Rock Climbing with Dad

It turns out, Haley is a great rock climber. She and Jim had a dad-and-daughter date for Sunday afternoon, but their first plan didn’t work out so they were in Seattle with no plans. Jim thought of going to REI and doing the climbing wall, and Haley was ALL IN.

After she got harnessed up (wearing shoes that were too big, because they don’t keep them on hand that small) she learned how to hang in the harness and trust her belayer.

Then off she went. Apparently the belayer looked at Jim and asked if she’d done this before, because they started her on a harder wall as the easier wall had a long line.

She motored up like a spider monkey!

No hesitation and lots of strength thanks to gymnastics three hours a week. 🙂 At this point the belayer started making recommendations for how we could get Haley on a wall more often and let her refine this new found skill. Ha!

Afterward, Haley and Jim got chocolate dipped cones and celebrated another date in the books.

First Flag Football Game

Flag football is in full swing. JT has been having practice twice a week and his jamboree was this past weekend. Here is the big man on his way to his first unofficial game.

Their jerseys this year are fluorescent yellow. Like, squint-worthy.

JT had an awesome play at the game. He played defender all game, and he was headed to pull a flag from a receiver on the other team. The receiver ended up head butting JT in the nose instead of catching the ball. The ball went between them, and JT caught it! Then he ran all the way down the field and got snagged at the one yard line. It was very exciting. Another mom on the team happened to get the run part on video!

Poor JT got hit pretty hard and we are so proud of him for making the play after his impact injury. He came out after that (they were on offense, after all) and sat on the sidelines with an ice pack on his nose until defense went back in. And then he pulled a flag on the opponent’s running back with 14 seconds left in the game to keep them from scoring.

We’re hoping the next games are just as exciting! After we got home, JT watched Alabama play Vanderbilt (recorded). he was joined by friends for about five minutes before they lost interest and went out to play, but it was still cute.

Knee Surgery #2

Eighteen months ago, I had knee surgery on my right knee. Last week, I had the same procedure done on my left knee. Much of the details are the same, even the photos inside… although this time, my surgeon said there was some evidence my knee cap dislocated at some point. So that’s a bummer! But the procedure went really well and I didn’t throw up when I got the IV this time. Small victories.

(On my right leg I have two sutures where I had a dermatofibroid removed last week. I’m getting all fixed up! The dermatologist told me to rest up so the scar would heal nicely. What great timing.)

The kids and Jim took such good care of me over the weekend. JT and Haley planned homemade pizza and salad for Saturday night!

Jim finished the second vegetable garden box and filled it with flowers. He also worked on painting the chain link black, which looks soooo much better than silver!

No more leg wrap!

I started physical therapy today, and I’m doing well getting around the house now that my leg is unwrapped. I’m hopeful that this will allow me to run a few miles a week without pain and shave off the last two minutes from my triathlon time!

Tri Turtle Triathlon 2017

Last year I completed my first ever triathlon at the Tri Turtle Tri, and set my goal to complete more this summer so I could finish this course in two hours or less. Since we had done other races this summer, and because I asked :), Jim agreed to stay with me for this race and encourage me to do my best. He did an amazing job helping me push myself without using up all of my energy too early in the race. I had so much more fun finishing with my favorite buddy too!

Jim’s parents had the kids spend the night at their house so they could sleep in, go to breakfast, and meet us at the finish line, which was super fun. Jim’s mom took photos, so that was fun too!

Here we are coming in from the bike ride… Jim kept me on pace and it was probably the best ride I’ve ever done.

I like how he is smiling, coasting along, and I’m breathing so hard!

Then we ran, and that was hard too. Plus, I was under strict directions from my knee doctor that I should not run if it hurt. So I haven’t been running much, trying to save my knee for the race. At the very end Jim was telling me to push and run my hardest, and I did! We finished in 2 hours, 2 minutes. That is not my goal time 😦 but it is 4 minutes faster than last year. The kids were watching carefully for us to come in…

Once again, I am using all my energy and Jim is cruising along next to me. Ha!

I was so thankful to finish well! I got a big hug for my effort at the finish line. 🙂

The kids were our bike caddies back to the car. Cutest little helpers ever.

I am thankful to be healthy enough to complete these sprint-distance races. I have knee surgery coming up and hopefully next year I can do more running so I can finish in my goal time!

Back to School

I can’t believe we have a third grader and a first grader. Today is the first day of school! But let me back up.

We started back to school with me going back to my high school to lead professional development for the district’s teacher-librarians. It was the first time in 20 years I have been in those old classrooms and it felt a little strange!

Then we had back to school haircuts in time for Back to School night at both kids’ schools.

JT is going to a different school this year. He qualified for and opted to join a program for advanced academics. He knows a few kids in his class from his old school and is really looking forward to being with kids who can process new information quickly and pursue their interests in special programs. He is not nervous at all… and told me, “Don’t worry Mom, everyone will be a new kid,” since the program starts in third grade for everyone. So wise!

Haley is starting first grade at our neighborhood school. She was thrilled to get the teacher she had prayed for all summer (JT’s first grade teacher, who we love) and see that so many of her friends were in her class this year.

Haley and I went on our annual back to school shopping trip with Jim’s mom, who spoils us terribly. We have so much fun. Haley’s shopping stamina has increased and we spent hours at the mall! We stopped for a lovely lunch and ended the day with pedicures. We look forward to this special time every year, and Grandma Keene just loved watching Haley twirl around in the dressing room!

In the last week, both kids have lost a tooth: JT by force at the dentist, and Haley by biting into a popsicle… a first for both of them.

Haley got a frozen yogurt gift card for her birthday, and I told her we would use it before school started. So with less than 24 hours to go, we stopped and got FroYo (her treat!) on the way to gymnastics.

Speaking of gymnastics, Haley moved up to Level 3! She is now going twice a week for 1.5 hours each day. She loves, loves, loves it and she works very hard for the entire class. It is easy to see that she wants to improve every day. JT enjoys reading, doing logic puzzles, and playing on his tablet during gymnastics class. 

Do the Puyallup 2017

It’s officially called the Washington State Fair, but I think anyone who has lived in Washington for more than a decade calls it the Puyallup Fair. Jim and I grew up going to the Fair and I think we have gone every year our kids have been alive!

This year we invited Preston and Tori to go with us, and we had a great time riding rides, playing arcade games (what I know see is basically a casino for children), and eating the yummy fair food. We all rode over together, which makes the kids happy because they love riding in the third row.

Jim helped Haley “save her legs” early in the day but I think he just wanted a snuggle. 🙂

JT made a big purchase: a drone! It has a camera and everything. He talked the salesman down quite a bit and got a reasonable price. Haley chipped in her savings to help cover the cost, and we are so proud of her kindness.

Haley and I loved the Rock Star ride… it has a nice falling sensation that we both enjoy. We went twice!

The kids decided to use some of their tickets for games instead of rides. Oh man. They were so excited to win six small stuffed characters and I don’t even want to type how much that cost in tickets. But JT pointed out that they had fun and had something that lasted longer than a ride… and Jim had a nice talk with them about what they learned that we will have to repeat several times later in life. 😉

What a fun day at the Fair!

The Fence Project

I asked Jim in June if he could pressure wash the fence we share with our neighbor so I could stain it this summer. He came inside after doing two panels and said that we should just build a new fence. And so it began! He talked to our neighbor about it, who said that the fence was about 25 years old and certainly could be replaced. They worked on a design and made a sample panel to start with. We stained it and everyone just loved it. Over the summer they built a few more panels, but then it was crunch time. Jim had a week off for a trip that we didn’t end up going on, so he stayed home and worked almost every daylight hour on the fence. Most of the time, he worked either with our neighbor or with Preston, who donated a few days of his time to the project too (and we are so thankful!).

Doesn’t it look gorgeous? We’ve been having people stop by from the neighborhood and look at it. It certainly stands out! For reference, old fence/new fence photo:

Jim finished all but the gate on the front side of the house before he went back to work this week, so that is Saturday’s project. Then there are just a few odds and ends to wrap up, and I’ll post a final photo when it’s all complete. 

Haley’s Birthday

We started Haley’s birthday rather early since she is an early(ier) riser than her brother. The first thing she saw was a new dress hanging in her room for her to wear. I imagine that was very fun!

Haley decided to open her gifts before breakfast since the cinnamon rolls she ordered were in the oven. One of her gifts was an ice-cream theme, complete with new nightgown.

She was very excited to open JT’s gift: a horse trailer that she’s been wanting. Now they can play trailers together. Life is complete. 😉

She also got a Hatchimal. This occupied at least an hour of the morning, just waiting for the moment it hatched. It’s a little weird.

Breakfast made to order: mom’s cinnamon rolls (Grandma Cole’s recipe), “real bacon,” and cantaloupe.

She said she almost forgot it was her birthday later on, when she spent the day playing with her friend Jozie from our neighborhood and just hanging out. No chores for the birthday girl!

Then we had a family dinner in the evening. Haley got measured… 3 foot 10.5 inches. We are really hoping to make it to 4 feet by next spring!

She loved opening gifts (who doesn’t?!) and was soooo exciting to get the American Girl doll she’s been wanting.

On Wednesday, we had her friend party with six other lovely little girls from school.

Haley had an idea to make cupcakes with her friends. We found these little aprons on Amazon and I wrote each girls’ name in fabric marker. We tested a recipe for two vanilla cupcakes a few weeks ago (Haley made it all by herself) and it turned out awesome.

Each girl got a set of measuring spoons, bowl, scraper, and initial flags so we could tell their cupcakes apart. Then we got cooking!

Aren’t they adorable? I feel like it’s an American Girl ad or something.

My mom came over and helped with the cooking, which was great because – even though the girls were really patience – an extra set of adult hands was awesome.

While the cupcakes were cooling, Haley opened her gifts.

Then we decorated!

A girl after my own heart. Ah, buttercream…

We had so much fun celebrating our strong, smart, happy seven year old girl!

Banks Lake Trip 2

Our second trip to Banks Lake was another wonderful success. We started off a little shaky with a limb landing on our tent at 4:42 AM the first night/morning. We had a lot of wind throughout the week, but otherwise it was lovely: bug-free and great weather.

We went with Grandpa and Grandma Keene and three other families so we had 10 adults and 12 children, ages 1 to 9. It was a busy beach and a lot of fun!

Outdoor Summer Activities

Okay, so it’s not all indoor. Of course, we spend as much time as possible outside. The kids are mostly inside when I’m on a work call and outside the rest of the time.

Our garden is going nuts. The tomatoes are crazy and the strawberries are sweet, and the green beans just came in and they are soooo good.

We love playing in the backyard with friends…

And in other people’s backyards too. Like this one.

We did some trail riding this week and invited one of JT’s school friends along. It was tough and we were all sweaty after we were done. I think I was even a little sore!

Haley got a huge blister on her thumb and powered through until the end, when she just needed to be done. It broke open and looked ugly!

The boys wisely decided to park their bikes and walk this bridge.

There’s a metaphor here for progress. And blooming where you’re planted… out of my garden, little slug.

I’ve also been enjoying my new small propane grill. We got it at Costco and it’s just a portable grill but I’m using it a lot. I love making all sorts of grill items and it’s fast and easy, plus we can use it camping. Yum!