A new house, vacations and two months left

My first Tri-ing by 50 labeled apparel.

It has been too long since I have written a blog post. There has been a lot going on in the world of Tri-ing By 50. Let me sum it up:

Our new house in Matthews.

1) We had our townhouse on the market. We had an offer on it in 12 days. Yep, last time we had it on the market three years ago it was a long time with no offers. This meant we needed to find a house for ourselves. After 8 or 9 offers we made (a couple of houses were double offers) there was the luck of a house we thought was perfect. I went in the morning, Facetimed with Merrill, made an offer, went back with Merrill for her first look and then the next day we had out offer accepted. All of this can be summed up with one word STRESS!

2) There was the packing up a house that Merrill live in for 18 years. She was the original owner. I lived there for about 5 years. Boxes piled up on boxes, upon boxes, upon boxes... By the time we were done packing there really wasn't an inch of floor not covered by some type of box. About the only spots not covered were the beds and walking space. One word can sum this all up: STRESS!

3) Moving. Those boxes piled up at the townhome needed to be moved to our new home. They are now there. Many have been unpacked, but there are still some that still need attention. The animals - Cookie the dog, Hannah and Screamer cats have adjusted. It took about a week, but I believe they are comfortable. One word describes this process: STRESS! (are you seeing a pattern, yet?)

4) Vacations. These are not stressful except when you're selling a house and moving. The first trip was to Hilton Head Island with the whole family - Merrill, Me, Molly, Gloria and Maggie. We went here last year and really enjoyed it, so this year we decided to head back. I believe this will become an annual trip for the Hacker family. Hilton Head seems to be the place where we get the perfect family portraits!

Merrill, Me, Molly and Gloria (Back) and Maggie

Me and Hello Kitty enjoying the beach after a run with Merrill.

Of course, Merrill and I ran a 5K on Independence Day in Hilton Head!

Our second trip was to visit my father for his 80th birthday celebration! He and his wife, Julie, live in Dahlonega. It is a small town in the mountains of Georgia, north of Atlanta. This trip was all the more special since my brother Pat, his wife Monica and daughter Shannon were there also. I hadn't seen Pat and Monica since our wedding five years ago. It had been even longer since I saw Shannon. Merrill and Monica were able to spend more than the five minutes they had at the wedding to talk. Pat, my Dad and I got to be together and get some pictures of the three of us together.

Pat (my brother), Dad, Me. Yes, I do own something besides swim, bike or run clothes.

Unfortunately, there has been one thing that has suffered through all of this...TRAINING! I am getting back to a routine. It may not be perfect, but it is better than nothing. Oh! I got a new bike. No more mountain bike. This is exciting.

Two months until IRONMAN 70.3 Augusta!

Through all of this, there are two constants - My support for Children's Hospital Los Angeles CAH Clinic and my support of those families dealing with CAH!

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