Growing Things

We have a garden!  Why the exclamation point?  Because!  It's our first one! I'm a little excited.  We decided to try a square foot garden, so Mitch built this one out of boards.  I spent a small fortune on the proper dirt (because, seriously, we don't have growth-promoting topsoil around here) to fill it with.  The kids helped me plant seeds and, a few weeks later,Viola!

We had a lovely salad for dinner last night with these greens . Mmmm.

Speaking of lovely, these cheery specimens are our first roses of the year.

Happy spring!

Pinewood Derby

Last weekend Caleb entered a car into his first official Pinewood Derby.

He and his dad spent some time conceptualizing, cutting, sanding, and painting.  This is the finished product.

 

It was a fast one too.  Caleb won 2nd place!  Way to go, Caleb.

Haircuts

 These boys were so shaggy, and they badly needed a haircut.  Here they are before and after.

Before

After

You can see how thrilled they are -  that their mom made them sit for an itchy haircut, and as if that wasn't enough, she then made them sit for the camera.  They look ornery but handsome.  Don't you agree?

Ragnar Relay

I  had an amazing experience running the Ragnar Del Sol relay race.  I was on such a great team of women.  We really got to know each other better and to quote our great driver, Angie, "Van 2=awesomeness."

The running was exhilarating and I loved how supportive the team was.  It was crazy running 197 miles, at all hours of the day and night, fueled by Gu, bananas, and a constant stream of adrenaline, with little or no sleep for over 32 hours (I think I will always remember trying to catch some Zs on the mat in a high school wrestling room with a bunch of strangers).  Our van's runs went by in a blur of driving, joking, laughing, cheering, and the clang of cow bells. We saw creative vans (don't ask what Duck Butter means) and crazy costumes like pirate, disco dancers, Wonder Woman, even a man running in his skivvies.

One of my favorite moments was toward the end of my first leg just as night fell, and I ran the last stretch to the sound of bagpipes, slapping the hands of a crowd of cheering onlookers as I approached my waiting teammate with the bracelet.

 I had the honor of running the last leg of all, and it was a wonderful feeling to come around the bend and see my team jumping and cheering, and Mitch and our boys too.  My team ran the last hundred yards to the finish line together.  I had a great time and as crazy as it sounds, yes, I would do it again.

Rounding the bend to the finish

Running to cross the finish line together

Team Moms and Maidens

Van 2

Lost Dutchman Marathon

It has been one of Mitch's lifetime goals to run a marathon.  Last fall he trained for and ran his first 1/2 marathon, and did great, so he decided to continue training for a full marathon in February.  All was going well until he got sick over the holidays and lost a full  month of training.  When he got well there were not many weeks left to train, and I was worried that he didn't have enough time.  But in the end he did it!  He ran a strong 26.2 miles and I am so proud of him!

New Move

This is Caleb's new "Mario flip", so named because Dallin says he looks like Mario (as in Super Mario Brothers for the Wii) when he does it.  Pretty cool, huh?

Blubbering Bather

This is the face of a boy who is loathe to leave the bathtub.  

Because it's fun in there.