Summer Events

My sister got the big idea to recruit family for another trail half marathon this summer.  So after training for a few months in the wee hours of the morning Michael and I headed north to get a personal look at the wilds of Portland.  (With all that running I got Heidi to where she would stay precisely at my right thigh when I patted it.  How incredibly satisfying to run with a nice dog!)  My old ankle injury would rear its ugly head after about mile seven during training and race but, let's face it, lots of things hurt after mile seven!  My bros Pietr, Matt and Dave R. ran it with us, and Miriam and Liz ran the 10K.  Check out the pictures!

XX--Oh wait.  Somebunny hasn't emailed them yet!

Then I got busy training for another triathlon six weeks later.  I am thinking this is my favorite kind of race of all time.  The fun in this particular race was that I was competing with seven other friends, all of whom were doing the first tri of their lives.  What a pleasure and inspiration it was to see them make this goal and nail it!

Waiting for my heat.

Michael and feisty Audrey.  This boy was the best during this whole thing.  What would I do without him?

Getting ready for the whistle with good friend Laura Harvey.

Oh yeah!  That's yours truly.

Madly getting my biking gear on.

 Off on the 16-mi ride.  It was glorious!  The Madras countryside is beautiful.

After tossing my bike on the rack, I headed off for the first few jelloey steps of the run.

Crossing the line was like the triumphal entry through the Champs Elysees!  I was looking a little purple but feeling pretty good. 

My favorite part was coming up to the end of the run.  My family spotted me and started screaming, "Go MOOMMM!!"  I was the only one coming in at that moment, so a bunch of other spectators started cheering "go mom" too.  I had to laugh in spite of myself and it gave me a little extra kick to see my kids cheering.  Thanks, fam!

Laura, Gabrielle, me and Clara enjoying some post-event victuals.

Team Fearless, the conquering heroines!  What a blast, ladies.  Let's do it again next year....

Highland Cow

I have given birth to my own little highland kyloe.  Note the similarities...

 

...except that mine plays with toys and looks wicked.  She's doing "creepy eye" which she inflicts on any worthless specimen she comes across.

(I couldn't resist.  The horns and muzzle become her, don't you think?)

New Shoes

I was picking up the kids as they walked home from school the other day, and as I approached them I noticed that Clara was walking shoeless Joe on the very hot sidewalk.  I pulled up and said, "Hey, Megs!  Why are you barefooted?" 

She marched to the car, "Mom!  I need new shoes--today!  Please!"
"Oh, Clara, don't be dramatic.  I know you don't love the shoes you have and that they're a little tight, but we've talked about this already.  Those are not good enough reasons to pay for a whole new pair."  (Growing up with the parents I had, and having lived through our own personal great depression days, my motto is the good old "Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without.")

"Mom, you don't understand..."
"Clara, I understand exactly, and that is why..."

At this point Isaac, who usually keeps to his own business, piped up:  "Um, excuse me, but Mom, I think Clara's right.  She does need new shoes.  It was actually really weird.  We were just walking along and suddenly one of her shoes, I don't know, it just exploded into rags."

We all laughed, and I told Clara that this does indeed qualify as "wear it out."  We got her some new ones that afternoon.

Summer Camping

We found a little piece of heaven on earth just outside of town, so we tracked down the owners and asked if we could enjoy a moments respite with the family.  It  has been a crazy summer!

Michael whacks down the weeds around the campfire.

Audrey peering into her future...

Everyone cuddling in Mom's and Dad's bed...until I kicked them all out!

Enjoying a canoe ride on the peaceful Florence Pond.

Isaac and Audrey dove into the blackberry bounty instead.

The draw of the water was too much for these ones!  They needed to see the troutlings and froglets up close.

This picture is out of order.  Upon getting out of the car, Isaac took off to pursue his favorite pastime: reptile and amphibian catching.  This was the biggest toad I've ever seen in real life.  He dubbed it Trevor (name that movie!).

On the heels of Isaac's catch, Clara came running up with one of the biggest garter snake I've ever seen.  She appropriately named him Stink.  She was clear that it was a him, "because only boys smell that bad!"

Tin foil dinners and scary stories around the campfire.  Family prayers, then off to the tents.

In the early hours, Michael and I woke before everybody and enjoyed the peaceful beauty of the morning mists of Manannan and the sunrise which fought them and won.

Master Bathroom

I've been waiting a long time to do this post!  Our master bathroom is finally officially done.  Now we have the supreme luxury of two showers, one in the blessed privacy of our own bedroom!  We are enjoying it so much!  (The excessive use of exclamation points is appropriate in this case!!)

Our room before work started, things hastily cleared from that corner of the room.  This is the view from the bed.

Old lath and plaster.

Will standing in the new doorway, the old one to the right is about to get framed and walled in.

Shower and vanity.  It took some vision at this point!

Jimmy doing his very best to stay out of the way.  Those guys were SO patient with all the "help."

New bathroom wall, view from the bed.

Ma handsome husband priming new sheetrock and old plaster.

Same shower and vanity view as before, sheetrocked obviously.

And...

Finished vanity--woo hoo!!  We saved the old sconces from the other bathroom when we redid it.  They are original to the house, so that became the center of our decorating scheme.

Was especially happy with how the shower turned out.

We were able to use the old closet door as a pocket door, which pleased me because these were the originals.

Pictures of the rest of the room to come as things are completed.  A huge thanks to Uncle Adam for coming and spending precious time with us before leaving to BYU to pull down wallpaper, paint, paint and paint, and keep me cheerful company.  You're the best, Boose!

This Month Is Such a Special One

Actually, May was a special month, and I'm just a little behind.  This May we celebrated little Clara's 8th birthday--where has the time gone?  After that we enjoyed little Audrey's birthday, then Isaac's.  Here is pictoral recounting...

Clara's birthday dinner.  On odd years we celebrate with friends, and on even years the birthday person gets to pick a restaurant and fun family activity.  Clara chose steak.  Is she a midwestern girl or what?

After a whole day feeling frustrated by this and that, the prospect of eating out with everybody frankly did not appeal to me.  However, the kids' table manners passed the test that night, and to top it off, at the end when we went to pay, our waiter said a couple sitting nearby had been watching us and insisted on paying for our meal, saying we were "a breath of fresh air."  Little Clara took it as a personal compliment that people she didn't even know would want to pay for her birthday dinner, and I was especially grateful for their kindness.  I had needed some reassurance at that moment that I wasn't failing miserably as a mother.

A couple of weeks later came the climax of the month's festivities. 



Clara chose to be baptized, and the date happened to fall on Audrey's birthday.  What a party it was!  Lots of cousins and friends were able to join us for this special day.

(Some of the cousins who came to celebrate took a pre-lunch break.  This tree is so popular with the cousins and neighborhood friends.  I think they forgot for a few minutes that it was Shabbat!)

The kicker came when I went to make an appointment with my friend and excellent photographer, Keri Blue, to have Clara's baptism pictures taken.  Just after the phone call I noticed screaming and hysterical laughter.  Instead of doing the assigned task of vacuuming the stairs, Clara decided to tease James by convincing him she was going to vacuum out her eyes.  Nice.

She looked like she had just given birth to a 13-pounder.  Pictures were postponed. 

It turned out to be a wonderful, edifying day.  Thank you to all of our wonderful friends, and beloved family willing to make the trip. 

The next week we celebrated Isaac's birthday.  What would we do without this boy who always keeps us laughing and on our toes?

And for his special activity:  Lasertag!

Lastly, we did have a real birthday party for Audrey, who turned a magical two years old.  She is a little bowl of sunshine for all who know her, all sweet and spicey rolled into a spunky little pink chub.  We love this little girl!

Among the couple of gifts Audrey received was a sock monkey from her sister, and her very first purse, designed, cross-stitched and assembled by Isaac (it's his new "thing.")

The Pinky and her entourage, early on the morning of her birthday.

Sleeping Beauty

Hate feet in my face when I sleep!

Especially creepy doll feet.

Gaahhh! You again!

Snug as a bug in a rug.