evening magic at highbanks

After dinner tonight, we went to Highbanks Metro Park for a little family adventure. 

Everything was gilded in the evening sun.

The girls played on the playground...

Until the wildflowers called to them from across the meadow.

Pick me!  Pick me!

The girls made a castle in the horseshoe pit.  June liked to rub the sand between her tiny hands.

There are many, many swings at Highbanks.  Big, wonderful swings...

The kind with long chains that let you swing so high...

You can almost touch the moon with your toes.

Alli practiced her swing launches.  That's big kid stuff.  Daring.

The sun dipped below the trees and the ghosts of fog rolled in from the river nearby.  It looked so inviting.

We watched the fog blanket the meadow in a cool mist... and leave silvery drops of water on the grass at our feet.

We walked into the ghostly cloud.  Breathed it.  Felt it.

We had an adventure tonight... and it was magic.

I raced for the cure

Early Saturday morning, we all got up and headed downtown for the race.  It was a big race... we could tell by the traffic... and the endless sea of pink. 
My brother Dave and my cousin Dawn ran the race too.  Dave got 2nd place.  He wore hot pink shorts.

I got my best 5k time ever... 23:50-ish (the chip-timed results aren't posted yet).  Dawn finished a few seconds ahead of me.  It was so fun to run together.  I enjoyed the bands playing music every quarter mile or so.
Afterward, there was a big party.  Alli and Ruby liked the free ice cream bars... they look so tired.

There were lots of pink-clad people... like this sweet man.

His wheelchair was all decked out too.
There were tons of bananas.  Literally.  I mean it.

I had the best cheering section ever.  Andy watched the kids and took lots of pictures.

My parents were there too.

It was a fun race for a great cause... I'm so glad I got to participate.

say CHEESE!

Click here to see my pictures.  There is a link on the side bar too.  Enjoy!

our week

This was a busy week for us.  Last Monday was our anniversary!  We had a family celebration.  I made a picnic dinner and took it to the temple where we were married (nine years ago!).   We ate our dinner on the lawn behind the temple, then we walked through the gardens surrounding the temple.  The picnic was a fun idea, but I forgot the memory card for the good camera (luckily we had the pocket camera), the kids were too excited to eat dinner so they kept running around and hiding behind bushes, Ruby lost one shoe in the creek that runs nearby (I really liked those sparkly yellow peep-toes... see below)... it wasn't very romantic.

Andy and I celebrated again (without the kids) on Thursday night.  Sushi isn't very romantic (each piece is a big mouthful, and I don't feel very graceful eating it) but it is quite delicious.  And it was a lovely night with just the two of us.
I took the girls to the zoo this week.  We met my sis-in-law and her boys there.  We finally got a peek at the baby elephant.  It has been hiding every time we have been to the zoo so far. It was a hot day, and the kids all had pink cheeks and sweaty hair.  We had to stop for ice cream on our way home.

June must have grown.  She can now reach into my makeup drawer. 

I had one tube of lipstick among all the other stuff... and that is what she found... and rubbed all over her face.

We took the kids to North Market this week.  We bought bread and smoked gouda and some delicious Greek food.

Alli and Ruby had cousins over for a sleepover.  They didn't sleep much.
I finished a dress for June.  

Andy took the girls shopping, and while they were gone I started a small quilt and worked on a few projects.  That was a treat.

Today is Mother's Day!  Andy helped the girls make breakfast for me.  They were so excited for me to eat my breakfast in bed.  And of course they wanted to share it.  I loved the drawings and cards and kisses and songs today.
I am blessed to be a mom.  And I am blessed to have a wonderful mother who has taught me so much about parenting.  And I have a fabulous mother-in-law!  Hooray for moms!

The jokes keep coming

Tonight the family was in the kitchen preparing a little snack before bedtime.  Alli asked "Mom, can I have some of your famous milk."  Slightly disturbed, I answered "No, that's just for June."  Turns out she just wanted a glass of the almond milk I had been making.  I guess I have two flavors of famous milk now.

This is a picture from the video call we just had with Andy's parents.