Molly....

I would like to introduce the newest member of our family, her name is Molly. She is a 19 month old Golden Retriever who we got from G.R.I.N. . At first the whole G.R.I.N process was a little crazy, but after months and months of looking and waiting we found a great dog. She has been so fun to have around and so good with the kids.

Holding in the tears....

It is so hard to believe that my little boy is now attending Kindergarten. As I stood to the side in the classroom while the teacher was introducing herself, I saw Porter smiling and loving every minute of being in that classroom, and I started thinking about how big he was, how good he is at listening and following directions, about how smart he is, and how he is so ready to learn. It is hard to think about how we have come so far, from the moment that Andy and I decided to try to get pregnant, him being born and in the NICU, him learning how to walk and run, learning how to go Potty, how to brush his teeth, how to write his name, and now how to go to a big school all by himself. Seeing Porter on the colored carpet brought me to tears a few times, making me realize how precious time is with my little ones. I now know and completely understand why parents are so emotional about huge life events, we just a major one today. I am so excited for our future and to watch our kids grow up, but at the same time I wish time would slow down, it is definitely something I take advantage of.

Chicago....

This past weekend we had a great opportunity to meet Andy's brother and his wife and kids in Chicago. We were so lucky that Andy was able to switch his schedule and have two days off in a row, so we left Saturday morning at 6 and came home Sunday night at 11. I had no idea how amazing Chicago was, I have never been to a city that big. Parking was crazy there, you either pay 14 dollars an hour to park or find a place on the street and pay 2 dollars an hour (we chose on the street). We met up outside of the Disney Srore along the "Magnificant Mile", which really is magnificant. My favorite store there was the American Girl Place, it was huge, and Carlee picked up her first American Girl Doll named Elizabeth (it has not left her side for two days)! It has every store you could ever need and Andy and I were so strong and did not buy a thing! Then we ate some pizza, that is a must when you are in Chicago, headed back to the hotel dumped bags, then went right to Lego Land. Lego Land was awesome. My favorite part is the farting guy as you are buying your ticket, it's random but really funny. After all of the excitment ended there we went back to the hotel for some swimming followed up with a sleepover in our room. Emry did great for her first time, luckily Mike and Erin were right across the hall. The next morning we went to the Sears tower that is no longer the Sears tower but I cannot remember the name. It really is tall but ugly if you ask me, it's just a big black thing. Then we headed over to Millenium park where the "bean" is located and the spitting water fountain is (clearly I do not remember the name of anything right now). After lunch it was time to say goodbye, which I am not good at. It had been so long since Andy and Mike had seen eachother, too long. It is just so sad sometimes for me to think about all of the people that I love and who hold a place in my heart. I wish I could see them whenever I want, but I know that is not realistic. I am so grateful for the short two days that we had to be with our family. We love you Mike and Erin and we had a great time, thanks for everything.

Here are a few of my favorites followed with a slide show....






I love the couple in the bottom left of this picture. They were sitting there for a long time holding hands and I thought it was so cute I had to include them in the shot. As I watched them I was hoping that would be Andy and I in 40 years, still traveling, holding hands, and taking time to look at the beautiful things in this world.

Just for Car Car....

On Thursady we had a water party just for Carlee because she got her cast off. We have been waiting all summer to get her leg wet so we were going to make the most of it. I set up our little pool, we had water balloons, water guns, and a couple friends brought their slip-n-slides. It was a lot of fun to see the kids running around, splashing, and laughing. Thanks to everyone for coming, we'll have to make it a yearly tradition.

Humid....

The heat and humidity have been killer the past few days, making me more and more grateful for air conditioning and our pool pass. Yesterday when Andy was out in the yard working on the fence we set up the pool for the kids to play in. I had one of the "who cares" moments and walked up to Porter and splashed him as much as I could. I was obviously out numbered and got completely soaked but I didn't care. It was all about living in the moment and being the best and funnest mom that I could possibly be. It is experiences like these that help me to see the picture more clearly and to see how amazing my children are and help me to remember how lucky I am to be able to be home with them and to be with them all of the time. I hope that as each year continues to pass so quickly that I can have more "who cares" moments like these and enjoy Porter, Carlee, and Tessa more.

The Summer has now Begun....

Carlee got her cast off on Friday morning, unexpected and so exciting. It had gotten wet on Thursday on as I was trying to dry it out with the blow dryer I stuck my finger in to see if it was dry. Instead of feeling a dry cast I felt wet soggy skin that came out on the tip of my finger. Disgusted I called the doctors office first thing the next morning and they said that the cast would need to be replaced. We went to the doctor knowing they would put another cast on, also hoping that they wouldn't. We headed right to the pool after the cast came off hoping to never return to the orthopedic office again, and now the summer can begin for my Carlee girl.

Dead Last....

Yesterday was one of the worst days of my life, sounds dramatic, but true. It hurts so much to not finish a triathlon especially when I have done them before. Oh and the not finishing part is what I did. I got through the 1/4 mile swim, made it through the 16 mile bike, but got lost on the last mile of my trail run. Let me explain, I ran down a huge hill and then back up and as I am running up I ran in the middle of a campground, which was not unusual for this trail, the only thing is that there were no signs. I kept on running, dead end, ran again, and found some girls who said "Oh look there a racer" so I turned and asked them if they had seen any arrows and their response was "yeah and the guy in the truck just came and picked them up!". I was fighting back the tears while I asked if I could use their cell phone and I called Andy who of course did not answer. So here I am lost, trying not to cry, and find my way. Finally the guy in the truck drives by and picks me up and offers to take me back to extra mile or so I had run and out me back on the trail. Still trying not to cry I said no, I knew at that point I was dead last, even though he told me there were 3 people behind me, I never saw those people finish.

It is such a terrible feeling, even though I finished most of it and ran more of a distance than I was supposed to, I didn't get to cross the "finish line". Instead I had to walk up behind Andy and the kids and Anne and Dave and pretend to be strong and act like it didn't bother me. They were shocked and felt terrible. Me, I just wanted to leave and not look anybody in the eye for fear the tears would come flowing. How could I not finish, it's so easy, but some how I managed.

Oh the other hand I am so proud of my friend Anne who finished her first triahlon and got 3rd place in her age division. She totally rocked it and did an amazing job, I am just waiting to hear her say that she wants to do another one.

I want to say thank you to Andy for being so supportive of me, fixing my birthday present so that I could ride it during the race, and being so understanding about all of the emotions I was having yesterday, and most of all, for taking the kids to the outdoor store and letting me have a two hour nap. I love you Andy and I look forward to seeing you do this race next year.

Feeling Blue....

The kids and I went blueberry picking on Tuesday and it was so much fun. The weather was not to hot, a little humid, and overcast, perfect for being out in the open sun. I love picking blueberries, it also brought back memories of the first time I did this when we lived in Maine, and Porter ate so many of the bush (he was about 17 months old) and has the most terrible diaper afterward. Anyway, enough about poop. Carlee was such a trooper hobbling around on her broken leg doing her best to fill her red basket. Tessa being the snooty eater that she is was not sure at first if she wanted to try the blueberry but after she got that taste in her mouth I couldn't give them to her fast enough. We picked a total of 2 pounds and paid five dollars. Is that a good price I don't know, but it seemed reasonable. It has been so fun to have the blueberries in the fridge, I love seeing the kids open the door and eating a handful, it is much better than a handful of candy.