Start of Summer!

After the Mud Run, we went back to Ryan and Kelly's house in San Diego. Jeff helped his brother install a microwave while Kelly and I entertained the kids and visited. The following day we all went swimming.

The girls had fun playing in the water and practicing diving with dad.

Playing in the Mud

Back in January, I registered for the Camp Pendleton Mud Run. I did this knowing that I would be having a baby several weeks before, so I would be nice and motivated to get my running shoes back on.

This was my third time running it. The last time was when Natalie was a baby so it had been a while. Lucas seemed to tolerate all the commotion as calm as ever.

First, we secure our shoes, so they don't stick in the mud.

Then we make our way over to the start with the 5,500 other runners.

At first its difficult to actually run since there are so many people.

But the freezing cold fire hoses make a little room.

The river crossings make your shoes nice and heavy.

Just in time for the steep hill

Once you hit the first mud pit/wall you have a little break while you wait your turn.

Then you get to cross the lake. They say it's only 4.5 feet deep,

but lucky me, I got to swim the whole thing.

And if you didn't get muddy enough, there's the last crawl through the mud.

Yup, that's what I call a good time.

The hardest thing about the whole thing: the freezing cold public showers to when the race is over. I love this event. Sure, there are the hard core athletes, but I highly recommend this for anyone--even if you aren't a runner.

Kids In a Candy Store

I had heard about this fun candy and soda shop that was up the street so I decided to take the girls on a walk to check it out.

What a cool little store with a vintage feel. They have a whole row of saltwater taffy, every kind soda pop you can think of and all kinds of candy (they even had candy cigarettes, which I thought they didn't even make any more).

This place reminded me of when I was a kid and was allowed to walk up to the corner store. I think it was more of a gas station type place, but I remember going for walks and the excitement of getting to pick out a treat.

Nesting

I've had three babies and it just so happens that during each of my pregnancies we've undergone a major house project during each.

With Cara it was the backyard

With Natalie, it was the kitchen

With Lucas it was new wood floors for the entire house as well as construction of the new pantry and entry closet.

I don't know why these projects happen when I'm prego. Maybe its coincidence. Or maybe Jeff experiences the nesting phenomenon also. After all, with the first project, my role was strictly supervisory.

Regardless of the reason, I'm glad that most of the renovations are complete with this house 'cause I'm done having babies :)

Freaking Cute Little Pests

No, this post isn't about my children :)

Guess what this is.

It's a mess made by the cute little squirrels that live in our yard. I don't mind sharing with them, but I have a couple of requests:

First, leave my avocado tree alone! Last year we had a freeze that killed most of the buds so we were looking forward to lots of avocado-y goodness this year. Sadly though, we only got three buds. Jeff would go out there and periodically check on his meager crop. One Saturday he came in and mentioned that one of the avocados had disappeared and that there were only two left. As if on cue, we heard something fall outside. When Jeff went to see what it was, he found that there was only one left! He brought the lone survivor inside with him and went to find the fallen fruit. A naughty squirrel had stolen it and was enjoying his haul on our roof when it must have dropped. We had the evidence with a half eaten avocado :(

Second, don't waste. I really don't care if they eat the oranges off our tree, but this is just silly. To take a couple of bites and leave the mess scattered all about is just rude. They are welcome to climb up our trees, sit unabashedly on our fence, even eat the cat food. But if you are going to eat our fruit, stay away from the good stuff .

Pulling Faces

One of the things I love about newborns are the faces they make before they have control of their expressions.

We call this one baby drunk face. He passes out after eating and often has milk dripping down his chin.

Pucker up!

I know these aren't social smiles yet, but they can still melt my heart. I love seeing what I have to look forward to when they're real smiles.

My Baby Boy

My amazing photographer friend did it again. They outgrow the newborn stage so quickly and she captured it beautifully. But I realize my bias. =)