There he goes...half-marathon...twins

"The man who can drive himself further once the effort gets painful is the man who will win." -Sir Roger Bannister

The afternoon of Warren's retirement found us on an airplane heading for Raleigh, NC.  

We met Luke, and the twins there where we would help keep the boys while Luke did his first half-marathon: Swim 1.2 miles, Bike 57 miles, and  run 13.2 miles.

The day was started off with the typical breakfast of champions: donuts.

Sawyer and PawPaw

Tate

After breakfast,  Luke and Warren headed off to the race site to get the participant package, his bike inspected, and racked in the transition area.

There were about 2500 participants from 30 different countries.  It was a very impressive event...and we had to walk quite a bit because all the roads were blocked off.

While Warren and Luke were getting all the pre-race stuff done, the boys and I hung around the hotel.  There were a lot of motorcycles parked just outside the front door of the motel, and this provided major entertainment for the boys.  We had to go around to every motorcycle to make faces in the chrome, look at the helmets, and "ooh", and "aah" over the bright colors.  The good thing was that this kept them occupied for quite sometime.

Tate

Sawyer

After we had our fill of motorcycles, we checked out the swimming pool.  Warren and I bought them some car characters from the movie "Cars", which also kept them occupied as well.

On the day of the race, I graciously let Warren drive Luke to the race site since they had to be there between 4 and 5 a.m.  The boys and I stayed in our nice warm beds quite a bit later.  Thank goodness.   We headed for the race late morning.  Luke wanted me to get some awesome pictures of him in the race, so we found a wonderful shade tree along the route, and settled down there to wait for him to come by on his bike.

The boys had cow bells to ring and cheer their Daddy on as he went by...so we waited...

and waited...still no Daddy...

and waited...

no Daddy yet...

and waited...as we ate snacks...

And Sawyer decorated his hat with a screw he'd found lying on the curb...

It fit perfectly in a hole on his hat...and we still...waited...

Where was Luke?...he should have come by...by now.  We thought, "man, Luke is slow!"  (Note: he had to have surgery to remove 3 kidney stones about 3 weeks before the race, and had not been able to train, so we thought that might have had some impact on his race shape.) Finally, Warren got online to check where Luke was in the race, since they posted individual results on the ironman webpage.  Luke wasn't slow...Warren found that Luke had finished the bike (how did we miss him?), and was 3 miles into his run.  I couldn't believe we missed him.  Rats, no pictures.  We gathered up our stuff, and walked to the finish line hoping to see him come across.  I watched closely, waiting to get the best picture as he ran by...and run by he did...only I didn't recognize him until he ran past.  Rats...no picture again.  I did not do a very good job of getting amazing action shots.  I only got these pictures after he finished the race.  I am a failure as a sports photographer.

Luke finished middle of the pack in a little over 6 hours.  I was impressed, and proud that he finished.  Everyone was very tired, especially Luke.  Truly, amazing athletes, and amazing Luke.    The boys had a good time cheering for their Daddy even though they did not see him until he finished.  Hopefully, they will be participating in some sports of their own one day.  I hope to have sharpened my skills at sports photographer by then.  It was a good day, and good times.  We were glad we got to be there for the event, and cheer the participants and the unseen Luke.

Extra...extra...read all about it...Warren retires...

"Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing." -Helen Keller

After 43 years in pediatric practice, 38 of them in our local community...Warren says good-bye...

Some patients were so kind to send photos of Dr. McKelvy with them during their last appointments...truly a bittersweet experience.  

Warren officially retired at noon, on May 29, 2015.  

His office...closed.

His office staff, aka "his girls", made sure his retirement would be one he would remember forever...

...with decorations...

... his office...there were balloons, and streamers among all the charts...

A good-bye basket, and a lemon pie...

Signs...

When he drove up to begin his last day of work, the girls were picketing outside the office with these signs...

 ...and when he went into the office, they wrapped his car in plastic wrap.  

The girls were pretty happy with their wrap job, but Warren was worried the plastic wrap would melt on his car...

Even with all the packing in the office...patients were still being seen.  I asked permission to take pictures to commemorate the last patient of his career...

The office did not look the same...

The bulletin board that held the faces of all his patient's through the years...

was pretty much bare...

the waiting room empty...

the exam room's supplies packed...

And the charts gone...

But...The memories will alway remain...

He had the best staff ever..."his girls" kept McKelvy Pediatrics running like a well-tuned machine...with some fun times thrown in.  I was amazed at how they got him to "loosen up."

Gru...and his Minions

Luz, Gwen, Dr. McKelvy, Lorena, Rosa

 The ugly sweater day...

Gwen, Rosa, Dr. McKelvy, Luz, Lorena

Dr. McKelvy and his girls...

Gwen, Rosa, Dr. McKelvy, Luz, Lorena

We want to thank all of Dr. McKelvy's patients for making his 38 years of practice a wonderful experience.  You all are the best.  Many thanks to Dr. McKelvy's hardworking staff..."his girls"are the most efficient, compassionate, and supportive team ever.  You will be missed, and you have left us with a heart full of wonderful memories, and joy as we experienced the most daring of adventures ever...pediatric care. We love, and appreciate each, and every one of you!

God Bless everyone!

Finds...flowers...fun...

"It's raining...it's pouring..."  -nursery rhyme

I am linking up with Kim Klassen's Friday Finds.  Head on over to see some beautiful photos, and interesting finds.

I cannot remember a time when we have gotten so much rain for such a long time.  Usually, when it rains here, it is just a brief shower, and then the sun comes out.  Not lately.  It has rained steadily for several days now.  And for several times this way for the past month.  One of our photo challenges for our local photo club was "doors".  This was my find...this lovely green door.  This is the photo I submitted for my challenge.

Everyone at the meeting liked my green door, and the reflection on the sidewalk.  

I thought about using this picture... 

because one child is looking through a door window...while the other is looking down the street.  It has a nostalgic feel to it, and reminded me of the street photography captured by Vivian Maier.

photo by Vivian Maier

I found a wonderful field filled with wild flowers thanks to all our rain.  

Can I say that I am fascinated with dandelions.  This field was loaded with the big giant kind.  Are they still called dandelions?

I am not sure I would classify the next photo shoot as a fun adventure...I just know it was definitely an adventure.  My friend, and fellow photographer, Stephanie DeFranco, asked me if I wanted to go out to shoot some stars.  I am always game.  Only when she came to pick me up, she did not have her brother with her.  This was important because when you shoot the stars, you go out into a remote, very dark place.  We need the male protection, because we are wimps, and we get scared easily.  We ended up at Bottomless Lakes.  It is very remote, and very dark.  We wanted to shoot the Milky Way, but we did not see it, nor any rattlesnakes (thank goodness)...just lots of stars, darkness, glowing eyes, and rustling in the bushes.  It was sort of scary.  I did not get the best shots, but some interesting ones I guess.

Across Lea Lake

Buildings around Lea Lake...the bright glow is from a light that is continuously on at this building.  I like the way the buildings, and stars are reflected in the water.

One of the sink holes (you can see where this sink hole is in the first picture...it is to the right, just where the is a slight rise in the landscape.  There are two sink holes in the first picture...one in the center, and this one to the right.)

That's it for now.  Be blessed.