Swim Update

News from Shelly

Swimming Update
Eli is coming off the step at times and is trosting me agin & got him to take off the life jacket too he was touching the bottom of the pool! AMAZING!!!

Mini Golfing

No children fell in the water, only three golf balls got wet and only one got lost. Ball, not child. Fun! (But waaay too hot. All the golfers were sweating by the end. And then complaining that they were freezing when we went out for pizza later. 😉)

Another Fourth

Over the years we've fallen into what's becme a family tradition - Firecracker Four run in HC, picnic and pool time with Grandma and Grandpa. Fireworks on the lakefront with the cousins. And this year, a cookout with the family at Scott and Kim's house.

This year we also added the part where Archer and Shelly run the Firecracker Four - I ran the 1.7 mile route with them and was impressed with their finish times. Archer finished in 17 minutes, Shelly and I 20 minutes. David and Eli cheered us on and it was a great start to the day. We had an early start with the run, a late finish with the fireworks, and today has started off pretty slowly with everyone sleeping in to recover from yesterday's fun.

The weather was perfect for our run, kids were worn out on the way home, only half way through the day's adventures!

As we were killing time waiting for the sun to set and fireworks to begin, the soccer ball ended up in the lake twice and the football three times. I'm just glad the KIDS never ended up in the water!

Aww, time with the cousins. That's the BEST!

P.S. Happy 12th Anniversary, David! It's been another great year!

Sum Sum Summerfest

We dropped the kids off with Grandma Sue and had a grown ups only day with a visit to Summerfest. What a treat! Good food, good music, and a fantastic time together. Thanks David!

Summer Stories

We had Shelly's friend and cousins come over for a pool party and sleepover. They spent a bunch of time fixated on a spider they found at the edge of the pool, paddling their raft a little closer, little closer, then screaming and paddling away as fast as they could. Then, of course, edging closer and closer until they could see where it was again. Screaming and squealing all the while. They kept splashing water at it to flood it in the hopes that it would wash farther away from the pool. Finally, I went over to investigate. Closer and closer I crept, I saw it curled up and dead on the cement and in a moment of bravery, I reached down, with the intention of picking it up to throw at them. Or maybe not REALLY throw it, maybe just THREATEN to throw it. Closer and closer my fingers got, I reached out to grab it and then NO!! SCREAM! Its STILL ALIVE! I almost picked up a LIVING SPIDER!! I leaped into the air, screaming like the rest of the girls, they all screamed and laughed at me as I retreated back to the safety of the deck. Bampa of course had observed the whole spectacle and laughed along with me about my reaction. Brave Mom turned out to be just as much of a scaredy cat as the girls. Oh what an adventure!

We stopped off for a movie on the way home, then nail painting, movie and snacks, finally bedtime.

I've been dragging the kids along with me for my runs, they ride bikes, I run. Sometimes there are some antics. Like Archer getting stuck in the van. Mostly I have fun and they try not to complain too much. Sometimes I get really scared that Archer's going to flip over the trailer that Eli is riding in, Archer just whips around corners, off-roads up and down hills, weaves back and forth across the trail. Eli loves it. I hold my breath and wait for disaster. Shelly just tries to stay out of the way.

Eli had a minor meltdown the other day over his shoes and I sat him up on the washer to put his shoes on for him, then understood his problem. Two sizes too small!! What! Two days of shoelessness. We went to the store with him in only socks and found the BEST pair of shoes ever. Minions. He's in love. New Minion Shoes for Eli. (And Shelly too. New shoes, not minion.) New summer haircut for Archer. And a taxi ride in the grocery store.

And that's been our summer fun for the last few days!

Extras

Last night E put his expert chef skills to good use and helped me with dinner. Yummmm.

Today we brought home a couple of hitch hikers from soccer camp. They couldn't find a ride home so I guess we'll have to keep them till soccer camp tomorrow, and return them back to where we found them. 

Hopefully some other kind soul will take them home, cause if I have to bring them back with us I'm afraid we'll run out of crackers and cookies. Although, Annika is pretty good at putting together mac and cheese for the crowd, so maybe I should keep her around!

Day ??

Like all Summer Vacations, this one started off with big plans. I'll post something every day. The kids will learn something. We'll all get along and no one will fight over who got more cookies. Ahhh OPTIMISM. I'll learn my lesson soon. I've completely lost track of the days. And who cares about learning, as long as we're not at each other's throats with cabin fever.

So...
On a trip home from HC or something, the boys were wiped out and Shelly was the only one hanging on. But not too cheerfully.

Shelly and E have invented a new game involving plastic bats and a beach ball.

My family was so wonderful and supported Grandpa and I on our Lighthouse Run last weekend. We even had a couple of friends come out with a sign for us!! So much thanks to David, Archer, Shelly, Elijah, Mary and Willie for your encouragement! I love you guys!

And general silliness because they just can't resist when they get their hands on a camera!

Just RUN! (P.S. Happy Father's Day!)

Sometimes the very best things in life just sneak up on you.

I got sucked into a little competition at work that jump-started my new interest in running. Then I got a little ambitious and set a goal for myself - I'd run the Lighthouse Run in June. That was back last fall. Lots of months to prepare. Then somewhere along the way, I got a little crazy. I think it was after the first time I'd completed a ten mile run and I was feeling empowered - if I can run TEN then what's stopping me from... MORE? (That was January 31, with five months to go before the Lighthouse Run.) Now I've got myself signed up for a half marathon (seriously, that's crazy!).

In the meantime, I still have to keep myself prepared for that ten miler in June. Plus I organized the H. C. Fun Run back in January and we all loved it so much that we decided we should do it again sometime. I was thinking monthly. Dad was thinking weekly. (Whoa! that's a big commitment! I wasn't sure if I was ready for that...)

Here's the best part. Dad and I started running together, at first just once or twice a month, but it has grown into once or twice a week. The two of us push each other just a little bit past what we thought we could do, a bit farther, a bit faster. Then we cheer each other on when the other is about to crumble on the side of the road. We talk about running shoes, running techniques, family, work, trouble, triumph. We grumble about the distance and our little aches and pains. We distract each other from the weather and the hills and the miles and miles of road we're covering. At the end, when I'm hot, worn out, ready for a nap - that's always the best feeling. The feeling that I covered miles and time with my dad, and that we plan to do it again next week. We've done over a hundred miles since this whole thing started back in January. ONE HUNDRED MILES out on the road together! Thanks Dad, I couldn't ask for a better running partner, and I'm glad we're covering that ground together.

 

 

Miles Run Together      1/1/15 - 6/20/15     104.73

Day 6

Tick City. That's what I call the field behind our house. Shelly is the first (and hopefully only) victim, with two ticks on her this morning. Poor girl, the boys never get them. She said she didn't ever want to go outside again. We talked about staying out of the field, not rolling around in the grass, and so on.

The fun of Nature Center Cleanup Party at North Park Elementary drew her out. I slathered up the older two with sunscreen and bug spray and sent them on their way. Eli gets to enjoy movie time all on his own now.

Day 5

Archer was measured at the doctor's office today, he's just 3/4 of an inch shy of 5 feet tall. Whew. Dr. T and I had a little reminiscing moment about the first time we met each other, when Arch was just 6 pounds and a few days old. Now look where we are. Whew. Time flies, and Dr. T advised I quit feeding him so much, maybe his feet won't get any bigger (kidding of course!).

We had a quiet afternoon (thanks kids!) and then I decided we'd all get some sunshine. Shoes on, out the door!

An HOUR AND A HALF later we were on the road. It took us that long to gather up all of the equipment, make sure all the tires were aired up and bicycle wheels wouldn't fall off. Every step of the way, one of the peanut gallery repeated over and over "Let's just call it a bust." I refused to give up after each of the setbacks (missing parts to the bike trailer, where's the tire pump?, is this all going to fit in the van?). 

We finally enjoyed our bike ride/run - the kids on wheels and me following along behind.

We travelled down the path, cars rushing along on one side, the power plant and a rifle range on the other. Planes criss crossing overhead. Between the planes and cars, the sounds from the range, between all of that we enjoyed the wildflowers and sunshine. The fresh air and sunshine perked us up. And the "let's call it a bust" character actually enjoyed himself. He didn't complain even ONCE about pulling his brother along behind in the trailer. "Want to go faster, Eli? Are you having fun?" He even spotted a deer in the woods! After I turned over my phone and earbuds to Shelly, she took off and beat us all to the finish.

I've been running a lot lately, today was one of my favorites. I can't wait for more of these in the summer days to come!

PS On a visit to the grocery store after the bike/run, E reminded us that we STILL haven't tried those chocolate eggs! Maybe next time...