Rugged Maniac

Before the race

After the race 

I donated my shoes to a good cause. They'll go to someone in need far, far away.

My new bottom line for a race - they need to have a giant slide at the end!

Brian's new Facebook photo. Nothing better than a man in tight leopard shorts.

Except for four men, looking so serious and wearing superhero underpants. 

She didn't run the race, and this wasn't a costume! She was in charge of the over-21 crowd. I don't have to tell you, really, but the people-watching was almost as good as the race. 

Finding Balance

I'm enjoying my entry into the work world, and there are many moments in each week that I feel so fortunate to have this opportunity. At times, I can hardly believe my luck - I get to work with plants, and to support others' introduction to growing food. How amazing is that? At this point in my life, I don't think I could find a better fit.

But that doesn't mean I'm finding this transition easy. To put it bluntly - eight hours of manual labor makes me tired. And it makes me miss my kids. I feel torn and unsure about whether this opportunity is the best choice for our family. For the most part, Sarah and Eric are adjusting well, but when they have long days, we all feel their exhaustion. Brian is incredibly supportive - but I know he's tired too.

We're all adjusting, learning about how to find time and space to continue to do what we love, as well as learning to let go, when those things we love don't happen as often. This new life is more demanding, but we're working through it, and I hope that (for the most part) we'll be better for it.

Our Treehouse

Tree House

A tree house, a free house,
A secret you and me house,
A high up in the leafy branches
Cozy as can be house.

A street house, a neat house,
Be sure and wipe your feet house
Is not my kind of house at all --
Let's go live in a tree house.

--Shel Silverstein

Happy Easter

My New Year's resolution was to start attending church on a regular basis. It took a few weeks, but since the beginning of February, the kids and I have been going each Sunday. And - how exciting - this meant that (for the first time) Sarah had a place to wear her lovely Easter dress. My mom came with us, and from what she said, the sermon was very well done. I wouldn't know because I was too busy trying to get Eric to stop lying on the floor. It was the first multi-generational service I've been to, and I was looking forward to sharing the experience with both my mom and my kids. Next time we have one of those, I may decide to stay home . . . or maybe I'll go with Legos and Matchbox cars in my pockets, better prepared to listen and enjoy. Happy Easter!

Eric, in a dress

So - the story goes like this: my friend dropped off clothes for Sarah, who (as always) had to try everything on immediately. We were listening to music, and Sarah was dancing, spinning, and falling in her new clothes. First, Eric tried on the footie pajamas, and if they weren't pastel blue with pink ice cream cones, it would've made complete sense. I forget what happened next, maybe Sarah talked him into it, maybe he made the choice on his own, but he ended up in a dress, dancing, spinning, and falling with Sarah. They had a great time, and I was quite entertained!

our tree house, in progress

I missed a good chunk of the build and I'm sorry to say that I wasn't there to capture the progress from start to finish. While I missed each small step, maybe seeing it after a day's work was better - it was exciting to see how much had been accomplished. The first picture was taken after two full days of work, the second was during the third day, and the last two were taken on the fourth day. With the framework up, I can almost see my dad's vision, and I'm impressed.

On one of the nights, in between yawns, my dad said, "You know, I just really like the idea that I'm building something for my grandchildren. Something that will bring them happiness and lots of good memories." Uh, yeah, I'd say I'd have to agree with that. And I'll add this - I love that my dad gets to use the knowledge that he learned working side by side with his father and that he's sharing that knowledge with Brian. It feels like a big moment, and I think that Sarah and Eric, in their own ways, would agree. They already love it, and they're really excited to see the finished product.

Side note - While I wasn't around much, they did rope me in to helping pull up two of the sides. And when I was helping, my dad was swearing. When I asked about this, Brian said he'd been doing it a lot. I was entertained by the fact that while he was swearing, he was enjoying the process at the same time. What's up with that? Is that just a woodworking/carpentry thing?

Lego Monster

I was talking to my sister today, and she shared with me that her son Isaac is obsessed with Legos. Well, I told her, we have one of those too. Eric spends most of his time building. While I mostly appreciate his focus and attention to detail, sometimes it's really hard to get him to focus on anything but Legos. He has stories for every wacky thing he makes, and that (usually) makes up for his inattention when I'm pleading with him to "Put the Legos down! Now! It's time to get dressed!" Not only does he build, he looks at Lego books, plays games on the Lego website, tells me daily what new Lego product he wants, and dreams of one day having the most amazing job of being a Lego designer. I think he's not alone in dreaming this dream.