Lately

We introduced Asher to the water table; it is much better for splashing than the toilet (which he can now open).

 We went to Read Across America Day at Ethan's school.  After a short assembly, I took a few kids from his class and we read outside on a blanket.

 The boys got to wear their matching swim suits Nana got them last summer (Asher's didn't fit last year).

 Asher has been excited about standing up.

 Ethan decorated the bathroom mirror.  Annoying, but funny, especially since he wrote his name.

 Every Thursday we go to story time at the library.  One week they had a Cat in the Hat craft.  Benton listened to the instructions and then started without asking any questions.  I decided to not try to get him to do it right and to just watch unless he asked for help.  He was very focused and did the whole thing himself.  It wasn't exactly right, but he was very proud.  He is very different in the "sit and focus" department than Ethan was at this age.

 Benton dresses himself now.  "3 shirts, 2 underwear" no pants.

 Asher is still cute and starting to have some separation anxiety.  He isn't happy when I drop him off at Kids Klub lately.

 Asher has formed an attachment to Curious George.

 Benton, Asher, and I went to the zoo with our friends the Bennett's.

 It isn't as easy for Asher to squeeze naps in between my outings, but he still does pretty well.  This is at the gym.  We do the gym 3 days/week.

 Asher got under the chair, but couldn't get out.  This could come in handy next time I want to take a shower without him joining me...

 I think Asher explores more than my other boys did.  It is cute to watch him crawl all over the house.

 A few weeks ago I started an exercise playgroup.  2 days/week we meet at a park and exercise while the kids play.  Sometimes it is right at nap time.  This Monday I only got to exercise because there were several older girls there with their moms who helped with Asher.  He crashed as soon as we started jogging home.

 We are lucky to have really cute friends over for playdates regularly.  These two were eating lunch outside and in between bites they'd take turns laying on the table while the other one tickled their tummy through the umbrella hole.

 I got pull out shelves!  Our first house came with pull out shelves, so I got spoiled.  When I moved in here and every cabinet had little half shelves, I did not like how much harder it was to get to things and organize.

 On Monday, I took everything out of 19 cabinets and then got to reorganize those, plus more.

Another different thing about this house is the cabinet pantry.  Food would get lost in the back and it was very hard to organize.  Now I can see and get to everything!

 And the boys' craft supplies are very accessible.

 I also got to move their cups, bowls, and cereal within reach, so they can get their own breakfast now.

 I've missed having my commonly used dishes so handy!

And to top it all off, when Ethan unloaded the dishwasher this morning, he was able to put almost everything away!  Yay!

Ragnar 2015

This year I ran Ragnar Del Sol for the 4th time.  I had my longest distances yet, and I think it was my easiest one yet.  Maybe because my team pace was slower so I had more time to rest, or because we got to sleep at Grammy's house and get better rest part of the time.  I also had a great van.  I was the only one who had done this race before, but everyone was great about keeping the energy up and cheering each other on.

So, for a quick summary, we:

decorated our van,

 wore costumes,

 stayed the night at Grammy's the night before the race,

Left at 4am to get to the start line,

 ran in the beautiful AZ desert (this is the end of my first leg, 8.6 hilly miles),

cheered each other on in silly ways over lots of miles,

 waited in port-a-potty lines A LOT,

rested again at Grammy's, ran through the night (I ran a flat 7.6 miles through Sun City West at a 9:40 pace, which is faster than I can usually maintain at that distance),

slept on a school track for 3-4 hours (I'm in the red bag),

started our third legs at about 7:30am,

finished strong (I was the first to run each time in my van, then I got to relax and drive),

 (the end of my last leg, 5.5 miles),

ate lots of junk food after we were finally done,

showered and recouped a little at another team mate's dad's house,

hung out for a few hours at the finish line,

 got free massages, pizza, and ice cream bars,

and celebrated with our team!

Pi

I always think celebrating Pi day sounds like fun, but have never planned for it. Today I last minute figured out how to participate without planning. We had chicken pit pie and mini chocolate cream pies.

Ethan Said:

When I get home from my mission, I'm going to have another job...to get married.  That is going to be easy to find someone to marry and to love...not really. I'm being sarcastic.  It is not easy because someone can be handsome, but not good.  I was just being sarcastic. I know what that is because you say it a lot."

Exercise

"I'm doing exercise today. Look! See my foot is on the wall? I'm doing exercise."