Vacation

If I can figure out how to post video, I will put up some memories from our trip to North Carolina. But for now I will just write in a few highlights.
1. Archie adored his cousins, and tried to do everything they did, he especially liked to hold Nick's hand as we walked down the beach, so cute!
2. We tried to body surf in the cold water on a hot day. It was mostly us getting knocked down by salty monsters but it was a lot of fun.
3. We walked through pouring rain to eat "the best Mexican food on the planet", it was worth it.
4. I read a book and didn't watch tv and it was great.
5. I know this might sound a little crazy but I LOVE exercising in the humidity of the east, the west is just tooooo hot, but I got to go running on the beach and around the beach houses, and it reminded me of summers in Michigan.
6. Ben and I ate ice cream on the beach... the tide was coming in and the sand was cooling off from the day, it was a perfect date.
7. Dr. Brady (Sam) graduated and that was pretty cool. Mohammad Yunis spoke at his graduation and that was also wonderful. And Arch only squirmed and kicked a little during the graduation day- we strategically sat at the very top of the bleachers so we would be able to exit any time we wanted. As it turned out, Archie was pretty content as long as he could get out every once in a while and go pick up some rocks.
8. We got to spend a lot of time with Natalie's family as well, the Dorsey's and that was fun. Overall, a really amazing trip.

Breakfast

After a three day hiatus from bananas we are finally back on the regime. One banana in the morning, first thing, before kisses, before diaper changing, before anyone else has time to think, 'nana?' he asks. Then, throughout the day there are several more requests for a 'nana', but not in the sense that Archie is just asking for a banana, if that were the case I could deny him each time. "Mother,may I please have a banana?"
"No Archie,please choose another delicious yet nutritious snack, you have already had 12 bananas."
Okay, not quite 12, but if it were possible I am sure he would consume that many. No, his request is more of a plea, a cute, makes you want to cuddle and give him anything he wants type of plea. In his quest for a banana this is what I hear: He says "Nana?" and rubs his tummy, the sign for 'please' in ASL, and it enters my ears and my brain as "mommy I love you more than anything and all I really want is a banana to eat and to smush in my fingers and to love you forever and be your little boy forever... for...ev...er"

Maybe that is why we have such a communication barrier. Archie is just asking for something to eat and I am weeping on the inside that he isn't my little baby anymore but cheering on the outside that he actually knows what he wants and can ask for it! Being a parent is complicated, but bananas are easy, so one for breakfast and occasionally one for dinner, if there is absolutely nothing else to be eaten.

Running, Swimming, P90X-ing

So, the Biking isn't my forte, but I will get there...
The weather is not quiet warm yet, but the sun is out and it seems like everyone just can not possibly wait another minute to be outside and play! That is me and Arch at least. My brother in law Tyler has p90x so Ben and I have been doing it sporadically, it is kinda fun, but hard and it HURTS! We are getting in shape for the summer of races and relays and -athlons of all sorts! Really we are going to the beach in North Carolina in a few weeks and we just want to look good :)

So the schedule is: on April 17th I am going to attempt my first ever 10k. It is on the river trail that is just to the North of where we live, so Ben and Archie probably won't have to stand around waiting for me, they can lounge at home after they watch the dramatic 'bang' of a start.
May 1 (which is also potentially my niece's first ever birthday, (first as in the day she will be born, not turning one)): Devin, my very talented brother-in-law and I will be doing a relay run; a half marathon. We are not exactly sure how it works, but we are doing it!
And finally, as far as I know on June 12th: a true half marathon all by myself.... can't wait!

In between I'll be running and swimming and doing other fun things with my fam. I love warm weather!

Posting!

Turkish hats from Zach! Thank you, the winning team had to don the hats just to make it an emotionally fair game. At least the losers could get a good laugh in.

Archie wearing the hat Ben took from his dad at the top of the 'Y', we made it! Of course, Arch was carried the whole way and slept the entire length down, but he sure did enjoy it.

Ready for a 5k! It took us about 28 minutes. Archie is an amazing runner.

Hangin' out lookin' at something. This was not actually an exhibit, it was just a bit of forest, they loved it.

Rrraarrarararaarrr, tigers.
So much has happened and I haven't written about any of it, or shared pictures. I have been in kind of a funk lately when it comes to recording life happenings. I started a journal for Archie, basically it is just to write down one thing he did that day, and I have been keeping up on it, until I lost the journal! I swear, keeping a journal has been hard sometimes, but I've never not been able to write because I literally can't find it. Oh, well, I will just do my recording somewhere else, then transfer and Archie can sort it all out when he is my age.
So the highlights of the last few months are: I did a duathlon,5k run, 24mile bike, 5k run. Super hard. But I didn't collapse, I didn't stop running or biking or running, and I had my guys there cheering me on! It was great! However, I wasn't aware of the bike distance until after the race was over, I was operating under the knowledge that it was a 12 mile bike... during the race I thought to myself "this is taking a long time, I must be out of shape, but it feels like I am in shape..." when I talked to a few people afterwards my body and my brain clicked. We forgot the camera, we forgot the diaper bag, but we did remember our son, my bike and helmet. Who needs the little things... ( okay, sometimes you really do need the diaper bag).
So that was in St. George Ut, and it was in a beautiful red rock area, going through a national park, amazing.
So a couple of weeks ago Archie and I did a 5k, our first official one together. It was a bit of a cloudy cold day, but he just kicked his legs on the stroller, loving being outside.
Dad came to visit and that was so much fun! We hiked up to the 'Y', we played bags and ate lots of food. Oh and we watched the finale of the Bachelor and nearly gagged on all the drama.
Ben has been working hard on his thesis and other studies. Kristen and I and Kara too, are getting crafty with our etsy shop and having fun with that. We've sold to three different people!
We made a trip to the zoo for Alex's birthday, a really fun day. Archie and Alex had a lot of fun chasing each other around and seeing the different animals.

This boy can't get enough water. He LOVES to get wet, even in his church clothes...




Other Highlights:

Alex gets lost in her shirt, while Arch stands by watching.


Archie reads the paper.


Ben waits for me to get my hat too, so we can go to church...


Archie helps clean the potatoes for Sunday dinner...


And a beautiful piece of cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory, where Kristen, Kara, Alex, Archie and I enjoyed a lovely meal and delicious dessert.

Etsy, link....

Okay, so it isn't a link either..... today is going to be a challenging day I can tell.

Copy and paste it to your browser and it will magically take you to our shop.

Etst link

Sorry, that link I posted below doesn't do anything, but this one does...:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/kandyapplekrafts?ga_search_query=kandyapplekrafts&ga_search_type=seller_usernames

Etsy

I haven't blogged about our Etsy shop because I just didn't think to connect the two networks... but Kristen inspired me. So I am here to tell you that Kristen and I have been a little crafty and are selling some of our crafts. We are Kandy Apple Krafts, (spelled as one word if you are doing a search for our shop on the Etsy site) we are very slowly building up our inventory, but we have a few items if you want to check it out!

This is a link to our shop, enjoy!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/kandyapplekrafts