First day of school.

The Queen Bee started 4th grade today.  So grown up.  This is her last year alone in school.  Next year she gets to take Alex along.  She was so cute this morning she got up at 6:00 am and was ready by 7:00 am....her bus doesn't come until 8:40.  She is always prepared and ready to go.  Such a cute and wonderful kid.

4th grade was a year that I loved in school.  I still remember my teachers and feeling like we were something special in school.  No longer the little kids. 

Here are some pictures of her right before the bus came.  Her backpack was very heavy with school supplies as you can see in the second picture. We always sign "I love you"  to each other as she runs to the bus.  If you look closely you can see it in the third picture.  Love my Queenie.

Lily's trim.

I trimmed Lily's hair today. Her first haircut.  Just her bangs and a teeny bit in the back.  I don't dare cut anything off, because I love those big crazy curls.  Here are some pictures after.

Rochester 5k

I ran the Rochester 5k today with my friend Carolyn (Who someday will be running much faster than me).  We had a great time talking...maybe too much fun because my time wasn't as good as I thought it would be, but in the end having fun with a friend is much better.  We passed a woman on the last mile that had a sign on her back that said "Second Chance at Life".  I felt a little bad to pass her up, but then the guilt quickly left when a husband and wife passed us up right at the end.  

The race went by much faster than last time.  The weather was perfect.  The hills weren't my favorite, but it was a beautiful race down along the river.  Here are some pictures. 

Before the race

During..

After.


Video of the Start

Video of the Finish

My Birthday.

Today I turned 35.  It was a wonderful day with lots of fun surprises.  I had some nice phone calls, messages on Facebook, and presents from friends and family. It was a perfect day.  I am so thankful for good health and having wonderful friends and family.  I feel very loved.

Camping.

We went camping this past weekend.  We planned it very carefully...because of past experiences with small children that don't fall asleep.  So we went to a state park just 30 minutes from our house.  It was a small park but we enjoyed it.   The minute we pulled in Lily was on the go.  It was humid and so the kids were instantly sweaty and stayed that way until it cooled off at night.

  The park has a nice little river that runs through the park.  We went for a hike once we got there and enjoyed looking at all of the neat mushrooms and walking across the stone bridges.  The kids loved it.  At one point on our hike Alex asked me why we were camping.  I told him "To enjoy nature" and he said "This is nature?"  I said "yep"  and then he said "I didn't know we were in nature, I thought we were still in Rochester."

We camped under the stars with the tent top open.  It was really beautiful.  Lily however had other ideas and decided to wake up at 3 am and try to wake everyone else up.  I ended up taking her in the van where she finally fell back asleep around 5 am.

We had a big breakfast of giant pancakes that Dave made and the kids loved.   It was a fun trip.

Happy Birthday Dave!

Dave turned 34 today!  He wanted a lemon cake and so I made him one.  It was really good.  We also gave him a new water bottle for running, a giant thing of Gatorade Powder, a Paella Pan, Spainsh yellow rice for Paella, a new fish (which he named Darth Vader), and a couple pairs of new jeans.  We all love this guy a lot and are glad he had a wonderful birthday.

Oma's visit.

My mom came and stayed with us for a week.  It was a lot of fun.  We went to Como Zoo and Conservatory, the County Fair, and just enjoyed being together.  I got to go birthday shopping with my mom and no kids.  It was a treat for me we found some cute clothes and it was nice to just feel like a teenager and walk through the mall with my mom. 

The kids really bonded with their Omi.  They all were sad when she left.  Alex has already decided that our neighbors should move so Oma can live next door.   We are counting down the days till we go to Utah and see everyone. 

Oma and Lily getting to know each other.

Playing out on the swings.

At the Como Zoo and Conservatory

 

IBM day at the County Fair

Lily followed Oma around and did everything she did.

Thanks for coming mom!  We love you.