laguna beach

Laguna Beach: great beach, super neat town.







The waves were SO big when we were here. The tide kept creeping up on us until we were pushed as far as we could go. We had dug a hole for Lucy to sit in. We had a surprise wave come in. Shane went to save the camera and the tide swallowed up Lucy in her hole. When the tide receded it had filled the hole with sand and she was trapped. No tears were shed, just a really serious (are you kidding me how could you let this happen) blank stare and some super messy hair. We were all laughing so hard, including every stranger nearby. I wish we had our camera out for a picture.

oh..sweet music

music makes almost everything in life a little better don't you think?

songs like these have been keeping me company around the house while I do mundane things.
it makes the world of difference....thank goodness. :)
have a listen and see.

You Really Got A Hold On Me - M. Ward & Zooey Deschanel

simplicity

It was Ellie's first day of first grade. It is a harsh reality when you realize your little one spends more time with a teacher during the day than yourself (the mom). I was excited to find out how her day went and have all the questions flowing through my head answered. Did she eat her food at lunch? Did she find someone to play with at recess? Did her day seem long? Did she make any friends in her class? (she didn't know anyone in her class). Here is her response in true Ellie fashion.

Me : How was your day
Ellie: It was good...it was really, really good.
Before I have a chance to respond
Ellie: And guess what! It is really easy to make new friends because girls say "do you want to play with me" and I say "sure, I like your ponytail"......and then you are best friends.
Me: Oh..good Ellie. What our their names.
Ellie: hmmm...... I don't know.

I love how simple a child can make things in life be.

(ellie first day, first grade, 2009)

wonderful

This is what we were doing last wonderful weekend.
(more to come)

Happy End of Summer long weekend everyone!

Stewart Falls 2009

Every year we hike to Stewart Falls.
Luckily for us no one got fully submerged into stinging nettle this year.
Only a slight mishap on a giant log turned teter toter took place.
and the weather was near perfect.
Until next year little waterfall, we love you.

speed of light

This little lady has got some legs on her. Her lengthy stride probably doubles her height.
I love the way her little fists clinch up and how high her legs get off the ground when she picks up her speed.
It was amazing to me that she even made it to go back the other way without totally eating it face first.....and after looking at these pictures even more so.

nine

He may be old enough to swim in the deep end, be the oldest in his elementary school next year, attend summer camps, play night games until dark sets in and only come inside when hunger sets in. Every so often when I carry him to bed and his long legs dangle to the floor I get a heavy reminder that he really is old enough for that stuff. I just feel lucky that he still is a little nervous about thunder at night, not that embarrassed by me yet, watches cartoons in the morning, tells me I always know how to make him feel better, and gives me a hug and a kiss and a "I love you" everyday. These things help me realize he will always be my little guy.....no matter how big. I am grateful for that.

13.1 miles

So It just happens that I just completed my first half marathon. Toward the end of training for this race I was so burnt out on running that I was sort of dreading the race itself. 13.1 miles seemed sooooooo long. But 2 giant blisters, really really sore legs, and a finish line later I am happy that I did it and I finished in better time than I thought I would.{yay!} So here is a little re-cap on how things went down.
3:50 wake up, dressed,other stuff, wheat toast with peanut butter and jelly {yum}.
4:15 off we go
5:00 get on bus to shuttle up to the start.
5:30 arrive at the start...or is it a refugee camp. The start was in a big dirt/gravel space in the middle of the woods. It was pitch black and unusually cold. People were just wondering around in the darkness with garbage sacks and space blankets on huddled together and peeing in the bushes. {porta potties had a long line}. It was so strange it seemed like a refugee camp to me.
6:00 sun starts to come out.. pretty view... lots less refugeeish.
7:00 race starts.
mile 4- feeling good.
mile 7 a 1 mile up hill climb. No better time to try out the GU. It was nasty but I swallowed that slimy clump whole and drank a whole bunch of water. I made it up the hill and back down. Thankyou GU!
mile 11 - tired, tired, tired, sore, sore, sore. blister is coming Ahhhhhhh! Keep running keep running. I kept telling myself that like a crazy person. Maybe I was a little crazy at that point. A little black eyed peas helped me through it.
mile 12- almost done.. pick up the pace lets get this think done already. That is when I heard a honk and saw my kids hanging out of the car waving.....that helped me push through it. {love you guys!!!}
mile 13.1 Finish line. {YAY}

Geez...what can I say I have a love/hate relationship with running. It was fun in a werid sort of way and tormenting all at the same time. But I accomplished my goal for the summer a half marathon and It felt good. However my legs do not... they are soooo sore. Will I be able to walk tomorrow?

p.s. how do runners make it with out music? My music kept me going so many times. There is no way I would have made it.
And how to people run double what I just did and do a full marathon...AMAZING!

I Gotta Feeling - Black Eyed Peas

sprouting

Over the summer some changes have occurred that make me realize that even though I call her baby she is really not that at all. Opening doors is a piece of cake, the somersault has a new perfect form and the big wheel has never seen such attention. New words are escaping those little lips everyday. Last week was "humus" and "heartburn"....it makes me laugh. She is not only spunky but opinionated now. Especially when it comes to shoes, she wants the blue diamond ones... always. One thing remains constant. When ever it's sleepy time she asks for three things. Ba Ba {bottle} B {blanket} and then she smiles and says "bed" and sleeps and sleeps and sleeps. How can I ever turn that down? It's so easy. I am a sucker. One thing is for sure. That change is going to be a hard one.

rockclimb

Last weekend we packed up the car, ate lunch at a park by some ducks, climbed{drove} over a spectacular mountain pass, lucked out and claimed quite possibly the perfect spot for a little relaxation and rock climbing. We climbed, we played in the river, laughed, explored a nearby cave, had wagon rides, climbed some more, ate a yummy dinner, and roasted some marshmellows. Then when we could no longer see we turned on the head lamps packed up the car, and climbed back over that mountain pass. The sky was black with thousands of twinkling stars and a sliver of the shiny moon lighting up the frame of the mountain tops. It felt like we were on the tip top of the world. With kids sleeping soundly, the perfect breeze and a little Ray in the backdrop I think we really were. It was beautiful and I was in awe...of our day and how it was winding down. I love..love...love where we live and the experiences it brings. It made my heart happy to see the little city, our home, glittering peacfully in the dark at the bottom of that mountain pass.

even a kitty must be pretty

If Lucy gets a hold of lip gloss she goes straight for her favorite kitty and then she finds a nice spot where she won't be bothered by the lip gloss owner (ellie) or stopped before she has used and licked every last bit by me. The kitty has definite signs of a few different shades but that's okay because even a kitty must be pretty. At least she thinks her's does.

{p.s. her application skills have very much improved since these porch excursions have began. Just look at those lips....almost perfect.}

somebody loves summer...

the little summer things

This is what has gone in between the bigger summer events.

Wearing swimsuits all day long, going through boxes and boxes of popcicles. Hours on end under "the tree". Minor bike accidents, a new found love of goggles (ellie), sleep outs on the trampoline, tan little bodies. A couple really good face plants (that would be me) once on a run with a little old man as a wittness, the second was on the wet, soggy, gross 7 peaks bathroom floor. Let's just say that one was messy and pretty much the worst ever....so gross ahhhhh. Soccer practices, Olympic park summer camp (canyon), BBQ's, sprinklers, camping, science expierments, lots of swimming, good meals outside and my three blondies are now a couple shades blonder. Oh, and I have had strange encounters with animals on morning runs. I got cut off and stared down by a deer (scary!) and pooped on right on top of my head by the dumbest bird in the world. Pulled lots and lots of weeds, planted lots of new flowers...only to pull more weeds. Bike rides, stary summer nights, fireworks, roasted marshmellows and of course lots of raising eyebrows on demand (lucy). The summer is half over and I am starting to panic just a little. There is a lot more things I want to fit in that I am looking forward to.

{I love that without fail when ever she hears the word eyebrows she raises them just a little}

Flaming Gorge 2009

There are some things that should be said.

1. Some serious good times were had out on the lake.


2. Shane decided he was born to surf the wake.
3. Vacations with friends are non-stop fun.


4. Ellie would be a very good tour guide "Welcome to Flaming Gorge"


5. This little gal loves the boats.


6. And even after all day of boating she was determined to still play in the water.


7. I found a new way to have this little miss fall a sleep on me again. (8 hours on a boat will do it)

8. She looks very cute in a life jacket.


9. Ellie had fun wake boarding if she could go tandom.


10. Canyon learned that crossing the wake is fun and face plants are not.


11. We had so much fun.


12. Fresh water dips make Lucy giggle.

13. Canyon also hearts the surf.


14. Boating with friends = happy happy day!


15. It feels good to soak up some of that sunshine.


And I was really, really right. It was one of those long weekends that just was not quite long enough.