Gettin' Down & Dirty

Last fall my running pal, Heather, and I drug our men to a little event called The Warrior Dash.  We had all kinds of dirty fun and left feeling really badass.

This year those crazy lovebirds are already signed up to do it again, this time in our home state, but I waited too long to decide and now it's full on the day they're doing it.  I procrastinated because the race is the weekend after my 40th birthday and I am thinking about throwing myself a birthday bash that weekend.  And since the race is a couple hours away from home, I wasn't sure it would work.  So basically the fates decided for me.

This year, via the ol' Facebook, I learned of a different dirty race.  And since my mud buddies are already signed up for it, there was no way I was gonna miss out.  This one is the Survivor Mud Run and it is the weekend before the Seattle Rock 'n Roll 1/2 marathon.  Unfortunately, there is no fire to jump over at this race, but there appears to be a heckuva lot more mud.

Can I tell you how much I love that since mentioning this on Facebook I've had multiple friends grab me and say "I wanna do that mud race!  Can I come too??"   Seriously, I have the raddest friends.  And we're all gonna get down and dirty together.

Fishing

We live in an area of the Pacific NW where the salmon run up our rivers, back to their spawning grounds. The pink salmon, or "humpies", run every other year and in recent years the run hasn't been very good for various reasons. We've been anxiously awaiting this season and have had our fingers crossed that we'd actually catch some fish this year.

Opening Day was August 16th. My dad, Hubby, Sam and I headed out early that morning, down to the river. It was Sam's first real fishing expedition and I worried how he would cope with being cooped up on a 16' boat all day, especially if the fishing was slow.

Turns out we didn't need to worry. The fishing was decent and in between the catching, Sam munched away on potato chips and played Yahtzee on my phone. Only once did he fuss and ask to go home and that was when a bee was buzzing around his head. (He's been afraid of bees ever since he got stung on the end of the nose.)

Sam, reeling in a fish.

Sam's first salmon

I caught the biggest one that day, and boy was it fun! I could tell I had a bigger fish on by the way he fought. They're fiesty little critters! But I guess if I had a hook through my lip, I'd fight to get away too!

Me & my Dad

We managed to land 12 fish that day and went home happy and tired and satisfied with a good day's fishing.

Dog Days of Summer

Ouch. A month has slipped by with no new post from me! Well, it's summer, don'tcha know, and summer = BUSY. So here's a bit of what we've been up to...

We picked strawberries:


We've been playing in the water:
And relaxing in the shade:


We celebrated my birthday: And then there's this girl:
Who we already adore... And who is enjoying her new life with us...

So far, it's been a fun-filled, jam-packed summer and it ain't over yet!

Good Times

Our Memorial Day Housewarming Party was a smashing success. It was a fantastic day and so much fun. My pulled pork turned out well and everyone brought something to share. My island was covered with food, as you can see, so no one went hungry.


I was a bit concerned that everyone would have a good time because we had a mix of people here: old friends, local friends and work friends. But, as I should have known, everyone got along fabulously, introducing themselves when I wasn't available to do so and mingling effortlessly. The kids raced around outside, inventing various games (usually Star Wars themed) and generally having a great time. It made my heart happy to see them all out there, laughing and playing. And wearing themselves out.

We started up a bonfire in the evening and, like moths to a flame, we all gravitated to it. When the sun started to go down, things cooled off and the warmth of the fire felt good. Even the smallest party attendee seemed to enjoy it.

My sweet chub of a nephew, Kieran.

It was a really nice day, one that Josh and I had been dreaming of when we were building this place. We imagined all our friends over, everyone talking and eating and laughing, kids racing around in the grass, and everyone gathering around a bonfire toasting marshmallows.

Turns out dreams do come true.

Party!

Happy Memorial Day weekend!

Today we're having a BBQ and get-together with friends who have yet to see The Big Red House. Should be a good time. We've got a keg of beer coming, 12 lbs of pork butt smoking on the grill, a ton of other food and beverages, and some of our favorite people coming. I get to love on my ever-growing nephew, Kieran, who is now 6 months old (my favorite age) and the sun is shining brightly. Woo-hoo!

It's gonna be an awesome day.

Hope you're enjoying your's too!

The Week in Review

Boy, it's been a busy week. It seems like as the days get longer and the weather warmer, life really starts to pick up speed. But it's all good! That's the way I like it.

Here's a quick recap of what we've been up to:

~Last Wednesday Sam's class had a field trip to the local fairgrounds for the Milk Makers Festival, or whatever it's called. In our county, we are surrounded by dairy farms so it was a chance for the kids to learn all about the dairy industry. Apparently the field trip is a yearly event for all the 1st graders around here. It was very well organized, with six different stations where they learned about different aspects of the dairy industry. They even were treated to some chocolate milk. Zoë and I tagged along for the fun and had a great time. I wanted to put this little girl in my purse and bring her home.




~Wednesday evening The Hubby and I went on a date. We had gotten some tickets for a concert thru the college alumni association and figured we'd take advantage. Death Cab for Cutie had come home to do a concert and let me tell ya, for a band I wasn't that familiar with, they were awesome. They killed it. It was a lot of fun and we're definitely big fans now. So cool to see hometown boys gone big. (Sorry for the crappy pictures...used my phone.)



~Thursday was the last class for swimming lessons (of this session) and Heather and I had planned to stay after class and let the kids play in the pool during the Free Swim. Only I'm apparently a big clueless dork of a parent and didn't know/realize that kids under 6 must be accompanied by an adult. So guess who didn't have a swimsuit and couldn't get in the pool?? Thankfully, Heather donned her's and went in with the girls. Next time I'll be more prepared. (Note to self: buy a swimsuit. Oh,and work out.)

They opened up the waterslide during the Free Swim and Sam immediately scrambled up the stairs to give it a try. I was shocked (and proud) at how UNreluctant he was to try it. He's definitely a boy after my own heart. You can see in the picture exactly how fast he came shooting out of this thing! He was like a little blurry water missle! But he never flinched and came out all smiles and saying "That was AWESOME Mom!!" and went right back up. He went up those stairs so many times he ended up with a blister on his toes.


~Friday Sam's class was doing a presentation for the school assembly so Zoë and I attended that in the afternoon. They've been studying the life cycle of a butterfly and did a presentation about that. I know I'm his mother and all, but he spoke the clearest and loudest of all the kids and sounded the most natural. You know how kids get when you put them on stage with a microphone and an audience? I was one of those kids when I was little but not my Sam. I was so proud.



He was all smiles after school as we headed off into the weekend.

~Saturday morning we headed out to our old neighborhood for the annual pancake feed at the fire station. For $12 the whole family filled their bellies and then we checked out the fire trucks.


~Sunday morning we cleaned the house, since it was getting a little disgusting then Josh headed over to help my dad do some electrical work at their new house. It was sunny but a little breezy but we tried out best to soak up the rays. In the evening, the wind died down so after dinner we headed out on a walk.

And met some new friends along the way....

And at the end of the walk, we came home to our own little piece of heaven.

For reference sake, here's a picture of both our house and my parents' new place.

I'm done now. Whew! Happy Monday!

Brighter Days Ahead

Yep, that's me. Although I don't look nearly as cute as this little guy. I am feeling pretty tired though.

But next week, I'm on Spring Break! After Monday I'm going to enjoy my days off and not work any extra, and I am going to play and enjoy my son's Spring Break. We've got some plans and are leaving the rest up in the air, hoping that the weather will cooperate and we can GET OUTSIDE. So I should have some fun blog fodder for posting, a nice change from my recent whining and complaining. I need to reclaim the positive and happy in my life and I'm going to make every effort to do so in the coming days.

We had a little scare last week where Zoë almost drowned at her very first swimming lesson. Long story short, the teacher had her back turned, there was no lifeguard on the deck watching the classes, she lost her footing and couldn't get herself righted and she ended up floating face down. Josh had to jump in the pool to get her. She was fine but we took her to the ER to get checked out, just in case, and she has since returned to her lessons, albeit under our even more watchful eyes. The staff and management at the the pool are also on high alert after I called and raised holy hell about the incident, which the manager had never been told of. I debated about letting her go back to this particular pool but decided that since she wasn't traumatized, and the teacher would be watching her extra carefully now, that I should let her go back. Sam is in lessons there too and loving it so I don't want to punish him by yanking him out. I can't say I'll send them back there, though, after this session is over.

Anyway, we're all good and healthy and got outside today to enjoy the bright sunshine that we were graced with. Josh and I shoveled some dirt and gravel, relocating it around the yard and the kids happily played in the dirt and rode their bikes. Sam and I ended up playing some whiffleball in the driveway for a bit and then we all went inside with rosy cheeks and growling tummies. It was a really nice morning and made me yearn, even more so, for the warmer days ahead.

Halloween

Wish I'd gotten these pumpkins in focus! They were so cute.

Before the looting trick-or-treating began, Darth Vader and the Snow Princess posed for a few pictures.

The Snow Princess was tuning up her "I'm so adorable & sweet, so GIVE ME ALL YOUR CANDY!" smile.

Waiting oh-so-patiently for the door to open...

Making Friends

Happy Wordless Wednesday!

Force of Nature

As a result of the events of my camping trip in July, I landed overnight in my old hometown. Before I headed for Home Sweet Home, Linda wanted to show me the big windmills that were being erected south of town so we took a drive out to see them.

From a distance, they were fairly unimpressive. I was a little sorry to be driving in the opposite direction of Home, when that was the one place I really wanted to be, but I continued on.

And I'm so glad I did.

Up close, they were amazing. I stood, in slack-jawed awe, staring at them, marveling at their sheer size. It was a relatively calm day, so only a few of them were in motion off in the distance, and even then it was only a sluggish slow-motion spin.

There was something quite eerie about walking amongst these stark-white structures, standing still and silent. It made me feel like I was on alien ground, or had somehow landed in a real-life version of the movie Contact. When the wind picked up a bit and the one we were standing next to started to churn, the air was filled with a low vibrating hum, which sent chills down my spine and made me look suspiciously around to make sure the Mother Ship wasn't approaching.

It really was an awesome display of power and technology. And to know that we, as humans, are capturing and harnassing something as elusive as the wind to generate power and sustain our lives was surprisingly reassuring. I mean, I know it's not a new concept, but sometimes I feel like we've turned into a race that doesn't concern themselves with being part of the solution, or trying to "give back", and somehow these massive windmills made me feel like we're at least trying.


(This is looking across the Columbia River Gorge into Oregon. They have an impressive wind farm going over there, too. Click on the picture to get a better view.)

The Camping Trip

So. Where do I begin.

The trip down was uneventful, if a little long. We left home at 10:20am, stopped for gas & donuts, then stopped again around 3pm for a snack and a little play at McDonald's, and we finally arrived at the campground about 5pm. We got our tent and campsite set up, and spent the evening visiting with our friends.

On Friday afternoon, everyone started arriving and the afternoon was spent reuniting with friends and helping everyone get situated. Sam finally had some friends to play with so he was happy. By the time everyone arrived, I think there were almost as many kids as there were adults. (If I'm remembering right, there were 17 kids and 22 adults that camped.) The woods rang with the sounds of their laughter and various adventures as they raced around, creating new games and storing up memories. Sam seemed to be feeling fine, although Zoë's nose starting running a bit.

Saturday morning Zoë woke up coughing and gagging on phlegm. She was very clingy throughout the day and obviously not feeling well. Fortunately, I had brought Tylenol and Motrin and cough syrup, thinking Sam might need it. So I dosed her up as best I could. But I should have known all was not right when she went and crawled in the tent in the late morning and went to sleep. She was okay thru the rest of the day, although I could tell she was still feeling a bit under the weather. About 5:30pm, Sam went missing and I was about to start to panic when I peeked in the tent and found HIM asleep. He had been playing SO hard and running around non-stop that he'd just wore himself out. I tried several times to wake him up and feed him dinner, but he wasn't interested. I finally stuffed him in his jammies and sleeping bag and let him be, figuring I'd be seeing him very early in the morning.

Zoë and I headed for bed about 10pm and not long after, that's when the real trouble started.

At about 11:40pm, I was awoken by Zoë coughing barking and gasping for air. She was flailing around, crying, gagging, gasping, choking and making the most terrifying noises as she tried to breathe. After what seemed an eternity, she went somewhat limp. I was starting to seriously panic watching my baby try to get oxygen. My sister's tent was right behind mine, so I somewhat quietly called out to her, knowing that Zoë's coughing would have woken her up. (She is an ICU nurse.) But there was no answer. So I scooped Zoë up and crawled out of the tent, feeling panicked and trying to find some help. Now realistically, all I had to do was YELL and everyone would have come running. The woods were totally quiet so I'm sure they heard our commotion, but I was still trying to remain calm and not wake up the entire campsite. I headed for the campfire where I saw some silhouettes, which turned out to be my sister and a friend. I stumbled over to them, saying "I don't know what to do!" and explained what was going on. My sister had indeed heard Zoë coughing and thought it didn't sound good. By this time, she was breathing a bit easier, but still pretty raspy and at a faster rate than normal. Eventually, we went and crawled back in bed. I knew I wasn't going to be getting very much sleep because I couldn't bear to not listen to make sure she was still breathing, however raspy and abnormal her breathing was. I think Zoë finally dozed off around 2am and I allowed myself to sleep around 3am. To be honest, it's all kind of a big blur. I know I was up several times with her, sitting outside in the cold night air, hoping that would help her breath easier. My sweet Sam woke up about 1:30am, and upon hearing Zoë's breathing said "I don't like that sound Momma." I explained that Zoë was sick and had a bad cough. He suggested giving her some medicine, which I explained I'd already done and it wasn't working. When I headed back outside to sit in the cool air, Sam asked where I was going, so I again explained what I was doing. And my sweet boy asked very concernedly, "But won't you be cold Momma?" His concern alone warmed my heart. I reassured him I would be fine. Zoë was running a definite temperature so her little hot body kept me plenty warm.

It was probably the longest night of my entire life. I think I got about two hours of sleep, but it wasn't the lack of sleep that dragged that night out. It was listening to Zoë struggle for air and knowing that we were in the middle of woods, out of cell phone range, and probably 30 miles from the closest hospital. Also, the fact that we were supposed to head home the next day was weighing heavily on my mind. I am a very dangerous driver when I am tired. There is NOTHING I can do to keep myself awake when I get sleepy while driving. Trust me, I've tried everything. In situations where I absolutely HAVE to drive and I'm that tired, I drive with my arm raised in the air. That way when I doze off, my arm relaxes and falls, immediately waking me up. But I knew there would be no way I could safely make the six-hour drive the next day. And I wasn't sure what I was going to do. I do know that I spent a large part of the night praying that all would be okay, that Zoë would breathe easier, that things wouldn't escalate into a true life-or-death emergency. I did take some comfort in knowing that in our group that was camped we had a paramedic (with supplies), two nurses, a former fire chief, two members of the rescue squad, a police officer and a 911 dispatcher. We were flush with emergency personnel.

In the morning, when I stumbled bleary-eyed from my tent, everyone was very concerned about Zoë, having heard her throughout the night. It was more than my exhausted, overwraught and terrifed self could handle and I was reduced to tears each time someone inquired or expressed their concern and support. I am not a weepy person, but having been faced with a very long night of terror and unease was more than I could take. I ended up crying in several people's arms and being on the receiving end, once again, of all the love and support I've been blessed with since childhood. I was slightly embarrassed to be repeatedly falling apart, but it was honest emotion born of exhaustion and fear for my child's health and I couldn't have held it back if I'd tried.

In the end, Lawrence & Linda insisted I go to their house about an hour away, spend the night and get rested up before driving home. That way I could make sure Zoë was doing a bit better before hitting the road and potentially getting into distress as we were going down the highway. We packed up, said our goodbyes to our beloved friends, and headed to my old hometown. I called Josh as soon as I got a cell signal and told him about my night, which brought on a new onslaught of tears. He agreed that the best thing to do was for me to get some rest and head home the next day.

Once we got to town and had some dinner, I decided I probably should get Zoë checked out, so I ran up to the hospital there in town. We were the only patients in the ER (it's tiny!) and in and out within about 30 minutes. I wasn't very impressed with the care, but was at least reassured it wasn't her lungs. They gave her some medication and sent us on our way, without really much of an explanation as to what was going on.

To wrap up a very long story, we got some sleep and headed home on Monday. I still struggled to stay awake a bit towards the end of the trip, but managed to get home safely. Boy, home has never looked so good. I think we ALL were relieved to be home and in our own beds. I took Zoë to the pediatrician on Tuesday to get re-checked and the Dr. said it sounded like croup (which is what I suspected, although I have zero experience with it). She's still coughing a bit and says she doesn't feel good, but hopefully she's on the mend and will soon be back to her silly, happy self.

Even though it was incredibly stressful that last night and day, the weekend was SO much fun. I got to see all my favorite people and catch up on their lives. I came away feeling so renewed and blessed to have such loving, supportive people in my life. We had gobs of tasty food, great conversation, and made a whole new slew of memories. And I'm so eternally thankful that I was with those people, my family, during such a trying time. It would have been so much worse without them.

I already can't wait to go back next year. Truly.

Happy Campers

Here it is Tuesday already, the 22nd of July. How did that happen?! This summer is FLYING by. Too dang fast. This happens every year! I run around like my hair's on fire for three months, then suddenly it's October and I'm left standing there, wondering where the heck the summer went. Throw in a little building project and life starts assuming speed-of-light velocity. To be honest, that's probably why summer is my favorite time of year. The days are long and warm, there are multitudes of fun to be had, FAIR WEEK, berry-picking, BBQs....need I go on? I LOVE being busy and on the go. Especially in warm, sunny weather.

This last weekend we went berry-picking. The raspberries and blueberries were ready so I packed up the Hubby and the kids and we met Brooke and family at the farm for some picking. The kids all had a great time climbing on the tractors, eating ice cream and even picked a few berries.

When we got home, there was a message from Josh's cousin, Rob, informing us that he and his girlfriend had just bought a house out in our neighborhood and saying that we should get together. Josh called him back and ironically enough, it turns out that Rob & Meg live practically in our backyard. To drive to their house, it's about 1.25 miles, but as the crow flies they are just up the hill behind us, through the trees. Anyway, Josh talked with them and they invited us up. We whipped up some guacamole, grabbed some beers and headed over. I've only ever met Rob & Meg maybe twice, but we had a great evening, laughing and telling stories. Once Zoë started to melt down from being away from her beloved blankies, kitty and "poke" (aka pacifier), we invited them down to our place to continue the evening. So they grabbed their cooler and followed us down and the party continued. We laughed and talked until 11pm, then promised to get together again soon. It was a surprisingly nice way to spend a Saturday evening, considering they were virtual strangers to me. But strangers no more!

Tomorrow I will be doing some final preparations for our upcoming camping trip. Every summer, a bunch of families that I grew up with in Eastern WA get together and camp over the weekend. We started this annual campout 10 years ago and it's always something I look forward to. I'm especially excited because we didn't get to go last year, so it's been two years since I've see this part of my "family". And they truly ARE my family. We all were such a tightknit group in my growing-up years - we met thru our church, and most of us kids attended the little two-room church school next door to the church. My parents and many of the other "adults" agree that it really was a special time in their lives, and they've never had such close friendships since. We all formed such a strong bond because of our similiar situations: small kids, single income, and simple life-styles. Just good Christian people living a simple, country life. It really was rather idyllic. So to go back and reconnect with these people, and spend some quality time is just so special. I catch myself smiling contentedly for days after coming home, and just have such a warm, peaceful feeling after being with these special folks. I'm reminded of where I came from and what's important in life.

Linda & Lawrence, in particular, are the organizers of this tradition and two of my favorite people on earth. Their son and I were the same age (I had an ENORMOUS crush on him for years) and our families spent alot of time together, and even though we moved away when I was 14, I've always kept in touch with them. I consider them as my second set of parents and they consider me one of their kids. They've known me since I was 5.5 so to now be able to have my kids spend time and get to know them is priceless. I talked to Linda the other night and it's hard to tell who she's more excited to see: me or my kids!

The kids are practically turning themselves inside out they are so excited about going camping. Unfortunately, Daddy is staying home because we're leaving on Thursday and he has to work. I started pulling out all our camping stuff on Sunday and going thru it and every day since, I get asked repeatedly by my short people "Is it time to go camping?". We were driving home from Costco today and Zoë asked "Is this the path to camping?" M'kay, first of all, what kind of almost-3-year-old uses the word "path"? And second of all, how many times do I have to explain that we aren't leaving for "two more sleeps". Sheesh. I sounds like a broken record.

Sure, it's a task getting everything ready and organized, and all possible situations and scenarios prepared for, not to mention the 5-6 hour drive it will be, but I couldn't be more excited. There will probably be 30-50 people that camp, including a host of kids, and another 30+ that will come up to the campground on Saturday and spend the day. I'm anticipating coming home on Sunday exhausted, over-fed, smelling of campfire, extremely dusty, and perfectly content.

I Want to Ride My Bicycle

The other day my hubby said to me "We need to take Sam to the park and teach him how to ride his bike without training wheels." So last night we loaded up his bike and helmet and headed to a local park. Our plan was to work with him on a gently sloped grassy lawn so that he would have some momentum and yet, if he toppled over, he'd have a soft landing.

When we told him what our plans were, he didn't want to take his training wheels off. He fussed and complained that he didn't want to, that he couldn't ride without them. But by the time we got to the park, he'd forgotten his complaints and seemed almost excited at the prospect.

We unloaded his bike and got his helmet strapped on. He got on the bike, with Daddy instructing him how to push on the pedals. They started to go slowly, but then after only about two steps, this happened:

Sam took off on his bike and never looked back. Hubby and I stood there, slack-jawed, watching him go. We kept looking at each other increduously, and then back at Sam, like "Are we really seeing what we're seeing?!" Hubby said that after about two steps Sam said "Let go Daddy!" and off he went!

And in case you think he was simply coasting down the hill, I give you this evidence of his cycling prowess:

He quickly progressed to the basketball court where he rode and rode in circles, and discovered the beauty of slamming on the brakes and doing a little power skid (which he handled like a pro). I fear Hubby may be right - we'll be seeing him standing on his handlebars in about a week.

I was so damn proud my face hurt from smiling. I was telling everyone in the park how it was his FIRST! TIME! without training wheels, daring them to besmirch my baby's amazing accomplishment. I mean, because really, how many kids just get on a bicycle and take off? I may be a noob at parenting, but that seems pretty extraordinary to me. And if it's not? Well, it STILL is to me.

So naturally, the night ended with this: