Portland Marathon 2010

Ok. While I was puffing away on my 3 mile route, Ed and Josh were in training for their 26.2 miles this past weekend. I cannot resist a good excuse to hit the road, and my husband indulges me :) And, we were excited to cheer on another big accomplishment! This time we had all 4 in tow (count 'em, four!) The trip over seemed quick and painless, we did a little shopping at the Gap outlet and hauled all 4 kids (yes, 4!) through IKEA Saturday afternoon. Fortunately they were able to squeeze in a little nap on the way there.

I love that my kids are at the age where you can say, "Ok, everyone! Time to be quiet and take a little nap!" and for the most part everyone closes up their little eyes and drifts off. (So much nicer than the days when the baby of the family would scream his little head off for the better part of an hour, and finally collapse into a sobbing sleep, and you frantically hush the other kids to be quiet and remind them that maybe this would be a good time to catch some zzz's before the little guy wakes up again. You know what I'm talking about.)

Oh yes, and here we are, all ready to hit the pool, cause Joe saw a sign directing us to a pool, which in fact, no longer existed. Major two thumbs down.
(Instead we went to IKEA. Hee hee!)
We picked up a pizza, jumped on the bed a little, and then went down to the hotel where the rest of the family was staying.

. . .and I got some cuddle time with Henry :)

We woke up at 6 in order to make it to the race on time to see them at the first mile. But we got lost and had to settle for the 5th mile. We raced them (in our car :) to the 12th mile and then the 21st, and finally we managed to miss Josh by a minute or two at the 26th mile, but got there in time to cheer Ed on for his last block!
We got lost a lot (but now have a better grasp of the Portland area highways) and it was pouring rain, but it was an adventure! And so very exciting!

Here's Josh (the fuzzy grey one) at mile 12ish, still with a big happy smile on his face and bouncing along like it was a jog around the block.

And Ed, same mileage, still looking 100% and with enough energy to holler at us as he rounded the corner.

We had a late check-out this year (one of the advantages of living and learning) so we had time to shower and change out of our wet clothes. The kids got some veg time. It had been a very early morning.

And, of course we celebrated with burgers and a round of drinks at Red Robin! The guys were still able to walk, so that was good. And the waiters all sang to Kayte for her birthday (which was the following day.) That was a first, I think, for Kayte.

What a fun, crazy, whirlwind weekend! Man, I really wish I could run that far. It does look like fun! Good job guys!

Ben:

We were just on our way home from dropping the kids off at school, and Ben says to me: "I'm having fun today Mom!"

"Yeah?" says I.

"Yeah." says he.

"I love you Ben." says I.

"I love you Mama." says Ben. . . ."Mama, song!"

And he starts singing the verses as best he can and when the chorus comes, he belts out "SUNSHINE, SUNSHINE!" at the top of his lungs.

Today is a beautiful day.

Costco Boycott

So without my approval, my wife went and bought a steelhead at Costco this week. This is completely against all that I believe in. You just can't buy fish at the store that you can catch a 1/2 hour away from your home, you just can't. So we dined on store-bought steelhead and I told her that it hurt my feelings. The next day I promptly went out to prove my point. It was a stellar day. We landed five fish and missed several more. I have been fishing with Ed for steelhead for several years and it never gets old. I really enjoy heading out with him and both of us never cease to get pretty fired up when we hook into one. Time to dine on steelhead.

Really, he is happy about it!

I can run!

So, let's preface by reminding everyone that I. hate. to. run. When I was at a little college in northern Maine, I was on the ski team, and for pre-season conditioning, the coach made us run with the local high school team three times a week. And those kids ran circles around me. Literally. One of the exercises was to run around the entire group as they were running straight up the ski hill in the snow. I trailed so far behind, they stopped running around me. The only time I wasn't the very last one in line by 1/4 mile was when one of the college guys showed up hungover from the night before. That was a tough day for him, but great for me, cause I was no longer in very last place. I dreaded it. But I wanted to be on the team so bad, I just wanted to ski! And frankly, I have no idea what running had to do with it.

Anyway, recently, in a bid for good health and a hawaiian-vacation-body :), I decided to get back out there. I mapped out a three-mile loop from my house, and my plan was to run all the flats, and walk all the hills. So I found a really really hilly loop so that the running would be kept to a minimum. (And if you're local, it includes Sixth St. Ext. and Itani, blech!) I started out back at the beginning of August, and I found it really tough even running all the flats. So I'd mix it up with a little sprint and a little walk in the middle of the flats. Just to keep myself interested of course :) At some point I got energized and I started adding more and more runs in the middle, I started looking around as I ran, I stopped stopping! And then a friend of mine broke her foot and landed on the couch for a month, and Kayte broke her arm, and another aquaintance got very very sick. And all of a sudden running became something I could do. It became a miracle to move. Health became a new blessing I had not yet learned to appreciate. And I suddenly became very happy out there, and the hills became just hurdles. I still drag my feet every single time I head for the door, but once I get out there, I feel a bit like I'm flying. And even when it hurts, I'm thankful that I can. That God gave me the ability. He is good.

I can run almost the whole three miles now. I've just started tackling Itani, 1/3 of it at a time. Two more thirds and I will be able to run the whole thing. It's a small little goal, I know. But for me, the one who hates to run, it's big for me. And I can't wait for that big day. That will be a champagne day.

Great News!

We were just at the doctor's with Kayte today and the bone is healing fast! It has been 5 weeks since her accident and she is finally allowed to take her brace off for a little while at a time. In three weeks she should have it off full-time! I'm so thrilled! No more laying out on the countertop to get her hair washed, she can get back into normal clothes, put her own socks on, and her hand (which has swelled to twice it's normal size) will get it's circulation back. And someday soon, I won't freak out when she starts running around haphazardly, like a little girl should. I'm so thankful!

How do you like them apples?

It had been a while, and I had some time to kill, so I jaunted out to our property for a little peek at the view. Sometimes I just need a look, and remember why I'm so in love with it. In the past, I've been very careful to avoid the new little road, but that day, I was bold and I drove right up into the gravel. It's my road. Why shouldn't I? And our little apple tree. The only one on the property was heavy with it's harvest of beautiful yellow apples. I wasn't expecting yellow, but I love yellow apples! So I got out and picked a few for the kids in the backseat. It was my tree, after all! And they were delicious, just like they promised to be.
It was nice to be out there. It is just a little seed of a dream today, and easy to forget in the busy-ness of everyday life. But it got me all excited again, and focused on what we were saving for. I can't wait!

Logos Knights

We had Ava along for our first volleyball game of the year (poor little baby bro was being tortured by medical professionals.) So, I couldn't resist a group photo of all the Knights fans. It turns out volleyball is actually quite an exciting sport to watch! Plus, they won!
Go Knights :)

The Princess and the Pea

Ben is learning to color, from the person who does it best. When he's done, he holds up the picture for you to see (facing him, of course!) and says, "Ta DA! Take a wook!"

He's also learning how to sing. He sings a lot of "Sunshine, Sunshine, I have a different kind of Sun!", but my favorite is, "Jesus is my Friend, Jesus is my Friend!" at the top of his lungs.

I'm gonna miss 2.

2010 Float

What a difference a year makes. Last year's float was marked with 10 degree weather, this one broke 90. Amazing you can have an 80 degree shift - chalk it up to global warming. Unfortunately the warm weather did not seem conducive to catching any steelhead. Good thing it's such a blast anyway.

Dad took advantage of the trip to make his maiden voyage with the new kayak. Looks successful!

Bearly Fishing

I headed for a short trip up to Kelly a few weekends ago to do some fly fishing. The camera died early on, so no fishing pics. But the event of the trip was our bear encounter. They made short work of our coolers. They actually hauled mine off into the woods and dined on it there. The bears were treated to pepperoni sticks, sandwich meats, chocolate, and even tried out the Dr. Pepper. All crucial to fattening up for the winter. Good thing we weren't sleeping in a tent!

Oops! I missed one :)

Arboretum

I convinced Joe to head out to the arboretum for some family photos. . . .disguised at first by a walk in the park of course :) So we got everyone ready and pretty and headed out. And got there just in time for a real downpour. With blue skies surrounding us. So we waited it out and I got my 92 photos. Yeah. :)

Ben's not really used to the "hug" shot :)

. . . but she does squeeze pretty hard :)

Almost 8!

Ha! This face is hard to capture on camera!

. . .that's better!

The kids each had a bag to collect all their fall stuff. . .

I love fall!

Yep, this one will be one of my all-time favs.

Such a pretty place. . .I can't help my trigger-happy self.

Welcome fall!

A fashion icon.

Sara has it. You know. . . .That je ne sais quoi. It's irresistible and magnetic.
It may not look like it now, but someday I expect I will be stealing from her closet. . . .

We're growing up. . .Maybe.

You know that moment you thought would never ever come? The time when you could eventually say, "I'm going to jump in the shower. Be good!" and send the 4 kids out to play - and while they might not be good, they will definitely still be alive ten minutes (okay, twenty minutes) later? Well. . .that day may have finally arrived.

At least. . .I'm gonna give it a try. I am hoping my next post isn't another ER visit.

Fingers crossed.