Grandma and Grandpa came to visit

We were not planning any trips down to Utah for the summer since our big plan was to move down by the end of August. (It is still the plan!)

Aaron's parents planned a trip up to visit us. It was really nice to see them, and we are so grateful that they like to be with us, especially Elsie!

We were able to do all sorts of fun things. Gary and Aaron went golfing, we played outside, watched the Caldwell Air Show from our driveway, ate lots of yummy food (like Chung Hing...we definitely had to go there one more time!), played games, and went to the Farmer's Market.

While we were at the market, we let Elsie get her face painted. She chose to do a little butterfly, and she thought it was pretty cool.

Then we had the idea to do more at home with my paint. Grandma really went with it and did an awesome job. Elsie was in heaven!! I think we need to send Sylvia down to the farmer's market to earn some money.

Elsie also painted Grandma's hand. I see potential!


They also brought up these cool water squirters for Elsie, and we had some water fight fun with those.
It kind of started between Elsie, Grandpa, and I. Then Aaron was spraying some stuff on our tree, so we all decided to attack him while he was occupied. He was loving that...not really! It was great. Well, he went inside, but we were all a little nervous about what he would do to get us back. I finally went inside and ended up teaming up with him. Our plan was for him to come around the side of the house while I went back and "casually" turned the hose on. When it was ready, I was supposed to yell "Ca-caw, Ca-caw" and Aaron would grab it and spray. The plan worked beautifully, except he knew the whole time he was going to spray me first. I didn't even have enough time to run anywhere. I looked ridiculous! Then he moved on to spraying everyone else. Oh, good times!!

Sylvia is not going to love this picture, but it's the only one I have with Gary in it. Thanks for coming to visit!

JUNE

JUNE UPDATE:

The first half of the month is a bit of a blur to me. Not sure why. I know I was in a bit of a funk (I'm not the only one that has those times, right?!) But once the weather started getting better and we had more things going on, life was much more enjoyable.

Elsie and I (and Aaron when he could get off early) started going to our favorite swimming pool whenever we could. I still haven't remembered to bring my camera. Elsie was still pretty timid in the water, but she loves to jump off the wall in the shallow end and do the army crawl back and forth.

Elsie has really started to get in to sounding out letters and putting those sounds together. We signed up for the summer reading program at the library, so she is really excited about reading for 20 minutes each day. I figured it would be us reading to her, but she is reading her BOB books all by herself. It is so awesome to hear her read and figure out the words.

We got to see lots of family later in the month. Aaron's parents came up for a visit, and we had a great time. Then, while Aaron stayed home to work, Elsie and I took a trip up to WA to visit Jared/Lindsay and family. Angie and Q ended up joining us as well, so that was a nice bonus. Plus it made for a much more entertaining car trip. We had lots of fun...more pics to come.

Some random pictures from the month:

I always tease Aaron about this way he sleeps where it looks like he's chillin' and tanning in the sun. When Elsie was taking a nap one day, she was doing Aaron's pose.

I had to go to the dr. one day to get checked for strep, and just brought Elsie along. I love that I can do that without even stressing about it. We brought her Leapster and headphones and all was good in the world. She just sat on the chair with her cute, little legs crossed and played the whole time.

No matter how hard we have tried to get Elsie to play upstairs, she has determined that her playroom is the family room. Oh, and the TV is hers as well. I love to see how Elsie sets up her little play areas all over the place. This spot is one of her favorites.

Always being a funny girl!

12

It's been 12 years since Aaron and I got married. Crazy! It's been quite an eventful ride, but I'm so glad I'm on it with him!!

(Angie, was that cheesy enough?!)

Ironman - Boise 70.3

Aaron's big race day has come and gone with much success! Yesterday was the Half Ironman (swim 1.2 miles, bike 56 miles, run 13.1 miles) in Boise, and Aaron did an awesome job! He can't wait to do another half triathlon.

We were so happy for him and so proud to watch him and cheer him on!

His final time was 5 hours 51 minutes. He said his swim was horrible. He felt like he swallowed half of the lake. His first transition was slow, but he didn't want to rush it. He made up a lot of ground on the bike and felt really good about it. He took his time on the second transition as well and even took time to come over to talk to us. He was also happy with his run. He didn't feel like he pushed it too hard the whole race and is ready to another one next weekend. He's kind of bummed that he has only Olympic distance races left this summer.


And, now, the pictures...yes, there quite a few!

Here's Elsie waiting for Daddy to come in off his bike. She brought her rose with her as a toy, and I'm sure glad she had it for something to play with. There was a lot of watching and waiting, but she was such a good girl. I love that I can take her with me and not stress about anything.


Aaron coming in off his bike. This was the first time we saw him since we don't go up to the lake. Right after this picture he gave us a big smile.

Classic Aaron "huh?" face.

There's the smile!

I didn't see many other racers that looked as happy as Aaron. That's what we love about him.

But then he mentioned how his butt hurt. I guess 56 miles on a bike will do that to you!

Aaron's famous pose! After he got his running shoes on, he came over and talked to us for a second. That was a real treat. We gave him a good luck hug and a kiss and send him on his way.

Yes, that the pose again! Here he is after his first loop (he had just run 6.5 miles) and was getting started on the final loop.

Elsie and I waited with some frieds from our ward that were there watching a friend race that was staying with them. We were so glad to have some company. And they were so sweet to cheer on Aaron as he came through.

Just right before the finish line! HE DID IT! (After taking this picture I raced through the crowd to try to get him as he pass through the official finish line. I ended up getting the back of his head. Fail!)

He's done! (Notice all his s.w.a.g. - I hope Aaron appreciates my Michael Scott reference.)

I was able to get a picture with Aaron in front of the official sign, but I'm sad Elsie wasn't with us. (I had left with our friends as I went running to the finish line.) Funny side note: As I was waiting for Aaron's turn to take the picture, I felt hands grab my shoulders and someone say my name. It freaked me out, but I turned around and saw Kyle Woodruff! He was up from Utah with a bunch of friends to compete in the race. We had a chance to sit down and visit with him while we ate some after-race snacks. It was fun to see him and catch up!

We finally were able to get a picture of all three of us as we were packing up the car to go home.

Good Job, Aaron! We are so proud of you. It is such an accomplishment, and we loved being there to support you. You're fun to watch and nice to look at! Now all you need to do is figure out a way to do it for a living.

Let the countdown begin

Three more months! Aaron and I were looking through our pictures from our last California trip the other day. I think it's almost as fun for us to talk about it as it is to go. We are so excited!! We just need to win the lottery, so we can move there. We'd get our annual passes to Disneyland, Aaron could train for triathlons year-round, we would have the best tans ever!

Disneyland + Beach + Family = Perfect Vacay (as Aaron would say).

Who's the hot guy in the ocean? I don't think there's any other place Aaron would rather be!

It's in his blood. Aaron's family vacatioed in CA several times as he was growing up, but they went for the beach (and to visit family). I went to Disneyland several times while growing up and did the beach maybe once or twice. We were all about Disneyland. We definetely had different priorities, but we've found the perfect way to merge them.

Not only do I go get to go with Aaron and Elsie, but my whole family is coming as well!!

Mom

I love to see pictures of my mom. We made a nice collection of our favorites for her funeral, and I look through them from time to time. Some make me chuckle and some make me miss her even more, and they all make me smile.


Mom "playing" volleyball at the 2007 family reunion. I laugh every time I see it!

Mom with us at Aaron's law school graduation.

Mom and her brothers. I love that they are all smiling and laughing.

Our trip to New England. I'm so grateful we took this trip when we did. What a great memory!

Baby Elsie with her grandma.

I think she looks so "foxy" in this picture. I just love everything about it.

Really not the best picture of any of us, but it kind of shows the "pirate eye" that mom always made when she laughed.

There are so many more I could share! Aaron and I (and my siblings through emails) got a GOOD laugh from some old family pictures last night.

I love my mom.

May Days

(Blogger won't let me start typing above this picture. That's annoying!)

I took Elsie and a couple friends to Jabbers the other day. They played and played for three hours. What did I do, you ask? Read magazines, read my book, played around on the internet...yes, it was a rough afternoon for us all. ;)

I love miniature things, so this "backyard bbq" setup just makes me smile.

The fun didn't stop there! The next day we met up with another friend at Jumpin' Jungle. It was the perfect activity for a rainy afternoon.

We went to Walmart last Friday night to get a treat for our movie and saw this most beautiful rainbow. My picture doesn't do it justice. It was so bright and so clear. Elsie is so obsessed with rainbows right now, so we were a little more pumped than the average people! Everything she colors has to be done in rainbow order, she has a rainbow shirt that she wants to wear every day, she loves to organize her toys and any objects in rainbow order. As I'm typing this, it sounds a bit OCD (and maybe it is), but it never ceases to make me chuckle.

I've been doing these cheesy yoga DVD's some nights while Aaron is gone. Elsie always gets out her mat and joins me. I love listening to her grunt, watching her really try to get the poses, hearing her correct me when I'm doing something wrong, feeling her crawl under my legs like I'm a bridge whenever I'm in a wide stance, and having her by my side.

I often times think I write too much about Elsie. But is that possible?! This is my life. She is my life! I love her.