Latest "artwork"

I saw this pattern on a blog's background and decided to copy it. Thanks to a cup and a measuring tape, it came out semi-even. I painted the pattern all brown, let it dry, and went over it a gain with a blue color. This canvas was no longer white because I had repainted it several times. It would have been way easier to have started with a new canvas.

Cheap tickets, wrong dates

Allegiant air is having a sale the entire month of September. Too bad I want to go in November. Patience. Luckily, a couple of my sisters-in-law will be able to fly to L.A. for some fun.

Swim lessons are over and she passed. She was so excited. We went swimming at Memorial Pool to give her some extra practice time. She still does a head-first cannonball dive, but she does a beautiful breaststroke.

Time to get back to running. 6 weeks to the half marathon. I hope I can get my miles in, so it is easier. This is supposedly a family affair, so I do expect to see a few of you there. Not that we have to run together, but I'll buy breakfast afterwards.

We played all week last week and had a great time with friends and cousins. Then, Friday came. Friday the 13th. Mimi fell out of a car and hurt her wrist along with a few scratches on her face. A pivot tipped over on the farm. Sunday, Lulu fell in the family room and hurt her wrist. Now there are 3 left arm injuries in the house. Mr. says I better be careful.

We still need to do some clothes shopping for school, but I think we are all ready for it to start again. Time to go to bed a little earlier and ease back into a schedule. I will miss not having to use an alarm. That was the best thing this summer. I didn't always get to sleep in, but I only set the alarm 4 times all summer.

2 WEEKS!

Shopping Adventure

We left at 6 am and got home at almost midnight. The sisters-in-law and I loaded up in the Tahoe and headed to Seattle. We hit Ikea--after 2 hours of shopping we had lunch in the cafeteria. The car was loaded with all of our purchases, including my giant mirror that Jo kindly sat under the whole trip. Went to South Center Mall. Took some pictures of the girls with their pink balloons. C did a shopping cheer and we were off. The girls did well, I got some spanx. We all had Jamba Juice. W did an awesome dance. We stopped at North Bend on the way home. Didn't find anything until I went to Bass and bought a couple hoodies. Could have bought a ton of stuff at the kid stores, but I controlled myself. Arby's for dinner. We made 5 orders through the drive-thru. Ju was in the very back seat and the cashier said, "You've even got one in the trunk." Yes, we were packed in there. Luckily, the 2 oldest got the front seat. Age before beauty. The baby came along too. He was so good the whole time. It was amazing.

Thanks to the fathers and grandmother who made this trip possible. Thanks for the conversation and the treats. Next year, we'll have to go on a trip to Utah and visit Jo or we could always head for the L.A..

What's the answer?

Sometimes we have deep conversations at my childhood home. My father asked me what I do all day and figured that I am under-utilized. He asked if I had any causes. Well, I told him my cause was to inspire people to run and lift weights. That's not a cause I guess, but I do think a lot of mothers would feel better and actually enjoy it if they tried. He mentioned something about joining the Tea Party. What do I do all day?

Today: BY 2PM
Laundry
Dishes
Cleaned a couple dirty bums
Ran 5 miles, lifted
Grocery shopping
Picked and watered garden
Lunch
Math with Mimi
Draw with Lulu

Later:
More laundry
Dinner
Dishes
Shower
Naps--fold laundry

What should my cause be?

What week is this?

Summer is flying by and I have lost track of what has gone on. The latest news is that Mr. broke his collar bone doing his ATV racing. He is such a daredevil. He is going to the specialist today to see what needs to be done. It is interesting helping him get dressed and things. I couldn't get him to take a day off of work.

I ran a 1ok and finished below my goal time. I think I could go faster, so I am considering the half marathon again. My official time was 56:11. I felt so good running. I guess actually training for a race helps.

Mimi is getting glasses. She is near-sighted. She looks so cute in them. We have to wait a week or two for them to come. She is excited. Swim lessons are going great. She is tearing through the Little House on the Prairie books. She has to read 60 pages if she wants to play on the computer.

Lulu is now doing her poops on the potty. She is wearing panties during the day and a diaper at night. I just don't want to wash sheets everyday. Everytime she goes #2 she yells, "I'm going to Disneyland!" We just might have to do that. Lulu is really strong. She can throw things far and fast. Yesterday, she threw the remote and hit Mimi in the eye. It was so sad. Lulu doesn't know her own strength and she can't aim. Mim has a little bruise, but not a black eye.

We were driving in the car and I was whistling. Lulu didn't like it and yelled, "No fwoo-fwoo." Obviously, I am not a good whistler.

My sister, Em, had a baby boy on Sunday night. They named him Adam Lawrence. He is cute. His hair is dark and thick and a couple inches long. She went to the hospital at 6 and had the baby at 6:48. She is amazing. I got to snuggle with him that evening. My first time doing that with any of her babies. It was neat.

Summer week 3

This week we stayed with Grandma and Pre-pa a couple nights. They endured Lulu's sleeplessness and even invited her back. We have 1 pull-up at night days and 2 successes with number 2. I pretended I was Mickey Mouse and called her to encourage her to go and she did, but it was because she made the face and I ran her in. Afterwards, we gave high fives and had a little party. She strutted around saying, "Uh-huh, I'm cool, Uh-huh, I'm cool." I'd never heard that one before. It was really cute. Yesterday, I did something in the kitchen and she said, "My mom's cool." This morning, I was upstairs and she yelled that she had pooped. So I ran down the stairs and she was on the potty all by herself and she had done it. Hopefully, this continues and becomes the norm.

Mr. and I ran (jogged), a 5k in Othello. It was his first race. It was nice of him to stay with me. I was not feeling it and he felt great, so I know it was hard for him to go slow with me. I did PR, but it was about a 40 seconds slower than I had hoped. No T-shirt.

Mimi got new tires on her bike. We went to Greenies and got them fixed. They have some cool stuff in that store. I want to rent the kayaks this summer. Maybe next time we do a date night. It has been 2 months.

Next week, Mimi has swim lessons. She is excited to swim again. I finally got Lulu to go in the big pool with me. She kept saying that she couldn't get her ears wet. Once she got in, she didn't want to get out. She swam and pretended she was a mermaid while I held her tummy and shoulders up so her ears wouldn't get wet. We're going to try the Othello pool tomorrow and hope that we don't melt.

2nd week of summer

We met a new cousin this past week and got to play at grandma's house. The girls rode their bikes a bunch. We went to the gym a couple times. Played on the swingset. Picked blueberries in the backyard. We are still trying to get Lulu to do #2 on the potty--had some messes on the floor that were oh-so-fun to clean up. Mimi went to her first activity day for church and loved it. We can't seem to sleep until it is dark outside. Have tried a few p90x workouts. The girls went to see Toy Story 3. Thought kids under 3 were free--not at Fairchild. They are free at Disneyland. A movie theater is not Disneyland. Mr. decided he wants to be an ATV racer. He didn't win his race. He says he will stop when he beats someone.