A Spunky Six

Fresh off a birthday for this little guy.  Hard to believe the "baby" is six.   Good thing his favorite thing to do still is snuggle with his mama!

How can you not love that girl

I probably have the only seven year old around that asked Santa for a big pack of meat.

Pictures from the weekend

As the only boy who participated in the annual Newman family cookie making day, Bob spent his time making snow angels in the yard and building forts in the living room.

He's such a trooper!

Plus I'm pretty sure he didn't mind being the official cookie taste tester.

I can't believe he'll be 6 in a week.

Ready or not

BoBo: Mom, you should keep my first tooth.  I know you are really sad about me growing up and all.

Me: But what about the tooth fairy?  Do you want to write her a note and ask if you can keep the tooth?

BoBo: No, cause what if she takes it.  I don't care about the money mama.  I want you to keep my tooth forever.



That really happened.

A Run in the Woods

My favorite running buddy (other than the boy of course!) and I ran the Wicked Thorn trail run last weekend.  It was my first official trail run.  7.25 miles of single file, kind of rocky, lots of hills running.  This might just be the farthest I run before the half marathon I'm signed up for at the end of October.  Eek!

 

It was cold at the start but the views were beautiful and the run felt good to my lazy, just back from vacation muscles.  I must admit, I didn't study the elevation change much before hand and it was a lot harder than I anticipated!

And of course the after run carbs tasted so good.  You can never go wrong with a bratwurst and a budweiser.

If you take the kids to the zoo

If you take the kids to the zoo (aka the Animal Ark) because you are trying to kill time on an idle Saturday while you wait what feels like two forevers for the boy to fly home from Germany....

 

 

 



You will come home and find two wild animals terrorizing your house and threatening to "EAT YOU UP!"

 

p.s.  I'm still alive. 

p.p.s. The Animal Ark was pretty cool.  We had a living social deal we had to use up.  But now we must go back sometime so the boy can go too. 

p.p.p.s.  It was at the Ark that I realized I have a tried and true reader on my hands.  She was in charge of the map and knew what everything was before we got there.  I was both impressed and sad at the growing-up-ness of it all.

The Lazy Girl's Trip to Philadelphia

If you get lost, just look for the William Penn statue

So, I am recently back from a trip with the boy to Philadelphia.  Surprise!  We went to attend the Budweiser Made in America music festival and stayed a few extra days to do tourist-y stuff.  Seeing as how I'm really terrible at reading maps on the computer and figuring out which way is up and what distances are actually walk-able, I did next to none 'pre-planning'.

The concert had quite a few people I like but wouldn't necessarily go out of my way to see a show.  I was mostly in it for Beyonce, Imagine Dragons, and Macklemore and Ryan Lewis.  We enjoyed ourselves even though it felt ridiculously hot and humid to us desert rats. 

We passed the time between bands we actually knew people watching.  It might have been the highlight of the concert really.  This small town girl did not know that high waisted shortie shorts and fanny packs were back in style.  We saw too many to count.

A few months ago, when I flew out to my sister's house in Illinois, I missed out on a 5K bagelfest run and getting free bagels and a fabulous neon green shirt.  Why?  Because I didn't know.  Who knew really that such a thing existed and would be happening the exact weekend I would be in Illinois.  I was really kind of bummed.  And I don't even eat bagels!  So two days before we left I googled runs and Philadelphia and found this: http://www.cityrunningtours.com/philadelphia.html

We picked the 10K strictly based on starting location in relation to our hotel.  Quite possibly the best impulsive decision we made on the whole trip (that didn't involve food or beer in an way).  Our running guide was a local teacher.  We got a good tour of the city along with brief histories of most of the historical sites along the way.  It also allowed us to see what the options were and what we wanted to go back and spend more time at later in our trip.

This was one of the statues we ran past.  Created with the help of old keys and 1.8 million pennies collected from local schools.  We also ran past Ben Franklin's for profit fire house, the cemetery where he is buried, and the first bank of the United States.

We went back and checked out Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell, too.

While we were at the concert I made a random Canadian friend.  He had this to say:  That we as Americans take a lot of our freedoms and our treasures for granted.  That at the end of the day, everyone else still wants to come and visit America and we should be prouder of what we have.

I left Philadelphia feeling the same way.  How could people live this close to all this history, the history of our country at its very beginning and go about their day without appreciating it?  I will admit that when I think of American history my first thought is Washington D.C.    I had forgotten that before the White House, there was Philadelphia.  And it's begging for us to appreciate it.

Hopes

Emmers has all the spunk and confidence that I lacked in my childhood

I hope she never loses that

Which is why I never say no to pink hair or getting her hands dirty

So How Was Your Day?

 

Hey Bob, how come you haven't brought home any crafts from school yet?

 

I'm in kindergarten now mom.  We do MATH not crafts.

 

Well...we did do one craft today.  But it was just with crayons.

And then we went was camping

Seems like the new school year snuck right up on us this year.  In an effort to cram as much fun as possible into the fading hours of summer we tacked on a camping trip to our way home from Disneyland.  
Have you ever tried to pack for two very different environments into one suitcase?  It was challenging.  Thankfully, Grandma decided to meet us at the campground and so we were able to send a lot of the things we needed only for camping with her.

We camped with only  half of our extended family but we still had a good visit and the cousins got in some quality mischief making time.  We took turns basking in the morning sunshine on the logs.  It was a lot colder at 10,000 ft that we have become accustomed to for August.

The littles did a pretty great job hiking to see the Bristlecone Pines at Great Basin National Park.  We made a day of it and hiked up to the glacier too.  Better put it high on your to-do list if you want to see it.  They said in 20 years the glacier will probably be gone for good.  The last time I saw it was probably 20 years ago (that makes me feel old!) and I was surprised by how much smaller it is today.

 

 

 

Bob and I agreed, the mornings were too chilly for our liking.  I definitely should have packed more layers.

 

 

 

 The deer wandered in and out of camp fairly regularly.  That's one of my favorite memories from camping here as a kid.  It's not uncommon to find one in the trail on the way to the camp bathrooms. 

 

 

 

Someone gave Bob a flashlight and an official job on the cave tour.  That's a brave park ranger right there!  I stayed behind to be sure that Bob wouldn't abuse his privileges.  We took the 60 minute tour of Lehman Caves since we had the littles with us.  Everyone loved it and no one got restless.  Next time we'll do the longer one for sure!

 

 

 

MmmmmMmmmm....cave bacon 

 

MmmmmMmmmm....even better, real bacon!  Cooked over the campfire of course :)

Poor husband always has to fish with the pink, barbie pole.  But he caught a fish and we got to eat it so that's all that really matters right?

Emma was crashing through the woods on her way to the creek and she almost ran smack into these does.   We sat and watched them for a long time before they spotted the dog we had with us and trotted off into the trees.

 

Bob found a triangle shaped rock and immediately took it as a sign that we should go home so he could play Zelda.  Silly boy.  And that is why we go camping...

Life on the Refrigerator Door

This is just to say

I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the ice box

and which you were probably
saving
for breakfast

Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold

--William Carlos Williams



So it's been too long since I've mentioned what books I'm reading.  Rest assured, it hasn't been from lack of reading. 

Alice Kuiper's Life on the Refrigerator Door was such an interesting concept.  A story told entirely on post-it notes.  Which also makes it an extremely quick read.  It'd be a good commuting or going to a busy beach book.  It is the story of a high school student who lives part time with a busy working mom and part time with her father.  I am sure a lot of families can relate to life lived on the go and leaving notes for mom, dad, son or daughter on the kitchen counter. 

As much as I enjoyed this book, it left me wondering.  Are post-it notes on the way out?  In a world where kids are getting cell phones younger and younger I just don't think this story would have been as endearing had it been a book full of text messages.

Disneyland in the summer time

Next time I come here and say, oh hey I'm thinking about going to Disneyland in August, please allow a moment of silence and give me that look.  There is a reason why the last time we went to Disneyland in August was 11 years ago. 

It.
was.
hot.
and.
crowded.

But to be fair.  Even a hot crowded day at Disneyland is better than not being at Disneyland.  And you know what?  The line for the Winnie-the-Pooh ride....still just 5 minutes.

 

As a kid, I might have ranked the Jungle Cruise ride right next to the Tiki Room at the bottom of my favorites list.  Judging by the kids faces as they listen to the guide, I'd guess they feel the same way.  But the older I get the more I love it.  I "get" every one of their jokes now.

By the last day, Bob was pretty sure he should get to decide which rides we go on and in what order.  Turns out no one else felt the same way.  So the burrito and I hung out in the shade of the carousel while everyone else rode Pinocchio. 

And then we did some street dancing and scored some beads.  It's the little things I love the most about being here.

We also repeated the Medieval Times show (Not Disneyland I know, but close-ish!).  We got yellow knight, again.

 

 

The kids were so taken with the show they ate zero bites of their dinner, again.

But it was worth it.

And then there were two in school

This year we had two first day of school pictures.  Unfortunately the camera man had to leave in a hurry this morning so we weren't quite put together and the pictures are a smidge blurry.  But we remembered and that's all the matters right?

Say right :)



First up, the girlchild.  Who still wanted to be a zoologist up until yesterday when she decided a scientist would be equally as good.  Apparently we took pictures in front of the door last year...so there goes that plan.  But at least you can tell Emmers grew a little since last year.


And then there was Burrito.  Who is so ridiculously excited to be going to school just like his big sister he didn't even want me to walk him to the door.  Don't worry Mom, he says, I got this!

 

 

Bob's sign says he wants to be a ninja someday....naturally.

My little Cloverbud

 

 

A few months ago the girlchild joined the 4H dog training club in town.  I had hoped to fly blissfully under the radar and be that parent who drops their kid off, happily does their own thing for an hour, and then comes back to pick their kid up at the designated time.

 

But little did I know that a combination of the 4H leader moving out of town and a very shy "don't leave me alone with strangers" girlchild would lead to me becoming the club leader.

 

 

Eek!

 

 

 

Good thing she's cute! 





Running around

In three months I am planning on running a half marathon.  The first half marathon since my ACL reconstruction.  In three months time.  That's 12 short weeks away.  The internal debate is do I just go out with a goal to finish it? Do I dare even think about setting a time goal?  Can I (or more directly) HOW do I use crossfit to train for this so that I'm not running too many miles on my knee?  And speaking of miles....what should the longest, long run in the training program be?

I've been running with a group on the weekends lately.  They keep me motivate, accountable, and best of all, introduce me to new running paths.

 



I found this little guy on the new route last weekend.  I think I'm in love!  I scratched his head till my hands smelled of lanolin and then was on my way.

 

 

I'm not much of a morning person but the early morning sun on these cheerful sunflowers was just what I needed to put a smile on my face.  I'm not one to run with my phone usually, but that morning my ipod battery was dead.  I was so thankful to have my camera with me so I could take these pictures.

For the love of a horse

Emma inherited the horse lover gene from her aunt Jacko.  I like to ride but I do not have much interest in professional riding of any kind.  I prefer the lets take the horses out and pack some snacks for a picnic lunch somewhere kind of rides.

Emma and Tux

So we packed the girlchild off to favorite auntie's house for nearly 3 weeks so she could get her fix for the year.  There has been talk about just signing over the custody papers and letting her stay forever.  But word got out that we are going to disneyland next week, so the girlchild decided maybe she'd move next summer instead.

As part of my "MOM watch!" duty, at least I can tell she is making progress from last year.  We are still working on balance but at least we've moved onto the trot.

 

 

 

Along with the riding, the girlchild got to help with the routine chores.  They let the horses out to pasture every morning.  She got gates while Auntie cleaned pens.  The gave the horses their daily afternoon beer to cool them down.  And did bed checks at 10pm just to make sure everyone was still standing.

 

I'm glad for this opportunity but equally glad to have her home. We missed her silliness!

 

Be very, very quiet

So I spent a good part of last weekend hunting crawdads with a certain little girlchild.   I don't know about you, but when I think about hunting crawdads I think:

A) some kind of trap
B) set down in some kind of water
C) filled with some kind of bait (a.k.a. bologna).

Not walking out into the yard and shining a flashlight down a hole.

And yet we ended up out in the front yard shining flashlights down 1 inch round holes looking for claws or the shine of those beady, little eyes.

 

 

 

 

I don't know about you but the fact that the crawdads live in the lawn (I assume because the water table is so high there) kind of freaks me out.  In the it's okay to visit but I could never live there kind of way.

 

 

Sorry Illinois!  You are not the state for me.



Round up in Pictures

My sister came to visit.  I had intended to take lots of pictures and put some on the blog.  But, as evidenced by the crickets here, that did not happen.

We have been busy!  Here are the highlights in pictures.



We have had a lot to celebrate latey, birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays.



Turns out Bobbo is not so very good at back flips

Everybody say hello to Georgia.  She is a jumper...this is new for us.
And she is also named after the beloved bartender of the Silver Spur Saloon
who lost her fight with cancer a few weeks ago.

I made patriotic jello.  You should be impressed.
 Most of the time I epic fail at jello.

We had some flash flooding on 4th of July
Turns out watching the greased pig contest is not so much fun in the rain.

Emmers wanted to ride the 4-H float in the parade.
I did not.
I think it's clear who won here.