My baby...

I'm proud to announce the arrival of the newest member of our family....

Last of the 70.3 Photos…

More photos of the big race….the last ones, I swear! One might feel the need to relive the experience to help partially heal the lingering psychological wounds…

Mile 7 of the run, feeling better
Finally done!

My awesome parents and sister! Best cheerleaders on earth!

Starting the run…seriously hurting…
Fifteen year old volunteer helping me get ready for the run…I couldn’t move my fingers or arms very well……so cold!
Out on the bike course

Lori, Liz, Sheri…such studs!!!!

200

Today, I post for the 200th time on the old blog. It is a very cool thing to know I've made the effort to write something 200 times over the last year and a half. I'm proud of some of those 200, and count many posts as rough writing practice. Blogging is helping me cut my writing teeth. Thanks to those of you who take time out of your day to read and comment. 

In honor of the 200th post, I am rewarding myself, indulging myself with photos of my trip to Hawaii. I needed some eye candy today, as I've been staring into the gaunt feverish face of my poor son for the last few days. Since I have been unable to go outside to enjoy the glorious sunshine that's graced Seattle this week due to said sick son, I am living vicariously through my photos.

I took these photos. I did not steal them, like I usually do, from Google images.

I am no Amy Cheng, but I like the sunset ones....

In the words of Liz Lemon, "I want to go to there...."

Superstars

Last night my children performed in the much anticipated school talent show.
I've placed the raw footage on the blog for your entertainment.

We're getting them an agent.

Alex and her fellow "Puppy Cheerleaders"


Caleb (lead singer) and his band, "The Jedi Masters," lip synching to Weird Al Yankovich's "Yoda."

The Christmas Report

We spent Christmas Eve at church (shocking, I know). Alex sang in the kids choir and Caleb participated in a cardboard testimony part of the service, where 50 people held up inspiring stories of how God has changed their lives. The front side of Caleb's board said, "I used to have nightmares." He turned it over and it said, "Now I pray at bedtime and have good dreams."

Seriously cute.

Miraculously, both our kids slept in until 7:30 yesterday. We awoke to screams of joy and 2 fresh feet of snow on the ground. We have had so much snow lately, that our kids spent Christmas day snowboarding down our street. Later in the day, we had some dear friends over for dinner and Mike had to shuttle them up the street because our car has chains on it....

Alex's Performance

Caleb's Thoughts on Christmas....

These are my awesome Napoleon Dynamite moon boots. 

My turkey...It rocked, I'll be honest.

Fall Dilemma

Should I clean up these once gorgeous now annoying leaves in my driveway today, or wait until the very last leaf has fallen, maximizing my efforts and only dealing with the yard once.  As of now, I cannot see my driveway. Do I really need to see the driveway?  I think the trees are only halfway done shedding. Apparently all the trees around our yard delight in dumping on us instead of our neighbors. Maybe I should just pray for a wind storm to blow them next door.

A Day to Remember

I made these.

Seriously.

I am not very good at decorating things, throwing elaborate birthday parties, or scrapbooking. I don't enjoy these activities in any way. But, today, October 31, 2009, I made some awesome cupcakes.

From Summer to Fall

Yesterday, the rains began. We had a last minute Indian Summer here in the Seattle area that we all pretended was normal. We did not speak of the ending of the 75 degree sunshiney days. We couldn't, for fear that we'd jinx ourselves out of a few extra hours of Vitamin D consumption.

Despite our efforts to win over Mother Nature with our blatant denial and refusal to trash talk, fall arrived yesterday in full force. The temperature dropped, the skies clouded up, and we played 2 long soccer games in the pouring rain.

Strangely, though, I did not freak out. I did not immediately begin daydreaming about the Southern California coast where I grew up. Instead, I decided to celebrate. I put on my cold weather running gear and hit the trails. I felt strangely at home running in the rain. It felt nostalgically familiar and I daresay refreshing. Rain cleans the sky and yesterday, I was breathing in pure oxygen, undirtied by pollution or allergen. When I arrived home, I immediately began recycling stuff in the kitchen....

I think it's safe to say that I'm officially a brooding Seattleite.....

Photos from my run....

Go, Granny, Go!!!

My 78 year old, churchgoing "don't smoke, drink, or chew and or go with guys who do" Grandma Betty went and got herself a tattoo over the weekend.

Yep. A real tattoo. On her shoulder. At a tattoo parlor. She was wearing her "God Bless America" t-shirt.

Huge bald men with pierced noses and eyebrows and tattoos covering 80% of their bodies got my little old grandma all tatted up.

Like a teenager, she waited until my parents went away for the weekend to call my sister with her crazy plan. Delighted to be part of the mischief , my sister Andi (she's the baby of the six sisters) picked her up, drove her to the tattoo parlor and PAID for it HERSELF. Apparently Grandma Betty was quite the celebrity. She got hoots and hollers from passersby and talked the artists ear off the WHOLE TIME. Not a surprise if you know my Grandma. She's even gonna be on the tattoo parlor website.

Oh, and the tattoo was of Betty Boop. Betty. Boop.

Grandma Betty Lou was born in August of 1930, the same month and year that the little black and white cartoon made her debut.

Canoe Day

Yesterday Michael and I took the kiddos to Seattle for some family bonding time. We rented a canoe and paddled through the lily pads of Lake Washington, searching for turtles and frogs. We found 2 turtles, a crane, lots of ducklings and a beaver dam. We docked at a little beach and the kids rolled down a hill until they were ready to hurl.

I love summer!

California Wedding Photos

Here are some photos my sister, Jamie's wedding in California 2 weeks ago. In spite of the 100 degree heat, they got hitched successfully and are enjoying wedded bliss in Hawaii. I was a bridesmaid (along with my other four sisters), Mike performed the ceremony, and Alex and Caleb served as the flower girl/ ring bearer dream team....