Top 10 in the Last 10.

Dear Blog,

Whoa, 10 weeks!  Don't worry, I'm still alive.  A lot has happened in the last 10 weeks and on multiple occasions I have thought about visiting to have you take a glimpse.  There's been trips, birthdays, holidays, races, first teeth, new glasses, and more.   Bringing you up to speed, here are the top 10 things that have happened in the last 10 weeks, in chronological order.

1) EASTER

2) A DAY IN ANAHEIM:  I had a CME conference in Anaheim for a week.  One of the days we got a hotel with a pool and Mike and the girls came up.  They swam, we ate, and ate some more, and visited a few tourist spots, like the Crystal Cathedral. 

3) MY BIRTHDAY: 

Celebrating at Claim Jumpers with my favorite people.

My men and I

4) VIEWS OF THE TEMPLE:  We took a trip to Utah and stayed with, as Gracie calls them, "the grandparents that live at the Temple".  I loved looking out the window and seeing this...

5) LITTLE EMMA:  And out of sheer luck, while we were there Mike's sister, Raquel, had her baby. 

Raquel holding Raquel's Baby

5 months apart

6) TIME WITH COUSINS:  The girls spent every moment possible playing with cousins.

My kids with the kids

7) DANCING:  We used to go all the time.  Then one day we got married and it ended.  After some nudging from my siblings, we decided to resurrect our dancing moves and go while visiting Provo.  I don't have pictures of the actual event, but here we are warming up the night before with Kinect dance games. 

8) PROVO CITY HALF MARATHON:  I've been known for rallying people to sign up for races and then for unforeseen reasons dropping out, leaving them to do it alone.  I almost did it again.  I started training for a half marathon back in January.  And I got my sister to start training too.

As my mileage increased, it became evident that I was going to have to give up on nursing or my long runs; my body was not going to do both.  So I backed off the running and called my sister to tell her it was a "no go" for me.  But as luck would have it, weeks before the race, I learned that you could do the half marathon as a relay.

So I called my brother and asked him if he would run the relay with me so that we could run along with Rebeca as she ran the full half.  He said yes, cuz he's a stud like that.

It was an absolute blast. 

9) BACK YARD EXPLORING:  I love that my kids spend so much time in our backyard.  A few weeks ago our garden flooded turning the outer edge into a mud pit, i.e, a kid's ultimate playground.  They spent the entire day out there, here they are prior to me hosing them off.

And when there's no mud, they still keep plenty busy out there...



A chariot with its horses

Enjoying the shade

10) MIKE'S BIRTHDAY: If it were up to him, this wouldn't have made the list.  In fact, the only thing Mike wants for his birthday every year is for everyone to forget about it, his words not mine.  I never oblige, because I can't help but celebrate the birth of this man.

There you have it.  Hope you enjoyed it.  And to prevent future picture overload (and because I need goals in order to get things done), I will be coming back at least once a week during the summer to upkeep this space.

Sincerely,

Maintenance  

Growing

This house of ours came with a little garden plot.

Last week we (i.e. Mike) planted strawberries, peppers, cucumbers,

tomatoes, peas, basil, and cilantro.

We're growing our very first garden and it makes me so happy.

I go out there periodically, look at it, and just smile.

We're also growing some of these:

Sitting at their designated chairs where they are fed at least 3 times a day.

Though unequivalently more challenging than the garden,

growing these brings me joy I never imagined.

Periodically, I go into their room when they're sleeping,

look at them, and just smile.

It would be nice if the human kind came with instructions similar 

to my garden veggies, i.e., plant, water, let grow.

Here are my fruits, getting some sun.



And while we are on the subject of growing,

here is my fastest growing product.

Michael Jr. at 4 months.

She's got it!

We tried a few months after she turned 5, but she wasn't ready.

With apartment living, homes with no space, and busy schedules, 

not much thought or effort was put into it, until now.

Within days of turning 8, another attempt was well overdue.

There is a long alley close to our house. 

Perfect for achieving the right speed to maintain balance.

With the other two girls, Mike's running shoes, and my camera in hand,

we headed out to document the monumental event.

He steadied her but for a few seconds as he ran next to her,

and within moments of reaching enough speed

she had it!

"That was way too easy!" I yelled while clicking from behind.

There are few moments from my childhood that are vividly fixed in my repertoire of memories,

and learning to ride a bike is one of them.

I don't recall exactly how old I was, but everything else about it is still so clear.

We were at a parking lot of a large supermarket. My dad steadying while running by my side. 

The exhilaration that rushed through me as I looked back towards his hand

only to realize he was no longer there and I had been riding solo for who knows how long.



 I saw those same emotions on Raquel's face as she rode back towards me, "I'm doing it, Mom!"

The next 3 pictures were taken in sequence:

Skills, I tell you.  He's got them.

And so it begins.

Way to go my little Raquel!

Labor Day

There is a wonder and excitement that we lose somewhere

on the road of childhood to adulthood.



It's too bad, really.  

One of my favorite things about having kids is being able to get a glimpse

of that energy and relive those moments through their eyes.

There was a little fair down the street from our house this past weekend.

We told the girls on Labor Day that we would go once it got dark.

We learned that Raquel is afraid of heights.



And did you notice Mike's super short cut?

He's come to terms with the fact that his lush, thick, mass of follicular glory, of days past,
is not coming back, and is slowly stepping into the sexy bald-man category.  I like it.

The whole night was particularly magical for Gracie.

Here she is waiting in anticipation for her first ride to start.

I wasn't allowed to get on any of the rides. 
I guess there is no hiding my current state of pregnancy.
And this fair was unusually restrictive.

Not even the Carousel could I ride.

Regardless, the girls had a wonderful time.  And I got a brief peek into the joyfulness of childhood.

April Celebrating

It's not every year that my birthday and Easter fall on the same week.

The girls put a little party together (with the help of grandma),

complete with cards, decorations, and cake.

They were very excited.
Gracie sang happy birthday in her full megaphone-voice,
which reminds me I need to record more of her signing.
Elena kept telling me ahead of time what surprises were planned,
while Raquel tried to keep her quiet, frustrated by the fact
she was "ruining" the surprises.
It was very nice and I loved it.


On Saturday the primary had their Easter activity,

with one of the best Easter egg hunts--

evident by the girls' baskets...

They had a great time.

It was an extra exciting and eventful week.

Not the usual norm for us right now.