Super Busy Saturday Morn!

Well we had a fun and busy morning today.  I started it off by running my 3rd Black Canyon Ascent.  It's a 6-mile, 2,000 elevation climb run.  I always liken it to childbirth:  it's painful, yet I keep doing it.  Although I'm done with childbirthing . . . so maybe I just need to run it once more to call it even.  :)

It's definitely one of the hardest runs/races I do.  It's all up-hill, quite up-hill, until mile 5.  Then there is some flat and a down-hill or 2, but still up-hills, too.  I'm happy with my time (74 minutes) - even though it's 2 minutes more than my last 2 years.  One thing, I guess, that I am proud of myself is that I actually run the entire thing.  Slow and steady, sure, but I don't walk.  Many people do and so I guess that is cool (I can't think of quite the right word I want to use) I don't.

I rode up with 3 other gals - all from school.  They are fun ladies and it was fun to be there with them.  My family drove up later and passed me around mile 5.5 or so - it's always so good to see them!  It's fun and I'm glad that Ben drags everyone out to cheer and support me.  :)

We hung out for a bit afterwards, but had to miss the awards and raffle drawings since we had soccer games to get to.

Emmy's and Jonas' last games were today.  Emmy's game was at 10:30 and Jonas' at 12.  We had a picnic lunch in between - oh, and I also drove home to get Jonas' shirt and change.  The games were fun to watch.  Emmy's team won it's first, only, and last game!  It was great and Emmy had a few almost-goals.  :)  Jonas' game was good, but I think that right now soccer is definitely not in Jonas' future.  That might change, but right now that's pretty much the case.  He still had a fun season, though, and I'm glad both kids tried it this season.

Then we came home and have been working in the back - expanding our chicken run area so that we have Happy Hens.  Jonas and I played a little badminton - well, just hitting the birdie back and forth to each other.  Our best volley was 9 - which we got a few times.  Our goal is 10 someday.  :)  Ben is still out working, but I was ready for a shower!  Anyways, a good day and here are some pics:

 Here I am finally running on some flat road!  Yippee!

Me and 3 of my kids running to the finish line.  Fun!

Me and my good friend Patty.  Patty works at the school's health center and is Jonas' best-friends's mom.  She's pretty wonderful.

Emmy in the game!

Go, Emmy, go!

Emmy and her trophy.  She had a good season!

Oops, Jonas missed that one.  :)  Oh well.

He looks like he's concentrating hard - just not sure what about.  The soccer game?  Perhaps, but not likely . . . :)

The last game we always promise the kids a treat at the concession stands.  Lucy has been excited about the "last soccer game!" all week long.  This might have been her first cotton-candy experience.

The Last Hurrahs!

Well the kids are winding down their school year.  They have, including today, 3 1/2 days left of school.  So crazy!  There have been lots of field trips, park trips, etc. going on these past couple of weeks.

Just this week Miles had a field trip to a park - with many activities and stations all about water.  Miles also had a "wax museum" event one night.  Jonas went to Ridgway State Park and will go to the park today.  Emmy went to the park yesterday and got pizza for lunch.  I think they've all had their special root-beer float day at their school's library.  So it's been busy!

Here are a few pictures I've gotten this week:

Here is Jonas playing some water-relay at Ridgway.

Here you can see Lucy and Jonas playing a game of tag - prey and predator tag.  The predators wore orange flags and tried to get the yellow (rabbits) and black (mice) flags.

Lunch time with Ivan.  Patty - Ivan's mom - is hiding behind Ivan.  :)

Lovely Lucy.

Our little group that we took on a "hike."  It was pretty there!

Proof that Lucy still needs a nap - because this is what happens when she doesn't get her scheduled one.  :)

Miles at his grade's "wax museum."  Live wax museum.  :)  The kids all studied and researched some famous Coloradans.   He chose Daniel Cheeseman Oakes.  I'm not sure why?!  But the man was a business man and opened up the first sawmill in Denver, among other things.  The kids dressed up and then parents walked around - the kids would then tell a little about their characters.

Miles with his fellow classmate Mackie, aka Chipeta.  I think Miles is the shortest boy in his grade and Mackie the tallest girl - well, probably tallest overall!

Miles with another fellow classmate, John, aka John Elway.

Next week the kids go Monday, Tuesday (field day) and then their last day is a 1/2 day on Wednesday.  Wowzers.

Goodbye Parakeet Bearakeet

Well, sadly, Parakeet Bearakeet passed away while we were gone in Mesa Verde.  Ben noticed the bird's demise when he was putting the girls to bed on Friday night.  We told Miles a little bit later.  Miles was definitely very, very sad and teared up quite a bit.

Miles got Parakeet Bearakeet 4 1/2 years ago from Santa on Christmas day.  He was a chirpy and contented bird.  It's sad that he's gone - but especially just sad for Miles to lose his pet.

We had a little funeral for him in our backyard on Saturday afternoon:

Miles choose a good spot to bury him in our backyard.

 Miles was adamant that we didn't just bury his body in the ground without some type of casket-thing because Miles knew the body would decompose and then then "there wouldn't be anything left of him."  Very sweet.  So Miles found this jar and it was perfect.

A sad boy.

An even sadder girl.  Well I'm not sure if she was more sad, but she was definitely more emotional!  :)  Sweet girl.

Miles wanted to put Parakeet Bearakeet's bell in with him because he loved it so.

Filling up the grave.

Unfortunately, death is just part of life.  Miles planted some wildflower seeds near the "tombstone."

Mesa Verde

Miles' 4th grade class went on a field trip to Mesa Verde.  I decided to be a chaperon.  Frankly, I thought they would need me - but there were quite a lot of parents there!  Which was really good and helpful to the teachers.  I think there turned out to be about 45 kids and 15 adults (parents, 3 teachers, PE teacher, and principal).  My parents were kind enough to come out and watch my other kids for me while I was gone.

We left Thursday morning by about 9:15.  By the time we turned off at Ridgway we were in white-out snow conditions.  It was quite crazy.  And freezing!  And none of us had planned for snow-conditions.  I was getting a little worried.  We stopped at Telluride for a bathroom break and it was 30-something degrees and blizzard snow.  So cold.  Then we stopped at Dolores for a lunch and play break.  Again, it was freezing!

After forever, we made it to Mesa Verde.  We got out and started getting a few directions and instructions.  Then it started hailing on us!  We all ran inside to the visitor's center.  We walked around there, checking out the exhibits and such, then headed back on the bus to go on a hike.  We actually had decent weather (not warm, but not snowing or hailing, so we were happy!).  The hike was fine.  Nothing too exciting, really.

We finished up that day by doing some singing activities at an amphitheater and then heading back down to Cortez.  We stayed there at an elementary school in their gymnasium.  We got to the school, unloaded our gear, then went and played tag in the field (I was still freezing.).  The kids looked like they had a lot of fun.  Then we had pizza for dinner, more playing for the kids on the playground, then in to the gym.  There were a few other activities for the kids that evening and then around 10 pm lights were finally off.

Girls slept on one side of the gym, boys on the other.  It went pretty well - there was not much talking among the kids.  But just lots of noises - moving, shifting around, coughing (mostly fake I'm sure), etc.  I slept like I did when I camp:  waking up every 2 hours trying to find a more comfortable position.  :)  We were awakened at 5:45am to Olaf singing about summer-time.  :)

Friday morning we packed up, ate breakfast, and headed back to Mesa Verde.  Our first stop was the Spruce Tree house.  We divided in to 2 groups and my group roamed the little museum.  Then we got to hike down to the dwelling.  It was cool.  Miles loved it - especially going down in to a kiva.

We came back and then went to Cliff Palace.  We again divided in to 2 groups - one group stayed at Cliff Palace and the other went to Balcony House.  Unfortunately, Miles and I were in the group at Cliff Palace.  (I was "over" 4 kids, Miles being one of them.)  Cliff Palace was cool, but the tour guide wasn't super friendly, didn't seem to like kids, and didn't really leave any time for exploring the area.  Kind of lame, but still it was cool to see.  Then we waited for our bus to come back with lunch and to take us to Balcony House.  But there was a mix-up/miscommunication and our group ended up waiting for 1 1/2 hours until our bus came back.  The poor kids were starving, but did well and just played, sang songs, etc.  The other group finally made it in the bus and our kids got to eat.  But our group had missed our scheduled tour for the Balcony House and so were weren't able to do that one - which is the cool one with huge ladders to climb, caves/tunnels to crawl in, etc.  Bummer.  So while the other group did Cliff Palace we went on the bus and drove to a few quick get-out spots.

Then back to pick up the other group and head back home.  Mind you, there were about 15 bathroom breaks taken on this trip - which, with so many people, would end up taking 30 minutes.  We headed out about an hour late, and so arrived back in Montrose at 8:15.  Jonas was on his bike with Grandma Dixie there, too.  We walked home, got some dinner, talked about our trip, hugged the girls, saw the awesome home-improvement project Ben had started for my Mother's Day gift, etc.

I think the 4th graders had fun.  But it was also a lot of sitting on the bus, listening to rangers, etc.  I think it needed a little more hands-on activities.  But, overall, it was a good field trip.  I'm glad I got to go.

Here are some pictures.  I had given my camera to Miles and let him take whatever pictures he wanted to.  He got lots of weird shots, but that's Miles for ya.  I won't post most of them here, don't worry.  :)  I think I'll have them all printed out and he can put them in a little scrapbook.  Anyways, here are some:

Miles' good friend Malachi on the bus ride over.

Snowy, snowy!

 

A picture of a rock Miles liked on our hike.

Malachi and Miles enjoying some snacks after the hike.

 Playing a crazy game of tag where everybody is it.  Last one standing is the winner!

Another picture of tag.

 

 A not-so-good picture of Miles, but shows he sleeping arrangement.  :)

Breakfast time!

Spruce Tree House.

Miles standing next to a kiva.

Miles liked to poke his camera through the holes and take pictures.

Down inside the kiva.

Cliff Palace.  The largest dwelling at Mesa Verde.

More Cliff Palace.

The only picture of me.  :)  Miles was inside the bus - I was holding off for as long as I could.  :)

The 4th grade group and their teachers!

(an honest) Mother's Day Post

This is going to be sort of short - and probably not so sweet.  Let's just say Miles pretty much soured the sweetness of this day.  That kid.  I, in all honesty, do not know how me and my 3 other children will survive him all summer long.  He needs a full-time job.  Or else I do (ahem, one outside of the home).  Or he'll have to be abide by the rules he currently has today:  no being in any room with anybody else.  If you are in your room and Jonas enters, you must leave, etc.  Isn't that swell.  He sure knows how to make me feel super un-good about me being his mother.

Anyways . . . here are some fun pictures:

 Me and Erin, around 1981ish?

And my 2 girls.  (I recreated the photo for fun.)

My mom and I sure make cute girls.  :)

I love my mom, my mother-in-law, and, yes even today, being a mom.

GOTR 5K

Another Girls on the Run 5k happened today in Grand Junction.  There were lots and lots of girls there!  I took my girls with me, which was fun.  But, once again, it makes it harder for me to be with the "team" girls.  I actually lost them all when I took my girls to the bathroom and we stood in line for like 15 minutes.  When we got back to our place everyone had gone to the starting line and I didn't see any of them.  We hooked up and and off with one team girl, but that was all we saw.

This was Emmy's first time walking it with me.  Usually she is in the stroller with Lucy.  But she's definitely too big for that now.  But, of course, she is not really big enough to run this thing.  So we walked 95% of it.  We finished at right under an hour.  :)  But Emmy didn't (or hardly) really complain - even though it was hot.  Emmy enjoyed pouring water over her hair and down the front of her shirt.  :)  Lucy didn't complain either and enjoyed the ride and watching all the other Girls on the Run.

Our team girls did a great job!  I would almost say half of them got 33 minutes or under.  Which is just crazy since hardly any of them ran it that fast for our practice 5K!  In fact, the girl that got "first" from our school was never one to run much nor really all that fast.  So that was surprising and awesome.  I was really impressed and happy with all of our gals.

Emmy, Lucy and I spent a few extra hours up in Junction afterwards.  We went to a park - which Lucy mainly played at (Emmy was a bit tired. . . :).  Then out for frozen yogurt.  Then to Old Navy.  Then finally home.  It was a pretty good day!

 My girls at the starting line.  Another coach bought the cute little headbands for all of us.  It's cute and fun - but it also helps us find each other in a crowd!

 Emmy and a crazy lady cheering everyone on.  :)  We were about 3/4 of the way done at this point.

She finished a 5K.  :)  In a couple of years I'm sure she'll be able to run one - or most of one.  That will be fun!

Emmy with one of her best-friends and classmate, Ava.  Ava's two sister ran it (her sister was one that finished first from our team) and her mom co-coaches with me.  Ava was with her dad taking pictures of our girls - and Ava ran in with us to the finish line.  Fun stuff.

I really enjoy GOTR, but we'll see if I do it next year . . .

Signs of Spring

(Sorry for those who check my facebook, too - this was posted there as well).

 "Spring on the Windowsill."  The girls and I made those pretty "stained-glass" butterflies today.  Miles' wild flowers that he planted are doing well in the pot.  The girls and I made a little "Jack in the Beanstalk" craft, too - we planted a bean and it should grow up the stick to the castle.  Love spring.

And here is my first rhubarb pie (the only kind I really like) of the season.  Too bad I don't get to eat it! :(  We are doing a fundraiser in our ward tonight and so I made this (as well as my chocolate mint brownies) to auction off.

A funny (and it will probably turn out to be long) story about the wording on the pie.  I shot my sister a quick email telling her about the pie I'm making and what I should say on it (I like to "write" on my pies).  I thought maybe something like, "Buy me," or "Eat me."  She emailed me back with the suggestion of "Bebop-A-Reebop Rhubarb Pie."  Of course!  So I went to the kitchen and started working on it.  Sadly, I realized, my cookie cutter letters were going to be too big for all those words.  So I started cutting by hand.  By the time I had written "Bebop-A-Reebop," I know I couldn't fit all the rest.  So I went to get the phone and call my sis to see if she thought I should just do "pie" afterwards (Yes, a silly thing to question about - thank goodness for sisters so I can ask my silly stuff to.)  When I'm in the office, I then see another email message from Erin that I hadn't seen yet:

"oooh. hahahaha

i didn't quite read your email.12:54 PM

i thought you had to write something on a card.

i would not have given you this advice had i read it correctly

but if you want to try it, well, go for it!

maybe just bebop"

Haha, too late!  I called Erin and told her what was going on and she thought I should keep it at "Bebop-A-Reebop."  Another great idea, sis.  :)

Adieu April . . .

One with Lucy and one close-up of our April: