From Craddle to Kansas?

Last weekend, Smelliot and I took a trip down to Lawrence, Kansas to visit Kansas University.  The out-of-state tuition is the ONLY concerning item within my control. The rest will be up to Smelly.  It is clear she will enjoy her post secondary experience, but she will definitely need to stay focused on the purpose of attending College, to get reasonably good grades, establish an area (or two) of expertise, and begin laying the groundwork for her entree into the workforce upon graduation.  These seem like easy goals, coming from a 50 year old coot like me, but I recall the overpowering lure of student activities and social distractions.  We'll see.

Batty (left) and Lauren - Lovely

On Tuesday, Batty "the Peanut" celebrated her 16th birthday.  Within 12 hours she had her driver's license and was tooling around in our beat up mini-van.  On Friday, our house was teeming with a gaggle of teenage girls all in "Despicable Me" attire (sort of).  Fun was had by one and all.

Sidetrack the Top Dog, continues to forge ahead with expansion plans for Woofables.  Our considerations include the prospects of opening a couple of small, "satellite" retail outlets, a larger manufacturing facility, and adding one - three full-time employees in the next 18 months or so.  Controlled growth is a good problem to have, but staying focused on smart growth is difficult with the continued distraction of other business opportunities that spin off from our current efforts.  

The puppy and hound don't seem to mind running to and from meetings and the shop.  They give a whole new meaning to backseat drivers, huh?  

Well, that's about it from these cheap seats. And so it goes....

Dancing Fools

Not quite of Frank Zappa fame, but Smelliot and Maggot are somewhere lost in this crowd.  They're participating in this Dance Marathon to raise money for the Kids Cancer Fund (or something like that).  Collectively, this entire group will raise more than $1MM for the cause.  It's pretty cool to see the girls put for such charitable efforts, although I suspect the social aspects might be the greater of the two when it comes to motivation.   Still we are proud of these dancing fools.

Walking home from work the other day, the Iowa River, seen above was smooth as glass.  This reflective image caught my eye and lens.  In the upper right hand corner, you can see the Old Capitol dome.  The seasonably warm weather has been kind to us runners and moments like this.

I've begun the slow build up and training to tackle the Superior Trail 100 this Fall.  Telling people forces me to commit.  So this is my confession.   I hope to be in Marathon-ready shape by March.  Once April smiles upon us, I intent to start signing up for marathons in training for the big one in September. 

For those who may remember, I attempted ST100 a few  years ago.  Toughest 50 miles I've ever run.  Dropped at mile 50 due to the fact that my warmer gear/night-time gear was still 10 miles away, and I was already suffering early signs of hypothermia.  Temps dropped to 27 degrees that evening.  So it's a DNF (Did Not Finish), that I'm not in the least bit ashamed of taking.  I will live to run another day... This fall will be my vengeance. 

For those familiar with the Superior Trail, you know the technical challenges of the course.  Lots of rocks, hill climbs, roots, water falls, water crossings, board/bog crossings (particularly difficult at night), and challenging terrain.  100 miles of it from Gooseberry Falls (I believe) all the way up to Lutsen.  Uf Da.

Big Dawg won at Soccer.  Smelliot and I drop down to Lawrence, KS a week from Monday for her learn more about the seriousness of attending University of Kansas.   Go Jay Hawks!   We'll see.  

Peanut... announced last night she wants to go to the Gallapagos instead of Spain for class. Cha-Ching.  We'll figure it out.  We always do.

Meanwhile, all the animals in the Zoo are well.  And so it goes....