My brother Jeremiah returned from a 2 week visit to Turkey bearing a gift for me from our mutual friends, and his hosts in Turkey, Sevinc and Melih. This precious couple lived next door to Jeremiah for a year while they furthered their already substantial education here in the United States. Jeremiah became part of their family, and as the result of a chance comment by Sevinc (who mentioned she'd like to learn some American-style baking), she and Melih became good friends of ours. She and I spent a wonderful day doing my Christmas baking two years ago.

To speed this story up, Sevinc knows Kyle and I love coffee, and especially enjoyed the Turkish coffee she made for us. So much so that she honored me with all the ingredients necessary to create my very own authentic Turkish coffee experience!  

In the picture above, she sent us Turkish coffee grounds (ground much finer than most coffee here - very powdery), the copper Turkish coffee pot, water glass, coffee cup and little container for Turkish delights! 

The picture above is misleading in that I have an Italian moka on my stove which has absolutely nothing to do with the process of making Turkish coffee. Oops. I could utterly confuse you by going into the steps required to make Turkish coffee. It's a little complicated - very nuanced - and at present, I'm unable to relay it accurately because I'm still learning it. If you're curious, google "how to make Turkish coffee." You'll see what I mean. 

Here's my first attempt. I don't have near enough foaming action on the top, because I probably did about 10 things wrong. But I am learning, and will keep trying! I love my beautiful Turkish cups, and am so thankful to Sevinc for such a thoughtful gift. 

See me enjoy my Turkish coffee!!!!

My hilarious (and vigilant) daughter Brooklyn took it upon herself to leave the above message in the Loft of one of the DD&F buildings a few weeks ago. Every week, we clean one of the buildings - it's a really old building, an old house actually, and there are always bugs or things (we found a baby squirrel once...) that find their way in.  A few weeks ago, we picked up dinner downtown and brought it to the office to eat before we cleaned.

Brooklyn's cautionary tale pretty much describes the events that unfolded. It was gruesome. The only good thing about it was that Wyeth didn't have the roach in his mouth. I might have thrown up.  Oh, and the roach WAS deceased. That's the second piece of good news. 

Still...BEWARE!

For the past 10 years, we have driven a 2002 Audi A4 Quattro which we loved to pieces. We bought it in 2004 from a guy in New York City. It was Pre-Kids, so we flew to NYC with a one-way ticket and drove it back home. It was so much fun, and we got a great deal on the car. At the time, my parents thought we were nuts, especially for buying a foreign car. Much less, buying it sight unseen and flying halfway across the country to get it! They believed, I'm quite sure, that it would be a huge mistake and we'd probably regret it. Well, fortunately that wasn't the case.

We loved our Audi A4.  Aside from being expensive to fix, which in my general experience, applies to ALL cars, foreign or otherwise, she was a great car. Rode beautifully, looked beautiful...no complaints.  This past year, as she approached 98,000 miles, we thought we ought to begin looking for a newer car. And as many cars as are on the market, we couldn't find anything we liked better than an Audi.  So, the time came. We put our 2002 silver Audi A4 on Craigslist, found a buyer and sadly waved goodbye.  

Usually, there are spare cars to borrow around my parents' house, but this time, Rachel was back in  town and there were no spare cars. Kyle would just have to ride his bike to work until we found something else! We had no replacement in mind. But we have been praying for a long time for the car God would have us buy, just as we prayed for God to send us a buyer.  

I had been intermittently searching cars.com for Audis which met our parameters, but there really wasn't anything out there that fit the bill perfectly. We sold our car on a Wednesday, and I looked online on Friday. Turns out our local Audi dealer had one which seemed about perfect.

We test drove it on Saturday and went home to think about it.

Bought it on Monday.

It's a 2012 Audi A4 Quattro. We love the color - a midnight blue that changes color depending on the light. It has all leather interior in a greyish ("Cardamom") color, and all sorts of newer features our older Audi didn't have. She's gorgeous. 

Brooklyn insisted that she would hate any car other than our old Audi. In fact, in her words, the first car she'd buy would be a 2002 Audi A4 EXACTLY like our old one. This made me and Kyle laugh hysterically...although it's not a bad idea. They'll be dirt cheap by the time she can drive...

Meanwhile, Kyle and I are fighting to run little errands that give us an excuse to drive it. Well, he drives it to work and back, but I have to come up with reasons. Solo Kroger trips or something like that.  I'm getting used to having my phone sync up with the car and make calls for me...or pushing a button to start the car or having it automatically unlock when I approach it. So much fun! We're like little kids in a candy store, getting used to all the fun features that cars have now...good thing our kids are too young to be mortified by our behavior. Oh, and Brooklyn informed me the other day that it really isn't take her as long to get used to the new car as she'd expected. Well, that's something.

For the past 8 weeks, ever since the half marathon on March 1st, Kyle and I have been in training for our first sprint triathlon.  This has involved lifting weights 4 times a week, swimming at least twice a week, cycling several times a week, and running about 4 times a week, until my plantar fasciitis hit at the beginning of April.  Since then, I've run once or twice, but mostly taken off to give my foot a chance to heal. 

We really over-trained, given the distances involved in a sprint tri, but over-preparation is better than under-preparation, right?! The distances of a sprint tri, or at least most sprint tri's, is a 400m swim, 13 mile bike ride, 3.1 mile run (or a 5K).

The triathlon we entered was the "AIM High in Bryant Triathlon". AIM stands for All In Multisport, and it is a local triathlon club. This is widely known as being a great "first" triathlon. Largely because the swim portion takes place in a pool. Most triathlons are open water swims in lakes or oceans, and the open water part is often the scariest for newcomers.  It's also more challenging to practice open water swimming. And it helps if you have a wetsuit, which many first time triathletes don't. Given the expense of a wetsuit, you really want to be sure you're going to do enough tri's to justify the expense.

There were about a hundred entrants in this tri, but 87 finishers. 

The week leading up to this triathlon was one for the books. And not in a good way. A stomach bug wreaked havoc on my kids from Sunday through Thursday. First Wyeth, then Dorien, then Brooklyn and finally August. We're talking throwing up all over the place, low grade fevers and for Wyeth,  diarrhea. It meant lots of sleepless nights, lots of midnight baths to wash off puke, load after load of laundry washing sheets and towels and blankets, cleaning up puke in the car...it was not fun. Dorien was supposed to have tubes put in and his adenoids removed, but we had to reschedule. It was a mess. And rather than taking it easy, Kyle and I were, frankly, exhausted. Thankfully, everyone cleared up by Thursday evening and felt great, and neither Kyle nor I succumbed. You know it's a rough week when you view a triathlon as a relief!

The triathlon on Saturday was scheduled to begin at 7am.  Our friends, Emily and Brent, had graciously agreed to watch the kids while we competed. For my kids, it was the best news ever! Brooklyn got to hang out with her best friend, Hollis, and August and Dorien could play with Weston and Eli. Wyeth could generally cause mischief. We knew we had to get up at 5am in order to get everything ready, eat breakfast, drive to Bryant, drop the kids off, head to the site and get set up in the transition area.

To add to the occasion, the weather leading up to the race was STORMY! In fact, there was a 75-80% chance of severe thunderstorms at 7am Saturday morning.  Kyle and I prayed and prayed that God would intervene and change the weather, or at least give us a little window in which to race. We had been working so hard and looking so forward to this race. Friday night, storms moved through town, waking us frequently with lightning and crazy thunder.  I kept checking my weather app, and it still showed storms at race time. 

However, when my alarm went off at 5am, I was thrilled to check the app again and note that a window in the weather had miraculously appeared from 7am -9am. Storms were supposed to pick up later in the day, but we definitely had a break in the weather! We loaded up the car, nerves and all, and headed there! I was so nervous, I could barely eat a piece of toast and 2 little slices of cantaloupe. I would later regret that inadequate breakfast.

Fortunately, Kyle and I were stocked with goos and electrolytes for our water bottles.

When we arrived at the Bishop Park pool complex, the place was buzzing! There was music, lots of people doing warm-up laps or jogging, and lots of transition set up.  Kyle and I hadn't given ourselves a ton of time to overthink things that morning. Plus, we were super prepared. Our research had shown us what to pack in our transition bags, how to set everything up, what to do pre-race, etc. We were just trying to settle our nerves and get our heads ready.

We had already decided we would stick together this race. This first race was all about the experience of a triathlon, not pushing for our best time ever. It would be a baseline for us. 

The other cool thing about triathlons is that although you are technically racing, because of staggered start times, you essentially compete against yourself, to better your own times. You really have no way of knowing how anyone else is doing or will do on their race, regardless of whether they cross the finish line first or not. They might be a slow swimmer but killer on the bike. You just never know. It was also nice because I was given number 59 and Kyle was number 60. He'd be swimming right after me, which meant that he'd come out of the pool right after me, so we would be ready to start on the bike leg together, with no waiting around.

Here was the pool situation. 400yards. 8 lanes. You entered the water on the far left lane, on the blue and red pad where your timing chip was activated. You swam down the lane on the left, turned and came back down the left side of the same lane. That's 50 yards. You then turned and went under the rope, popping up in the adjacent lane and repeated that until you'd swum all 8 lanes. 

For Kyle and I, we had practiced "snake swimming" but never really swimming with other people in our lane. That was a little disconcerting. Even though you're supposed to stick to the left side of your lane, people tended to drift and you had to watch out for hands that might whop you in the head. It was also really difficult to make fast turns, like we'd been practicing. 

I was nervous about getting in the water and panicking. I love to swim. I have no fear of swimming, and I knew I could easily swim 400yards. It's just one thing to swim in practice and another in a race situation. Plus, you don't want to overdo it in the swim when you have to bike and run immediately after. In practice, we'd been swimming our 400's in about 7:30, or 1:40-1:45 100 yard splits. We figured it would be slower in the race, just given the lane changes and nerves, etc. 

Once I hit the water, I was fine. It was a relief to be in the water and moving.  I knew Kyle would be right behind me and that was reassuring. I just settled into a groove and tried to breathe steady. I checked my Garmin (this was my first chance to use my multisport function!!!) and my first 100 was 1:50, so I knew I was swimming slower than our practice times, which was ok. 

I made it through my 8 lanes uneventfully, coming out of the water in 8:24 (or 1:51 splits - so I was pretty dang consistent on my pacing, which was what I wanted to do). I hustled out into the transition area to slip on my bike shoes, don my helmet and sunglasses, grab my goos, unrack my bike and clop my way to the bike starting point. 

This is the transition area. Rows of bikes racked with everyone's individual stations set up. 

There were no assigned spots. You tried to pick a spot that would place you most conveniently to easy exit and so that you could easily spot your bike. Kyle and I squeezed in on an end.

Here's our set up. The red towel is mine and Kyle's blue backpack is to the left of me.  You hook your bike seat over the frame they have there. Some people had buckets to sit on and later haul their stuff out. Kyle and I didn't go that route.

A closer look at our transition set up. This is post-race, so it's not all laid out as it was in the beginning. My backpack (or transition bag) contained my race belt with my number attached, bike cleats, sunglasses, helmet, garmin watch, goos, tennis shoes, visor, body glide, extra water bottle, towel...the idea is that you run out from the swim area and your bike shoes are ready to go. Your helmet is upside down with your sunglasses inside. You stand on the towel to dry your feet some while you put sunglasses on first, followed by helmet. Quick squirt of water on your feet if you have grit to knock off. Otherwise, stick a goo in the back pocket, clip on your race belt, slip on your shoes, unrack your bike and run it to the bike starting point. 

You can't hop on your bike until you pass that starting point. And you want to move through T1 (transition from swim to bike) as fast as possible. More experienced triathletes have fancier tri-bike shoes which don't have as many velcro straps as mine do, and they do a flying mount. This involves keeping your shoes clipped into your bike and literally hopping on your bike barefoot immediately and slipping your feet in your shoes and strapping them on one at a time (usually one simple velcro strap), all while riding. This would be impossible with my current riding shoes.  

But it definitely shaves off time in transition. 

In our case, since it was raining, or had been while we were swimming, we had put trashbags over our set up to keep things dry. And I didn't put on socks or cycling gloves. 

We headed out on the bike leg. I let Kyle take the lead, because he's a more proficient cyclist than me. I knew he'd set a good pace for me. The other thing about triathlons is you can't draft. Which means you have to ride at least 3 bike lengths from any other riders. And if you pass another cyclist, you have 15 seconds in which to do so. 

My biggest fear about the cycling leg was a) getting a flat and b) riding on wet roads. Fortunately, I didn't get a flat and the wet roads weren't a problem. I was careful on the turns, and everything went well.  I was really jittery at the beginning of the bike leg. I could tell my blood sugar was too low. I managed to eat a goo and drink some of my Nuun water and that helped pretty quickly.  Then I settled in to enjoy the ride! Cycling is so much fun! Not painless by any means, but fast and beautiful. I like figuring out what gears to be in to maintain the right speed and cadence. Oh, and for grins, my Cateye bike computer which tells me my speed, decided to quit working. I had my Garmin which could tell me, but everytime I looked down, it was on a different screen, so I really had no idea how fast we were going. Turns out we averaged 18mph, which isn't terrible given the wet conditions.  

We managed to hang together on the bike, cruise into T2 (bike to run transition), re-rack our bikes, slip off our helmets, slip on our running shoes and visor/hats and hit the run.

The thing about the bike to run transition is that you initially experience something called bike legs. You feel like you're running on stumps. Your leg muscles have been working hard on one motion for the last 43 minutes and suddenly, you are asking them to run. They try, they really do, but it's just awkward. On top of which, for me, this was the first time I'd really run in 3.5 weeks. I had taken some Ibuprofen before hand to numb any pain my heel might give me. But I knew from experience that the first half mile was gonna hurt. And then it would ease off.  Sure enough, that was the case. The thing I was NOT expecting was that I could just not catch my breath. I was kind of wheezing. 

I felt really strange. My body is used to running, but either I had lost running cardiovascular strength while taking off the past several weeks, wasn't used to cycling so long and then running hard, or I am developing exercise-induced asthma. I have no idea.  I actually had to stop and walk a few times to catch my breath. I did NOT like that feeling. Poor Kyle, he could have left me, but he stuck with me.

The other crazy thing is that I felt like we were crawling, barely moving. And yet even with our brief walking periods, we maintained an avg pace of 8:38/mile.  Ideally, my 5k pace should be faster than that, but I also ideally would have been running more pre-race! 

We finished our bike leg in 43:27 and our run leg in 26:56.

And we crossed the finish line side by side!

We both loved the whole experience and definitely want to keep doing this. It was so much fun! 

We both loved meeting other athletes, both new at triathlons and experienced. We loved every element of it. Plus, the body marking is so cool! And you wear a timing chip on your ankle!

There was even a father/son team that competed - the boy was 10! I was so impressed.

You don't even KNOW how tough we are! (If I can get that wheeze under control....)

We finished in 1:22:14 (Kyle) and 1:22:35 (me - I waited for Kyle to enter T1 after his swim).

It felt pretty decent for our first ever triathlon! 

To put our times in perspective, the overall winner (a guy) finished in 1:01 and the top woman finished in 1:06.  So, there's room for improvement, which both Kyle and I feel confident we can make!  I ended up placing 1st in my age group (35-39) and 6th overall out of the other 27 women. I can live with that! It was a great experience, so much fun, and a great start to my Mother's Day weekend!

So this flap lifts up here....ok...

And ooh, what's this stuff, Momma? 

(spray foam, kiddo)

Ta-da! 

The extremely ginormous farmhouse sink!

It seriously seems large enough to bathe in.

The kitchen reno that we begun last year continues.

Last June, we ripped up all the tile in our kitchen and breakfast room and installed hardwood floors. We also put in all new appliances. 

This next phase involves new countertops and backsplash, new cabinet doors and drawer fronts, a new sink and faucet, new paint job on the cabinets, new hardware and new pendant lights. And a new light for the breakfast room.

Some people spring clean. We spring renovate.

Here she is again, building a lobster our of Dorien's block set. She did follow instructions to build this one, but most of her other creations are from her imagination.

Wyeth plays peek-a-boo!

August and Wyeth

And Brooklyn with Wyeth 

And last but not least, Dorien and Wyeth!

They're hanging out in the box our curriculum was mailed in.

The sheer joy derived from this box makes me wonder why I don't get rid of all our toys and toss a box into the living room every now and then. It has the same effect as a ball of yarn for a kitten. 

Couldn't resist sharing this upset face. 

It's just such abject sorrow, complete with clasped hands.

Wyeth and Dorien amuse themselves while August has a tennis lesson.

My boys are extremely affectionate to one another. Constantly kissing and hugging each other. Dorien and August call Wyeth their "Smoopshy-poo or Smoochy-poo." He takes as much as he can of their hugs and kisses, then shoves them off. But he's very in tune to their moods, and if he sees that one of them is sad, he runs over to hug them or kiss them. It's precious.

Cheese!!!!

Please forgive the atrocious picture of me. Clearly I was not planning to be photographed, hence the hideousness that is me. However, on the day this photo was taken, something very exciting had happened. My tri-suit had arrived in the mail!!!! This was huge for me, and I pretty much stripped down and tried it on right then and there. And had the kids snap some pics so I could zip them to Kyle for his thoughts! 

I am super excited about this suit. It was highly recommended by Triathlete magazine, of which I am now a subscriber, thanks to my sweet husband! I don't know how much detail I've gone into this on the blog, since I've been horrible about keeping it up to date. Long story short, when I started seriously running last year, it was with the intent to run a marathon and have a strong running base to segue into the world of multisport. Triathlons, here I come! 

I was waylaid by knee surgery and only managed to run the half marathon in March, but I did ok for my first half, and continued on with my plan to train for a triathlon. Starting out, I planned for a sprint tri: 400m swim, 13 mile bike ride, 5k run.

I basically told Kyle - You're doing this with me. And he said, ok. So he got himself a good pair of running shoes and has been training alongside me. He's much stronger on the bike than me, but there's more cycling than anything else in the tri, so he'll be happy. 

We initially planned to do a sprint tri at Lake DeGray on May 3. This means an open water swim, which requires (or it's at least very strongly suggested) some open water practice before race day.  The only problem is that up until May, open water swimming is chilly. Meaning you need a wetsuit. But they're expensive, and is it wise to purchase 2 wetsuits before you even do your first tri? So, after deliberation, we moved our first tri back to the following weekend, May 9. It will be the same distance, only the swim part will be in an indoor pool. 

Sorry for the bum shot, but the back of this suit is so cool, I had to show Kyle.  

The thing about a tri suit, for those who don't know, is that you wear it the entire race. You swim in it, cycle in it and run in it. If you need a wetsuit, you pull the wetsuit on over the trisuit. And then take it back off before you hop on the bike.  The suit has a tiny little chamois (pad so your rear isn't totally killed on the bike seat), and pockets on the shirt and shorts for gels/goos/etc. It's designed to dry quickly, and fit very snug, so that you can easily swim in it, etc. 

I was worried about the minimal padding, but the thing about cycling is that you just have to get tough. I'm learning there are things you can do (chamois butt'r, body glide, noxema, etc) to keep from getting too much chafing, but as far as the pressure of your bones on the hard seat...you just ride more. The more you ride, the tougher you get. I can testify to this. My first few hour+ rides with Kyle had me squirming in agony towards the end, even with my well padded cycling shorts. I just kept getting back on, though. And purposefully doing my indoor training rides without cycling shorts - just to build that toughness. Yesterday, after an hour + ride wearing this tri suit - no pain at all. I'm getting tougher!!!

Back to the tri-suit story...After trying on some Orca tri suits at our nearby Orbea store (and despite being relatively fit, looking like a beached whale in these clothes....), I did some research and found a few women-specific tri-suit makers. Soas is one of those. They're made to fit and perform well for women, and they happen to be gorgeous as well. 

As an experiment, I wore the kit to the gym this past week, cycled for 30 minutes and then ran and hopped in the pool and swam another 30 minutes. The suit worked beautifully.  I was a little concerned that the back of the shorts would slide down on the turns at the end of the laps, because a masters swimmer at our gym has been working with me and Kyle on improving our turns (no, we're not doing flip turns yet....but we are working up to it) and you push off hard - but I didn't find that to be a problem at all.  It might be because the top is long enough to lay down over the waistband of the shorts, so the water flows over them, rather than pushing at them.  In any case, I had no problem swimming in it.  I haven't run in the suit yet, and the reason for that is a whole other story. Teaser: a heel issue. But I did do an 18 mile bike ride with Kyle last night and the light padding on the shorts wasn't a problem.  I also love the sleeveless aspect of the top. I have issues with things rubbing my armpits, and for that reason, can't stand wearing traditional cycling jerseys. But tri suits are pretty much all sleeveless, since you'll need good range of motion in your shoulders to swim. I told Kyle I'm probably always going to cycle in a tri suit. He was ok with that. 

As an aside, the Soas tri suits do have a built in bra; however, I wear a good sports bra under it, because I need the extra support right now. When I stop nursing, we'll see where things end up. But I do not want there to be bounce when I run. And my test cycle/swim the other day did include this sports bra underneath, and it wasn't weird at all. Thankfully!

In other, non triathlon related tales, my family and I went to Petit Jean a few weeks ago. DD&F was having their annual retreat, and as an employee, they invite me to come along. Since I'm nursing Wyeth and homeschool my kiddos, they are generous enough to ensure that my accommodations also accommodate my family. Kyle takes off work those two days and is the mommy/teacher while I get to do business-related things. It has worked out well the past several years. 

This year, after the retreat wrapped up, we took the kids on a hike that the DD&Fers had taken earlier in the day. It was a trail we'd never done, and probably one of the more beautiful trails. The weather was crisp, but not cold. The creeks were gushing water from recent rainstorms, creating many waterfalls, and everything was lush and vibrant with fresh spring growth. It made for a gorgeous hike.

Sadly, in all our packing, I completely forgot the carrier for Wyeth, so Kyle held him. Talk about cross-training! It also happened to be Wyeth's nap time, so he fell asleep mid-hike. 

We also failed to bring Dorien adequate shoes...I do not recommend flip flops on hikes, but we made do. The Keens worn by Brooklyn and August were perfect. Especially since they couldn't resist some splashing in the icy water!

Look at how beautiful that is. I was so moved to praise God for the beauty of His creation!

Brooklyn has adopted a "pose" that she pretty much always assumes in her solo photographs.  

Admiring the water gushing under the bridge...

Upon our return home, the following Monday marked Brooklyn's standardized test day.

Public and private schools take several days to do standardized testing each year, but as a homeschooler, you don't have to do anything until 3rd grade. And it's a one day thing. You sign up, pick a location, and show up.  I was blown away by just how many homeschoolers were there to test! The line extended out the church doors well down the parking lot. 

One mom standing in line commented on how much longer the line gets every year. 

Interestingly, this is the final year testing will be required. August was all excited about testing next year, but apparently he won't have to. Our state just changed the rules. Not sure why. I'll be curious to see how Brooklyn did.  She's super smart, no doubt about that. She's just never been tested, so I'm curious as to how she does on tests. 

Here she is - all eager and cute and ready! We prepared some snacks, No. 2 pencils, and a sweater in case she got cold! I always remember classrooms being freezing. She told me she didn't realize until afterwards that the kids testing with her were all homeschooled. I think she was a little surprised. 

We dropped her off at 8:30, her testing began at 9, and we picked her back up at 11:20. She had fun!

Until next time....

Earlier in the month, Kyle went to Austin for six days. One of those evenings, I found the boys cuddled up in bed reading books. What an amazing sight.

It's nice to have sweet moments to balance the moments when they bicker and steal each others' toys or when Wyeth gets mad at someone and tries to hit them or scratch them. There are plenty of those moments, of course, but these are the ones to treasure in my heart.

See that look of pure glee on Dorien's face? It's because he's playing with Play-Do. Know how often that happens? Practically never. It's such fun in theory, but in reality, teeny bits of dried Play-Do find their way all around my house, mashed into my rugs and furniture. Also factor in Wyeth's desire to eat everything, and this adds to the complication. It may be non-toxic, but after he chews it around a bit, gets it all nice and gooey and spits it back out somewhere else in the house, well....it seems pretty toxic to me. 

The kids always swear up and down that they'll clean every bit of it up. And that they'll keep it all on the play mats. Does this happen? What do you think? Educated guess.

 I want to love it. I do. I just don't, though. 

On a Saturday morning, after a 6am 12 mile run (oh yeah, baby!!), Kyle and I walked downtown to the Orbea store to check out tri-suits. Triathlon suits that you literally swim, bike and run in. No change of clothes involved.  We didn't find anything on this trip, other than this great photo opp of our kids traipsing down the street with Dorien and August holding hands. Another great moment to savor.

Proof of my early morning run - the sunrise across the Arkansas River, from the middle of the Two Rivers Bridge.  This was one of those great morning runs when I said, well, I'll do 8...that should do it...and my running buddy said she was planning to do 12. So I got to my halfway point for 8, when I should have turned around, and it was just such a beautiful morning, I decided to keep on going. And I ended up running 12 with her and it felt wonderful. Runs like that are why I keep on running. It doesn't hurt at all that you see these amazing sunrises across the river.

This precious boy just plowed headfirst into a pile of pillows one morning and turned making the bed into a funny little game. He's 18 months now, and still just as towheaded as can be. Gotta love it.