Run, baby, run!

I ran the Bridge to Brisbane 10K this morning.  It was a very different experience from last year.  First of all, I actually knew my way around and felt like it was old hat.  I am no longer the lost, wide-eyed newcomer to Brisbane!  I also got to start with the first wave behind the elites and under 40 min runners-- no running around hundreds of runners, walkers, and prams...  On the flip side though, it made the first 1.1 km uphill climb very painful; and hence painful the rest of the race.  The race went very smoothly until the last curve with about 100m to the finish.  Some idiot decides to sprint to the finish and practically plow me down!  As he pushed me out of the way, I yelled (in typical Sang fashion), "What the F*&^$!!!  I think I said it a little louder than I intended (but I was mad).  I heard a few chuckles behind me.   I did achieve a PR of 44:17 (unofficial watch time)-- an improvement from the 47:19 from last year.  I'm sure the cooler weather, training, and starting in the first wave made the difference.  I'm not sure if I'll run it again next year.  I asked myself why I was running it this year as I rolled out of bed at 4 am and again as I was gasping for air at various times throughout the race.

I am reminded of how far away from home we are as I hear about our friends in the U.S. prepping for "back to school."  I guess I've stopped keeping daily track of all the differences.  Our kids are fast approaching their Spring break in a few weeks.  Jonah has his last basketball game this Friday.  Lucas came back from his overnight 3rd grade camp with rave reviews.  (My baby is growing up...)  Mike will be leaving for the U.S. for 2 weeks for work in about a week.  Of course, he managed to squeeze in time over the weekend to attend a home ND football game while he's there.  He did the same thing last year.   Hmm... Coincidence?  Lucky?

We are looking forward to our family trip to Ayers Rock (Uluru) and Sydney over Spring break.  Then of course, we are really excited to fly back to the U.S. in December for our summer break!

I'm attaching some more pics from our (Mike and my) Mediterranean cruise from 3 months ago.  It seems like it was just a dream...

I'm still here...

Yes, I admit I've been remiss with my postings.  Mike threatened to post some derogatory things about me but, lucky for him, he did not.  He's been bugging me to keep our blog updated, and when I didn't follow through... hence, his posting.
I think my lack of motivation was derived from a combination of things.  Firstly, I've been very busy.  Secondly, and probably most telling, the honeymoon is over!  After the first 6 months, it slowly felt like we were home with our normal routines.  Mike's been traveling, the boys are busy with their activities, and Zoe with her school and speech therapy.  Before I knew it, I was no longer acutely aware of being the foreigner, or American, in the bunch.  In fact, when we were in Cairns and was asked by a waiter where we were from (based on our accent), I quickly replied, "From Brisbane."  He looked perplexed by my answer and Mike jumped in to explain that we were in fact from the U.S.  So there you have it, I believe I am turning Aussie!
The last posting was a synopsis of the last 6 months.  I will try harder to post significant events, but no promises.
Yesterday, 21 August, was election day here in Australia.  I am slowly learning about the Australian government and their politics.  For example, I learned it is compulsory for Australian citizens to vote-- they are fined if they don't.  Mike and I wondered if that law came to pass to ensure every citizens vote is counted and represented, or to ensure that the citizens get off their bums to vote.  Either way, it is interesting.  I have yet to figure out all the political parties but it appears the 2 main ones are the Labor party and the Liberal party.  Julia Gillard of the Labor party is currently the Prime Minister of Australia.
Mike and I attended a Dinner Dance fund raiser for the boys' school last night.  Many of the attendees were checking the vote count throughout the evening.  The theme was Las Vegas night or BrisVegas.  Most people just dressed in nice evening attire but some got dressed up in Elvis costumes, card dealers, go-go dancers, gangsters, etc.  I think some people just need an excuse to get silly and dress in costume.  It's true to say that Australians are quite familiar with all the American pop culture.  We had a fun night out, had some laughs, socialized with other parents, had good food, had a few too many drinks (Mike), and cut a little rug (not Mike).  We didn't win anything in the live or silent auction but our table won a draw for a cash prize of $50/person!   We got home very late and spent today trying to recover. 
Coming up this week:  Lucas goes to 3rd grade overnight camp for 2 days and 1 night.  I run the Bridge to Brisbane 10K race again this year.  (This was the 1st race I did here last year, when I was very frustrated by the crowds at the start of the race.)  Luckily this year, I have a qualifying time and am in the 2nd wave.  This will be the last run race I do before I try some triathlons starting in October.

Time to catch up...

Sang's been busy...

Well, it's been 8 months since Sang has signed on and I threatened to post something if she didn't get back online...so here I am. We've all been very busy since January. They boys have been 'full-on' at school: swimming, science club, school projects, camp, rugby, basketball, tennis and Zoe keeps Sang busy as well. Rugby (Union - there are different 'codes' of Rugby) was fun once Jonah (and I) learned the rules. Jonah scored the team's first 'try' of the season - he was in the right place at the right time and we were proud of how he played his first season. Sang kept asking him if he wanted to wear any headgear for protection after noting a few scratches/bruises. But Jonah declined, saying the mouthguard was enough protection for him (making me proud). For those of you who are wondering if the boys will take up cricket - probably not. I've tried to have the game explained to me many times, but still don't get it. I'll need to see one live before I pass judgment on the sport. I made a trip to the US (where it was frigid cold and everyone's accent sounded funny to me) in February and Jim and Jenn visited in March. They also made a trip to Fiji and it was good to have Uncle Jim and Aunt Jenn around! Sang's sister, Vicky visited in April. Sang worked with Vicky and her running and they also got to spend some 'sister' time together in Sydney. Vicky noted that Australia seemed much cleaner than LA, especially the beaches. We agree! Sang decided to run the Gold Coast Marathon in July, so her training started after Vicky left, which added more activity to Sang's already busy days, playing taxi cab driver for the kids. In the back of our minds, we were wondering if Sang was going to get to accompany me on a Mediterranean cruise. Fortunately it all worked out after we decided to hire some very expensive, but very capable babysitters - we flew Mom and Dad back out to stay with the kids while we enjoyed a once-in-a-lifetime work holiday! We prepped M&D with a driving lesson for Dad (on the left side of the road and to only be necessary in case of an emergency) and a play-by-play for each day. There were no emergencies, but Dad did have to pick up Lucas from school because apparently it's not good when kids sneeze snot all over each other. Mom and Dad were great and we're so grateful for their help! Fortunately their visit coincided with Lucas' First Eucharist, which he received at St. John Vianney's Church. After flying through Dubai to Athens where toured the Acropolis, we boarded the Crystal Symphony and embarked on a week-long cruise: Kusadasi, Turkey, Rhodes, Delos, Mykonos, Santorini, Greece, Sorrento and Rome, Italy. It was amazing to tour ruins thousands of years old. One of our evenings was spent dining amongst the ruins at Ephesus - an unforgettable night! After saying good-bye to Mom and Dad, it was July before we knew it and we celebrated 1 year in Oz, but not before Sang completed the Gold Coast Marathon in 3:41:00 - a personal best! There were a lot of Japanese runners (total runners was 8,000 including the half-marathoners) and they looked like they had fun as one newly married couple ran in their wedding gear and another guy ran the whole thing backwards. In addition to Sang's accomplishment, a 60 year old Kiwi-woman ran it in 3 hours, apparently a world record. The whole family cheered her on and was able to catch her 3 times along the route (which followed the coastline on a perfect day). We vacationed up in Cairns (stayed on Trinity Beach, away from all the tourists), snorkeled a portion of the Great Barrier Reef (Frankland Island) and Jonah turned 10 on Aug 1...where has the time gone?!?! Now we're looking forward to our next adventure in September to Uluru and Sydney and our family trip back to the states for Christmas. Oh yeah, the boys would want me to post this: we finally figured out what the weird chirping sound is at night - we have big flying foxes (bats) in the trees around us. They're very common here in Queensland, especially around the mango trees. That's it for me, hopefully you'll hear from Sang next time...