Heather's Race

{my 1,000th post... amazing!}

We woke up bright & early this morning and headed out to cheer on Heather & Ben as they ran their half marathon-- 13.1 miles.

As we got to the corner just past mile marker 5 we wondered where they might be... and hoped we hadn't missed them. While we waited we heard the cheers & sirens as the lead runner passed mile marker 10. That guy was bookin' it!

That was at 7:55am-- 55 minutes into the race and he had passed mile 10. Holy Hot Feet!

Shortly after that James (Heather's brother) passed us.

And a few minutes later we spotted them (thank goodness Heather wore that bright pink shirt!)

We cheered 'em on... and then they rounded the corner and were gone.

While they ran another 5 miles we left to get breakfast in hopes to see them again at mile marker 10.

Unfortunately by the time we got to mile 10, we knew we'd already missed them... which meant they were ahead of pace. So we went to the finish line to watch them cross.

She did it!
2 hours 27 minutes
And in under her goal time of 2 hours, 30 minutes.
So proud of her!!
Way to go, Heather... and Ben.

After she walked around a little while & cooled off we headed back to the finish line to watch our friend Miriam Young cross too. We knew as 3:00 passed that she must've been having a hard time so Heather walked a little way back along the course to find her & help her finish strong.

{Miriam & Heather}

And then it was over.
Heather had accomplished the race she trained so diligently for.
So very proud of her!!

We all headed our separate ways to get ready to meet again for a beach bbq.
In our hotel room Georgie & Naomi spent quite a bit of time sitting in the swivel chair looking out the window

while Jacob (who's face got scratched at the race while he & Kyle were messing around) put his shirt over his head and sulked.

Finally Heather called to say they were ready & we all met up at our favorite beach, Treasure Island near Laguna Beach.

Phil was on the bbq.

We sat around and visited.

Everyone had a great time!
Perfect way to end a great day!

Laguna Hills

My dear friend Heather has been training for months to run the Laguna Hills Half Marathon on Memorial Day. It's been so fun and exciting watching her train and overcome obstacles as she's improved her time and distance. She really is amazing and quite the inspiration. I am so proud of her and her dedication to complete this incredible task.

So this morning we packed up and headed to Laguna for the night so we'd be there bright and early to cheer her on.

We took our time getting there.
Checked into our hotel.
Went to see some sights.
Stopped by a CarMax lot to compare Suburbans and mini vans.
Had dinner at The Cheesecake Factory.
Rode the carousel with the kids.
And went back to the hotel for a good nights sleep.
Thankfully, we were all out by 10pm.

{naomi was obsessed with the mirror above the carousel. as we went around and around she was constantly watching herself up there. it was really cute.}

So Long Primetime Preschool

The boy graduated from preschool today.
His class had a really cute program for the parents. They sang a couple of songs, recited a poem, received their 'diploma' and award from Ms. Jan & Ms. Eugenia, Ms. Jan said goodbye and then the kids sang the goodbye song they sang every day. (that almost did me in)
But... not one of us shed a tear. Not me. Not Jake. We made it!
Now on to kindergarten!

our little graduate

{Cadence, Jake, Kyle, & Ian... his friends from church & school}

{all lined up & waiting their turn}

{Jacob's turn!}



{singing songs}

{his diploma and award for 'always respectful' and a numbers expert}

{when it was over, they helped clean up}

{the graduate with Gram}

{way to go, Jacob! We love you!}

{Best Friends Jacob & Kyle,
finished with preschool & ready for kindergarten!}

Last Day of Preschool

It's hard to believe but today was Jacob's last day of preschool, on Friday its graduation and the school year is over. He has had such a great year! He has loved every minute of it. He has loved his teachers, Ms. Jan and Ms. Eugenia. He has loved being in class with his friends: Kyle, Ian, & Cadence and making new friends: Brian, Brendon, & Nico and all the other kids in his class. He really has had a wonderful experience.

And we are so grateful.

I know on Friday I am going to be a mess, my emotions are right at the surface anyway, but when I think about my baby boy being ready for kindergarten I am so excited for him and so very sad to be leaving this phase of life where he is mine all day long. Oh, how I love spending my days with this boy!

I know Friday is going to be hard on him too. Last year he wouldn't even talk to his teachers on the last day of school because he has such a tender heart and hates goodbye's like his Momma. So we decided to take our 'thank you' gift to Ms. Jan & Ms. Eugenia today instead of waiting for Friday, that way he doesn't have all that graduation stress and sadness of leaving school to add to it.

As soon as I started talking to them about what a wonderful year Jacob has had and how we struggles with goodbyes I started tearing up and so did Ms. Jan. We have loved having her as Jacob's teacher. She and Ms. Eugenia have been so good for him. They both shared some of their thoughts about our Jakey-boy and had such complementary things to say. He really is a terrific, well behaved, smart little guy.

{Ms. Jan, Jacob, Ms. Eugenia}

And then we gave them their gifts (a tera cotta pot with gardening gloves & a packet of Poppy flower seeds), took a picture, and said "see ya Friday!" it was pretty stress-free for Jacob and now he doesn't have to worry so much about it on Friday.

I'll be the one who's a mess instead.

Took a trip to Toni's...

We were invited to attend my dear friend Toni's sons baptism in Windsor this weekend and since we haven't been there yet (Mat & Toni have only lived there, like, 12 years) I decided it was (past) time to make the trip.

We left here Friday evening & stayed in San Jose and then drove the rest of the way on Saturday morning. Before we left we told the kids all about the Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco so they were super excited about seeing it.We entered the city from the east side so we got to go over the Bay Bridge and see the Golden Gate off in the distance.

Once we were in the city we stayed on Hwy 101 and fought traffic and saw the sites of San Francisco, including Lombard Street.

And then we finally got a close up of the Golden Gate...

which prompted Jacob to ask, "where's the gold? Is there a gate? Why do they call it that?" and lots of other inquisitive questions. (Gotta watch that one, he's a thinker... thankfully.)

Finally we made our way across the bridge.

and onto the other side. We stopped to let the kids see it one more time (and go potty).

And finally we made the last of our drive to Toni's house.

{so not the best picture, but all that I got.
Toni's family: Mathais holding Jillian, Toni, Jackson, Justice, Jedidiah, & Jayce --Joshua is missing, he'd already left to go deliver food with Grandma Diane.}

Justice's baptism was really nice. His cousin shared that special day with him so it was a family affair. Afterward we all head to Mat's parents house for dinner and play time. It was so relaxing and the kids had a great time on their backyard park.

Later that night we headed back to Mat & Toni's, but first we stopped by the property they recently bought. It is absolutely beautiful! Six acres of oak trees and tall grass with a vineyard to the west and rolling hills beyond that. I am kicking myself for not taking a picture. It was amazing. I cannot wait for them to get their home built and go back and see it all. Those boys & little Jillian will be in outdoor play heaven. It really was perfect. (Pretty sure Mathais & Toni will be in heaven once its all finished too!)

Sunday morning we woke up and headed to church with them for Justice's confirmation and then it was time to get back on the road. John needed to be home by 6pm for seminary graduation and we made it to the church just in the nick of time thanks to construction on the 5.

It was a really nice, relaxing weekend. I'm so glad we were able to go and support Justice as well as see their town. Toni is like a sister to me. I love her so very much and just being there with her was wonderful.

Hair... (So) Long, Beautiful Hair

For the past two weeks or so Georgia has been talking about getting her hair cut. We're not sure where the idea came from or why she's been talking about it, but the girl talks about it all day long.

So, this morning when she asked me if she could get her hair cut to "here" (with her hand on the nape of her neck) I thought about if we'd have time & Daddy around to do it... and sure enough, today was a good day.

I've also been aching to get mine cut because everything about it bugs me, but I'm lazy and don't want to take time to really do it everyday!

We took before pictures:

(up how I wear it everyday... and down just to show the length)

And then we kissed Daddy & Jakey good-bye (Naomi was napping) and headed to get our hair cut.
(We go big time... Supercuts because its cheap!)

Georgie went first.
She showed the stylist exactly where she wanted her hair cut to.
The stylist asked me if that was what I wanted.
Of course, I said "yep!" (I've wanted her hair in a bob for years!)
And she started cutting.

Georgie had to hold very still and she did an excellent job, especially for a wiggly 3 year old.

Once the cut was finished, Georgie looked a little unsure...

until we took the cape off of her & she saw it for real.

She was one happy girl! Just how she wanted it.

Then it was my turn.
I had no idea what style I wanted other than: shorter and not so bulky... and to still be able to pull it back if I want to (which I am sure I will want to!)
The stylist had a few suggestions.
I asked a few questions.
And then she got to work.

after:

I like it ok today, we'll see how tomorrow goes when I actually have to do something with it. That's always when I make the real decision about a hair cut -- a day or two later. But for today, I'm good with it. Georgia on the other hand, LOVES her hair!