SoCal Fun!

We have been busy with our friends from Oregon the past couple of days. Julie and I have been shopping up a storm to find stuff for the house. Friday's big find was a bookshelf for the living room. I was so excited about that.


Friday afternoon we headed downtown and went to the Midway Museum. We had never been there before and still can't believe how big that ship is. We also couldn't believe how small the living quarters were. We loved being up on the flight deck looking at all the planes. Carriers are just amazing ships.
In the Brig!

Friday night we went out to this place call Pei Wei. It was way yummy and we managed to get in a few chuckles. Damon ran into a racquetball wall during the day and had a big bump on his eyebrow. He looked very formidable. We did some more furniture shopping. I think the sales people were happy to see us go after all the comments that Pete and Damon made about every piece of furniture. Some of it was pretty ugly.
Saturday morning was spent doing some quick home improvement stuff and then we were off to Del Mar. Well, not Damon. He had to luau's to work at in Orange County. We managed to have fun without him. It was a lovely day for the beach and I even got on the boogie board to catch some waves. We ended up bringing more sand home than I would have preferred, but it was worth it.

Lily got her first haircut Saturday afternoon. Just 2 inches. I couldn't handle anything more than that. We sure do love having our friends here. Stay tuned for more SoCal fun.

Happy Birthday Adam

Adam's 7th birthday came and went. We can't believe our Mookie is 7. He has been such a joy (and a bit of a challenge) since he entered our family. We are so glad he did though because he makes us all laugh. He is such a fun loving, easy going kid who has a great enthusiasm for life. I wish we could all love life as much as he does.

For Adam's birthday we went to the movies as well as the pool. We had chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast and pizza for dinner (no surprise there). Our friends from Oregon are in town and were able to celebrate another birthday with us. What a treat.

Happy birthday Adam! We love you.

On a side note, today is my Grandmother's birthday. She past away 12 years ago this week. She was the nicest person I knew and I still miss her. I wish she were still here. She would have really liked Adam. Happy birthday Grandma!

Another Triathlon

The Camp Pendleton Triathlon was Saturday the 8th. It is over and I am glad. I think Damon is too. It has been a hard one to train for. I blame summertime on that one.

We were in the car backing out when Damon asked me if I had everything. I answered yes. He started running through a checklist and got to helmet and I stopped and looked. No helmet. So we opened the garage and I had to run in and get it. What would I do without Damon? Even though he doesn't do the races he is just as much a part of them. I think he stresses more about them than I do. He laughed at me bringing balloons to mark where my bike was in the transition area and 10 people wished me happy birthday, but I tell you it was the easiest time I have had finding my spot.

The race started at 8am, but my leg didn't leave until 8:50am. My sister and I had a lot of time to kill. The waves were relatively peaceful which made my heart happy. They were so brutal last year. When it was our turn to go I told my sister I would see her on the flip side and we were off. After awhile in the water and realized, along with the group I was swimming with missed on where the buoy marker was. We had to swim diagonally to get back on track. The horizontal swim wasn't bad at all. The water was really calm. On the way back into the shore there was a bit of an undertow so the wave would push you forward and the undertow would pull you back. I was starting to get really frustrated, but then I caught this huge wave which carried me halfway back. It hit my hard and I ended up getting a cramp in my leg and my back. It hit the girl behind me too and she was a bit shaken up as well. Luckily it dropped us off where we could stand and we ran back into shore.

The bike was so much easier than last year. I attribute that to better equipment as well as a good spin instructor. The whole time I was out on the road (well, other than the time I spent praying that I wouldn't get a flat tire), I had my spin instructors voice in my head yelling, "You control the bike. Not the other way around", "Push through your heel", and "Let's go. INCREASE". That's her favorite. Interesting things I saw on the bike trail... a smashed rabbit. A partly run over raccoon, where you could see the guts hanging out and a lot of big nails. I prayed those wouldn't find there way into my tires.

The run was easy except for the cramp in my left calf. By this point you have to push through it and finish. When I started the run my brother in law and Damon were sitting by the side cheering for me. That was nice. I ran without socks for the first time and by the time I finished had huge blisters on my tendons. There was blood in my shoes. It's a good think I didn't notice before I finished. It was nice having a group cheering for me when I finished. I wish they had been there in the middle of the run. My goal this race was 2 hours and I did it in 2 hours, 1 minute and 11 seconds. Maybe next year I will get it. I finished 13th in my age group and placed 687 out of 1000 people, even though the race sold out at about 1200.It was a good race and I feel good about it. The best part was indulging in the not so healthy food that I ate right afterwards. After a race though, who can feel bad about eating an ultimate cheeseburger, with curly fries and a coke from Jack in the Box. Yum!! (but I could never justify eating that without burning a zillion calories before hand.) No pictures of that though. Nobody wants to see that.

Vegas Baby!

Our week with no kids ended with me driving to Las Vegas to pick up the kids. I had my babysitter, who just got back from college, come with me so I wouldn't have to drive by myself. She was a great help and the kids were mostly excited to see her. We met up with my inlaws and the kids at the MGM Grand. It completely reaffirmed how much I hate casinos and Vegas, or the Strip, in general.

We were able to have lunch at the Rainforest Cafe. We went to the M&M store and took some fun pictures. It was super hot and just yucky there. The kids were great on the drive home and Kaitlyn and I taught them how to play the semi-truck game. I had to make the car ride interesting because I forgot the DVD player. Every time the kids got a truck drive to honk his horn by pulling on their imaginary horn in the air, they got $.25. It entertained them the whole way home. It was hilarious. I remember doing that as a kid, but my dad hated it and would always freak out every time a semi would honk their horn.

The kids are back. The kids had a great time with their grandparents. They miss their nana so much already. The house is filled with laughter, noise and overall chaos again. I think maybe next summer I might try for a 2 week break.

The Construction Continues

The house is turned upside down now. The den wall is sealed up. The door frame is cut and waiting for a door to arrive. New wall built, dry walled, and spackled. There is dust and stuff everywhere. We have all been hanging out in the family room because that is the only room that hasn't been invaded by the remodel. Next up... call the drywall/paint guy to come texture walls and paint them. Damon also has to redo the electrical, which always makes me nervous. Good times. Thanks to our friend Greg who came over and helped. Damon got it done in 3 times the amount of time he would have had he been working on it by himself.

Happy Anniversary... early edition

It isn't our real anniversary, but we decided to celebrate it a little early this month. We went and saw, "Wicked" tonight and it was enjoyable. We saw it 2 years ago in New York and since we got there 30 minutes late it was not as enjoyable. We got to the theatre with plenty of time this go around and really enjoyed the music and the acting. We had great seats too. It was a great night. If you haven't seen it yet and have the opportunity go. You will be entertained.

Out with the Old, In with the New

Goodbye Jeepy. We will miss you. Well, sort of!

Hello Runner! Welcome to our family!

As many of you know we have been having serious issues with our Jeep. After Thursday we had finally had enough and traded it in for a new car. We got a Toyota 4Runner. The features inside aren't as fun, but it rides smooth and with the Toyota name hopefully it will last us long enough to be Noah's car.