This morning was the first time durning our sabbatical thusfar that we actually set our alarm clock and we are soooooo glad we did!! We got up at 5:30am, grabbed our coffee, hot tea or hot chocolate and headed into downtown Cuoer d'Alene to watch the Ironman Triathelon. It was so exciting and totally electric down on the beach by the lake where more than 2500 triathletes in wet suits prepared to take the plunge into the freezing waters. The elite athletes were lined up in the front and the rest staged behind then. When the gun fired, it was mass entry, in a quite organized fashion I must say, and the race was on! We stayed on the beach for a little while watching the athletes fight through the first 2.4 miles of their day. Then we moved over to the bicycle staging area to watch the transition from water to bicycle. This was really cool because we were so close to the competitors and we could cheer loudly for each one as they progressed to the second leg of the race. The elite athletes were out of the water in about 30-45 minutes and man were they fast!! We stayed and watched for over an hour then decided to go get some breakfast before church. We felt kinda guilty as we sat down to our omletes, pancakes, bacon, hash browns and French toast after just being around some of the most fit and chizzled athletes in the world. Sadly, it didn't stop us from clearing our plates!! The waitress at our restaurant told us that some of the professional and elite triathletes will finish their 140.6 mile day in around 9 hours. That is truely astonishing to me!! After breakfast we went to church at a local Christian fellowship here and apparently their regular pastor was gone because he was participating in The Ironman!! So the youth pastor spoke and did a wonderful job...but it made us miss our own youth pastor and FMBC family back home!! (Luv you Mikey and Chelsea!!) After church, it was home, a bowl of cereal and a nap for everyone. What a wonderful Sunday it has been! Plus, we are praising the Lord because my brother and his wife just welcomed their first grand baby into the world yesterday around 3:00pm. Their grandson was named Gage Liam Dean and weighed 6lbs 13oz. Congratulations to my brother Mike, his wife Vicki, their son and daughter-in-law Jesse and Sara!! Well, tomorrow the pride is on the move again headed to Montana. First stop, Glacier National Park then Yellowstone over the fourth of July. Blessings to each of our friends and family (now one person bigger!) and we will chat soon... I think I'll get up off the couch and go take a walk around the campgroung to work off my breakfast!!