The Circus! Featurning Adam's new obsession with Dumbo.

I ordered Dumbo on Netflix about a month ago, foolishly thinking we would keep it for a couple days then send it back for the next movie. But oh, no. I was wrong. Adam has watched Dumbo daily- at least once a day- for the past month. He quotes the lines, sings the songs, and jumps up and down with pure excitement every time that elephant starts to fly. That's why, when my friend Alisha sent out an email for free tickets to the circus, we couldn't resist.
We counted down the days and last night we got to see Dumbo! (Don't you dare tell him that it really wasn't a big Dumbo.) It was perfect. Not too big or overwhelming. We sat right in front of the center ring and this is pretty much what heaven must be like for two year olds. He rode a pony, rode an elephant (who we renamed Dumbo), fed llamas and he-haws (aka: donkeys), met clowns, ate popcorn that I responsibly brought from home, ate cotton candy that his dad bought for him there, saw motorcyles, hula hoops, and slid down a gigantic inflatable slide. It brought so much joy to Nick and I to be able to give this gift to our son. We had such a great time! "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!" (Matthew 7:11)

The comb-over is over!

It's a little bit harder for me to do the "growing up" things with Sam. The boys are 19 months apart so I was pregnant when Adam was doing the "firsts". It was easier for me to let go of my baby when another was on the way. Well, not pregnant and not really planning on it for a couple years. Alas, my baby for now is growing up.

Sam did so good sitting there while Nick took the clippers to his baby fine locks. I saved up and just got my Nikon D40 camera last week and the pictures turn out so wonderful- especially of moments like this. It was a sad moment but I'm over it now and he looks great. He's turning into a little boy!

The Human Race

So I have about 5 and a half months until my marathon, but I need little milestones to hit along the way. I am running in the Rock 'n Roll half marathon (13 miles) on October 5 and I convinced Nick, who does not run regularly, to do it with me. I run 2 days during the week and do a long run on the weekends. I'm now up to 11 miles!

Nick bought me the Nike+ that plugs into my ipod and tracks my runs. It lets me know my pace, mileage, minutes, calories, and all sorts of fun stuff. My favorite part about it though, is when I do a longer run than I ever have before. A voice comes on at the end of every run to let me know my stats but when I do the longest, either Paula Radcliffe or Lance Armstrong comes on to say, "Wow! That was your farthest workout so far. Good job!" I will gladly run for 2 hours to get that reward. Isn't that weird? But I need motivation like that.

Anyway, Nike+ put on the first global 10k (6 miles) so you just run wherever you are and download your information to their website and they know who all ran. So Nick and I set out to run on a Sunday evening our 10k. Nick was pushing Adam and Sam in the double stroller when about 2 miles into the run, one of the tires went flat. He was such a trooper and continued the whole run pushing about 80 pounds on a blown out tire. I asked if he wanted me to take a turn pushing but his pride wouldn't let him be seen running next to a girl pushing a stroller.

Potty Training Part 1

There are some who may read this who do not have children so I will spare you the details. Let's just say Adam did great for a week and then he got sick. I reevaluated and decided we need another month before he totally grasps the concept. Strike one. We'll let you know when we have another go at it. I'll have to invest in some more jelly beans...

Nick's Tournament

Nick has been training in jiu-jitsu for about a year now. He decided to enter the Gracie Open tournament and Adam and I went out to support him in the 90 degree gym. Sorry if the video is a little wobbly- Adam kept pulling on me and saying, "Look, Mommy! Daddy tackle!!"

And then there were 15...

Reunion. That word conjures up some image of distant relatives who fly to some remote location to see people that they are apparently related to and only see once every five years. But that is what we called this long weekend at my parents' house. I am number four of six children. Six seems like such a huge number but then you have to account for the parents, spouses, and children and suddenly it becomes 15! How did that happen?! And that's only my immediate family and I love it.

So we retreated to Somerset, the closest recognizable city being Placerville, 40 miles away. We played in the pool, played games, watched movies, ate pizza, took pictures, laughed at the kids, celebrated birthdays, and just enjoyed each other. One day, my parents treated us all to a whitewater rafting trip on the middle fork of the American River. It was so great- and thank the Lord for my grandparents and aunt Wendy who took on our 4 extra kids under the age of 3. We all survived the trip and only managed to lose Trevor and his wife Amber into the freezing rapids for a minute or two. And yes, if you can see from the pictures, that is my leg up in the air as I prepared to be the 3rd casualty of the river. My dad pulled me back in but pretty much all the pictures are of me upside down.

"Jesus gives us the power to" survive VBS

After about six months of planning, hours of preparing, and even permanently inscribing a huge "Power Lab" logo on our dining room table (ouch!), we have survived Vacation Bible School! It was my first year as a director, and as it almost sucked the very life out of me, I loved almost every minute. I had great volunteers and such a supportive congregation. The Lord was so merciful to me: there were many areas that I dropped the ball on but He definitely pulled it off. What a blessing. I'm already thinking about next year.
And as a thank you for all my hard work, I was slimed from head to toe at the end of the last day. We had our annual VBS penny drive to raise money for missions- boys versus girls. Out of over 23,000 pennies raised, the boys won by less than $4, and I had green slime stuck in my hair for a week.