a life beyond running shoes.

visiting the academy of science in golden gate park griffith observatory with mimi and mr. denny (the hollywood sign is in the background) santa barbara with g'pa adams sweetpea's cousin's first bday our time in tennessee with family we had lots of other adventures including golfing, more cousins in palm springs, a road trip via I-40 to tennessee, signal mountain with friends, monterey aquarium with more friends, and more exploring "the city" . and hello september.

we got to really celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary.  sunrise. dinner at sunset. hiking.  shaved ice (aka snow cones) while watching surfing. more sunrises. snorkeling. despite the one day meeting that husband had (like the obligatory timeshare meeting that you have to sit through in order to get to stay there), we had an amazing time!! this was my first time snorkeling and i LOVED it!!! one of my highlights was running on the beach with hubbie.  funny how it takes vacation for us to see this activity as a luxury. it was amazing to finally get some nights away from kids and enjoy just having time together. thank you friends and family that helped make this happen!!! maybe it won't take over six years for us to do it again! and i read two books:   the weird sisters  by eleanor brown   and eddie would go by stuart holmes coleman:  one a novel threading shakespeare quotes through a story about sister all with fata...

i am working backwards.... we got to leave town for a few days before school started just the five of us.  this does not happen often since we live far from family, we usually take our vacation time to travel to them.  we always love it but don't often get time as a family of five. we got to head north to the coast. mendocino. hiking, walking, eating, bike riding, beach exploring, tide pools, tadpoles, baby frogs, wine, and reading.  wonderful...... and delightful.  we are so thankful that we are loved so generously.  we are thankful to have enjoyed our children.

can i admit that i feel as if i have reached my adventure threshold? please, no more adventures. we took residence of our new home a week ago. we thought we would only be "house camping" for a few days...... well, one week later and the moving truck should arrive tomorrow. we have had some fun in the meantime. perhaps i will post later about the adventure of driving our family of five across the country, visiting friends & family over five days and 2900 miles.... perhaps, i will just put it behind me and move forward to our new life on the west coast. but until i decide, here are pics from point reyes beach...... hard to believe we live here.  you can hear him saying, "i'm king of the world." she was so grumpy that daddy and the boys climbed the rocks without her. exploring tide pools for the first time. so, i guess we are enjoying the newness of our life our here. it is gorgeous..... it ha...

it was awesome!! sometimes i make the caveat by say, "as much as 26.2 miles can be." the honest truth is that it really was awesome. i had a blast. i woke up around 5 am.... the alarm was not set to go off until 5:30. my brother was actually awake as well. we just laid there talking to each other until the alarm. he showered..... i prepped: peanut butter sandwich, protein shake, body glide, teeth, socks, hat, clothes. i had made walnut bran blueberry pancakes (recipe from runner's world) to bring while we were standing around.... packed those in my sweatshirt i planned on tossing when the race started. we got downstairs around 6 and met dad & lois (our designated documentarian). we were only a few blocks away from union station to catch the metro. we were all pretty excited. we got to the pentagon before the sun was up! the 10 minute walk to the actual start felt longer than it was partially due to nerves and my need to use the potty! i ate my pancakes while i wait...

for mother's day i went to california to visit my family. i took sweet pea. 16 hours at my mom's. (left sweet peat there) 40 hours at my sister's. 18 hours at my dad's. and got no pictures. here at home the boys were busy, busy, busy, busy. what a mother's day gift! here is the before: and the after: now for some outdoor furniture, a picnic table, and some landscaping... but baby steps.... and seriously, i need to leave more often!

a year. wow. even as i process being with my husband's family last week, i am still overwhelmed by how quickly it went, yet how significant of a year it has been that it seemed to have crawled by at the same time. sweet pea was only six weeks old when my father-in-law died. she is getting so big. these guys are all within four weeks of each other. (sorry locks.... didn't mean to capture you in tears) this is how i know that time is passing. i also realize that i don't feel as raw. i don't feel as if i am walking around with my nerves endings on the outside of my skin. i can still get bowled over by my grief, but it doesn't come as often. and god's comfort and grace come more quickly. it has been a long year..... but we are still resting in the arms of our savior. he has been good.... all year.

my hubbie got to go to long beach this past weekend to attend his cousin's wedding. of course, i was totally jealous since he was a mere 40 minutes from my mom, an hour from my dad, and just about and hour and a half from my sister......but then again, that makes it about me. he had a great weekend and got to hang out with one of his sisters and brother-in-law who was officiating. of course i am thankful: 1. to not have been on a plane for six hour 2. to not have to find something to wear 3. to not have to figure about what to do with my two kiddos here at home the boys and i watched lots of movies!

artistic photo by my husband.... me and peanut walking down the lane...g'ma, cousin, and peanut. g'pa and little bit - who enjoyed each other fully!!! and here is my absolute favorite.

four days, 2200 miles, 12 states, 9 movies, and turkey day at cracker barrel. leaving flordia..... on monday just after the lakeland memorial service. green valley, illinois walking across the corn fields. great-great-grandparents house in the midst of the trees. barn and road to houses. our family in front of house where great-g'parents friends lived. my mother-in-law's g'parents lived down the road. my husband a pallbearer....as we bury his great-grandpa. all celebrating a life well lived!

A is my serious child....he only breaks a smile when he has food or is being tickled. my siblings & spouses ...... of course i think my kids are the cutest around...... he was on a mission for bread thus the smile!