Greenway Bike Trail .... 8 miles!

I'm going to start jumping around here with my posts.  Some of the activities listed are from the past few weeks.  Starting with the Greenway Bike Trail.  Trailhead starts in Lisbon, Ohio and goes to Leetonia, Ohio.  They are talking about extending it from there.  And I know there are bike trails throughout the neighboring counties that at some point will all connect. 

So here we go .... Greenway Bike Trail.

We love it!  Paved.  Shady.  Damp.  No constant traffic.  Bikers.  Walkers.  Runners.  The trail does cross the road at certain points so we do have to be aware of traffic and there is a section that does follow the road.  This particular day was the first time my children rode that section.  We try to go at least every week.  Oh, and I like to run here!  

The trailhead.  Parking.  Bathroom.  Water fountain.  Vending machines.  Official "0" marker is about 4 blocks away?  IDK? 

Official mile marker "0" ... they are ready to go.  Helmets check.  Air pressure checked.  Bathroom check.  Drinks check. 

 

Official mile marker "4" .... okay!  I forgot about having the camera with me.  The miles were uneventful.  Right before this, around 3 1/2, someone got a little too close to the edge of the trail.  End result a wreck.  Take a guess who? 

It was this one!  Surprise.  Surprise!  Talked her into riding back to a bench they have along the trail around mile 3.  Told her she could sit.  Hydrate.  Check her wound. 

Here are a couple of views from the trail ....

 

 

 We made it back to the bench.  Do you see the injury?  Honestly, do you see it?  

I talked her out amputation.  LOL  She drank.  She washed it off.  She was all good to go! 

Just another view from the trail .....

Celebration!  We are done.  They made it a eight miles.  Only one mishap.  And with two stops.  I was very proud. 

Here are just a few pics of the kiddos and I.  No one cares about looks at the end.  Helmets do wonders for the hair!   

If you are ever in the area or have never visit the Greenway Trail .... the Breretons highly recommend it!  With a little disclaimer .... we will admit that Lisbon is the mental health "capital" of our county.  On occasion there are/has been some interesting/seedy looking characters on the trail.  Kinda like every park now a days!  Mom recommends taking pepper spray as I do every single trip out and packing a cell phone.  You can never be too careful anywhere. 

Pedal Kart Hell

I know.  I know.  This was to be written days ago!  No matter what I write it would just be an excuse.  But now I'm back and have days worth of material. 

Pedal Karts are an activity available at our favorite family campground.  The kiddos have wanted to ride them for a year or so.  Parents did the veto before.  They looked heavy and we continually saw kids pushing them not riding them. 

This time around was different.  Without my hubby there for the first four days .. well .. honestly .. I was game for anything.  Before getting into the karts, I should mention that the campground is roughly 1 1/2 miles long with off shoots.  From the gate/office, where one collects their kart, is a long gradual hill.  Really it is the side of the damn.  The road is newly paved for about a 1/3 of a mile and then it is gravel.  Hills.  Valleys.  Flat.  Potholes. 

They are a challenge.  Here are pics of my daughter and I on our respective pedal karts..........

Let us not discuss my daughters looking like a boy.  She wanted to wear her brothers clothes all weekend.  And damn was I tired!  This ride is where my knees and bumm finally said "No more!" 

This are strictly pedaled by you!  I have bruises on the inside of my knees from the steering wheel.  And along my bumm from the seat.  Which is not at all manufactured for an adult bumm.  This picture was taken during my last trip on a pedal kart that weekend.  I rode up and down the big hill five or six times that week.  She made it four.  There is a difference in the little carts available.  The one pictured was easier for her to ride.  The others I ended up towing her by holding the front of the cart with one arm and pedaling mine. 

EXHAUSTING! 

Our boy never cleared a hill .. the large or small.  All in all they are fun.  But they are work!  It was a great workout and the girl loved it.  That makes whatever I thought meaningless.  If you are ever in Austin Lake Parks neck of the woods ... try one out!  Wrist bands are $10.00 for the day or $14.00 for two days.  They incluce the pedal karts, paddle boats, tube slide, and kayaks.  All things that keep you moving! 

Camping Lessons

Good evening!  As most of you know, my family went camping over the holiday.  Saturday to Saturday.  Each and every single day brought rain.  Some days downpours!  Camping is fun but it always make me reflect on my life.  And honestly, there are always lessons along the way!

Lessons learnt camping 2013 ~ first edition

1. Beige body suits and shorts/capris should not be manufactured.  Please think twice before purchasing either and, for the love of humanity, don't put together.

2.  Just because they make something in your size does not mean you should wear it.  I do not care about your confidence.

3.  Ladies.  Ladies.  Ladies.  Please for every single person out there .. when you try on a bathing suit don't just stand there in it and say "Yes!"  Move.  Groove.  Bend over.  Standing it looks fabulous.  When you lift an arm or bend over and your breast falls out.  Strangers don't find "Oops!  Sorry!" acceptable.  And when you bend over to lay your towel out or pick some thing up and the rear of your suit disappears in your @$$ crack .. seeing your naked cheeks and watching you remove said suit is not pleasant.  Better yet .. wash your hands after performing your surgery.  Pretty sure after 4 minutes of exploration then dropping your hand in your families bag of chips .. isn't just gross to the 10 people behind you.

4.  Kids need camping friends.  During the weekdays, life reverts to toddler years.  You become entertainment.

5.  You never realize how important a razor is .... until you forget it!  If you are one of those "crunchy" chics ~ more power too you.  But I'm not joining up any time soon.  Seven days without shaving and I wanna go crazy.

6.  How is it that out camping your family can take a quality shower in less than 5 minutes but at home they are always 15 minutes?  Explain that to me please!

7.  I love food cooked on the fire.  Love it.

8.  Walking your dog while riding in a golf cart is just pretty darn pathetic.

9.  Strangers and their children can get pretty irritating.  Add alcohol and it gets worse.  Yes, I am aware that my family probably gets on others nerves as well.  Why?  We are perfect!  LOL

10.  People stink.  Literally .. nuff said!

11.  No matter what one fly can ruin a nights sleep.

12.  No matter how much money you take .. it will never be enough.

13.  Wearing community life jackets is like sharing gym clothes.

14.  Camping is just like our regular life .. no one comes to visit.

15.  I seriously could live without a tv or telephone.

There were other things but that is all for now.

Tomorrows edition .... Peddle Kart Hell!

Chocolate covered frozen peanut butter and banana bites

Several weeks back this recipe showed up on the Health is Wealth facebook page.  My thought ... easy and we always have the ingredients.  I knew the kids would love to try it out.  And what kids don't like banana, peanut butter, or chocolate?  And the bites seemed much easier to eat than a whole frozen banana.  I do have one VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY slow eater.   

Our ingredients ... bananas (we only used two), Skippy natural pb (my hubby bought a raft of this stuff on sale .. our supply may never dwindle!), and the kids wanted to use dark chocolate (this is the brand on hand).  Per the recipe, we sliced up our bananas.  Then topped with peanut butter.  Now doesn't that sound easy?  Getting pb to stick on a banana slice is not easy.  It was a messy pain in the butt.  I forgot about the freezing for an hour thing before dipping and let's be honest ... would your kids be like "Oh okay!  Go ahead and freeze those and we'll finish later?"  I don't think so.  Plus, I didn't even want to wait! 

Dipping things in chocolate and having them come out like the recipe picture is nearly impossible.  Use a toothpick ... what a mess.  Use a fork ... even bigger mess.  Sad thing is I've made chocolate candies for years and it is a mess dipping bananas and pb in it.  Especially to cover the entire thing like a sandwich.  

We gave up and just half dipped them!  They looked like a mess.  Would not be some thing that I would present to anyone other than maybe the members of this house and Grandparents.  But we all know that it is how they taste.  Right?!  Well, you see that pan.  A total of four of them were eaten.  The rest ended up in the trash about a week later.  The frozen banana was hard to bite into .. as it is frozen.  Because of the size it was a little bigger than one bite but holding it to bite into it was messy and hard.  We ended up with chocolate fingers.  Cold teeth.  And they just didn't like the taste of frozen peanut butter! 

On a scale of 1 to 10 (with 1 being the lowest and 10 the highest) .... we give this a 4.  Sorry!  We found putting the pb on impossible for the kids.  Coating the chocolate like the original picture was nearly impossible and the kids gave up.  If you give them a try, please let me know what you thoughts were!     

Avocado and Egg!

About a week ago, the above picture showed up on my facebook wall.  I follow Health is Wealth and this was one of the easy recipes she shared that day.  Now, I'm new to the avocado world.  I know.  I know.  I tried in the past and just thought they were pretty bland.  Actually, I still do! 

But, this was easy and everything was on hand.  I like to try different things!  Her recipe called for a 1/2 avocado, pit removed, hollow out a little of the hole to accommodate your egg (this would be dependent on size of eggs and avocado), drop in the egg, sprinkle with cayenne pepper, top with a little cheese, throw in the oven at 180 for 20 minutes or until the egg is cooked to your liking. 

Doesn't it just look lonely sitting there?  Don't judge my cookie sheets.  I highly recommend using foil.  Will 100% be use in the future! 

If your avocado is not level, well, guess what happens!  Yep, a nice mess.  Where the foil would come in handy.  I would recommend cleaning it up now!  Added some crushed red pepper flakes to the top and threw in the oven.  When reading the recipe and it stated 180 degrees ... that sounded low.  Dumb me never gave it a thought that the recipe was in Celsius.  So that would be roughly 350 degrees Fahrenheit which would work great.  Not telling you how long the 180 degrees would take and yes in due time I turned up the oven. 

Finished product.  The yolk was warm and thick.  I must say it was different but yummy.  I will do it again.  I just scooped bites with my fork right out of the skin.  Been thinking about other ways to top it to make it tasty.  And my thought was .. now it might sound gross .. but spreading it on a good whole grain toast!  Overall on a scale from 1 to 10 ..... my rating would be a 7 1/2. 

Let me know if you give it a try! 

Beaver VFD 5K 10K

Here we are again.  The start of summer.  Which brings around the Beaver VFD 5K 10K.  Beaver PA is a nice town.  Calm.  Serene.  This race is held on a 3.1 mile loop starting and ending at the fire station.  It is held on the back streets and actually to your right is on the back side is no houses just the trees and river. 

Momma and my hubby ran this race yesterday.  We went into it being a first for everyone.  Yes, I ran the race last year but this year no.  I was a member of the support staff.  First for me.  Momma has not really ran since her marathon last fall but with a full approaching in October she needs to get moving.  And well, if you are a reader of my blog then you know all about my hubby and his running. 

Up and ready for Momma pick up at 7 am.  Beaver is about a 50 minute drive from our house.  The race has a 9 am start.  Honestly, for the heat and humidity of yesterday, that is entirely too late.  The back street may wind along the river but there is NO SHADE and you are running into the sun.  It is extremely hot.  I heard a ton of complaints.  Especially since they did not have the sprinklers at the end like last year. 

But onto the story ....

There in plenty of time.  All ready about 100 runners there.  Trust me, much more arrived before start time! 

John had to do same day registration.  He just decided this week to run.  Filled it out.  Collected his bib and shirt and he was ready. 

We spent the next few minutes prepping Momma and John.  Numbers pinned.  Timing chips strapped on.  There was about 40 minutes to kill, so they headed off to the back of the course to see what the incline looked like.  And the remaining members of the support staff .......

Heading off to the car.  We had originally taken our umbrellas because it looked like rain.  We quickly realized they were of no need .. well maybe shade.  Plus, they needed a little treat. 

Kretchmans Bakery is just two blocks over.  If you have never had something from Kretchmans, well, I feel bad for you.  They enjoyed their cinnamon swirl thinger-ma-bob and icing covered donut.  I enjoyed watching. 

Slowly, the crowd started to gather.  This picture doesn't do it justice.  The 10K runners headed to the start.  No actually line.  Just stand behind these cones and wait for the fire whistle to sound.  And they were off.......

The excitement in this picture does not appear later.  How quickly he learns that this shade is fleeting and the heat and humidity is brutal. 

We cheered.  We clapped.  Momma did was off. 

This is about 1 1/2 miles in.  Looking good.  Feeling alright.  Shoes are amazing.  No $16.00 Walmart specials today.  He is such a goof ball!












Momma was not looking so good.  The hand signal and walking was an indication.  Hot was the word.  I understood.  I was standing clapping and cheering.  Sweating like crazy. 





At the half ... he was running.  He didn't look happy.  Pants and shirt soaked from sweat and water.  He was getting slow.  First indication the shoes "suck" ... my feet hurt. 

At the half .... support staff was deployed.  Middle aged member is gonna run with Momma from here on out.  Prior to deployment a conversation was had among the members of the support staff.  A target was chosen.  Momma was to track her down and pass her.  To us Momma was "behind on her game" and we didn't like it.  Instructions were given.  And he was off to implement them. 

Back side .... this incline is brutal ... honestly.  He was struggling.  Remaining members of the support staff were deployed.  One get on the inside of the street.  Leader of the race ran the inside.  Why do the back of the pack always run the outside.  Might seem minuscule more shade on the inside and the road is cleared for a reason!  We ran with him for about two blocks.  Told him he was skirting a 1 hour finish time.  I understood there is another incline on the front side.  But he was doing good.  He complained about the heat.  Told him to take ice and water at the next station.  Dump the water and suck on some ice.  He was soaked with sweat and breathing not so well.  Again, heard the shoes sucked.  Advised him that we might not make his finish. 

We had to wait on Momma and support staff #2.  They seemed to be taking longer than I had anticipated.  He was fine with it.  We cheered every runner that went by.  Clapping.  High fives.  Good jobs.  Looking goods.  The runners started to really thin.  A lone woman was coming up the street.  She looked at me and said "I'm pretty sure I'm in last place."  She was hurting.  Running a great speed on the first lap.  Walking now.  She had removed her number and was totally dejected looking.  I assured her she was not in last place.  There were either 9 or 10 other participants out there.  That pepped her right up.  I spoke to her later.  She believes she pulled something in her calf.  It wasn't in her to not finish.

Momma and support staff #2 arrived.  I told instructed her she had to catch the person in front of her!  Drink at the next water station.  Start bringing her in and let's finish this thing strong!  Support staff #2 dropped off with us.  Hoping to see John finish.  The poor boy was as red as his shoes.  We missed Johns finish.  I thought we would.  He said the clock read 1:05:??.  As of this morning official results were not posted.  We headed down the street to wait on Momma.  As we waited ... we cheered and clapped everyone in.  I saw Momma coming in the distance.  She was right beside her mark.  Does that sound bad that I'm happy she caught someone?  Sorry, I am competitive.  As they were coming up the hill.  Her mark started to pull away.  Momma was running. 

Support staff was deployed again.  Biggest and littlest members ran with her the last little bit.  She crossed the line.  We gave her a good job.  Then found her water and shade.  She was hot and tired.  She finished at 1:25:??.  I was more interested in getting water than the clock.  We all headed to the front of the fire station to listen to the awards.  

Shoes off.  Damn it is hot.  They did good.  Then the shoe conversation started.  These shoes suck.  Can't imagine that it might not help to wear thick cotton work socks ....  Seriously, I've created a monster.  He is ready to go get new shoes.  Said they toe box is not wide enough and has the blister to prove it.  Whatever!  Can't wait to see what happens should he loose a toenail?!

 

They had race shirts on sale.  Now, I would never buy a race short and say that I did it.  But I did purchase another of last years shirts.  Mine was trashed for some reason.  Since the other members of the support staff did run.  #2 almost 1/2 of the race .. I purchased him a shirt from last year.  He liked this color better than this years.  And well, #3 needed one also. 

Here are the racers and support staff.  Tired.  Whipped.  Dirty.  Hungry.  Sweaty.  Gross.  Complaining.  UGH! 

Momma did get second in her age group.  Another medal for her collection.  Younger support staff members complained that "no one in our house every gets trophies or medals".  Momma explained that when you get to her age there aren't very many people in the age group.  LOL

Good race.  Good day.  We all participate in some way next year.  Be it the 5K or 10K.  We will all be participants!  Side note .. this was my first time as a spectator.  It was amazing.  As I wrote earlier .... we clapped.  We cheered.  I gave high fives.  I said good job.  I said amazing.  I said keep it up.  I know.  I know what it is like to be out there.  I know what it is like to be "in the slower group".  After the crowd has dissipated.  I saw smiles.  I saw people get pep in their step.  I watched there posture change.  I was thanked more than once.  We were thanked more than once for "being every where and cheering us all on".  It was amazing.  I plan to volunteer for a large race.  I learned more about running and myself yesterday than I had ever thought possible. 

Good job to each and every participant out there.  5 minute mile or 35 minute mile ... YOU ARE ALL WINNERS! 

Weekend Fun (pics and captions only)

Wonder why they never kill any turkeys? 

Daddys driving gets a little wild! 

Whatever! 

Just for Shaunna Karnosh! 

Like my ride? 

Why are helmets such a pain in the @$$? 

What's up sweet cheeks?! 

Go speed racer! 

That little speck over there is him! 

I'm riding down this hill.  All the way if I can! 

Go! 

Chickened out this trip! 

 

Rolling along....

Momma will show you how this is done! 

Whoa! 

Mom may just be too big for this ride. 

Guess Dad is also.

Giving the hill another try. 

Let's roll! 

This was harder than I remember. 

She is having a great time. 

After Momma got done being dizzy, we cleaned ourselves off. 

Time for Killers turn.  Daddy was afraid to let her go. 

So Momma was drafted.  I've road many a laps around this yard. 

Having a great time! 

He found mud! 

Dads always get the crappy jobs. 

Our next Michelle Woo. 

Goal is past the garden for her. 

Our next Tiger Woods.  Goal is the high weeds for him. 
NO PROBLEM! 

They pick up what they hit. 

How big is your driver head?  Not for a 9 yr old. 

Gotta show hers! 

Time to wrap it up and take it in.  Had a good time!