the manual that it "will shut off when key is inserted and turned to position 2." No matter what he tries, when he connects the battery, the horn and lights start up again.

So, we leave the battery disconnected and head down to the river for some swimming and stone throwing and skipping. The boys really enjoyed the water, and David proved himself to be the master stone-skipper and thrower by throwing rocks into cracks and crevices along the limestone wall across the river. I skipped a rock 4 times, which I think is a record for me. True, that's not much, but I never said I was a master stone skipper.

We are stuck with the panic-mode dilemma. We have to drive home, so I suppose we are going to drive with the horn beeping and lights flashing. This stuff always happens to us. Of course, I was going to buy a new keyless entry remote online a few weeks ago, and I didn't for some reason. Of course, this has to happen to us when we are at a Cub Scout camp out on a Sunday when Honda won't answer their 800 number.

But David isn't just smart; he's brilliant. He disconnected the horn fuse, so at least the horn stopped blaring. The lights are flashing, but oh well. David and I agreed the car is possessed. For the drive home, the panic-mode would come on anytime the car was started, stopped, or any door was opened. It would be in panic-mode for 30 seconds and then stop.

It wasn't until I unlocked the car from the passenger side at Joshua's Sunday afternoon T-ball game that the car stopped its panicking. I'm not sure why it decided to stop then, but unlocking with the key from the passenger side unlocks all the locks at once which may be what did the trick. Who knows. David said he tried that earlier while still at the camp site.

Elijah did end up with a fever and is sick. I think the boy willed himself to stay well enough to last through the camping trip. We stuck to our word of taking him camping this time, and he had a wonderful time. One day, he'll be in Boy Scouts, and I suppose then they actually camp out in places where you must build your own fire from scratch and dig your own latrine. I'll be sure to skip that camp out. ;o)