You Don't See That Every Day

Summer is here. Swimming, grilling, and family reunions. Around our area the temps have been in the 90s for awhile. We had a few cooling off days and now the sun is back on full force. In times like these it's nice to have friends with a pool. A couple of Sundays ago, I woke the Mr from his Sunday nap and said get your swim shorts on, we're going!  And we had a very enjoyable, laughter-filled afternoon of swimming and Marco Polo. This past weekend we didn't have a pool, but we had a lot of fun. My niece and nephew, whom we don't get to see often ... I think it may have been 7 years since they were here ... came and stayed with us. We really enjoyed getting to know them again as adults. And my kids loved hanging out with their cousins. We also had a family reunion combined with a 60th Anniversary party for my aunt and uncle. There were so many people there - many I didn't know, even though I recognized their last name. But first, we started the weekend ...

The weather people were predicting gale force winds and pouring/ dumping rains. The bicycle tire and brakes weren't working right. No one was in bed at 10:30 pm. That was Friday night. On Saturday morning, three of us got up at 6 am to head out for a triathlon. The Mr and The Girl who Swims would compete - I would spectate. The other children would sleep in and later clean house or something (more like the something of watch movies). We had a downpour as we left home but then a few miles down the road it was clear and sunny skies. There was a breeze ... ok, a wind ... but it wasn't blowing us off the road. The competitors had nearly perfect weather for this triathlon. My sister and I got to see both of my people swim - it was a bit of exercise for us too as we hurried from one pool to the other pool in a separate building, to see them in time; we managed to see our friends bike and run also. The weather held; all of our people finished the race without collapsing (alway...

26.2 miles. Check. We did it. We really did it. My niece and I, along with 998 other people, ran the Newport marathon yesterday. And we finished! I am so proud of my 23 year old niece who ran basically the whole thing, just a few seconds-long walks towards the end. I would not have done this without her, or without knowing she was training too. So the first 14 miles felt great! The view was beautiful from the start and the weather was amazingly perfect for the coast. Even getting up at 5:15 am didn't affect me. I met up with another friend who was running too, and so our chat helped the miles go by quickly. But by mile 14 my legs were starting to hurt. There were some downhills that I guess I wasn't quite prepared for. Well, my knees weren't anyway. I tried to take them slowly, but I guess not enough. And the run was all on the road - which meant I was running a little crookedly. Roads are made to slant down from the middle, so water runs off and not necessarily for le...

A day of giving thanks for all our blessings. We started out the day with a fun run - 5k in the local park. We did this for the first time last year, at a different Turkey Trot 5k. This year we got smart and found one that started later and was closer to home. G. ran with the older two kids, and I pushed the stroller and ran with the other 3. It was a beautiful, sunny, but cold, morning. Lots of fun. And then it was off to the relatives for feasting and fun! I didn't get any action shots of the whole crowd - there were about 35 of us I think - but I got a picture of this very cool turkey. It is actually a cake! My niece made this using pound cake, Twinkies, caramel, and pretzels. I was pretty impressed - enough to take a picture. So we had a nice long visit with the family, got to see the great-nephews from California. Oh my, they are cuties! I loved watching them play with my little girls and the cousins. My brother had a bunch of old photos he transferred from slide...

This one is for my friend Patsy , When my Runner's World magazine comes in the mail, I curl up to read it on the couch with a bowl of ice cream. Every time.

I'm sneezing. I've taken a couple of naps. It's not even 9 and I am almost ready for my bed. My sweet little minions have taken my words to heart and shared with me. However, sharing a yucky cold isn't quite what I had in mind when I taught them that lesson. My husband has not gotten to that part yet. I'm hoping for his sake he doesn't. He has been working upstairs these past few days; the girls' room is almost ready! Yes! He and the kids painted the primer layer today. Next comes texture, and then we get to paint, and put in the flooring, and move the girls in! We are doing the happy dance! This vacation has truly been a good relaxing time. We haven't been rushed do anything. We've had the cold run through the family, so there has been a lot of TV time, and relaxing. Last night we played games as a family to ring in the New Year (except the 2 year old who was in bed early). I'll have to say I've enjoyed this time with the kids and husband...

A day of giving thanks for all we have. I am thankful to have children old enough to really help. The girls helped make brownies and pie yesterday. All the kids took orders well and got the house cleaned and food prepped for the feasting today.   And then a neighbor brought by more sugary goodness. Aren't these the cutest treats? We are so blessed to have a number of terrific neighbors! And like every other holiday, there was home improvement work to be done. Yesterday G and the Boy tore up the stairway, to fix the running boards that go along the side of the stairs. The top photo is looking down the top stair into the garage.     Here we have the end of the day work - the side running boards are in, and the stairs are back in place. A few more items on the to-do list (texturing and painting) and then the carpet comes in!!    For the first time, the family signed up to run a Thanksgiving Day 5k. This was the sunset we walked out the door to. ...