Post Marathon Celebratory Breakfast
After months of training and completing 3 big events it was fun to come together with all the other walkers and celebrate our achievements over breakfast at Coach Elaine's house. It was a fun morning with everyone wearing their medals (check out the Kingwood Marathon medal in the photos - it is the largest and heaviest medal I've ever seen! The Kingwood Marathon is always held on New Year's Day - if only I'd known how big the medal was I might have crawled out of bed to participate - maybe next year.....) I was also pleasantly surprised when one of the coaches asked me to be an assistant coach for the coming season. I was quite stunned and a little overwhelmed however agreed to give it a go - so another challenge for me, but hey I've walked a marathon so there's nothing I can't do, isn't that right!
.......................1. One very big medal!!!!! 2. Donna & Hugh
3. Julie, Patty & Elaine
Jacqui's Visit
Bill's daughter, Jacqui, arrived here for a one month holiday before she returns to Newcastle to start university. She is just delightful and we have really enjoyed her company and showing her snippets of Houston.
EDN Retreat
Jacqui and I were fortunate enough to attend EDN Americas Team’s first retreat. It was held at the most wonderful place - "The Retreat at Artesian Lakes" near Cleveland (about 1.5 hrs out of Houston). John & I stayed in a cabin on the lake and fed an alligator from our balcony! Our cabin was quite secluded and was surrounded by wildlife – lots of cardinals, squirrels, woodpeckers, loggerhead turtles (they are just enormous – very prehistoric looking!) and of course alligators. There was a swinging bench on the balcony – just the perfect place to sit and contemplate (with one eye on the alligator of course!) The EDN Retreat was a huge success – all the staff were very complimentary about the event which is fantastic however I just fell in love with the venue – we will definitely return for a weekend getaway in the very near future.
................look really carefully at photo on the right and see a loggerhead turtle and an alligator (best friends!)
Museum of Natural Science - Body Worlds 2 Exhibition
Jacqui, Anna & I wandered through this extraordinary exhibition which featured more than 200 real human body specimens, including more than 20 whole bodies, healthy and unhealthy organs and body parts and slices - all preserved through a process called Plastination. It was just amazing to see everything our skin hides!
Butterfly House
What a beautiful place - a special place where you can just sit and watch. There are so many butterflies - so many colours - just breathtaking.
Organic Outpost Farm
The Last Organic Outpost is a non-profit organisation founded by an amazing man named Joe and is a community of people who help people learn about health and nutrition by growing what they eat. Their goal is to promote self reliance. The afternoon John & I visited was a special day as the Mayor of Houston also made an appearance (he must have known we would be there!!)
It's amazing how some people are so giving of themselves and have such a passion to help others - I was quite overwhelmed by the whole experience and very much overawed with the willingness of so many people to donate their time and put in so much effort to keep this veggie farm so bountiful.
.................Julie, Phyllis & the Mayor, Bill White
Legally Blonde
John & I took Lydia to dinner and then to the theatre to celebrate her 40th birthday. It was a great night with great company. The play was an easy watch - lots of fun, laughter, singing, dancing and a story with a great moral. Of course the 2 little dogs stole the show......
In between times -
We enjoyed two EDN dinners, a Pot Luck evening with Nomi Shannon, 2 Like-Minded Supper Club get-togethers, dinner with Paul & Katie, a Leisure Learning class on Making small booklets, a day trip to San Antonio, 2 dentists visits, not to mention John's increased training schedule including daily stair climbing, lengthy walks and swimming.
And just when we thought we could take a breather it's time to start packing 'cos we're off to Canada in 2 more sleeps - so stayed tuned.......
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