Corey's Triathlon in Memphis

On August 15, Corey and Fred competed in the Sharpshooter Triathlon in Memphis. So Friday after Caleb and Clayton were finished with school, we loaded up our families and headed to Memphis where we spent the night with Fred's family. The boys got to swim in the Shackelford's pool while Mr. Fred cooked a delicious home style southern dinner...yum! Early Saturday morning the guys got up and headed toward the race, and then Jennifer and I loaded the boys up at 6:45 to head that way. We missed the swim, but got there in time to see the guys coming in from the bike and starting the run. I'm so proud of Corey and the hard work he has been doing to train for these events (the next one they are doing is coming up Sept. 15) Corey finished 5th in his age division with a total time of 1 hour 16 minutes on the 400m open water swim, 11 mile bike, and 2 mile trail run. The boys were so excited and proud, and when they saw him, they were cheering...he stopped to give them a high five in the transition from the bike to the run :) Afterward, he and one of the other guys he'd met gave the boys the swim caps they had to wear during the swim...love the picture below!They begin triathlon for children at age seven...the distances are much shorter and progress with their age. The boys are so excited, Caleb especially, about when they'll be old enough to do races with Corey...Jennifer and I saw the quote below at the race, and thought it was so true, whether for hunting or racing, I'm just glad that Corey spends time with our boys and pray that God will bless that effort with a close relationship as they grow older.And what better way to celebrate a fitness acheivement like a triathlon than with a fried chicken dinner! Hehe! Fred had seen Uncle Lou's fried chicken on a Food Network show as the "best food I've ever eaten with my fingers", so we decided to check it out! Here is a picture of the whole crew with Uncle Lou...he's the one in the blue shirt ;) It was very good...definitely glad we made the stop, however if you look closely at the picture, you can tell that all the little guys were very tired at this point!
On our way back home the boys took a nap, and we made a last minute decision stop in Jackson to see my family...Waverly and David had flown to Colorado for a little vacation, so the cousins were staying with my parents...we thought this would be a fun suprise for all the little people! They were so happy when they saw each other! Mom made a picnic dinner for everone and we met them at the park. It was a perfect ending to an awesome weekend!