random pix-mix

On Memorial Day we went to Eklutna Lake, my FAV lake in Alaska, for a family bike ride. Noah got glacier silt on his finger and spread it around his mouth- classic Noah look! This lake is always a great spot for exploring and throwing rocks in the creek/lake!

Kroon clones! This picture doesn't do the lake any justice... in person, it is bright blue with mountains jetting out of it!

Parker rode 4 miles on that li'l bike and as of today... he's a real biker! He finally convinced himself to take the training WHEEL off! For the past couple months, that silly guy was riding around with just one training wheel, even though he was able to balance on the 2 bike wheels. He wanted to keep the training wheel on "just in case he lost his balance"!!! And, for some reason, today was the day he woke up with extra confidence and randomly asked me to take his training wheel off! So, it's off and he's riding around like a champ! Today was... #5... Parker's last day of Li'l Kickers. We had so much fun spending the last 12 Friday mornings with our friends. All our kids got a lot more aggressive!

Savannah's sportin' a new Pebbles due! Her hair is finally long enough to hold a little clippie! She needs practice holding her head still but it's pretty cute once mommy wins the head-bob-shake-clippie-battle!

Ryder is a DAD!

A 3 1/2 year old dad! We got to go visit Ryder's little girl today and she is adorable. She is only one week old and she was soft, sweet, tiny and clean. If only her dad could be some of these, too! Actually, Ryder is a fabulous dog and great with our kiddos.

Here she is, she has Ryder's exact coloring- it was kind-of spooky to see a tiny version of Ryder. Noah wouldn't get within two feet of this cute thing... she scared him!!! I guess Noah prefers the huge/slobbery/stinky ones!

So, I have to share Parker's li'l innocent conversation with me while we were gardening last Friday... it was so cute and I love how my 4 1/2 yr. old is so naive, we'll keep it that way for a while:

Me: Hey Parker, I forgot to tell you that Glacier had a puppy last night.

P: I know that mom, I heard you tell Miss Janelle. She had a girl but the owners wanted a boy and she looks like Ryder. (hmmm, I didn't know he listened to every single word while I talk on the phone!!! ;)) So, mom is Ryder a dad?

Me: Yep, Ryder is a dad. (oh know, was he going to ask more questions on this subject, I wasn't wanting to explain the process, yet!!!)

P: Hmm... so, that means Ryder is a dad and Glacier is a mom, and they have a puppy. That means they are a family. So, why doesn't Ryder live with his family? Families live together!

Me: Parker, you are right... human families live together but God made animal families different.

P: Oh!

And, that was the end of that! Whew! I just thought it was so sweet and innocent that he was confused why Ryder was not with his family!

We are triathletes

I can not believe I am a triathlete! I have never competed in any true competition, so this was a huge deal for me. About 2 months ago, a bunch of us from MOPS and church decided we would "try" a triathlon! We named ourselves the "Valley Rookies". So, most of us joined the gym and started "training" as much as possible. What a blast! Then, we met at the bike course 2 weeks ago to see what we had gotten ourselves into. Here's the practice crew with our Pastor Coach Larry:
Then, we went and set up our bikes and gear, together, the night before the race! We were all a bucket of nerves but it was definitely better to do it with friends!

Here's our long-anticipated wait to jump in the pool. It was such a "kick" waiting there with my teammates, still all-nerves, but the music was fun and we all just wanted to "GO"!

This is me on the bike home stretch and that is Parker cheering me on! I love this picture because it was so fun to have my little guy there- he was all smiles and waves, whenever I came by!

Almost done! What a thrill to enter into that finish line area! Every part of the day was perfect, especially the weather... blue skies, 70s and NO wind!

girlfriends... the only reason I did this race! We all had matching "09" shirts from Old Navy and they were quite the hit with the other triathletes. Everyone looks the same out on the bike course, so it was fun to see your orange teammates from a mile away!

FINISH... that was my favorite word I read all day!

Kep and Parker, my pit crew and pack horses... these were my favorite people I saw all day! I love how my li'l family was so encouraging throughout this whole process. They gave me plenty of time to train- thanks fam.!

So, every part of this triathlon was definitely exhilarating, but this is one of my favorite parts... the shirt, number and cap that you keep at the end!

Go "Valley Rookies"! Now, we have to think of a new name for the 2010 Gold Nugget Triathlon, since we are no longer rookies.

proud of my spandex ridin' hubby!

This is the summer of racing for our li'l family. Kep has always loved to road bike, so this summer he has joined the Arctic Bicycle Club and he is competing in as many road bike races, as possible.

The kiddos and I are excited to be his cheer squad. Parker is daddy's official water boy! Only the first race, the water bottle got dropped so we'll have to practice the bottle hand-off before this week's race.

We are proud of you, dad!

I am in LOVE...

with our weather! We have been blessed with a gorgeous week of blue skies, buds on trees, HOT sunshine AND it hit 75 today! Yippee! This week of weather brings out a different person in me and I suppose that's to be expected since I did spend the first 12 years of my life in the tropics. I am a "native" to warm weather!So, we have been to 3 different parks this week and our swing-set has more hours into it, this week, than all year!

After a full afternoon of sprinkler and pool fun... the boys got their first "Drumstick" ice-cream treats. I thought it was comical how our 2 boys' faces looked so different. That's our Noah... he savors every bite and tries to put the whole thing in his mouth!