CapTex Swim and Carolyn's Birthday

Chad, Raquel, me, and Kelli
Friday night I got to meet Chad and Raquel who belong to the same internet triathlon forum that Kelli and I met through. We had a great time and Raquel told us about her recent bike crash, yikes! and showed us the horrible bruise on her leg, really yikes!!

Del came to Austin again for the CapTex Swim. Kim was planning to come out for the swim too, but at the last minute decided she really didn't want to drive out and have to drive right back on Saturday, I can't really blame her, although I was sad I didn't get to see her.
Saturday morning Del and I went to the swim and were really surprised at how small and laid back it was. We both did the 1500 meter and 1.2 mile swims. There was also a 750 meter swim. Del got first in his age group for the 1500 and 2nd for the 1.2. I got 2nd in both the 1500 and 1.2. I had great swims and even after the 1.2 I felt like I could jump right back in the water and swim a little more. I have been working really hard on my swimming with Coach Jen this spring and summer, so it was fun to do a long swim and see some improvement! Del has always been a faster swimmer than me, so I was really excited to beat him by just a few seconds in the 1.2 mile swim!
After the swim, the organizers had a picnic and gave away tons of stuff. I ended up with 1 tech shirt, 3 other shirts, 2 swim caps, a pair of socks, and a workout bag!
Saturday evening was Carolyn's 50th birthday party. Jeff had to work and didn't get to go. I noticed there were a lot of people on the evite, so I assumed it would be a backyard cookout. I was really hungry and almost ate before I left for the party, but I didn't. I was surprised when I got to Carolyn and Tom's and saw that it was a catered dinner party, the food was awesome, so I'm really glad I didn't eat before the party! I ate with Kendra, Chris, Cindy, Rita, and Kim, while we ate Kendra, Chris and I had our backs to the TV slide show that Tom had made of lots of pictures throughout Carolyn's life. Everyone else was talking about the slide show and how cool it was so finally we went over to watch it. Tom happened to be sitting near us and narrated about some of the pictures. It really was a cool slide show.
Carolyn's cake was beautiful! It looked like something from the Ace of Cakes and it tasted really good too!Every time I saw Carolyn all night she was smiling from ear to ear or laughing, it was obvious that she was having such a great time!
We toasted Carolyn and sang Happy Birthday. she said she was really happy and excited to be turning 50- awesome!
Jeff, Pam, Laura, and Tom
I had a great time, it was so much fun to see Carolyn being so happy to turn 50! Plus I got to see and talk with some of my Tri Zones friends who I don't see all the time.
Cindy, Kendra, and Chris
Diana, Coach Tracy, Lynn and Kim
Carolyn opening presents. I had so much fun and I'm really happy I got to share Carolyn's 50th birthday with her!