School's Out for Summer!

We are (at least I am!) enjoying having no where that we "have" to be. This will be a long update, but hopefully you will enjoy the pictures!

First off, our trip to the beach was fantastic!

Good friends, beautiful weather, and a great marathon. What more can you ask for? I ran the race with SuziePetunia and our other good friend Smith, and my really good friends Melissa and Aaron came down to cheer me on.

I still have not qualified for Boston, but I am within 8 minutes!! My plans right now are to relax, train for a triathlon, and then maybe next year try for Boston again. A more detailed race report is on Marathon Mommies.

We built sand castles on the beach, watched baby seals, walked on the rocks and just enjoyed nature and being outside.





























































First on the list after finishing school- a family race! We ran in the Nike 5k for Kids, which gives the money back to the PE program of your school. I had planned to run the 5k, with Dallin, Jeff and Emily running the 1 mile kids race. Well, at the last minute Jeff was given the chance totake part in the "Blackberry Challenge" a kind of 1 day amazing race. So, we had a friend of ours come help with the kids while I ran in my 5k. Then I ran in the 1 mile with the kids, pushing Bryce! We had such a good time. It was so much fun to run with the kids. My race went really well also. Amazingly enough, my time was fast enough to get 3rd place in my age division. The best part was the look on Dallin's face when they called my name. I went up to get my plaque and Dallin yelled, "Yea Mommy!" When I asked Dallin his favorite part of the day, he said it was when I got my award. So sweet! And so you know, Jeff had a fun time in his race also.















Dallin graduated from Kindergarten! He had a great year, and I am so glad that he enjoys learning so much. His teacher was phenomenal, I just hope she is still there in 3 years when Emily is in Kindergarten. The bad news is my camera ran out of batteries, so the only picture I have is from the end of year party.






















Our first big adventure of the summer was a camping trip. It was raining and cold the weekend before, so we were a little nervous. It turned out to be beautiful weather. It was a little cold at night, and the water in the lake was freezing, but we had a great time!! What beats s'mores, waterskiing, bike riding, and just hanging out- no TV, internet, etc. I love watching the kids just be kids. Also a nice surprise was how happy Bryce was. It was a very enjoyable Father's Day Weekend with great friends! We also celebrated Suziepetunia's birthday! She was such a good sport. Camping has not been on the top of her list, but she was willing to give it a try. I think (hope) she had a great time. It was fun to spend her birthday with her and her cute family.


















































Finally, we are caught up to this weekend! Friday was spent at the park and then strawberry picking. Dallin was a man on a mission, picking only the biggest, reddest strawberries. Emily had a great time filling her bucket, and Bryce just enjoyed the fruits of their labor! I spent Saturday morning making jam, and we were given a freezer, so I finally have somewhere to store berries!Oregon is the best place for picking berries!

































Friday night, we ventured out to the drive-in. I was a little nervous, but I thought it was worth a try. We met up with 3 families, who actually live on our street, and we set out chairs and just hung out until 10pm when the movie started! (That's what we get for going on the longest day of the year!) We saw Kung Fu Panda, which everyone loved, and then the kids (and me!) fell asleep during Indiana Jones! We got home at 2am, but we had a great time. Bryce even slept through both movies!

































Yesterday, after making jam, we just cleaned up around the house, and then Suziepetunia and her family came over. It was an impromptu get together, that started with a little idea that we take turns going on a run. So, Taylor and Sarah went first and then Jeff and I went for a beautiful run through the country back roads. It was hillier than both of us are used to, and it was hot (which I am not used to!) but it was a great way to spend time together. When we got back Jeff grilled awesome burgers, and Taylor made this scrumptious strawberry shortcake! We also played a little guitar hero!





























Well, wow, I am tired and I am sure you are tired from reading this. I am ready to go back to relaxing. We are looking forward to a quiet, fun summer.