A Very Busy Weekend...

The gang...My brother Matt, his wife Kori, sister Jenny and cousin Meagan.

Last weekend Derek and I struggled to fit in family time with both of our families. My cousin Meagan, who I haven't seen in almost four years was in town as well as my brother and his wife who haven't been up our way since December. On top of that, Derek's brother, Chad, graduated from college so a lot of his family was in town as well. Despite it being a crazy busy weekend, I think we managed! Here are some pictures from the weekend; however, I was horrible about taking pictures since I forgot to take my camera but my mom was nice enough to send me some!Jack and my dad (they grew up together and are like best friends!)

My brother Matt and cousin Meagan enjoying their cigars. It's kind of a family tradition my dad and brother started years ago.

My Uncle Dave!!

Sister Jenny with our Niece Lilly

Janet, Lilly, Jenny and Debbie (Derek's mom)

Happy Father's Day Pumpkin!!!

For those of you who didn't already know, my dad and me have always had nicknames for each other and I have called my dad pumpkin for years!!

Anyways, I just wanted to let dad know how much I love and appreciate him. My dad has supported me through everything and has always been there. He is such a selfless man and has worked his butt off to support his family. Just like my mom, I also consider my dad one of my best friends and we have a great relationship that I absolutely cherish!

So dad, thanks for spending all those hours outside playing with us kids when we were little. I think you are one of the main reasons we all got into sports and succeeded at them. Thanks for all those hours you spent out on the soccer field with me in the dead heat of summer over in Spokane. You are the reason I reached all of my goals that season and I know I wouldn't have done nearly as well as I did with your support! (example: "You can go harder then that! Faster, quicker, stronger!!! 110, 110, 110!!!! Even though we got into a few times, looking back I love you for that!

Thanks for all the good advice you gave that had to do with school, success, etc. (Thanks for the college education!) Even though I may not have done what you advised all the time and wouldn't admit at the time you were right about some things, I do now! Dad you were right!!! There, i said it.

Oh, and thanks for helping me get back to the cruise ship!! I might still be in Mexico if it weren't for you!!! haha

Love you Pumpkin!!!

Peyton Update

We have had Peyton in our lives for about 3 days now and we are all doing great. Peyton has started going to the door when she needs to go potty, is sitting, coming, and kenneling by herself on command, and is almost sleeping through the night. I am so impressed with how fast she is learning!! She is the most lovable pup and always wants to be right where we are. I have a little shadow! I don't think Gunther is minding her too much either. He was very curious at first and is now starting to try and play with her. I don't think Peyton really understands Gunther's type of play, but I have no doubt that they will become great friends!Peyton helping me lift weights.Gotta love puppy kisses!!Puppies can sleep in the weirdest, most uncomfortable looking positions.

New Addition to our Family (Derek)

Nope....not a little Derek, it's a puppy! That's right, I fell for it. Lacie has been talking about wanting a puppy for a while. She wouldn't always come right out and say that she wanted a dog, but she would send me instant messages with pictures of dogs while I was at work. I decided that I would get a dog as soon as we found a good one and we found 3 good ones online! So I surprised Lacie with a trip to an adoption agency. When I told her that I wanted to go there, she said "you better not be making this up!" Well I wasn't making it up...and we came home with an eight week old Lab (we don't know what the dad is so we aren't sure what she is just yet). Anyway, we named her Lilly even though my brother-in-law named his daughter Lilly first. Actually we named her Peyton (Lacie LOVES One Tree Hill) but we told Lacie's family that her name is Lilly. Here she is:

Now the LONG nights will begin. We are yet to get her to go potty off of our deck...

Adventure Race #1

Our first adventure race was yesterday, which was also the worst day weather wise I have seen since we moved back from Kansas. It was pouring down rain and freezing! For those of you who don't know what adventure racing is, it is an outdoor race that combines multiple activities such as running, biking, swimming, canoeing, etc. Each race might be different. Along with the physical aspect, there is also orienteering where each team is given a map and they have to get to and find certain markers on the map by performing the given activity.

Yesterday's adventure race consisted of canoeing 2.5 miles, road biking 8 miles, and running 2.5 miles while trying to find the markers that were placed around Portage Bay for the water part and Seattle for the land parts.

Let me tell you, there are some hard core adventure racers who get all geared up for the event. I told Derek I wouldn't make fun of him for all of his gear anymore considering there were people at this race who looked even sillier in their spandex with shorts over the top, etc. However, considering it was pooring down rain and freezing, by the end of the canoe portion of the race I wish I had those spandex with shorts over the top! It was a ton of fun even though we were completely soaked from head to toe!

For this race, there was down time between the canoe part and the biking/running part so people could return their canoes and switch gear. While we waited for the next part of the race to start we were both sitting in the car watching the rain come down even harder. We finally decided to get out, put on our cycling gear, ride down the parking lot to where the next part of the race was starting, looked at each other, and then turned around and went back to the car! I am sorry, but as much as I love the outdoors and exercise, I am just not that hard core!! Derek didn't mind either because he was pretty uncomfortable as well. This is the first time the both of us have never finished a race or event and normally I would feel bad for quiting, but the heat in the car felt too good!

I don't mind running in the rain, but when your riding a bike at about 15 mph with no sunglasses to protect you from the rain hitting you in the face, no gloves, and you are already completely soaked to to the bone, that just isn't fun anymore!

We have decided though that from what we did experience, we are really going to like adventure racing and plan on doing more this year. We also learned that we need to make a few more trips to REI!!

Just a Little Update...

Not much has really been going on the last few weeks, but since I haven't posted anything in awhile I figured I would just give a little updating.

A couple of weekends ago we went camping with my parents at Pot Holes in Eastern Washington. It was a pretty nice weekend and we all had a lot of fun just relaxing outside. Dad rode his motorcycle over, so we took the nice, but longer way to get there going highway 2. We stopped in Leavenworth for a nice lunch outside.

Two weeks ago Derek and Chad participated in the Urban Assault bicycle race in Seattle and finished 7th overall! The race was a combination of biking, obstacles/challenges, and navigating through Seattle. They both had a really good time and I'm happy to see those two spending more time together.

For Memorial Day weekend we decided to stay home. Derek and I have decided to get into adventure racing which is a combination of trail running, mountain biking, kayaking, and navigating. There is a 5-10 hour race coming up in July so we have started to train for that. On Saturday we did a combination workout of trail running and mountain biking. After that we went to a local lake and soaked up some sun out on the beach and then later on in the evening we went to a barbecue at my aunt and uncle's house. On Sunday we drove down to Olympia to visit my brother and his family, and then on Monday we did another combo workout of running and biking and then just hung out at home for the remainder of the day. We were going to take a ferry over to San Juan Island and bike around the island, but the weather changed and it was supposed to be rainy so we decided to save that for anther weekend.

My dad and his brother (the best uncle ever!)

Overall it was a nice, relaxing weekend!

Happy Mother's Day Mom!!!

I just wanted to take some time to tell my mom thanks! She is the most wonderful person I know and I can't even put into words how much I love her and how much I appreciate everything she has done for me and my family. My mom is truly my best friend, and I absolutely love spending time with her. We not only have that mother/daughter relationship, but we have that best friends relationship as well. I feel so lucky to have that kind of bond with my mom knowing that a lot of people don't get to experience that closeness that we have. We can talk about everything and can also spend hours just hanging out, not necessarily doing anything. My relationship with her is so important to me and I hope that I can create the same relationship with my daughter one day. The kind where she feels so comfortable around me, can have just as much fun with me as she does with her friends (even through the teenage years), can come to me for anything and won't worry that I will judge or get mad, can feel like she doesn't have to hide anything, and can be completely open and honest. I love you so much mom; you really are the best!