Kelocity.com

A runner with an appetite for adventure!

Surprise Trip to Chicago! August 13, 2011

Filed under: Chicago,Family,Running — Kelocity @ 10:03 am
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Right now as this post goes live, I am in Chicago! My little sister is in grad school there so my mom and other sister flew out to visit her! I didn’t want to be left out of the fun, so I booked a flight too! But she doesn’t know I am coming!!! I love surprises!!! I can’t wait! The plan is to meet up during Yoga in Millennium Park; so I hope to just plop down next to her and say “SURPRISE!” I’ll try to get a picture of her reaction. I am so excited!

I’ve been to Chicago twice before, and I just adore the city. It’s a girls only weekend, so Irving isn’t coming this time. I’ll miss him, but I think he’s looking forward to a weekend sans wife.

I’m flying Spirit Air and I’ve had bad luck with them in the past. I’m reallyreallyreally hoping everything goes smoothly. But get this… they charge for CARRY ON bags now! If you want to put a bag in the overhead bin,  it’s $45 if you fail to pay in advance!!!  What the what? Any bags that fit under the seat are free though. Suffice it to say that I am packing light! I fit everything I need (clothes, wallet, camera, etc) inside Irving’s camera bag.
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I ran two miles after work today and it felt amazing. I’m definitely out of shape and really stiff, but I was proud to just get out there again. I heard Coldplay’s Fix You on my ipod and I totally pretended like I was in a music video. Like that song was my own personal ballad. I imagined that I was a strong athlete overcoming some crazy obstacle and when the beat picked up, I sprinted a little like I was in a movie or something. Tell me I’m not alone here. ha! That’s such a great song though.
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More from the Windy City soon!!

 

Do you ever feel like you’re in a music video? Sometimes I do when I’m driving and I pretend I’m in the beginning scene from a movie when the opening credits are scrolling through. BAHAHA

 

The 2nd Annual Wedding Picture Recreation Day July 28, 2011

Filed under: Family,New Hampshire,Wedding — Kelocity @ 7:08 pm
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The last day up at the lake. =( But we were determined to make the best of it. Waking up to a view like this was pretty incredible. Kelley Pix (192)

On another note… my grandfather can do more  pull-ups than me… I couldn’t even do one, but that’s besides the point. Kelley Pix (194)

Irving’s #1 goal for the week was going back to the diner we we visited last year so that he could have his biscuits and gravy. Who am I to deny the boy some home cookin’ in New England, right?
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I wanted to do our annual photoshoot at the place we got married. I can’t believe it’s been two years since I walked down the aisle there!
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I had a willing photographer, so we snapped a few pictures to recreate our special day!Kelley Pix (197)

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2011:
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2010:
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2009:
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These guys were such troopers in the heat so I could get some pictures. ❤
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Awe, I still consider myself a newlywed. When does that ever wear off?

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In the afternoon, I opted for one last swim in the lake.
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Til next year…

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Goodbye for now, boats! Hope you have a great rest of the summer!
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On our way out, we saw a mommy duck with SEVEN little ducklings. They were so cute!! Kelley Pix (223)

 

My declaration of love for the Lake!

Filed under: Family,Food,Happy,New Hampshire — Kelocity @ 7:00 am
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Early the next morning, we agreed to play doubles tennis with Papa and his friend. I’m really no good at tennis at all, so I was a little scared to play.
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But Irving’s pretty good, so what’s the worst that could happen.
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I think I hit 95% of all the balls over the fence. Luckily we had two little kids hanging out with us that would run around and find my lost balls. lol (kidding. kind of).
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BAHAHA. This is what I look like when I’m trying to serve. I should go pro.
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I think Irving realized right away how bad I am at playing. He was pretty much carrying our team. Well I think he got a little overly competitive and just as I was running to hit the ball, all of a sudden Irving was underneath me skidding on the ground! His arm AND leg were bleeding. Oy vey.
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It would have made for a much better story if he’d actually made a point on his attempt, but sadly, that was not the case.

But, the cool part is that Irving’s skin was smeared across the court. See those white marks there? Yep. Kelley Pix (118)

Needless to say, we switched partners after that and I played on Papa’s team.
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We still lost, but that was entirely my fault, he’s pretty good.
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Papa was a Dentist and Grammie was a Nurse, so between the two of them, they got Irving patched up pretty good.
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Guess what we did for the rest of the day!
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Only this time, we had company! My cousins came to play with us too!
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Sisters by the beach!
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My happy place.
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In the afternoon, we decided to take lunch on the road boat.

Three generations of lake-lovers!
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Mother and daughter.
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The captain and my aunt!
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The boys did a bit of tubing too! It didn’t take long to flip them!
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Then Irving went, despite his battle wounds. He had a taped up gauze pad on his arm too!
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Going….going…
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And into the water!
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There was scorching heat last week, so the lake breeze and crisp water was welcomed!
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Then we anchored the boat near a trailhead and everyone got off to picnic on land. But Grammie and I decided to stay on the boat and munch on the water. (I ended up skipping the diet coke!)
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Everyone else dined in the woods.
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And after they were done eating, they found some wild blueberries growing nearby!
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They brought us a few handfuls to eat on the boat too!
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For the next two hours, the boys played in the water…
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My grandparents read and napped on board…
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And my mom and I floated on the raft chit-chatting!
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Then the boat ride continued! We passed Bear Island along the way. Check out their little post office! A mail boat delivers the mail daily!
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Also on the island is a huge sleepaway camp for kids. My mom went there for many years when she was a kid. And then she went back as a counselor later on. Irving and I decided that whether they like it or not, our kids will be going to the camp. They must grow up knowing this lake. They don’t really have a choice. We’ll fly them there for two weeks every summer. Smile I’m already excited for parents weekend. BAHAHA.

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I sat in the front, closed my eyes, and just felt the breeze on my face, and the sun on my shoulders, and the mist of the waves splashing up as we drove. This image right here is my own personal heaven.
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When we were almost back to the dock, our tube blew off the back! We had to circle back around to get it!
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I think there was more card games and dominos played in the evening, and then we ventured on foot to get some Ice Cream at the Kellerhaus! Dollar Cone Wednesdays! What, what!?
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Don’t worry, we walked a mile there and a mile back… so that makes the calories free, right?

I’d like to say that after this trip I swore off ice cream for a while, but I already broke my streak by getting a Menchie’s yesterday. Someone save me!

Where is your happy place? Did you go to camp as a kid?

 

Swim To the Pier!! July 27, 2011

Filed under: Family,Food,New Hampshire — Kelocity @ 8:32 am
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Day two at the lake included lots of…well, swimming in the lake!! Seriously, the water is crisp, clean and fresh and you actually feel cleaner coming out of it. (Don’t worry, I still showered… sometimes).

 

For the past ten summers that Irving’s been coming to the lake with me, he’s been DYING to swim to the pier. Of course, you really can’t do that since it has heavy boat traffic, but he still wanted to swim as far as he could.

 

My mom is a really good swimmer (she used to teach and swim competitively!) So she and Irving swam away. I’m a pretty good swimmer, but my endurance isn’t that great right now. So Chris and I grabbed a fun noodle and tried to catch up!Kelley Pix (91)

Once we got there, I gave Irving my noodle and swam back completely unassisted! Swim for the win! I’m paranoid about touching the slimy rocks on the bottom, so it forced me to keep kicking!
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Per summer vacation rules, lunch was served on paper plates right on the beach! (Chicken Parm Leftovers! YAY!)

Fun fact: Those blue napkins are from our bachelorette party on the lake!Kelley Pix (95)

I’m not sure what we did between lunch and dinner… probably reading, swimming, reading, swimming.

And then we eat again! Do you ever feel like that’s all you do on vacation is eat? At least the company was good! Beers for the boys!Kelley Pix (97)

They were working hard out there in the heat!Kelley Pix (98)

These guys are soul mates. Seriously. They’re so funny when they get together. Maybe they’ll be brother-in-laws someday (no pressure!)Kelley Pix (101)

Irving and Papa!Kelley Pix (102)

After dinner, we went for an evening walk to burn off some of our eats from the week.
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I’d walk more often if my route looked like this! How pretty is that channel. IMG_6410

This is Irving and my dream boat. It’s a Speedster. A mix between a jetski and a boat. Looks like so much fun!
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I used one walk to justify a whole day of eating… and then rewarded myself with ice cream. Healthy living? What healthy living?
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What a perfect, relaxing day. Everything about it was just perfect. 🙂

 

I got the Bottom Bunk!!!!! July 26, 2011

Filed under: Family,New Hampshire — Kelocity @ 11:27 pm
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We had a nice time in my hometown, but we were pretty excited to head up to Lake Winnipesaukee! I grew up spending my summers up there, and it’s also where we got married. We absolutely love it up there and always try to get in as many lake days as possible when we’re home. My grandparents live up there in the summer too, so it’s nice to spend some time with them.

(PS, my grandparents read my blog so I have to say hi!!!)

Of course as soon as we got on the road to get up there, it started to pour! We were really hoping it would clear up by the time we got up there, the rain was coming down in sheets! Typical New England, right?
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But sure enough, as soon as we arrived, it cleared up! (Also typical New England!) We have arrived!
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Did you see that big boat in the background? That’s the Mount Washington and she’s a beauty. We love watching her go back and forth across the lake during the day.
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I say it all the time, but this spot right here is my “happy place”. If I only had this view for the rest of my life, I’d probably be ok with that. Something about this lake just gives me such peace and really restores my soul.
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It makes me so happy that I now get to share my favorite place with Irving. I’m so glad that he loves it as much as I do. We both practically jumped right into the water after saying hi to my grandparents! We couldn’t wait to dip our toes in the water and then dive right in!
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The rest of the afternoon was spent doing a lot of this:
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And then later, a little of this!
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I love playing Mexican Train Dominos with my grandmother. We pretty much played all kinds of games all week long, if that doesn’t scream summer vacation, I don’t know what does! I forgot how much I like it, I have to try to play more often at home.
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Around dinner time, my mom, sister and her boyfriend joined us at the lake too! We headed out to dinner up the road. Along the way, we stopped to look at the new “Monkey Trunks” playground they built nearby. Isn’t it cool? It’s a bunch of ziplines and high ropes and obstacle courses! It’s on my list of things to do for next time!
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For dinner, we ate at the Lobster Pound, a nice restaurant across from the beach.
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It was so fun chatting with my sister and Chris. We miss them so much!
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Mom and Daughter (with that fresh-out-of-the-lake hair!)
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I think Irving was drinking a blueberry beer that is so reminiscent of the east coast!
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Chicken Parm = my favorite meal!!! And don’t be fooled, this dish served me dinner and TWO people lunch the next day. It was Huge!!!
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Group shot!
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We were so stuffed, we decided to walk back to the lake house after. But first, a photo-session!
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And one with just the boys!
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When it got dark, my mom and I took a walk on the beach and Mikaela, Chris and Irving went off to play mini-golf up the street. (Yep, twice in a week, it’s crazy!) After a couple of hours, my mom and I went to investigate to see how they were doing. We caught them deep into a very serious golf game.

Pictures from earlier in the week for visuals!
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Apparently the stakes were really high. They were playing for a very important prize: who gets the bottom bunks. (You see, our lakehouse has two sets of bunk beds and since we’re older, the bottom bunks are very desirable!)
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In the end, Irving came in first, then Mikaela and Chris. I didn’t even play, so I automatically got 4th place (rude, right?)…. but then it came down to a rock-paper-scissors game. 4th place vs. 3rd place (which I won!)… and then there were two other rounds, no one would really explain to me what was going on, but I kept winning in rock-paper-scissors…. long story short, I got first pick in the bunk arrangements! Sa-weet!!!!!

Here’s the final standings! First place, baby! Of course I picked the bottom bunk! Irving got stuck up top. BAHAHA!
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Oh the hilarity!
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So many more adventures to come!