Crazy about Spring

We love this man!  And we especially love celebrating his birthday! So we started early in the morning, we played all day, and partied into the night and the weekend!!!

 We went golfing as a family to make him smile.

 Ate cake with family

And he would be nothing with out these amazing people!

After all the celebrations, Trenton started finishing up his first year at Kingergarten. 

He had an amazing teacher who put on the most darling presentation together! Check it out below...

Kindergarten 2012 Program from Raina on Vimeo.

Simon's Preschool class finished up his year with a field trip to the most darling Alpaca farm!  Trenton got to tag along.

The boys got summer haircuts.  This is NOT what I expected Trenton's hair to look like... AT ALL.  But he knows he is still handsome despite the new do.

And one fun night we got dressed up for a disco party.  I think we rounded the rest of our time out with yard work and friends.

Now lets get to the Summer months!!

13.1 miles in a race

 I love that learning and self discovery don't stop as we age.  I have learned more about myself in the last year that I have since I my adolescence years.  Here are a few of my findings about good ol me:

1. I can make time for things I have a passion for.
2. I can heal my aches and pains with dedication and obsessive research
3. I can dig deep. 
4.  I get great pleasure from doing things that I never thought I COULD do.
5.  Friends are those who encourage and help me, and seeing my family can bring joy that is brilliant!

 I broke through my own limitations and ran 13.1 miles!

I started training several months ago, and found that running is not just putting one foot in front of the other.  You have to be willing to fight through the different ailments that will try to stop you.  For me, it was my IT Band, my Achilles, blisters, my calves, and running style (this was just what came up in a few months... imagine if I keep going!).  After some seriously hard work... I got here!

   The race started with over 14,000 people lined up on Front Street in downtown Portland.

  

A little enthused we stared running over the Hawthorne Bridge.

I saw my boys at about mile 5.5, and it was a well needed mental jolt!  Especially for the upcoming relentless hills!

 Then... the rest of the miles.  I saw one other friend on the side lines, and the rest was pounding the pavement and dodging all the people in front of me.  We were in a slower heat and so it was like swimming up river the entire race.  It slowed us down a little. 

 

(The below images are stolen from the internet)

At this point I was certain I was about to die!  I gave it everything I had left in me about 3/4 miles back because the people kept screaming that the finish was around the corner.  First of all, they were lying! Second...3/4 of a mile is a really long way when you're nauseated and going numb!

 

We did it! I barely remember this moment, but I'm smiling!

 

 Then we found our boys waiting for us.  Do I look happy or what? I think this is also when I found out that we ran the race in 2:04.  I'm super happy with that considering the people, hills, and it being our first!

 

Finishing friends are awesome!

Father/Son Campout

It is the middle of May and that always means the same thing in our house, time for the Father/Son Campout. This year the boys headed back to the Oregon Coast and had a great time. This was Simon's first "boy trip"and T-bone was happy show him everything.

The first stop is always the Tillamook Cheese Factory to stock up on the necessary provisions (ice cream and squeaky cheese)

They went a little rugged this year, some of the campers thought they looked like a rouge militia group while others referred to it as "Camp Rambo"

This campsite is right near the beach and they has absolutely beautiful weather

They came home with Sand Dollars, Crab pinchers and thankfully no broken bones.

After they packed up and were leaving the camp, they stopped just north of Cape Lookout State Park to watch some Parasailers. This guy didn't have such a great time and Emile (against my thoughts of better judgement) went down to help this guy get untangled off the cliff edge after he crashed...........boys

Krissy the Kangaroo

We had a guest in our house for a weekend.  The preschool sends home Krissy the Kangaroo to enjoy each family.   Krissy visited us two years ago when Trenton was little, and now it was Simon's turn to show Krissy a good time. 

We started our day by taking her to the Oregon State Fairgrounds in Salem for the Ag Fest. 

The Ag Fest is where the kids get to learn about everything on a farm. 

Here they are having a tractor race.

Learning about how to harvest rain water...

Playing at the Dairy center...

 learning how to milk a cow...

 The Ag Fest is a must visit annual event! It is always the last weekend in April.  They watched sheep get sheered, horses getting trained, sheep herding dogs chase around goats, pet rabbits, plant radishes and tomatoes, and they had all sorts of crafts to do! 

To relax after all the hype, we drove out to the coast!  My parents were there so we had a place to land and for them to meet our new friend. 

The boys build a dam, a bridge..

castles, lighthouses, and got slightly wet playing in the stream doing all this.

we warmed up around a campfire, and roasted smores.  

The part that was extra special was spending a few minutes with my parents as they showed off their favorite place to camp.  This was their 36th wedding anniversary and they wanted to spend it watching the waves and whales together.  They are strong, resilient, and still in love! They find peace in one another, and continue to support each other through each of their own unique challenges!

I love them and I love their example to me and my children!

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!

The best month of the year!

 April is my favorite month.  It starts out with Easter.  Easter is full of fun, flowers, and the world pausing to recognize that the Savior lives.  It is a perfect start to the month.

We enjoyed it with Easter egg hunts and friend, actually we went to several.

 My friend and I signed up for a half marathon and I have been somewhat excited about the prospect of crossing the finish line. There was one set-back that has been frustrating me, and it has been my Iliotibial Band. Ever since my triathlon last August I've been suffering with this pain in my leg when I run, it had became debilitating.  I was not able to run more than a few yards at times, without having to stop.  I became obsessed with discovering a solution.  It took over my daily thoughts.  I studied this syndrome thoroughly and found that I might have a chance at running again if I tried a combination of new shoes, a new running technique, a few drugs, foam rollers,  stretching, icing. I decided to just try it all and.. it has worked so far!!!

 I was so excited about my "cure", I even ran 8 miles my birthday morning before we went to the Tulip Festival.  I find that joy is really in my family and my health.   My birthday was perfectly bliss.

 

March madness

 We finished up the month of March skiing.  The weather gave us perfect snow, and we had many opportunities to enjoy.  By the end of March, Trenton was attempting jumps in the terrain park, and Simon can snow plow his way down anything.  They are both fearless!!!   

  Then,  we decided to have a fun party for all the animals in the house.

 The boys love their stuffed animals, and so we decided to have a "birthday party" for them all.  The boys ask daily for a party and I finally broke down if they agreed to make it a group party.  We made cakes, blew up balloons, played duck-duck-goose, and during our game of "keep the balloon off the ground", Trenton took a header to the cement floor.  

9 stitches later, he will need to come up with a more masculine story in the 

future to share with his boyhood friends.