Thursday, November 29, 2012

photo editing break

My brain is fried from selecting and editing pictures for family Christmas gifts.
I thought I'd stop by and share a few for a break.
I need to make several photo books and was wondering if you have any recommendations.  I've done Kodak and Walgreens in the past and was thinking of trying Costco this time.

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Thanksgiving weekend

I'm a little late posting these but we had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend.  It started off with the pie making, I mentioned, a tradition that Julie made more special with a little pie announcement.  She likes to announce these things with subtlety.   I had a bad cold most of the week which caused me to miss out on the Turkey Trot but I still ate my Thanksgiving meal with gusto.  Elliot and Avery ate more than last year, which wasn't difficult since all Elliot had was ham and Avery pie.  On Friday we took some family pictures of Julie, James and Josie and took the opportunity to snap of few family pics of us as well.  That was interesting!  Saturday was a special day.  Someone turned 27 and someone else turned 9 months (hint).

I don't know about you, but I am really looking forward to Christmas.
This week we plan putting some Christmas lights on our house,
buying a Christmas tree,
get my hair done (I'm itching for change),
making homemade ornaments for Andrew's family,
and celebrating Andrew's 32 b-day Saturday.

Monday, November 19, 2012

pies, pies, pies

1/2/3/4
Thanksgiving is probably my favorite holiday.  It probably has something to do with the fact that sometimes my birthday lands on it.

Here are some other reasons I love Thanksgiving:
♥ the FEAST
♥ it's only a few weeks before Christmas
♥ being able to take a moment (or two) to count my blessings
♥ spending time with family
♥ the Turkey Trot
♥ knowing I'll never be in England for this holiday again (what's the point?!)
♥ going to bed in a sleep coma that night to wake up and shop!

The day before Thanksgiving it's a tradition to get together with my sisters and make pies.  Ever since we bought our house I host have been hosting and I really look forward to it.  In the past there have been years that we had about as many pies as people!  This year our Thanksgiving will be a little smaller so I'm only making pumpkin (my favorite!) and chocolate pudding pie.  It's not just that we really love pies but we love making them together.  It's a tradition!

Thursday, November 15, 2012

practice

Oh viola, why has it been so long!  Sometimes I forget how much my viola is a part of my life.  That's probably because it hasn't been lately but I plan on starting MCC Orchestra again in January and I'm itching to play some new music.  I've been thinking about practicing for weeks months and it feels good to hear the string resonate.  When I play my viola becomes an extension of who I am.  It's beautiful, really.  May I always remember that feeling and not go so long between playing again!

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Casa Grande Triathlon

Last Saturday Andrew and I finished the Casa Grande Triathlon.  Andrew did it in 2009 and I did it in 2010 but this was our first time together.  We were getting all competitive with each other while training for this race until the last month when Andrew kept getting sick.  He really probably shouldn't have raced but he did and I'm proud of him!

The #1 picture has become a race tradition.
We couldn't have done this race without support from my family.  Julie and James came to take pictures and watch Zara.  My mom and Ruth watched Elliot and Avery at home.
It turns out this year had half the competitors than both the other years we raced.  We're wondering if triathlons were a fad a couple years ago and fizzled out since then.  Either way, it was great to get into the heated pool sooner this time.
Almost every race I do is a little bit different than the others.  For example, even though I'd already done this triathlon before this was the first triathlon I've done while still breast feeding.  It was difficult racing with the extra weight and that swimsuit was so tight (especially on top) but I was up for the challenge!
I surprised myself by beating my personal record by exactly 6 minutes with a time of 1:27:38.  This time my swim and bike were faster but my run was faster last time.  The great thing is, I know there's still room for improvement for next year!
James' brother and sister-in-law, Aaron and Andrea, did the triathlon in 2010 so it was great to see them at the race again.
Andrew had a lot of asthma problems during the race so I'm so proud he didn't give up.  He's a great example to me.
We did it!
If you're thinking about doing a triathlon this is a good one for beginners.  The swim is in a pool, it's only a sprint distance but there is also a duathlon, it's very family friendly, it's one of the least expensive triathlons, and the competitors include all ages, body types, and levels of experiences.
My next race is the Turkey Trot so now I plan to focus on increasing my running speed and continue loosing weight.

Thursday, November 1, 2012

Halloween

Halloween was a busy, long, fun day.  We're still in recovery mode from sugar overload, sleep deprivation  and a messy house but I managed to get the kids to eat part of their dinner before all the fun and Elliot and Avery can boast of a decent amount of candy considering they only went trick-or-treating to about 5 houses.

Yesterday morning we went to the Zoo with some friends while Elliot was at Kindergarten.
That got a little interesting towards the end.
After dinner we visited Lita in costume.  It's a tradition.
After that we went to a party and visited my parents and hurried on home to bed by 9:30.
Here are our two attempts of a family picture.
Andrew dressed up as a corporate pirate.  He wore it to work sans "facial hair". I'm a black swan.  I made the mask last minute.  Not bad!  Elliot is Iron man, Avery is an angel, and Zara a monkey.  Here's us last year.

October was an amazing month but I really look forward to November!