Summer Fun

What a difference eight swim lessons can make! Maddy improved her freestyle arm stroke, and back stroke, while Harrison is now swimming under water without me worrying he won't come up! He says he is a "jellyfish"! Maddy is second from the left and Harrison is far right (red trunks). Below is Maddy demonstrating her back float for her instructor. She finished both level 1 and 2 of the Red Cross Swimming Lessons!

Here the the two newest additions to our family... Yes, I finally gave in and got two adorable kittens from the Humane Society. Maddy has named the black one "Licorice". We are thinking about "Wally" for the grey cat. Licorice is also nick named "speedy" because he spends most of his time as a blur between rooms in our house. He is kind of a bully. The little grey kitten is quiet, calm, and very curious. I've nick named him "Smarty". So far, they have easily gotten used to our house without any incidents. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. They are very cute and the kids LOVE them! Below is "Speedy" as a blur.Here is Maddy with "Smarty". The picture will not cooperate with me, so just turn your head to the left to get the effect. She is lying down on her back with the kitty on her front. (Darn computers).Harrison got a new helmet to save his head while he rides his scooter. Here he is modeling it while eating an ice cream treat from the neighborhood ice cream truck...it was 100 degrees this day! Ugh! It's that time of year again!

Ode To Seattle

We just recently returned from a fabulous trip to Seattle, Washington. I love my visits there. My family that lives there always take me on the best sight seeing ventures! Very memorable. This year, I took Maddy and Harrison. They loved it just as much as I always do! We stayed with Grandma Dee...
Grandma always makes the best breakfasts! My personal favorite is cinnamon toast. Somehow hers is better than my own?! Must be that special "grandma touch". Her coffee tastes better too?! Maybe it's because I'm in Seattle?This was Harrison and Maddy's first airplane ride! On the way home, they got to sit up in the cockpit! The in-flight tv's were a huge hit and kept the kids occupied quite well. Although, Harrison did get motion sickness on the first flight out to Denver. He did a great job using the "barf bag". Needless to say, the flight attendant wasn't happy.
Uncle Dave, Grandma Dee, and my cousin, Aaron spent one day together riding a ferry...Taking in views from atop the Space Needle...Eating fish and chips at Ivar's, then playing in the freezing cold Puget Sound....(those are the Olympic Mountains in the background)One day, we picnicked on the beach of the Puget Sound. Harrison and Maddy enjoyed searching for shells, rocks, and crabs on the beach.
Uncle Steve and Aunt Ruth, along with Grandma, drove the kids and I up to Mt. Rainier one morning. It was a beautiful, clear day and the mountain looked gorgeous! We got to see all sides of it. Steve and Ruth know their stuff too! They were great tour guides explaining every little town, mountain fact, history, etc. Even though it was 85 degrees up there, there was still a lot of snow. Reportedly, the mountain got 78 FEET of snow this last winter! I love that mountain. Steve and Ruth, along with the rest of the family, had a bbq at their home one evening. It was fun getting together with my cousin, Jason, and his wife, Sarah. Sarah is a 2nd grade teacher in near Seattle and Jason is one crazy, kid-loving guy! Maddy and Harrison took right to them! Jason and Harrison goofing around.Steve and Maddy making their special cake!Harrison, my little pet lover, found a slug at Steve and Ruth's that we actually took back to Grandma's house in a baggie. She allowed him to put it in her flower garden, but he couldn't find it the next morning...hmmmmm. Slugs are huge pests to plants ya know. Grandma?

Uncle Dave and his wife, Danna, took us on an incredible hike through the woods to see a waterfall. There are some big trees in Washington! It is so lush there! I love all the plants!
Ferns and fronds up close... Snoqualmie Falls...This was my personal favorite this trip to Washington! The roaring sound that these falls put off was amazing! I could have stayed for a long time gazing at the falls.In Kent, Washington, where we saw the movie "Wall-E", there is this giant marble ball that sits upon flowing water. It will roll when you get it going. Here is Dave and the kids playing in the water. I think Dave is just a big kid! He had just as much fun as the kids and they LOVED him!



As with all vacations, it is always sad to leave. We had such a great time! So many memorable moments! I enjoyed seeing my family and taking in the beauty of Washington! I will be back! Special thanks to Grandma Dee for all that she did to make it a special family vacation! : )

Remember Me? : )

I'm not going to even apologize for the delay this time. If you are one of my friends or family members who are checking this neglected blog of mine, thank you for continuing to check it! I just need to be better about updating!

Here is what has been happening in the last two months!

I met my goal (barely) of $3250 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society! Part of the money came from this garage sale I hosted with my friend and teammate, Judi. She also did the triathlon!

It rained a LOT in the month of June this year. It was nice because it greened everything up and brought lots of worms out which Harrison LOVED! The boy loves his worms! We had several as pets. There are probably a couple dried up somewhere in my house since Harrison liked taking them out and playing with them! Ewww!

Whom ever my little "angel" is that sent this in the mail along with a few other things, thank you!

Harrison and Maddy have been playing T-ball this summer. They both love it and have taken to it very easily!

I attended my favorite party of the year...Robin Macy's Summer Soltice Party at the Bartlett Arboretum. The all-white attire affair is lots of fun and always a great way to ring in summer! Maybe one of these days I'll actually have a date for it?! In the mean time, my gal pals, Denise, and Kerri were great stand-ins! (Jaime too, but she wasn't in the pic!)

I taught a summer school class called Mini Med School through Duke University's TIP program (for gifted students). It was a hit!I competed in my first Olympic distance triathlon in Philadelphia. Here I am standing next to the Schuylkill River (pronounced "Sku-gull"). The next day I swam (kind of) one mile down this once-polluted river. Then I biked 25 miles and ran a 10 K race to the finish! It was an awesome experience! I did it with my TNT team to raise money for Leukemia and Lymphoma. This is the bike transition area looks like. You run in from the river, find your bike, peel off your wetsuit, throw on your helmet and bike shoes, then GO!!!Me with all my gear on race day morning...and I do mean MORNING!!! This is what time my roomate, Ria, and I got up the day of the race...Ria, my roomie and friend. Our team photo op the night before the race...Rocky....Amy.... I was here at the top of the Rocky steps for all of 2 minutes, then had to run and catch the correct bus back to the hotel where my team was waiting on me. Luckily, I found the right bus!Sight seeing after the race....Liberty BellTeam Kansas always stays until the very end of the Post Race Party and livens things up. Here we are doing the "YMCA" dance. A team fave!

That's June in a nutshell! July is coming next! Maybe I'll it up before August arrives! (Just kidding!