Life of the Riley's

2010 3-day Walk

2010-12-03T16:21:00.001-08:00

Another amazing journey is complete! I was just reading my post from last year and realized that, although much of the trip was similar, this year was new and different in many ways. Which makes it all worth it in the end.

Rather that recap, day by day, I thought I would just give some highlights and point out what makes doing this walk so special to me......

1. Team Safe at Second: Each member of the team is special to me. They all have the ability to make me laugh and to keep the conversation going when I have run out of words. We had eight members this year, seven of us were able to walk. As a team we raised close to $21,ooo this year.

2. Happy People: This year was more difficult than last year because we were caught in a rare San Diego storm. Saturday was tough, but everywhere you looked there were people smiling, cheering, encouraging you. There are "walker stalkers" that spend the weekend moving from place to place along the route to cheer you on. You can't help but feel good, even when it's wet and your feet hurt.

3. Pink Everywhere: From clothes, to shoes, to hats, to bras, to tent, and even to dogs, their is a sea of pink everywhere you go on the walk. The sights along the walk are funny and amusing and you hear or see every reference to breasts that there is.

4. From tears to laughter: Saturday night we visited the survivor tent, where white tents are set up from the various walks that have been done during the year, all signed by walkers in memory of those that have lost the fight. Inside the big tent there are pictures of recent passings and what hit me this year is that many of these women were close to my age, some even younger. It's a time of reflection for why we do the walk and it's always good for a cry. But we manage to follow it up with an evening of dancing. Even with sore feet and legs it is so fun to get out and laugh and dance with everyone and celebrate the life that we have.

5. Seizing the moment: I discovered last year that the walk is all about living life to the fullest and seizing the moment, which includes taking pictures with the police that ride their bikes all weekend, taking an occasional shot of tequila that is offered along the streets and maybe even stopping in a bar before closing ceremonies to take the edge off of our weary feet....or something like that.

Now, I tried to narrow down the pictures so they don't go on forever, but I hope you enjoy taking a peek into what the weekend looked like to me. If you really want a good view though, you'll have to join the team....we are always looking for new recruits for next year.

Our Dodger Dog

2010-11-27T18:04:00.000-08:00

It was August of 1997. Two newlyweds were headed to Durham, CA to "look" at some Chocolate lab puppies. Immediately upon seeing the pups we knew we weren't just looking. We named her Dodger after the LA Dodgers that Garrett so loved and was missing by living in Northern California. She was my first dog ever. We brought her home, carrying her on my lap as we drove, first to the pet store, and then to our house. That first night was rough because we were going to be tough and not let our dog sleep with us, so we put her in the bathroom where she cried. Then we put her outside where she cried more. Eventually she ended up in our room....

Dodger has been through everything with us. She loved playing in the creek in Chico, where she would drink so much water her stomach would be bloated. She became my running companion. She moved with us to Ventura, where she loved chasing seagulls on the beach. She would dig and bark in the sand and even found fish and dead seals to roll on, bringing home a lovely stench. She moved with us again to Bakersfield, where she ran around our big back yard and played in the water with Kevin. Finally she moved to Santa Clarita, where she began to show signs of aging with graying fur and a slight limp. She continued to accompany me on long runs though and became a hiking partner.

Today we had to say good-bye to our Dodger Dog. She had been steadily loosing weight and slowing down more and more. With the results from her blood tests telling us the her kidneys were failing, we knew it was time. I never thought it would be so hard saying good-bye to a dog, but it was very difficult.

We've spent today thinking of memories, Garrett sharing most of them with me and the boys. We found these pictures that show how our puppy grew up over the years.....

WE LOVE YOU DODGER AND WILL MISS YOU ALWAYS!

Ventura County Fair

2010-08-29T13:01:00.000-07:00

The boys and I wanted something fun to do before school started again. I heard that the fair was happening in Ventura so we headed over. The boys surprised me, especially Kevin, by wanting to go on all of the fastest rides. It was wristband day so they both got one, which let them ride unlimited rides. I told them ahead of time that they would have to go together because I was not going on those rides! They had a blast and went on many, many rides. Even more surprising was the fact that neither of them got sick! Zach did ask to take a little rest in between rides at one time, but that didn't last long. I had just been talking about how Kevin is my more cautious boy, but he couldn't find a ride that was too scary for him that day. If we didn't have to be back for cub scouts they would have stayed all night!

Any ride they were tall enough for, they went on.

The haunted house. Kevin said he kept his eyes closed the whole time.

They also enjoyed playing with these old wooden toys for almost an hour!

Mt. Whitney Take 2

2010-08-18T21:14:00.000-07:00

Coming off the mountain last year I was thinking that I wouldn't want to hike Mt. Whitney again. Approximately 2 days later I had changed my mind and decided, of course I would! Call me crazy, but there is something about starting off the day in the dark, hiking for 2 hours before the sun even comes up, and getting to view the gorgeousness of a sunrise while surrounded by a massive mountain that makes me want to put up with the LOOOONG day, sore feet, and back aches that follow.

So, we hiked again on August 3, 2010. There were six of us starting the adventure, (missing Susan and Dennis). Matt, Tina, Mark, Laurent, Paul, and I started out at 2:48 a.m. We could tell from the start that there was much more water than last year because there were more streams to cross and the sounds of the waterfalls were much more intense. The most pleasant surprise this year was the perfect weather. It really could not have been any better. I was completely prepared for the cold after last years hike, but found myself zipping off my pants into shorts, removing my jacket, and actually enjoying the warmth of the sun. There were a few times where we had to get our warm clothes back on, but on the way down we were down to shorts and tank tops. So different and so much more enjoyable than hiking and freezing!

The view from the top was so clear with the bluest sky I've ever seen. The pictures don't do it justice and that is what makes doing the hike so special. Only those that actually make it to the top get to experience all the beauty of it up close and personal.

Some of our group were actually napping (and snoring) on the top because it was so nice! Of course the snickers bar, thanks to Tina, at the top made it well worth it too!

Then of course there is the joy of going down. As beautiful as the hike is, on the way down much of the beauty is passed by as the hours drag on. We were still able to enjoy seeing the waterfalls that we missed in the dark, view some deer, and look at the lakes and meadows, but as those last two miles continue on and on it's all I can do but to make up songs in my head and hope that the trail head is just around the corner. Thankfully, we got there eventually....a mere 16 hours after starting! Always good to be down and look back up at where you just came from and wonder how the heck you did that all in one day. :)

So now a few weeks have passed and I'm thinking.... ok, I'll do it again!

Early morning, looking up to what we are about to conquer.

At Trail Camp, before the start of the 3 miles of switchback.

At the top. Tina carried a picture of Grandma Bev, her inspiration,

who recently passed away.

A little snooze before going back down.

Mt. Whitney Summit!

We borrowed the sign from some other group on the top.

Back to School

2010-08-11T21:10:00.001-07:00

I can't believe the summer is over and the boys have headed back to school. Kevin is in the 4th grade and got the same teacher he had last year, Mrs. Holst. Zach is in the 1st grade and has Ms. Ferguson. Both boys said they were not that excited about going back, but I've never seen them get up and ready so quickly in the morning as they did this morning! New haircuts, new shoes, new clothes..... the boys are ready for another great year.

Great Week at the Lake

2010-07-27T21:24:00.001-07:00

We just got back last Saturday from a wonderful trip to New Hampshire where we stayed on Lake Winnipesaukee with Bob and Denise. We had gone back three years ago and going back again was like no time had passed. We were able to visit with many of our extended family and of course the boys loved playing all week with their somehow related 3rd or 4th cousins! Every day except Sunday consisted of walking to the mail dock where the mail boat delivers mail to that part of the island. That wouldn't be so exciting except for the fact that there was ice cream for sale on the boat. So each day the boys got to get their treat there. Afterwards many kids jump from the dock or the pilings into the waves as the boat pulls aways. Both boys ended up gathering enough courage to jump in on our last day. I think Garrett swam back from the mail dock to our dock every day but one, I joined him 3 of those days, and Denise joined us one day. Kevin really wanted to do it to but it was a bit far....maybe next time! Zach loved swimming in the lake and was in from morning until night some days. We also got to watch some great thunder and lightning storms. It wasn't too hot at all and overall a very relaxing trip. The only thing missing was the rest of the family.... again maybe next time!

An evening swim for Zach

A game of Charades, followed by a sleep over with Logan and Linnea

I'm not including too many pictures because Garrett, I believe, is going to be working on another of his masterpiece videos!

Summer Fun

2010-07-11T19:56:00.001-07:00

I told myself I was going to keep this thing up to date and now almost a month has gone by! The whole summer seems to be flying by us. So, while the boys are watching a movie I thought I could get in a quick update before summer's completely gone.

I've been working about 20 hours a week, which is a continuation of my regular work schedule plus I picked up a few extra hours. I often wish this time of the year that I worked for the schools and could have the summers off, but it all balances out in the end I guess. So, we've been finding ways for the boys to be cared for this summer. They have gone to two weeks of gymnastics camp at Fun and Fit Gymnastics and will be going again this week. Good exercise, some arts and crafts, and a little down time at the end with part of a movie. They went last summer too and Kevin complained because he was the oldest one there. This summer he doesn't seem to care that he's the oldest and has learned to do a front and back flip into their big foam pit.

Kevin also spent a week at cub scout day camp. It was nice because four of his friends from scouts were there also and he got to earn a lot of belt loops and pins for this next year. Zach was going to go also but he needed a parent with him all week and unfortunately I wasn't able to do that. Maybe next year.

We took a quick weekend trip to Mammoth where we were able to have my parents, Graham, Tina, and Lauren meet us and have a short night together. I managed to get the boys to go for a hike, with a promise of seeing Toy Story 3 afterwards!

We stayed in town for the 4th of July this year and the boys were in the parade with cub scouts. I got to be in it too! Garrett ran his first 5k in about 20 years that morning too. We got to cheer him on as the runners went right down our street. I'm trying to convince him to do a half with me, but he's not going for it!

We just had my mom and Lauren come for the week. Kevin and Zach cannot get enough of Lauren and thankfully she is patient and plays with them. My mom is a worker bee and finds chores to do around the yard and house, which is always greatly appreciated. We had a fun night of s'mores around the fire and Kevin started us all on storytelling around the circle. We took Lauren to Universal Studios on Friday and had fun showing her bits of the L.A. world.

I'm really looking forward to next Saturday as we head to New Hampshire for a week on Lake Winnipesaukee. I feel like that will be my whole summer in one week. Well that, followed by the big Whitney hike again. I managed to make it to the top of Mt. Baldy again last weekend and feel excited about Whitney. We will be missing two of our team, Susan and Dennis, though.

Happy 9th Birthday Kevin!

2010-06-13T07:00:00.000-07:00

From a super cute baby boy........into a super handsome older boy! I can't believe it's been 9 years since Kevin made his appearance into this world. He has forever changed our lives and could not imagine my life without him. Happy Birthday big boy!

Playing Catch Up

2010-06-12T22:15:00.000-07:00

So it's no longer Zach's b-day as my post has said for the past 2 months..... I thought I would play a little catch up before it's Kev's b-day tomorrow. I've been busy, as we all are, but mostly I've just been too lazy to sit and write on here. So can I really recap what's been going on over the past two months in one post, without boring you all? We'll soon find out!

Following Zach's day, Easter came along. The boys enjoyed dying eggs, but Kevin showed signs of getting older by not wanting to go to the egg hunt. Zach happily went and found lots of candy and eggs! We had a nice time at Grandpa and Grandma Dee's house on Easter day.

Baseball season started for the boys. Zach was on the Dodgers, playing t-ball like last year. Kevin moved up to "kid pitch" and played on the Padres. Both boys were not hugely excited about playing this year, but they managed to have some fun along the way and we enjoyed watching them improve a little over the eight weeks of the season.

We had a huge garage sale for Team Safe at Second in the beginning of May. We were able to sell $1800 worth of junk! I continue to be amazed at what a great fundraiser these sales turn out to be. We are, as a team, over $10,000 dollars towards our goal. I am up to about 78% of my goal. Feeling good, as we are still several months away from the walk.

I started a few training hikes, as I plan to hike Mt. Whitney again this August. I enjoyed a hike in the Santa Monica mountains in May and just last weekend managed to make it to the top of Mt. Baldy again. Hopefully I will get a few more hikes in before August.

We took a trip up to Santa Rosa to see my nephew Cody graduate from High School. So proud of him and it was fun to spend the weekend with some friends too.

Garrett and I celebrated our 13th wedding anniversary on June 7th. He made me a wonderful dinner and it was waiting for me when I got home from work that day!

The boys finished up the school year on Friday. We now have a first grader and a fourth grader in the house!! It is amazing how quickly they are growing. They both got wonderful report cards and are doing very well in school.

And last but not least.....we just celebrated Grandma Riley's 90th birthday last night at the Ritz in Laguna Beach. It was a wonderful time of celebration and remembrances. Garrett made a wonderful video and Matt wrote a great poem. The boys had fun dancing around while Dennis played his Uke. Very fun night!

As I write, it's past my bedtime and Kevin is still up working on the new legos he got from the family birthday party we had this afternoon. He's almost finished both sets! We better get to bed soon because tomorrow will be another big day!

Sweet, Handsome, Zachie!

2010-04-20T18:58:00.000-07:00

The big guy is 6 today. He's had a day full of pretty much whatever he asked for. Breakfast in bed.....he tried to help and sent him away saying, "You can't help. You must go upstairs and be served liked a king!" At school Garrett brought cookies in for Zach and all his classmates. After school we went to spend a gift certificate from Nana and Bubba. Then we were off to Chuck E Cheese (his new favorite place) where he and Kevin played the games. This was followed by coming home to open family presents. He chose In-N-Out for his dinner. Now he's happily playing Plants Vs. Zombies on the iPad. We will be having Ice Cream Cake in just a little while. Whew! You only turn 6 once right??

Let the FUNdraising begin

2010-04-03T07:22:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe that the 3-day walk is 7 months away. I still feel like I just finished last years walk. But as it is, time just keeps on ticking away and now I need to start thinking about how I am going to raise the money needed to participate in the walk. If it were up to me I think I would just skip the whole fundraising part, put my own money down and enjoy the walk.....and I guess I could do it that way, but then it would defeat one of the purposes of fundraising. Spreading the word about breast cancer! So in asking people to help me out, I am helping more people to know why I am walking and give others a chance to tell their story too. Last year we, as a team were able to raise enough money for all eight team members to participate, plus have enough left over to give each of us $500 to start this year off!

On April 11th we are starting the year off with a Pampered Chef fundraising party. I thought it would be an easy way to start things off. People go to these parties anyway and we get 25% of the profits. Here's how my online blog readers can help out too... you are able to order products online! If you want to check it out, go here, type in Team Safe at Second, and we will get credit. Your orders will be sent directly to you.

Of course the easiest way to help me out is to donate directly. That way I get 100% of the money towards my goal of $2300. Any amount is great appreciated!! You can go to my homepage to see what my progress is. I was continually amazed at the amount of support shown last year. People came out of nowhere and donated. I hope that I was able to show my appreciation and everyone knows how thankful I am!

Hi-Ya

2010-03-30T12:39:00.000-07:00

Kevin and Zach have been taking taekwondo lessons since January as a Christmas gift from Grandpa and Grandma Dee. They both seem to really enjoy it and yesterday they were able to test to see if they could earn their yellow belt. We weren't able to make it to the regular testing session on Friday because we were headed out of town, so they tested in class. At the end of the class I asked if there was anything else they needed to do and told the instructor that the boys were hoping to break some boards because that's what they were told they would have to do earlier. When the instructor said they only do that on regular test day the boys were sad and mad that we had missed it. But thankfully, the owner, Master Shin, came and said he had a surprise for them as they were getting their shoes on. You can see for yourself on the videos.

L.A. Marathon

2010-03-24T11:32:00.001-07:00

Well, I was able to walk down the steps this morning almost completely normally, so I guess that's a good sign that I'm almost recovered from this past Sunday. As most of you know, I ran in the L.A. Marathon on Sunday. I finished in 4:50:16, which is over 20 minutes faster than my Santa Clarita one. I'm quite happy about that!

After the Santa Clarita Marathon my feelings were that I didn't know if I ever wanted to do one again. I was exhausted and tired of training and my back was tired from the run. After this one, I am almost certain that I will do another. Maybe once a year.... I loved this one more than my first because of the amount of people that were running and the amount of people out cheering. Almost the entire way there was something interesting to look at. I also enjoyed joining up with a pace group. I joined the 4:30 group and was able to stay with them until about mile 18 when I had to make a pit stop. They continued on and I couldn't ever catch up again. But it seemed to make the time go by faster and I could definitely felt myself lagging once I lost them.

Of course, it's always fun to see family along the route. Garrett and the boys were at mile 15 and Paula, Jeff, Susan, and Sandy were at mile 23. The last 2 miles were the hardest as my legs started cramping up. But I was able to push through. It was right about when I made it to mile 26 and I looked at my watch that said, "4:48". I gave it all I could to make that last .2 of a mile so I could get in at 4:50.

A great experience.....now I am just wondering what to do next. Relax and enjoy these cute boys of mine?

Kevin's Announcement

2010-03-23T15:40:00.000-07:00

Go see Kevin's surprise!

So Proud

2010-03-16T10:11:00.000-07:00

I'm so proud of our boys! Yesterday Zachary received an award for academic achievement in reading and math. You could not have seen a happier boy. Unfortunately I had to miss him actually getting the award due to work, but thankfully Garrett was able to be there and capture it on film for me. He was very excited to show it to me when I picked him up though! Then today Kevin received an award for academic achievement in math. I had rearranged my schedule so I could see him receive it (before knowing Zach would be getting one on Monday). He was much less excited, on the outside, about receiving it because he's a big cool 3rd grader, but it was very fun seeing all his classmates congratulating him! These boys both work so hard in school and we are very proud of them!!

Knitting

2010-03-04T06:36:00.000-08:00

My mom brought her knitting with her last summer and the boys would just sit next to her and watch her knit sometimes during the day. They were fascinated by it and I found myself thinking, "I want to learn too!" So my mom bought me the book that she learned from, "I Taught Myself to Knit". I let it sit in my room for probably 6 months before picking it up and then spent the first night frustrated because I couldn't figure it out. I found some sites online that showed videos and eventually was able to start.

I started by making some little practice squares, which the boys thought could be little blankets for their hamsters they were sure they were getting for Christmas. (They didn't get them, but that's a different story). My first real project was a scarf. I didn't follow a pattern, I just kept knitting until I ran out of yarn. That one went to Zach and it now just sits in his closet. I started one for Kevin and then got tired of it. It is not looking great, as I tried to teach Zach how to knit on the same scarf and it has plenty of mistakes. I just finished another scarf that I actually may wear sometime. It's not perfect, but it looks kind of pretty. I'm really wanting to make things that I can give away to people, but still need more practice. My mom gives many of the blankets she makes to an organization called, Project Linus. Maybe eventually I will get to that point....when I'm retired! Although I already kind of feel like a grandma sitting and knitting, but oh well it's relaxing. For now, I will just continue slowly learning how to do it better. I guess that's the case with learning anything new, right?

Epiphanie

2010-03-03T06:52:00.000-08:00

My long time friend, Maile, from high school is a wonderful photographer and has now designed some awesome camera bags. She has started a new blog called "Epiphanie" and is doing a major give away on it! Go check it out!

Kicking off the 2010 walk

2010-03-02T12:11:00.001-08:00

Team Safe at Second got together this past Friday for the first time since the walk. It was so good to see everyone again. Although we all live so close it has been hard to get together. We are going to start our weekly walks again this Sunday and it is hard to believe that we are about 8 months away from our 2010 walk. One of our teammates, Sue, put together this video that I thought you may enjoy. I can't wait to do it again!!

Mammoth With the Nowlins

2010-02-24T13:31:00.001-08:00

We spent President's weekend in Mammoth with the Nowlins. We're trying to make this trip an annual tradition. It is quite an adventure with five little boys together! Mark was wondering what it would be like in ten years....teenage boys eating us out of the house! Kevin and Zach liked having "baby Caleb" around though, at least until he started begging for their food. It was very cute to see how they were treating him. Angela watched Kevin and Zach on Saturday morning while I went out skiing with Garrett and Mark. Garrett and I had fun watching all the boys on Sunday. We even managed to take them all sledding. No pictures of that though because couldn't manage to take a camera with us!

Snow What Fun!

2010-02-18T21:25:00.000-08:00

We've been enjoying Mammoth again this year. The boys took their first skiing lessons in December and loved it. They keep asking when they are going to go again. Hopefully we will put them in again sometime soon! Here are some pictures from our December trip. We also took Raven to the snow too, which was an adventure. She loved bounding through the snow banks. Zach suggested we just trade our Valencia house for the Mammoth house......I think the boys like it there!

More pics from our Mammoth adventures last weekend coming soon.....

A Perfect Run

2010-02-07T21:09:00.001-08:00

Two years ago I ran in my first race. The Redondo Beach Superbowl 10K. It was raining and windy, but I was committed to running so I went out and did it. It was then that I realized how fun a race could be and how fun it could be to run in the rain! Yesterday, two years later, I skipped the 10K and went for a nice 18 mile run. It wasn't raining hard, but enough of a sprinkle to keep me cool. I ran it in my best time ever and today I'm barely feeling sore! I was wishing that it was marathon day yesterday, because I was feeling like I could've kept going.

I've been thinking about how I just sort of jumped into this long distance running, out of the blue, and wondering what it is that I like about it. It's true that I like the sense of accomplishment, but more than that I like being outside and being on my own (or with Raven) for a little while. I know what my Saturday mornings are going to be like and I look forward to that time. My sister-in-law, Tina, was asking me what type of program I am following and if I am keeping track of my heart rate and all that. I tried that for the first marathon and found that I didn't think it was helping, so I stopped all the reading of books and searching for the best way to run. For me, I just needed to do what felt right. If my heart started beating too hard, I slowed down. If my knees started hurting, I ran less. This time around I am feeling pretty good. I don't want to jinx myself, but I think this L.A. marathon is going to be a lot of fun!

Here are a few shots from a 10 mile run that Raven and I went on a few weeks back. It's been different training this time of year rather than the summer. More rain and cold weather and I'm finding that it's easier to run in this weather.

Our normally dry creek bed in the background.

If you look really close, you might see a rainbow.

A Celebration of Life

2010-02-03T14:31:00.001-08:00

Naomi Ruth Graham Trettin

I had blackberries on my yogurt this morning and this made me think of my grandma.

My Grandma Trettin passed away on January 7th, a day before her 94th birthday. This may be part of the reason my blogging has been postponed for so long, I knew I wanted to do a post but not sure what to say.

My Grandma lived a long life, full of hard-work, family, friends, and love. She lived through the depression and based much of her life based on the way her family lived in order to survive. Most of my memories are of visiting my grandma and grandpa on their farm in Oregon. Just about every summer we would go up for at least a week to visit. We'd also head up for Thanksgiving or Christmas. I always loved the occasional Christmas that it would snow. I have memories of "playing" the piano they had. I had no idea what I was doing, but my grandma always let me bang around on the keys. I also enjoyed picking blackberries and eating cobbler with homemade ice cream. At the funeral, most of the grandchildren share these memories of helping out on the farm. I'm thankful that I was able to bring Kevin up when he was about 2 to visit and we were able to go over to the farm to pick blackberries. Although I know he wont remember this, it is special to me that he was able to do it.

My cousins and I on the farm many years ago

Kevin and Nana picking blackberries (and eating them!)

Grandma Trettin and Kevin on the farm 2003

I enjoyed being a part of the celebration of my grandma's life. We have such an extended family that a lot of my relatives I'm not able to see often. I'm so glad I was able to make it. Being surrounded by family is important to my life. I enjoyed listening to everyone's stories and memories. I think it was pretty unanimous that my grandma was hard working and frugal, but also gave all that she could to help those that she loved. She showed her love through her work and I think that has passed down to me. It's not easy expressing myself outwardly, but it fills my heart to give to others and do what I can to help. I thank my grandma for this lesson, although I continue to work on the expressing it outwardly too. :)

Here's a picture from after the funeral. We all went back to my Aunt Sharon's house and had time to talk/listen with all of the family. It's not often that we all get together but it sure is nice when we do. I hope that there will be another reunion soon (not a funeral though....). :)

How Long Has It Been??

2010-02-01T21:41:00.000-08:00

Well, I guess it's been a while! I was thinking of stopping this blog all together but then I thought I will want to some day look back over all the things the Rileys have done and relive the memories. I planned on writing a full post today, but it's getting late and I haven't got my pictures uploaded yet. So for now I just wanted to let you know that I am back and will catch up soon.....I promise.

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-24T10:36:00.001-08:00

The Countdown Continues

2009-12-12T17:16:00.000-08:00

We've missed a few days off our countdown this past week due to homework and other activities, but we managed to do the important ones....like getting a tree. We decorated a gingerbread house. You'll all be happy to know that the boys have also begun the process of making their Christmas gifts for everyone!

The days are quickly going by and Christmas will be here before we know it. Today we had a nice visit from Namie, Susan, Dennis, Sandy, and Joe. I was given an early present from Dennis, which was a DVD of pictures of all my accomplishments over the past two years put to music. Very thoughtful and I will have to post it on here to show it to all of you!

Tonight is movie night, with hot chocolate. Now we just have to decide what to watch. Hope all of you are enjoying these days before Christmas too!

Christmas Countdown

2009-12-03T13:26:00.000-08:00

This year I took an idea from a friend and we are trying to do something fun, or at least related to Christmas, each day from the 1st of December until the 25th. The boys and I had to think hard to come up with something for each day, but they are so excited to see what they are going to do each day. We are trying to include the gift of giving too, so some of our days include buying a toy for the toy drive, putting money in the bell ringers buckets, and making gifts for family.

So far we have painted our back window and made cookies. Today we are hanging outside lights, or as many as we have time for. Garrett is on his own for Friday and Saturday as I will be going to Sacramento! I believe they are going to see the holiday train that come through town tomorrow night and a Kings game on Saturday.

3-day Walk

2009-11-27T11:27:00.001-08:00

One week ago I began the 3-day walk with approximately 3,800 other women and men. There were eight of us that made up Team Safe at Second and I don't think I could have picked a better group of ladies to do this walk with. I've been trying to formulate what all happened throughout the walk and put down in words what it meant to me to be able to do it, but so far I'm at a loss for words.

I remember about 10 years ago, in Ventura, one of the moms of a little boy was working with was telling me about this walk she was going to be doing. How they were going to walk 60 miles over 3-days and sleep in tents, all to raise money for breast cancer research. I thought it sounded awesome but at the time I just left it that, tucking it away in the back part of my brain. I didn't really think about it much again until moving to Santa Clarita. I knew another mom of a different boy who I worked with who had just done the 3-day walk in San Francisco. I asked her to send me info on it and started looking into what exactly was involved in doing this walk. Just a few weeks later, my mom called telling me she had been diagnosed with breast cancer. I knew right then that it was finally my time to get involved. Thankfully I was able to join up with Team Safe at Second, because doing this on my own would not have been nearly as wonderful!

So, we got to Del Mar on Friday morning around 5:15. This was after we spent the night in San Clemente at Susan and Dennis' house, where we were showered with well wishes, balloons, and cake from the whole gang. Even at 5:15 we were welcomed by bright, happy faces waiting to take our bags. The crew for the walk is amazing! Opening ceremonies began around 6:30 and then we hit the road, slowly, with all the walkers trying to leave at the same time it took a while to get going. The first day we walked 20.1 miles, starting in Del Mar, walking through La Jolla, and ending up in Mission Bay where our camp was. It took 10 hours to get there because of the amount of people trying to get to the same place and all the pit stops were crowded. We were so thankful to see that our tents had been set up by "tent angels" and we were able to just go take a hot shower. The showers were set up in the back of these big semi-truck type things with about six stalls in each truck. Amazingly well organized and I was able to get in and out quickly. We had a spaghetti dinner and were ready for bed around 8:30.

Day 2, we walked all around the Mission Bay area. Beautiful sites all along the way and much of the time was with an ocean view. The weather could not have been more beautiful either. Not too hot, but the sun shining enough to feel great against my skin.

Throughout the walk there were cheering stations set up where people were dressed up in crazy outfits, handing out candy, stickers, or even some tequila shots (yes, I seized the moment and had a shot). The whole time you were made to feel like a hero and I teared up a little each time people cheered, and especially when seeing people wearing signs saying "thank you for walking for me". We were able to make it back to camp around 3:30 the 2nd day, as I checked out the beginnings of blisters on my heels and my pinky toe. Nothing major, but enough for me to not want to put my shoes on for a while. So instead I showered, put on my slippers, ate dinner, and then danced the night away (of course). I had some encouragement from teammates, as I really could have just gone to sleep and not even had dinner. But the dancing felt good and was super fun!

Day 3 was our shortest day, 14.3 miles according to the route map, but we all counted each of our trips around camp and we figured that we must have at least done another couple of miles to make it closer to the actual 60 miles we were proclaiming to have walked. We walked from camp, through Old Town San Diego, ending up at Petco Park. We finished up around 1:30 and hung out in a Sports bar with all the crazy football fans. Garrett met up with us there and everyone on the team cheered for him when he walked because he was the representative from home. All of the other husbands were back at home taking care of their kids. We were told it would be a lot of standing around and waiting, so not the most fun place for the boys to come and that's why just Garrett came down. Closing ceremonies were amazing, emotional, and inspiring. We all took off a shoe and raised in the air as the survivor walkers came in to the ceremonies. I cried as we walked in as we walked past a woman who's hair was just growing back and she was saying thank you to all of us for walking.

Even though I was tired from all the walking and standing around during the weekend, I kept thinking of all that these women (and men) have gone through during their fight with cancer. I continued to think of my mom and how just a little over a year before she had her lump removed and how thankful I was to be able to do this for her. And even though it was hard raising all of my funds, I was so thankful that I was able to have my teammates to help me with fundraising. So, when they asked me on our last night at camp if I was going to do it again.......I just had to say YES!

P.S. As a team we raised $20, 607 and in all the San Diego 3-day walk raised

approximately $9.5 million

13.1

2009-11-08T19:20:00.001-08:00

Today I completed my second half marathon and it felt great! I have been working my way up on my runs on the weekends but the most I've done since last May is 10 miles and that was last Saturday. The whole race atmosphere is so exciting and I love the cheering and good vibes that go along with it.

I finished with a chip time of 2:07:07, which is just about 1 minute faster than my time of the San Jose Half last year. When I was finished I was thinking to myself....I'm just gettin' warmed up! Now, four months until the L.A. Marathon!!

Slimy

2009-11-02T11:38:00.000-08:00

I love Zach's face in this. Neither of the boys like to scoop out the pumpkins so I end up doing it each year.

Halloween 2009

2009-11-02T11:20:00.001-08:00

Halloween has come and gone again. The boys loved it and we had fun having Grami and Papa join us this year for trick or treating. We waited until the morning of Halloween to carve the pumpkins because we've found in the past that they quickly go bad in our warm So. Cal. weather. Kevin was very determined to carve his all by himself. He really wanted to use on of the patterns that come with the carving kit, but in the end he came up with his own cool design. The pumpkin carving saws that came with the kit both broke so Kevin very carefully used a sharp knife for the first time this year. It was hard even for me, but he stuck with it! Zach let me do most of his, but he did help me poke holes in the tracing paper for the skeleton design that we used.

Playing a little Dodge Ball before trick-or-treating. Girls vs. Boys!

Ready to hit the streets!

Zach, the mummy

(a last minute costume since he changed from wanting to be a ghost)

Kevin, a.k.a. Harry Potter

Trick-or-Treat!!

Harry Potter casting a spell on the Mummy!

Lots of candy, lots of fun. I'm sure they will be counting down the days soon until next Halloween!

Weight Loss Wednesday

2009-10-28T20:42:00.001-07:00

I'm still posting on Wednesday, even though it's late. I skipped last week because of being to busy. I thought my hectic week would help me out in the weight loss area but turns out it didn't. I'm not sure I trust the Wii for my weigh ins anymore. It seems like it just is a consistent up and down on that thing.....or maybe it's just me. I am going to go get another real scale though.

I finally found a breakfast that I can consistently eat and it keeps me full until lunch. Good old plain cheerios and a banana. I was enjoying my Total cereal with blueberries and pomegranate until I saw that it had as much sugar in it as my kids "special sugar cereals". So I bought regular cheerios and have been eating them almost every day for the past week and a half. I've also been making kale smoothies with my lunch and including kale, oj, yogurt, and frozen strawberries. I could drink smoothies every day, but the weather is getting a little colder so they don't always feel the best when I'm already frozen. SO, I'm gonna stick with what I like and try and stay away from the junk.....that's my diet. (And then comes Halloween candy :)

Whirlwind

2009-10-27T13:37:00.000-07:00

My body always has a way of telling me to slow down. Sometimes I listen, most times I don't. Today I'm feeling a cold coming on and I am trying to ignore it.

I've been barely keeping me head above water this past week. Didn't even get around to posting on my weight loss wednesday! Thankfully, the whirlwind is starting to slow down. Popcorn is nearly almost over and I will be so glad when it is all out of our house an I don't have to deal with it again next year!

We are closing in on our 3-day walk. I think there are about 25 days left before the walk! All of my teammates and I have met our minimum goal! This past weekend we had a bake sale out at Lombardi Ranch and raised over $1000. We had so much stuff baked for us by all of our friends. We were able to sell consistently from about 8:00 to 5:00 and still went home with a few bags of chocolate chip cookies.

Following my time at the bake sale Garrett, the boys, and I went to meet Paula and Jeff for a Pirate Adventure dinner. It was a lot of fun and quite a different eating experience.

Of course we are still having fun getting to know Raven. She is a sweet dog and she and Dodger are getting along a little better. I've been taking her with me on all of my walks and runs and I think she's probably thinking, "Geez, a walk around the block would be ok. You don't HAVE to take me on these long adventures!"

I guess I better take care of myself this week so that I will be ready for the weekend. Halloween is the boys second favorite holiday. They can't wait and I can't believe it's almost here!!

Raven

2009-10-18T21:32:00.000-07:00

We added a new member to our family yesterday! Her name is Raven and she's a beautiful black labrador. I'll take some more pictures tomorrow, maybe outside. She really is beautiful though!

Through the wonders of Facebook, Garrett saw a post about a family looking for a new home for their dog. We had been tossing around the idea of getting another dog and Garrett REALLY wanted a black lab. The family who owned her had a baby a few months ago and felt that they didn't have the time to give to her. She is already partially trained....knows how to sit and stay. She's house broken and crate trained to sleep in a crate at night. Perfect, right. So we went to meet her in Huntington Beach yesterday evening and ended up bringing her home last night.

Dodger has not been the most welcoming to Raven, but that's to be expected after this has been her family for 12 years. Last night it was all Dodger barking at Raven, today Raven is starting to fight back. Hopefully this will not last too long!! I hope that they become friends and can keep each other company while we're at work.

Stay tuned for some better pictures tomorrow. I am planning on taking her hiking tomorrow (steering clear of the tar pits). She took a 10 mile walk with me this morning and still had energy afterwards. Yay, I have a new running partner too!!

Happy Birthday to Me!

2009-10-15T06:43:00.000-07:00

How did I get to be 35? In my mind, that's old. In my heart, I still feel like I'm just out of high school. I am happy with how my life is a 35 and I think it's just about how I imagined it would be. Except I never imagined I would have climbed Mt. Whitney or ran a marathon in my 34th year. These are just added bonuses and I hope to add more on to my list as I continue to age.

We had a fun weekend full of celebrations. On Saturday Susan and Namie came up and joined us, along with 3 couples of friends for a BBQ. It was a fun afternoon and Garrett even got to enjoy watching the Dodger game. Then on Sunday Paula, Jeff, and Mindy came up and we got to go out to Wood Ranch Grill for lunch. I only have pictures from Sunday because Paula is so good about taking them. I was just too lazy to get my camera on Saturday, but it doesn't mean it was any less memorable. I was taking "mental pictures" throughout the day.

Weight Loss Wednesday

2009-10-14T06:31:00.000-07:00

No posts since last Wed.... who's managing this blog?? It must be the same person who totally blew it this week on trying to lose weight. Too many birthday celebrations and I just think life is to short to not eat my cake! (one piece is not so bad, going back for more and more is where my problem shows up)

Be back soon with some pictures that my mother-in-law took of one of our celebrations. I'm off to a conference today so don't have much time to post!

Weight Loss Wednesday

2009-10-07T06:56:00.000-07:00

I can never understand this whole weight loss thing. Last week I enjoy myself, eating camp food and everything and lose 2 pounds....This week I am more purposeful in what I eat, I "kind of" followed my friends diet, and end up losing nothing! Well, the scale (or Wii) says I lost nothing, but the mirror shows that I am am losing some. I will not be posting pictures though. :)

As I said, I "kind of " followed the diet my friend gave me. I had to add in more fruit because I just need it and I don't think fruit is bad for me. I am not sticking to it though because I am really tired of egg whites for breakfast. I was almost gagging on them on Saturday and that's when I decided enough was enough. I'll stick to my oatmeal or cold cereal. I just bought some Total cereal with blueberries and pomegranates that I can't wait to have for breakfast this morning. I'm continuing to eat more salad (thanks to all who gave me suggestions for salads). I am continuing my exercise too. You'd think that running 9 miles on Saturday and walking another 9 on Sunday would do something for you.....

Thanks for checking in. I'm not giving up, I'm eating well, and maybe my body just wants to be this size for now!

Zach Lost His First Tooth

2009-10-04T16:38:00.001-07:00

Zach lost his first tooth today! He has another one that will be coming out soon too. I guess the tooth fairy will be busy!!

Weight Loss Wednesday

2009-09-30T06:52:00.000-07:00

Here we are again. Each week seems to fly by! The goon news is that even though I went camping and ate camp food, I still have managed to loose 2 pounds this week! I've kept up my exercise and on Monday I started my friend Karen's diet. This diet is based around the Michael Thurmond's 6-week body makeover. She did not buy the whole diet packet, she borrowed information from someone else who had. So she gave me a list of what she has been eating and I am now taking from that list and making it my own. I know I should really just find what works for me, and I am trying.

So here's mainly what I've been eating. Egg whites, oranges (supposed to be grapefruit but the store didn't have any when I went), chicken, brown rice, vegetables, ground turkey, and greens for my salads. All healthy, not much variety. Any ideas for really yummy salads would be appreciated. I need to go shopping again though.....

Emma Woods Camping

2009-09-28T08:28:00.000-07:00

We went with Kevin's cub scout pack for our first all pack camping trip this past weekend. We went to Emma Woods State Park in Ventura. The pack had some money left over from last year, so they paid for the camping fee and provided all of the food. Pretty good way to go camping! We arrived on Friday evening. No pictures of that day because we spent our first hour, at least, trying to set up the tent before it got dark. Any pictures would have been of Garrett and I arguing about how to put up the tent! Zach said it best when he said, "It would have gone faster if you guys weren't fighting about it." Wise little one....

We went to bed early that night after a few ghost stories in the tent. Woke up around midnight because Zach had suddenly become sick and was saying he needed to throw up. Luckily I had a trash bag near by and he was able to make it in there. The night continued like this off and on until finally the sun came up. We decided that Garrett would take Zachie home because Kevin really wanted to stay and he said I should stay with him since he had already been camping with Daddy last year. The rest of the day consisted of playing on the beach, building sand castles, digging holes, and taking some short breaks back at the tent. The fog started rolling in around 5:00 and with all the fires that have been happening around us people were staring at the fog saying, "Is that smoke??" We're not used to fog around Santa Clarita. Of course it wouldn't be camping without S'mores around the campfire at night too! Kevin made some new friends and he was so happy that we stayed.

Some friends kindly offered to give Kevin and I, and all of our stuff, a ride back home so Garrett didn't have to come back and get us. I was happy to get back to a nice hot shower but could have stayed in the cool beach weather for another week!

Lucky Me!

2009-09-24T15:59:00.000-07:00

Just found out I won a giveaway over at Roseylittlethings blog! I love winning things, no matter what it is. This time I got to choose between two items and I chose to receive the cupcake tin and liners.

So, thanks Jen! I feel so lucky today. :)

Weight Loss Wednesday

2009-09-23T00:00:00.000-07:00

I just finished a half hour on the Wii Fit and I'm pretty sure that our dog was thinking I was crazy as she was watching me hula-hoop. I'll tell you though, that virtual hula-hoopin' is a good work out! Unfortunately my good old Wii told me I have gained two pounds this week. I know we fluctuate daily, but truthfully I know why I did not do well this week. It's the weekends that get me. I do well all week, and then weekends come and I just go for it all.

This past weekend we had a garage sale for our 3-day walk. We were busy Friday afternoon setting up and all morning Saturday. So into my mouth went not only a huge breakfast burrito but also one yummy donut. Not to mention that Garrett offers to bring home In-N-Out on Sunday and who can resist that?

So, what to do?? I can already tell you that this coming weekend is not going to be a good food weekend either. I am looking forward to it though! We are going camping with Kevin's cub scout pack in Ventura. We haven't been camping as a family, with the exception of our backyard, ever! The pack is providing the food though, and although I will bring along some of our own fruits and drinks, I don't honestly plan on eating salad while everyone else is enjoying camp food.

Next week though, I think I am going to try my friend Karen's diet that she's been on for 4 weeks and has lost 14 pounds. It's a fairly straightforward diet, but not much variety...which often leads me to go a little crazy. Maybe I'll just try it for the first week and see how it goes. I need some kind of plan, because the "eat right and exercise" routine isn't seeming to be enough to keep me focused.

Fun at the Beach

2009-09-21T21:30:00.001-07:00

Some long overdue pictures from our labor day BBQ at Matt's house. Thanks to Paula for the pictures and to Matt for hosting. We had fun playing in the ocean and the boys and I even attempted some boogie boarding. The best part was hearing Kevin scream when the sea weed would get anywhere near him! Next summer I am going to learn to surf (you hear that Matt, that means you need to teach me!).

Weight Loss Wednesday

2009-09-16T06:58:00.000-07:00

Mr. Wii Fit says that I have lost 2.2 pounds since last stepping on him 2 weeks ago. Every little bit counts! I don't have a working scale, so I am relying on the Wii to tell me how I'm doing on my quest.

I'm really trying to do at least 3 miles on the treadmill, at least 3 days per week. I then include a longer outside run, usually on Saturdays, and then walking with my 3-day group on Sunday mornings. Our group is up to about 8 miles on those Sunday mornings. This week I was busy with popcorn for cub scouts on Saturday, so I did my long run on Monday, 7 miles. It's my longest run since back in May. So, I am slowly working my way back up so that I will be ready when the next marathon comes around.

Problem is when I start running more I think I deserve to eat more, so I end up eating junk. I am buying more fruit to eat in the afternoons and trying to drink more water or flavored water. In the evenings I typically make fairly healthy meals anyway, but I am filling half of my plate with salad so that there is less room for the other stuff. Tonight we are having hummus with pita bread and I bought some salmon burgers at our new Trader Joes. We'll see what the boys think of those.

Pictures from our fun beach day will be posted soon. Gotta get some breakfast going!

Just Made Up My Mind....

2009-09-13T11:07:00.000-07:00

I'M IN! WATCH THE VIDEO.....

L.A. MARATHON

Weight Loss Wednesday

2009-09-09T15:13:00.000-07:00

This week was a wash. Too many fun things to do over the weekend to think about losing weight. I didn't weigh myself, but if I gained anything I'm blaming it on Uncle Matt's cupcakes! :)

Tune in next Wed. to see if this whole thing is just a bunch of baloney or if I am really going to try and lose some weight!

Sail On Sailor

2009-09-08T21:22:00.001-07:00

The boys and I had a great time sailing with Uncle Dennis on Saturday. We headed down a little early so we could stop in at Namie's house and try and beat the traffic. It's been a few years, I think, since I've been out on Serenity Now. The boys have been out more than I have. Since they are getting older I was actually able to enjoy this trip and not have to worry about them or watch them so carefully this time. It was fun to see them so comfortable on the boat! Of course I did end up with Zach on my lap for the last part of the trip, but I guess there is only so much a young sailor can handle.

We got back into the dock and got to have a great dinner down by the water. What a treat to find an open picnic table on Labor Day weekend! Zach passed out on the way home as soon as we hit the freeway. Kevin, on the other hand, managed to stay awake the whole ride home listening to Harry Potter on tape and then wanted to watch the movie after we got home.

Oh, and one other special thing we gained from this trip..... meet "Red Head". Uncle Dennis so generously gave this to Kevin to borrow. It's a red tail hawk that is about 40 years old, as he made in while in college. It's been carefully protecting Kevin's legos for the past few nights.

Thanks again guys for a great time!!

Team Safe at Second

2009-09-05T08:02:00.000-07:00

Sue, Melissa, Susan

Mary Jo, Jacque

Dawn, Christine, Me

November is getting closer and I realized I had yet to introduce the team I am walking with for the 3-day walk. Valencia/Santa Clarita has a small town feel and since meeting these ladies we have found we that we have all these other connections to other people around town. I originally joined with this team because I knew Christine. I had worked with her son at Pediatric Therapy when he was 2. He just turned 5 and I love being able to follow my kids progress!

Now that we are a team of 8 we will ultimately raise at least $18,400. I am just so excited to be finally doing this! I am getting close to meeting my minimum and I KNOW I will make it there. Thank you to all who have helped me come this far.

Weight Loss Wednesday

2009-09-02T06:18:00.000-07:00

My week has been a bit hectic with Zach's breathing problems, but I managed to work out 5 out of the 7 days. I'm using my treadmill again because the air is too smokey outside, but also made it to the gym one day for a kickboxing class. Classes are my favorite because they make the time go by so much faster!

My Wii Fit tells me I have not lost any weight this week. I'm ok with that for now. I feel like I have, so that makes up for in in my mind. Next week though, I would love to see some actual results on the scale. Speaking of Wii Fit, Zach and I have a lot of fun with it. It's pretty much the only game on it I will play, well with the exception of the occasional Rock Band. I wouldn't say I could use it for my only form of exercise, but I am going to try and use it once a week to check it and I like doing the strength exercises on it.

I have had a salad almost everyday this past week, usually for lunch. This is a pretty good accomplishment for me. I HAVE to get to the grocery store soon though, because I've almost run out of things to put on my lettuce and just lettuce will not cut it. My favorite thing on a salad is avocado and I know they are high in fat, but I'm allowing myself some to make my salads taste better to me!

Ok, that's it for me..... you can check out these blogs too to follow others in their weight loss journey:

Summer Swanson of: Artful Life

Jen Smith: Rosey Little Things
April Oritz of:The Art Chics

Sarah Chimblo of: Sew Sarah

And as a bonus, doing this is getting me to post a few more times during the week too!

From the Stadium to the Sea

2009-09-01T13:22:00.001-07:00

Today is the first day to sign up for the 2010 L.A. Marathon. This year they are changing the route and running from Dodger Stadium to Santa Monica. I've almost decided to do it.....just need a little more time to think about it!

My Nightmare

2009-08-29T07:47:00.001-07:00

Growing up with asthma was never an easy thing. Years of medicine, allergies to all kinds of yummy foods, having to leave friends houses early because of an attack, nights of sitting outside in the fresh air trying to get a good breath, and even sleeping on a cot in the kitchen because it was the one room in the house with the least allergens. After having kids of my own, one of my nightmares has been that I would that one of the boys would get asthma. I know it was hard for my parents watching me go through some of the hard days, and I was just hoping I would not ever have to really know how that felt.

Well, I got a taste of these feelings these past few days. Zachary has had a cold, which turned in to a cough, which turned into him struggling for air. We brought him to the urgent care on Thursday evening and the doctor right away gave him a steroid shot and started him on a breathing treatment. The smell of the treatment brought back all kinds of memories. I just wished I could take it all back on me rather than watch Zachie struggle. Thankfully the treatment helped and we were sent home with medicine. They didn't call it asthma, but rather a restricted airway due to the cold and cough. All the same, it looked and felt like it to me and chances are that Zach will have trouble with this in the future too.

A follow up trip to the doctor showed that Zach's lungs were still congested and they gave him two more treatments and we were sent home with a nebulizer to use over the weekend. Good news is that the combination of treatments and other medicines have started making him feel better. He'll have another follow up on Monday and hopefully he'll be completely better by then!

It's a hard thing being a parent. All the joys and sorrows are multiplied by 1000's when you are watching your own son or daughter!

Weight Loss Wednesday

2009-08-26T19:48:00.000-07:00

So I'm joining a friend of mine in the never ending quest to lose some weight. She just had a baby 3 weeks ago and is already trying to lose her baby weight.....I on the other hand think I can no longer use my "baby weight" as an excuse. That picture of me above was with Zachary, about five and a half years ago. Yet, those last 10-15 pounds just keep hanging on.

Here's my plan. Hold on to your hats....eat right and exercise! Wild concept, I know, but I've learned from Garrett that it works. I already know that I do a pretty good job with the exercise, so that leaves the eating right part. One main thing that I'll be trying to do is make sure I eat a good lunch. For the past year, my schedule at work has been MWF and I wouldn't get to eat lunch until about 2 or 3 in the afternoon. I would eat some snacks at work but come home feeling starved and eat everything I could find. Thankfully, this year my schedule allows me to eat lunch at a regular time and I think this will help. I'm trying to add more salads into my day, either lunch or dinner. And lastly, cutting out the snacks that I tend to eat when I am trying to keep myself awake in the afternoon while helping Kevin with his homework.

I'll be checking in each Wednesday to update my progress. I have yet to weigh myself, but I already know that I would like to lose at least 10 pounds and have my clothes fit better. Maybe I can go on a shopping spree for my birthday in October!

A New School Year

2009-08-13T22:12:00.000-07:00

Wednesday was a big day in the Riley house. Kevin started 3rd grade and Zach started Kindergarten! Both boys were excited. I bought them both alarm clocks and Kevin set his for 6:00 (without me knowing). He was up and dressed before I was even out of bed. Zach did great, going right into his classroom, hanging up his backpack, and blowing me a kiss goodbye. Kevin's now an old pro at this school stuff and had no problem finding his line that morning. It's so exciting, and a little heartbreaking, to see the boys growing up!

Mt. Whitney

2009-08-05T22:00:00.000-07:00

We did it! What an amazing experience. It all started at 1:50 a.m. when my alarm went off. I took a quick shower to wake up and I immediately felt excited and anxious. We were out the door at 2:20 and on the trail at 3:15. I had brought my watch but purposely tried not to continually look at it because I didn't want to know that I'd only been going an hour if it felt like forever. Here are the highlights that come to mind....

*I loved starting in the dark. My sense of hearing was heightened because I could see as well, so I enjoyed the sounds of water flowing along a creek or rushing down a waterfall.

*I loved watching the sun coming up. It was so beautiful and made me think I need to get up early more often and watch more sunrises!

* I loved the camaraderie and how encouraging everyone was to one another.

* I loved the view from the trail crest where you can first see down into both Kings Canyon and Owens Valley. We had an amazingly clear day and could see for miles and miles.

*I loved Matt's idea of letting Denise lead us up to the summit at the end and the sense of accomplishment that occurred when we made it.

*I loved the view from the top where I could look around 360 degrees and know that I was at the highest point in the continental U.S.

* I loved looking back up when we were half way down and thinking, "Was I really just up there??"

*I loved seeing all the beautiful areas that we were not able to see in the dark. Wildflowers, waterfalls, meadows, all just beautiful.

* I LOVED finally making it down and going back to take a shower!

Of course I didn't love every moment of it, but focusing on the positive is what got me through. It was an extremely long, emotional, triumphant day. When asked if I would do it again my answer was, without skipping a beat, YES!

And, here's is what I unpacked out of our backpacks when we got home today.... No wonder my shoulders were sore, I was carrier about 5 pounds of unnecessary food!

A Break in the Routine

2009-07-31T20:21:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday the boys were picked up by Susan and Namie, on their way home from Mammoth, and headed down to Grami and Papa's house for two nights. On Monday they got to go on their annual Legoland trip. They LOVE that place! Grami and Papa said they had such a good time and Zach especially liked the water area.

It was nice for Garrett and I to have a break in our regular routine. We were able to go out to dinner on Sunday night and enjoy an evening of movie watching. I found myself going through many different ideas of how I should best spend my time, because it's not often that I'm without the boys. I ended up going to the gym and reading a book. Not the most exciting, but I enjoyed it none the less. Picking them up on Tuesday I found myself a little more patient with them, at least for the car ride home, and it made me realize how important these breaks in the routine are.

This summer I've also been taking a break in my exercise routine. I realized that I had pretty much been running four to five days a week plus Saturday mornings since November of 2007. That in itself is not bad, but the fact that I had just devoted myself to running and left out other areas of exercise were starting to get to me. When I was going to run the marathon in May I was excited about the prospect of beating my last time and then possibly not ever doing another marathon! We all know how that turned out, so then I wanted to jump right in and train for the very next marathon to "get it over with". I started thinking, "What's the rush?" If I want to run, I should and if not, then that's fine too. So this summer I've been purposely taking a break from running and spending my time in the gym, taking dance-type classes, kickboxing, and I even tried Yoga for the first time last week. I'm enjoying the variety and found that my body responds better to variety too! Not to say I've put running completely out of my mind though, we'll just wait and see.....

But tonight I am packing my bags for Mammoth as we prepare to hike Whitney on Tuesday. I'm excited and nervous at the same time. I think it will be quite a hard day, to say the least, but I'm looking forward to some good times and great memories!!

The Skirball

2009-07-16T21:58:00.000-07:00

The boys and I had a great afternoon at The Skirball Museum. We ordered these tickets back in May in order to get in for "free Thursday". I would have paid full price though because the boys loved it and it was a great way to spend the afternoon. They have a Noah's Ark Exhibit and everything in the exhibit is made from recycled materials. You wouldn't know it though, because it all looks so cool. To top it off, they also had another exhibit that was Comic Book Superheros. An unexpected treat for the boys. Unfortunately I didn't get the best shots so I guess you'll all have to go see it for yourself one of these days!

Sorry For The Delay!

2009-07-09T11:18:00.000-07:00

We've been enjoying summer and time has been getting away from us! I also continue to blame facebook. It's much easier to just post something there than to write on whole entry on here. But, the blog has been calling my name recently....so I figured it was time for an update.

Kevin's been working on Legos...already filled up the shelf my dad made for him

Garrett and I have been preparing for our hike to Mt. Whitney.

We took a trip to Mammoth over the 4th of July weekend.

The boys found the sidewalk chalk again!

Kevin used birthday money and bought a new friend at Build-a-Bear. Her name is Gabriella, like from High School Musical

And, we've been swimming with friends a lot. Which is where we are off to now!

Kindergarten Here We Come!

2009-06-20T09:44:00.001-07:00

Zach had a great last week of preschool. They took a field trip to Scooter's Jungle, which is a huge indoor bounce house place. Then they had a class party on Wed. with pizza and cupcakes. His official graduation was on Thurs. Zach was very cute singing the songs and very excited to be graduating. To complete the week they had an all school water party on Friday. So now our baby boy is moving on up to Kindergarten!!

Zach and his best friend Shaun

After graduation

His "diploma"

Mrs. Leah and Zachary

Big K is 8!!

2009-06-13T06:46:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe that 8 years ago Kevin was just coming into this world. Our world would not be the same without him!! Happy Birthday Kevie!!

Happy Anniversary!

2009-06-07T00:00:00.000-07:00

Twelve years..... has gone by like the blink of an eye!

Rock and Roll

2009-05-31T22:05:00.000-07:00

Four months of training, early morning Saturday runs, sore legs and feet...... and all I get is this shirt?

So, I guess May is not a great month for marathons for the Rileys. First Matt's L.A. Marathon problems and now this. I seriously was contemplating how I would feel after running a marathon on a half hour of sleep. I almost talked myself into it. But in the end, I know I made the right decision. Garrett needed my help and I couldn't risk getting myself sick for the rest of the week for one run!

Now it's all uphill from here, literally. Starting this week a lot of my exercise will include walking uphill on the treadmill or walking stairs in order to get ready for the next goal on my list. No time to sit and pout about missing this marathon. We are set to climb Mt. Whitney on August 4th!

Dinosaur-o-rama!

2009-05-24T15:40:00.000-07:00

Kevin's class has been learning all about dinosaurs and is going to put on quite a display for open house. This past week he worked hard on putting together a diorama. He's been teaching me all I need to know about dinosaurs! If you want to see more pictures go to Kevin's blog!

Fun Weekend

2009-05-18T18:53:00.001-07:00

Thanks to Susan and Dennis I have some pictures from the weekend. The boys have been having fun playing t-ball and swimming. This is the first year we've used the pool so early. Even I went in on Saturday because it got too hot to just sit and watch.

Of course we are all hoping it will cool down for Memorial Day so that we can watch Matt run his first marathon!!

You Are My Sunshine

2009-05-10T17:22:00.000-07:00

Happy Mother's Day!

It's Still On

2009-05-05T22:11:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I did my 20 mile run, still preparing for the San Diego Marathon. During and after my run my ankle was hurting.....enough to make me go see the doctor. Long story short, I finally had an MRI yesterday, got the results today and the doctor said it showed nothing wrong. So I guess I'm ok! I took it easy last week, making myself find other ways to work out. Sunday I did a 4 mile run and I did another one today. I'm feeling pretty good, I'll press on!

25 more days before my 2nd marathon!!

One Man's Trash....

2009-05-03T07:42:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we had a huge garage sale for our 3-day walk team. It was a huge success, raising over $2000 dollars! We had so many donations from friends all over town, it was amazing how much stuff there was. The team started setting it up on Friday and I joined them after work. I could not believe what was already there by the time I got off of work. We had a little scare as it started to rain, but we quickly brought some things in the garage and covered the rest with tarps. Thankfully the rain stopped for the rest of the night and yesterday turned out to be perfect garage sale weather.

The team is now up to 7 people. I am so happy to have joined with these women because the more I get to know them, the more amazing they become. We are planning more fundraisers throughout the summer. At the end of the fundraisers we plan on dividing up the money depending on who needs more to make their goal of $2300 for the walk. So far I'm at $1200, which I think is great considering I haven't even sent out my main donation letters. (you may be getting one soon in the mail :)

And remember, if you want to donate online, it's the easiest way! http://www.the3day.org/goto/tashariley

Singers

2009-04-23T21:18:00.000-07:00

Following up Garrett's blog on how we all have iPod shuffles now, I caught both boys with their shuffles in on Zach's birthday. It's very cute listening to them sing.....or mumble the tunes! Zach was very specific in his choice of music, High School Musical 2 and The Beach Boys! Kevin has a little more variety, but we only bought the HSM songs from iTunes. The rest they had to choose from Garrett's list of songs.

Happy Birthday to Matt

2009-04-22T06:34:00.000-07:00

Around here Matt is known as "The Cupcake Uncle" because he has cupcakes for the boys every time we visit. Here's hoping you get a cupcake of your own today.....and take the day off from running!

Happy Birthday Zachary!!

2009-04-20T06:28:00.000-07:00

After a fun-filled party weekend, it's finally the day we've been waiting for.....Zachary's actual birthday. Happy Birthday to our big 5 year old!!!! We love this guy sooooo much!

Good Citizen

2009-04-14T20:52:00.000-07:00

Kevin got an award today at school for good citizenship. We're so proud of him! And he got to go to McDonald's for dinner, which he was even more excited about. :)

Kevin got an award today at school for good citizenship. We're so proud of him!

Catching Up

2009-04-06T21:41:00.000-07:00

I keep thinking our everyday life is not so busy, and then I look at the calendar and it's April already! Where has the time gone? We are getting ready for Zach to turn 5 years old!! He's very excited to have his friends over for a party soon.....we are counting down the days. In the mean time, Kevin has been on Spring break, last week and this. Last week he got to go hang out with Aunt Susan, Uncle Dennis, and Namie for a few days while Zach still had school and mom and dad still had work. Kevin's getting all the fun! Now he's off to spend a few days with Grandpa and Grandma Dee. Zach and I do get to join in the fun tomorrow though as we are going to meet them at Universal Studios.

So I just wanted to get some new pictures up here. Garrett was pointing out how long it has been since my last post. We were doing so well with staying healthy around here up until the middle of March. Since then it's been one thing after another, passing our sickness from one person to another. Garrett's been the only one who's managed to avoid it. So as Spring has finally sprung we are getting out and enjoying the weather and hopefully that will put an end to all the bugs.....

The Pirate and the Red Sox

A trip to Ventura a few Saturdays ago

Kevin threw a fit about having to go to the beach because he didn't want to get all sandy. Twenty minutes after we were there he was sitting in the water, happy as a clam.

Kevin's first game of the season....4/4/09

Zach's first game ever.....4/4/09

Let the Games Begin!

2009-03-23T06:52:00.000-07:00

We are in for a new treat this year......both boys playing ball! Zach had his first practice last Thursday. He's on the Pirates. Kevin was out sick, so he missed his first practice, but he's on the Red Sox! We'll be having busy Thursdays, as both boys have practices, one after the other, at different ends of town. The game schedule has worked out perfectly though and there are no major conflicts for game times. It should be a great season!

Puzzle Day

2009-03-14T14:43:00.000-07:00

The boys and I are having a quiet Saturday. Garrett decided he did not get enough skiing in last weekend, so he went up for a day and will be back tonight. So, the boys started a puzzle day at 7:00 this morning. It's now 2:45 and they've only stopped for breakfast and lunch.......

Mammoth With the Nowlins

2009-03-09T21:04:00.000-07:00

We had a great trip to Mammoth with the Nowlins over the weekend. The snow couldn't have been more perfect and the weather was gorgeous. I think I would dare to say I even had the best skiing day ever on Saturday! I was "loose as a goose" as Gar would say and that kept me from being overly sore the following day.

The boys had a blast with the Nowlin boys. They all got along great! Played in the snow together, watched movies, drank hot chocolate, played hide and go seek, and made their own board games. This definitely should be a yearly tradition!!

Joshua eating snow

Silly Zach

The big boys - Kevin and Micah

Making Snow Angels

"The Gang"....with the exception of cutie pie baby Caleb

Micah throwing a snowball at me!

Mark, shredding on the snowboard!

"Let's Clean Out My Closet!"

2009-02-27T19:11:00.000-08:00

I know I've talked about this subject before, but I guess I'm just amazed by little Zachary. The other day he said to me, "Let's clean out my closet and find toys to give away to the needy!" He said it with as much excitement as if he were talking about going to Disneyland. He love to help clean and organize, which I don't know where it comes from, but it is certainly nice trait to have.

So we cleaned it out, taking out most things in the closet, and finding a whole bunch of old shoes and puzzles that we could get rid of. We also organized a little bit and moved some of the games that were overflowing out of Kevin's closet into Zach's. One of these days he and I will tackle my closet.......I'm sure he'd be ready to do it tomorrow, it's just me that's putting it off!

For Those of you Not on Facebook

2009-02-23T06:59:00.000-08:00

A long lost friend posted some pictures yesterday of her and I in our younger years. I thought they were so funny I had to post them here so that all of you who are not on Facebook could enjoy them as well (especially mom and dad).

In other news..... I ran 13.5 miles yesterday and it felt good. I'm a little stiff today, but not bad. Also I'm doing pretty well with the 3-day fundraising. I have raised over $500 already and it's only February!

We had a week of sickness last week, with Kevin sick with the flu Sunday and Monday, then getting an ear infection to top it off. Then Zach stayed home on Friday with the flu. Thankfully Garrett and I did not get it, although I wasn't feeling too hot Friday night. Hopefully we will be all back to a normal week this week!

3-Day Walk

2009-02-16T20:58:00.001-08:00

I told you all back in December or January that I had some goals for this year. One was the Rock and Roll marathon. The other was the 3-day Breast Cancer Walk.

I am officially signed up for the walk, which will be taking place November 20-22, in San Diego. I guess San Diego is the happening place for me this year. So, as a walker I will be walking 60 miles over the course of 3 days. I will be staying in tents that they have set up for us. I will be eating at stations along the way. I have joined with a group of 4 other women who have previously done the walk, only one of whom I've actually met. Our team is called "Safe at Second". I'm looking forward to meeting all the other women and doing some training walks with them.

Why am I doing this? As many of you know, this past November my mom was diagnosed with Breast Cancer. She been extremely lucky in that she was diagnosed early. The doctor said she should be the poster child for yearly mamograms! She just finished her 7 weeks of radiation after having a lumpectomy. I am so happy that she came out of this without too much pain. I do know that there are many others who are not so lucky and that breast cancer, cancer in general is not going to go away on it's own. So this is how I am choosing to do my part in the fight against cancer.

The rest of the info is the generic part that gives you all of the information you'll need if you feel like helping me out. I'm not exactly sure how I'm going to raise all of this money to participate, but I am starting here...and with Facebook, and from there I will see what else I need to do! I'll be sending out letters to friends and family who may not be as hip as all of you and are not into reading blogs, so sorry if you get my information twice. (You could always donate twice!)

I'll walk 60 miles over the course of three days with thousands of other women and men. The net proceeds will support breast cancer research, education, screening and treatment through Susan G. Komen for the Cure and the National Philanthropic Trust Breast Cancer Fund.

I've agreed to raise at least $2,300 in donations. I've set my personal goal at $2,500. So I need your help. I cannot do this on my own and although I don't like asking for money there is no way around it. Would you please consider making a donation of $20? If everyone I asked could give at least that amount I would easily make my goal!! Keep in mind how far I'm walking - and how hard I'll have to train. You can give online at www.The3Day.org. Just follow the link below to visit my personal fundraising webpage and make a donation. You can also call 800.996.3DAY to donate over the phone.

My personal page is http://www.the3day.org/goto/tashariley

According to Susan G. Komen for the Cure, approximately 200,000 American women will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year, and nearly 40,000 will die from the disease. That's why I'm walking so far. To do something bold about breast cancer. I hope that you'll share this incredible adventure with me - by supporting me in my fundraising efforts.

Thank you in advance for your generosity!

Off And Runnin'....Again

2009-02-15T21:02:00.000-08:00

I just got these pictures sent to me from the Redondo Beach 10K, so I thought I'd share what's going on around here as far a running goes. Matt and I both completed the 10K on Super Bowl Sunday. It was a fun race and much better weather than last year. Kevin says that next year he wants to run the 5K with me! Even better than the race was the post race BBQ!!

The night before the race I got on my iPhone at 10:30 p.m. and registered for the San Diego Rock and Roll Marathon. The next day the price was going up, so frugal person that I am just decided to go for it. So, yesterday I ran about 11 miles....my first long run since the marathon in November. I've planned it out so that if I increase my mileage by two mile every other week between now and the middle of May I will have enough time to get comfortably up to 23 miles and have two weeks left to taper off before the big race on May 31st. Ahhhh, just when I was starting to enjoy walking around normally on the weekends!

Dancin' Machine

2009-02-09T15:41:00.000-08:00

Zach was showing me his moves. I just had to have him do it again for the camera!

Trip To The Dentist

2009-02-05T08:30:00.000-08:00

I was not looking forward to our trip to the dentist yesterday. Our previous trips have included both boys throwing up all over themselves, having to listen to Kevin cry while getting sealant put on his molars, and just an overall dislike of anything having to do with the dentist. But we continue to go every six months. It's a kids dentist, complete with movies during the cleanings, video games in the waiting room, and rooms that look like a jungle. What more could you ask for?

Zach was looking forward to it. He likes the taste of the chocolate toothpaste. Kevin was repeating over and over, starting when he saw the note written on the calendar, that he didn't want to go. He doesn't like the flouride treatment at the end and to top it off he's had a loose tooth that he's been avoiding brushing, so he knew he teeth were not going to look great to the dentist.

Luckily, the trip ended up going better than expected. The boys both did a great job and earned a trip to Costco (right across the street) to pick out a new book afterwards. Both boys now have sparkly clean teeth and Kevin got his tooth knocked out during the cleaning so now he can brush better!

Only 2 months later.....

2009-01-31T07:59:00.000-08:00

Our "duck" saga has finally come to an end.

Here's what the ceiling looked like on this past Monday....
And on Wednesday.......finished.

As a bonus they painted the whole downstairs area that had the same color. They also painted over our big stain on the ceiling from a leak last winter. They knew it had nothing to do with the recent problem but I told them they could pretend it was.....

So finally our house is back to normal, only 2 months later!

Pinewood Derby

2009-01-26T20:46:00.001-08:00

Saturday we went to our 2nd Pinewood derby since Kevin became a scout. Last year we had no idea what to expect. This year we were a little more prepared but still we don't put into it what other scouts (or scout dads) do. Kevin wanted to make the Batmobile. His first car turned out to be illegal, having to do with the way it was cut in the front, so Garrett managed to get another one cut out for Kevin the day before the race.

I had fun this year because I saw Kevin was doing much better than last year. No melt downs and he was watching most of the races. Seemed like he had fun too. Zach wanted to leave right after In-N-Out came with burgers for everyone!

Each year we will learn a little more. I'm trying to get Kevin to go for the sportsmanship trophie, which is the biggest of all. The boy who won this year was standing up and cheering the ENTIRE time. Very cute! Not sure we'll ever get as fancy as some of the other cars, but as long as Kevin is enjoying it we will continue.

Garrett protecting his sensitive ears from the noise

Kevin's car is the blue one in the middle, next to the cute Ladybug.

Mmmm.... In-N-Out (That's what all that popcorn money goes to!)

Watching and waiting

Home Again, Home Again

2009-01-20T22:07:00.000-08:00

I spent this past weekend at "home". It's my parents house and I technically have never actually lived in this house for more than 3 months, but I still call it home. I had been wanting to get up to Santa Rosa to check on my mom. She always says she's doing fine, feeling good, not much different, but I wanted to see for myself. Turns out she is doing well. The treatments are making her more tired than usual but less than three weeks left of those and then hopefully she is home free.

It was good to just get away for a little bit. I get caught up in being a mom and feeling like I have to do everything. It's good to know that the boys are actually fine while I'm away and I come back feeling like I can handle their "stuffed animal talk" more easily than before. I enjoyed my time reading, going for a couple runs, visiting with friends, and even going to some garage sales with my parents....a "must do" on Saturday mornings in the Trettin house.

I didn't even mind waiting for the planes. Both times I was one of the last ones called and just barely made it on. But it beats driving 7 hours by myself! I literally was on the second to last page of my book when the plane landed in L.A. on Monday. I almost just sat and let everyone get off while I finished!

So now I am back HOME and got to enjoy watching the inauguration this morning in Kevin's classroom with Zach on my lap. I loved that all the classrooms had the t.v.s on this morning. The kids didn't quite enjoy it as much as watching a Spongebob episode, but I know Kevin's teacher kept pointing out to the kids what a historic day this was!

Motivation

2009-01-11T21:14:00.000-08:00

Last year, same time, I signed up for my first ever running race. Race day came and it was raining, the boys were sick so Garrett couldn't come cheer me on, and I wasn't sure what I got myself into. Now, I've just registered for the same race. I have a few runs under my belt now but have found myself needing some motivation to go out and run. I figure signing up will at least get me running 6 miles! Hopefully the weather will be nicer this year and I will get to experience the "real" Redondo Beach 10K!!

All For A Little Mold

2009-01-08T12:49:00.001-08:00

Growing up in Santa Rosa we had mold problems. It just came with the territory (and probably the older house). My parents dealt with it but really when you live in a wetter climate, it is bound to be there. We had it in Ventura too, part of the reason I had more trouble with asthma in both places. Now years later, and about a month after "the duck" incident they are finally getting around to fixing our leak and mold problems. Here is a look at how they deal with mold now days. None of this spraying some bleach on it and be done. No, they have the whole area sealed off so they can do there work and not contaminate the rest of the house with the mold spores. Very thoughtful.....except for the tiny holes that I see in the plastic where something happened to poke through! Hopefully this will all be taken care of soon!!

Hyper Dash

2009-01-07T19:54:00.000-08:00

I finally convinced Kevin to open one of his presents from Aunt Susan and Uncle Dennis. I thought he would like it if he just tried it. And....Zach can play too on the easier levels. Check them out playing!

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T20:05:00.000-08:00

We just got back from a wonderful trip to Mammoth. The weather couldn't have been any better and I am enjoying going there much more now that the boys are getting older! (Of course it helps to have two sets of grandparents around to help out with the babysitting too!!) I think we fit in everything that we wanted to into this past week, including downhill skiing, cross-country skiing, tubing, playing in the snow, playing board games, and even a little bit of reading and relaxing.

A very nice way to bring an end to 2008 and welcome 2009.

Kevin LOVED the snow and would have stayed out all day, every day if we let him!

Cross-country skiing was beautiful and great exercise. Matt and I did the Lake Mary loop. Some others were skiing across the lake....

Kevin getting ready to sled down a hill behind the house.

Zach liked his new batman hat that Santa brought.

Zachie scraped up his nose tubing down a huge hill. He was such a trooper and was not done tubing after that.....we just had him go down with Uncle Matt the next time. (Hopefully more tubing pictures to follow....)

Kevin's snowman!

The beginning of Zach's "giant snowball".

Merry Christmas!!!!!!!

2008-12-25T09:46:00.001-08:00

Santa Came To Our House!!!!!

A Real True Hug

2008-12-20T07:57:00.000-08:00

Kevin doesn't give away hugs easily. Yesterday he went in to his Kindergarten teacher's room to deliver a present we made for her for doing such a great job with Spirit Team. Our friend Geraldine was in the classroom at the time and she was able to capture the moment perfectly. I just had to share it with all of you!

Last day before vacation!

2008-12-19T06:51:00.000-08:00

The boys have never been so excited for Christmas as they are this year. Kevin is trying to guess all the presents under tree. They want all the gifts wrapped NOW so they can see what shapes they come in. Today is their last day of school for 3 weeks (Kevin) and 2 weeks (Zach). I've rearranged my schedule so I can join Zach at his school party and I'm sure Kevin will be having a fun day at school too. Yesterday Kevin had a Spirit Team performance, or actually 4 performances. It was very cute and Mrs. Russo, Kevin's kindergarten teacher did a very good job trying to get 200+ kids organized and dancing.

I think I'm finally just about ready for Christmas. The presents are bought, now I just have to get on the wrapping! Now if I could just get the rest of the house organized, I could see what I'm doing around here!!

Hi

2008-12-16T09:12:00.000-08:00

I know I'm getting behind on the whole blog thing. It used to be that I would wake up, check on the other blogs that I read and then do my own. Now, I get up and get sucked into the world of Facebook. Now I constantly know what every one of my friends are doing and even get a peek into the world of people I used to know. Unfortunately it has left me lagging behind in my own world.... putting off waking the boys up for school, putting off going shopping for Christmas, putting off going for a run. I'll just blame it all on Facebook!

I did finally get to go out shopping yesterday and was semi-successful. Zach and I are going to go out for a little bit today and see what other things we can find. I think I'm done shopping for the boys.....now I just need to find something for that other big boy that lives in the house (the one who has everything).

That's Just Ducky!

2008-12-11T07:29:00.000-08:00

Rather than repeat the story, I will let those who want go over to Garrett's blog and read our latest happenings.....

grabbaggar

Everything Christmas

2008-12-08T06:55:00.000-08:00

We packed our weekend so full of Christmas, we had it coming out of our ears! It started Friday night when we went to the metro station to see the Holiday Train come in carrying Santa. Unfortunately we couldn't see very well and we learned that we could actually see better if we were in the back....now we'll know better for next year. The boys were able to donate toys to the fireman to go to Toys for Tots before the train arrived though. Then Saturday morning we went to the Santa parade in downtown Newhall. Very short, but sweet. Followed by a Literacy Arts Festival at Hart Park, where the boys played in a little bit of "real snow". From there the boys and I went to Michael's so we could begin some of their Christmas projects for gifts. The rest of the afternoon was like Santa's workshop around here. The boys were working on gifts while waiting for their Gingerbread house to dry so they could decorate it!

On Sunday the boys sang at the Church's program. As always, it's cute to see them sing. Then we got to enjoy a visit from Aunt Susan, Uncle Dennis, and Namie. I had told the boys they could paint one of our windows as they had seen windows painted downtown during the parade. So Uncle Dennis jumped right in and helped them create a beautiful window painting. Immediately following their visit, we walked over to the Christmas tree lot around the corner from us, picked out a tree and carried it home. Kevin especially liked looking at all the past ornaments this year. We followed that up by going to the hospital where they had their annual tree lighting festival, came home to make pizza, and finally got to bed.

Now I quickly am catching my breath before starting a new day. We are packing in more today as we head down to Denise's house for her annual holiday open house right after school. I got the Christmas cards and letter done, so now I just have to get them ready to send out. I still have absolutely no Christmas presents bought....with the exception of 2 e-bay purchases which I am hoping that they will get here in time for Christmas!

Hope you enjoy the pictures of our fun-filled weekend!

Roxanne

2008-12-02T21:15:00.000-08:00

Rockin' Thanksgiving

2008-12-02T20:48:00.001-08:00

As promised, I said I would post about Thanksgiving. I had to wait for some more pictures, but as usual I didn't have my camera out nearly enough. Most of the pictures that I got were of the gang playing Rock Band. Cody and Lauren enjoyed this the most, although Garrett was right there with them. And of course the boys liked being the singers, but only for one song.

My parents came down on Wed. and my mom jumped right in, making an apple pie. I made the pumpkin and pecan. My dad taught Kevin how to play Chinese Checkers and Kevin went to sleep that night starring at the game board, thinking of a strategy to play the next day. The rest of the gang came down on Thanksgiving day. We had more than enough food for everyone and the pies were delicious.

Friday consisted of hanging out, playing more Rock Band, walking to the park and just being together. My parents headed back up north on Saturday morning and the plan was then the rest of us were going to head to Ventura for the day.....but plans changed after hearing about how bad the traffic might be on Sunday and my brother and family all headed back up on Saturday afternoon to try and avoid being on the road for 10 hours.

Zach's ready to Rock the House!

Kevin found his old friend to snuggle with.....and he doesn't do this with many people.

Zach found a new jungle gym to climb on.

Thanks guys for a totally rockin' Thanksgiving!! We miss you all already!

The Countdown Begins

2008-12-01T07:08:00.001-08:00

December snuck up on me. I'm trying hard to get in the Christmas spirit. We got out Christmas decorations yesterday. The inside of the house is nearly decorated. The boys could not wait until this morning when they could take out day 1 on all three of their advent calendars!

I will post more tomorrow about our wonderful Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving

2008-11-27T06:35:00.001-08:00

The boys have been playing school the past few days. Kevin has been the teacher and Berry, Zach's stuffed animal, has been the student (with Zach being Berry's voice). Kevin took his job as teacher very seriously and planned out craft activities, printed some out on the computer, and helped Berry with them. Here's what he came up with:

But the best thing that I learned from his teaching wasn't while they were playing school. It was on Tuesday when I was spending all day cleaning the house. Half way through the day Kevin just said plainly, "It's not about rushing around and getting all ready. It's about being thankful."

Hope you all have a great Thanksgiving. I'm thankful for all of you!!

Missing the Beach

2008-11-24T17:15:00.000-08:00

Saturday we took a spontaneous trip to Ventura for a few hours. I miss living so close to the beach. Even though 50 minutes is not that far of a drive, we still don't get there as often as I would like. As we parked near our old house and walked down the path to the beach, we were reminiscing about how Kevin learned how to take some of his first steps down that same path. And we enjoyed looking at the houses that are right on the sand and choosing which one we would live in if we could!

The boys had a fun time, even after complaining about not wanting to go. They didn't want to have to take showers when we got home and get all sandy and itchy. Once we were there though there was no stopping them. The water was pretty cold, but not cold enough for them to stay completely out of. They managed to stay semi-dry, but just wet enough to get their shorts.

Ahhhh, the beach

The Incredible Shrinking Garrett

2008-11-22T19:25:00.000-08:00

June 2008

It was just about 4 months ago, the end of July, when Garrett decided he was going to loose weight. When Garrett decides to do something then that is it...... he does it. So for the past 4 months he has been doing the same things pretty much everyday, with a consistency that I just cannot believe. Every morning he has two packets of instant organic oatmeal. For lunch he eats a 6 inch Subway sandwich. Then for dinner, it is whatever I make or a few times a week we have take-out. Add in a yogurt and a piece of fruit for a snack plus a daily workout on the eliptical machine and we now have a 40 pounds lighter Garrett. I'm so proud of how he has been sticking to his plan!

I just can't understand why I can't loose the 10 pounds that have been haunting me since having the boys ("sure, I'll have a cookie"). I mean I exercise ("ok, I'll have a piece of your Halloween candy Kevin"). I eat right ("well, it's a party....I guess I'll have a piece of cake"). I ran a marathon for goodness sake! ("yeah, I deserve three desserts!!!") Can anyone help me figure out what I'm doing that Garrett's not??? :)

Anyway, now you all know his secret. Eating right and exercise. Maybe he should write a book!

November 2008

Catching Up

2008-11-21T14:47:00.001-08:00

So, I guess I've had other things on my mind this week and haven't known what I should write about. As many of you have heard, my mom had surgery this week to remove a cancerous tumor from her breast. While the thought of breast cancer has been scary, the results from the surgery and recovery have been nothing but positive. My mom is recovering well, hopefully enjoying some "time off", and they plan on being here next week for a wonderful Thanksgiving! I am looking forward to having my parents and brother and family here for a few days. I am also looking forward to all the smells of Thanksgiving in the house!! I'm planning on doing it all this year and my hopes are that I can be all organized enough that I can go over to Central Park for the Santa Clarita Turkey Trot on Thursday morning.

Now, that I've written this I feel I can move on and continue with other posts.....such as "The Incredibly Shrinking Garrett" to come tomorrow!

Happy Birthday Paula!

2008-11-17T07:05:00.001-08:00

We had a fun afternoon yesterday celebrating Paula's birthday in Redondo Beach. Hope you have a great day today, Paula!

This picture was from Garrett's birthday last year