Mother-daughter picnic date

Hannah has been asking if she could go on a picnic for some time now. She has some books with picnic scenes, complete with the red-checkered blanket and she never fails to point it out to me. Well, tonight the little lady was granted her wish.
For our date, Hannah and I packed up the bike trailer with the necessary items for an outdoor meal and headed to the nearest park with grass, which isn't as close as you might think for all the parks they have in NYC.

Here's what was on the menu, designed by Hannah:
pasta,
tomatoes,
chips,
apples with peanut butter,
yogurt,
pink lemonade and
chocolate milk


In addition, Hannah wanted some time for activities so we brought along bubbles and water balloons (again, her choice). Hannah has been wanting to play with water balloons since she saw kids filling them up at the park, but I realized tonight when I pulled them out that she didn't know what to do with them.
I said, "OK, do you want to throw them now?"
She looked at me incredulously, eyes wide and slowly said, "Nooo!"
"Well, what do you want to do with them?
"We can put them in the grass."

Eventually, I convinced her that the divine purpose of a water balloon is for it to be thrown with great force. I threw one and after it popped and splashed, she was eager to throw one herself. She made me proud as she launched each one.
We blew some bubbles and then it was time to go.

I really enjoyed having the time to focus only on Hannah. We definitely need to do it more often.

When we came home, we ate some of these simple and delicious treats that I saw on Natalie's blog this morning.

Hannah saw them on her blog too, and wanted them for our date so we made some. We decided to share them, much to Dan's delight. Dan said that's how s'mores should be- he's one of those who doesn't care for the dryness that a s'more can offer. I can see what he means.

We watched The Princess Bride to end Hannah's date night. She often asks to watch it, but she can only watch it with us- "It's scary!" but she loves it anyway.

I so look forward to date nights.

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The 10k+

I didn't think I was going to stop running up that hill before I encountered it. I thought, "As long as I just keep moving and keep a steady, albeit slow, pace, then I'll be alright." Well, I never stopped, but I didn't keep running either. I fully intended on doing some recon of the hill before running it, but I'm glad I didn't- I might have chickened out. Let me refresh your memory on the trail profile:

That elevation graph has an entirely new meaning to me now. The hill gained 500 feet in elevation in about 3/5 of a mile- crazy for a run, if you ask me. I didn't feel too bad hiking, though, because the swarm of people around me were doing the same thing.

Once I reached the top, I could finally pick up my stride and enjoy the scenery. It was a beautiful trail, and I'm sure I would've enjoyed hiking it any other day. It was a bit treacherous in places, especially since there had been a downpour of rain in the wee hours of the morning. I slipped many times on rocks and roots and got a bit muddy, but I never fell.

Up and down, along a river and around a lake we trotted, watching every step. Running through the woods added a new element of excitement to the race, in my opinion. Finally, what comes up, must come down and we had to run down the steep grade we hiked up. Even though it went relatively quickly, I thought I might lose my knees after pounding on them so consistently and forcefully. We leveled out for the home stretch (always the best part!). I could feel everything was OK and working properly so I gave it all I had. I finished the 7 miles (hence the 10k+ in the title) at 1:12:44, which is hard to relate to anything considering the variance of the trail, but the time doesn't mean much to me anyway. I'm just glad I did it. I had so much fun, all things considered.


Dan took this photo after I came out of the meadow mile loop. That part was quite serene, and at the very beginning, which is why I am smiling.
I ran with my friend Ami (we camped with her and her family), and that might be her right behind but I'm not sure. We lost each other right around here so I didn't get to run with her, but I know she had a great time. She has already asked me, what's next?
I'm not sure, but I might try sleeping in my own bed the night before the next race, for a change.

Roots, rocks and logs

I went trail running today to get ready for my 10K trail run next weekend. I dodged many a rock and root while traversing some of the narrower trails in our nearby Forest Park. I felt pretty good as I hurdled one large log at the beginning of my run, but on the way back, that same log seemed twice as big and I had to negotiate my weakened stride a bit.
Overall, I really enjoyed the trail. I hope to be able to explore more trails in my running shoes before next week.
Here is a look at the elevation profile of the trail I will be "racing" on:

I figure as long as I can get up that first hill, I'm golden. But can I run uphill, nonstop, with an elevation gain of 500 feet in less than one mile? That is the question...

Girls' weekend

Here I am minutes after my new haircut, one of the many pleasures of my weekend with the Dyer girls in Park City, Utah. You can see Katie in the background doing a marathon salon session just for us. She was great, in so many ways.
We beautified ourselves with more than new hair styles. We gave makeovers to our toes, faces and wardrobes, all without breaking the bank.
Aside from the external improvements we made, we had the opportunity to get to know one another in some cases and get reacquainted in others, sans kids. It was a great get-away.

Saturday in Seattle

up at 6:30am PST (too early without my kids)
breakfast
get new baby nephew Logan up
photo shoot- snap, snap, snap
shower
more photos of baby- snap, snap
Rachel's turn- snap, and snap
drive to Kirkland
another photo shoot- snap, snap, snap
drive back to Bothell
Logan with mommy and daddy- snap...
snap...
snap
dinner
Wii tennis
Wii boxing
dessert
Wii bowling
Wii Rock Band (I will get better at drums!)
watch Miss America Pageant, just to see how bad it's become
get ride to airport
fly out at midnight, 25 hours after I flew in

the red eyes, sore back, and fatigue- worth it!

My life today

Dan walks in the door from work and settles in after discarding his coat, shoes and bag. We say hello and the girls approach him with varying comments, questions or jibberish, as the case may be. Soon he is on the floor with them, playing and laughing. I enjoy the sounds from the other side of the room- the sound that little girls make when they are crazy about their daddy. I notice the noise die down a bit and suddenly I can feel Dan staring at me. Out of the corner of my eye, I see- he's getting up and walking across the room over to me. He puts both of his hands on either side of my face, turns my head, gives me a kiss and says, "This is how I always dreamed my life would be."

As a wife, mother and homemaker, I am constantly striving to make the best life for my husband, kids and home. There is not much I do that isn't somehow related to how it effects their well-being. Throughout my days I wonder, is it enough, do they have what they need, can I do more, how can I make it better? It can be all-encompassing, but because it is out of love, it is not overwhelming. There is purpose. There is reward. There is fulfillment. There is complete joy.

My work is good.

My First Year of Portraiture

I have created a slideshow of portraits that I have taken throughout the year. It is my tribute to all of my wonderful subjects. Enjoy!!! (click on Cupid to be transported)

33

I turned thirty-three this past weekend. I had a great birthday in Boston with our wicked-cool friends, the Truscotts. They made me this deliciously decadent cake.

We had a great weekend in general and even went to visit our other great friends, the Bates in New Hampshire (we miss you!).
Just for the record, I am completely fine with my new age. In fact, I embrace it. I know who I am and I'm very content with who I've become. I look forward to my thirties!