Makenna's first race

Well, this morning Makenna ran her very first race- it was a 1k race at the Angel's Stadium, the Guy Ponce Memorial 5k that was held by Orange Lutheran High School, in memory of one of their coaches. The weather was perfect, overcast and cool. We had a nice early start time of 8:00 and she was SO very excited to run!! We got her new running shoes last night and she had no problem getting up early. She got up, got dressed and ate a little cereal before making a couple laps around the driveway to warm up.... then off we went, over to the stadium.... in case it's not obvious, I was very proud of her and am looking forward to seeing what she can do.

You gotta get up early if you want to run a 1k! Makenna was up at 6:15 and was ready to run....It's a good idea to do some stretching before you run also....

and maybe a little more stretching... if a little is good, alot is better right?

As we all stood by and watched Makenna 'warm up' for her first 1k race, we had a funny little exchange.
mommy: Your probably good and stretched now honey. You don't want to hurt yourself or be tired when it's time to run.
Makenna: Well I'd rather be tired from stretching than pull a muscle.
mommy: Can't argue with that.

Here she is making her way around the field...that's my girl!!!

And here she is coming into home stretch.... who's that right behind her?? Mommy!!

At the point where she was coming out of the stadium she entered the course right in front of me. I tried to catch her but daggum that little girl can run. It was fun crossing the finish line right behind her though. Yeah for firsts... it was the first time I ran a 31:32 5k, it was Makenna's first 1k/race and it was the first time I got to run with both of my girls! Thanks brother for getting up early to be 'official photographer' for us!

Got Worms?

This is our worm house...sitting nicely in the shade under our Avocado tree...

Makenna named this one Eric (??)

See those wiggly little guys- they're gonna make us some compost! (we hope!)

This is what our 'worm home' looked like when we first put them in...(7/17)

If everything goes as planned in 3-4 months we should have some BLACK GOLD or WORM POOP which is basically compost and will go into our garden. As of now we just have a very small garden in a BIG pot which is growing some tomatoes and peppers. We will be making our garden beds soon and will have to buy compost to get started but once these worms start pooping we are hoping they will provide us enough to grow a wonderful garden.....

Wouldn't it be nice if we could grow everything we needed? Some day I'd love to live outside of the city... I say Jackson Hole Wyoming is my 'ideal spot' but really I know nothing about it, but doesn't is just sound serene?? Maybe someday I'll meet a cowboy who will take me away from all of this and my days will consist of a couple hours of homeschooling Makenna, tending to the garden and then going for a run all before noon. Then spending the afternoon sipping sweet tea on my porch while Makenna runs wild and we go inside to start dinner which will be made from stuff we grew....
and then I woke up.
damn.

White sheets and dirty feet

How did this happen I ask... What kind of mother let's her 8 year old child go to bed with feet that look like this?!? Well, the same mother who makes sure said 8 year old isn't hungry when she lays her head on that pretty white pillow, the one that makes sure her teeth have been brushed, that she ate 2 pieces of fruit today, the one that ALWAYS kisses her goodnight and tells her "I love you baby", the one that will choose FUN over HOUSEWORK any day of the week. So her feet are dirty, sheets can be washed. And maybe a barrette or rubber band never made it into the hair this day. But this day involved running around outdoors, having fun, shopping for school supplies and building a home for our new pets- 250 worms that mommy brought home (more on that later...). After all, it is Summer Vacation and isn't it only fitting that a sweet, angelic 8 year old girl with a heart as big as the sun be allowed to go to bed with dirty feet once in a while...? I say they should! Because that's the way I roll.......

If you ask, they will come...

Ever since I started running, I've often asked each of the kids to join me. I've gone so far as offering money if they would run a 5k... I ask because I know what running has done for me and believe it is something that knows no age limits and for the most part the kids are pretty sedentary. I want each of them to grow into healthy, thriving, happy adults and know that running would be a good start. It takes no skills that they don't already have and relatively little time compared to other sports. It's the most "bang for your buck" as far as I'm concerned.

Well this week it happened- Jessica not only ran her very 1st 5k this morning but she also did a 5 mile trail run with us on Thursday!! She is still in the walk/run stage but regardless, she did amazing!! This morning we ran the OC Fair 5k in Costa Mesa and her PR for this mornings race was 39 min ??. Not to shabby!! And on Thursday we did the Peter's Canyon 5mi Trail run in Tustin, the hills in the first 2.5 miles were KILLER- there were many times it felt more like mountain climbing than running! With those long legs of hers, she is able to cover alot of ground quickly and I think she was built to be a runner. I also know the fact that she needs to get into shape before bootcamp had alot to do with motivating her but regardless, I like to think I may have played a roll in getting her out there! No matter what her motivation was or what her time was I am proud of her and look forward to running many more 5ks along side her (if I can keep up!)

Our very own Sponge Bob!

Brother was awarded Employee of the Month for the 3rd time this friday!! We are very proud of him although it does remind us of an episode of Sponge Bob Square Pants when Spongebob loves his job so much he can hardly contain himself when he finds out the Krusty Krab will be open 24hrs!!! Sponge Bob was employee of the month EVERY month which made him Employee of the Year.... We can't wait to see what this year has in store for Brother- Employee of the Year? Only time will tell... we do know one thing, and that is that he is definitely Brother of the Year in our books!

Mother may I?

Jessica, take 3 steps forward
Mother may I?
Yes you may....

After months of pondering, Jessica made it official today- My sweet little girl has enlisted in the Navy. She spent the past 2 days at MEPS (Military Entrance Processing Station) where she took her final ASVAB test, had her physical exam, walked like a duck in her bra and undies, chose her job and was sworn in late this afternoon. Much to the surprise of everyone that knows her, the job she has chosen is MA (Master of Arms) which is a military cop. Her first choice would have been a Corpsman (Medical) but those jobs are just not available right now. There is a chance that if one opens up before she goes to bootcamp she could get it but for now she is happy with her chosen job.

Honor~ Courage~ Commitment

Honor- honesty, fairness or integrity in one's beliefs or actions.
Courage-Mark Twain said it best "Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear-not absence of fear.
Commitment-a pledge, promise or obligation.

Those three words will become her life for the next 4 years. During the ceremony today they were told that inside of each of them they have more than the Navy will ever ask for. I believe this is true, Jessica has yet to learn what she is really made of and I believe she will surprise herself. She is fearless, confident, strong willed and has a soft heart. She wants more out of life than what has been dealt her and she intends to go out and find it...and she will. Everyone that knows her is so very proud of her but no one is more proud than I am. For now I will enjoy every day I have with her because I know in the not so distant future I will be opening my "kid in a box" and filling my lungs with the smell of her and taking that walk down memory lane, the one that takes us, just her and I, back to the hospital bed where the world was quiet and dark except for the nightlight above us, when she looked me in the eye as I promised to love her forever...

It's funny how much life is like a childhood game... Jessica jumped thru hoops and then waited for clearance to go to MEPS and when it came she was sure this meant her journey was beginning. At this point we don't know when she will leave, only that it will be sometime before June 22, 2010. Which to her must feel as though she is standing on the lawn waiting for them to say "Jessica, take 2 giant steps forward" to which she will reply "Yes, Sir!"

Brother...

Travis, or as we affectionately call him "Brother".

In our home the names have been changed to protect the innocent, although there really are no innocent as we are all guilty of something at sometime... Our Brother is quiet a peculiar character. To the naked eye he would appear to be somewhat of a "hermit" but take a closer look and you'll see this boy has his finger on the pulse of all that is cool (at least to him). He knows more about technology, music, geography, history and current events than anyone else I know. Inside the soul of this man is the boy that wore the very same smile he does today, he is quick to smile, quick to forgive, never complains and loyal to the end. I have always said that there isn't an animal or baby that doesn't love Travis and after all aren't they the best judges of character on the planet??
Brother loves shopping at Vintage clothing stores and Thrift stores and on a recent trip spotted this Tshirt. Days later Michael Jackson died and he couldn't resist going back to get it. I mean really, how many of us even come across Michael Jackson Tshirts in our day to day journeys??
I was surprised to find out that when you look up the word ROUTINE in the dictionary it did not have a picture of Brother next to it. Although if you look closely, definition 4 does have his name in it:

rou⋅tine

–noun

1.	a customary or regular course of procedure.

2.	commonplace tasks, chores, or duties as must be done regularly or at specified intervals; typical or everyday activity: the routine of an office.

3.	regular, unvarying, habitual, unimaginative, or rote procedure.

4.	an unvarying and constantly repeated formula, as of speech or action; convenient or predictable response: Don't give me that brotherly-love routine!

He is as grounded in his routine as the Pope in his religion. Don't mess with the routine and no one gets hurt.

Recently Brother posted "5 Facts" about himself on You Tube, we loved watching his video and were a little surprised at his facts:
1) I have never broken a bone- taken many bad falls but never broken a bone.
2) I LOVE MILK! I drink at least 2 sometimes 3 BIG glasses a day.
3) I LOVE Soccer, I played for alot of years as a kid and love everything about the sport.
4) I Love Roller coasters!
5) I LOVE Star Wars, everything about it!

So, as you can see, this man-boy is a pure, simple soul. What you see is not always what you get- simple on the outside but very complex on the inside.
We love our Brother, after all he is the world's best boy!

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