Frustrated

I had been on a roll. I was halfway through a 30 day yoga challenge--doing a practice every day. I had been running three times a week for 30 minutes, increasing my distance and decreasing my mile time ever run. I was on fire.

Then Saturday, I fell walking down the sidewalk. I hit a rock wrong, my sandal slipped, and down I went. I ended up with a badly bruised palm and a badly bruised and swollen knee.

I am not happy. Yoga is out of the question for the moment; any pressure on my knee or palm is just to painful. Until my knee stops swelling, Brad is pretty sure I shouldn't run.

Bottom line: I'm frustrated and ready to get my running shoes back on.

A Man and His Dog

I just can't handle the cuteness. Every morning, these two have a snuggle. I think Buddy just might be his dog.

Happy Father's Day!

We had a ridiculously quiet Father's Day--just what Brad asked for. We made him his favorite breakfast, and he made himself the best steaks I have ever eaten for dinner. We learned a couple years ago that me grilling the steak does not a happy Father's day make. I know my limits.

To be honest, Brad spent most of his day working. He took breaks to play with us and eat with us and go on a walk with us. But most of the day he was at the table working.

It's one of the greatest gifts he will give our children: security. He works so hard to provide for us. He started his company a year ago, knowing the risks. Never once, though, have we worried about us. In the midst of all that work, though, he never fails to show up for us. He takes Evan to the dojo; he kick boxes with Issa; he makes me rest when I need it. He's our rock, and I will be forever glad he is my children's father.

Back to the Farm

We are loving the slower pace of summer this week! One of the added benefits of more time is a return to the community farm! We had an evening that was in the low 70s, and the kids and I were thrilled the rain held off long enough for us to go!

We weeded, planted, and harvested. The kids independently staked every cucumber plant on the farm, and I harvested coriander. I will never take coriander for granted again. It is a tedious crop to harvest, but it is so delicious!

The highlight, though, for the kiddos was the bunnies:

 Yes...we put them in the rabbit cage. The one rabbit is an escape artist. Issa was especially thrilled to have all of the rabbit snuggles:

We still love our little farm. I love seeing how much the kids remember about how to plant and harvest, and I love having a place where they can work and play in the fresh air. I imagine we will be back often this summer.

Best. Birthday. Ever.

Saturday, we celebrated my birthday at the zoo. Last year, the zoo opened a Zoofari, and I have been desperate to go. We are so fortunate that our zoo has a ton of space for the animals to roam. The antelope, rhinos, and ostrich have 40 acres to wander, which is awesome for them. It makes viewing them a little tricky. So...the zoo converted a bus into an open air vehicle, and you can ride with one of the keepers for an hour-long excursion into their home.

Brad got Mom involved, and we left bright and early for the zoo Saturday morning. You can't purchase tickets ahead of time, so we were first in line when the zoo opened. We got our tickets for the first zoofari of the day, and we all watched Brad relax once those tickets were in hand.

And we were not disappointed. We saw all but one breed of antelope:

 And we could have reached out to pet a rhino:

 Even Evan scooted a little closer to me with that huge horn just on the other side of a bus wall. We were close enough to actually see all of the little hairs that make up his horn.

 Pearl stole the show for most of the family, though:

 She actually came up and stuck her head in the bus!

We got beautiful views of the elephants:

 And antelope:

 And even saw a herd on the move:

It truly was one of the most memorable experiences of my life, and I'm glad I had this crew with me:

We spent the rest of the day exploring the zoo, and we were so grateful to see so many animals so active. We even got our usual chimp picture:

We ended our zoo day with another trip to the bird show, which Brad and Mom loved! They had never been, so it was all new to them. The kids and I loved seeing how much more comfortable the birds were this time!

We came home to shower and then ended our day at Mez for a fabulous dinner. It truly was just about the best birthday ever!

And That's a Wrap

Another school year is in the books!

Yesterday, we celebrated Issa at her end of the year awards ceremony. In addition to being recognized for the honor roll, she received her team's Citizenship Award:

 She was recognized for her kindness, thoughfullness, and willingness to help. If there is one award I would hope my children would receive, it's that one. I couldn't be more proud.

She has grown up so much this year. Brad has been traveling this week, so I've been taking Evan to the dojo. Both nights, she made dinner:

 There is something a little surreal about walking in the door to dinner already prepared by your eldest. I feel like it was yesterday that she served me scrambled eggs complete with shells.

And this morning then left for the last days of third and sixth grade:

 Just to highlught how much they have grown this year, the first and last day side by side:

We are gearing up for a fun summer, and I can't wait to see how they grow next year!

Celebration Weekend

We had a crazy busy weekend!

It was recital weekend, and this year Nana danced, too:

 And Aunt Shannon came in to watch:

 For the first time, Issa and I worked both of the non-Company recitals. This year those were at a different venue than the Company recital, which added to the crazy. Issa danced beautifully, though, and all three recitals went incredibly well!

On Sunday, we had one last birthday party for our favorite nine year old:

 Aunt Shannon took the kids to jump:

 And Nana made a really cool husky cake:

And then we all collapsed. As much as we enjoyed each piece of the weekend, by the end we all knew we had done too much. Lesson learned. That said, I wouldn't trade big celebration weekends for anything!