More Happy Birthday Keira and Triceratops Tri

******Pictures will be added later!****************
The moving, birthday, and triathlon whirlwind continues this week!  This week and last have been really stressful, but we are so grateful for the opportunity to have our condo sold this way that we can not complain.  It is such a blessing, and we are so happy, even though it has kept us very busy.

Monday was a huge day for Keira.  Instead of classtime today, her school had the Barnyard Express show come, and all the morning preschool classes plus their families attended.  It was a very entertaining show and both Keira and Soren had fun.  I was really glad that we celebrated Keira's birthday at school before we left, because with the show today, she would not have been able to do it today.  This was a very fun birthday experience, though.  Hopefully Keira doesn't get used to the farm coming to school on her birthday!

After school, we went home so Soren could take a nap and we could make the final preparations for Keira's party with her friends.  We had her party at the Novi Sports Park.  I did not rent the pavillion, so I was a little nervous about the availability of it, but it was not in use when we got there, yea!  We had a very nice family help me unload the car, since Ryan was working in Windsor today and was not available early for set up.  I had ordered the pizza from my friend and TIA teammate, Mark from Aleko's in South Lyon, as well as a TON of breadsticks.  Kris and Linda were able to come again, as well as many of Keira's friends.  It was great to get together with them again before we move.  She was invited to several birthday parties this year from her classmates as well as from church, so she really wanted to do the same for her birthday.  It was a long day, but so much fun.

On Tuesday, Ryan had to return to KY.  We got up early to hit the gym for a quick swim and then headed to Fuerst park for a puppet show.  We ran into Sophie from Keira's class, and the girls enjoyed the show.  Soren had a little trouble paying attention since it was hot and they were giving away bubbles.  It was a cute story about Jojo and the magic pearl.  The bouncy slide from pump it up wasn't working, so we left right after the puppet show. 

We made a quick run down to REI to exchange some Keens's we ordered for Keira for her birthday.  She had been wearing her 7s, so we ordered her 8s, but by the time her birthday rolled around, she needed 9s.  She really had a growth spurt in her feet.  The kids were hungry, so we had some carbo loading at Noodles (since we usually go there after REI on Fridays).  With my race tomorrow, Noodles seemed like a good idea to me once the kids started asking for it.  We went home so Soren could take a nap, and then went out to pick up my packet for the tri that evening.  I did decide to do the "elite" wave, since I had qualified and I didn't know anyone else in my actual wave.  I also was told that I would not get disqualified if I had a bad day and didn't requalify.

That evening, Ryan had an appointment today to look at a couple homes.  Over the weekend, a new home in the neighborhood was listed, and I wanted Ryan to see it, as well as our favorite from our househunting trip to compare.  We decided that the home that both of us had seen was still our favorite, and moved forward with making an offer on it.  The other one was very similar, but had too many rooms that required repainting, floors in need of repair, and a smaller yard due to a rear entry garage.

Wednesday was a very packed day.  It was Keira's last day of school, and I did not need to work out with my race coming up in the evening.  It was an emotional last day for the moms more than the kids.  We spent some time saying our goodbyes afterwards and getting pictures. 

We grabbed a quick lunch at McDonalds after school.  We saw Summer, who left before we could get an all girls picture from school.

Keira had a dr's appointment this afternoon, so we headed straight over there from McDonalds.  Thankfully, Keira did not need any shots and the visit went relatively quickly.  On our way back, we stopped at New Balance to pick up my 70.3 magnet I had ordered.  I really HAD to have it before my sprint tri this evening.  I had already put a sticker on my car, but needed the magnet for the truck.  It came just in time!   I was hoping to put Soren down for a nap, but didn't get back in time.  My mom arrived a few minutes after we did, and at this point, it was just easier to have him stay up.  The weather was not terribly warm today, and it looked like rain, so my mom opted to keep the kids at home instead of coming with me or meeting me there.  It was nice to get an early start to the race.  I think this was the frist tri I have ever done that I have not felt rushed before the race until right before the start.  I waited until the last possible minute to put on my wetsuit, and it felt like it took forever to put on, even though it was only a minute.  I was running around snapping pictures before the race, having a good relaxed time.  It was great to be racing with so many friends.  I was pleased with how I did.  The swim went OK, and the bike felt very good.  I had a great run, and overall, I had a PR by 4 seconds.  I really need to do better on the swim, and I can improve on the bike too.  I was very happy with my run, and would love to improve that, but it will take the most effort I think.  I finished with a time of 1:21:38.  I was glad I started elite, and as long as that time is still OK for the elite wave, I will continue to start in it.  Cristina was the overal female winner.  It was a great end to a very busy day.  I felt aweful when I got home, though.  I had been feeling like I was coming down with something the day before, and I think the tri did me in.

Thursday was a tough day.  We had a plumber appointment as well as an appointment with the movers to assess our things.  I also had to do a few other undesirable jobs around the house before our upcoming inspection.  I was really dreading these things, and actually had trouble sleeping on Tuesday night thinking about them.  I was glad my mom was there while I took care of some cleaning in our basement as well as peeking in the attic.  I had intended to go in there, but did not have the proper ladder.  After that, Keira and I had dentist appointments.  Those went well, and Soren was very well behaved considering he didn't have anyone to watch him during the appointment and he just hung out in the halway.  When we got back home, I hurried and packed up and cleaned.  The house needed to be show ready for the inspection, and I needed to be packed for our vacation as well.  It took a lot longer than it should because Soren did find his way into trouble a bit.  Finally, we got on the road.  The drive was uneventful, but we did get in pretty late on Thursday.  Ryan was also able to get the details of our new home purchase finalized, so that was wonderful!  After a bit of back and forth, we accepted one of their counteroffers.

On Friday, I still didn't feel the greatest, but went to the gym for a short swim anyway.  It would be my last opportunity to lap swim for at least a week, and I didn't want to miss it.  I did meet a new friend at the gym, so I am really glad I went.  Afterwards, I was able to start getting Keira enrolled in her new school.  We are very happy that our home feeds to this school; it was recommended very highly to us and has great reviews.  That evening, we met back up with our agent at our new home so that I could see it again.  We wanted to get a feel for things that we needed to do to it before moving in, such as painting and the purchase of a few items that we want to get in MI and have the movers bring for us.  Here is a picture of the outside.

Soren had a blast playing on the train table.  This will be the office/playroom, and the train table is not coming with the house. 

We finished up the evening with a dinner at the Olive Garden.  I really do like it there, and everyone enjoyed their dinner. 

Saturday was the start of our vacation.  We had planned to both get in workouts before leaving, but woke up to thunder.  We just opted to get packed up and go.  We had an uneventful drive to Asheville, NC.  The kids were very excited when we got to our hotel and you could see the indoor pool from our room.  We packed just a small bag to come into the hotel, so we didn't have the kids suits.  There would be plenty of time for swimming once we got to our destination.

We got up on Sunday and had breakfast at McDonalds, and then did a scenic drive on the Blue Mountain Parkway.  Sadly, we woke up to rain, so there was not as much to see with all the clouds.  We did hop out and take a few pictures along the way.  We got in to Ocean Isle Beach without any trouble on Sunday evening.  It was Father's Day, so we went out to the Giggling Mackerel for dinner.  We had quite the wait, but everyone enjoyed hanging out on the balcony, and we enjoyed our dinners.