Their Gym

My kiddos know that you can play differently with Daddy and Grandpa then you can with Mommy and Grandma. They definitely took advantage of having two willing jungle gyms in the house this past weekend!

Sink or Swim

We have avoided it long enough. It's time to get these kids swimming. Now that we live in a land locked state it would be easy to overlook this life saving skill, but I love the water, and I want my kids to love it too. Besides, none of our public pools allow flotation devices anymore which scares the snot out of me. I also plan on spending a great deal of time at Reservoirs this summer so I need my kids to have some basic survival skills in place. And let's not forget our desire to get back to the coast of North Carolina to enjoy a very warm ocean with a rental house feet from it and great times with great friends. So yes, we are learning to swim one way or another. This photo shows the girls learning to inch across the pool edge until they find a foothold to climb out. We have three more group lessons and then the girls will be in the pool without parents in a more traditional class setting. I have my fingers crossed that I will have at least one swimmer by the end of summer!

First Zoo trip in over a year

Yesterday we headed over to the Denver Zoo with my Mom. It was a great weather day for winter, and it was the third great day in a row which really kept the crowds down. It occurred to me that Ainsley most likely has little memory of being at the zoo since she hasn't been since she was one. She kept asking to see the puppies and kitties. Apparently her most recent experience with a "zoo" was the pet store in the mall. :) We had a nice family day and I was thankful that I brought my sit and stand stroller. The girls are not quite ready to heal toe it for hours and hours like their Mom.

Side Pony Blossom

Aubrey asked for princess hair yesterday. What can a Mom say? So I set to work. I gave her pigtails, braided one pigtail and pulled it across to join the other to make a side pony. I thought I was done, but she assured me that she did not look like a princess yet. So I got out my pins and gave her a blossom by doing four large pin curls. I sprayed it and assured her that it would fall out with any rough play. Sure enough, the trampoline at her cousins house did her hair in, but I salvaged it and she sported the side pony I originally aimed for. I am really enjoying having a girlie girl for my first born. I need to learn to do tighter french braids and inverted french braids, that would really open up our possibilities.

Growing Up

I am so unsettled by my precious first born growing up. She is starting to do a lot of pre-reading things that are freaking me out. I want to shout "You're my baby! Stop getting so big." But I don't think that will do her any good. She is gaining more and more sight words every day and it is exciting to see her learn new things. I am just missing the new things being crawling and walking.

Fingers Crossed

We are having a warm day. Amazing. It makes me think about getting outside and doing the types of exercise I love the most. Today I mapped out my race schedule for summer. At this point I am only certain of two, but I am hopeful to do all four.

Monday, May 31st Bolder Boulder 10k I want to do this as a way to start getting conditioned for my other multi sport events.

Saturday, July 24th My Way or the Tri Way I am not certain how I want to do this race. I am thinking either swim bike swim or run swim bike or run swim run. I love that you get to create your own event. I think I will decide closer to the event depending on how my training is progressing.

Sunday, August 1st Tri for a Cure I hate that this is a mere week after the other summer event I really want to do, but I think that I can rest for two of three days and then do a few short workouts and be ready to go.

Saturday, August 7th The Great Urban Adventure. I love this one. It is a crazy one day Amazing Race of sorts. I want to do it with Mikey but he hasn't committed yet. I think it would be a blast, he thinks we will end up in marriage counseling. Either way, I still want to do it with the love of my life.