Monday, March 28, 2011

Swimming for Japan


The swimathon that my kids put together over the weekend to raise money for disaster relief in Japan was a big success.  We started with a ‘carb-loading’ lunch for them (spaghetti noodles with butter and parmesan), then headed to the pool to do good for the world.
They started off strong and enthusiastic, and stuck with it until they reached their goal of 100 laps.  Mom and dad chipped in for a few laps when the team got a little tired, but they rallied with a late charge and finished strong.  The bickering factor was low, which is a big measure of ‘success’ for a family event these days.  Everyone slept very well that night, so we’re thinking we may need to come up with more reasons to swim to wear out the kids on the weekend.  They raised a total of $240 for the Red Cross, and we’re very proud.  Hopefully building the foundation for a life of helping others.

In completely unrelated news, my wife and I actually went out on a date without the monkeys Saturday night, which included the movie The Lincoln Lawyer.  Two big thumbs up.  We’ve been pretty disappointed with many of the movies we’ve seen lately, but this one was really, really good.  I had forgotten that Matthew McConaughey can actually act after all the horrible movies he’s done over the last few years.  This one and The Fighter are the two movies we’ve seen fairly recently that are worth your while.

The weather over the weekend was ugly, but I managed to get in my two planned runs – 3 miles on Saturday and 6 miles on Sunday.  I wasn’t feeling it when I headed out on Sunday, but I thought of several fellow bloggers who are dealing with injuries right now and would kill to be able to run, gave my brain a kick in the ass, and got after it.  Really good run with very little pain at an 8:15 pace.  Maybe my legs are finally deciding to play nice with the rest of my body.

16 comments:

  1. That's awesome! Congrats to the kiddos for meeting their fundraising goal and for setting such a great example. What an inspiration!

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  2. Congrats to the kiddos. Happy pix as well.

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  3. how totally cool....what great kids!!!

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  4. Love that you and your kids did that. I might do one just to keep the bickering to a minimum. Oh and to raise some money for a good cause. But the bickering factor is real motivation.

    Congrats on the three miles. I hope you were thinking of me when you wrote about injured bloggers.

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  5. What Great Kids you have! And what a great cause.

    The Hubs and I want to see Lincoln Lawyer Thanks for the review.

    Glad you kicked yourself out the door and ran.

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  6. Such awesome kids. I love it.

    I've been wanting to see that movie too. And I actually got The Fighter from Redbox last weekend, but we never got around to watching it. I'll make sure to get it again.

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  7. Hats off to your kids (and you for doing such a good job with them). Very cool.

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  8. That is so awesome!! You have some incredible kids. So cool.

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  9. So awesome! Way to go kiddos!!! And yes, nothing wears kids out like swimming!!! Parents best kept secret...well that and Santa...

    Glad you got your running in too... I need to give my brain a kick too... wish i could pull off that pace! :)

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  10. very cool...you have some amazing kids! glad to hear your running is going well, too : )

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  11. What a wonderful idea...amazing kids being raised by pretty awesome parents. Love the pics :)

    Congrats on getting the runs in...wish Spring would get here!!

    http://anne-asthmaandthegiftofrunning.blogspot.com/

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  12. Your children are incredible! Congratulations to them for making a difference for the poeple of Japan!
    I am glad you had some almost pain-free runs this week.

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  13. Nice work by your kids! And it's good to hear you legs have decided to play nice...hope it continues!

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  14. Your kids are so great! I love that they did this. They must have good parents and examples!
    Great job on your runs. And I like your attitude about your Sunday run.

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  15. looks like you have great kids there! I only like to look at Matthew MaConahay. Preferably without his shirt on : )

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