a life beyond running shoes.

we did the city. three very full days. .... four very fun cousins. day 1 - all things brooklyn: the botanic gardens, prospect park, the zoo, the bridge. day 2 - natural history museum, central park, playground. day 3 - columbia university, grant's tomb, time square, bryant park, grand central station.... finished with mamma mia! for the ladies. hubbie was with all 7 children. i've been singing abba songs ever since.

i have much to catch up on since we had four cousins visiting us last week, but the first thing i must post is this video of peanut.... remember he is 4. i think i am having heart palpitations realizing that he is getting bigger. video was taken on friday - first day out with hand-me-down bike. thanks to the new iphone daddy got, it was captured on film. we attribute the ease of transition to the peddle-less bike he got for his 3rd birthday. theory is that it teaches balance therefore not needing training wheels when you move to the big boy bike. i guess it worked. (and i have to admit that my heart melted when i was mentioned...sigh.) by the way..... little bit is beside himself that he can't do this as well.

i just thought this was really cute. rare to capture me with the kids since i usually have the camera. taken by my husband's new iphone. yeah, birthday money.

peanut just spent a week in florida with his g'ma while dad was at a conference. he came home with a hair cut.... little bit wanted one too. here is the before.... after..... summer fun for the backyard.... how sweet pea sleeps these days.

these videos crack me up. is this fussing or talking? this started just a couple of days ago and makes me laugh.

at three months old.... we baptized sweet pea. what a fun day! started with church which was a full house. it was awesome to celebrate the day with our growing church family. and in true sweet pea form, she didn't make a peep. then we had the church picnic in the park. it was a gorgeous day... and perfect for a grilled hotdog. then came home to our house for the chocolate fountain party! what a full day to celebrate what we believe is an important day in the life of our family and sweetpea! (this was only the beginning of the chocolate face....and that shirt is not white anymore)

on one hand you have a classic. and i have to admit that i have never read . on the other hand, you have contemporary chick lit that no one will be reading in five years. conclusion: both have merit. little house was delightful, simple, and sweet. i loved how yummy cornbread was and how adoring laura was to her father. i loved how hard they worked as a family for food, shelter, friends. amazing. i loved reading about the "wild west." how loved how much charles ingalls had integrity. i remember growing up with the show and reading it makes it so much richer. i can't wait to keep reading the rest of the series.... it is my summer project. because they are so quick and fast though, i hate counting each book as an independent book when i go to tally how many books i read this year... huh? thoughts? confessions : someone said that this book was like a commercial break. i have to admit that after the couple of months that we have had this was a bit refreshing and just bor...

as i have posted before.... i like to read about food. i have become a big fan of michael pollan and have finished another of his books. as with the other book of his i read, there are aspects of his argument that flies over my head... like when he gets into all the science stuff - which he does for very good reason - because it gives substantiation to his argument. so, i admit to skimming through some of it. BUT there are many things that i take away from this read. much of it having to do with how my family eats. i think most of the major changes, we have already made in terms of some of the things pollan advocates.... but there is always room for improvement. this is what he advocates: eat food. not too much. mostly plants. he does flush out what all of that means but not before he lays a pretty convincing groundwork as to why this should be of vital importance: we are an unhealthy nation (as a whole). he is trying to help us get healthier. some quotables: "the sheer abun...

a big boy bed for peanut. (this will one day be the top bunk to a toddler sized big boy bunk bed set made by dad) the car bed for little bit. (we'll see how he does without bars to keep him in bed...) and one day the crib for sweet potato....