A New Chapter

Today, the Barlow family definitely started a new chapter of life - KINDERGARTEN. I honestly never imagined (EVER!) that this day would arrive. So we went from this (the first picture) to this (the remaining pictures):

We started our day with a BIG surprise for the kids (we have LOTS to celebrate) - eating ice cream for breakfast. Chocolate syrup and sprinkles too. Mmmmmm. (I did make them promise to eat a healthy lunch!).

The kids had requested cookies and milk to eat as a snack after school - so at 7:30am (after finishing up our ice cream), we were making cookies (with M & M's too). Yep...lots of sugar to make us even MORE excited!

I have such mixed emotions about our new chapter. Though I am excited for more "me-time", I am nervous about what they are seeing/hearing at school (yes, I know the kindergartners are more sheltered at the elementary, but still....). I'm nervous about them being teased and making friends. I know they have to grow up, but I can still worry!

On a side note, we went to "Back to School Night" and the principal and several other school employees already knew who we were (i.e. the triplet family) - even though we had never set foot into the school. Always good to start off with a reputation!

(I have more school pictures I will post later)

Playing at the Dell

Last Monday, we took the kids to Mutual Dell for an evening of campfires, hiking, and Smores. Why we haven't done this sooner, I'm not sure... because we had a blast. The kids were very careful around the fire and the stream. We went on a little hike (even Peachy did great!). They gobbled up Smores like they had never been fed! Little do they know, we are going camping there in a few weeks!

Pip Squeaks

So I ran the Alpine Days 5k this weekend in preparation for the big half marathon. It was a chilly morning (which is rare for August) and wonderful for running. The kids were even there to cheer me on. I've been running all summer and feel like I am getting in better shape every day. Or so I thought....

You know what makes me really mad - is the little pip squeaks who are 12 years old and fly by me. They are hardly sweating - hardly breathing heavy - and make it look totally effortless. I was fuming mad because I REALLY was breathing hard and working my hiney off. Oh well..... Just keep on running - keep on running.

Life

Summer has officially flown bye - school starts in 3 weeks. This is a recap of the past few weeks (for those few of you who even care :) )

1. Swim lesson: I hate swim lesson with a passion. Greasing up 4 kids and hauling all their junk to the pool just to have them complain about going to class IS NOT FUN. Those poor, poor swim teachers - bless their hearts. I am so sorry you were stuck with my kids for 2 WHOLE weeks trying to teach them how to do superman dives and bobs. BUT my kids will learn how to swim. End of story!

2. Abby has always been prone to bloody noses. This past week she has WAY to many for my comfort level and I hauled her off to see the doctor (this is all going down while I am canning spaghetti sauce and trying to cook dinner). It turned out she just had a aggravated blood vessel in her nose and the summer heat was irritating it, but the doc wanted to cauterize it with silver nitrate. Poor Abby was not liking it and required 2 nurses, 1 mom and a doctor to help with the procedure. She is doing much better.

3. We have a few sleepwalker and talkers in our house. Annie and Abby's room have a lock on the door because we have been finding them asleep in random places in the house. Just the other night, both girls came sleepwalking into our bedroom and Annie hollered out "Abby, we need to get ready for school" and then fell to the ground to slumber. Nothing like a wake-up holler.

That's all for now.

Peachy Turns 2

Georgia turned 2 last Sunday! Hooray for the Peachy! She loved eating ice cream and jamming to her new dancing Elmo. She continues to amaze us with her sweetness and ability to survive with all her crazy siblings.

We love you Peach!

Back in the Saddle Again

Many of you knew me when I was a lean, mean running machine. I had my picture in the newspaper several times and was even nominated "Most Athletic" in high school. But now in my early 30's and 4 kids later I definitely DO NOT fall into that category. I feel a bit frumpy!

Last summer, I started my trek back to the fitness world. What a long slow trek it has been. But I convinced my friend Heather (who just had a baby, teaches 6 classes at the gym, and is training with me) to run a half marathon with me.

What a great experience it has been. We have run a few races to get us motivated for our big race (which is at the end of August). I'm definitely not at the same level I was 10 years ago, but I am continuing to make progress.

We ran the Deseret News 10k last week. Annie came with us and stayed with my mom during the race. She was the official cheerleader! It was so fun to have her come and cheer - it reminded me of when I used to watch my mom run.

We survived 5 years!

5 years ago, Annie, Abby, and Carter left heaven and came to this crazy family called Tim and Toby. What were they thinking?!

We started our celebrations with a big birthday breakfast and mom and dad presents. Then off to use a free lunch birthday coupon at a local taco joint.

We had our friend party at Jump on It (a warehouse filled with trampolines and blowups). The 7 friends and 3 birthday kids ran like wild banchees, slowing down just enough to snarf down a cupcake.

We had a small family party on the 4th of July. Unfortunately, we also had the stomach flu! The kids loved their sparklers and pop its. Everyone had a wonderful weekend celebration.