Once in a lifetime.....

...do I get to send these cuties to first grade. 

All day long...lunch at school...2 recesses.  It is a day of celebration.  So we continued on with our "ice cream for breakfast" tradition (but they did have to eat their pancakes first). 

This girl has been waiting since the last day of Kindergarten to be a first grader.  Man, does she love school!

This cute muffin really wanted to wear tights on her first day (never mind the fact it is August and a million degrees outside).  She was worried about wearing ribbons in her hair and that she would lose them (it is alright if you lose them Abby - they are just ribbons!).

And this big boy was worried about lunch.  He wanted lots and lots of lunch (his lunch sack was gigantic!).  He's excited, can you tell?

It has been a day of reflection.  Bittersweet reflection.  Never again do I get to have them all to myself during the school year.  They are bombarded with outside influences.  We had to have the "say no to drugs" and "scream and yell" if strangers ask you into their car talks. 

I've never had just one kid at home.  This is a big adjustment for all of us. 

So what am I going to do with this cute thing all day?  I'm sure we can keep ourselves busy!

Garden Love

Our big garden continues to put fresh produce on our table every night (and we are able to preserve A TON for winter use...spaghetti sauce, salsa, jam, frozen veggies).  There is nothing better than a plate smothered in green beans (with a bit of bacon...cause bacon makes everything better), watermelon, and corn on the cob.  That is our favorite summer dinner.

This garden year has been a bit different though.  I have three kids who are able (not always willing) to help.  One of my favorite summer past-times is sitting in our garage, radio softly playing in the background, cutting up green beans, peas or shucking corn.  I trust the kids with scissors and knives and they are able to do the work.  It gives us a great opportunity to get work done and talk.  And they LOVE to talk.

I recently bought 90 ears of corn a few weeks ago (it was on sale for 10 ears for $1 - I can't grow it that cheap).  Because of the quantity, we enlisted a few neighborhood friends to help.  I cooked the corn and cut it up and put it in our freezer to eat during the winter.  Guess what we had for dinner that night?

Birthday Bliss

Guess who turned 3 at our house!  

This cute muffin:

I asked her what she wanted for a birthday party.  Her response, "Go to 'Donalds and get fry fries and nuggets".  I asked her who should come, "Lucy and Kaylee" (a neighborhood friend and a cousin).

When I asked her about a cake, she replied, "COOKIES".   So cookies we had!  We even shared!

We even ate them like puppies too!

We had great entertainment!

We even had a Happy Birthday song at home with another cookie after dinner!

Now this big girl needs a lesson in potty training and sleeping in a big bed.  Too bad her siblings wait on her hand and foot and she is not interested.  When they start school, this 3-year old is going to sit her hiney on the potty!

Newest Member of our Family

Meet Boston.

The newest member of our family.

He is a good ride and takes me up and over mountains.

He's fast.

He's pretty.

Someday, he will train me hard enough to take me to the Boston Marathon (aka the journey is called Road to Boston).

Summer Va-cay

We spent last week in Northern California visiting family.  The giggling with the cousins started at sunup and didn't end till sundown!  We ate way too much Mcdonalds and watched hours and hours of DVD's in the van.  Highlights of the trip included:

Visit with family:

Fun new dresses for all the girls:

A visit to the Golden Gate (my kids said one of their favorite parts of the trip was throwing rocks into the ocean and chasing seagulls - glad we drove all the way to CA for rocks and birds!!!):

Cousin fun:

I love being with family.  We can pick up right where we left off.  There is no superficial "I gotta keep my house spotless to impress anyone" garbage.  We love each other for who we are - and I think they are all fantastic!

Big kudos to the CA Barlows who let us crash at their house.  That is a big task because we are COMPANY - we are loud, messy, eat lots of food, have melt downs, etc.  We sure love you!

Too much celebration

It was a birthday fest at our house for the crazy 6 year olds. In addition to the "friend" party, we had a "mom-dad-sibling" big breakfast and dinner at Mcdonalds party, and finally a "extended family" party on the 4th of July. Thinking about the parties, makes me tired all over again!  I sure love my big kids!

500 Feet

I am still nursing my stress fracture in my left ankle. I am allowed to walk, bike and swim. The most I can run right now is 3 minutes. Yep – I’m not going anywhere fast!


This whole “not running” thing has been really hard for me. It is my outlet for the day where I don’t have to worry about anyone. I leave the title of wife and mom at home.


I love having goals to work toward – seeing progression, feeling the “high”, and ultimately achieving the goal. But I can’t do this right now. No goals, no progression and I am in detox from my “high”. My running friends call and ask if I want to run a favorite route or do a speed workout and I politely have to decline. It is killing me.


All the big races are coming up. Runners are just swarming the streets. And I am not apart of any of it.


I’ve been doing a lot of biking – riding Tim’s old school mountain bike that feels like a hundred pounds (I am getting a road bike for my birthday - Hooray!). Biking is a lot harder that I had ever thought. Propelling yourself AND a bike takes a lot more strength then just running up a hill. Coordination – something I lack!


But all this biking isn’t cutting it for me. One of my favorite sayings is "I can do hard things." I feel like I haven't been doing anything HARD - really HARD. Stretching myself - getting out of my comfort zone.


Until tonight.


While driving the kids to an art class, I noticed this GIGANTIC hill leading up to a trail-head on the mountain. I said to myself, “I would like to ride that someday” (thinking in years).


Tonight I did it.

The hill was 2 miles up and a 500ft ascent (which is big for a slow poke like me). Not only did I make it up, but I did several of the side street hills as well. I confess, I did have to stop for water.


I don’t write to brag, but I felt the “high”. Feeling that drug again was awesome! It’s been too long. I felt like I accomplished something hard.


My next goal is to ride over the Alpine Loop.