Play Time!

So, I really wanted to send Adam some videos of Jane and Audrey, but I don't know how to compress them enough to email them, so I'm posting them here.

Audrey loves those cheerios for breakfast.

Jane got to wear panties for a few days, and I think she looked so cute!

Jane was very proud that she could walk in heels.

We made chocolate chip cookies for Family Home Evening and decided to eat them outside. The chickens came over and tried to steal them from us (and succeeded a bit), but overall it was lots of fun.

Notice the flour all over Jane's face. Yep, she was very helpful making the cookies!

Audrey just enjoyed eating the cookies.

These last two are of Audrey trying to get her drink of milk from a cup. The quality turned out pretty poor - not sure why...

Happy Father's Day!

So I tried to get a video of Jane singing "I'm so glad when Daddy comes home" (and it's really cute when she sings it), but instead I got a medley of Mary Poppins songs. So here's a Mary Poppins tribute to the world's greatest dad!

Happy Father's Day to all those dads in our lives!

Surprise! Half-Marathon!

Yes, you read that right. I ran a half marathon on Saturday in 2:00:48 (so close to the two hour mark - and yet so far). A month ago, I did not plan on ever running a race longer than a 10k and a week ago I thought maybe I'd run a half marathon at the end of the summer to keep me motivated to run after the Ragnar in June. My brother (who trained for and ran a marathon with only a handful of people knowing beforehand) suggested on Monday that I run it with him, so with my hubby's encouragement we signed up on Wednesday. And that was that.

My only previous experience running a race was a free 5k that I didn't actually run, so I was really nervous about this (I was so nervous I had to push back the tears as the start neared - and one pushed it's way out anyway). I wasn't quite sure what to expect for my overall time. I knew that 13 miles is a very long way, so I decided to take it easy for the first few miles, then I progressively increased my intensity until I neared the end. I thought I could make it in under 2 hours if I kept up the intensity, but around mile 10 I got sick of running and thought I'd distract myself by running faster. I quickly realized that starting your final push 3 miles before the finish line is a bad idea and by 12 miles I was dead. Because I started out easy and sped up as the race went on, nobody passed me from about mile 4 until mile 11.5. It felt great effortlessly passing by all those runners, but not so great watching a huge pack pass me one by one the last half mile as I struggled in vain to find the determination and the energy to pick up the pace and stick with them. Either way I was really pleased with my time and averaged 9:02 the second half and 9:13 overall.

My computer is dead, so I can't download my pictures, but I'll post some when the computer fiasco calms down.

Prescott - Part 3

I can't believe our Prescott time is over! We always knew we were only there temporarily, but it's still hard to say goodbye. Anyway, I never got a picture of our street! Oopsies. But luckily I know that we will visit Prescott again soon, so we can go get a picture then if we want. So here's the last installment of our favorite places in Prescott.

Ken Lindley Park was the closest park with slides to our house, so we like to go there on walks sometimes.

Carter is one of Jane's friends, and he lives just a couple blocks away.

Giving each other a hug. They actually fight most of the time. Jane used to grab him like that and tackle him when they were fighting over a toy, but now she just screams.

There was a Whataburger down the street from our house, and Adam swore he would eat there before we left Arizona, so we went there after the kitchen was packed up. Notice Jane getting at that shake with two straws.

Believe me, she gets her eating habits from her dad.

A great helper for me while I packed.

Prescott - Part 2 (and some other stuff)

Okay, so I forgot to take the camera with me most of this week, so I only have one Prescott place to show off, but I have a few more fun pictures:

At the mall! We love to play at the mall, especially when it's too cold to go on a walk after dinner. This is an older picture.

Audrey is just barely getting agile enough to play on the equipment. Sorry Jane's head is cut off.

Crawling through the log tunnel.

And here's an Easter picture. Audrey got to watch the Easter bunny hide the eggs.

Jane was super proud of her spoils.

 So today after church, Jane got two pieces of bread with peanut butter on them for lunch. She started giggling, and Adam looked over to find one of them placed peanut butter-side-down squarely on Jane's head. She probably thought it would make a great hat. The other one was nowhere to be found, so we assumed she had eaten it and forgot about it. After lunch was over I got Jane down, and as she ran off to play I discovered that she hadn't eaten her other piece of bread:

This girl cracks me up! (And yes, Audrey is pulling herself up on things now.)

Last year on Easter, Jane got into an egg without us noticing and tried her first chocolate. This year she's enjoying it just as much. Notice the peanut butter in her hair.

Peanut butter makes a nice sculpting oil.

Anyway, I hope you had a great Easter and have a great week.

Prescott - Part 1

So, we've been in Prescott for about 10 months now, and we're already moving in less than 2 weeks. We knew all along that we weren't going to be here long, but we're still sad to go. I don't want to forget all the great spots in Prescott, so I've been trying to get some pictures. Here are some pictures of three of our favorite places - Acker Park, Watson Lake, and the Square:

Acker Park is just a hop, skip, and a jump away from our place. There aren't any slides, but there's this fun hill you can climb up to and see all of Prescott. You can see Thumb Butte in the background. It's a central landmark of Prescott.

There's a little open grassy spot just down from the top of the hill.

We also love Watson Lake. It's about 10 minutes up the road from us. It's pretty small but quite beautiful.

Jane touching the water on the boat ramp.

The best part of the lake is - of course - the playground. Jane and Audrey love to swing next to each other.

The courthouse square is about a half mile from our apartment, so we like to walk there on sunny days and warm evenings. The square is the main gathering place in Prescott. During the summer, there's something going on there almost every night, with street markets most weekends. Jane's favorite part is the fountain.

 

We set out Friday to take some pictures of the square and happened upon a Tea Party rally. At first I thought the guy conducting was John McCain, but it turned out not to be. I guess it would have been more crowded if he had been there. Anyway, Jane loves to climb up and down the steps of the courthouse.

 

The square is lined with shops and restaurants as you can see in the background. This is downtown Prescott, folks!

And for good measure, two happy sisters!

 Stay tuned for more pictures of our favorite spots!

Bye Bye Denver

Well, I can't believe we've already been in Denver for a month! And now we're leaving already. It's been a really fun month spending time with family, and Mickey and Margaret have been so generous.

Highlights for Adam include watching lots of basketball, seeing Jimmer in action at the first round game in Denver (he got to go with his Dad and some of his brothers), and spending some time working with his brother, Jeff, at his residency.

Highlights for Jane include chasing the cat around the house (she'd announce, "I find the kitty cat!" and once she found the cat she'd put her face close to Oscar's and say, "Hi cat! Hi!"), running around with her cousins, and playing with Grandma Maggie and Grandpa Mick.

Highlights for Audrey include scooting all around the kitchen and even some on the carpet in what we call the tank, learning to crawl (not the most graceful crawl, but definite mobility), and finally eating more than one bite of baby food at a sitting.

Highlights for me include weekly brunches with the ladies (and lots of fun activities in between), hitting a 9-minute mile pace on a 3-mile run (yet to hit that mark on a longer run), and free babysitting so I could go out at night with my hubby.

Here are a few pictures:

I had to post this picture because Jane is actually looking at the camera AND smiling! Adam was teaching her to pose.

Jane and Audrey got to spend a day with their cousin Melanie, but Audrey and Melanie couldn't make it through the walk.

Here's Audrey in her tank. She can get anywhere in that thing (but can't always get back from anywhere).

Jane got to spend a morning with her cousin, Justin, at the gym. She actually was having a blast - she just looks bored out of her mind.

Jane and Audrey sporting their Moroccan shirts sent from their uncle Karl.

I think she'd make a pretty cute Moroccan baby.

With the proper enticement, she'll move anywhere.

On the carousel at the zoo. Jane was excited until we got on it, then there were problems.

This horse is way less frightening than the ones at the zoo.

Coloring on something other than paper?! And with permission!

Audrey eating a stick.

Thanks to everyone who made this month awesome! We will miss you!