it's official.... July will be my FIRST olympic distance triathlon...

I've been talking about signing up for a longer triathlon for years... and I made mention that I think I am ready... so Scott signed me up for the NJ State Olympic Triathlon yesterday. I've done MANY sprint triathlons... but this will be MUCH longer and involve MUCH more training. But I think I'm up for the challenge!!! So, in July both Scott and I will be competing... and hopefully both feeling proud after we cross the finish line!! We'll keep everyone updated on our progress!!!

feeling at home at "monkey joes"...

So, this past weekend (yes, I'm a bit slow posting the pics and story) the girls spent with my parents. They of course had a GREAT time (as always)... but this time they checked out "monkey joes", an indoor bounce facility!! They ALL had a great time!! Even Aunt Erin enjoyed the bouncies!! And little miss Elyse was told that she probably wouldn't be able to do everything... but she showed them!!! She was on ALL pieces of equipment... and LOVING it!! So, here are some pics of their fun....

Angela's first snowman...

And by first snowman, we mean the first one she's pretty much done on her own!!! She was sooo excited to get him dressed and then Elyse was trying to knock him down... so nothing different than usual in our household!! But here are a few pics of the kiddos enjoying the snow!!!

Give us a Shout Out!!!

I copied this off of another blog I read and thought it would be a great idea to do on our family blog, as well. I often wonder how many people look at our blog on a daily or weekly basis and now is my chance to find out. If you come onto our blog to read our updates, just post a comment underneath this thread. Even if you happened to stumble upon us by accident, just leave a note. I would love to know who reads about us and who stays up to date on the Reedells. We appreciate it more than you will ever know.....so, give us a shout out...I know you are out there!

And then the fire alarms go off....

so I didn't put this into my "story about our vacation"... but this definately made it "interesting". So, we were staying on the 24th floor of the building. It was sunday afternoon, the girls didn't get to take a nap becasue we got back tooo late... and so we were "just hanging out" in the condo. The next thing we know, the fire alarms start going off and across the loudspeaker it says "a fire emergency has been reported. Please remain calm and wait for further information". So, we figured it was "just a drill" or a "false alarm". Well, after a few minutes, we see the firetrucks pull up to the front of the building (we could see it from our balcony). At that point, the announcement went to "please evacute the building. Do not take the elevators." So, we all threw our shoes and coats on, I grabbed the girls blankies and cups, my purse and started down the 24 flights of stairs. As we were going down the steps we could see some smoke on one of the floors... so we knew we had to keep on going. As we got to the lobby, the firemen were walking through with all of their tools... and it was a surreal situation. A few mintues later, they gave the all clear. It turned out that someone had burned food in their kitchen (all of the condos had full kitchens) and instead of opening the door to the balcony, they opened the one to the hallway, hence the smoke. So, there was "no real danger"... but boy was it "exciting". But on the bright side, at least we didn't have to climb 24 flights of stairs with the kiddos in our arms!!!!

back from our winter vacation....

So, happy february everyone!!! We just got back from a nice trip to the Jersey shore. And before you ask... what is there to do at the shore in the winter... all I can say is PLENTY!!!

We stayed in Atlantic City, at the Wyndham Skyline Tower... and it was beautiful. I LOVED having my car valet parked each time we pulled up to the builiding, the views from our balcony was breathtaking

... and we had a jacuzzi tub... which the girls used EVERY single night! The girls even sang in a Karaoke party they had at the resort too... it was the ABC song... and they were just tooo cute for words (Angela sang and Elyse licked the microphone!!). And the real reason we stayed at this condo was that they had a NICE indoor pool. Even when it was snowing like crazy the pool was NICE AND WARM... and our two little fishes spent MUCH time with HUGE smiles on their faces while swimming.

But just to list a few of the things we went and did, we went to the Rainforest Cafe (with Aunt Erin... ), to the Pier at Ceasars to play on the indoor beach and watch the water show, to visit Aunt Gerry and then she stayed overnight at our condo (so Scott and I could get out and enjoy some "alone time", went to the Cape May Zoo and Park (the girls LOVED seeing all the animals and playing on their HUGE playground), went to Harrah's Casino and enjoyed their pool and different "water views", went to Ocean City (NJ) and walked on the boardwalk (and the girls collected shells for Bob... my 13 year old hermit crab....), and then we got to enjoy the BEAUTY of the NJ shore with snow!! I went out for a morning run on wednesday and had to take my camera... it was unbelievable. I've seen pics on tv of the shore with snow... but it pales in comparison to the "real thing". It was sooo beautiful!!!!

So, as you can tell, we were NICE and busy while being away... and enjoyed EVERY single second of it!!! Hope you had a wonderful week... and talk to you all soon!!!