The Colorado Heldts

Six!!!

2011-07-06T13:35:00.003-06:00

Six is my favorite. Well, 0-2 were pretty amazing too, but that seems like a lifetime ago so I am going with six. My little girl is blossoming into a real kid and really coming into her own. She loves arts and crafts, all things princess and Barbie, and playing make believe. In a nutshell, she's awesome! I so desperately want to freeze time, savor it a little longer, but there is no stopping the clock. Aubrey was 6 months when we started this blog and now she is six years and a few weeks. Having kids really makes time mean a little more. I love my first born and am thankful for her every single day.

Four!

2011-05-14T07:39:00.003-06:00

Ainsley's fourth Birthday has come and gone and I am in awe of the little lady she has become. I love her to pieces and marvel at her sweet heart. She is a true gift to our family.

snap shot

2011-01-25T07:16:00.002-07:00

In a few short weeks we will be celebrating our ninth wedding anniversary. That's pretty cool. The last nine years have brought 2 home purchases with brief apartment stays in-between, 4 car purchases, 2 births, 2 states, a new puppy, and lots of love. We are living life, and it's a great one. Happy New Year!

Sweet Little Bodie

2010-12-10T16:14:00.002-07:00

After nearly four years of going back and forth on the issue, we got our first puppy. He is sweet, adorable, cuddly, and so much work. We did loads of research, but can safely say we had no idea what we were signing up for. We've decided that a puppy is actually harder than a baby because a baby doesn't get into trouble for many months. This little guy is always moving, unless he squats to pee! I am head over heals in love with his sweet little face and spend many hours cuddling with him, you know, so I can see that he isn't getting into trouble. We assume, like with infants, he will grow quickly and this puppy stage will be a sweet memory that we romanticize for years until we go for round two! Ha! So if you see me around and I look exhausted, it's because I am. And if you pop by my house to say hello I will probably have to clean the floor once or twice while you are here. So far, it's worth it, and we are loving the joy an animal brings to a family.

Cousins

2010-11-19T16:19:00.002-07:00

***Cousin Mary was in the stroller at the time and missed the photo op***

I am very thankful for having family scattered around the greater Denver area. A few weeks ago I met up with my sister in law at the Denver Zoo. The kids had a great time playing around, being goofy, and checking in with the animals from time to time. While we were there we ran into our cousin in law (is that the right term?) too. Before that happened my girls were looking for Mike's other cousin because we have ran into her there before, so they just expected to see her. All this to say that we are so grateful for our kids having local family. We never expected that when we moved and it has been such a blessing.

what do you do for fun?

2010-10-21T11:47:00.002-06:00

Sometimes it feels like pursuing fun is a lot of work. I wish it was as easy for me as it is for my kids. All they need is some music, a hand to hold, and to spin, spin, spin. Oh how I envy the carefree days my kids enjoy!

Fall

2010-09-30T11:12:00.002-06:00

The season has changed, but our busy schedules have not. Between various school drop offs and pick ups, trips to the library, fitting in a few workouts each week, serving at Bible Study, attending church, and AWANA, visits to the chiropractor three times week, buying groceries, doing something with said groceries... I am pooped! I am still trying to get the feel of this "mom of a school aged kid" thing. Before too long we will be adding swim lessons into the mix too. I'm kinda looking forward to winter and hoping for big storm that cancels all the craziness for a few days and allows us to just rest and enjoy each other. Happy Fall!

Amused

2010-08-30T12:57:00.002-06:00

These are pictures of kids on their first Ferris Wheel ride. They loved it. Sadly, Mike was off on a roller coaster so he missed this first. I wanted to wait for him, I really did, but the girls could not take their eyes off this ride and wanted to go on it immediately. And, I am definitely a sucker for these kids!

We had a great time at Elitch Gardens here in Denver. We will definitely need to come better prepared next year (assuming the library foots the bill for half of our party as a reward for reading over the Summer). We really should have packed a cooler and left it in the car. I didn't realize how close the parking area is to the park, but we totally could have packed lunch and saved our money for a funnel cake inside. But the place is perfect for little kids. There were no waits for the little rides. So awesome. I love that we have so many cool places like this so close to where we live. It's been a great Summer of exploring and now we are back in school mode, at least until the weekend!

Happiness is...

2010-08-14T19:25:00.002-06:00

bouncing in a new to us inflatable bounce house! Happy Weekend Everyone!!!

Another Tri

2010-08-04T15:03:00.002-06:00

On Sunday, I had the privilege of joining 2704 women in a Sprint Triathlon to benefit breast cancer research. This was my second year doing this event and I had a fantastic time. It was so fun to push myself beyond the norm and conquer the mental game of a triathlon. Trust me it is all mental. The swim was easy enough, just a little annoying because I was stuck in a pack of swimmers and was being man handled the whole half mile. Thankfully, I am not fearful in shark free water, so I just pushed myself a little harder trying to get away! I think I cut a little over a minute off of last years swim.

I also have a new road bike and it allowed me to increase my pace from 10 miles an hour last year to 15 miles per hour this year. Yay! The run was still painful, but I still managed to shave 2 minutes off of last years time with a pace of 12 minutes 39 seconds per mile. My quads hated me and did not want to move. I was giving my legs a pep talk coming into the last mile. I think I may have told them to suck it up, and get ready to rock. I was on pace for reaching my goal and was not going to let sore quads take that from me. I came in just under 1 hour 55 minutes and felt great! I am thankful that I was introduced to this sport by Mike's cousin, Tanya. It is so fun and rewarding. I really think you should have a Sprint tri on your bucket list. There is time, there was a 71 year old who did the event in under 2 hours! I'm looking forward to next year and hoping to have a few more friends join in the fun.

My Little Mathletes

2010-07-20T16:07:00.003-06:00

I know it is so easy to roll your eyes when parents gush about their kids and how brilliant they are, but seriously, my kids have some mad math skills. Aubrey still gets jumbled with her oral counting skills, but she can rock multi step math problems in her head, assuming you keep the sum or difference under 10. I cannot believe that she is adding and subtracting mentally. Ainsley doesn't want to be left behind so she is asking for problems too and is doing very well. Of course she does complain if her starting number is greater than five. :) I love watching them get it. So cool, even better than watching other people's kids learn!

Summer is racing by!

2010-07-06T19:59:00.003-06:00

We only have 5 weeks left of the lazy crazy days of Summer. Where did the time go? Each morning, my sweet girls wake each other up around 6am and start playing Barbies. They have breakfast at 7am while watching Dora. They are great multi-taskers! Then they play, play, play. Riding bikes is one of their favorite after dinner activities. As of today, Ainsley has a big girl bike, just like Aubrey. She is in heaven! I love watching these girls learn new things. Happy Summer Everyone!

Princess Time

2010-06-16T20:26:00.005-06:00

We were so excited to be able to take the kids to Disneyland while we were on vacation (thank you Beckers, thank you Dad) and we were most excited about them getting to meet their role models. Hours of every day are spent being a princess, so of course we wanted them to meet the royalty responsible. Here's what I learned, waiting in line for an hour to meet 3 mystery princesses, and then turn a corner, and be expected to be excited about it, just doesn't happen for my kids. The first three princesses were complete flops, even though I know my kids adore them. My kids were NOT happy. Sad. So we went to the parade mid-day so the could see them from afar. Fail. The parade, although totally awesome, did not have one single princess. So, we headed back to the princess area for story time, AND, there were three princesses visiting with kiddos from the conclusion of the previous show. It turns out that my kids get VERY excited if they can see who they are waiting in line to meet. Best. Part. Of. The. Day. The girls got to meet Aurora, Cinderella, and Snow White and were so thrilled! Then Aurora told the kids a story about herself. you may have heard it, it's called Sleeping Beauty. My heart sang! What a fantastic experience for my kiddos. In fact, Ainsley asked if we could go to Disneyland tomorrow when she wakes up. I told her that it's in California and we are not. Then she got all sad and said we need to take her to Disney World for her fifth Birthday. So they had fun, and we need to start saving!

Summer's Here!

2010-06-07T07:20:00.002-06:00

Hiking, biking, park hopping... We are loving Summer!

Pretty in Pink

2010-05-29T20:19:00.003-06:00

This is such a happy, long awaited day! Aubrey got a room make-over. She went from a twin to a full, lime green walls to pink, bugs to flowers, and has a much bigger closet. We are really spinning it as her Birthday gift because room make-overs do not come cheap, but to be honest it is so much more. Aubrey has struggled with night time dryness for the last two and a half years (and nap time dryness too). It never "clicked" like it does for most kids. She is such a heavy sleeper that waking her is near impossible and we have carried her to the bathroom, sat her on the potty, and had her still be dead asleep. Heck, I even completely changed her clothes for swim lessons a few weeks ago without waking her. So, the normal strategies didn't work for her since we can't wake her up. About a year ago, I told her that she could pick out new bedding and a new wall color when she could wear underwear to bed and stay dry on a regular basis. It has been a long journey, but the last six months have been very promising and she has had fewer and fewer accidents. So today we are celebrating a new season in her life and a overcoming something that is been a huge obstacle for her in her short life! She loves it and is so proud of her new room!

The graduate

2010-05-27T18:26:00.004-06:00

Sorry for the poor picture quality. The church was not well lit. Highlight of the ceremony. "Next is Aubrey, she will be going on to Kindergarten in the Fall where she will continue working towards being a princess." Another boy in her class aspires to be Spider Man. There were also a few ice skaters and ballerinas in the mix. Then the level headed kids who would like to be veterinarian, teachers, and fire fighters. Totally adorable!

Almost Five

2010-05-26T12:56:00.003-06:00

I have so much to say about this little girl. She has really bloomed in the last year and I keep finding myself pleasantly surprised with the girl she is turning out to be. Here are just a few of the things that have made me beam in the last few months.

*at her conference, her teacher referred to her as an angel.

*while out shopping for new sandals, she picked a pair that was too expensive. I explained to her that they were more than we could spend on sandals, but I would help her find a pair in our budget. She asked me "how many dollars too much" they were. When I told her, she offered to pay the difference out of her money. How mature. So she got the sandals she wanted and even helped pay for them instead of wasting her money on junk in the dollar section.

*she is really learning how to be flexible when plans change. This is still a struggle, but there has been huge growth in this area in the last six months or so.

*she now eats burritos. This one makes me very happy.

*she asks how to spell words.

*she is very affirming.

Tomorrow is our last day of pre-school and I am so excited to watch my darling daughter graduate. She will be moving on to kinder in a few short months and growing up faster than I could have ever believed possible.

Happy Friday

2010-05-21T09:18:00.002-06:00

Fully Rested

2010-05-18T16:27:00.003-06:00

I felt bad having a pic of my angel looking so tired. Here she is rested and happy at The Wildlife Experience on Mother's Day weekend.

to nap or not to nap

2010-05-17T14:07:00.003-06:00

Ah man! My too young to stop napping three year old is out growing her nap. Well, not really, she needs a nap, she just doesn't want to stop playing to take one. I am trying to figure out how hard I want to fight on this one, having two kids not napping has its advantages. The picture above is what she looks like at dinner if she misses her nap. Exhausted. I wonder how this will all turn out?

day 2

2010-05-08T14:59:00.002-06:00

Aubrey's new request is to have her hair in braids. Not just one, but two. And I need to do it when her hair is wet, not dry. Why? Wet hair and double braids mean more wavy hair. She loves it. I'm thinking of buying some sponge rollers and seeing if she can sleep in them. I know she would love it really curly.

How my kids are spending the day

2010-04-26T13:28:00.002-06:00

one is in bed trying to kick the stomach flu and the other is exploring. She just learned that light reflects off of some things, but not others.

THREE!!!

2010-04-20T16:21:00.001-06:00

Where does the time go?

One Happy Mommy

2010-04-10T14:50:00.002-06:00

I love it when one of my girls asks me to do her hair. I love it even more when they both want me to do it. Being a mother to two little ladies is a lot of work, but with a lot of rewards thrown in.

Easter 2010

2010-04-06T12:32:00.003-06:00

We had a nice Easter celebration with Mike's parents, brother and wife, and of course all our kids. I love that our kids all play so well together and enjoy seeing each other. Our day started with church, then we did baskets and an egg hunt (hard boiled, not candy filled, which totally perplexed Ainsley to no end). And then we prepared for our guests. It was another fun, family-filled holiday.

Their Gym

2010-03-30T06:50:00.002-06:00

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

2010-03-24T10:46:00.003-06:00

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

2010-03-19T09:01:00.002-06:00

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

2010-03-14T12:18:00.003-06:00

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

2010-03-12T10:10:00.002-07:00

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

2010-03-03T15:53:00.003-07:00

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.

Amazed

2010-02-25T13:45:00.003-07:00

I don't know, maybe every kid who is 2 years, 10 months, draws like this. Regardless, I am darn impressed. She also started coloring in the lines around Christmas. Perhaps she takes after her Auntie Krystal???

I love this man!

2010-02-22T14:38:00.003-07:00

Last year Mike started a tradition by accident, he got Aubrey a bouquet of baby roses for her Birthday. She still talks about how Daddy got her flowers. So for Valentine's Day he bought each girl a bouquet of Daisies. They were so excited. Aubrey's are adorning her desk and Ainsley shared her bouquet with the family and allowed it to be on the kitchen table. She smells them every day. He is capturing their hearts more and more each day and setting a great example of what to seek in a spouse.

Lunch for my Loves

2010-02-14T11:28:00.002-07:00

a few more hearts...

2010-02-12T09:37:00.002-07:00

This is the same hairstyle, I just used a ribbon in Aubrey's to make the heart pop. I think it would be cute with a messy bun at the bottom of the heart. I am not that patient, so I gave up after two tries.

Happy Heart Day, almost...

2010-02-11T10:18:00.001-07:00

Actions Speak Louder Than Words

2010-02-09T11:41:00.003-07:00

As I was pulling away from Aubrey's school this morning a truck backed out of a spot in front of me. Ainsley yelled "watch out!" I told her that I saw the truck and I am a careful driver so she doesn't need to worry. She retorted, "You wasn't a careful driver when grandma and grandpa were here and you bonked into that car!" She went on to say, "You said it was an accident and then I got to get yummy treat from the restaurant." Yikes, she's got a great memory and quite a mouth!

My Silly Kids

2010-02-08T13:52:00.002-07:00

Aubrey was being an owl and I think Ainsley was just making a silly face. My girls are loving make believe. It's fun to watch them create elaborate storylines for their games. They are also big fans of board games. We have been playing a lot of Sequence, Old Maid, and Chutes and Ladders around here. Toddlers and Pre Schoolers are fun, fun, fun!

I followed through!

2010-01-23T14:05:00.002-07:00

I had the idea to make a dress up station for the girls for over a year. I even knew what I needed to buy to make it happen. So for the low price of $15 I made it a reality. Finally.

Cookies and Cream

2010-01-22T12:57:00.000-07:00

Aubrey liked it too!

Yum!

2010-01-20T19:39:00.002-07:00

We went to the grand opening of Baskin Robins last month. It was the first time I had taken the girls for ice cream. I know, it's shameful! They have had an occasional frostie from Wendy's, but that's it. By the look on Ainsley's face you can tell it was a hit.

Helping Haiti

2010-01-14T20:18:00.003-07:00

Wow, I have been on an emotional roller coaster with the devastation the 7.4 earthquake brought to Haiti. I know a lot of people are feeling strapped for cash and thinking they would love to help if they could. Well, I am here to tell you that you CAN. Americans have SO MUCH. Haitians had next to nothing prior to this tragedy. Please pray about how much you can give and then do it. I have been brainstorming some ways to create money for Haiti and here's what I came up with so far...

Give up Starbucks for a week or two

Brown bag it for a while and send Haiti the difference

Suspend your Netflix account for up to three months and send that to Haiti

Give up the bottle of wine you were planning on buying for dinner this weekend

Skip the car wash this month and use a coin operated one instead

Have a girls night in instead of a girls night out.

Every penny helps and no donation is too small. Find an organization and give hope.

Future Teacher?

2010-01-11T08:08:00.004-07:00

I overheard a sweet conversation between my girls the other day. Here is the essence of it, although I am sure I have changed bits and pieces. I'm pretty sure my heart doubled in size during this exchange.

Aubrey "Ainsley, I have three bites of waffle left, how many will I have after I eat this bite?"

Ainsley: "TWO!"

Aubrey: "That's right, Now how many bites will I have left after I eat this bite?"

Ainsley: "SIX!"

Aubrey: "Look at my plate, I have two bites left, if I eat one bite, how many will be left?"

Ainsley: "One!"

Aubrey: "Good Job. Now how many will I have left when I eat this bite?"

Ainsley: "It's all gone."

Aubrey: "All gone means zero, there are zero bites left."

Resolved

2009-12-30T07:35:00.002-07:00

I resolve (to try really hard) to keep my kitchen counters and staircase free of clutter (that is created by all four of us, not just me).

A New Tradition

2009-12-27T13:11:00.003-07:00

One new thing we did this year was having the kids pick out a gift to give each other. I took each girl on a special shopping trip and they were able to shop for the perfect gift for their sister. Well, as perfect as you can get for under $10.

Ainsley knew she wanted to get Aubrey a puppy to sleep with. Ainsley sleeps with a puppy every night and Aubrey frequently asks if the puppy can sleep with her. Ainsley picked out this cute little guy and Aubrey has been sleeping with him/her every night.

Aubrey took a lot more time window shopping. She went through all the toy aisles and eventually landed on a Little Einstein doll of June. She wanted to get her Annie, since Ainsley loves to sing, but the store was out of the Annie doll. I suggested a Mr(s) Potato Head since I thought it was more fun, but Aubrey assured me that she found the right gift and that Ainsley would love it. Aubrey was right!

Next year I want to find a way for the girls to "earn" the money that they use to buy the present. I have a while to figure that out. The girls loved giving a gift that they had ownership of and they were very pleased to receive a gift from each other. It is a sweet gesture, and I am excited to make that a part of our Christmas celebration in the years to come.

Christmas Dinner

2009-12-26T08:03:00.002-07:00

We had a fabulous Christmas and dinner was no exception. I decided to venture out of my comfort zone and embrace a boneless leg of lamb this year. It was by far one of the best meals I have ever cooked. I kept waiting to bite into something I didn't want to devour, but it just didn't happen. I definitely think that we have a family tradition in the works. The girls loved the "roast" but didn't believe they were actually eating a lamb. That's fine by me! Looking at the picture, I wish I would have thought to put my table runner on and that I would have used all white serving dishes instead of one glass, but that is just further proof that I should be in a padded room somewhere. I hope everyone had a fantastic holiday, and if you didn't, consider having dinner with us next year, you'll love it!

Gingerbread Houses Text

2009-12-24T15:34:00.004-07:00

We made graham cracker houses today as part of our Christmas Eve celebration. Well, okay, they are more like tents or relief housing after a natural disaster, but the thought was there. I will study up and learn how to add a roof for 2010. My icing didn't quite cement as promised and I am fairly impatient. If the kids didn't have such a great time I would have felt like it was an epic failure. Their happy faces (pictured below) speak for themselves. Merry Christmas!

Gingerbread Houses!

2009-12-24T15:16:00.003-07:00

Christmas Letter 2009

2009-12-23T07:44:00.001-07:00

Dear Family and Friends,

This year seems to have moved at light speed. We had a lot going on and time flew by. Rachel was able to travel out to Southern California in April and July with the girls. We took a family trip to Wisconsin in June, had a few visits from life long friends over the summer, visited Northern California for Thanksgiving, and had several visits from our families throughout the year to beautiful Colorado.

Mike transitioned to a role as Sales Manager with WJ Bradley Mortgage in Castle Rock after two years with Wells Fargo Home Mortgage. He is excited about the new position and the challenges and freedoms it accompanies. He still loves playing electric guitar weekly for the worship team at church and his monthly poker nights with “the guys”.

Rachel spent the first part of the year training for her first triathlon which she completed in August. It was exhausting, but very fulfilling to know that she set a goal and accomplished it. She has also taken on a weekly volunteer teaching role at Community Bible Study nurturing three year olds as they learn about God through His Word. She continues to stay at home with the girls and enjoys many cuddles and lots of silliness each day.

Aubrey is now four and a half and such a little lady. She loves to color, play board games, and live in a world of fantasy full of Barbie's, princesses, and the occasional “naughty” guy. She is happiest when wearing a dress, but will tolerate pants on occasion. She loves pre-school and Bible Study and cannot wait to start kindergarten next year.

Ainsley is two and a half and a little fire cracker. She enjoys doing whatever Aubrey is doing and has little difficulty keeping up. She lives in a musical and sings her converations throughout the day. She has a two hour Bible class once a week and routinely recites scripture or the latest song she has learned.

We hope this letter finds your family happy and healthy. This is the day the Lord has made, rejoice and be glad in it. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Mike, Rachel, Aubrey, and Ainsley
Christmas, 2009

Humph!

2009-12-17T07:57:00.002-07:00

I don't know what is going on with blogger, but it doesn't let me put text and images in the same post. I know! What in the world is going on here? So the post below is pictures from trimming our tree. The kids basically did the whole thing without help. I hung a handful of ornaments on the higher branches and moved a few around in the days that followed, but for the most part, a two and four year old trimmed the tree. You have to understand that I am completely anal about holiday decorating. I evenly distribute all ornaments by type (snowman, angel,hallmark) and also by what they are made out of (wooden, glass, metal). And I didn't get to do any of that this year. The kids took over and had the ornaments on the tree as quickly as I unpacked them. Ainsley was having so much fun she even hung the left over hooks on the tree (picture below). And for the most part, I was okay with it. Ahhh, growth! We have also been making decorations right and left and they are all hung on the lower third of the tree. This is such a special time of year and I am happy to see my kids embrace the magic.

Decorating the Tree

2009-12-16T14:49:00.002-07:00

Does Life Get Any Better?

2009-12-13T20:45:00.000-07:00

Just Announced

2009-12-06T11:53:00.002-07:00

Aubrey would like nothing but coloring books for Christmas. Something tells me she will change her mind on that, but I love her love for coloring. Now if I could just keep her crayons sharp and organized she would be the happiest girl in the world.

Old Maid

2009-12-05T12:12:00.002-07:00

We reintroduced the kids to Old Maid today and they are having a blast. Aubrey is so good at finding her matches and even tries to sneak peaks of your cards if you are not careful. Ainsley is... learning. She WANTS the Old Maid. And if she has it, she isn't giving it up. In fact she will take it out of her hand and sit on it so you can't take it. That suits Aubrey just fine, she would prefer to win anyway. Ainsley also insists on searching her opponents hand so she can find a match. Silly kid! It is so fun to play games with the kids. I much prefer playing a card game or a round of Candy Land to getting Polly Pocket dressed for her day at school.

This is a picture from our trip to Mike's parents that we recently returned from. The girls had a blast on this swing. Me, not so much. I totally fell off it, backwards, while holding Ainsley. Oops. She was quick to forgive but quickly announced she wanted to swing with Grandma. Smart kid!

2 Years Ago

2009-11-24T15:05:00.002-07:00

I am so in awe at how much my little family has changed in two short years. Ainsley is roughly at the same age Aubrey was in this picture. Well, she is currently two months older, but close enough. This picture also tells me I have a missing box of 2T clothes floating around. I must locate them!

A Little Me

2009-11-18T17:37:00.003-07:00

The girls providing an opportunity to vacuum the couch

While I was doing dinner dishes tonight I observed the cutest thing. Queen Aubrey was sitting on the couch giving directions to Ainsley to organize the coffee table. I heard statements like "It's right in front of you Ainsley, I know you see it." and "You need to pick up five more things to be done." and "All the figurines too, Ainsley, they need to be in a basket."

Now the funny part is that Ainsley rarely picks up toys willingly. It is always a battle. But somehow, Aubrey got her to do it. Ainsley was even calling her "Your Highness." Dude. I was a little bit jealous at that part. Then I heard more, "Two more toys Ainsley and you can pick a treasure!" So Aubrey was bribing her... with bingo chips. Yup, that was the treasure! Aubrey was totally imitating all of my parent talk. Sheesh, nothing like a 4 year old parrot letting you know how you are performing your job. Luckily she was giving direction and offering incentives. That's good stuff! And don't worry. It's some sort of game so Ainsley has been the Queen too, just not while I was doing dishes.

Toddler Drama

2009-11-18T10:49:00.002-07:00

Our little Ainsley is fighting hard for her rights.

... the right to suck her thumb.

... the right to use the potty for number one, but not number two.

... the right to leave her room continually after being put to bed.

... the right to sleep with Mommy and Daddy for a good portion of each night.

We are trying to fight back, really, we are. She is PERSISTENT and we are TIRED. The new saying in our home is "She won't always be two." April 20th cannot come quickly enough. We are anxious for the three year old version and praying that it resembles the sweet compliant girl we used to know. Sad side note. She has an "owie" on her favorite thumb and can't suck it currently. She is devastated and it does break my heart a little bit. At this point I would gladly have a thumb sucker if she would give up the other three vices.

Seriously?

2009-11-16T14:13:00.000-07:00

Does life get any better than this???

Unexpected

2009-11-12T14:08:00.002-07:00

So Ainsley flat out refused to have her picture taken. "I can't" translated "I won't" was on repeat. Her eyes swelled with tears, it was so sad. She told me she wanted me to take her picture with our camera. I am pretty sure picture places frown on this, for obvious reasons, but the photographer consented and let me take a few pictures of Ainsley. As long as I was snapping, she was smiling, and the real photographer got some great ones too. Here are my two out takes.
This one is actually really cute. If I was capable of thinking quickly, I would have actually zoomed my camera. I cropped this, so I am sure the quality would be grainy if I had a print made. Her crooked smile made a few of the shots, but there were several others that I fell in love with so I passed on those. Besides, I have 100's of that smile on my camera.

Geez!

2009-11-11T18:44:00.002-07:00

This is Ainsley's current "smile for the camera" smile. It's so memorable that her CBS teachers have even commented on it. After nearly 2 years, I finally made an appointment to get portraits done, and this is her current smile. Lovely. Her bangs are a little crooked, she has a little scratch on her nose, and I have no idea what she will wear, but we're doing it. Finally. I hope it turns out well!

On the mend

2009-11-09T07:40:00.001-07:00

All four of us are through the worst of whatever that was. It was a special kind of virus that just kept kicking us when we were down. Although we still have stuffy noses and lovely coughs, our voluntary quarantine is over. Wash you hands and take your vitamins, these germs are nasty that are going around.

Harvest Parade

2009-11-03T13:24:00.003-07:00

Since Thursday was a snow day, Aubrey's pre-school had their Harvest Parade today. I hate that schools feel the need to call Halloween "Harvest" but that is a different post altogether. I'm pretty sure they ate cupcakes and then marched around in their costumes. I don't think they harvested much of anything. Thanksgiving may be a great opportunity to celebrate "Harvest" but I digress. Unfortunately, the director told me that Aubrey hit her wall about 15 minutes before the parade started. She seems to be back under the weather. She just wanted to go home and is now laying on the couch waiting for death.
I totally rocked the fairy hair today. I guess Halloween was my trial run, because I did way better today. And yes, this is Ainsley's costume, but I didn't want Aubrey wearing a full length dress to pre-school so she happily became everyone's favorite tinker fairy. And yea for me buying their costumes a little loose. There is plenty of room to grow into them which will provide hours and years of dress-up fun!
Here she is from the front. I love Halloween, err, I mean Harvest.

Mommy Brain

2009-11-02T15:37:00.002-07:00

I had planned on making Butternut Squash Soup for dinner on Halloween, but I had neglected to buy heavy cream at the store so I made Tortellini Vegetable soup instead. Today I bought heavy cream so I could make my butternut squash soup, BUT, I used my stock making the Tortelini soup on Saturday. I guess we're having fish sticks instead...

Pumpkins

2009-11-01T07:26:00.002-07:00

Colorado had several deep freezes this month and it really affected our pumpkins. If pumpkins freeze, they mold and turn to mush. I bought our pumpkin after the first freeze, but from an inside display at Walmart (that must have been outside during the freeze). So yeah, we went to carve our pumpkin yesterday and it was soft and moldy on the bottom. We figured burning a candle in a moldy gourd was a bad idea and threw it out. Here we were on Halloween with no pumpkin to carve.

Then I noticed the two very small pumpkins the girls got on our pre-school field trip to the pumpkin patch the day of the first freeze. They were about 6 and 8 inches tall. We crossed our fingers and went for it. Aubrey wanted a sad pumpkin, which looks kinda scared. Ainsley wanted an angry pumpkin. Although they refused to help scoop out the seeds, they enjoyed the activity. Carving small pumpkins is really fast which is great for a short attention spans, mine included.

Trick or Treat

2009-10-31T19:41:00.003-06:00

Cinderella

My version of Cinderella hair

Tinkerbell

My version of Tinkerbell's bun

My costume from a party earlier in the week. This one is for my mom. :)

Wow!

2009-10-31T15:51:00.002-06:00

Schools were closed for three days this week due to a crazy "winter" storm. We got nearly 2 feet of snow in our town. Here's a picture of our backyard after a half day of melt.
This morning, Halloween, we played outside and let the girls sled in the front yard. Mike even built up a ramp for them with all the snow that was on our driveway. Aubrey was not a fan of the ramp and eventually found her own path.
Ainsley was a big fan. The faster the better for our little dare devil. And yes, the kids are not healthy, but we couldn't let an opportunity like this pass up by. It may be January before we get another storm like this! I realize this is most likely a sign of things to come, but last winter our sledding days were limited and it was a bummer to wait for the perfect storm.

Can't Fight It

2009-10-29T10:48:00.001-06:00

Aubrey got sick too. Here's to hoping she recovers quickly!

Winter Cold

2009-10-28T10:42:00.002-06:00

Ainsley has her first winter cold, in Fall, and I don't like it. She is battling a temperature of 103.6, is increasingly fussy, and we are both sleep deprived. There were about 5.5 hours that I attempted sleep last night. Ainsley was next to me the entire time. She woke up continuously, each time screaming at me, crying, or trying to bolt from the bed to go downstairs. I would wager that the longest period of uninterrupted sleep was 20 minutes. It turns out that lack of sleep makes me rival the Wicked Witch of the West. Aubrey refuses to play by herself and avoid exposure, and I am done trying to stop the inevitable. Meanwhile we are in the process of getting 10-18 inches of snow. I'm tired. Did I mention that?

Healthy Start to the Day

2009-10-25T10:39:00.002-06:00

I tend to cycle through different breakfast foods. I used to be addicted to Special K cereal. There was also the oatmeal with raisins and sliced almonds stage that lasted through the summer. Last month it was whole wheat toast with cinnamon sugar. I know, not the best start to the day, but oh so yummy. Now I am on an eggs kick. I have been making egg sandwiches daily for a few weeks. I think I perfected it this morning, cutting out a few extra calories. Today it was half of a high fiber english muffin, a slice of warmed canadian bacon, and an egg over medium. That's only 135 calories, which leaves lots of room for coffee creamer. :) This week I plan on adding a side of fruit too. I am loving this combination and hope I can get my kids to try it out. What is your morning breakfast ritual?

Meeting Cousin Mary!

2009-10-24T16:04:00.002-06:00

Here's Ainsley holding her newest cousin, Mary Lucille, a whopping 9 days old! I had to remind her that she is real, you know, since she is the size of some of our dolls. She is precious and slept through our visit while being passed around to multiple willing hands.
Aubrey was awe struck by her sweet cousin. She is actually playing "baby Mary" right now. She is swaddled in her blanket and Ainsley is tending to her care. I love having new babies in the family, especially knowing my sleep isn't impacted by their presence. Happy Auntie signing out.

How do you celebrate having a car again? Even if it is just a borrowed one...

2009-10-22T15:43:00.002-06:00

We checked out a place called Monkey Bizness about a half hour from here. The kids were slow to warm up, but I joined in the fun and all of a sudden they were loving it and ready to explore the whole place.
Ainsley was all about the journey and loved to explore all the aspects of each jump house. Aubrey was more destination driven and just ran through the obstacle course to get to the giant slide at the end.
Ainsley was so willing to do this huge slide by herself. I love her daring spirit!
And here's the girls at the top of a wall that they jumped off of. So fun! Well, except for the part where I ended up going to the wrong location and missed out on a few hours of time with one of my dear friends.

Boo!

2009-10-20T16:33:00.002-06:00

Here's Ainsley showing off her new Halloween shirt compliments of her Great Aunt and Uncle in California. Something tells me that she will still be wearing it come Christmas. She loves the kitties on the front and was so happy to put it on this morning. That's her "I'm so proud" expression.

Making Cakes

2009-10-20T10:35:00.002-06:00

The girls took advantage of an abnormally warm Fall day yesterday by playing outside. They made Birthday cakes out of sand, used rocks for frosting, and leaves for decorations. I think this is our last hurrah with the sand box (turtle). It is just too small to really play in, and sand coming out causes lots of clean up drama. They had a blast and that's the main thing. There is a possibility for snow tonight, we'll see...

#1 Reason to go to a Barn Dance

2009-10-17T19:53:00.005-06:00

To get pictures like this

and this

and this.

Mommy Daughter Time

2009-10-15T16:23:00.004-06:00

taken at one of the last Rockies games of the season

Aubrey's class earned a pajama party earlier this month. All the kids wore pj's to school today and had a popcorn party while they watched Veggie Tales. Mike's not sure why we are paying for our kid to watch movies, but I assured him that 30 minutes of Veggie Tales doesn't negate all the good pre-school is doing for her!

When I picked her up (solo, since Mike and I are sharing a car and he was working from home) we had some Mommy Daughter time. I also brought a change of clothes so she didn't have to go all over town in fleece pj's. We went to Michael's, (not a great idea since she wanted everything) the Dollar Tree, (where she did get to pick one thing, a Halloween Poster Painting kit) Fantastic Sam's, (where she got a trim and I got some unsightly hair removed off of my face) and the grocery store. It's amazing how much I truly enjoy my kids when they are not together!!! It's also a pleasant surprise to see that Aubrey dropping her nap isn't the nightmare I imagined. She does very well with her quiet time and enjoys having time to herself.

Sadly, I didn't really have any quality time with Ainsley today. She watched The Never Ending Story while I paid bills and sorted through stacks of papers. She was thrilled though, for some strange reason she loves that movie.

Pumpkin Fun

2009-10-14T13:29:00.002-06:00

We painted small pumpkins to get us in the mood for Fall.
I had envisioned cute little faces and perhaps yarn for hair. They envisioned something else.
Ainsley joined Aubrey's class on a field trip to a pumpkin patch. Here they are going through the straw maze. Oh, and it was kinda snowing and below freezing. Fun times in the Rockies!

Well, that wasn't on my To Do list!

2009-10-14T12:46:00.002-06:00

Last Friday we were involved in a four car accident. I was in the middle, so I have damage to the front and rear of my car. Thankfully, it is getting repaired and should be back to us in a few weeks.
The Honda Pilot is a tank and was virtually damage free, not so much for my Odyssey. So if you are looking for an SUV, I would recommend a Pilot for sure. Thankfully my girls were able to walk away with nothing more than a slight burn from their seat belts and a healthy respect for cars and how dangerous they can be.

Costumes

2009-10-01T12:20:00.002-06:00

Aubrey has told me with great conviction that she would like to be Cinderella for Halloween this year. I've made comments like "We have so many princess dresses, wouldn't you want to be something else?" and she has relented and discussed fairies, witches, and a cat costume, all with princess style dresses. Today I was convicted. There is nothing wrong with Cinderella. I just hate how expensive and poorly made Disney costumes are. I also seem to be pushing Aubrey to abandon princesses. Why? She's four. Their is nothing wrong with it. So today I picked up a Cinderella costume to surprise her with after school.

And for Ainsley... she was conflicted between Darth Vader and the Incredible Hulk. I totally played the gender card and told her those are for boys and directed her to the girl costumes. After some debate between a storybook witch and Tinkerbell, she choose Tinkerbell. Now we just have to get a warm day at the end of October to wear these. Chances are I will be pushing the cozy monkey costume for her on the actual day.

Fall

2009-09-27T07:55:00.003-06:00

Mike and I have been trying to catch the Aspens at their peak for 5 Falls! We are always too early or too late. Well this year we seem to have timed it just right at higher elevations. The lower elevations, you know, like 7,000 feet, still have a week or so left before they are perfect. Mike took the picture above in a grove of Aspens. That's pretty much his happy place. He loves these trees.
This was taken at a lower elevation so you can see the leaves are just beginning to change. It was still stunning with a creek racing by under our feet. It was a much longer outing then we planned, just over 6 hours with the majority of that being in the car. We definitely want to do this again next year, we will just be better prepared with a full picnic and several layers of clothing. It got very cold at one of our stops, but more on that in a few days.

sNOw

2009-09-23T16:10:00.004-06:00

When we had our first snowfall on Monday. I was giddy with excitement. The kids were happy and we made a fun wintery day of it. I even woke up this morning anxious to see if we got the 6-12 inches that was forecast. We didn't and I was crestfallen. Today has brought rain, sleet, and snow. I am cold and ready for my friend, the sun, to return. 70 degrees forecast for Saturday at least.

Almost a Date Night

2009-09-22T14:23:00.003-06:00

Mike and I had an almost date on Sunday. We attended the Groundwire Banquet where Mike had the honor of being the Emcee. So fun! It was a great night of celebrating the the successes of 2009 and looking forward to what 2010 will hold for this amazing ministry. Ainsley was also kind enough to take our picture before we left. Aubrey also took one of our heads so with a little tape we are good to go!

Not Her Too!

2009-09-19T16:39:00.002-06:00

My weekly Bible Study started up a couple of weeks ago so Ainsley is now a pre-schooler too. It isn't official pre-school, but it is a two hour program with Bible Stories, scripture memorization, music class, craft, and lots of other fun activities. She is thrilled to get to go to "school" too.

To Do List

2009-09-17T07:24:00.003-06:00

I keep adding more and more trips to my To Do list. There are many, so maybe it is a 10 year plan. The order is irrelevant, just how they popped in my mind.

Getaways for Mike and I
* Wine weekend in Palisade, Co
* A mountain getaway that includes climbing a 14er
* And of course, a return trip to Hawaii, but that dream lives outside my current scope of possibility.

Family Trips (excluding trips visiting family).
*San Diego! I so want to take a trip with the kids to Sea World, The Wild Animal Park, San Diego Zoo, The Beach...
*A quick trip to Wyoming. I want to visit a Dude Ranch and Wyoming is only a few hours away.
* Camping! It's been 4 years, we should really give this a shot. And I totally think the kids would love it.
*Disneyworld/Disney Cruise. This is a several years down the line dream, but I still like the idea of it.

Multi-Family Trips
*Return Trip(s) to the North Carolina Coast
* Winter Cabin Rental
*Camping Trips

What trips are brewing in your mind that you hope to take in the future? I hope I can check some of these off in the years to come!

So Long Gucci

2009-09-12T06:50:00.003-06:00

Well, all good things must come to an end. Gucci went back home on Monday. Aubrey was sad and her lip did quiver a little bit, but she is happy that we get to visit her from time to time. Ainsley was sleeping when Gucci went home and she asks about her all the time. "Hey, where's my cat?" We would like to get the girls a kitty of their own, but Ainsley may have an allergy. She had a cold pretty much the entire two weeks that Gucci was here and I often observed her with watery eyes. I think I will talk to her pediatrician about getting an allergy test before we bring a cat into our home permanently. And if cats are out I will have to find a cat size dog to fit the cat size hole in all of our hearts.

My Sweet Girl

2009-09-07T07:12:00.003-06:00

With the exception of the cuddly newborn through early walker stage, age 4 is my favorite stage so far. I love seeing how Aubrey interprets the world around her and how she makes sense of it all. I love how she totally gets who God is, but thinks Santa Claus is just a cartoon character. I love that she is beginning to trust that we won't judge her if she doesn't do everything perfectly the first time. I love that she has an opinion on how I should style her hair for school and what outfit she should wear. I love that she wants a boy Barbie, because she already realizes that a girl need a prince to sweep her off her feet. I love that she understands "rules" and doesn't beg me for things that are outside of them. And I truly love that she will still curl up in my lap and be content with some Mommy cuddles. She has captured my heart and I am so thankful to be blessed with an amazing little girl!

This face

2009-09-03T14:12:00.001-06:00

is the ONLY thing that gets me through the independent, rather be right than be loved stage, that is the two's. She's too cute to be mad at for long!

Funny Kid

2009-09-01T18:10:00.003-06:00

She is doing so well with her letters!

Oh my goodness, my daughters crack me up. When we were potty training Ainsley, Mike started telling stories to help her stay on the potty. It has become a new past time around here to tell silly stories. Here is Aubrey's latest story.

Once upon a time I got invited to a Ball, but there were no potties there! So I went on the floor and nobody cleaned it up, and everyone had to walk in it. Then I danced with the prince and lived happily ever after. The End.

Is it just me, or is the hilarious?

Restoring Order

2009-08-28T12:54:00.002-06:00

Man! Things have just gotten out of hand over here. I have been going 100 miles an hour for a few weeks now but simply running in circles. I am feeling very overwhelmed with the pace of things, but can't seem to find the pause button, or even a button that makes us move a little slower. Fortunately my plans for the day got canceled, so I am having a dedicated "find the floor" day. I am planning on filling my van with items to donate and making a delivery later today. I know, I know, we could sell the stuff and make a few dollars. I just don't have the time or energy to invest in that endeavor. But I desperately need to have less stuff, less clutter, less mess. So that's my goal for the girls nap. I will probably change out of my pj's and put on some "work out clothes" so the neighbors don't think I am a total mess.

house guest

2009-08-26T16:52:00.002-06:00

We have a house guest for the next few weeks. Her name is Gucci.

The only thing she likes more than Aubrey is hiding behind our dryer. I wonder how she will react when I am doing laundry non-stop tomorrow?

2nd Annual ALHS Girl's Weekend

2009-08-23T07:09:00.002-06:00

Last year we spent a wonderful relaxing weekend wine tasting north of San Francisco in the Sonoma/Napa Valley's. This year I wanted to show case my beautiful state so the girl's headed East for Big Sky Country. Here's Katie at Garden of the God's located in the Spring's.
We also visited Cave of the Winds and took the Discovery Cave tour. Michelle climbed back in to a narrow crevice to get a little more personal with the cave. The highlight was when our guide demonstrated cave darkness and someone latched onto my arm very tightly. It was a different kind of dark to say the least.
After spending another day in my town we headed to Roxborough State Park for a nature hike. We saw elk and deer and heard rumors of a rattle snack on the trail we were on. Thankfully we did not encounter any bears or mountain lions though.
Later that day we headed Downtown for a little shopping, dinner, and a comedy show. Then all too soon it was back to the airport and they were gone. The good news is that we barely scratched the surface of what Colorado has to offer so there will be more adventures next time our weekend takes us to the Old West.

Already???

2009-08-18T21:42:00.002-06:00

Aubrey started pre-school last week and she loves it. She hasn't cried once and has asked me on numerous occasions to leave and go home and cry for her. Yes, she thinks Ainsley and I just go home and cry until it is time to pick her up. Too cute! I asked her all kinds of questions today about what she was learning, her response "I don't know." So I asked her what she did know, and she gave me a list of social things about her day. Who had a Birthday, who got hurt at recess, the pretty dresses the other girls had on, what the kids with allergies had to eat instead of the cupcakes...

I had a fast forward to high school moment. I can already hear the conversation. I'll ask her about school wanting to have a conversation about The Grapes of Wrath Geometry proofs and she'll give me the low down on who is dating who, who she thinks has an eating disorder, which teacher seems to be too friendly with his students, all the while omitting all relevant information about her personal drama. And you know what, I can't wait!

Impressive Jumps

2009-08-11T12:57:00.003-06:00

Our kids like to take standing jumps off of, well anything really, but especially off of my Firm workout stools. Here's Ainsley's "hurdle" form.
Aubrey's high jump... or possibly long jump.
Look how high she is??? She's two. TWO!
I wonder who will break their ankle first...
Wow, that is a lot of air. I wonder if she will be able to dunk?

Day 6

2009-08-08T21:33:00.002-06:00

She's trained! She did fabulous today. 11 successes, no accidents, and she even went number 2! And the best part, she initiated all of it! Hopefully she will still be trained tomorrow :)

Potty Training Recap

2009-08-06T13:16:00.002-06:00

my attempt to cope with urine

So this week I decided to embrace the art of potty training for my second time. It is literally the first week that I could be home for sequential days in months, so I decided to go for it. I hate potty training, I really really do. It isn't going badly, I just don't do well in a world that is not in my control, hence my issue with toddlers in general.

Day 1- 4 accidents, 1 success. This girl can hold it for hours!

Day 2- Woke up dry, peed in the potty right away, held it until 11:00am, engaged Mommy in a power struggle, peed on floor of bathroom, woke up dry after nap, refused to sit on potty, another power struggle at 5pm resulting in success (if you can call it that), one more accident before bed.

Day 3- Power struggle continues, I try to act like I don't care. I insist that she sit, not that she pee, start having her wear vinyl covers over her undies, she has two accidents outside and one while eating lunch. I am beat up by nap time and want to crawl into a deep hole and hide. She gets up from her nap, we make a chart together with four boxes, discuss that she gets to take a family trip to the pool when she is successful 4 times. 2 successes by bedtime.

Day 4- She is still thrilled by the chart, pees in the potty twice by 8:30am, super excited about the pool trip this afternoon. We make a new chart with an incentive of picking a new toy from the treasure chest. Wets at 9:30am because AJ has locked the bathroom door. I was not happy with my first born. Ainsley enters another resistant stage. She drips a tiny bit in her undies twice, but does not pee while sitting on the potty. She hangs from the doorknob screaming her head off when I ask her to try. She wets a few minutes after leaving the bathroom. I try to talk to her about this while I am getting her ready for her nap. She keeps squeezing my eye lids and giggling.

Man, this is such a journey! I'm glad we are going to the pool this afternoon. It will give us some time to have fun and not be "on" for a bit. Hopefully she will continue to make strides towards daytime dryness, but until then the vinyl stays on.

Ainsley's Artwork

2009-08-04T10:23:00.003-06:00

She described this to me and showed me the eyes, nose, mouth, brows, and hair. She really is amazing! And to think I was simply excited to see her make a closed shape!

I "Tri"ed!

2009-08-02T14:26:00.004-06:00

Today was the day! And even though my legs are so achy I can barely walk, I feel GREAT! First off, I slept horribly last night. I woke up after a few hours of sleep and was up for 2.5 hours thinking about what I needed to do when I woke up, assuming I went to sleep that is... I finally fell back to sleep around 3:30 and had a really crazy dream about the event location being changed to Mexico City and my bike getting stolen. This made me furious, because my bike is a cheap piece and I couldn't believe someone would take it! Then out of nowhere my alarm went off, it was 4:45 and time to start my day.

I choked down a piece of bread with peanut butter on it (should have toasted it) and headed out the door. I arrived at the race location around 5:45 and followed the crowd. I easily found my transition area, got my body markings, used the bathroom, and waited. I caught up with Mike's cousin, Tanya (and friends) about 10 minutes before the race began and got to see the elite participants and cancer survivors take off. And then before I knew it, it was time to get in line. AHHH!

Somehow, I ended up in the front when the swim started, which was kinda cool, no one swimming over me or kicking me in the face. The first third of the swim was pretty easy, but the second third was more difficult because we began to catch up with the stragglers from the previous two heats. It created somewhat of an obstacle course and there was some of that swimming over stuff going on that I feared at the beginning. The last third was definitely the best. The swimmers had spread out and I knew exactly where I was going and how far I still had to go. Before I knew it, I had a half mile done and was running barefoot back to my bike, in a land far far away.

The bike was very frustrating for me. I was riding a mountain bike, and it was NOT a good choice. Women were zooming past me on their road bikes and our legs were going at the same pace! I must have heard "on your left" over 100 times, and I never said it. I am definitely investing in a tri bike in the next few weeks. I hated that I was working just as hard as everyone else, but with worse results. I am still a little gun shy with shifting gears too. I was so afraid that my chain might jam or snap that I took a few hills at a much harder gear than I should have. But I got through it and moved on to the run.

But, I couldn't find the start line. I had seen it when I came in at 6am, but I hadn't located it from my bike location. Oops. So I lost a minute or two wandering around asking for directions. At this point of the race I felt sick. I wanted to throw up, my stomach was tight, and I still had 3 miles to "run." I slowed to a walk to get my ipod going and am so glad I did. Mike had rearranged the songs for me last night and had put 4 or 5 hard hitting songs right in a row. It gave me the push I needed to actually run. I managed to run the first mile and the last half mile. The mile and a half in the middle were more muddled for me. I definitely ran more than I walked, but I wish I could have ran even more. The finish line was a beautiful sight. I saw my family and made it through with a smile on my face.

Then I lost my family and didn't see them again for a very long time. Mike went over to the results table to wait for me, I had no idea there WAS a results table, so I went back to where I saw him. I managed to borrow a cell phone from a spectator, but Mike didn't answer since he didn't know the number! So I had to go all the way back to my bike to get my phone. Ugh. Next time we will discuss where we are meeting afterwards!

I learned a lot today, like to locate where each portion of the race begins. But more importantly, I learned that I can do anything I set out to do, and that's pretty cool. It was so encouraging to see women of all shapes, sizes, and ages competing today. Everyone was so nice and it felt good to be a part of such an amazing group of women! I am already looking forward to next year and hope to continue getting better in these three disciplines. Here was my race split times. I over shot the bike by 1:02:31 (I knew it would take an hour with my clunker). I also overshot my run pace by about 6 minutes. Those will be easy things to train for going forward.

Distance	Short
Clock Time	02:15:22
Overall Place	2411 / 2862
Division Place	334 / 364
Swim	00:19:40
Swimrank	998
Trans1	00:06:42
Bike	01:02:31
Bikerank	2783
Mph	10.9
Trans2	00:04:29
Runrank	2268
Run	00:41:59
Pace	00:13:32

What a Treat!

2009-07-31T08:32:00.003-06:00

Last night we had a blast at the Rod Stewart concert. He is a fantastic performer. Thanks Scott and Alicia for the invite! The Concert was at Fiddler's Green (I think that's what it's called) which is about 30 minutes from our home. We will definitely make a point to see who is coming to town, it was a great concert and I don't think any seat would have been a bad seat, but we happened to be in a box, so our seats were awesome! One of the highlights was when Rod took a break from performing to comment on the altitude difference. I would assume it would be very difficult for performers to knock it out of the park a mile high. There just isn't as much air! He managed just fine, never the less. The only bummer was that we had told out sitter we would be home at 10:30, and the concert wasn't near over. Who knew? Since it was our first time using her, we didn't want to be "those parents" who leave the babysitter wondering if you died in a car accident on your way home while she sits nervously in a stranger's house. It was a great night out, especially for a Thursday!

They are going to be such good Mothers!

2009-07-30T15:07:00.002-06:00

Our loft is kinda a nursery of sorts for all the babies we own. Today, while a friend was visiting, the girls spent a lot of time tending to their young. Okay, Jasmine did knock over the cradle she was rocking, but she was quick to pick it back up and soothe the baby.
Who knows, maybe I will be lucky enough for both my girls to share pregnancy together and this will actually happen in 20 years or so! A Mommy can dream.

Sister Love

2009-07-28T13:15:00.000-06:00

Just another example of how much these two love each other!

Oh Man!

2009-07-27T10:56:00.002-06:00

This has been Ainsley's stature lately. She is no longer dazzling me with her life of perfection, but fully embracing the culture of the average two year old. It's killing me. I miss my angel. I hope she gets it out of her system quickly so we can have peace in our home again. Can't we all just get along?