Turkey Trot 2010

AP Nov 30, 2010 - Decorah Iowa - There are many Turkey Trot races touted throughout the country over the Thanksgiving holiday, but perhaps none quite as unique as that found in Decorah, Iowa over the last 10 years. Once every year siblings, spouses and children of the Huinker family head to the local high school track and run a mile for bragging rights. No matter the weather, how much was eaten for lunch or whether or not they are pregnant, the race is held. On one occassion, it was even held at two different locations simultaneously since not all could be in the same place at once. As much as certain unnamed family sources informed me they would like to see it end, the willpower of the elder brother forces the tradition on.

2009 saw the resurgance of young Tara Huinker, winning in convincing fashion over a ill-prepared (and in some cases actually physically ill) field. Brian Huinker had won the prior year to take away the throne from multi-consecutive-year-winner Chris Hoden. This year was sure to be either a continuation of the young dominance or a rising up of the old fogies.

Race start time was approximately 11:45am on Sunday, November 28th. Temperature was a very pleasant 45 degrees with sun. In attendance were Chris/Beth/Max/Mya Hoden, Brian/Amanda/Olivia/Grace Huinker, Tara Huinker, Roger/Pat Huinker. And the dog Chloe.

Chris and Tara broke out to an early lead which they would hold the entire race. Chris hung right behind Tara for 3/4 of a mile, not wanting to let her get too big a lead like she had in the prior race. Chris appeared to contemplate passing her going into the 4th lap, but he showed patience and stayed stride for stride until with an 1/8 of a mile to go, Tara broke into a fast and furious pace. Chris stayed with her stride for stride and took the inside of the track as he moved next to her. Both were close to out of breath when with 40 meters left around the backside of the last turn, Chris found that extra gear and sprinted it out leaving his sister-in-law behind. Another nail-biter and close win for the aging ex-champion. Unofficial times were as follows:

Chris - 7:17
Tara - 7:19
Amanda - 8:17
Brian - 9:01
Beth - 9:06
Max- 15:10

The real surprise of the race was young 3 year-old Max Hoden setting the child bar high for all future siblings and cousins. He moved those little legs faster and longer than anyone thought possible, even saying he wanted to keep going after he had already run 4 laps! With 3 laps down, he turned down assistance from both Uncle Brian and Aunt Tara telling them "I can do this myself" and "No thank-you" when they offered to jog along side him. The only time he stopped was to do his "hands on the knees" like Auntie Tara told him to do if he was tired. Jerry McGuire was seen driving up after the race no doubt scouting future talent.

As for the win, Chris commented "I'm glad I ditched the eliptical machine last year. That thing was a joke for training for a run. It feels good to get my mojo back." Young Tara was discourged but showed great sportsmanship. "Chris is a competitor. I really thought after last year that I had this little race in my hip pocket at least for the next 12 or so years until the kids got older. Looks like I may have to make another call to the Luther cross-country coach for another 1-mile training plan." Amanda was very happy with her time after claiming to not train even a little bit. Those comments were met with question. If true, Amanda could have the potential to shake up the leaderboard in the future. Brian and Beth both had hoped for better finishes and looked forward to another chance. Actually, only Brian was looking forward to another chance. Beth was heard saying "Maybe we don't need to do this race any more? Then again, it did help that it forced me to take Chloe for a few runs to help her lose those 8 pounds the vet told us she was packing".

As far as the 4 littlest competitors in the race...Max Hoden was heard asking people "Did you see me, Did you see me, Did you see me?" for at least an hour after the race. Mya had this to say: "Enough with the "Team Tara" gear. That t-shirt was like 8 sizes too big for me. Next year I'm bringing my own uniform and Max better watch out!" The only thing Olivia had to say was "I'm just mad that my mom wouldn't stop and pick me up as she ran by me on the track. I don't think she has ever blantantly ignored me like that in my entire 2.4 years of life!" 10 month old Gracie Huinker just shook her head in wonder as to why she was woken up from a perfectly good nap to witness that:) Early predictions for turkey trot 2011:

Chris - 7:05
Tara - 7:08
Amanda - 7:50
Brian - 8:00
Beth - 8:30
Max - 14:00

Thanksgiving

Whew! We are home after a crazy, but fun Thanksgiving with our families. The holiday got started a little earlier than we planned. It was 2:00pm on Tue and I was shopping at Target and got a call from Chris saying we needed to leave Tuesday night or we probably wouldn't be able to go to Minnesota until Thursday because of the weather. Thankfully my parents were down for the day so they took the kids to Decorah and we had a little extra time to pack, but we were out the door packed for 5nights by 5:30. We spent Tuesday night in Decorah and arrived in Minneapolis right as the snow/ice was starting on Wednesday afternoon.

Thursday we went down to Bloomington to spend with Chris's grandparents and extended family. The food was delicious and Max thought he was in heaven getting to play with Savannah and Taylor (8 and almost 6yrs old) Mya was pretty leery of the dogs so she stuck by my side most of the day, but managed at times to be herself. Here's a picture of the 4 great-grandkids.



Friday was mostly spent shopping! We definitely took advantage of being in a big city on Black Friday. Chris and I work best when we shop alone, so we split it up. He did the very early bird shopping and then I did mid-morning and afternoon and then he went back out late afternoon. We got lots done and more importantly got some great deals!

Chris's mom is still pretty sore from her arm surgery a few weeks ago. It's tough to not be able to do much for yourself, but it was good for everyone else to step up and help out! Chris and I went to work Wednesday in the kitchen. He made chex mix, I made fudge and an apple pie from scratch! I'm sure it was tough for Linda to sit back and watch me do it, but she let me do it my own way and just gave a few helpful hints along the way:) I know there's a picture out there of me with my pie, so if I get it, I'll post it. Here's the Hoden family Christmas picture for 2010.



Saturday we went to Decorah and spent the rest of the holiday weekend with my family. Most of the day was spent admiring Tara's new iPhone, playing scrabble, drinking wine, and cursing the Hawkeyes. (well, not if you're Chris:) Sunday was the annual Turkey Trot. I look less forward to this each year that passes. My brother (the founder) was complaining that his foot was really sore so I suggested we skip this year and he acted like I said we skip Christmas. Apparently this is not something that is going to go away anytime soon. I won't tell you the winner just yet.(If you're a facebook friend of my sister, then you already know) The winner has to write up his or her summary of the race so when that is finalized, I'll post it on the blog. Obviously it's not me or else the post would have been up minutes after the race:) Enjoy a few of the pictures from the race.









Here's Team Tara relaxing after the race watching a You-Tube clip for the 500th time.

...and black friday begins now

It's 8:51 on Thanksgiving night and I'm forcing my eyes to stay open because Chris and I are headed to Toys R Us in about an hour in order to get the 10pm doorbuster deals!! I'm pretty sure we're crazy, but there's just something about a deal that gets us really fired up. Not only are we going out tonight, but here's the plan for tomorrow:

4am: hit up Ultimate Electronics for a camcorder
5am: WalMart with all the other crazies for a printer, external hard drive, some movies, and a few gifts I can't share because they are for blog readers:)
6am: Menards for hot wheels ($.49 per car), pillow pets (2 for $5) big wheel, and some other gifts.
7am: home to sleep (if the kids allow it)
9am: GAP (50% off store wide), Pottery Barn Kids, Bed Bath and Beyond, Starbucks (for a burst of energy) Target, and possibly more!
Later in the afternoon: Ridgedale Mall to hit up Macy's among others.

I will most likely hit a wall at some point and have to come home to take a nap, but it's fun to plan! Chris spent hours looking through the ads today writing out what he wanted, comparing prices, making a game plan, etc.

Hopefully our Christmas shopping will be almost done at the end of the day tomorrow! Now is when we are very thankful for the mini-van:)

stages

I was just thinking the other day about how many different stages we go through when raising kids. Just when you think things are going really great, they get immunizations and everything goes to hell. The opposite is true too...just when you think things can't get any worse, your twins finally sleep through the night on their 319th day of life! (right, Marie??) We worry about all the milestones...is my child going to roll over on time? Sit up? Eat solids? Switch to whole milk with no problems? How come my kid can't put a puzzle together? When did your kids know their colors? I could go on and on and on and on. I am by no means a "seasoned" parent, but as each day goes by, I feel less and less stressed about these things and more and more confident that they will one day know their colors (probably in 6 different languages too) and things will be just fine.

Anyway...I was thinking about the stages we've been through and the ones we're at now, so I decided to write some down. Chris is laying on the couch yelling some of these at me, so I can't take all the credit.

1. We are no longer in the changing 2 kids' diapers all day long stage, but now we are in the stage where you better make sure both kids go potty before we walk out of the house and locate the public restrooms before doing anything else at each and every place we venture to.

2. We are no longer in the stage where the kids are getting up at night...err...wait. we're still in that stage most nights. It's for different reasons now, but it's still happening.....:(

3. We are no longer in the stage where I have a daughter who is completely bald...now we are in the stage where I just wish she'd leave her pony tails or barrettes in all day long!!



4. We are no longer in a stage where we worry so much about who is watching our babies and now we worry that the kids are nice to the babysitters so they'll want to come back!

5. We are no longer in a stage where we worry that they won't ever talk. Now we worry that they won't ever stop!

6. We no longer in the stage where we rush to our children when they are crying. Now we are in the stage where we first ask ourselves if they are manipulating us!

7. We are no longer in the stage where we worry about whether our kids will be adventurous human beings, try new things, etc. Now we worry that our daughter has no fear and will do another super fly off the arm of the couch straight into the back of the other couch!

8. We are no longer in a stage where we are scared shitless to drive in the car to Minneapolis for Thanksgiving for fear we will have to stop at a hotel halfway due to some crazy screaming fit. Now we are in the stage where we worry our kids won't agree on the DVD or worse yet, WE will memorize the words!

9. We are no longer in the stage where we have to bounce our kids in the bathroom with their ears up next to running water in order to get them to sleep. Now we are in the stage where we wish all it took was some running water!!

10. We are no longer in the stage where we go through 2 or 3 pairs of pajamas per day because they pee through. Now we are in the stage where they go through 2 or 3 pairs of pajamas per day because they think changing clothes is such a blast!!

11. We are no longer in the stage where we have to carefully monitor the number of ounces our babies drink for fear that they will not be the right percentage at their next well child visit. Now we are in the stage where we have to monitor the number of ounces they drink for fear that they will pee the bed!

12. We are no longer in the stage where I have to watch very carefully that they don't put anything in their mouths, but now it's the stage where I have to watch very carefully what comes out of my mouth!

How about you?? Any stages you'd rather go back to than deal with the ones you're in now??

Milk moustache

Finally after nearly 2 years of living in Dubuque I have finally found some milk that I actually like! I hadn't had a full glass of milk since I've lived here. Call me crazy, but I think different brands of milk taste different and most of it tastes bad. I'm a little bit picky with my milk in that I want it hormone free and I don't want to pay $6.99/gallon for organic milk.

A few weeks ago we were at Mendards of all places and guess what we stumbled upon??? KEMPS milk! Chris and I grew up on Kemps milk and I personally think it tastes the best. The only Kemps they had was the original kind which was not hormone free, but one call to the grocery manager and they are now stocked with Kemps Select and we are frequent customers! It's a little strange that I walk into Menards and walk out with 3 gallons of milk and nothing else! Other people are catching on too...most times we have had to buy 1/2 gallon or pint jugs, because the gallons are snatched up!

Best part...now we don't have to make up some story about why Max and Mya drink milk for dinner and we drink water! It's milk moustaches all around!

Dear Gap

Dear Employees of the Gap and Baby Gap in Dubuque,

I am so sorry about the way my children behaved in your store this evening. The only reason I went is because I had a 45% off one regular priced item along with a 30% off everything else. Yes, it could have waited a couple more days, but I know how things get picked over when there are sales like this. I really needed a pair of jeans because I only have one pair that does not have a hole in the knee (at least one that was not intended to be there.)

I realize now that I should have turned around the second we walked in and my little children were hiding behind the sale signs hanging in the window and putting their mouths on the glass. Then, when I went to the clearance rack, they decided to go behind it and knock clothes off the hangars. I should have stopped there, but these cute clothes were calling my name. So I picked out a few more things and headed to the dressing room. I'm really sorry to your customer that was trying on clothes when a 3 year old boy peeked under the dressing room door. I'm really sorry that the playground games tag, hide and go seek and ring around the rosie had to be witnessed at your store tonight.

Onto BabyGap..I only needed a winter hat for Mya. I should have ordered it online. I'm truly sorry that Mya took out 3 pairs of pajamas from the little bags they are in and threw them up in the air while I was checking out. I feel terrible for the person who has to refold 5 or 6 shirts that Mya pulled off the shelf. I'm sorry that Max took the lid off of a chapstick tube and almost put it on his lips before he was stopped by me. I'm sorry to the store clerk who had to tell Mya that pushing her brother was not nice.

Although I have had the "what is appropriate behavior in a store" talk with my kids, it's obvious we need a refresher course. I promise to do that before I come into your store again and I only hope you have short memories or the turnover rate is high with your company because I don't think I can face any of you again.

Sincerely,
Beth Hoden

P.S. While I'm at it...I'm also really sorry to the people walking in the mall at 6:45 tonight. When we walked by the play area (which was promised if the behavior was good) and they realized we were NOT stopping to play, the screaming that followed was deafening. I'm sorry you had to witness me holding their hands pretty tightly and basically dragging them to the van. You'll be happy to know that they are both in bed snoring peacefully right now. Tomorrow is a new day.

Happenings

Time for a blog update! The week kind of got away from me and now I have lots to update you on!

I've had lots of people e-mail me and ask how Chris's dad did in the election, so thanks so much for your interest! Unfortunately, he lost the election to the incumbent. He gave it everything he had and was on the phone reminding supporters to vote up until the last minute! I saw someone posted a comment on his facebook page which pretty much sums up my feelings too. Congrats on a well run campaign. You never know if you don't try...

David didn't have much time to reflect on the election, because Chris's mom had wrist surgery the next day! She was hanging some curtains and took a fall (damn crocs) and it was a pretty severe break. She has some plates and screws and lots of pain! He has switched gears pretty quickly into Linda's full time nurse:) I may even be learning to make a pie this Thanksgiving because it's pretty hard to make the traditional Thanksgiving favorite Apple pie with lattice crust and a drizzle of caramel with only one functional hand!

Back here on the home front...things are going fine. Chris and I went to Max's first preschool conferences last week! It was surreal. We couldn't believe we were at this point in our lives already! The conference went really well. He scored all "S" which was satisfactory and some of the teacher comments were really nice. I learned some things about Max that I didn't know...like that he doesn't require assistance to zip his coat. WHAT???? How come he can't do that at home? (Could it be because I don't give him enough time? Surely not:) Apparently Max's favorite centers are the writing center, the blocks and the tractors. I sensed that because every time I pick him up from school his backpack is full of papers he has colored. The best part of the conference was the teacher telling us what a joy Max is in class and that he is definitely ready to be there.

Mya has decided to go from 1-2 word phrases to sentences in about 2 weeks time. She hasn't stopped since and she only has one voice...LOUD! We are butting heads a little more than normal these days. I have to say the words "I am in charge" about 20times a day! She can pull out every stall tactic in the book before going down for a nap or bed. For awhile it was taking me 30 minutes to get her down for both! Finally I remembered that I do have control of this and we went down to 1 book, 2 songs and a back rub before nap. Then at night she gets 3 books, 2 songs, 1 hug, 1 drink of water and a back rub. No more tucking babies in, 30 hugs, 10 million rounds of twinkle twinkle, etc.

This weekend we went to Cedar Falls to say good-bye to Joe, Tracy, Tate, Adria and Troy before they move to Augusta, GA with john Deere. We're hoping to get down to see them sometime next spring! I think it will be an overnight trip:)

After leaving Cedar Falls, Max and I went to Marshalltown for the Iowa High School Girls state swim meet. Hannah and Mary Kathryn (the twins I bb sat from the time they were 2) are seniors this year and have both had excellent swimming careers so I wanted to see their last meet! They had an outstanding meet. Hannah placed 2nd in 2 individual events and in one relay. H and MK teamed up to place 6th in a relay so they got to stand on the podium together which was really neat to see. Chris and I are really hoping to get at least one of them to Loras next year:) I'll even do their laundry!

I haven't been taking many pictures lately, but Mya has! Sometime I'll do a post with all of her and Max's photography! It's pretty interesting what they take photos of!

Grandpa's Big Day!

The day is finally here! We get to find out if our Grandpa will be the next Representative for the MN House in District 32A! Our fingers are crossed and everyone we know in your district will be out voting for you today! Win or lose...you have 2 little kids in Iowa who love you and are proud of how many people in Minnesota you have already helped just by being a candidate!