The Summer of Orange

Well, it's official! I am now done with my summer shopping. Oh, what fun little girls are to shop for. Acutally, shopping for boys is just as fun for me. Levi, however, will not wear anything that is not a "sports" shirt and it's a battle to get him to wear anything else. Oliver, well he get's Levi's hand-me-downs. Sorry about that Oliver. I know you don't mind now but when you do we'll get you your very own new clothes.
Marki has always had her own style. I love taking her shopping and letting her pick out what she likes. It may not always be what I like but I've gotten better at letting her be her own girl. For instance, her clothing has to say "Daddy's Girl, or be the color orange. So, most of her summer cothing is just that....Daddy's Girl or orange. Well girlie, you have plenty of orange clothes to see you through the summer. The only thing we have left is to pick out earings. It will be fun to see what she picks out. That will probably be my next blog. How fun!

Our Little Fisherman

I Love Mornings Like These

First thing this morning, before we even dressed for our day, we got out the paints. Painting puts my little artists in a great mood every time. Marki decided to paint a picture for Levi, using as much blue as she could. Blue because that is Lee's favorite color Levi, painted a picture for Marki using Orange, her favorite color.


Marki showing off the picture Levi painted.
Levi showing off his picture that Marki painted. She apologized to Lee for having to put more green in the picture because of the grass, bushes, and trees in the back. I told her she could paint the grass any color she wanted, it didn't have to be green. Her reply...."Mommy, I colored the grass green because, well mom, grass IS green.

The Cyclones vs Rockets: Marki's very first game!

If you ever want to watch some real entertainment, you need to go and watch 4-5 years old play T-ball. All those adorable little kids out on the field that have no idea what T-ball really even is. God Bless Doug and Mark who have the patience of Saints.

Let's see....When we got to the field, Marki was being chased by all the boys on the team. Uh-oh Mark. And she LOVED it. Coach Doug got all the little ones together and tried desperately to keep their attention. This was their first game so no one really knew what to expect from these T-ball players. What we were about to see was just truly entertaining.

Marki's team was the first to bat. The boy who was up to bat first, hit the ball and ran straight to second. All the kids ran to the ball no matter what position they were playing. Some fought over the ball. Marki caught a grounder and two boys on her team tried to take it from her. Two boys from the other team were fighting over the ball too. At times there were two kids on a base. It was so cute. There was no winning or losing team. They just let the kids get up and bat and then switch when everyone had a chance. I loved that. Marki had a blast.



Marki and Chandler chatting.
Getting ready.

Marki and Chandler chatting once again. They had to be separated.

Olli cheering on his sister while playing catch with Lee.

Levi waiting his turn to play T-ball. He doesn't understand why, when he is so patient, that he never gets a turn.

Marki running for the ball. Go number 1!

Waiting in the Congratulations line.

Eating a snack. It was a tradition of Mark's dad to bring oranges and capri suns to the game. It was our turn to bring snacks so we carried on the tradition.

Marki showing off her grass stains.

To conclude the day, Marki and Levi fought over who was going to drive the Fire Truck.

Marki's first time up to bat in a game. She did GREAT! We are so proud of you Marki!

The congratulations line

Spiders, Rolly Polly's, and a Worm named Fluffy.

Fluffy the worm.

So Marki and Lee have a new summer hobby. They find as many bugs as they can and either bring them to Mom or show Mom where they are. They like to give them names too:)

Toughest Half-marathon in the Northwest

And I did it!


I love ROBIE!


My brother took this picture of me right when we started running. I think I am just realizing that I am about to go 13.1 miles most of which is uphill!

Mark took this picture of the finish line before any racers finished.

Right before the race started.

My number. After going about two miles I hear someone yell out, "Keep smiling 170! Smile like that the whole way!" I realized I had a permanent smile on my face that I couldn't get off. I must have looked like a freak! I was just so excited to be doing this.

Right before the race started.

The view from the first few miles.

Just a few of the many many awesome supporters along the way.

I passed all these hikers:) They probably passed me right back.

Mile four seemed to appear quickly.

I started to get blisters at about mile 6. It made for a very unpleasant 7 miles! I think I lost my pinky toe somewhere after the summit.

Running along.

Red Bull. Just in time! I saw the red bull flags and thought to myself how wonderful it would be if they were actually giving it out. To my surprise they were. It gave me the boost I needed to finish the climb to the top although it did not do well with my stomache. In the future I will not be getting the Red Bull drink!

Top of the summit.

It's all down hill from here. This was the flatest part of the descent. I am still trying to find out what was worse. The climb up, mainy mile 7-8, or the bone jarring descent. You were kind of forced to run the last half of it. I also have to say it was easier to jog up the mountain than walk. A very slow jog of course. It smelled so good here.

Almost there.

The last mile. What a wonderful sight!

The best sight ever was seeing my husband when I crossed the finish line. I forgot to give him his bus pass and worried he wouldn't get there. But, he was there for me like he always is. I love you baby!

The after party. I didn't want to stay too long. I wanted to get back to my babies.

The blue Robie Creek crayons I got for finishing. Perfect for Marki and Levi.

Being silly.

I got these shoes for mother's day two years ago. They have taken me many miles:) I now have a nice shoe charm for doing Robie.

The bus ride home. Little did I know that I'd have to walk another 2 miles to get to our car!

Jesus loves you

Me at the finish line blowing my hubby a kiss.

Mark, I could not have done this without you. You are a constant support and have such faith in me. Thank you for believing in me!

Easter 2009

I have to start with this picture of a goose Marki drew. Impressive.Miss Mark waiting to hunt eggs. It's a good thing she is from Montana. She has an advantage.

Posing.

Oh Lee. I love you so.

Levi spotting the Easter Bunny.

Meeting the Bunny.

Patiently waiting.

Field of eggs before the attack.

Oliver all bundled up.

Levi was so proud of that egg! He stood there showing us forever.

A job well done. After this picture was taken Marki filled up Lee's basket with some of her eggs. She is so thoughtful.

All dressed up for mass at Risen Christ Catholic Community.

Marki getting ready to do the sign of the cross.

Look what the Easter Bunny brought us!

The neighborhood hunt.

Smile!

All the neighborhood kids.

Papa taught me to pump!

Swinging on a nice Easter day.Climbing the tree once again.

I love this picture! Good job Mark.

I love this picture too!

What a handsome boy!

So cool.

You look so adorable dressed up Lee.

Olli O. Sweet sweet boy.

The Easter Bunny made an appearence at our house too. Isn't she the most beautiful bunny EVER!

Eating their chocolate race cars.

Oliver couldn't get any cuter if he tried.

Dying Eggs

Easter Egg Hunt at the High School.

The nighborhood hunt