Happy Birthday Adam!

He got older! He's our favorite dad and husband, and we were happy to celebrate his big day. Pizza party at Toppers when rain cancelled baseball, and I took Adam shopping the next day - just the two of us. Tried hard to go to the movies, or the USA baseball game, but so much coaching! Couldn't sneak away. Maybe belated.

Adam is such a fantastic dad. One of the blessings of hiatus is how present he can be during those months. He's had a lot of quality time with the kids. The boys love that he helps coach baseball, he takes Audrey on dates, went to parent/teacher conferences with me (so great he can be there for the student-led ones), gives excellent dad advice, and tells plenty of goofy stories. I'm excited to run the race with him this week. Pretty impressed, since he basically went from coach to 13.1! Happy birthday Adam, you're big-time loved around here.

Baseball

Love Little League, and these handsome boys in uniform. The baseball season has become synonymous with our springs.

Soooo cute! You should see him run the bases with his track hands - guess he's been paying attention at Audrey's practices.

Hahaha - the best one. Michalle and I will go down in history with the T Ball Angels 2017! (Adam should be in both these team shots, but was filming for church that day.)

Saturday!

From now 'til May, Saturdays are sports days. Audrey had a mock meet today, which is basically a track dress rehearsal. She did great and her coaches were very complimentary. She's very focused, fearless, and a hard worker. Plus fast. Track has quite a learning curve (for her and me), but we're getting the hang of it.

I love that she loves to run with friends. In fact she was so social today, I had to get after her to come find me for fuel (oranges, Gatorade, granola bar). She just wanted to hang with the girls.

Today Audrey ran the 400, 100, and 4 x 100. She was the 5th overall girl in the 400:

Her relay team came in 2nd. She was the last leg:

After track we headed to T-Ball. I think Audrey liked bossing the boys around in the dug out.

Go #11!

Tyler and Adam headed to the A's away game.

Tyler got the game ball! Game started rough. Hit in the helmet by a pitch. Got super scraped up sliding into third. But had some great plays at 2nd base, and came in as closing pitcher - closed the last inning in 9 pitches. Bam. Good job, Tyler! Always nice when you can prove yourself pitching with a new coach.

Ended the day at the stake film festival. We got to see Adam's movie. They did a great job! Audrey was in it, so she was happy to see herself on screen, even for a second. Ready to crash for the night.

Running

Two weeks 'til Zion and I have ugly feet, one sad hamstring, and confidence and excitement to show for it. This has been fun. Really. Doing it with Adam helped. And my go-to running friend, Becky. But the mental and physical challenge has been so good - I never cried, I never felt like giving up. (I did complain ocassionally.) Just push through and grow and get stronger (and hungrier - which, actually, I'll be happy to be just regular hungry again.) And I'm not a "I super love running" kinda person. I've come to love many things about it, and hope to continue. Adam already says this isn't our last half. We'll see...

Couple things for me to remember. I love the flip belt. Fit bit/iPhone combo has been great. I'm good to run without music, and have actually found it really mediative, but, a good strategy for me is about 6 miles no music, then the rest music. Because it does get hard, and things start to hurt, and music distracts and can pump you back up. I like the Jelly Belly beans and Gatorade chews. Chews are better for me than gel. Take them around mile 7 and maybe another mile 11. I love my Brooks. They are my companions and am glad I went to Runner's Lane for good shoes. Worth it! I don't mind my ugly feet - they're like proof of hard work. Thought I would splurge on nice clothes from Lululemon, but end up liking my Old Navy and Target capris. I have a time goal, but elevation! I might go slower. I am gonna be happy to not stop running and finish. But the time goal would be icing on the cake, or cherry on top. My 12 mile run last week was so good - I felt great. I knew I could make 13. I hope it feels like that, but it might not. I've had 5 mile runs hurt more, and the first three miles are sometimes the hardest. Resting the hamstring when possible so it doesn't get worse (learned about RICE from Becky), but I'd run on it like this and finish. And I learned you just take three Advil. Grateful only this past week has been hot - that is hard and I have to be hydrated, which is not my strength. After run coconut water or watered down Gatorade (it is sweet for me). Before run I've loved nut-butter filled Clif bar and a banana. Also didn't realize how running distance can mess with your digestion and that's not my favorite part. (My saddest run was the one after I went to Disneyland for this reason.) Chicken and a little pasta or rice, or turkey sandwich were my friends the night before. The night after you can enjoy the pizza, Café Rio salad. Menchies is heavenly recovery food on a hot day. One last thing, you can't look at a whole training plan and let yourself get overwhelmed, thinking you'll never be able to do it. One week at a time. That's been one of my biggest lessons from this - just plan one week at a time, you don't have to worry about next week yet. I'm sure I'll add to this after race day, but for now I'm ready to count down to Zion!

This Afternoon

Busy weekdays and Saturdays make lazy Friday afternoons the best. Especially with this gorgeous weather. No homework, no activities. Happy to spend it with these cute kids.

 Apparently St. Patrick's Day means junk food at our house - Lucky Charms and after school Shamrock Shakes:

 100 hits on the tee! (Not so lazy)

 This one will never get tired of playing ball

Jen Was Here

Jen was in Glendale then left for San Francisco for work. We got to see her for a tiny bit and it was so great. Love seeing wonderful friends and catching up like we were in college and NYC just yesterday. She is really one of my most favorite people, and so easy to talk to - miss her already, but happy for our time together.

Snuck away for a hike just the two of us. California is gorgeous and GREEN right now from all the rain.

Made a super yummy vegan dinner for our vegetarian guest - Mango, Black Bean and Rice Salad over tortillas. With cheese and grilled chicken on the side for the rest! It was a hit. Love Sunday dinners in our backyard.

Other things (mostly having to do with Audrey.) Picture Day for track! Audrey is ready to race.

All the kids in her age group on her team:

Cookie sales are over!! Audrey surpassed her goal and sold 325 boxes of cookies. Her troop is using the money for some really neat things.Thanks to everyone who supported her.

Cute friends at brothers basketball games:

More cute Activity Days friends. Lots of fun girls:

First T-Ball Game

Cole's first game! Adam is head coach with help from a few other dads. There might be nothing cuter than T-Ball. It was a great afternoon.

Daddy Daughter Dance

The school hosted a luau this year and from the looks of it, it was pretty amazing. Audrey and Adam had a wonderful time.

Jen is here! And luckily better with a curling iron than me. So fun she got to help Audrey get ready:

The venue! Dinner, dancing, pictures, and Hawaiian dancers!

Love these two - Audrey sure felt special tonight. She loooves this event.

While they were away, me and the boys introduced Jen to Café Rio - equally important stop. It was a hit, of course.

Basketball!

Tyler had a great first season of basketball with the Golden Knights! What I noticed most is how much fun he had on the court - both at games and practices. He was always smiling. Thanks to a fun team and coaches.