I'm committed!

Or maybe I need to BE committed. I just signed up to run my first half-marathon. Leavenworth, Washington - October 4th - 13.1 miles. The farthest I've run thus far? 5 miles. My hope is to love it and train for a full marathon to be run in the spring. Let's just see how this goes...

Whaling Days

I love Silverdale! It's a smallish town with a community feel, but we also have all of the box stores that I "need" in close proximity to our home. Plus, it's GORGEOUS here. Oh, how I love the green. Whaling Days (a town festival held each year the last weekend of July) brings out my Silverdale pride!

The festivities start with a fireworks display at our favorite place - Waterfront Park. They have a carnival set up all weekend with all sorts of unsafe-looking rides. Max and Ty went on this big green slide just before the fireworks began. It was a total hit for the little dude...pure excitement. You would have thought that was the coolest - and only - ride there. Ahhh, I love this age.

Flash was MUCH too bright...

The next morning is the 4-mile and 1-mile runs and Kids Dashes. I ran the 4-mile last year and Ty joined me this year. Okay, so we saw each other at the start and finish. His time was a whole lot better than mine...but I have shorter legs! My dear friend Tristalene ran with me again this year. I felt awesome about my time. I beat last year's time by about 4 minutes. It was $2 to sign Max up for a kid's dash so we figured that even if he froze (which he did) the $2 would be worth the picture and the memory. Little did we know that he would get a stuffed whale and a finisher's ribbon to boot!

The race meltdown..."Mom, carrrryyyy meeee!" Poor little fella.

The big pay-off! Totally worth the trauma. A stuffed whale to be treasured forever.

After the run we stayed for the parade. The highlight for Max, of course, were the fire trucks. It should be noted that this year (a first according to our friends, the Morgensens, who grew up here) we had a huge balloon float. It was a large whale held down by strings, floating above the Harrison Medical parade people. We were thoroughly impressed.
Until next year, Silverdale, carry on as the best little place to live. We hope to run your streets, watch fireworks over your water, and enjoy a quality parade with you again next year.

Summer Rocks!

I love summer! Isn't there just something about summer that makes the days seem extra happy?! I love that we are having warm (but not TOO warm, my Vegas Family and friends, feel free to come visit), sunny days where it's best to be outside. We're having lots of simple fun this summer (picnic outside, otter pops...errr, Hawaiian Punch pops which are way better, runs around the track combined with Max running like a mad man after a football or soccer ball, and a nap in the swimming pool)...here are some pictures to document the outdoor and indoor fun that we're having.

*Actually, first you really need to watch this video. It's not super long, but you do have to be a little patient to get to the really good part. It will so be worth it - your day will be a little brighter. Kelly laughs when Tyler or I tickle her, but Max has been the only one to elicit a spontaneous laugh just by doing something she finds funny. Okay, now you can watch...*

Some pictures of my beauty during our front-yard picnic yesterday...
Oh my!


Like any anal mother, I made Max take off his shirt to eat cherries during our picnic. Like any adorable two-year-old, Max loved it! The picture to the left was taken after Max said, "Mom, take a picture of my back" and the picture to the right is him turning around to make sure that I got the picture of his back.





During her nap Kelly had worked off her pants, which made me laugh...but the real joy here is the smile I get (see right) every time I go to get the little lady out of her crib. Oh, and also those rolly thighs. Love 'em.

"Mom, this is a campsite!" Nice handiwork, Max. But my favorite part? When I could tell from the next room that toilet paper was being dispensed at a furious rate I said, "Maaaxx...what are you doing?" I hear it being rolled like crazy again and when I went in to inspect I expected to find it all over the floor. Not so! My little boy rolled it back up!

*Please don't be grossed out that I let my son play around the toilet, or I guess if you are that's your business. :) I just cleaned it, though*

The Mom and the Maxster
(check out my little man's baby blues to the left! Handsome fella.)



My photo shoot with Max. Best result: my son thinks I'm hilarious!

I love his little crossed ankles...totally kicked back, enjoying a simple childhood pleasure. Okay, so it's not just a childhood pleasure; I usually eat two to Max's one.

I love this little shirt I just scored at the GAP for $3.97...made me want to take even MORE pictures of my babe! Okay, I always want to take pictures of her. I can't help myself.

We finally found a little plastic swimming pool! Everyone has been sold out and last night I found out Toys R Us had a bunch so we went this morning and bought it. It's a little chilly today so we've had fun just playing in it and under it. Then I thought, "Why not take a nap in it?" That's where Max is right now...

In the interest of full disclosure....

I love being able to put all of the cool things we do as a family on my blog. I love writing and bragging about my achievements. I love all of the comments I get about how great I look after having a baby and how awesome I am for doing triathlons. I love how I feel about myself after reading said comments. However, tonight I'm feeling sad/frustrated and even my own blog annoyed me. Recently my friend, Ann, put up a post that left me inspired. It was nice to read something so real. Sometimes I want to get on and read that someone I know has had a bad day so that I know I'm not alone (not that I want you to have a bad day!) I think the blogging world can leave us with the sense that everything is so good in everyone else's lives and that our lives do not match up. Heck, I think life in general is that way. I heard somewhere that often when we're measuring ourselves against another person, we are measuring our worst against their best. I think that's so true. I hate when someone says to me that they don't think I have bad days or stressful times with my kids. I am so like everyone else - ups and downs, irrational emotions, major weaknesses. I don't want to be one of those people that you measure yourself against. S00000...in the interest of full disclosure:

• I only post the pictures I look good in. There are plenty of pictures that show that my stomach still has serious rolls or that my hips are really wide...but I either delete them before they can be downloaded from my camera or I just choose not to post those ones for the world to see. Mostly, though, they've all been deleted. Otherwise I would post one here.
  
• My last triathlon time was super slow. ANY of you could have gotten out there and done as well - or MUCH better - than I did. I loved that it kicked me in the pants to get on a better workout routine, but let's be honest - I really stunk!
• I LOVE being a mom, BUT there are days that it is really hard and really draining. Today has been just such a day. My son is VERY two and my sweet little baby girl needs me a lot still. I feel like I need a mom vacation. I don't want to give up the job for more than an evening or two, but I would like a break. I am feeling drained tonight. Here's a story: on the second to last day of our recent trip we were on the road for about 15 hours. Toward the end of the drive, I was sitting between Max and Kelly. Kelly was sad and so over being in the car. Max was too, but he was just getting annoying. He kept touching my arm and making loud noises and "hammering" me with his toys. The boy loves to hammer. He said in a really whiny voice, "Mom, I want to hammer your head" My response? "I'm going to hammer your head in a minute!" I was only half joking. It made Tyler and I laugh, though. How disturbed are we? I'm glad my little man didn't really understand.
  
• I feel lonely often. Girlfriend lonely. I wish that I had a good group of girlfriends to hang out with. I do, but we just don't get together very often. I know that's partly my fault and so I need to make more effort. But sometimes I wish that it didn't take effort, you know? Like the kind of friends that you feel comfortable popping in on and looking like junk in front of. Or just one.
• Lately I can't keep up on housework the way I normally like to. Tomorrow is laundry day, but it seems like I just had laundry day. I'm dreading it for some reason.
  

Now, it's really hard for me to just leave it at that. I know I should. But I feel better for having vented a bit and I'm going to climb in bed and need to end on a better note. And this is my blog, so I can do what I want. I really love my husband and my kids! Tyler is teaching me how to swim freestyle (at my request) so that I can be more competitive in our next tri. He's a patient man. Even though Max is so two, he is also so cute. The other day he gave me a "Good job, mom!" when I made him breakfast. Love it. Kelly has started a new smile that I find even cuter than her full-body smile.

Ups and downs, just like everyone else. You knew that I had them, I just wanted to lay them out there for you. Full disclosure.

InCrEdIbLe!

I think I've recovered. My 8 or so loads of laundry are done, the ironing is finished, my cupboards and fridge are full and I feel somewhat caught up on sleep. BUT I feel forever changed by the experience. I love road trips, I love having Ty to ourselves for extended periods of time and I love nature; this was really my perfect vacation! That's not to say that there wasn't some drama - Kelly screaming because she's SO done being strapped in her car seat, me being snappy and then crying because I'm SO done with not being able to stay clean for more than 20 minutes, Max bleeding because he keeps falling down on hard surfaces because we were always on hard surfaces, mosquito bites and Ty’s sun burn...to name the most memorable. All family vacations need a flair of the dramatic, right? We drove a total of 2,942 miles and camped in a tent a total of 9 nights. We had some reprieve from camping in Chico, CA, visiting Ty's aunt and uncle and then our last night was spent in a super nice hotel suite that I feel like we totally deserved after so many nights in nature! :) Now it’s back to reality…good thing “reality” isn’t so bad either.

Mount St. HelensOur first night we drove just 2 1/2 hours to our campsite near Mount St. Helens. I wasn't prepared for how amazing Mount St. Helens would be! It is massive and the destruction from the 1980 eruption is still so obvious in the landscape for miles surrounding the volcano. I just didn't realize how many people and how big of an area were affected by its eruption. Our campsite was so beautiful there...we loved it and were surprised by how impressive the whole experience was.

Chico, California - Uncle Jim & Aunt SallyIt was so nice to shower and sleep in such a comfortable bed. Jim and Sally know how to treat their guests. Max and Ty went swimming, we were treated to a delicious dinner and dessert and it was so fun to hang out and visit with them and their son Alex who is home for the summer from college. We contemplated staying an extra night, but decided we'd better not so that we could spend as much time as possible in...

Yosemite!Wowzah! That's all I can say. Okay, it's not all I can say. If we were surprised by the beauty and breadth of Mount St. Helens, it was NOTHING compared to our feelings about Yosemite. Tyler and I just kept saying to each other, "This is BEAUTIFUL!" "Isn't this incredible?" "Oh wow!" "Can you believe this place?!" Our only regret is that we didn't have more time there. We'll go back again someday.








Oceanside, CA - Mann Clan Reunion!
11 adults, 12 kids ages 5 and under, 4 campsites, 6 tents, a few days at the beach, the San Diego Zoo, a visit from the candy fairy....a whole lotta fun! The cousins all played really, really well together. Nate and Jenn stuck it out through 3 of their 4 kids getting the flu (which amazingly passed to no one else in the fam) and we all just really enjoyed our time together. Can't wait for next year - especially since I won't be planning it. :)

At the campground....



9 1/2 hours at the San Diego Zoo (few naps and zero meltdowns by kids OR adults...amazing!)








Harbor View BeachPerfect, slightly overcast (read: surprisingly nice and cool) day at the beach in Oceanside!


Like I said, the perfect vacation! Too bad our kiddos won't remember a lick of it. We'll show them the pictures. :)