You never know until you try.....

Several weeks ago Sela came home from school with a registration form for cross country. She was very excited to join and both Zig and I encouraged her to give it a go. If anything, it's great exercise!

The next afternoon (keep in mind this is the first week of school and emotions run high), she came home on the verge of tears. We talked, well mostly I just asked questions, trying to figure out what in the world was wrong. Every time she would start to talk, she would get teary eyed. I had never seen her sad about school like this. Finally, she just let it out and big elephant tears ran down her face.

It turns out a friend saw the form for cross country on her desk and made a comment about cross country being hard and boring and that she wouldn't be joining. None of Sela's classmates have participated in cross country though because you are only eligible beginning in 3rd grade. I kept thinking there was more to the story because Sela was so upset, but there wasn't. That was it and for whatever reason, Sela was pretty discouraged. I think she just thought all of her friends would sign up and they would have fun doing it together. She went to school so excited and the after the comment, she felt totally deflated.

Sela went to the practice anyway, just to see for herself what it was like. I watched the first practice and well, they pretty much ran, ran and ran some more. They were all hot and tired at the end. Several of her friends said "adios" after this initial practice. The next couple of practices, however, were all games like Capture the Flag and Sela had a great time.

The first meet was last Wednesday. I picked Sela up from school to drive her to Cottage Lake Elementary, but when she got in the car she said " I don't think I want to go to the meet." I told her that was fine, but that the meets are actually the best part. So we headed on over. I think she just wanted reassurance.

She was a little bit nervous but once things got rolling, she was totally enjoying herself. One thing I love about our little school is that the kids really support each other. They have a lot of school spirit and they cheer for everyone. After all the grades walked the course, the meet began. They go from oldest to youngest so the 3rd graders ran last.

Sela took off at what must have been her top speed and I thought for sure she would tire out at that pace. Then the route goes off through the trees and behind the school and you don't see the runners until they come back at the end. I was visiting with friends and then I looked up to see Sela running in with no one close behind.

She ran her little heart out and she came in 1st!

Talk about over the moon! She was so happy and she literally beamed the rest of the night. We went to Jamba Juice for a some celebratory smoothies. She couldn't go to sleep that night and wanted to talk, talk, talk all night with me about all things cross country. She wanted to give me a play by play of the run and the course. How she was so tired but she knew she could rest at the end so she kept going :) She talked about how much she loves her PE teacher, Mr. Hogle (and he is exceptional). And how much she wanted to win for her school. She said hearing my voice made her run faster. She loved the way the kids from her school cheer each other on. She said she just told herself to do her best. So many good lessons for her, and such a positive experience.

The second meet was today, at Sunrise Elementary. Zig was able to make it and Andrea, our babysitter, also came to cheer her on.


3rd Grade girls lining up. The other school had a lot more participants.


This race was much closer.


These kids started strong and broke away from the pack a little bit.



Sela and Annie giving it their all.


When Sela came around the fence, she was a step or two behind, but she passed this little girl at the end and won 1st again.


Way to go, Sela!

Zig was so glad he was able to make it today. Usually he is out of town so it was a treat for him and for Sela as well.

lovely tomatoes

Our tomato plants are loaded right now, but we're getting nervous because the nights are getting much cooler. We still need a couple weeks of good weather for many of the tomatoes to fully ripen. Right now we have light pink, yellow, burgundy, orange and red ones (and a few green ones that fell off prematurely). Zig planted lots of heirloom varieties this year and they are just gorgeous! Almost too pretty to eat.

Stuck

Occasionally after a bath I let Evan scoot around in the buff on my yoga mat since it's easier to move without the diaper and clothes. And, of course, babies just love to be naked. A boy this size needs all the help he can get to move his chubby body around. I looked away for a bit and all of the sudden he was trying to scoot under the couch.


Uh oh, I think I'm stuck!

Coming back out!

Ordinary Miracles

Aside from September being much too busy for my liking, this is such a beautiful time of year. Fall is most certainly on its way, but there is still lots of sunshine. The leaves are beginning to change. The air is cooling down at night. The days are getting a wee bit shorter (which helps tremendously for bedtime!) It's almost time for scarves and boots and comfort food.

And EVERYTHING is ripe in the garden. Oh my goodness. This is our first year to plant a garden. We both grew up with gardens and orchards. Zig had all kinds of citrus groves...lemons, tangerines, persimmons, oranges, avocados, etc. We had a peach orchard and always a garden. However, I didn't know just how much I would love having one of my own. It's been amazing to be able to go out in the evening, grab a few vegetables and throw together a quick rice bowl. I am already mentally planning our garden for next year. I love it!

I'm amazed at how well everything grew in the girls' gardens. We really gave no oversight to that process. They did it ALL on their own and as a result, they feel such pride in their efforts when their vegetables grow.

One evening I was sitting down in the garden with Evan. Sela, Nina, and Rollin were playing elsewhere and hadn't come to find me yet. I had gone down to pick a few veggies for our dinner, but then Evan didn't want to be put down on his blanket. There was no hurry so I sat down and just held him in my lap and gave him my full attention. I was smiling at him, and he was trying desperately to mimic my every expression. I was completely overcome with love and adoration for this child. Then I looked around the garden, bursting with life. And it was so humbling to me. Life is such a miracle, in all its forms. Just the simple fact that a nine foot tall sunflower twice the size of my head was a mere tiny seed only months ago is just miraculous, and awe inspiring, yet mundane in a way. I mean it's just a seed and just a sunflower you could say, but for some reason, I was so totally struck by the the miracle of life. I can't adequately put my feelings into words right now and I'm totally fumbling for a way to express myself, but the best I can do is to say I just felt such a deep level of gratitude in my heart. It was a perfect moment, and strangely enough, one of the happiest moments of my life. I felt pure joy.












I love the lyrics to the song Ordinary Miracle by Sarah McLachlan.

It's not that unusual
When everything is beautiful
It's just another ordinary miracle today

The sky knows when its time to snow
You don't need to teach a seed to grow
It's just another ordinary miracle today

Life is like a gift they say
Wrapped up for you everyday
Open up and find a way
To give some of your own

Isn't it remarkable?
Like every time a raindrop falls
It's just another ordinary miracle today

Birds in winter have their fling
And always make it home by spring
It's just another ordinary miracle today

When you wake up everyday
Please don't throw your dreams away
Hold them close to your heart
Cause we are all a part
Of the ordinary miracle

Ordinary miracle
Do you want to see a miracle?

Its seems so exceptional
Things just work out after all
It's just another ordinary miracle today

The sun comes up and shines so bright
It disappears again at night
It's just another ordinary miracle today

It's just another ordinary miracle today

First Triathlon

After a summer of swimming lessons, both Nina and Rollin learning to ride bikes without training wheels, and tons of running around the yard, I thought a perfect ending to the summer would be a kid's triathlon. Kirkland held a kid's triathlon on Saturday as a prelude to the much larger adult event on Sunday. Sela and Nina were excited about the idea and I knew that once we got to the race, Rollin would be dying to participate. I just went ahead and signed them all up. He was the only 3 year old, but there were several fours so I knew he could blend in. Lisa signed Sam up as well so we met for one official training session at the river trail to try and give the kids an idea of the running and biking distances. They were super pumped and confident after this test run of sorts.

We also did some bike trading. When it was all said and done, Sela rode her new bike, Sam rode Nina's (it was Sela's old one that Nina can ride but isn't too comfortable on just yet), Rollin rode Sam's cool green bike, and Nina rode Rollin's yellow spider bike. Everyone was super stoked with their set of wheels!

The morning of the triathlon it was pouring rain. It had been sunny and gorgeous the day before, of course. And the day after, I might add. Anyway, I decided to go get the packets early and bring the kids down closer to the race time so they wouldn't get tired of waiting in the rain. Well, things moved much faster than they publicized and we barely made it back in time to get the bikes checked into the transition area and the kids all ready to go.

There was some confusion as to the Swim division versus the Swim/Splash division so I figured for the first year they would all go in Swim/Splash. Plus the water was pretty chilly. It turns out the swim/splash was all splash and no real swim. Sela should have done the swim, but they all had so much fun anyway. Next year we'll know better and won't worry about the proper attire for each leg of the race. Most just stayed in their wet bathing suits. Some kids kept their swim caps on under their helmets, others ran through the finish line with their bike helmets on, etc, etc. Basically they all just wanted to GO GO GO and did not care about proper footwear or staying warm. Rollin did great and biked his little heart out. Nina loves to run so she came across the finish line with a skip in her step. And Sela was asking to do it again next year right away. For some reason, even though the kids had timing chips on, their times didn't get recorded so we don't know what their times were. But that's okay. It was all about the experience.

This little race was such fun for the kids. I just loved cheering them on from the sidelines. They felt like they accomplished something big. We definitely have ourselves a new tradition!

I used my little waterproof camera because of the rain, so the pictures are pretty lousy.




Sela said they all had some pre-race jitters while waiting and that Rollin and Nina looked "really scared."


And they're off!

Sela and Sam

These kids will do anything for a medal!

Go Nina!

Rollin never changed shoes for the run! I think his competitive juices took over and there was no time to waste!

Sam did awesome!

Happy are kids who finish and have buckets of candy, crackers, and water bottles waiting!

Goodness Grapes

Jock and Jill

Zig ran the Jock and Jill half marathon on Labor Day. I thought he did great having only been back into fairly serious running for about a month. He ran a 7 minute mile and his time was 1:34. He, of course, was not satisfied. He beat his time from the last half marathon he ran ten years ago on our honeymoon in Paris. It drizzled the whole time, which actually felt good.

I ran the 4.2 miler. My motivation was to finish fast enough that I could run to the car, drive home, nurse Evan, and see Zig finish. I did that. Fortunately, we live right up the hill from where the race took place. Another highlight of the race for me was having an eight year old running at my heals the whole time. Nothing says you suck like getting beat by a small child (yes, she passed me at the end). I ran a 10.2 minute mile. In other words, I ran slow :) I've run about six times in 8 months so I wasn't trying to break any records. But it was fun and a great start to the day.

We're getting there....

We're slowing falling back into a routine. And it does feel nice. I enjoy having the little boys at home in the morning. And I look forward to meeting Nina at the bus. She loves school so far and told me she enjoys "chatting" with Kate and Carly on the bus ride home. All three girls sit together in a seat. Sela's teacher has a class pet, a guinea pig. Need I say more? Sela is in heaven.

Rollin helped me make an after-school snack for the girls. We tried out the 101cookbooks Peanut Butter Crispy Treats and they were delicious. They could have been less sweet so I'll probably cut down on the maple syrup next time. But they were easy and Rollin could not wait to serve them to Nina and her friend, Kate.

Even little guys can make these!

Sensitivity training might be in order....

As we walked out of the tennis club tonight, I held the door open for a man about my age in a wheel chair. No legs from about the knees down. I glanced at Rollin and he had that look. The look all moms know. The wheels are turning and something highly inappropriate that will likely embarass both parties is about to be uttered.

He hesitated but still looked puzzled, even anxious. The man in the wheel chair was between us so coughing loudly, talking over him, or redirecting his attention were not possible.

Then Rollin moved very close to the man and politely said "uh, could you please not run over me with that thing!"

Fortunately the guy had a sense of humor and he started laughing. He said "Don't worry, I have twin four year olds!"

Never, ever a dull moment with Rollin.

treehouse

It's been a long wait for these anxious little kiddoes. About 16 months or so. But Ben and Eric worked like crazy to get the treehouse ready this week and Saturday afternoon the big moment arrived. No one has been allowed up since the beginning so all the kids have seen has been from below which has totally added to the magic and anticipation. I think they must have asked Eric a hundred times on Friday "is it done yet?" Zig spent a few hours Saturday morning adding some fun touches to the inside. And then we gathered the kids along with Sophia, Emma, and Sydney and led them up to their new little getaway in the trees. I don't know what I enjoyed more, watching Zig beam as they explored their new space or the looks on the kids faces. What a memorable day! The videographer had some difficulties so you might get a little motion sick watching this :)

After more than a year of waiting, the treehouse is finally complete. Come on in!




Rollin was just a little bit excited.


A ramp leads to a swinging bridge


The front door

the kids made a "no shoe" rule

this is the ladder leading up to the loft

Another way to get to the treehouse is to climb the ropes


Some of the windows salvaged from an old tear down house and painted

back porch


who's lookin' out the window!



the old bed...the cushions were white so they are being recovered



monkey ropes beneath

the table is one of Zig's finds

Ben made a balance beam

tire swing from a racing tire



more fun on the ropes

Can we just live here? It would be so much easier to keep clean ;)


And the man who built it all!
To say the kids adore Eric is an understatement!


Zig came up with the design and most of the details and Eric made it happen. They make a great team!