Losing Teeth

If Blogger was a little more video friendly, I would have posted the video of Genevieve's 6 year old cousin Mikayla pulling out Genevieve's first tooth. It was pretty funny to watch her try to yank it out with floss. She got it out about 90% and then I had to finish it off with a good yank with my fingers.
Needless to say, Jenna's fear of the tooth fairy "bumping her pillow and waking her up" was put to rest when she came during the night as quietly as can be, taking the little stub of a tooth and leaving behind a dollar bill and 2 shiny quarters.

And kuddos to Mikayla because Genevieve only wants her to pull out the rest of her teeth!

Half Marathon?

Who would have thought that my husband or I would ever be prepared to run a half marathon? Not us! But we have been disciplining ourselves with training in preparation for a FULL marathon in October (something we are not nearly ready for!) So when we heard there was going to be a 1st annual half marathon in our home town, we decided to go for it! It actually worked out to our advantage because our marathon training has us scheduled to run a 12 mile run that day, so this was only adding another 1.1 miles. What's 1.1 miles right? Ha! After 12 miles, 1.1 is A LOT!!!

Here are Sam and I "pre-race" time.

The Yakima Half Marathon was a Beast of a race! It was known as "Hot and Hilly" which is the only way to sum it up! Unfortunately, it had a late morning start which only added to the heat problem. And it didn't help that it happened to be the hottest day of the entire summer! There was extreme elevation gain in the first 5 miles, leaving us runners exhausted with 3/4 of the race still to go! And the course follows a very open, tree-less area giving us ZERO shade! It was brutal! And then, a big error on the race set-up, was that there were very few water/aid stations! Fortunately, Sam and I wore our hydration belts. I don't know what I would have done without it!

My goal for a half marathon was 2:15. That was a goal for a "normal" half marathon. From what I am told, this was no "normal" half marathon. So I was beyond pleased with my 2:24 race finish! Actually, I am just pleased that I finished!

A friend of mine ran it and compared it to the Portland Full Marathon. She thinks that the full marathon (which she ran last year) may have been easier than Yakima's 1/2 marathon. I found that very interesting!

Overall, it was a great day! And I get to finish it up today with a 90 minute massage!

Sam also had a good race. He is a bit more hard-core than myself when it comes to running. His goal was to break 2 hours. He came extremely close with a time of 2 hours 1 minute!

Now we get to rest for a day or 2 and then it is back to training for the Marathon!

Ugh! I don't want to think about it!

Happy 4th Birthday Jocelyn!

My second daughter, Jocelyn Hope celebrated her 4th Birthday on July 19th! Here she is as a sweet little newborn:

Her older sister took a liking to her right away! This picture makes me laugh because Genevieve doesn't even look old enough to have a baby sister! Boy did I have my hands full!
Look at the sweet angel she is growing up to be!

We celebrated an early birthday with family and friends. We enjoyed a rainbow cake, home-made cake-pops, and ice cream. We were all on a sugar high! On the day of her birthday, we had a birthday dinner with our immediate family. Jocelyn's dinner request: Hot dogs without a bun, chips, and fruit. So...that's what we had! :)

Jocelyn has become a fearless, fun-loving little girl.

We love you Jocelyn!

My feelings are hurt

My mom put my girls down for naps today while I was at work. I got home while they were still sleeping and my mom left. Each one of them, at different times, CRIED when they woke up, because they didn't want me to be there. They wanted my mom. Nice. Real nice.

How do you explain this one?

My daughters are (or were) in the same swimming lesson class. That is, until the end of the session, my youngest daughter got moved up, and my oldest daughter got held back.
Please tell me it isn't always going to be like this in their lives. I think it is bothering me more than it is her!

Sword-Fighting Cousins

There's nothing to do but hang on a fence and look at an empty park

I have an idea...Let's sword fight!
Genevieve, I can beat you one-handed

Well, okay, maybe you have a few skills

Oh man! She got me in the gut!

That's it...I will not let this girl beat me

Don't mess with Damian

I had this fight from the beginning

Don't ever under-estimate a girl!

Kentucky Family Vacation

My parents, siblings, spouses, and all the kids went back to visit my mom's family that live in the southern states of Kentucky and Alabama. This is not your ordinary family vacation to a state on the Pacific border, rather, this is a vacation to the heart of the South land. And we love it! I mean, not many Dairy Queens in Washington sell fried green tomatoes!

And I can promise you that your grandpa is not as goofy as mine! The Adventures of Grandpa Chandler - AKA Papa (said with a southern twang.)

We stayed at my aunt and uncles house on a highly impressive golf course. Their backyard was part of the fairway and the entire #16 green. Jocelyn, Mikayla, and Genevieve out on the golf course waiting for their daddy's to come by.

The kids trying to escape the 94 degree weather with 95% humidity. It was insanely hot!

The girls enjoyed the amusement park (other than the scorching hot sun beating down.) The timing was perfect since school wasn't out so there were NO lines for anything! It was a lifesaver! Unfortunately, we didn't take any pictures at either of the 2 water parks we went to. That is where they found themselves in their happy place, going down slides repeatedly for hours on end.

Sam and I with our girls and the grandparents

My mom and dad with Grandma and Grandpa Chandler. I love these people!

Uncle Mike and Cindy have become known as the biggest child spoilers EVER! And we wonder why the kids love them so much!? Unfortunately, the kids are coming home to a new schedule with new rules and a decrease in junk food and pop consumption!

They are also coming home with wallets, purses, jewelery and other acutramal. Jocelyn is now sporting soome newly pierced ears and about 176 different pairs of earrings to wear as she pleases. Genevieve is going to wait until "next time" to pierce her ears. :)

Amy and I argue repeatedly over who is Uncle Mike's favorite niece. We will let the picture do the talking! :)

My mom had a very memorable trip this time. Her mom is starting to show signs of Alzheimer's and it was important for them to share some good memories together, before the disease progresses and further. Goodbyes are always hard!