Beach Weekend

For Memorial Weekend this last May we went to Manzanita Beach with Jeff's parents.  We rented our usual favorite house on Treasure Cove Lane, just 2 blocks from the beach.  We got there Friday night and after dinner, the boys wanted to go down to the beach to play.  Since the sun is going down so late this time of year, we had plenty of time in the evening to play.

Saturday morning the boys played more at the beach.  Then we got in our cars and drove north up to Ft. Stevens.  We packed our bikes.  We had a picnic lunch, and then we took a bike ride through Ft. Stevens.  We visited Battery Russell and the Historical Monument.  We also rode out to the beach where an old ship ran aground over 100 years ago.  The metal remains are still there although eroding over time.  It's interesting to see.

The Ship Wreck

Sunday we spent a lot of time at the beach.  The boys tried to dam up a little water area that runs down to the ocean.  They could dig and build in the sand for hours.  It was also a good day to fly kites.  So we did that too.  We also visited another beach a short drive away.  They played kickball and walked along the sand.  They love the beach.

Making the Dam

The Dam Breaks

Playing Kickball

Sam Testing the Waters

While there, Jeff and I got some runs in on the beach.  We had a fun weekend and hope to go back soon.

Spring Music Program

On May 20 last month, the boys participated in their school's spring music program.  Even Simon got to sing this time.  They sang some cute songs and did a great job.  I wish I could get this blog to play video, I'd love to share their songs with you.  Instead, I will share a few pics from the night.

Simon

Sam

Daniel

Sam's Birthday Celebrations

Sam turned 7 on May 12.  I can't believe he's 7!  Wow!  He's growing up so fast.  We had several celebrations for him.  The first one was on Mother's Day, which I've already talked about.  But I wanted to celebrate on his actual birthday, which was a Tuesday.  For school that day I took in donuts (that was his request) for his class.  The class sang to him.  Then, that night, we had cake and he opened his present from us.  Simon played Happy Birthday on his guitar.  I'm not sure if the movie will show here on the blog, but I tried to download it.

On the following Saturday at church, his Sabbath School teacher and class also sang to him.

Mother's Day/Sam's Birthday

On Sunday morning of Mother's Day, Jeff took the boys out first thing after they woke up.  He's been doing this for the past few years.  This was the first year that Daniel wanted to change out of his PJ's. I guess he's growing up a bit.  But the other 2 boys stayed in their PJ's.  He takes them somewhere locally, and they pick out flowers to buy for me.  It's very sweet.  Simon always gets me an orange flower.  They also got donuts for me and since my mom was visiting, one for her too.

Next we got ourselves ready and went over to Jeff's parent's house to have a brunch and celebrate a little more.  Since Mother's Day is so close to Sam's birthday, we celebrate for both.  We had a nice brunch at the Youker's home and exchanged a few gifts.  Sam also got to open some presents from his grandparents.

Celebrating at the Grandparent's Home

After that, we cleaned up and headed out.  We took our bikes to the Sunday Parkways in SE Portland.  Various Portland neighborhoods host about a 7-9 mile bike ride throughout the summer, stopping at parks along the way.  The parks have venders where one can buy snacks or things.  Also, it's fun for the kids to stop and play on the playground.

Simon on the Merry-go-Round

Sam at the Bounce House

Daniel at the Bounce House

When we were done with the bike ride, we loaded up our bikes onto the cars and drove to McMenamins at the Kennedy School in NE Portland.  There we met Aunt Cheryl, Aunt Debbie, Uncle Todd and our friends Don and Sandy Heusser along with their daughter and son-in-law, Christie and Bradley.  We had a nice dinner.  Sam got to open a few more presents.  We also brought along a cake and sang and blew out his candle.

Happy Birthday to Sam!

It was a fun day!

Hippie Chick 2015

This year I ran the Hippie Chick 1/2 Marathon again.  This was my 4th year in a row running this race.  I really enjoy this race. It's a mostly flat race with just a little bit of hills.  And the weather is usually sunny.  I wasn't sure how I would do.  I had been feeling a little sick the week before, and I took most of the week off from running to rest up for the race.  But I was really determined to try and beat my time from the year before.

I got there early, picked up my packet, and mostly waited in my car for the race to start.  It was sunny but a little chilly.  I'm glad it wasn't too hot though.  Then, as time neared for the race to start, I made my way to the honey bucket one last time, then took my place in line.  They had pacers, and I tried to place myself close to a pace I wanted to run, but I really wanted to run somewhere in between, so I tried to stay between the 8:30 pacer and the 9:00 pacer.  We took off, and I just did the best I could.  And I finished with a time that had me beating my previous race time by a little under a minute and a half.  I was really happy about that.

My parents were there as well as Jeff and the boys.  It was nice to have them there to cheer me on at the finish.  We took a few pics, then I rested while the boys played on a nearby playground.  Soon we went home, and I relaxed for the rest of the day.

Leaving the House

My friend Trisha who ran too

Random Stuff

I'm sitting outside, enjoying the sunshine.  We are having some nice weather right now.  My parents are visiting from Coeur d'Alene.  My mom took the boys to the park.  It's nice to have a few quiet moments to myself.

I've been subbing again.  I subbed the last 3 days.  It was the same class I subbed for before, when I did the 3 weeks of subbing.  They are a great class, and I knew the routine, so it wasn't too hard.  I had a lot of fun.

This weekend is Mother's Day.  It's also Sam's birthday on Tuesday, so we will celebrate both on Sunday.  Looking back, when Sam was born, I didn't fully comprehend that every Mother's Day we would celebrate the day together.  I don't mind, I hope he doesn't mind either.

I'm running the Hippie Chick tomorrow.  I should probably be a little more concerned, but for some reason I'm not.  I think I'm prepared.  Although I was a little sick last weekend, so I didn't run my long run last weekend.  And I've been taking it easy this week to be strong for tomorrow.  Hopefully I won't get too tired.

Here are just some random picks of us in life.  I hope you have a great weekend!  Cheers!

Simon's class on a field trip to Albertson's

Daniel's class on a field trip to OMSI

Us...on a recent hike

Sam & Simon on a recent day to OMSI

Walk-A-Thon 2015

Last Friday the boys had a fundraiser walk-a-thon at their school.  They did a great job at getting pledges and sponsors.  They had lofty goals of running lots of lap.  Each lap is a quarter mile.  Last year Sam ran 12 laps and Daniel ran 25.  And Simon didn't run last year so we weren't sure what he could do.  Simon started first.  I ran with him.  He ran for several laps and then started to run/walk.  He did a total of 12 laps.  Then Sam's class came out.  He did a slow jog/walk for several laps, and I walked with him.  He finished with 14 laps.  Then Daniel came out.  He's really come a long way with his running.  He ran almost the whole time.  I ran with him too.  But towards the end he said his foot hurt and he couldn't push it.  Although he wanted to run more laps, he finished strong with 25.