quirken.com

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This is penny looking at the squirrels.

Took this before Ashley showed up, sadly.

Emily and Jen standing
Gretchen, grandma Rose and Ellie, my mom, seated

Be on the lookout for this powerful and beautiful runner on the streets of Chicago tomorrow.

Bright orange shirt, blue shorts, white hat and a brilliant smile.

Show 'em what you got, Jenny.

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Dinner..zip (286 KB)

Nicholas Quirke

Jen banged out her last long training run before the Chicago Marathon, October 11, today in excellent fashion, posting a time just over 3:50.  I was lucky enough to run a few with her between 11-17 and I can attest she is READY!  Who's coming to out with me to cheer her on?

 In about 40 minutes this girl will be able to tell me what time it is when I get home really late and she is already sleeping.

Prep the mind with the quarterly publication Valparaiso Quarterly. A must read for valparisians.

Prep the eyes with iodine. Also a must.
 
I would likely vomit right as they told me to stay still during this surgery. Just the thought of them cutting my eye -- how did they come up with nonsense?

 Emily and her coworker Rebecca came over on Rebecca's tandem bike and these things are sweet.

Jen and I on the bike. Also prominently featured in this photo: my neighbor Ernie's arm. He was riding on the front handlebars, documenting the entire event for posterity.

Also, a video. It appears as though I am biking drunk here. Cars.

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 Well on her way to a successful marathon. Two proud girls as well!

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Nicholas Quirke

 This, in conjunction with a great salad, chicken and a decent glass of wine, tasted great after my long day of running and riding.

 Best part? The whole family came over. There is my dad and grandpa on the couch, inexplicably both wearing pink shirts. I have no problem with pink shirts, but there were a lot of them last night.

Then here are the girls, Jen, mom, grandma and Ashley.

Let's get a group shot! Violet and Penny jump in.

I'm a lucky guy.

 Nothing too remarkable to report from the palate's perspective, outside of some seriously fresh, delicious and spicy guacamole Jen put together. We did have some great guests over, though, and had a wonderful time hanging out with Scott and Denise and their smart, ebullient and well-behaved children, Reagan, Noah and Logan. Those are three qualities I have been working hard to espouse in my own children.

 I should also mention that they were very nice, which I consider to be the most important thing.

 There they are now, posing with my girls. I wish Scott and Denise lived closer, because they are good people and we get along great.

So then we headed over to my parents for yet more meats. The whole posse was there and wouldn't you know it, the kids and I broke off a pretty serious train ride. Admit it, you wish you were the caboose.

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I think I could get used to BBQs every weekend.