Life on Mars

The Power of the Plan

2011-11-16T09:38:00.001-08:00

My five year old taught me a lesson today. We've been struggling for weeks to get him to tie his shoes on his own. We've been exercising all of our patience with each other. Tying shoe laces is a very complex task, after all. Most of the things we adults do automatically, are actually very complex, like driving, and speaking in grammatically correct sentences. Well, some do those complex tasks better than others.Back to shoe tying. Eldon has had a hard time with it. I remember struggling with shoe-tying myself once, long, long ago. Today, Eldon came up with a solution.I was making lunch in the kitchen, when I hear "daddy, come look." The first words that crossed my mind and nearly crossed my lips were, hold on, I'm cooking your lunch. There was an urgency and excitement in his voice so I obliged. There sat Eldon with a glowing smile on the piano bench in the middle of the room. On his foot was a shoe, that he had tied all by himself, without a single word of support from Sarah or me. Next to him was a piece of paper with some scribbling on it. Of course I congratulated him. Then he told me about his plan. That was no scribbling, look closer. First you pull the laces up, then you cross them, and pull the ends away from each other. Next make two loops, and cross one over the other. Finally pull the ends of the loops away from each other slowly. These are the very same directions I have been telling, and modeling for him for weeks, and he never mastered the technique. Today, he made it his own, and immediately mastered the skill. The difference was in the plan.

2011-11-13T17:02:00.001-08:00

I thought that perhaps i would take a very short break from blogging about how cute every last thing about my daughter is, just for a moment or two. Don't worry, I'm sure I'll back to taking hundreds of pictures per day (no exaggeration folks)and writing about how endearing every thing she does is.Today, I am blogging about something else entirely. Namely, my inability to give up on ridiculous ideas. If you've read this blog for a year or so, you'll be familiar with such things as eating a 2.5lb sandwich with a full pound of fries on the side in exactly 30 minutes. There were moments while battling the Dagwood challenge when I thought that I would have like to have given up, but looking up at me was a pair of brown five-year-old eyes. Somehow I just had to defeat that sandwich. Then there's the Martian Marathon, yes a race sharing the same outer space theme as my name. There could be no giving up. Defeat was not an option.So, where is all of this nonsense going? Stachies for Nashies, the annual mustache contest held in honor of the NCAA Cross Country Championships, in Terre Haute, Indiana. This year I submitted my picture, dreaming of being a contender. The picture is my school picture from this year. It features a really greasy mustache that the kids at my school have named "El Ranchero." If you haven't voted for it yet, please go to the link below and click on the like button above my pic. THANKS!http://www.flotrack.org/photo/650271/contest/15

The Princess

2011-11-10T20:17:00.001-08:00

Poor Caelan has become a middle child. As much as he loves his little sister, I think he is the one with the biggest change. No longer is he our little baby, of course those days are long gone anyways. The other day he slipped into bed after waking up early, and I really had to think about it to figure out which boy it was. He is getting so big! He loves his new sister, but I think he misses being our baby.Eldon is in heaven. I've never seen such a proud big brother. He would be content to hold his baby all day, and he's super protective of her.Daddy and Mommy are equally in love with their baby girl, but lack of adequate sleep makes it hard to do anything but nap. Good thing she makes a really great little teddy bear for nap time.

Big Brother and Baby Sister

2011-11-04T08:46:00.001-07:00

Vivian Magdalena Mars

2011-11-02T08:45:00.001-07:00

9 lbs21.5 inches

2011-10-29T19:13:00.000-07:00

Here is a preview of things to come. Our baby girl will be born Wednesday. Sarah will no longer be the only princess at our house. Caelan will no longer be the baby, and Eldon will be even more of a big brother. My world, I've been informed, is about to revolve around my first daughter. They say that dads have a special thing for their daughters. I'm anxious and terrified all at once.

'86

2011-09-10T13:10:00.000-07:00

My earliest automotive memory is of sitting in the back of my dad's Chevette and waving to cars out the hatch-back window. Then there are the countless times my dad would go into the gas station to pay for gas (yes people used to do that)only to come back with a pretzel rod.
It was no surprise then that my first car that I had all to myself, once obtaining my permit, was a Chevette. I made lots of mistakes in that car. Think, forgetting the e-brake is on and driving a few miles, or accidentally driving to Pennsylvania kinds of mistakes. It also saw plenty of off road duty scouting out secret skateboarding spots. Countless friends learned to drive a stick in good old "Hot Rod Blue," as she was called.
I'm sure that most adults fondly remember their first set of wheels. I certainly never have forgotten mine, and have always said that if I had five hundred dollars and the opportunity presented itself, I'd buy another Vette in a heartbeat. I'm not sure what she was thinking, but Sarah decided to test my sincerity, upon finding a Craig's List special on the other side of town. It looked exactly like my original. 78,000 original miles. Pristine condition. Owned by an old lady. Willing to negotiate! I drove down, test drove, smiled a lot. It even smelled as I remembered. It was mine!
I drove my baby for a year or so, but alas, Ohio winters and road salt started to catch up to my near antique ride. A few holes started to peak through her perfect 1986 patina. That's when I started to dream of some sort of restoration. I wouldn't be able to replicate the crackled paint so I decided on a new direction... it would be a race car. Eldon is a big fan of Batman and Johnny Cash, so the color was easily decided, matte black. Nothing says tough like Matte black. Then came the choice of numbering. Lots of numbers came to mind, such as four (4 seats, wheels, cylinders, laps to a mile..., but in the end I decided on 86. It's an '86, so it was fitting. Also, the speedo goes up to 85. Think Spinal Tap amps that go up to 11. Catch my drift?
My buddy, Jon Spooner came over and we went to work. Yes, we used spray paint, only the finest for my Vette. I used contact paper to make a mask for the numbers, and more spray paint. She came out looking pretty sweet!
It's funny how many thumbs up I get as I drive good ol' 86 to work every day. People come up to me at gas stations offering up their memories of their own chevettes. As a joke I cruised it down to a local car show just to see what would happen. Some people laughed, but many more took pictures with cell phone and cheered for my race car Chevette.

First Day of School

2011-08-24T10:36:00.000-07:00

Late Summer

2011-08-06T08:43:00.000-07:00

Summer has been hot this year. It has been humid and sweaty. I suppose that is the way that summers in Ohio are supposed to be. I've enjoyed this sauna summer more than any other I can remember, having gotten lots of projects done, though the list only seems to have gotten longer. But productivity is not the key to enjoying summer. As I watch my two cherub boys grow, discover, and experience things long since made common and therefore invisible to my adult perception; I find myself reliving the excitement of being a child.

Fun times at Aunt Daisy's

2011-06-12T16:58:00.000-07:00

Martian Marathon

2011-05-01T16:48:00.000-07:00

It's been a little over a month since the race, so this is a bit late in coming, but I thought I should at least add a few lines about the race. I thought it would be a fun stunt run a race named after me. I liked the fact that this was early in the spring marathon season, and was also intrigued by the out-n-back layout of the course. My older brother, Dan committed to the race, I figured I had to run.
My initial goal had been to run a 2:25 at Martian, since that was what was required in the fine print to walk away with the $$$, even though the course record was only 2:36. I trained through some nasty freezing weather and somehow survived it all and was pretty well on target to shoot for my goal time...
...until about a month out from the race I passed out at work. I was diagnosed with pneumonia, and went through a long series of Dr.'s appointments and tests to rule out any serious conditions that might cause me to keel over after running a marathon and die. It's happened to fitter runners than me. The result was I was finally diagnosed with a Vasovago Syncope, nothing that would kill me while running. In the meantime I was still running, but limiting my runs to moderate intensity and foregoing my typical speed work. At the end of the health issues I was just happy to be able to run my race, despite missing a few workouts, I still felt pretty fit, if not in peak form.
After the preceding month, some of the pressure to perform had disappeared on race day. I was ready to run, but without some of the stress that would normally accompanies putting months and months of training into a two and a half hour performance. More than anything I was happy to be running.
The morning was almost ideal. With all of the variables that go into a marathon, I couldn't have asked for a much better day, mid 40s and only a slight breeze. The long sweeping turns of the out and back parkway would also make my morning's work go by faster. I jogged a couple laps around a parking lot really easy as a warm up. Everything felt pretty good. As race time got nearer, I headed towards the line, ducked under some streamers and lined up at the front. I thought it strange that as I lined up everyone near me took a few steps back. Talk about an ego boost. I wasn't even trying to intimidate anyone. The race started on time, and I was off. From the very beginning no one went with me. I hit the mile mark striding easily at 5:32. There was no sound behind me. It was just me, a few officials on bikes and a police car with the lights on. I ran a few miles through a tree lined residential area before getting onto the parkway, that made up the bulk of the race. As I turned onto the parkway at about 3 miles into the race I could see that the second place runner was at least 400 meters behind me. I felt pretty confident that I would just pull away.
I was very consistent through the first half of the race, never straying far from 5:40 on any given mile, sometimes faster, sometimes a bit slower. I hit the turn around point at a little over 1:14 feeling good, but soon saw the second place runner coming the other direction. by my estimation (I know not to put too much stock in my math skills while running) he was about two minutes behind me. I was surprised to see him so close. Two minutes is not that much time to make up in the second half of the marathon. I knew that he would be chasing me. With that, I threw in a few miles around 5:20, wanting to be sure that I could make it to the 20 mile mark without getting caught. if I could do that I knew I could gut out the win.
I never looked back, but I conscientiously sped up into turns hoping that I'd get around turns before he would see me, so he wouldn't know how to chase. As the race wore on, i had a small problem in that the volunteers did not have the energy gels ready when I came through. I generally take about five in a race, but this time I only got to take the one that I carried with me, and i took that early on, thinking I would get one at a water station. At mile 21 I got a pretty serious cramp, but continued to run through. I can't remember the last time I cramped up that way and am fairly certain it was from a lack of gels.
Having not been caught by this point, I knew I just had to stride it in and I'd have the win. I did back off a bit in the last few miles, especially as the course got twistier with a few steep inclines to knock any momentum out of me. I finished in 2:31:00. It was my first marathon win. A faster time would have been nice, but this was plenty. I was glad to have Sarah there at the finish along with my parents, my brother's family, my other brother, and Will and his son Joe who had driven up to see us run. Overall it was a very good day, and it gives me confidence going into my next challenge, whatever that will be.

2011-04-23T14:14:00.001-07:00

With age comes cynicism. Tales of a mythical rodent carrying eggs filled with candy lose some relevance when one can simply drive to the grocery store and buy as much of whatever one wants. In my experience, even candy isn't as sweet as it once was, especially since I'm aware of about how much it takes to cause a stomach ache. Let's face it, holidays, such as Easter aren't as exciting as they once were, at least not for the same reasons...
As a parent, more and more, I am loving the chance to relive the joys of being young all over again. It may even be better the second time around, watching as my boys hunt for plastic eggs carefully hidden in the back yard. There is something magical about the way they see the world and the joy with which they experience things like Easter Egg hunts.

The Dress

2011-02-06T12:57:00.001-08:00

I have been experimenting with sewing lately. At Christmas time I made some grocery bags. A few weeks ago and made a purse and this week I made this dress. I call my sister to let her know what I did and she told me to put a picture of it on the blog so Daisy this is for you.

Caelan sleeping

2010-12-05T07:37:00.000-08:00

Halloween

2010-11-25T09:13:00.001-08:00

I've been chastised for not having Halloween pictures up before Thanksgiving. I figure it's not too late, since the boys STILL have candy from halloween, and not because they haven't been eating it. They made out like bandits. It's easy to see why. Eldon was the only Thing-Wolverine-with a mustache. The zebra was adorable, but wasn't a big fan of the cold.

Marathon

2010-10-03T09:09:00.001-07:00

There are so many variables in a marathon that it's virtually impossible to have a perfect race. The Akron Marathon can be especially tricky given the downhill start and hilly second half. My first marathon was a 3:24 at Akron several years ago. After that I ran a 3:05 at Akron, and then a 2:42 in Boston. After Boston I ran Akron again and bettered my time to 2:38 which I ran twice at Akron. In my first several marathons I improved by significant amounts each time. After awhile, though, I found myself in a rut and couldn't seem to run any faster than 2:38 no matter how well I trained, or in a few cases over-trained.
I have been trying for years to run a sub 2:30 marathon, and after so many attempts I was honestly starting to doubt my ability to achieve that goal. For this marathon I thought I could run faster than 3:38, but I decided to worry more about place than time. I wanted to get a top three finish, after finishing 6th last year. Ironically I ran a great performance time-wise, while finishing 7th overall, missing my place goal.
The start of the race goes out downhill and it's easy to go out too fast. Last year the lead pack went out really easy and slowly developed throughout the race. This year, however, the race went out insanely fast. The leaders went through the mile at 5:05. I went through "conservatively" at 5:15... virtual suicide. By the mile mark the leaders had lined up and I found myself hanging on to a small chase pack. We went through 5k just under 17 minutes, again way too fast for this course, and my previous performances here. Was I insane?
I was fortunate to find another runner who was going slightly faster than I was hoping to go, but with an emphasis on racing, I knew I needed to stick with him if I was going to be a contender and try to chase down the stragglers from the lead pack once they broke. I stayed with him through mile 10 where another runner and they both surged. I also surged (from 5:40ish pace to 5:30ish pace) but was unable to cover the move. Fortunately the lead pack had already begun to implode and some of the victims of the pace were beginning to fall off, so I had people to chase now that I was running on my own.
I came through the halfway point at 1:12:55 and I was still ticking off mile splits at between 2:30 and 2:40, while chasing down "dead" runners and feeling strong. On the second half of the course my friend, Joel rode his bike to different points on the course to tell me how far I was back from the next runner ahead of me. I did catch several of them as I ran through the notoriously hilly Sand Run area and even up Garman Hill. Joel kept me focused on racing and chasing down runners ahead of me rather than settling into simply finishing where I was.
At 20 miles I began to realize that I was in a great position to run a sub 2:30. At this point I was able to really focus and keep my mile splits respectable. I was still chasing down runners, and racing forward.
I ran hard for the last two miles, knowing that I was close to 2:30 and that I was gaining on the Russian I had been chasing. My last mile was a 5:30. When I entered teh stadium,I thought that I had just missed 2:30, but looked up at the clock and saw, 2:29:43. I took off and sprinted with everything I had left, and finished in 2:29:58. As I crossed the line everything was blurry. A teammate, Beth August, who had run the half, came over and gave me a big hug (and her Gatorade). Several volunteers came also, just as I was starting to get light headed and had to sit down.
A week later I still smile and laugh almost in disbelief that I finally ran my sub-2:30. Thanks to my family, my teammates, and everybody else who has supported me in my running! So, what should I try next?

2 Years

2010-09-19T10:31:00.001-07:00

Our little one is now two years old. We had a small party, the life of which was Sarah's car themed cake. Caelan is a big time gear-head and loves nothing more than to sit in a car and play with the gear shifter and the steering wheel. He loved his race car cake as well as all of the other nice things people gave him. The ghost dog in the picture sings the Ghost Busters theme song. We've heard nothing but "who you gonna call..." for the last 24 hours!

Caelan helping himself to some milk

2010-09-02T13:08:00.000-07:00

First Day of School

2010-09-01T13:01:00.001-07:00

Dagwood Challenge

2010-07-12T14:57:00.000-07:00

2.5 lbs of meat
1 lb potatoes
150lbs of macho

Tomato Sandwich

2010-07-08T09:46:00.000-07:00

Home Grown Tomatoes

2010-07-08T07:38:00.000-07:00

Few dates are truly worthy the anticipation we ascribe to them. Christmas comes and goes each year. Halloween also comes and goes. Birthdays likewise are short lived. Yet there is one day each year that only marks the beginning of a season of celebration, for the taste buds that is. For about a month now I've watched as my tomato plants first formed buttery yellow blooms, that were then followed by small pale green bumps, and finally formed into that amazing fruit-vegetable we call tomato.
For weeks now, my strongest tomato plant has taunted me with a large fleshy green growth that by all measures except color was ready for harvest. For days now I have exercised restraint as it turned yellowish, then orange and orangish-red. Finally, yesterday it could truly be called red, so for good measure, just to make sure it was completely ready, I waited until this morning. I was not alone in my anticipation of "First Tomato Day." As I left for my run this morning Sarah informed me that she would make homemade bread to go with our home grown tomato.
Upon returning from my run Eldon and I went out to the garden to harvest our earliest specimen. Eldon took some time caring for his pet cucumber plant, Gummy (shown with Eldon in the first picture). After that we picked our tomato, sliced it thin and feasted on tomato sandwiches featuring Sarah's fresh bread. Simplicity is the key when it comes to this culinary treat. One slice of bread, a thick spread of mayonnaise, sliced home grown tomato, and salt & pepper.
Christmas, Halloween, and birthdays come and go, but tomato season lasts for months. "First Tomato Day" ushers in a full season of delicious free food from the back yard!

Polar Bears

2010-05-13T12:27:00.001-07:00

Took the kids to see the Polar Bears at the zoo.

2010-05-13T12:24:00.000-07:00

Remodeling

2010-05-09T16:33:00.000-07:00

My brother Dan is amazing with wood. Over the years he's created some pretty amazing pieces, so as we continue to remodel from the drunk driver hitting our house, we thought of him when it came time to do something with the fireplace. As always, he came through big-time. I had an idea of a functional mantel that could house the DVD player, and store other stuff as well. Dan came up with the design and put it together. It still needs to be painted, and the wiring needs to be run behind the wall, check out the storage doors on the sides and top. When it's done the DVR and all of that stuff will live inside... out of sight. I think it's pretty sweet, and as always when Dan builds something, it looks incredible!

The Unending Saga of Mischief

2010-05-09T16:28:00.000-07:00

I swear it took him less than two minutes to make this mess! You can't turn your back for a minute in this house.

Lion Naps

2010-04-25T04:59:00.000-07:00

Eldon doesn't usually just sit on the couch. Most of the time he is somehow inverted or twisted, and sometimes he even falls asleep that way. Inn some odd way, this position looks like it might be comfortable somehow.

Brothers

2010-04-06T15:31:00.000-07:00

Spring Running

2010-04-06T15:11:00.000-07:00

The last few weeks have been amazing. After having trained all winter on dark, icy, freezing cold roads (because the sidewalks were covered in snow), I can now run unimpeded by numerous layers of stuffy clothing on any surface I choose. Last weekend I ran the Egg-Stravaganza 5k. It was my first road 5k of the year and things went pretty well. I managed to run 15:37 for 1st place and walked away with a membership to the YMCA. In the picture I'm running with my sister, Karyn, who also ran the race and was the 7th woman! Go Karyn
The big goal this spring is a marathon in May. I'll be running the Illinois marathon with a friend, and hoping for a new marathon PR. Hopefully the weather will continue to cooperate!

Funky Town

2010-03-25T16:02:00.000-07:00

You may have heard of Caelan's famous dance moves. Here they are, on display for your entertainment. Thanks go to Gandma Sager for the noisy toy car... Let's just say, at least Caelan enjoys it.

March Messes

2010-03-25T15:28:00.000-07:00

The other day I was checking the e-mail and Eldon came over saying that he'd written his name.He held up his Magna-Doodle. You can see for yourself what a good job he'd done. We're pretty proud of his nascent literacy!

Somewhere deep in our boys' DNA they both have the trouble-finding gene. It has been particularly evident in Caelan lately. The boy is non-stop action... from one mess to another.

Dear February

2010-02-16T12:22:00.000-08:00

Dear February
-Thank you for all of the beautiful snow. It really is quite lovely, and I can't complain about all of the snow days. It's been fun to stay home with my family and watch the boys get into mischief. As nice as the snow has been, I think that perhaps the time has come to warm things up a bit and let the snow melt. We're willing to sacrifice the Batmobile (it isn't even recognizable anymore under all of that snow)and all of the fun sledding and snowball fights.

Sincerely
David

...Check out Eldon's Batman symbol that he made out of clay, and Caelan's new hobby of hiding in the cupboard. He can close the door and everything.

Bat-score

2010-02-16T12:10:00.000-08:00

Mondays are half off at our local thrift store, and since it was Presidents' Day I didn't have to work. You never know what kinds of treasure you may find at the thrift store. This week's score was a pair of brand new Batman Chuck Taylors that fit Eldon perfectly. Nice!

Band-Aids

2010-02-07T16:30:00.001-08:00

Eldon loves his Band-Aids!

After we finished the Batmobile, we decided it just couldn't be left snow-white.

Batmobile

2010-02-07T16:23:00.000-08:00

We finally got enough packing snow to do something with. We decided to go with Eldon's current obsession and built the Batmobile. Some of our neighbors came over to help us build. Now that we have that out of the way, I am 100% ready for spring!

New World Record

2010-01-25T14:03:00.000-08:00

The world record is for two posts in as many days. This one is a video of Eldon finishing the fun run at a 5k I ran.

Music Man

2010-01-24T07:47:00.000-08:00

I've had a hard time getting to the blog lately. Rather than apologize, and promise to do better I'll just add some great videos. I have quite a few others I'll be adding. I just have to do it in small chunks since it takes forever to upload these things. This video is of Caelan rocking some Jack Johnson on the piano. If you wonder what he's doing when he stands up on the piano bench, he's trying to turn the volume up on the stereo. If it were his choice it would be all the way up all the time!

Halloween (late)

2009-12-13T16:29:00.000-08:00

This is from Halloween, but at least I finally got around to uploading it. More videos will follow in short order, including a video that shows the progress we've made in our living room that was smashed up by Mr. Drunk Driver. I'm happy to say that the room looks great. I suppose in some very small way we should thank the idiot that ran into our house, perhaps it'd be more appropriate to thank the kind people at Allstate. They have been pretty good to us. At any rate, this video is from Halloween. Enjoy!

pictures from Sarah

2009-12-03T10:48:00.000-08:00

Got tired of the pictures of the truck so I thought I would post some cute ones.

Yep, that's a truck in the family room

2009-11-04T07:14:00.000-08:00

Why yes, that is a truck in the family room. As you can tell from the pictures, last night was interesting to say the least. At around 9:00 Sarah and I had the boys down for bed so we decided to retire as well. We went to bed and turned on the TV to watch the election results since my school district had a VERY important levy on the ballot. It's one of my favorite parts of the day, laying and talking to my wife and decompressing from a long day.
Suddenly there was an explosive banging on our house that lasted for what seemed like at least 30 seconds. I could see bright lights downstairs shining through our front windows. In a state of shock I grabbed the first pair of pants I could find and pulled them on as I ran downstairs yelling for Sarah to call 911, still not comprehending what was happening.
I opened the door to find a full size truck had crashed into our house just off to the side of our front door. My first instinct was to find the driver and make sure he didn't try to get away. As it turns out, the reason the banging noise lasted so long was because he was trying to back up to drive away, but had gotten hung up on my fence and light post.
I spotted him on the drivers side of his truck, just getting out. Doing my best "COPS" impression I ordered him to get on the ground and readied myself to chase or attack him if need be. He started crying and told me he wasn't going to leave. He stumbled around the yard a bit and got down on his knees when I continued to order him to get down. At that point I realized that this was much worse for him than for me. I also started to assess the situation and the damage. There was a large hole through which I could see our family room. The kid was hysterical. Within a few minutes the police were on the scene and dealt with the scared, hysterical, stumbling, but uninjured kid who was later charges with OMVI.
At least three fire engines and an ambulance responded. Within ten minutes, half of our neighborhood came out and offered anything we might need. Even neighbors we hadn't yet met came out and extended their support and sympathy. The fire fighters were very professional, working humanely and efficiently. Something about those burly mustaches inspires calm and a feeling of security, even when your house nearly gets knocked over by by a 4x4 truck. The cherry on the sunday was that MY LEVY PASSED!!!! What anger I may have felt about my house has been washed away with the joy I feel knowing that we can continue to provide an excellent education to the kids we teach in our district.
Thanks to our neighbors. You truly are the best neighbors we could hope for. Thanks to Glenn for coming over to see that we were ok. Thanks to the fire fighters, parametics and police that support us in difficult times. They truly deserveour respect, admiration and votes when they need funding (how glad I am that I had voted for our police levy earlier yesterday). I'm also so thankful that my precious family was not harmed. My two little boys were fine, and didn't even wake up when the truck hit us. We are truly blessed!

Caelan Can Walk

2009-10-25T06:11:00.000-07:00

caelan is walking. This video is already a week or two old. I've finally gotten around to figuring out how to upload videos. Thanks, Mom & Dad for the awesome graduation gift.

Akron Marathon

2009-10-04T12:57:00.000-07:00

I suppose it's time I finally update the blog and put The Akron Marathon to rest. The race didn't go as planned, but there are still plenty of positives I can take from it. My time was way off my goal time, but so were a lot of people's times. The conditions were windy and humid, not exactly ideal. Aside from that I was just off and couldn't get into any kind of rhythm that felt good. My first mile was quick and I felt strong, but everything else was forced and even early on I wasn't hitting the splits I needed. By the time I hit halfway I was well off of where I needed to be. At some point I decided to cruise the rest of the race since I wasn't even close to running a good time.
OK, that's the bad. Here's the good. It was fun to see friends along the course and feel their support. I still finished in what most would regard as a respectable time and I did finish in 6th overall compared to 10th and 11th the last two years. My recovery has been very quick. In fact I ran a 5k a week later and ran a 15:56 ( despite running about 10 meters past the turn around). The race was a fund raiser for the Central Ohio Spina Bifida Alliance. There were children at the race with SB that completed the course either with walkers or hand cycles. How humbling it was to race such inspiring people and realize that my legs are truly a gift not to be taken fore granted. It certainly put my poor marathon performance in perspective!
Fall is the best time to be a runner. The cool crisp air is ideal for running fast times. The calendar is full of interesting and unique races, many for good causes. I'm considering another run at the marathon this fall, but I'm not sure. It's tempting to take another shot after my disappointment in Akron. If I do run another marathon soon, I think that I'll do it more for the fun of it than anything else. I will not put so much pressure on myself to perform.
All of this talk of pedestrianism reminds me that I should mention that today Caelan took his first steps. For a few weeks now he's been standing up on his own and even standing up without pulling up on furnature, but today he took a little step while he was standing in the living room.

Hocking Hills

2009-08-27T15:34:00.001-07:00

Last week we made a last minute trip to Hocking Hills before summer was over. The boys enjoyed taking a waterfall shower and hiking through the gorgeous forest. Sarah and I enjoyed revisiting our honeymoon. The best thing about not having money to go anywhere fancy all those years ago is that we can go back whenever we want.

The first photo is a rock formation known as the Sphinx Head. Can you see why?

Visitor

2009-07-31T10:24:00.000-07:00

Our xalias had a visitor this morning. How fitting that these lovely flowers came from Grandma Sager, since she loves butterflies so much. Even our backyard can be a wonderland if we look closely enough. (Who would have known that the ugly plastic climber in out backyard would make such a good background color when it's all blurred out of focus?)

In other news my MA is now official. I am happy to say that I have finished my master's degree!

Time

2009-07-21T18:23:00.000-07:00

You can't stop Caelan. The boy is constantly testing his limits. Here he is exploring the vertical world. Any time now he'll take a step, followed shortly by two, then infinitely more. I'm perfectly aware that this trend will not end any time soon. My baby boy is transforming before my very eyes.

The Perfect Crime

2009-06-30T05:42:00.001-07:00

Caelan shows off his wet willie ninja skills. Thanks to our friend and neighbor Kris for the pictures.

Father's Day

2009-06-21T06:20:00.001-07:00

I think the greatest thing about photography is that it is the closest thing we have to freezing a moment in time. There are so many times when I look at my boys and just wish time would slow down just a bit so that I can enjoy them just the way they are before they grow up.
My dad is an excellent photographer, and as such he's not much of a model. He is famous for a goofy smile and closed eyes. In this photo, Caelan proves he is his grandfather's grandson.

9 Months

2009-06-20T08:21:00.001-07:00

Caelan had his 9 month check up this week. 20 lbs, 14 oz. He now crawls very quickly in the direction of things he's not supposed to get into, like big brother's toys. He's up to 4 teeth, soon to be 6 and is starting to pull himself up on the couch.

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

2009-06-17T18:46:00.000-07:00

If you have tried to call me to wish me a happy birthday, and got a message about the phone number not being in service, it is because we no longer have a land line. It just wasn't worth the extra $ to get telemarketing calls. If you want to get a hold of us... find somebody that has one of our cell numbers.

Two Generations of Chevette Owners

2009-06-08T06:54:00.000-07:00

I've been fooling with the water pump on my Chevette for the past month or so, but this weekend my dad, a former Chevette owner himself, came down to help me out. With his expertise and that of my brother, Dan and even a little help from Ben too, we were able to get my sweet ride back on the road! Eldon contributed by rearranging my toolbox a few times. It's a good thing that kid is so cute.
Caelan got his grandma fix; or did grandma get her Caelan fix? When Uncle Ben and Eldon weren't helping with the car they had a good time! Eldon loves his uncle! Sarah contributed as the official photographer...we'll get her in here next time. She's happy to get her car back, since I've been driving her car to work. Oh yeah, speaking of work... IT'S SUMMER BREAK! In fact I am sitting at my dining room table, watching the boys play, eating breakfast, after running as far as I wanted this morning, updating my blog, without a care in the world. I've died and gone to heaven!

Rock Star

2009-06-06T11:07:00.000-07:00

Eldon has been around guitars his whole life. Sometimes we jam together. He still doesn't know any chords, but he definitely has the attitude down! He likes to use my guitar case as a stage and jump off... oh yeah, his favorite rock star outfit? Well, there it is. (he is potty trained, the pull-up is because this was just before bed time.

After this photo session Caelan got Eldon's old "Wiggles" guitar and joined the jam session. They were playing along to a Wilco CD.

2009-05-19T18:41:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know that I haven't posted in a LONG time. Rather than write out everything that's gone on since last post, I'm just going to make a non-chronological list.

burned foot (bad... couldn't run for a week)
ran a 1/2 marathon (not too bad)
injured Achilles (couldn't run for a week)
back in training
yard sale (made $ / got rid of stuff!)
bought a new grill with yard sale $
Caelan is starting to crawl
11 days left 'til summer
Eldon is on a huge Batman kick
planted garden (over 30 tomato plants)
mowed the lawn several times
had friends over to enjoy the new grill
vette has an antifreeze leak : (
Eldon got a cool sweatshirt from Great-grandma Sager
Sarah is super mom
Sarah went on several long walks with the boys (5 miles and more)

I'm sure I'm missing something, but I'm tired and need to get to bed. Sorry it took me so long to post.

It looks like that zebra has a monkey on its back

2009-04-07T09:13:00.000-07:00

This week has been pretty interesting. Saturday was our neighborhood Easter egg hunt. Eldon had a good time finding the eggs with his friends. We'll get more of that this weekend at grandma's house.
The Chevette continues to be a fun adventure. Eldon will tell you there isn't much leg room. When we got back from my sister's house across town we found him in the back in some sort of yoga position. Yoga aside, he sometimes puts his arms up in the air when we're going somewhere as if he were on a roller coaster. As if I didn't already love this car enough, it costs less than $80 for liability insurance for six months!

VETTE

2009-04-03T16:52:00.001-07:00

The males in my family have a thing for Chevettes. Just about all of my brothers have owned one at one time or another, and my dad even had one or two. Since I gave my old Chevette to my older brother Will, I've always longed to own another.
Enter Craigslist... Yes, I found (actually Sarah found it if you can believe it) a 1986 Chevette CS with 78,000 miles on it... As you can see Eldon thinks the new ride is pretty sweet. We got it home and took it for a spin. Yes, all four of us fit in! Let's just say it's a good thing the boys don't need much leg room.
ps... this Chevette looks almost identical to the one I drove as a 16 year old. I'll see if I can't dig up some pictures for a side by side comparison.

Angel Monkeys

2009-03-29T15:54:00.000-07:00

It can be a real challenge to raise two little boys. At this very moment, as I try to compose this post, I am reaching around a squirmy three year old playing with dinosaurs. In a broader sense, we've sacrificed a lot to have our little pet monkeys.
Every once in awhile they hold still long enough to fall asleep and we get a glimpse of what little angels they are! They're worth the lack of sleep, sanity and nice things they've cost us.

Here Caelan and Eldon celebrate Grandma's birthday!

Wild Man

2009-03-15T15:48:00.001-07:00

I caught Eldon drinking from the chocolate milk jug. I asked him what he thought he was doing. "I'm drinking like you daddy!" Guess who didn't get in trouble!

In other news, Eldon got a hair cut...it breaks my heart every time. He's still just as much of a wild man. The photo above is from before the hair cut.

Oh no, not a contagious post!

2009-03-12T15:55:00.000-07:00

My sister posted this on her blog. So I replied, curious to see what she would make me, and am now bound by the unwritten laws of blogging manners to post this. I'd also like to see if five people read this blog... game on... the rewards could be... well... interesting... but handmade.

The first 5 people to comment on this post will receive something made by me. But there is a catch...

Here are the rules:
1. It's my choice what to make... and you won't know what it will be until you get it!
2. I make no guarantees that you will like what I make, but I hope you do!
3. What I create will be just for you.
4. It will be done this year.

The catch is that you must re-post this on your blog and offer the same giveaway to the first 5 people who do the same on your blog.

Warning Labels

2009-03-08T14:18:00.000-07:00

Caelan loves his thumb. Sometimes we don't even know if he's hungry. He'll just sit there and suck away.
All of those teen action video games and movies come with disclaimers that say "don't try this at home," or "the stunts in this film were performed by trained professionals." So why don't kids' movies come with similar disclaimers such as: "Your child might do _______ after watching this movie." Here Eldon does his best Pete's Dragon impression... remember the tic tac toe game? I came home to "Look daddy, I'm Pete's Dragon!"

Valentine's Day

2009-02-16T14:06:00.000-08:00

Pirates came and looted out house Sunday after church. I'm not sure why the big pirate has his foot on the little pirate, but he assured me that he was protecting him.

We also had a visit from cupid. He seems to never stop growing. This same photo shoot also featured some aquatic special effects. Those pictures won't be posted on the blog, but they should make some great wedding video material, or something to blackmail him with.

Eldon likes to take pictures too. He's not too bad.

Strawberries were on sale last week! Strawberry pie in February! Sarah made a bunch of pies including this Eldon-sized pie. I got a full size one. Yes, we know we're spoiled.

Snow Days

2009-01-30T15:24:00.000-08:00

How early do you think the sass gene manifests itself? He gets it from his mother!
I had my finger on the trigger at just the right moment for this one, but that look in his eyes is what really makes the picture.

Eldon and I have been enjoying all of the snow days this last week. We're praying for more snowstorms. In the meantime Eldon has been shredding at local sledding hill. He gets a kick out of riding down the hill on my old snowboard.

Have you ever wondered what it looks like when I update the blog? Have you ever wondered why it takes me so long to post updates? This is what happens almost every time I sit down at the computer.

Lightning McCold

2009-01-25T17:05:00.000-08:00

*thanks Kris Ball for the photo!

The temperature finally gave us a bit of a break the other day. The snow melted into packing snow so we could finally do something with it. With the "help" of a few neighborhood kids, Eldon and I built this Lightning McQueen. The following day all of the food coloring melted off. Now we have a snow blob in our front yard, but it's supposed to snow again this week and so long as it's packing snow, we'll rebuild!

Finally, A Post

2009-01-13T15:00:00.000-08:00

I've been lazy getting a post up. I'm sure anybody that has ever read our blog has long since forgotten us, but I thought I'd upload a few pictures I took the other week. I was trying to get some of Caelan's smile... he has one that could melt any heart (but I haven't gotten it on camera yet). He's pretty cute when he's angry too. Any time I try to take pictures of Caelan, the big brother likes to get in on the action too.

Christmas!

2008-12-28T15:10:00.001-08:00

We have certainly been enjoying our Christmas! The boys have been thoroughly spoiled, especially Eldon whose birthday is just two days before Christmas. He was our gift three years ago... and we still haven't gotten tired of him!
We went up to Grandma & Grandpa Mars' a few days before Christmas and spent a few days up there. We went ice skating with Ben and Marissa and celebrated Eldon's birthday. My parents are having their kitchen remodeled so it was interesting to see how we still managed to eat as my family started arriving despite the lack of a working kitchen. It's always fun when the Mars get together. I always enjoy running the trails by my old high school, especially when I can run with a brother or sister. I got to run with Marissa and Ben while I was up there. On a whim I decided to wear a Santa wig and beard on my run. It was fun to see people's reactions to running Santa.My brother, Erik, made a fun game for us. I believe it's called ladder ball or ladder golf. I'll make sure to post it later. It looks like a lot of fun!
On Christmas eve we visited with my mom's side of the family. It's a tradition that as far as I can tell has gone on forever. The food is always incredible since my grandmother is practically a master chef. She used to be the head cook at a restaurant in Akron and she has at least three ovens at her house. My grandpa used to always dress up as Santa. He would grow out his beard for months just to be Santa on Christmas. There has never been a more realistic Santa. Since my grandpa passed away, my ornery uncle Dale has been Santa. I don't really care much for the commercialized Santa story, but it means a lot to me to remember my grandfather and something he really enjoyed.
After the Tompkins (my mom's family) gathering we came back home so we could spend Christmas morning at home. Sarah was the first to wake up wide-eyed at about 6:30 am. She dragged us downstairs to open gifts. She got me a DVD player (ours has been dying for a while now) and a wireless mouse for my laptop. I got her a leather journal and a stainless steel trash can for the kitchen ( I know it's less than romantic, but you should have seen our kitchen trash can and at least I didn't get her a vacuum cleaner). I did at least write her a love note in the journal so I'm not a total chump! Eldon got about a billion cars. He loves the movie cars, and now he has just about every character from that movie.
Once we'd spent some time playing with our new toys we headed over to Sarah's families' place to visit with them. The boys were totally spoiled again and we had a good time hanging out with the Sager's. It's nice to have the time to get together with relatives who we don't get much opportunity to see.

Hillbilly Tree Stand

2008-12-21T16:55:00.000-08:00

Better late than never. This week we finally got our Christmas tree. The good news is if you wait long enough you can get a tree at 75% off! The problem is that the store will sell out of tree stands. So what's a son of an engineer to do?Make one out of whatever is in the garage; an ice cream bucket, a plastic planter with a lip, some 2" pvc pipe and some 2x4s. Add a few wood screws and some rope and you have a real nice tree stand. I even got Eldon to provide a celebrity endorsement. Merry Christmas!

My Beautiful Sarah

2008-12-14T17:51:00.000-08:00

Sarah tries to avoid the camera. So I have to post just about every picture I get of her. I found this one from about a month ago as I was looking for pictures for the undie post. It's hard to believe that we've been together for eight years now! What a crazy boy I was when after two weeks of knowing her, I asked her to marry me. I'm sure we made some people really nervous. A day hasn't passed since the day we met that we haven't at least talked to each other. We've certainly had ups and downs, but I'm happy to say she's the best friend I've ever had. I can't imagine what life would be like without her... I live for her sassy attitude!

Elmo Undies

2008-12-14T17:38:00.000-08:00

We made gingerbread houses earlier this week. They didn't last long. The emphasis here was definitely on the process and experience rather than the finished product. I don't think Eldon has ever had free reign over so much candy. He has gotten a haircut since the picture, so he's not quite so wild looking... and, yes, those are a pair of my running shorts he's wearing.
When I get home from work I'm usually greeted with a "DADDY'S HOME!" and running footsteps that culminate in a professional wresting style hug. Then as I desperately try to put my bag, wallet and keys away, I'm dragged off to see whatever the little king has been up to. Earlier this week though, I came home to this. I don't suppose I'll have too many more chances to take a picture of him sleeping in is Elmo undies with his butt up in the air.

Christmas Lights at the Zoo

2008-11-30T14:21:00.000-08:00

Friday night we went to see the lights at the Columbus Zoo. Every Christmas the zoo puts up millions of (LED) lights. It was a lot of fun, but we recommend getting there earlier than later. Once it got dark, it started to get cold fast. There was also a huge line of cars coming in as we were leaving. In the picture Eldon is doing a tiger impression. We saw a tiger that came right up to the glass and looked at us like we were Thanksgiving dinner. We also enjoyed seeing the Elephants (now living indoors).

Pictures as Promised

2008-11-26T13:02:00.000-08:00

we have a lot to be thankful for! Two healthy happy boys. We couldn't be happier with our little monkeys.

update

2008-11-24T15:03:00.000-08:00

We've been pretty busy and haven't posted any entries lately. The boys are still doing very well. Caelan is growing up before our eyes. We already need to adjust the straps on his car seat. He's also been smiling and giggling a lot more. Pictures are coming soon. We're all excited for Thanksgiving, which will be at our house this year. It will be cozy, but no matter how cozy, I believe there's always room for one more.

I ran another race last weekend and ran my fastest 5k ever. I'm still not doing any specific training or diet. I think it's funny that I'm running so well without stressing about my training. indeed I think that may be part of the secret to my success of late...no stress. I've been pretty nonchalant about racing and training.

My Vote

2008-11-04T14:17:00.000-08:00

Today is election day and I've never been so excited to get out and vote! This morning as I stood in line with my neighbors I felt like I was participating in democracy for the very first time. This, however, is not my first time voting. It's just the first time I felt like I had a candidate that reflects something that I value. I was thrilled to vote for Barack Obama!

I was brought up in a very conservative home and have always had very conservative values. I still do. Yet in the last several years I have felt that our government and political system has been dominated by fear and half truths. The beginning of the Iraq war really changed my thinking on the system of power in the United States. I felt from the very beginning that the war was unjustified. The reasons for going to war seemed to be based on rumor and suspicion. I believe that the war was an easy sell to the American people because of the popular Anti-Muslim sentiment that is so common in our current society. I am an ESL teacher and know hundreds of Muslims personally. I have yet to meet a Muslim that condones the 9/11 terror attacks. All of the Muslims I have ever known love their families and and, yes, even love the USA. They are here seeking an opportunity to have a good life... that thing we refer to as the American dream, when we're not talking about going to Sam's Club to buy some new toy. So I have a hard time dropping bombs on people that I know. As the bombs fell on Iraq, I couldn't feel any vindication for 9/11 because it was an attack on a people I know, not a group I was taught to hate and fear.

As this election has dragged on, I have seen the conservative groups in the American political system continue to use the politics of rumor and fear to control our system of power. They have spread dishonorable lies and rumors for the sake of preserving their power, yet they have offered little in the form of real, well thought out policy or solutions for the problems our society faces.

I want my boys to grow up in a world free from fear, racism and ignorance. I want them to know that they can love anyone, with no fear of race, religion or anything else. I believe that we must stop teaching our children to be afraid of one another if we are to ever live in a peaceful world. Jesus taught that we should love them that hate us and treat others as we would be treated.

As I stood in line this morning I watched as an elderly African-American gentleman cast his vote with tears in his eyes. I imagined the racism he must have endured throughout his life. I'm sure he never thought he'd have the chance to vote for a "black president." I was proud to vote with him and add my voice to his in rejecting the politics of fear!

Happy Halloween

2008-11-03T17:25:00.000-08:00

My baby brother Ben ran the state meet on Saturday. He got 24th in the DII race and earned all Ohio honors. I'm pretty proud of Ben. This is after the race. I got to be out on the field because I was taking pictures for the running store I where I work (my pictures can be found at our store web-site linked at right).

They really do get along, but this is a pretty common scene at our house. Eldon just gives rough love sometimes.

Here's Eldon getting in some quality reading.

Eldon was a firefighter-zebra and Caelan was a sleepy penguin. Eldon and I went trick-or-treating. Caelan stayed home and passed out candy.

October

2008-10-26T12:13:00.000-07:00

There is nothing quite like fall. Even with the cooling temperatures and life cycles slowing down for both plants and animals, there is something about it that excites me. The frosty mornings allow me to run fast without breaking a sweat and as the trees prepare for winter, they put on a real show. Fall also brings Halloween! When else can you get away with being absolutely anything you want to be? I don't believe that any holiday encourages creativity nearly so much. The boys and i are still planning out our costumes (stay tuned). Yesterday we went to Boo at the Zoo. Eldon dressed up as a zebra and had a great time going around the zoo looking at animals and collecting candy. Last weekend we went to the Circleville Pumpkin Festival and saw gigantic pumpkins and tasted just about everything you could imagine made out of pumpkin. Sadly, the pumpkin pizza was sold out by the time we got there.

Like I mentioned earlier, fall is for running. I ran another race the other day. It was just over a mile from our house, so I just ran to the race and back. It was sort of a little 5k and I ran a 16:24. It didn't feel too difficult, just lots of fun. My little brother, Ben also ran a race yesterday... the Regional meet. He came in 8th place and qualified for the state meet! I'll be watching him run next week. Great job Ben!

The Week That Was

2008-10-12T17:33:00.000-07:00

The pictures don't have too much to do with this post. It's been a pretty fun week here on Mars. I've been adjusting to getting back to work every day and Sarah is getting used to Eldon-Caelan duty. Eldon is getting used to trying to be gentle and Caelan is trying to survive his loving and a little too cuddly older brother. The lower of the two pictures is after the marathon hanging out just the tree of us guys.

My project for the week was to build bookcases for our play room to keep it from turning in to utter messiness as it is prone to do. While I worked on that, Eldon worked on the car. He found a bucket of wrenches in the garage and went out and started trying to take the wheels off the trooper. He's always willing to help.

Saturday morning I decided to jump in a little 5k just for fun. Two weeks after running my marathon I had absolutely no ambition. I told everybody I shooting for 17:30 and could have cared less whether I even got that. Another good local runner was there, that I've raced earlier this year. He's running the Columbus Marathon next week so I don't think he had too much ambition either. A funny thing happened. We both went out together at what felt like a pretty conservative pace. I didn't see our mile 1 split, but we came through 2 miles at 10:15 which is pretty quick. He pulled away in the last half mile and I was waiting for the last 100 meters to try to catch him at the end. Unfortunately, I misjudged the course and the finish snuck up on me. No big deal though. He ran something like 15:46-7 and I ran 15:48, just a few seconds off my PR and the fastest I've run this year. It's kind of funny that my fastest 5k so far this year came after two weeks of lacksidasical training and poor nutrition (both rewards for the marathon). Lesson learned: relax and have more fun!!!

Akron Recap

2008-10-05T09:52:00.000-07:00

The face in this picture pretty well sums up how my marathon went. I know it's annoying to hear somebody complain about running a 2:38 marathon, but i really did train to run a lot faster. It just didn't turn out to be my day. After I type out this blog entry, I promise to quit whining and get on with my running life.

Miles 1 - 10 I rolled through the first part of the course. I was just a few seconds behind a teammate of mine (who went on to win the 1/2 marathon race). I kept wondering what the lead vehicle was doing ahead of him. At mile ten the marathon and 1/2 marathon courses separate...at that point I realized that Mike was in the lead for the 1/2! To this point I was right on pace and everything felt pretty good. The one problem I did have was that I couldn't quite bridge the gap between Mike and myself and nobody else was around to share the psychological burden of pacing. Later on in the race I think I paid for going it alone.

Miles 11 - 15 These miles are run on the towpath and it felt great to get off the roads for a few miles. My little brother Ben ran this leg of the race for his relay and I was about 100 yards back so I chased him for several miles. At some points I gained on him and at others he eluded me. I never did catch him on his leg. I passed the halfway mark in 1:15:30...right on pace! I was still feeling strong, but again I was running alone and I could just start to sense a few pursuers starting to gain on me. The first few miles of the hilly section of the course ticked off without too much time loss. My splits did start to lengthen slightly though, but this is what I expected for the hilly section.

16 - 20 More hills! My paced dropped off again, but only slightly. I was caught by John Piggot, a masters runner, who I ran part of Boston with (we both had really bad days in Boston). He was starting to roll and I was suffering from pacing the first part of the race. Just before Stan Hewitt there's an 1/8th of a mile hill... short, but steep. I think that was my slowest mile and certainly not very enjoyable. These miles were kind of a blur to me. I definitely lost my focus, but at least the miles didn't drag out.

21 - 25 I was hurting. The race was pretty strung out by this point and I wasn't very motivated. There's a long downhill on mile 25. Even that didn't bring my splits back to where they were earlier. I was caught by Damon Blackford (I'll get you naext year Damon!), another excellent masters runner and former teammate.

26 Again, everything was a blur. I was just trying to make sure not to get passed by anybody else, but I had no idea if there was anybody else around since the 1/2 marathon course merges with the marathon course in the last mile. Suddenly there were a bunch of slower runners I had to weave through, going about 1/2 my pace. I was certainly glad when I was able to stop running!

massage table... THANK YOU AKRON MARATHON!!! One of the nice things Akron provides for invited runners is a massage at the finish in a dark room. After 2 and a half hours of running it felt wonderful to lay down and get some sore muscles stretched and rubbed down.

Okay, it could have been much worse. Especially with the lack of sleep I've gotten in the last few weeks. My time was almost exactly the same as last year's race. I'm going to take a break from the marathon for about a year. I think I will run Akron again next year. Until then I'm going to focus on much shorter events and try to chase some fast times. I'm truly fortunate to have a wife that indulges my obsession and supports me even a week and a half after giving birth. I am truly fortunate! Life could be much much worse!

Brothers

2008-09-23T08:57:00.000-07:00

Here they are. Proof that time is relative. In Eldon's two and a half years, he's grown into a giant that acts more like a boy than a toddler. When he wants a snack, he climbs onto the counter to get what he wants. He knows where everything is in our house, even things that I can't find. Our little monkey has even mastered the potty and prefers to pee standing up especially if it's on a tree or tire. It is absolutely fascinating to see how quickly he learns.

Now he's taken on the role of the big brother much like he does everything else, with a facility that makes me wonder if perhaps he is from another planet. We just need to teach him to be a bit gentler.

When Eldon was born it seemed like he'd been with us forever and it was hard to imagine life without him. So it is with Caelan. The days of one car seat are long gone and he is a presence in our family that extends into the past and future. I imagine that if I blink I'll have two boys wrestling in the living room and running around the back yard. Eldon will be three years old in December, but I can remember laying him on the floor and playing guitar for him. The new addition reminds me that even when my boys grow up, they'll always be my babies.

Caelan Taylor Mars

2008-09-18T15:44:00.000-07:00

We had another big day. Eldon got to hang out with baby Caelan Taylor (yes he has a name now). He is such a good big brother! He's been staying with Sarah's parents. They say he keeps getting on the phone and calling baby brother. Sarah is still hurting, but she managed to walk around the halls a bit today. Hopefully we'll be home in a couple days.

Our beautiful Boy

2008-09-17T10:55:00.000-07:00

Here he is... all 8lbs, 3.5oz and 20.25inches of him.

2008-09-15T17:18:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we had a BIG wind storm come through our neighborhood. Trees were down all over the place, including this one in our park. Good thing the firemen/ cowboys responded so quickly. Maybe next time they'll slow down and remember their clothes. Seriously though, if Eldon has underwear on, it's a good day. If he doesn't grow up to be a cowboy or a firefighter, he may have a career as a chip-en-dale.

Back to the storm. Lots of people lost trees and major limbs. lots of cars got smashed. Our electricity was out for a little over a day. We were ecstatic when it came back on. It was incredible how powerful the wind was and this was just a remnant of what hit Texas!

On a lighter and brighter note, Sarah is ready to have the baby on Wednesday ...although we have not as yet chosen a name (feel free to make suggestions as comments). It was so much easier the first time around.

The guitar picture is Eldon and me playing a Bob Dylan song. He's been obsessed with Bob Dylan for the last couple weeks. He keeps putting Dylan CDs in the CD player and bringing me Dylan song books when we play guitar.

stung twice

2008-08-25T13:49:00.000-07:00

Last night I was walking up to our front door when along came a wasp (or some sort of bee) and flew into my eye. I lightly brushed it away, but by that time it had already stung me just below my left eye. 20 minutes later I was covered in hives so Sarah had me take a Benadril, which seemed to do the trick, but also made me drowsy. We went down for an early bedtime : ) ...I woke up around 1:30 am to find that my eye had swollen completely shut ( it was actually worse then than in the picture). I went downstairs and watched a rerun of the closing ceremonies so I wouldn't keep Sarah up. At around 4:30 I went for a long run and the swelling went down somewhat on my run. This picture is after I got back from my run. I had a meeting at work, so I went to that and got some stuff done there, but the swelling seemed to only get worse. After some prodding from coworkers I finally went to urgent care and got a steroid shot in my butt... stung twice. So far the swelling hasn't gone down.
It's been a pretty interesting experience to walk around for a day with a swollen face. I've become very aware of people staring at me almost everywhere I go. I'm not a huge fan of all the sympathy I've received either. My awareness of my face and the attention it gets has definitely affected the way I go about things. I found myself getting my lunch to go today so that I could eat alone in my room at school. The experience certainly helps me understand in a very small and temporary way, what it must be like for burn victims, people with deformities and other illnesses. I guess it's not easy being green.

Hocking Hills

2008-08-12T15:12:00.000-07:00

We decided to go down to Hocking Hills today on the spur of the moment. Summer is winding down and we figured this might be our last shot at a little get away. We hiked around Old Man's Cave, and then went for a deluxe lunch at the Inn at Cedar Falls (we had gift certificates I had won in a race). Eldon had fun climbing on the rocks and met a gentleman with the same name as him. We love Hocking Hills for all of the memories we have there. That's where Sarah and I went on our honey moon, so it's nice to hike on the same trails we hiked on when we were young (going on 8 years ago). I guess that's one nice thing about the fact that we didn't have enough money to go anywhere spectacular on our honeymoon... we can go back whenever we want!

Monster Trucks and Tractors

2008-08-12T15:05:00.000-07:00

Eldon and I went to the Croton County Fair last Friday night (Sarah had to go to a Primary activity). There were plenty of tractors and construction equipment for Eldon to test drive. We stayed for the "rough truck competition." Eldon's favorite was the truck that had a big toy monkey in the back seat. After the last jump, the monkey flew out of the truck.

cousin camp

2008-08-04T09:59:00.001-07:00

This weekend was the Mars Family Cousin Camp. Sarah didn't feel like she could make the two hour drive up to my parents' house, so Eldon and I went and had some mole bonding. We got to spend some time with the Mars clan. Here Eldon drives the monster truck with his cousin Sam, at the playground at the Akron Zoo.

kilted running

2008-08-04T09:54:00.000-07:00

I ran the Dublin Irish Festival 4 Miler with a few teammates. Jim and I ran in kilts, just for the fun of it. I wouldn't recommend a kilt to anyone trying to PR in a race. Somehow an 8 lb wool garment just doesn't seem to go well with running fast. It was a good time though, and though I didn't run fast, I did have a good time.

2008-08-04T09:42:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, our neighborhood friends threw a small shower for Sarah. It's always fun to get together with the neighbors. We are so blessed with good neighbors! We'll really miss the Gardners, but we're also glad to welcome the family that has moved into the Gardner's old home.
Sarah is getting down to the final month and a half of her pregnancy and is doing a good job of taking care of herself. She's anxious to finally have this baby. No word on a name as of yet... suggestions are welcome.garden
Eldon is having a great summer. In the picture, he's out in Sarah's grandparent's garden playing with a bamboo stick. He prefers to wear as little clothing as possible. It's a struggle trying to keep clothes on that boy

Goodbye Gardners!

2008-07-20T16:51:00.000-07:00

Our good friends/neighbors Brendan, center in blue & Dalen in the white #7 shirt) left us this week and we are pretty sad about it. Eldon will be sad not to be able to go over and beg a popsicle whenever he feels like it. He REALLY loved the Gardners! They're now on their way to Alaska, and we hope that everything goes well for them there.

My foot has been bothering me all week. I did a track workout last week wearing the wrong shoes. Talk about a huge mistake. For the next few days I'm going to cross train and allow my foot to really heal before I get back into my marathon training. It's a bit of a setback, but I'm glad it's now rather than later.

Sarah is still healthy and looking forward to September.

smores

2008-07-10T18:54:00.000-07:00

tonight we had a small fire and smores. Eldon's buddies, Abdul and Junior cames over to enjoy the fire

1st post

2008-07-09T07:31:00.000-07:00

This is actually a month or two old, but I wanted a picture for this first entry just to see what it would look like.

We're finally starting our blog after talking about it for ages. Our neighbors moving to Alaska is what motivated us to come out of the dark ages.