Roll out those lazy hazy crazy days of summer!

So far... not lazy, the sky is hazy and definitely life is crazy!!!! I love that song. I'm not even sure who sings it, Frank Sinara, Bing Crosby maybe? Wow, what a whirlwind!!!! How is it that summer is busier than the school year? I definately made the mistake of overbooking my kids! Well, the problem is that everything I have them signed up for this summer happens to be in June! Grey has soccer, track and swimming lessons. Isabelle has track and soccer camp. All the driving back and forth is awful! (especially with our lovely fuel prices!) We also are trying to fit in the other fun stuff like the park, zoo, swimming and of course lots of play dates. I think that after this week it should settle down quite a bit. At least soccer camp and swimming lessons will be over! I definitely will pull out the calandar and plan a little better next time!
Grey and Belle had their first track meet the other day. It was so fun! (other than the fact that it was 93 degrees, I need to adjust to the heat a little better!) Most of you know I love to run so therefore, I am pushing my kids to do the same. I hope it doesn't backfire. So far they like it! Nothing cuter than seeing 8 six year olds hauling cookies for 50 meters! They get so serious! I love it!
I on the other hand have my first oly length tri of the season this Sat. I am nervous!!! Open water swimming scares me!! I just think about it and it practically gives me diarrhea! Sorry, too much information. I don't think I'll ever get used to pre-race jitters!

Summer

I was sitting here at work trying to read our book club selection, "The Persian Pickle Club, but I keep nodding off. Its an occuptional hazard. According to IHC, definately a no no. So, I decided I would blog! What can be more stimulating than that?
Is it me, or did summer sneak up out of nowhere? Was it the weather being cooler this Spring or time flying by like a fighter jet? Wow, here we are. Today was our first full day off of our summer vacation. The day started out great! I was in a great mood, as were the kids. We went to Liberty Park to play. The temperature was perfect! Then the crap hit the fan so to say. Nothing bad happened, except my children's behavior. One word, fighting. My only thought was, this could be a veeeeery long summer! My question is: Instead of punishements for fighting, what are good preemptive "strikes" to thwart the fighting? I want to nip it in the bud. I want them to love and respect eachother enough that they don't want to fight. Ha ha, I know, I know, wishful thinking. After all, I remember my brohers teasing me relentlessly. I remember throwing shoes or any other such item that might cause damage or at least pain. How did my mom put up with us? I think she would just lock herself in her room at that point. Any great advice for me? My house is too little to lock myself away where I can't hear. Besides, they make sure that I hear all about their injustices. Maybe I just need to ignore them when they complain about what the other one did to them. I have tried this, but its hard not to get involved.
However, I truly am excied for summer. I love having the freedom to do what we want. I'm excited for long days at the pool with friends, park picnics, barbeques in perfect evening weather, long bike rides with Scott, shooting hoops 'til we can't see, the snow shack, and of course, the races I've been training for. I hope everyone has a fun filled, terrific summer!

My Sweet Family

Do you ever feel so happy and blessed that it almost scares you? Scares you, meaning you have so much, what would you do if you lost it? Is it just me or do other people think this way too? I have the best family and friends. I recently celebrated my 33rd birthday. It was one of those magical birthdays where you felt loved and special. What can I say, my husband is terrific. I never have to doubt that he loves me for exactly who I am. (After thirteen years and three kids, he's definitely seen me at my worst!) My birthday pretty much ended up being a week of celebration, thanks to my family and friends. THANK YOU!!!!!
I love my kids. Who would have guessed it could be so much fun to watch your kids interests and quirks as they grow? Isabelle loves to show me her dances that she choreographs. She loves littlest pet shops, soccer (I think more for social reasons) and playing with friends. She is such a good helper and mother to Jonah. Grey just celebrated his sixth birthday on the 22nd! I can't believe it has been six years. I love to think about the day they were born on their birthdays. I love to remember my feeling when I held them for the first time. How sweet they are when they fall asleep on your chest snuggled in. He is such a sweet boy. He is very loving. He tells us he loves us out of the blue all the time. He's starting to love sports, like his dad. He is thrilled with the basketball hoop he got for his birthday. (I'm still not sure if it was a gift for Grey or Scott) Jonah is so fun to watch. He wants to do everything his big brother and sister do. I didn't see this much with Grey and Belle, I think they were too close in age. Its fun to watch him mimic them. Only, it gets a little tricky when the big kids want to play outside and I don't! He doesn't get the fact that he can't wonder the neighborhood by himself! He is obsessed with Star Wars! And I mean OBSESSED! Star Wars are the first words out of his mouth in the morning. He will sit and watch almost all of the movie! He loves Grey's Darth Vader mask, action figures, ships and t-shirts! Its hilarious! At least until he throws a fit because we are going out in public and I make him take off Grey's size 6/7 Star Wars t-shirt. (he's a 2) Wow, I think I could gush about them all day, but I won't. They are great and I am so blessed to be their mother!

Jack Johnson

I think I've fallen in love. Yes, I love my husband deeply, but I just watched Jack Johnson perform for the first time and I am twitterpated! How I've gone this long without seeing him perform, I don't know. I have been listening to his music for years. I guess I don't watch as much MTV and late night as I used to. Anyway, here I am at work listening to him and I thought, "I want to see him". So thanks to youtube, I keyed in his name and whammo, there he is! Okay, maybe if I saw him on the street and didn't know who he was, I wouldn't get too excited. But, he opens his mouth, sings and I'm gone. He is hot! Okay, it is almost three in the morning. I might be overreacting a tad. Maybe I'll be embarrassed by this tomorrow! But for now I think I'll click back over to youtube and watch some more!

what is up with him?

So, what gene do men possess that makes them obsessed, transfixed and passionate. You may ask, obsessed, transfixed and passionate about what? Me? Our children? A personal goal he has? NO!!! It is almost summer and alas, it is time for NBA playoffs once again. Why is it that the playoffs (or sports in general) are so incredibly important to men? (ie. my husband) I was actually glad that I had to go to work tonight so that I wouldn't have to sit (or be within 100 ft) with Scott while watched the game. It was pretty likely that the Jazz were going to lose. I would have had to watch him tense up, yell at the TV and mourn the loss. I actually preferred to stay up all night at work. I like b-ball as much as the next person, but, really, does the world have to revolve around the playoffs? For example. My husband has a chance to go to the home game Sunday at 1:30 and he wants to go. Never mind that it is a Sunday, Mother's Day and we are having brunch with my family at 1:00. For some reason the game has the clout of a once-in-a-lifetime experience. HELLO!! The playoffs happen EVERY year!!! Will someone please help me understand this defect some men have!? I love Scott, he's the best, but come on! He had to leave the room the other night while the Jazz were playing. He was so uptight about the game that he was unsettling the kids. Thank you for letting me vent. This is all in good humor (in case you are reading this Scott) ha ha. GO JAZZ!!!

Birthday Surprise!

Sorry April, but I had to do it!!!! I missed sharing my list with you at lunch, so here it is!!! In dedication to my friend April and her thirtieth birthday, I came up with a list of my ten favorite things about April. (note: this is supposed to be a joke. I know it will embarrass her! What are friends for?)
1. She has the best Halloween costumes! (note the picture)
2. She's had crackupuncture
3. She is a terrific writer (check out her blog, you'll laugh out loud!)
4. She's great to trade babysitting with
5. She is completely grounded
6. She's dedicated to sunscreen and covering up in the sun. (She isn't afraid to get a spray-on tan with her grandma)
7. She wears great rain boots
8. She was a gypsy in another life
9. She's nonjudgemental, gives wise advice and is great to vent to
10. Last but definitely the most important, SHE IS A PASSIONATELY TERRIFIC BAKER!!!!!!!!!!!!
I hope I didn't embarrass you too much! I think I need to do this for all friends on their birthdays, it was fun! I hope you had a great birthday!!!!!!!

Dress Part 2

Kristen, sorry it has taken me so long to get this picture posted. I know you were waiting by your computer every day! Alas, this is the Nutcracker dress. I LOVED IT! Almost as much as I loved the pink Xanadu dress. I unfortunately couldn't find a picture of it and I don't have it anymore. I am going to tag Kristen and April to show their favorite dress from when they were little.
The second part of this post is family home evening fun. Many of you know that my lovely husband is a graphic designer. This profession happens to have some perks that are entertaining. Tonight we made fun videos of each of us with a new video program Scott has. It was a lot of fun and hilarious! The hard part was trying to keep Jonah out of the video so it would work. Its pretty silly, enjoy!