Highlights of the Day

Woke up.
Ate breakfast...vanilla bean yogurt with almonds, and a green tea.
Applied to 3 different districts for next year.
Visited Peter Kirk.
Hugged by my students...i miss and love them.
Went to Heather's...she's a cool chica I like.
Saw my Molls....I like her too.
Planned the menu for our camping trip.
Couldn't get enough of Holland, Kingston, Aidan, and Delia.
Snuggles with Delia.
Drawings with Kingston.
Spelling with Holland.
Hugs and kisses from Aidan.
Went to Peter Kirk again (received a very nice recommendation leter from a "teammate").
Tried on ALL my clothes in my closet (except the wedding dress).
Bagged many things for Value Village and Hope Link.
Intense tri-training with Danielle...she's a tough chica.
Drank/choked on chlorine water...(I don't recommend it).
Extremely hot shower.
Green curry dinner.
Hugs and kisses from Chad.
Day is done.

This weekend myself and my co-leader took 4 out of 6 girls from our Girl Scout troop camping at Sunset Lake. There were about 150 other girl scouts there with their leaders. The theme was Under the Big Top so many of the activities were related to the circus. The highlights are below...

Gorgeous Saturday morning drive straight towards Mt. Rainier.

Group shot!

Clowns teaching us to make pigs in a blanket in a box oven, popcorn over the campfire, and lemonade.

Cheers to nice weather and excellent lemonade!

Dishwashing...the least favorite activity.

After lunch treat...cotton candy!

Making cat toys for donation to the Humane Society.

Making dog toys too.

Partaking in a scavenger hunt around Sunset Lake.

Endless games of Twister.

Teaching and leading the "Jaws Grace".

Last day at camp...the girls reflecting and enjoying their last hour. (I teared up when I saw them sitting like this on the edge of the water...they are so incredibly cute.)

Candace and I exhausted and ready for check out.

Leaving Sunset Lake.

Right Field, First Row

I can never get enough of the Mariners! We sat right behind Ichiro in right field. Ichiro scored two homeruns and the Mariners beat the Red Sox 5-4. We were in good company too with Molls and Ryan. What a great night!

Mother's Day...

...A bit more challenging than I expected. This is the first spring in 3 years that we have not had to go through a miscarriage and I am very thankful for that. And although I yearn to be a mom, I can only continue to pray that God will allow for that to happen some day....when He knows the timing is right. Until then, I'm so thankful for all of our friends that continue to love us and share their kids with us.

This past Sunday was the first day since January that I had been to our church (I've been a busy girl). I was beyond excited to go and see everyone and listen to Pastor Scott share his message for the week...or in my case, 3 months. I hadn't really thought about "not being a mom", and was just eager to see all my "nieces and nephews" and hug and love on them. Then a dear friend gave me a Mother's Day card....then Pastor Scott wished mom's Happy Mother's Day and then continued to talk about how Mother's Day is also a celebration to those who don't or can't have kids of their own, but have a "mother's heart"....then another dear friend hugged me and shared in my ear that I was a mom to her little girl....the hugs and words of wisdom continued to be shared with me and the tears of sadness, yet joy continued down my face. Mother's Day was tougher than I expected.

Although, like I said, I'm so very thankful for our friends and their kids that we can love on. Someday, I hope, Chad and I will have a family of our own. Until then, I will love on and have fun with the kids below...jumping on the bed is so much fun!

Bloomsday 1:20:11

When I was younger I ran/walked/jogged Bloomsday year after year with my family. It wasn't an activity of choice, we had to do it. It was great family bonding time and I didn't enjoy it. I didn't appreciate the run back then as much as I do now. This year I ran Bloomsday, well trained, and finished the race in one hour and twenty minutes. I was excited to share in the finishing of the race with my mother-in-law, Sonja and her friend Vicki, and a dear friend from college, Charli (along with her husband, Luke). After the race we went back to Chad's parents house and had a fulfilled greasy lunch of Ron's cheeseburgers and fries. I think a new tradition has been started. My goal for next year...an hour and ten minutes or less!

Coolest Kid is Coleman

He is 2 1/2. He is funny and a great big brother. He wants to be a rockstar or maybe an athlete. He is organized and extremely smart. He is adorable. We love him with all our hearts. He is our nephew, Coleman.

Reece Aidan Randles

Two weeks ago I met our new niece, Reece Aidan Randles. This wekeend Chad met Reece and I'm fairly positive it was love at first sight. We also got to spend some quality playing time with Coleman, our nephew. It was great to see the rest of the family too.