Almost, but not quite.

We didn’t quite make all our miles on the triathlon.  Two weeks of late afternoon thunderstorms kept us off the bikes and out of the pool.  We made up our laps in the pool, but we just couldn’t make up the 42 miles we lost on the bikes.

We tried during Beach Week, but there was so much fun to be had in the pool and the ocean that we just couldn’t bring ourselves to get out of our swimsuits and into the saddle.

Nevertheless, it was a worthwhile experience.  We learned some things as a family that we wouldn't have otherwise, which is always valuable.

We learned we can totally take afternoon adventures after camp/work provided everyone has a snack first.  Seriously Team Chicken gets HANGRY.  Not only can we work it into our schedule, but on the nights we do have adventures, the evenings go smoother.  Honestly, I would have thought that would go the other way entirely, and adding something to the evening routine would end up a disaster.  So we’ll be hitting the pool and the library in the afternoon more often, and this week we even went bowling!

We also learned that it’s not always obvious (even to us grownups) that when you say yes to something you have to say no to something else.  And what that something else is.  We thought there would be less screen time all around, but because of the triathlon we all pushed ourselves when we should have been decompressing, we took fewer trips to the library, spent less time with our friends and extended family, and the calendar that is always full was worse than the Outlet Mall on Black Friday.  

Other lessons:

• We can run (at Ferris’s pace) a mile in the morning before camp/school - no problem.  But more than 1 mile and we slow down too much. 
• Charlie LOVES morning walks.
• Bike rides are WAY less fun when you have to do them and you’re trying to put down miles - unless you’re Ryan.
• Counting laps in the pool is hard, but coins and silicone cups make it easier.
• A packed adventure/pool/library bag makes life 400 trillion times better.
• The boys shower more on weeks we swim than on weeks we don’t.
• Water-backpacks are a must for any adventure lasting longer than 30 minutes, otherwise, I end up carrying 4 water bottles.

As a family, we liked having a challenge to work on together, we are Team Chicken after all.  We got some good lessons, teachable moments, and made a few memories.  

So we decided to start a new challenge.  

We did really talk about it, the boys mostly wanted challenges that involved WAY more iPad and YouTube, and way less anything that is not iPad or YouTube.  Ryan is ambivalent about goal setting in general.  But I came up with a really good one and won everyone over …. (or they’re playing opossum and letting me get my way because it’s easier than arguing with me.)

We need to use up all the leftover sunscreen before Christmas.  

All of these are a quarter to three-quarters full, and sunscreen is only good for a year and there are at least 14 days worth of Team Chicken adventures in those sunscreen bottles.  [Insert soap box here…  As an adult you need a shot glass worth every two hours, or immediately after getting wet or sweaty, and you have to let it soak in for 15 minutes before exposure. Here are the AAD recommendations. ]

We’ll see how this goes.