deck update

i've never been so excited to sweep.

:)

skating lessons

the little man started skating lessons last week :)

as soon as we told him, he ran upstairs and put on his jeans and his jersey.

that was before lunch.

his lessons are after dinner.

off and on all week, cohen had mentioned wanting me

to go out on the ice with him for his next lesson.

which i dont mind.

but he just now informed me... "mommy doesn't skate good"

to which i said... "oh i do. just not as good as daddy"

which is the truth :)

and we can't leave out this little lady!

(who knew there was such nice lighting in the ice rink lobby??)

 happy monday!!

my first 5k :)

i ran my very first 5K this morning with my good friend erin.

at 9:30am in the blazing sun.

i didn’t even look to see what the temp was.

i probably don’t want to know.

i had 3 goals.

1. to finish the race

2. to run/jog the entire race

3. to not be last

around the 2.8ish mark i started getting a bit dizzy, which had never really happened to me before.  i decided it better to walk a bit, than to pass out and let erin deal with that situation. so… no meeting goal #2. but that’s ok. I was able to meet goals #1 and #3, which is better than passing out and not meeting any goals ;) 

plus. there's a bonus.

(that outweighs the fact that i walked a little bit...)

erin and i got first place in our age group!

i am still cracking up.

so funny.

it wasn't a big race by any means... it was perfect for my first race.

still. first place. hilarious.

lilly had just said... "mom, im waiting for them to say you and erin"

and i replied... "oh lilly, they won't be calling our name."

but they did. and erin and i burst into laughter.

i got a gift certificate to a salon and erin got a gift certificate to a local bakery.

so guess where we went right after the race?

this adorable little bakery.

Yum.

thank you erin.

for encouraging me to do this race.

for keeping me going when i thought i couldn't do it anymore.

(and thanks for the sweet treats too!!)

camping

this was our very first family camping trip.

we all had a great time and dave is already trying to find another weekend to go before its too cold out.

if only the calendar wasnt already so full.

after crossing the swing bridge.

lilly was nervous at first (for good reason) but she ended up going back a 2nd time.

friday's dinner.

dutch oven pizza.

yum.

out in the river.

a gorgeous sight during our hayride.

5 mile canoe trip.

the kids didn't love it.

but they didn't whine the entire time either.

fun sculpture in the middle of the river.

message in a (mike's hard lemonade) bottle.

with a real message.

from someone who lives in bowling green. 

small world.

cohen's little potty corner.

used a few times when a bike ride to the nicer potty was going to take too long.

cohen wouldnt even step near the 'hole in the ground' potty a few sites down.

(and i do not blame him)

off schedule + hot + tired = falling asleep on a bike ride

saturday's dinner.

foil dinners.

my favorite.

(this may get a post of it's own someday...)

twine anklet made at the art center by mommy.

lilly made a necklace.

meant to get a pic of the kids with the tent.

oh well.

what is camping without smore's?

daddy caught some fish.

this one is a perch if i remember correctly.

and lilly's favorite part.

becoming instant friends with our campsite neighbor, Rachel :)

she's 6 too.  they loved hanging out all weekend.

and don't forget Mindy :)

making a candle.

this is what i get when i ask cohen to point to the river.

i giggle and he asks me to take another picure of him pointing.

this is how we all felt coming home.

ready for bed.

and a good shower.

meet Gary and Elaine

catalog living.

my new favorite blog/feed/tumblr.

"A look into the exciting lives

of the people who live in your catalogs."

Meet Gary and Elaine...

'Gary, we were having such a lovely afternoon with the Andersons

until you decided you just had to show off your string ball.'

'Sure Gary’s out of town, but I’m perfectly capable

of starting a fire in the fireplace by myself, thank you very much.'

'I don’t know, Elaine. I think it could still use more lime.'

'Vase? Elaine, I swear you said plate.'

'Secretly, Gary had always wondered if all these children were indeed his.'

so so fun.  and there are more where these came from.

and now i look at all my catalogs with Gary and Elaine in mind ;)