Laila's new desk

 About a year and half ago Brad came across a desk on the side of the road with a free sign. He texted me and asked if he should grab it and I said "sure". It has been sitting under our car port waiting for some attention. I almost got rid of it multiple times, thinking we would never get around to fixing it up. Finally this weekend I took Laila to pick out whatever color she wanted. Unfortunately, that is about all I can take credit for. I just sat and watched as Brad and Laila spray painted and sanded coat after coat. I think it turned out pretty well. Now we just need to find one or two more:)

                                                                        Before

                                                                        After

Botch haircut

Landon has only had one professional haircut and I have cut it every other time. I used to think that I did a pretty nice job considering I have no idea what I am doing. I am not really sure what happened last night when I cut it but it was horrible. It might have something to do with the fact that I let it get longer than I usually do and we have cheap cheap scissors. From the front it looked great but the back of his head had patches that looked like someone just shaved chunks out. I never ever considered shaving all his hair off for multiple reasons; he burns easy, he has a larger than average head, I thought he would be terrified of the buzz, and who really thinks a buzz cut is the best for a 5 year old boy? However, he isn't going to be out in the sun anytime soon, he has a perfect little head, he giggled the entire time Brad was shaving his head, and he really looks pretty adorable. I don't know that I will make shaving his head a routine but if we have to do it again I know it won't be the worst thing.


pretty cute right??

 everyone had to feel his head

Lydia is 3

May 20th

Lydia turned 3 the same day as the half marathon. Originally we were going to celebrate her birthday on saturday(the 19th) so I wouldn't have to worry about it after my run. Unfortunately, Brad ended up having to work saturday so we had one big awesome sunday! Most birthdays for our kids we keep pretty small. We have done the big party thing and it is just too overwhelming for them and lets face it our house is not huge and we can never count on the weather being nice enough to be outside. This year it rained all day. Lydia's main present from us this year was a bike and helmet. She is loving sitting on it so far in the house:) We need this rain to go away so she can really ride it.

The main excitement of the day was a visit from a "real" princess. Brad works with a woman who's daughter is one of the forest festival princesses this year. She was out doing one of her duties before the party and offered to stop by afterwards and hand out tiaras to all of the girls. The loud crazy girls suddenly turned silent and had nothing to say. I know they loved it because she was all they could talk about once she left. Lydia keeps saying the princess gave this to me. Laila keeps telling me she wants a princess to come to her next birthday party. I am going to have to let her down gently. I don't think there are any princesses around in September. Here are some pictures of all the fun!

Mission accomplished!

I completed my first half marathon(13.1 miles) yesterday. It was not everything I envisioned but I finished with a smile on my face. I really wish I would have had someone to run with. I noticed I was one of few lone runners. Most people were in groups or had someone they were chatting with. I had my music to keep me going. I was not expecting the first 5 miles to be the most difficult. A half mile down the road I completed rolled my ankle. I must have flexible ankles because the way it twisted it should have broken. Luckily, the worst that happened was me saying "oh shit" out loud. I was fine.The main reason the first 5 were difficult was it was just hard to get into a good rhythm...It was so crowded and I kept thinking oh gosh I have barely started and I hurt. Once I got past 6 miles I could start counting down. I wish I would have known exactly what I was getting myself into with the difficulty of the course. I was so naive thinking it would be pretty flat. I mean who puts hills, like 5 sizeable hills in a half marathon and full marathon.??? Luckily, I have always been a pretty good hill runner. However, I had not been running on many during my training. Miles 6-8 consisted of me holding my butt and trotting along cursing under my breath. Butt cramps are no joke! I am sure it had to do with all the hills. Eventually the pain eased and I was able to pick the pace back up again. Miles 10-13 feel like they were really just a blur.

My favorite moments during the run were all the little kids on the side of the road holding their hands out for people to slap. At mile 12 they were handing out cold beer. I don't like the taste of beer AT ALL but I almost grabbed one just so I could tell Brad I had one. I decided not to when I envisioned myself throwing up beer at the finish line. The best moment of the run was the finish though seeing my parents, Brad and Laila standing in the rain, soaked cheering for me. I am glad I saw my goal through and I think I may try to do another one in the near future. I need to keep on running. I don't ever want to be as out of shape as I was 7 months ago. Who knows maybe someday I will completely lose my mind and do a full marathon.

 

I know I can do it!

     With two weeks left until the Capital City half marathon I decided I better run 13 at least once beforehand. Sunday morning I was up at 6:30 and out the door by 6:45. It took about 2 hours and 10 minutes. I am not gonna lie, it was hard. I had run 9 miles many times and 11 miles once. I knew I could do 13 even if I was barely moving by the end. I am happy to say I think I finished decently. I wasn't crawling the last mile, even if I wanted to. It is amazing how mental running is. I think the hardest part about doing the long runs is being alone on the road with no one motivating me but myself. I get bored too and start thinking about what I am going to eat when I get home. I have to try and think of other things though because once I start thinking about what I am going to do next all I want to do is be done and that can ruin a run fast when you still have 5 miles to go.
      I really have no goal time in mind for this race. I really just want to run it all and feel good at the end. My biggest worry is about staying focused when there is no headphones allowed. I need to figure out a way to stay in the zone without looking all around me and getting distracted. Ideally I would love it if Brad and the kids could follow me around and cheer for me, but I don't think Brad wants to hang around with all 3 kids for 2 hours. I am going to try and get him to come a little later and hang out around mile 10. I think that is when I will need a big push.
       Sunday was such a beautiful day. After my run and a nice long bath, my mom, the girls and I went to Olympia. I managed to have Lydia try out bikes at toysrus and bring one home without her noticing it in the back seat in a box. That is her birthday present this year. She turns 3 on the day of my race. After shopping for Lydia we went to the bark and garden center. This is one of my favorite places to browse. I love looking at plants and flowers. Brad made me a raised garden bed for mothers day so once we get the dirt I will be making a trip back there.


this is Lydia and Laila getting pushed on their big carts.

Princess Laila

Ten years ago our church started something called princess in training. It is for girls from 7-12 years old. The goal is pretty simple, teach these young girls how to be princesses of God. This is a 6 week course, one day a week for 2 hours. On Wednesday night Laila was given a notebook which had scripture they want them to memorize and all of the things they covered that night that they want them to think over and practice for the week. She was also given a pot of pansies to care for and bring back on the last night to decorate the table with for the mother daughter tea. Laila really loved being treated like a princess, they refer to the girls by princess and then their name and they each have their own crown they wear. However, she didn't like having to learn table manners. She thinks it is too hard. I guess I am going to have to set a better example for her from now on. I wanted this to be something special for Laila. Now that she is getting older I am starting to realize that she is going to become a little lady, not stay my little baby girl forever.

After I picked Laila up we went to dairy queen for icecream. I was eager to hear about everything and wanted her to have my undivided attention which can be hard at home sometimes.

this is us at Dq. for some reason I can't get it to turn. Laila kept closing her eyes so then she opened them wide and I gave up:)

May Day!

My parents stopped by our house at 6:30 this morning to drop off special May day surprises for the kids. They intended to just leave them on the door step but I was in the living room drinking coffee after my morning run when I saw them pull up. I let them know they kids were awake so I shut the door and let them ring the bell, even though Brad was still fast asleep.

The tradition on May 1st is to ring your neighbors or friends doorbells and run, leaving flowers outside their door. My mom didn't think the kids would appreciate flowers so candy it was! My kids have been having way too much candy lately, it seems to be everywhere and given to them at school, church, everywhere...no wonder Laila has to get her first filling. Yes, Laila has her first cavity already. Luckily, it is a back tooth and it is a baby one so we are doing the cheaper silver filling. I am pretty bummed that she has one at 7. I have had only one filling and it was last year at the age of 27! My kids are all really great at brushing and they have always taken fluoride....sooo I am blaming it on the candy.