it's official...i'm crazy!

I have never really excercised for a long period of time or for any set goal. In fact, the only time I actually exercise currently is after having coffee with friends when we walk for an hour along a paved trail. WALK, not run, not bike, but walk, at a leasurely pace, stopping every 2 minutes or so to give a child a snack or a book. There isn't even any sweating involved!

So, what's my brilliant idea for the year? Sign up for a mini (sprint) triathlon! Yes, I'm crazy. I know. But for some reason I'm feeling the urge to do it and I'm afraid if I don't jump on it I'll miss the opportunity. After all, it's only a 400 yard swim, followed by an 11 mile bike ride, followed by a 3.1 mile run, followed by absolutely falling flat on my face in exaustion (and maybe throwing up). My dear friend Carrie (thank God for Carrie) is doing it with me. And possibly 3 or 4 women from my office at CPP.

If anyone else is feeling motivated, intrigued, or just plain crazy yourself and you want to do it with us, go here and sign up! The race is Sept. 27th. We're off to look at running shoes and tune up our bikes tomorrow. Wish us luck!

bloglines

I was turned onto this great site recommended by Tip Junkie. It's called Bloglines and it will track all of the blogs that you read and let you know when a new post comes up. Basically it is constantly checking for new content so you don't have to! How great is that? I actually have my life back because I'm not having to scroll through 25 blogs multiple times a day making sure I'm not missing anything.

Bloglines is a free service and will make your life so much easier! Have you checked it out yet???

our long weekend...

My dad came to visit over the holiday weekend. He lives in Oregon, outside of Eugene, in a little town on the way to the coast called Noti. He usually comes down once a year, either for Skyler's birthday or 4th of July. This time it was neither but he made the trip anyway. He brought his dog Riley, who Skyler just LOVES! We had a dog once...I'll save that for another post. Skyler thought it was the funniest thing when Riley would stick his head out of the window in the car!

While my dad was here we took him to the Lindsay Wildlife Museum. It's a wildlife rescue place where you can take local wildlife you've found injured or lost and they will rehabilitate them as best they can. If they aren't able to be released back into the wild, they put them on display at this place so everyone can see local wildlife, up close and personal...kind of like a zoo.

This is the Bald Eagle they have. They were cleaning his perch/cage area so they had him in a large enclosure where he was waiting to be fed. They are just so amazing and beautiful. I guess it's because I don't see them in the wild so it's so awesome to see one up close!

Then we went over to my father-in-law's house for a BBQ where he and Skyler played with LEGO's, her new favorite thing to do at his house.

We also went to our local Art and Wind Festival. Skyler loves kites so this was an opportunity to see a lot of them, make her own, and fly it. She had a blast. She also got to walk Riley (which I think was the highlight of the day for her). Here she is with Steve "fishing" in the fountain. She's been begging him to take her fishing so I guess this was her attempt at trying it.

Bright and early Monday morning my dad and Riley piled into his little sports car and headed back up to Oregon. We'll miss them both!

Paris, strawberries, and stripes, oh my!

I've been busy finishing up some custom orders this past week.

This first order is for a friend of mine who's expecting her first grandaughter. They're having 2 showers. The first is a Paris "Ooh La La" theme and the second is a Princess theme. The 2 sets on the outside are the Paris themed ones and the one in the center is for the Princess shower:

This one is for a friend of mine in Texas (Hi Kara!). She's throwing a "Strawberry Shortcake" Themed showed in June and wanted a set of strawberry burp cloths. It took a while to find strawberry fabric (for some reason) and then to have it shipped. To make up for the delay in getting the fabric I threw in a onesie that matches the burp cloths. I hope she likes them!

Lastly, this set is for a little boy just born:

Happy Friday!

thank you!

Thank you to Leelou Blog Design for my new blog look! And best yet, it was FREE! She offers free templates and you can also hire her for custom work. Thanks Julie!

learning to ride a bike, day 1

This weekend we decided to try and take our 5 year old's training wheels off her bike. She was a little leary but decided if she came prepared with all precautions (knee pads and elbow pads) that she would be safe!

She was very nervous in the beginning. She refused to even get on the bike at first but we convinced her that daddy wasn't going to let go and she wouldn't get hurt. Look how sad she looks in this picture above. She does not want to be doing this. This coming from a girl who's favorite ride at Disneyland is THE HOLLYWOOD TOWER OF TERROR!

After a couple of minutes and a few times around our circle she's feeling a little more confident. Look how proud and happy she is with herself!

In the end, she decided to stick with her scooter for now. Maybe we'll try again tomorrow...

Duran Duran is still...

AWESOME! We went to Duran Duran last night and it was so fun! I don't know what it is about them but they've been my favorite band since 7th grade! I can't even count how many concerts I've been too and they never get old. Here are a few pictures from the night.

Steve and I before the concert started.

John, Nick, and Simon...in matching outfits. That's a little weird but whatever...

Simon introducing the band. I love how Nick has his own camera. I wonder what's on that video?

John (playing keyboards? Actually, I think it's a computer), Roger, Simon, and Nick...now in different matching outfits.

John, still looking good after all these years.

During Girl's On Film, this woman ran on stage and totally attacked Simon. She was ripped off his body by a security guard. Simon actually seemed rather excited by the whole incident. After the concert, on the way back to the car, we saw her and decided to have our picture taken with her...why not?

Until next time...

Oh, for those of you that are interested, here was the set list:

The Valley

Red Carpet Massacre

Nite-Runner

Hungry Like the Wolf

Planet Earth

Falling Down

Come Undone

Skin Divers

The Reflex

Save a Prayer

View to a Kill

Last Chance on the Stairway

All She Wants is...

I Don't Want Your Love

Skin Trade

Tempted

Notorious

Girls on Film

Ordinary World

Reach Up for the Sunrise

Wild Boys

Rio

Happy Birthday Skyler!

I'm a little late in getting these up since Skyler's birthday was May 1 and it's now the 3rd but I guess they're better late than never!

Skyler turned 5 on Thursday. I can't believe it. She is my little friend now, going off to Kindergarten in the fall, able to carry on full conversations, and just loves life. Here are a few pictures from her day.

We decorated the house the night before her birthday and this is her with her presents the next morning.

This is her new nightgown that she loved!

The next day at school we brought a special birthday snack and I volunteered in her class. They heard the bible story about Martha and Mary and then they acted it out. Skyler got to be Martha (so appropriate, because that's the role I usually portray!).

Then she got to sit in the teacher's chair at the front of circle time and get her birthday sticker, crown, and everyone sang. She LOVED it!

Happy Birthday Skyler!