January 05, 2017

Four year anniversary of Ragnar

Well, it seems that 2017 is off to a decent start :)

The weather was super nice here on Monday, so to take advantage of the weather, the kids and I went to Nike Park. It's a HUGE fenced in park, and whenever we've gone, there hasn't been anyone there--so it's a great place to take Joey off leash. (They really ought to turn this park into a dog park. We don't have any dog parks around here.)


The kids and I played on the playground while Joey ran around sniffing every single blade of grass in the park. One of the things on my list of things to do with the kids this year was to take them to Nike Park, so we crossed that one off right away. A couple of people asked me to see the list, so here is a picture of it. A lot of it isn't really relevant unless you live around here, but there are other ideas as well.

(You'll probably have to click to enlarge it enough to read it)


Eli is 1 of 30 kids in his grade that were selected to compete for a spelling bee (all of the kids were given a spelling test, and the top 30 kids then do a mini spelling bee to select the top 10). Anyway, after Eli's disappointment from not making the Quiz Bowl team in the fall, it was very exciting that he is in the top 30 for this. Even if he doesn't go further than that, it's quite the accomplishment! I'm super proud of him.

Today is the four-year anniversary of when my Ragnar Florida Keys team, From Fat to Finish Line, crossed the finish line in Key West! In some ways, that day feels like it happened a million years ago; in others, it feels like just yesterday. And it will always be unbelievable to me that the whole thing is now a documentary on Netflix!

This is an anniversary video that the producer made on the one-year anniversary. One of my friends shared it on Facebook today, and I had forgotten about it. I love this video! I think it's the song that makes it so emotional for me. My favorite part is when my face lights up as I see John running in for the major exchange between him and I. I don't remember if that's in the actual film or not.


I have a crazy busy weekend ahead of me. Jeanie and Shawn (my sister and brother-in-law) are coming in from Illinois because we're having a baby shower for Becky. Just two more months until I'm an aunt!!

Eli's 11th birthday is on Saturday, which is the same day as the shower, so we're going to celebrate his birthday on Friday. He wants everyone to go out to dinner together--"everyone" being my parents, my siblings, and their spouses. On Saturday, we have the baby shower and then we're going to Brian's for dinner, drinks, and games. On Sunday, Eli is having a birthday party at the bowling alley with some of his school friends.

As I write this, I'm in the middle of making an enormous batch of rice--enough for 40 people!--for the shower. We're having a "Javanese lunch"--I have no idea the origin of this meal, I just remember growing up eating it once in a while (usually at a shower). It's basically a buffet of 10 ingredients: rice, diced chicken or turkey, almonds or peanuts, green onions, celery, pineapple, coconut, cheddar cheese, chow mein noodles, and gravy. You start with the rice, and then add the other stuff on top. It's delicious! The ingredients seem so odd, but they work really well together. Anyway, I am in charge of making the rice, so I'm getting that prepped today.


So, a crazy weekend ahead, but super fun. I love getting to hang out with my brothers and sister! We only all get together about once a year, so I always look forward to it.

17 comments:

  1. Sounds like a busy and fun weekend!

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  2. That list of activities for the year is just awesome! Those are the kinds of things that they will remember forever. I am in the midst of planning a 3 week RV trip that we are going to take this summer with our 8 year old grandson, and I hope that we will make those same kinds of memories then. :)

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  3. Sounds like some fun activities you have planned! I love seeing that. I might copy some of them myself and make my own list! I love it. :)

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  4. I watched From Fat to Finish Line and loved it! Made me want to run the Ragnar from Madison, Wi (my hometown!) to Chicago... hmmm... maybe one day.
    I also love your list of family activities!

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  5. Wow, is that your handwriting for that list? It's so colorful and pretty neat, too! Sounds like you have a great weekend lined up. It's nice to spend time with family you don't get to see very often.

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  6. Man!! after my KW Ragnar I said I was 1 and done but after seeing the movie you guys made I wanna do another now. Not Fla that is for sure! A trail on I think.

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  7. I love your list! I keep wanting to do more fun things with my daughter, but she's still so young and doesn't have the attention span/patience/listening skills yet, hehe! And her little brother is just 3 months, so I have a few years to go, lol!

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  8. At Christmastime, I finally got to watch From Fat to the Finish Line.

    Your list looks good. Enjoy!

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  9. Katie, your list is fabulous (and it looks gorgeous!). You continue to be an inspiration to us all!! Happy New Year.

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  10. Watched "From Fat to Finish Line" again, just now. I think I cried through the whole thing! What an inspiration you are, Katie! And thank you for continuing with your awesome blog!!!

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  11. I watched "From Fat to Finish Line" last night when I was having a terrible day and needed a bit of a pick me up. How strange that I watched it on the four year anniversary of the event and didn't even realize! It feels like a twist of fate; some kind of sign that I really needed yesterday. Thank you so much for sharing the journey with us!

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  12. Psst: I think you meant paddle boarding, not waterboarding (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waterboarding).

    Looks like a great list!

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  13. I absolutely love your list and I live in the area so I got some great ideas! The video made me tear up!

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  14. I just watched your video for the first time...OMG!! I was crying...it was soo wonderful and hit me soo hard...Thank you soo much for participating in this project and being so genuine. All of you!! I've been following your blog for several years now and tell everyone about it. When I'm having a hard day with my body and food choices, I will look at your blog for inspiration or a enjoyable story that makes me smile. One thing I've always loved...was your complete honesty. Keep up the fabulous work!!

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  15. I didn't know what post to comment this on, so I'm glad I found one where you are talking about the Ragnar you did! I was flying on a plane today and I was picking random things from Netflix to watch and I chose from Fat to Finish Line! And I saw you! When you first appeared on it I actually yelled aloud because I recognized you from your blog. I don't comment regularly here, I just lurk and see what you're up to! But I have found your experiences and story so compelling and I want to thank you for being so open and sharing all your experiences, the good and the bad. I myself am a weight watcher (now at goal, I know you don't love the smart points plan) and I got into running and it's helped me lose weight, it I've really fallen in love with the sport. I think I may put together a Ragnar team! Anyhoo! It was great seeing you on my screen! Hope you're having a great day and glad your trip to San Diego was what you needed!

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    Replies
    1. How funny! I had no idea our film could be viewed from the air :) I hope you enjoyed the movie!

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