Salmon Creek Trail

Last Sabbath we went walking... I can't really call it a hike since it was paved and we stopped every few minutes to look at some sort of wildlife... but we were out in nature with the fam and it was fun!


the fam + Mariah... emma's bff and our adopted daughter.

some of the wildlife we were able to see... there were quite a few turtles and the kids were loving them!


my main man... I love him.

my fav shot of Mariah and Emma.
after our walk... time to play in the park...

looking at this...

makes me want to wrap my leg around his just like this...
have I mentioned that I love my life?

Shamrock Run 2010

So I have never run a run/race before. My friend Jasmine convinced me that I could indeed run a 5K... so last Sunday (after hardly any sleep) Josh and I jumped in the car and drove down to downtown Portland and ran... (along with 20,000 other people)

Our particular run the 5K had 7,500 people in it. The distance is 3.2 miles... and I ran it in 31:35... Yeah for me! Not only did I run... but I averaged a 10 mile and for being 36 (for 6 more days) and having birthed 5 kids... (just to name a few of my major accomplishments! :) I was proud of myself...

Anyway after the run I came home and poured a cup of coffee and ate a cinnamon roll... there is something wrong with that don't you think? I should probably been eating a celery stick and a protein shake... but whatever! :)


I was looking fabulous don't you think?
It's okay... you can tell the truth.
I know you can smell me through the screen.

note: I jumped in the shower right after this lovely documentation was taken.

when Josh gets the camera...

Here is what I found on my camera...
photos that Josh took when I was gone...
they made me smile...


the dog at our front door...


Lucy... one of our real dogs.


Mr. T??? How did that happen?

I don't know what he shooting... but it is kind of fun to see things through his eyes!

{pitcher}

So last year I found this super cool pitcher at TJ Maxx
[have I mentioned that I love that store?]
anyway... the pitcher sits on my kitchen counter and is filled with whatever random beauty I can find...

Today:


Cherry Blossoms from my yard...
I feel super super happy right now!
and btw, these photos do not do justice to my counter at the moment!

Breathing

So as you know my little man was SUPER sick last week... and the week before that.
After treatments in the hospital ER and the Dr's office our friend let us borrow her nebulizer to help Jack when his breathing got bad. His inhaler has been a way of life practially since birth...
RSV @ 6 months...
hospitalized with RSV last year...
and now pneumonia & possible RSV this year.
(thankfully he is MUCH better now)

He never wants to take a treatment... but he does and he does such a great job holding it in his mouth and breathing away...
my sweet, sweet, boy.

Random Silliness...

you only THOUGHT you missed us!
here's what we were busy doing...
(in between work, laundry, & other important things!)



And YES... we really do have this much fun at our house! Wanna visit?

Beach Book Day - 1st & 2nd Grade Style

There is a wonderful phenomenon that hits the halls of MG school in March of every other year...
Since I am subbing in this wonderful school I GOT to decorate my room as well! :)
First I must give thanks to 2 people... Jenny & Lindsay Salsbery who did pretty much all the manual labor since I was otherwise engaged with Jack at the Pediatrician... (a story for later)
anyway here is the room...


the water... this was a hit due to the presence of "Dolly" the inflatable whale/dolphin


under the sea... the entire classroom was wrapped in blue with last weeks art project ... puffer fish, hanging from the ceiling!


Party Hats..


beach tents... friends who read in the tents enjoyed a great case of "static" hair!


fire pit... for optimal story telling...


In PE the kids got to play beach ball basketball.... it was a hoot to watch!

Reading... Reading... and more Reading!

note: all photos are of Sydney because she is my daughter.... I have TONS of pictures of all my kids but since they are not my own children I am not posting their pics on my blog.

Anyway... in other news the day was a HUGE success... it is always a great day when kids are loving to learn!

Life of a Working Mom...

These past two weeks have been rough.

I love all the kids and being in the classroom... I wasn't sure how I would take to going back into the classroom, but I realize now that once a teacher always a teacher... it nevers leaves your blood. I have loved being with them every day, and feel super thankful to have this opportunity!

The rough part has been [home] Jack has been sick... really sick with pneumonia & a secondary infection. We have been to urgent care... the emergency room... twice to the pediatrician... and on the phone with the doc multiple times. Multiple medications & breathing treatments have become a normalcy... and my poor pale little man mostly lays around and watches the tv. When I get done working I just sit on the couch and cozy with him... and he comes into my bedroom early in the morning and snuggles with me.

That is the hard part of working full time... I can't take off and stay home with him. It gets me counting the weeks that we will be apart. (9 more) I realize one thing... I don't want to work full time again until he is in school, 3 years from now.... this time is so short... and he still needs me.... and I still need him.

To all my FTWM (full time working moms) I don't know how you do it... but I applaud you! You amaze and inspire me. The juggling and multi tasking you do everyday to meet the needs of everyone in your families... and still be able to work outside the home is a testiment to how AWESOME you all are!

[Stickers]

So we all know that Jack loves Cars... it is like the understatement of the year...

He has this book of Car stickers... and I don't know which is better

1. Cars that race...
2. Or cars that stick...

You decide.

{Tricycle} Races

Tricycle Races

Who knew that a 30+ year old male and a 3 year old male could challenge each other to a tricycle race... and it would be worth watching?

Last weekend Brad (aka Uncle Brad, but not to be confused with my brother Uncle Brad)
set up a course in the backyard and challenged Jack to a race...

Funniest thing ever... I was doubled over in laughter!
Here is a peak -

Brad about the time he realized that his "seat" wasn't so comfy...

rounding corner 2...

and jack crashing on corner 1... notice the "seat" for Brad... yeah not so comfy.

and here is where as adults we really want to know what kids think...
because I see jack thinking "he thinks he is SO funny..and like totally isn't"
and Brad thinking... "this is a riot and I am whooping up on this kid..."

I don't know, but wow. Made for a great Sabbath afternoon activity!
I am still smiling looking at these photos right now!

Cinnamon Rolls... thank you Pioneer Woman!

So I am addicted to thepioneerwoman.com not only does she have 4 kids... but she loves to cook (and is awesome at it) AND take fabulous photos.

Last Sabbath I thought I would try her cinnamon rolls... 9 pans later my friend Melissa proposed and her hubby told her to go buy the cookbook...

They are THAT good...

anyway, here are some photos of me and the girls making them.

my fabulous kitchen...

the first 1/2 of the dough (I made the night before)

my helpers... and they were good help...

helper #3 not so much help... but the Dora bandaid he needed for his toe sure looked cute...

the roll

the first 3 pans

after rising for a while

frosting those bad boys...
did I mention there is coffee in the icing? (um... YUM!)

me... how exactly did I get in a photo? not sure, but I like it.

So... now you know, the secret is out. Go buy her cookbook and check out her blog... the link is above... and if you are wanting a good read... check out her love story... I am thinking she should write a book... it was that good.