Congratulations Swimmer!

Maddie received a certificate for her Los Alamos Aquatomics Swim Team participation at the end of the year ice cream social tonight. She had a lot of fun swimming this year with her buddy, Tayra.

Canyonlands Half Marathon

I returned this weekend from the Canyonlands Half Marathon in Moab, UT with my good friend, Kelly. We had a GREAT weekend of running and getting some time away without the kids.
Kelly has a big story so I have to share...

Eric and Maddie first met Kelly and her husband Toti at the neighborhood park when I was at home with a newborn Elise. They are from the midwest :) so we hit it off. Toti and Eric did a marathon together in Albuquerque in 2006 and we've enjoyed their friendship as our families have grown. Kelly was born with a heart defect -- a narrowing value -- and although she had regular check-ups growing up, it didn't seem to affect her daily living. While Kelly was pregnant with their second son in 2006, her cardiologist gave her the bad news that her value needed to be replaced. So in January of last year, Kelly had major open heart surgery at the Cleveland Clinic to replace her bad value with an artificial one. She was out of commission for a long time, but returned to Los Alamos and just kept moving. She completed the local Jemez Trail Run at the end of May in amazement to everyone around her. We began regular morning runs together last summer and talked about the possibilities of running half marathons and full marathons together.

So here it is...she did it! 13.1 miles...and I got to be with her!
Congratulations Kelly!

We drove 6 hours to Moab Friday, got our race bags, pigged out on pasta, and didn't have to put any kids to bed. Saturday morning we rode a school bus ~11 miles up the Colorado River to the start of the race, then we braved the frigid temperatures and waited around at the race start for over an hour. As we ran, we peeled off our layers and enjoyed the sunshine and red rock. We both finished with happy results and tired bodies. We made the most of our rejuvenating weekend -- getting pampered with massages and pedicures, eating a ridiculous amount of food, and sleeping almost 11 hours that night. We both felt great after a short hike in Arch's National Park and we road-tripped home.

I am so thankful that Eric made this happen. I returned to "Surprise!" with lots of hugs and a few great homemade gifts including this chain from Maddie that says, "Mom Rocks" :)

Hanging At Home

"Stars!"

My little man is growing up. He is telling us more and more. One of his new words is "Stars!" He loves to go outside with Eric and point at them or yell about them in his books. I was finishing "The Last Lecture" the other day and he started yelling, "Stars!" I couldn't figure out what he was saying until I let him point to the book. Ohhh!

Music Performance

Maddie's class had their big music performance and she had many special parts as Supersinger, Dancer, and Wood Block Player.

Trying to Catch a Leprechaun

Maddie came home from school a few weeks ago in wild excitement about wanting to catch a leprechaun. A friend from her class and she had decided that they were going to trap one and get his gold. We had Kezia over that afternoon and they worked like mad coming up with ideas on how to trap one of these tricky little guys. Elise got into the fun and over the next few weeks they had babysitters and us helping them with their traps.



On the morning of March 17th, they awoke to find that the leprechaun had indeed come into their traps, but he left a little note that said, "Good Try!" He also turned the toilet bowl and their milk green! He wrote on the bathroom mirror, "You cannot catch me!" The girls decided to return the message for him to know what they thought of him, "You little feeth!!! From:us"

They already have plans for next year's traps!

My mom joined us on St. Patty's Day as we hung her flag.

Happy 4th Birthday Elise!

Elise is 4! She had a fantastic birthday with a special family dinner on March 11th and a party with her friends that weekend. We had quite a theme this year - DOGS! We made doggie decorations for weeks, we made doggie invitations, we made doggie cupcakes for preschool, and we had one doggone good birthday! With all her buddies, we made puppy ears and played lots of games -- Dog, Dog, Puppy (aka: Duck, Duck, Goose), Owner Says (aka Simon Says), and Hot Bone (aka Hot Potato). The kids all adopted a 50-cent plastic dog to take home.

Grandpa & Grandma, "This is my new favorite dress!"

She passed out after the party on her new favorite blue doggie pillow. Thanks Aimee and Maya!

3 is a Magic Number

After returning home from a yoga class at almost 8pm, I found these funny, happy kids with their dad. Forget doing dishes after dinner, dancing was top priority. Maddie has been watching an old video of School House Rock. Remember "Three is a magic number, yes it is, ..." anyone?

Eric was playing De La Soul's version of this song with the kids and they were all shakin' it until Maddie's turn in front of the camera. She used to be such a ham, I guess she has found her shy side.

Puzzler

All good things must come to an end

The 60 degrees temperatures and rain is eating away the snow up at the ski area. Eric took the girls last weekend and we are hoping to squeeze in one more day this weekend. I cannot believe we live in a place like this.

Lake Peak

Eric has been extra busy with work and studying this semester. He hasn't had as much time as usual to do his big adventures, but he was able to spend his "Friday Off" skinning up to the top of Lake Peak and skiing down Santa Fe Ski Basin.

Summer in Winter

We have had some remarkable weather for the end of February and beginning of March. Everyday the kids have spent lots of time in the cul-de-sac with the neighbors or in the backyard on the swings or in the sandbox. Is it time to dig in the yard? It doesn't feel quite right to get the bikes out and play with the sidewalk chalk, but it sure has been fun!

This photo is sideways but you might be able to see Elise's dog named her "Rose. " She loved her but it rained last night and she is gone.