Danskin Triathlon 2011

Last January my dear friend Jenny, friend for life and mom of two, called me from Olympia and said, "I think you should do a sprint triathlon with me next summer."

At the time I had a six month old baby, not to mention my other three kids. I was horribly out of shape and had zero desire to do a triathlon. Except I did kind of want to. I told her I would think about it.

I asked Greg what he thought. He looked at me with great skepticism and said, "I"ll believe it when I see it." Don't pass judgement on the guy, I was thinking the same thing. Besides, I HATED TO SWIM. And when would I find the time to workout? So I didn't blame him for saying it but it did ignite a little fire in me.

Then I talked to my other dear friend Angela, also a mom of four with a six month old baby, and asked her if she'd do it. She said no. Then she said yes. Then she said she'd think about it.

My sister-in-law Julie, mom of my sweet nephew Jonny, was in from the very beginning. "Sure, I'll do it."

Eventually, each in our own way, we all committed to completing our first triathlon together in August.

My first work out was a Jillian Michael's video that left me nauseated it was so hard.

My first swim was for 12 minutes and I was exhausted.

I had to get up at 5:30 a.m. to do my workouts in the morning.

BUT THEN.....














We all did it. 1/2 mile swim, 12.4 mile bike, 5 k (3.2 miles) run. I did it in 1:35:25. We all met or exceeded our personal time goals. It was awesome and I can't wait to do another one. Good job girls, we rocked it!!

p.s. If you are just checking my blog out in a while, keep scrolling down, I posted twice in one day, Wonders never cease.

Betcha missed me

So, summer has came and is nearly gone already. We have eaten it up. My dreams of days of leisurely backyard play and popcicles haven't been as plentiful as I had hoped. Instead we have packed the time with camping trips, a week long Seaside vacation, swimming lessons, Greg and I both completing our first sprint triathlons, swimming lessons, a family photo shoot, BBQs with friends, birthdays, and enough backyard play to keep us all happy and sane. Many times this summer Nathan has told me, "THIS IS MY BEST DAY EVER!!!"

Prepare yourself for two months worth of photos. We are kinda cute.

Angela, Sara, Jenny, and Julie after completing our FIRST Danskin triathlon!

Wetsuit beauties

Greg and Justin with ALL THEIR kids after completing the Race the River triathlon

Silverwood with the Baerlocher fam . We would take up every single ride with just our families.

Dane and Gracie, two lovebirds blossoming in the Savannah

The whole Silverwood clan. Seven kids, four adults, and we actually had fun!

You think this is bad, wait until you see the faces Dane made in EVERY shot during family photos.

These are a bunch of shots from the 4th of July. We celebrated in Liberty Lake and had a great time as a family. The little kids were invited to dance during the music and Aubrey and Dane shook it until it wouldn't shake anymore!

There are still pictures from camping trips, Seaside, and maybe an entire post dedicated to the girl's triathlon, but I think this is a good start, no? You gotta give a girl a few days, and posts, to play catch up with.

You are still a baby until you learn to walk

Our sweet JoJo Beans, Johannanana, Jo, Johanninani, JuJuBe, JOHANNA, turned one yesterday. She earned herself four demerits for growing up so darn fast. And then gained them back again when she spent the entire day looking ridiculously adorable.

Short of her Aunt Hannah and Uncle Jason, Johanna's entire family on both sides was here to see her eat her first piece of cake and watch her wide eyes as everyone sang her happy birthday. She was a magnificent birthday girl, basking in the attention and rewarding everyone with crinkle nosed smiles. I am floored to think that my baby, MY BABY BABY, is one year old. She is such a beautiful little blessing and sometimes I think I might just dunk her in chocolate, spray on the whip cream, and eat her up she's so sweet. Our family wasn't complete until Princess Pampers came along. Johanna, you are loved beyond your understanding. And aren't allowed to grow a single centimeter more.










Let me tell you something Johanna. Just because you turned one doesn't mean you aren't my baby. Heck, from what I can tell you have signed yourself up to be MY baby for life. So there.

When a man loves his daughter

I don't cry over everything. But that little Aubrey girl has done me in. I have cried more than once this week about how big she is getting. And these pictures of her and her daddy prepping or the Father/Daughter dance? You get bet your butt I cried over these.










(What would actually happen if you bet your butt and lost? Would that even be a bad thing?)

Dane's hilarious melt down

Today Dane didn't nap. Dane is 3 1/2 and REQUIRES a nap. He didn't nap because at nap time he and Nathan were playing super heroes together and when I said it was nap time Nathan looked at me with trembling lips and tearful eyes and said, "Mama, can Dane please rest with me? He is my brother and I want him to be with me." Frankly, I was powerless to do anything but let them "rest" (let's use that word very loosely) together after that heartfelt speech. I might have even given them each a treat just for being precious.

Tonight however Dane was a hot mess. (The term "hot mess" comes from a hilarious friend. You know who you are!) He was weepy. He was irrational. He was flushed and droopy eyed and taking to random fits of quiet sobbing. So deep was his despair that Greg and I couldn't do anything but laugh at his misery. As we put him to bed he lost it completely and made the following wailing proclamations:

"MY BED IS SO BORING! (SOB.) I LIKED IT YESTERDAY BUT TODAY IT IS BORING AND I WANT IT TO NOT BE BORING!"

"There is something wet on my pillow! It might be drool!! (Greg flips his pillow, a vision of fatherly patience.) OH MAN, it's wet again! Daddy, it is the wet things sliding down my face that are making it wet. WHERE IS THE DRY SIDE?!?!?!"

"i ONLY WANT TWO BLANKETS! OH MAN, THEY ARE SCRIBBLY!! (I take one blanket away.) WHY DID YOU TAKE MY BLANKET, WHY ARE YOU MAKING ME COLD???"

"Daddy, will you read another story?" (Greg says no, it is way too late. He deduced this since Dane was asking this while lying on the floor, flapping his arms and crying.) "OH MAN, but I need another story so that I won't forget the story!!"

At this point Aubrey lost it and shouted, "Why are you such a whinie??" Dane screamed, "STOP IT STOP IT STOP IT!!!"

One second later he was asleep.

Optimus Prime turns five

Ladies and Gentlemen, I'd like to announce that Nathan Paul Jones is now five years old. This means that he can stand on his head, walk around without a shirt on, make Aubrey whine with uncanny consistency, ask inquisitive parent stumping questions, love to read Magic Tree House books, and still cry if he thinks his mama didn't hear him say "I love you" before bed. He is my favorite Optimus Prime and I cannot believe he has been ours for five years. Nathan, you are on in a million, WE LOVE YOU!!!

The first half of the pictures are from Nathan's gymnastics party with friends. The second half are from the more subdued, no legal liability forms required, home party on the night of his real birthday. He had a third mini celebration in Yakima this weekend with my family. That's my kid, milking a birthday for all its worth.