Twin Update and Other Random "Stuff"

 

 

They're home!

Tesla and Prana came home last Wednesday and according to Mom and Dad they are adjusting nicely to Syring life. Mike and Mara had them on a walk to their favorite coffee shop within 45 minutes of arriving home. Rohan is a doting big brother and, as you can see from the smile below, he loves his sisters.

   

 The Syring's venture out to Matador for some much needed caffeine and outdoor time.

 

They've grown so much! And to think, they're not even supposed to be born yet!!!

 

The girls attending their first of many Brewer games (spring training).

 

 

Back in Wisconsin we're freezing our butts off dealing with record snow and temperatures 10 degrees below normal. At least the sun has been shining which allows for some baseball (snowball?) and family walks.

 

 



Friday night was Jackson's school carnival. We left with a loot of candy, temporary tattoos and a plate of cake-like desserts that Chris won doing the cake walk. Just what we need. :)All-in-all, a great evening. 

Jackson and I pose with my new vice, PB2. I think I've blogged about this product before but I recently discovered chocolate PB2 and now I've gone from being able to control my craving to an all out addiction to this stuff.  

I'm smiling becuase I recently found these for uber cheap on Amazon!

 

Do you see how I look like the Leaning Tower of Pisa? Well, I had the bright idea of taking Maggee on a recent family walk. For those of you who don't know, Maggee pulls like a sled dog and sometimes whines (screams) like a rabbit getting slaughtered. Sorry for the graphic example but her shrill is so bad people come out of their houses. Lucky for me, Maggee's old age is catching up with her and she doesn't pull nearly as hard (my hand was only slightly blue) and her shrills have been replaced with coughing and random gasps of air. While I can't say the walk was relaxing, I have decided she's coming with us now. We all could use the exercise.

 



We "Toughed" it Out!

 Our 15-person Tough Mudder Team!

 

Jackson and I showing off our Team Ninja tats. 

 

Roh and Jackson posing with their tattoos and Roh with his mohawk in celebration of the TM.

 

Mike photo bombing Chris and I.

He's just a big dumb animal.

 

Bryan and Michael begin their bad-ass ninja transformations.

 

Chris and I right before we leaped in to the Arctic Enema. Here's how the TM site describes this obstacle:

"This obstacle is all about mental grit. Many athletes use ice baths for recovery, but you’ll have a difficult time relaxing your muscles in this frigid dumpster. First you must bravely jump into Big Mudder’s floating iceberg abyss. Once submerged, find the mental and physical strength to swim through the ice, under a wooden plank and pull yourself out on the other end before you become hypothermic." 

 

Chris leaping over the fire in to a frigid mud bath.

 

 Post TM shoes. And we earned every bit of that mud.

 

In the hopes of getting my lips to turned back to their normal color (they were blue...seriously) I huddled up in anything I could. This may be the most clothes I've ever worn on a trip here!

 

My legs at 6 am the morning after the TM. The bruises were just beginning to set in, two days later these gams were twice as bad.

 

I think this is Tesla but I can't be sure, they look so much alike right now! She was bright eyed and content getting her warm, swaddled bath.

 

 

 The three Syring siblings with Tesla (on your left) and Prana. Prana wore a pink hat, that's how I could tell them apart most of the time.

 

These videos are unbelievable. Even more so in person! 

Bath time for Tesla!

Prana is the one without the hat in this video.

 

Let me just say that few words can even begin to describe how tiny and precious my little nieces are. I feel so lucky to have gotten to hold and love them at this critical time in their lives. They are amazing.

 
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And what did we all decide to do the day before the Tough Mudder? We took the boys and ourselves to a hug indoor trampoline place for two hours of fun and laughter. This was an absolute BLAST!

Allison and I channeling our inner cheerleader? I don't know what Chris is doing... :)

 

Chris looking to take someones head off during dodge ball.

 

Mike perfecting his back flip.

 

Me just being a total goofball.

 

Mara, Allison and I having a blast!

 

My 7 years of dance taught me something!

 

Total seriousness.

 

Mike being his nasty self and sharing his sweat with Mara.

 

This is what happens to a 5 year old when you have to be at the airport at 5 am after a fun-filled, whirlwind trip.

(I'm still rocking the tattoo!)

Here Goes Nothing!

Tomorrow at 6 am our flight leaves for Arizona to see my new baby neices, my AZ family and to run the Tough Mudder! To add to the excitement, my sister is meeting us out there. The three Syring children will be in the same place all at once (somewhere the stars have aligned)!

This trip seemed like a long ways away when we first booked it. It has arrived like a freight train, but I'm ready! Six months ago I began training for the Tough Mudder and Saturday my training will be tested. Chris, myself and about 9 other people are on Team Ninja and will run the 13 mile 30 obstacle race together. I have never felt more prepared for a race/event in my life and training for it was a lot of fun. I strayed from my traditional training (bench, flys, squat, etc.) and moved to more of a P90X and Insanity style training. My favorite new exercises are:

• Spider-Man's
• Burpees (w/push up)
• Push ups (5 different ways)
• Pull ups (5 different ways)
• Dive bombers
• Plank jacks
• Scissor squats
•  Lunges
•  Inchworms
•  Unassisted dips
• HIIT treadmill runs 

Granted, these weren't my favorite exercises to start with, I hated them all. But I had forgotten how awesome and addicting it is to train really hard and watch as you make gains you never thought possible. This was a very rewarding experience. 

 

Below my brother is wearing the t-shirts our team will don after the event. My Father's company is supporting us! The entire event is to support The Wounded Warrior Project, an amazing charity.

 

This is kind of a lame video but it shows some of the unusual training I was doing. Here I was working on strengthening my hands. I have on the gloves I'll wear for the event. Many of the obstacles require lifting, holding, etc. your body weight while hanging on to 2x4's and other wood pieces (bars, ledges, etc.) so I have been callousing them up. Chris installed a pull up bar for me in the basement which has really come in handy too.

And here are my TM toes that Chris painted for me. He surprised me and painted "F N MUDDER" on them. I love how supportive he has been through all of this new and crazy training. I'm not sure of too many husbands who would handle 3:45 am alarms 3-4 days a week, a few of which woke up Jackson. Thank you!