Strawberry Firecrackers - Kid Tri Recap & Cupcake Recipe

The Sunday of the holiday weekend was a busy one!  My day started bright and early with open water swim practice with several training buddies.  Getting self out of bed early is never a strong suit of mine, but beautiful summer mornings (and good friends) always make it worth it.  The peave of the water didn't last long though, because the next stop for me and Gypsy was the Quaboag Plantation Triathlon!  We didn't race the adult portion this year, both being tired from the NE Trifest a week prior, BUT our kiddos were still all for crushing the kids race!

 

With my little athletes.  Yes, I wore last week's race
 shirt in case anyone wondered why I wasn't racing myself!

So... out of the water, back in the car and grab the families to head to the race start.  Mercifully, the kids race didn't start until 11, so getting there at 10:30 was plenty of time.  The kids got their race tats (which was adorable, since there were no assigned numbers.  The volunteers just asked the kids each what their favorite number were!).  Set up transition (my and Gypsy's kids wanted to be together), took a billion photos then the kids wanted to play at the beach.

 

 

Difference between adult and kid tris - adults "warm up" in the water.  Kids splash around at the beach and refuse to come out, even though their race is starting soon.  lol....

 

I love this photo of Gypsy, who ran with her 4 year old the whole
time.  Go mommy go!!

Transition set!!!

For this race, the "swim" is mostly a run through the water.  The kids were divided into age groups, with my kids in the 4-6 AG going last.  My little girl was the first our of the water for her group!

I had volunteered, so I took up a position with a few other adults at T1.  The bike ended with a downhill and turn into the actual transition area, so after a few kids wiping out last year, the organizers decided to let the kids just ditch their bikes at the bottom of the hill and run from there.  What that meant is that there were several of us yelling for the kids to stop, helping them off their bikes, unclipping helmets, sending the kids running and then pulling the bikes into the grass and off the road in time to catch" the next kid.  A little tricky, but doable and way better than skinned knees!  I was happy to be one of the parents helping instead of standing in the middle of the road and/or run path getting in the way!



Jedi telling my son, coming on the bike, to "Go see Mommy!!!"

The run portion was 300 meters around a field.  Since the kids were mostly done coming in on their bikes, I sneaked over to cheer on my kids, who both ran and finished strong.

My little girl arguing with me on which way to go. 
Even during a race she argues!  She sure can run tho!

The kids were so proud of themselves - they really did amazing.  It was so much fun to see even super little kids (as in, three years old) finishing with their parents.  Gypsy's older racer even lost her shoe while running, but sprinted the finish anyway (shoe in hand) rather than let a boy behind her pass her.  True grit! 

This wasn't a USAT race - the kids could use training wheels, floaties, etc.  I definitely think that more "serious" races have their place, but as long as everyone is being safe more informal kid tris like this are a great way to get kids exposed and excited about the sport!

In red white and blue PJs for the fireworks!

The rest of the day passed in a blur - after the race we had less than an hour to get back into town for the parade.  My mom surprised us by joining us for the day (yay Gramma!) to take in the festivities.  The fireworks were excellent as usual, and we tucked in two incredibly tired and happy kids that night.

Since it's summer, since we went strawberry picking last week, and since it's been a while since I shared a recipe, I wanted to put up the recipe for our famous (while we were in business!) strawberry cupcake recipe.  Perfect for this time of year - enjoy!

Summer Strawberry Cupcakes

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• 3 cups AP flour
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 sugar
• 1 1/2 stick butter at room temperate
• 4 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 1/2 cup fresh strawberry puree

1. Sift together all the dry ingredients. 
2. Beat butter and sugar in an electric mixer until smooth
3. Beat in eggs (one at a time) and vanilla until incorporated
4. Add the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl in 3 batches, alternating with the strawberry puree.

 

Fill cupcake pans 2/3 full and bake at 350 for approximately 12 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the thickest part comes out clean.  This recipe is very consistent and rises well.

 

After completely cooling, top with strawberry buttercream (regular frosting with some strawberry puree added).  Also great with lemon buttercream.  You can further decorate with sliced strawberries (if eating right away, or with fondant or marzipan strawberries (as pictured).  Enjoy!