This is what a full day looks like...

First of all...
You know it's going to be a good day when a box of fruit shows up on your doorstep!

The Fun Run

Our morning started out with the annual summer race our city puts on.

I ran first. It's a four mile run...mostly uphill. It's a killer! My friend Jess S. and I started in the front of the pack, we didn't mean to we just found a spot before the whistle blew and it happened to be at the front. 

I forgot my ipod so I just got in a zone and stayed there. I ran the fastest I've ever ran...four miles in 33 minutes! 

C.R.A.Z.Y.

The funnest part was that during the medal ceremony I heard my friend Cami's name called for third place in our age bracket and I knew I was a few seconds ahead of her, so I got second and my other friend Jessica got first! We had no idea that we placed, so fun! My friend Laura also placed in her age bracket.

After my run it was Camden's turn. He was with the six and under crew. 

Here he is doing his stretches...

He took off and ran hard for about 50 yards and then decided he was done. 

He needed a little help to finish it up...

Yay for Camden!

Then Eden was up. She had made a goal back in January to finish the race without stopping and get a ribbon.

I ran with her and she ran like a champ. I had told her to start slow and find a good pace. She kept seeing these boys sprint pass her and then walk but at the very end of her race she passed them. It was awesome!

Here she is finishing her race. I was so proud of her. It was not easy for her but she did it.

Yay Eden!

Last but not least was Maya's race. There was only one other girl and she was the youngest in her bracket. She had made a goal to get first place for the girls because last year she got second. 

Well she took off too fast in the beginning trying to keep up with all the sprinting boys. She got burned out and really struggled, so I ran with her. She did a great job pushing through her disappointment and finished strong. 

I was so proud of her. She still got her second place ribbon and in the end that made her happy.

I love sharing the love of running with my kids...

My brother Ben showed up at the medal ceremony to spend the weekend with us since he won't be able to be here for Eden's baptism that will be in a few weeks. 


(Notice the matching t-shirts...)

Sewing Project

I finished these cushions for our patio furniture.

The Shock Game

Then we went to the first ever outdoor Shock game. We took the kids and it was so much fun!

The Shock spanked the Blaze...WHOO HOO!

Camden was making friends right and left with his silliness.

It was not a lazy Saturday by any means, but we made some awesome memories! 

Yay Summer!

Pow-Wow

While we were in Oregon over the Fourth of July we went to a Pow-Wow. I love learning about other cultures and I love to see how the traditions get handed down from generation to generation.

This was my favorite dancer...

This was Maya and Eden's favorite dancer. They called her the "rainbow girl".

They also loved this girl and they wanted me to take pictures to show Grandma K because they know how much she loves butterflies.

These little sweeties stole the show. They were so precious trying to keep up with the big girls.

  

What always amazes me is the detail in all of the costumes. These moccasins were hand beaded...can you even imagine how long it took to make them?!  You just know some grandma spent endless hours to make them for their little grandbaby.

Here is another beautiful pair.

 

My mom and my Tio Marco took the kids out to participate in the community dance.

The girls spent FOREVER looking at booths trying to find just the right souvenir. They were spending their hard earned money so they were very careful in making their choices. Eden chose a pink beaded box for her shark teeth, and Maya chose a green flute. 

This was my souvenir...I had been looking for a yellow bracelet and this one was screaming my name! Too bad Camden thinks it's candy and licks it whenever I wear it.

Papa Joe was on Camden duty. C thought the bins of merchandise were for him to empty on to the ground. He needed a special escort and Papa Joe got the honors...

 

It was a hot day but worth the effort to create such a fun memory. The only bad moment was when I kind of got into it with some mean Native American ladies who didn't like where we were sitting but nothing too serious. The best part of the day was getting a free GIANT snow cone that the whole family got to enjoy because a vendor thought it we were such a nice family....Thank you Mr. Vendor Man for thinking I was a big sister instead of the mom and for saving me five bucks. I really wanted a snow cone I just didn't want to pay for one.

Livin' on the Edge

Our summer has been full of some fun stuff. (Except when C decided to walk into the pool yesterday...not fun) The long summer days and nights have been quite full. Here is a sampling of our summer fun.

swimming. Swimming. SWIMMING! 

The girl's can't go enough! Thankfully we have generous friends who don't mind us pool crashing.

 

Camden mostly likes snacking while everyone else swims...

...but he does enjoy the water as long as he is attached to me.

Or being thrown in the air.

The girls love swimming with Papa Joe because he turns into the tickle monster.

hOme ImProVinG

 

The kitchen is so close to being done...so close. I just need two days kid free, but that will never happen so the white paint sitting in my garage for my cabinets will continue to gather dust.

DoOrbeLL DiTChinG

We started a tradition many years ago of doorbell ditching. Sometimes we leave treats, sometimes we leave gnomes, sometimes we leave giant paintings of mountain lions.

FriENd CeleBraTing

YAY! Jessica R was born!

FrieNd & fAmiLy HosTinG

My dearest old school friend, Jen, came for a very quick visit.

This is how we have multiplied and replenished the earth.

It's awesome that our kids are the same age and gender. We couldn't have planned it any more perfect!

 

GraNdmA VisItinG

GK came for a chemo visit.  We are sad that she has to come all this way for chemo but we are so glad that we get to spend some time with her when she comes. This time we got a whole week with GK. I hope our crazy life served more as a distraction than more drama. We love her and she is one tough grandma!

EcliPse WatChinG

Can you believe it took me almost a month to see it!? It was awesome...so much better than the previous ones.

CouSiN PlaYinG

Having built in playmates is pretty cool. (I love that they all have the same summer haircut.) Yay for sleepovers and the playdates that last all day long.

There are never enough hours in the day. With all of our summer fun I still have to tutor, run and work on my book, which makes for very little of this...

...napping only happens when I stop moving enough to realize how tired I am. This day Eden was having a melt down and needed to take a rest. She wanted me to snuggle her...well how could I resist! Clearly I needed a Sunday nap...too bad Sunday can't be everyday. Now I'm off to feed my children and attempt to clean the bathrooms...I get easily distracted on bathroom cleaning days, so not a summer fun activity.