Changing of the Guards

Now that Emily knows how to do this:

which used to be Casey chore, I decided to switch some chores around. Ryan used to empty the big part of the dishwasher but that will now be Casey's job. Today I began teaching Ryan how to load already rinsed dishes into the dishwasher. How awesome is that? Soon, I will be able to sit on the couch and eat bon-bons while I watch my little darlings do all the things I've been doing for all their lives!

The Gym

I had to do it. There's no feasible way to train for a half marathon in the summertime in Phoenix without joining a gym (or owning a treadmill).

So I did it.

I didn't want to. The gym has a bad wrap in my mind. I won't go into the details of why. Trust me, it just does.

I even got a nervous stomach as I approached the doors...

But I've visited 3 times now. Running like a madwoman on the treadmill. Today I actually lifted weights, something I haven't done in a long time. But my sweet friend joined me, so that made it easier.

Going to the gym was something we did as a family when I was in jr. high/high school. Me, my mom and dad. We didn't go to church on Sundays, we went to the gym. I enjoyed it though. They didn't drag me kicking and screaming. I really liked this unconventional family tradition we had.

Today, using the weight machines, all the techniques came back to me, just like riding a bike. It didn't feel awkward to use these foreign objects. I'm actually excited and looking forward to my dad's next visit to Phoenix so I can take him to my new gym for a workout, just like old times!

My very first half marathon is sneaking up on me. It's about 8 and a half weeks away. October 17th is the big day. I'm nervous to say the least. I'm not worried about having a great finish time, I just want to run the whole thing without stopping. I finally got back on track with my training. I jumped back into my training program and thankfully the week I picked it back up is an easy week. I have 4 milers this week. Three of them. Two down, one more to go, which will be on Friday.

Next week scares me a bit. I have 2 miles on Monday, 7 miles on Wednesday, 2 miles on Thursday and (eek) 9 miles on Saturday! The kicker with the 9 miles is that I'll be up north at Lew & Elaine's cabin where the elevation is about 6,000 feet and the loop that I do is not flat! Hopefully my friend who is joining me to scrapbook up there will join me in this run too! I haven't told her about it yet, probably should bring that up to her soon!

First Day of School!

I can't believe that it's back to school already. Where did the summer go?

With this school year, brings a new school. I think we are all a little anxious about starting at a new school - new rules, new routines, new teachers, new friends, new playground...

I talked to the boys a few days ago to remind them they wouldn't be praying in class like they did at Northwest. I told them that we would just make sure and pray on the way to school. I told them that they need to be lights that shine Jesus at their new school! I truly hope this is the case. That they will not be fearful to share what they know of the Lord with their friends. That they will stand up for what they believe and know is right. I was a little emotional the first day, it felt weird to be driving the opposite direction down the road to get the kids to school. One positive is that this school is a few minutes closer!

The boys started the morning off with a bowl of Lucky Charms, nothing like a big bowl of sugar to get the brain going!

Then we had to take the traditional "first day of school" pictures. Don't they look so handsome in their school uniforms?

Here's Ryan outside of his classroom. He's in room H2

Here's Casey with his kindergarten teacher, Mrs. B

The hi-light of the day for Ryan was riding the bus home!

I was a little concerned because the bus was 12 minutes late! Ryan told me it was because the driver waited for a kid to run back to class to get his lunchbag that he forgot!

So there you have it. My boys are back in school. Emily is loving having us all to herself! Next year she'll go to pre-school. Not sure what I'll do with myself then! But that's a ways away...

My Poor Baby

My heart is heavy for my middle child.

My dad and step-mom had planned to take the boys to San Diego this weekend. The plan was that Tripp was going to drive the boys to Dad and Karen's place in Palm Springs on Tuesday. But Sunday evening Casey started feeling icky.

Tuesday rolled around and he still wasn't feeling any better. Fever, sore throat, headache. So we postponed the trip to Palm Springs 1 day, hoping he'd be better by Wednesday. Well, here it is Wednesday and this morning at 4am, his fever was back.

Tripp and Ryan left at 8:30 this morning. Casey was asleep.

I had been dreading him waking up and having to tell him they were gone.

He slept until 10:40 AM! Guess he was tired, huh?

So after he asked for a cereal bar and rubbed the sleep from his eyes, he asked where Ryan was.

Oh goodness, here goes.

"He and Daddy went to California."

Tears, tears, tears.

So I sat him down and talked about all the fun things we'd try to do while Ryan is gone. I'm sure it's going to be a long 5 days without Ryan, but we'll make the most of it! Hopefully Casey will start feeling better and we can squeeze in some playdates with his buddies before school starts up in a week!

What a terrible feeling, as a parent, when your child is sad because of something unfortunate like this...