Sundays in Summer

Feeling a little Martha Stewartishy, we ate out last night in this picture perfect setting. (Not my sewing table by any means- just the background). If you ever pick up Sunset magazine, you must try the luau recipes. Coconut and lime shrimp, papaya and avocado salad...they're really good. And we were going to make the pineapple drop martinis but the liquor store was closed, darn it.

My in laws are sadly en route home today. My mother in law has us about half packed and all pictures down, holes spackeled and cleaned, and in GOOD shape. What a relief to still have a month left in this house and be so ready to go. She also got us to lighten our load big time which feels insanely good. We have scaled down clothes, shoes, trinkets, etc. Her wise advice to the mom who keeps every single thing from her children and her own childhood? Pick a few things and let. it. go.

I feel about ten pounds lighter. Thank you, Yanceys!

Run Like You Stole Something

Looking a little worn.

Oh man that was a fun and exhausting event. Saturday's Rock n Roll was so spectacularly smooth and organized, it couldn't have been any better. I have joked that the organizers of the race probably could have handled the hurricane Katrina disaster in a more efficient manner. I mean seriously, to have over 25,000 people all taken care of is a big feat. The only thing that drove me a little nutty was having to bob and weave through the sea of people to try and get my numbers. But with some fancy footwork and one near trip-n-fall, I did it! I made it under two hours (1 hr, 56 min) which was my goal.

My top ten favorites of the day:
1. There were enough honeybuckets for everyone- no line was long (unless you stood in the line at the first smattering of blue).
2. The crowd was awesome- especially the girl on Lake Washington that had the table of "free beer" set up in Spongebob dixie cups. That got an audible laugh from me.
3. The guy at about mile 11 holding the 'run like you stole something sign' made me think, "I'm trying, I'm trying but I think I'm busted". There came a point of sucking wind and pain and I so wanted it to end.
4. The AMAZING weather made running over the bridge and into the city an all time favorite. Have you seen Seattle on a clear blue day? The water and the green blows my mind. Especially seeing it from running through the streets- we felt like we owned the place.
5. Coming through the finish line still wearing my full marathon bib (they never changed it to switch to the half!!) and hearing the announcer question if I was a very fast finisher. Okay, that was fun but embarrassing. I'm no Kenyan.
6. The sweet, sweet young man who draped the foil blankie over me as I began to shiver. Bless his heart, it felt so good.
7. The girls at the complimentary beer garden who looked at me sadly over the fence as I waited for Josh to get his free beer. "Don't worry, you will be in here soon enough" they said. "Oh! No, no, no- they wouldn't let me in without my ID". I told them. God bless them for their looks of surprise when I told them I was 37.
8. The woman at the coffee shop afterward who had just run a very quick full marathon and then sat down with a smile on her face to nurse her new baby. Wow!
9. My chocolate milk. Never finish a race without it.
10. And lastly, going to bed early on Saturday. Exhausted but feeling really, really good to know that this week of busyness was done. And done well.
Josh and I in front of Qwest Field where the Seahawks and Sounders play. So happy to be done.

My Fifteen Minutes

of fame...

What a surprise this week to get a message from the sports reporter at the Seattle Times. He was looking for the "average" runner set to race in the Inaugural Seattle Rock n Roll Marathon this Saturday.

"Should I take offense to being called average"? I asked my husband.
"Nah" he replied. "Do it and have fun".

So just like that, the interview was done, and the photographer came out to the house to catch me on a run. And you'll never believe that in the course of just a few minutes we figured out we both graduated from the same high school in Palatine, Illinois. So we had to digress from lights and cameras and talk all about Durty Nellies, the best little Irish pub where me and many others welcomed twenty-one. I swear, this world is a very, very small one.

So here's the article- know that the reporter was being very gracious. I'm only an average mom.

Daddy's Day Dance

We celebrated Dad's Day with a dance recital which was really touching in the finale when all the little sweet girls yelled, "Happy Father's Day!".

Hard to believe yet another recital is under our ballet belt and with lessons over, summer is officially here. (Even if it's cold and rainy!)

Dunkin' Daddy

"Throw the ball at daddy", we yelled. So he did. Not at the target but at daddy. Have you ever seen a three year old that won't take the three-ball-shot lightly? He grabbed more balls out of the lady's hand and carried on. Sometimes it's really embarrassing being a mommy.


Actually Josh preferred being in the water. It was warmer for sure. And it probably felt good after running in the Fall City Day's race that morning. Incidentally, I got my best time on a 10K (51 min) and loved that while I was finishing the last mile, the people that came in first were coming out for another lap around the course. How is it that I can run my fastest and still feel slow?

Forget the Night Light

Walking past the little guy's room last night I had to do a double-take. And then get my camera.

Do your people go to bed with accessories, too?

A Buck a Pound

Not a bad deal, huh? We picked twenty one pounds and ate probably the same at the u-pick yesterday. And you won't believe who was there- the soup nazi's cousin, the strawberry nazi. She barked where we could pick and yelled when we wandered into someone else's row. This is very serious stuff, you see. We were all so incredibly naughty cracking jokes and sneaking out of bounds. It felt good to be such a deviant picker.

And when all the mischief was over, it was home to wash off the many, many a berry. Then dry and cut off the tops- what a job.



Today will be jam day when we'll all get intoxicated by the sugary sweet smells and swear off ever eating another strawberry again.

Number Eight

I officially hate eight....

I tried all day long to win a trip to Dublin to go see my boys play and drink Guiness in a pub. You may be familiar with this already but our radio station here had UTuesday- you had to listen for a U2 song and be caller number ten. Easy enough, I heard every single one. And called every single time.

And what did I get? Yep. Instead of the constant busy signal I heard- ring, ring...

Hello 103.7 the Mountain.
OH MY GOSH! AM I CALLER NUMBER TEN?!?!?
NO, you're number eight, try again. Click.

To get so close to that blarney stone would have been magnificent.

Bears Going Techno

Arriving home from a little night walk my little guy says to me-

"Mom! I forgot to bring my camera so we could skype with the bears!"

No, we didn't see any bears last night but had we....that would be a great new invention.

Grandma Quail

Grandma is here and we love when she is. The house is cleaner, the kids are happier, outings are more fun and you get to wear cool, matching quail hats. (You'd have to know that quails live all around my mom and dad in Arizona and they make really cute sounds. I guess it helps to know also that my mom's name is Gayle- need I explain more??)


We hit the strawberry fest this weekend and although we had lots of fun, I can't get over my disappointment of no strawberry u-pick this year. The floods in January took their toll. Big time bummer. But fear not, strawberry jam seeking friends- we're trying our luck elsewhere today. Somewhere not on a river. Finally tall enough to work this bike!My little guy grabbed all the ducks on his ride claiming they were for dinner. I've never had duck before and I don't think I'm ready yet.
First pony ride and the major complaint was that his chin strap was too tight and he couldn't talk to the girl walking the horse. What a boy!

In Your Face Mama

There was too much requesting of computer and Wii games yesterday from one of my people. I blew a short fuse and commanded all small people outdoors while I paid bills. If you knew how beautiful the area in which we are surrounded truly is, you too would find it hard to believe that children didn't long to be outside. Anyway, off they stomped while commenting, "There's NOTHING to do..."

From the window I hollered, "Ride your bike, shoot baskets, climb a tree, build a fort, find snakes, play catch, find SOMETHING and stay out!"

Whether out of spite or enthusiasm, they got serious about the adventure and set up camp far out in the field. My middle man came running in to get a pair of clothes that he would wear after "bathing in the creek". And they were going to sleep not in a tent, just in a sleeping bag on the ground. Meals were to be served out yonder. He was also soaking pine leaves in the sun because they're full of vitamin c and quite tasty, too. There was much more to the plan - but all I could think about were coyotes, bears, and creatures that bite.

So here they are at 9:30 last night, finding it difficult to fall asleep amidst the neighbor's volleyball game, the birds going to bed, someone chopping wood, and no stars out yet. (We got them to compromise and sleep closer to home and on air mattresses).


And just as expected, two came in and one stayed out. In your face, mama. I hope he decided to live with his family once again.

She's So Plastic

Remember, if you can, a song in the 80's that had that line? She's so plastic... was it from Valley Girl? It's about the time that plastic went crazy- late 70's, early 80's. Recently on a beach walk, I had a discussion with a naturalist (not the kind that eat only raw foods but the ones who are trained to teach beach stuff) about what plastics are doing to our society. It was deep, let me tell you.

An article I read this morning has this former valley girl with thyroid disease like freaking out about plastic.

Happy to be Green

I am a lucky girl...I got my new funky-colored Ipod and I gotta admit- I love it. My honey downloaded my study guide for my ACE certification so now I run to anatomy, kinesiology and the neuromuscular system. I can't say that's a hugely inspirational running aid, but hey I'm killing two birds here.

Night Swinging

I am a big fan of REM and love the song Nightswimming. This song played in my head over and over as I watched my little man swing quietly in the sunset last night.

Holy Cow

Jack's going home. It's about time, too!

To The Ground

I have always been one to cram as much into a weekend as humanly possible. If I were to spend the day reading a book on the couch I would feel as if it were completely wasted.

Well, I think I actually hit my limit this weekend. It was one of the busiest three days I've had in a very long time. The amount of running (both from one place to the next and in my tennis shoes through the streets) took it's toll.

Evidence of too much stuff? We went to our neighbors graduation party on Saturday night- which was fabulous. Great food, wine, a keg (haven't had keg beer since college), music, volleyball, badminton, frisbee, a roaring fire with s'mores, etc. We took the kids home for bed fully expecting to come back- that's what "normal" Heather would do. But instead as each and every single muscle in my body ached, I knew I couldn't make it. I was in bed by 9:30. And if that doesn't sound crazy, let me assure you it is. I never miss a party. I have been this way as long as I can remember. Snowed in New Year's Eve parties that I missed made me feel very sad and lonely. Oh and one year I had chicken pox for New Years -talk about misery. Truth is, I hate to miss out on anything- it's my pre-wiring.

So to go to bed while outside my window a party roared on was super out of context. But guess what? I survived. I slept and it was good. Maybe my built in personality can be tweaked after all. (But if you're having a 4th of July celebration, please send me an invite!!)

Buy Me Some Peanuts

Our little slugger turned seven this weekend so we took him and his buddy out to the ballgame and bought him some peanuts.
My college roommate's son-they're three weeks apart, how cool is that? Even cooler that they have the same name but in reverse.

Happy Birthday, PJ, we all love you so much!

Testing the Theory

I got this clip off of Maya's blog (which I love!)It's a recipe for no-knead bread, claiming it's so easy, even a six year old can do it. Well, the six year old did it. All by himself, he'd like me to add.

The Touch, The Feel

Can you sing along? The fabric of our lives....
I'm not exactly sure what this stuff is blowing all over town but we like to call it good ol' cotton.



They were hoping to bring it home to make something but I sensed one too many sneezes- so outside it will stay.

Tiller's End

I'm not surprised that this happened-all I can offer is may God have mercy on his soul.

Caching In

How cool was this local geo-caching event...start in the cemetery (muah ah ah) and look for clues like "how old was grandma?"


I love the trickier navigations that people leave and that you get to bring home a treasure from the loot. Middle man came home with a blue caribeaner (he gave me strict instructions not to use it mountain climbing- "it's not a real caribeaner", he said) and left in it's place some sort of sea creature (not real, of course.)


And seriously, could grandma really have been that old???