Baseball and Art

This past Saturday was opening day of baseball. Our day started at 0745 at the court house for the big parade. After they proudly marched 2 blocks we headed to pictures and then to the field for Nojah's first game. They only played 3 inning since there were several games throughout the day. The boys had a pretty good day and did well, for their first games. They are a very young team so I am sure we are going to see a lot of changes and improvement throughout the season, especially with the help of their fabulous coach. They lost their first game in the last inning and won their second game at 2 that afternoon. In between games we attended the local art festival where Lex had 3 peices of art displayed. She had a canvas painting, a photograph of a flower from Guatemala she had taken, as well as this beautiful clay turtle she created. She received one 1st place ribbon and two 2nd place ribbons and was very proud of her accomplishments, as were we. My mom and dad came up for the day to watch the games, view art, and eat with us. It was a great day. I wish I had some good pictures but really I don't like 90% of the ones we got so I am not sharing. I am sure there will be more baseball pictures throughout the next month :0)

A day in the SuNsHiNe

Sleep, baseball, science projects, bikes, park, books, hammock, laughter, sunshine
A good day!

Wild Rockies 2009

We just returned home from our 2nd barking spider bash event. This year Tob and the kids did the bike races and I was the cheerleader. Actually it was his turn to do the bike race (since I raced last year) and one of us had to keep an eye on the kids so this year that was me. We camped Friday night and raced Saturday afternoon. The kids made some great friends and had a fabulous time climbing steep hills, riding bikes, and playing in the dirt. I have a lot of pictures I want to post but chose just a few (which is still a lot), so BEWARE.

Let the races begin.............

Tob amongst the crowd of sport racers ready to go.

Tob's 2nd lap

The kids participated in the Trailblazers race a 3 mile mountain bike race with some steep terrain (at least for a little girl who just turned 7). Alexyss actually got lost last year so we were excited to see what was in store for her this year. This is why both Tob and I do not race because the kids race is held during the time as ours and someone must be available for Alexyss's many crisis. So here they are getting the pre-race info. The race coordinators have been awesome both years and are fantastic with the kids. We truly can't thank them enough.

Here is Nojah coming in 1st place with a time of 17:58. He did awesome and was so excited to win the race.

After all three boys came in we waited and waited for Alexyss, ready to cheer her on when she crossed the finish line. Then as she rounded the corner I noticed she was going a little fast down the hill. She hit loose gravel, lost it and flew over her handle bars and across the gravel. Truly if she wasn't only 7 it would have been a pretty impressive crash. At the time I didn't realize she hit as hard as she did but luckily she didn't hurt herself too bad and there was an EMT standing by for assistance. Yes I am the mom who stops to take a photo before seeing if she's ok. I figured she got up pretty quick, was walking, and talking, so she was great :0) RIGHT? Honestly if I would have gone and picked her up she would have lost it and went into hysterics. We talked her into finishing the race and she rode her bike across the finish line.

I don't think she was happy about it, but she did it. What a trooper. She says "I am not doing this again next year." We'll see when the time comes I guess. We have been pretty proud of her the past two years being the youngest racer and the only girl to take on the challenge.

After we watched Tob come through for his second lap we headed over to the tent (still in tears) to do the head to toe body check. She did a pretty good job with bruising and abrasions on her arms, abdomen, thighs, and knees. We cleaned her up good as new and she played happily the rest of the day.

Nojah recieving his medal and new bike tool for placing 1st in the trailblazers division.

Alexyss recieving her medal and a new pair of bike gloves for 1st place in the girls division. They listed her in the results as a DNF (which means did not finish) but trust me she finished. It was ugly but she rode across the line. So I am not sure what her actual overall time was.

Here is a picture of the kids before the race goofing off!

Alexyss watching Nojah climb hills eating animal crackers.

And last but not least, ME holding down the chair.

Toby finished 13th in his age group and had a great time riding the course. We plan on making it an annual event if possible. Next year I get to race and Tob gets to play with the kids :0) We'll see if Lex races again. I know Nojah won't give it up.

Everyday Life..............

A little bit about us and everyday life........................

Alexyss-1st off she likes to be called Lexy. She was caught wearing her green polk a dot dress her favorite cowboy boots climbing trees and running through fields yesterday which is typical. Lexy loves to play with her friends, and can make a new friend within 2.5 minutes, maybe quicker. She likes to skate, cook, eat, draw, create "art", fight with light sabers, ride her bike, and read. She is sneaky (or at least tries to be) and can't figure out why I know she is lying. She is a cuddle bug, love hugs and kisses, and is a very affectionate caring little girl. Her room is dirty at all times and she can't manage to remedy that.

Nojah-Is very athletic, fairly responsible, loves to ride his bike, play football and basketball, and play video games too. He enjoys reading to himself (not so much outloud) and is very good in math. He is shy and reserved around those he doesn't know. He is a very loyal friend and is both quite sensitive and stubborn. He spends a typical day running up and down the street playing with friends, riding his bike, and shooting hoops after he asks "can I play my video game time?". He has been very pleased that he is now able to go to the store by himself and pick up grocery's for me. Of course he has a time limit and we send him with our phone but he is growing up.

Dawn- I spend every other week sleeping, eating, and working, while trying to be a mom those few hours I am up. Work is wonderful and the longer I work, the more I learn, the more I love my job. On my weeks off I enjoy my time alone while the kids are in school when I spend my time running, biking, hiking, usually with the dog. It's triathlon training time for me again so I try to spend most of my time outdoors, weather permitting and attempting to stay motivated so I don't die come race day. On the weekends we love to spend time as a family and drag the kids out to play. When I am not recreating I am attempting the daily mom duties and "try" to keep the house picked up and the family fed, assisting with homework, paying the bills, reading, as well as, dreaming and budgeting for upcoming trips.

Toby- Is back to work although he loves his time off. He has a flexible schedule until fire season starts and is able to be with the kids when I am not. He is a fabulous dad and loves the time he has with the kids. He too loves to play outside and spends his time running, biking, hiking tinkering with the bikes and his bus. He is an avid reader and usually reads 3 books by the time I am done with 1. He is the perfect husband (seriously), a loyal friend, and a patient father. 99.5% of the time has family dinners on the table when I am working and sews the kids torn shirts and stuffed animals when needed (this skill comes from working in fire and having to mend their gear). The sad thing is the kids say "where is dad? I need this fixed".