He's no Kermit, but I surely love him...

The Road Less Traveled

I was supposed to go on a hike yesterday. I got up at 4:45am and while I drank my coffee I talked myself out of it. Bad decision. I felt like I wasted the whole morning. Around 8:00 I decided I could make the 9:45 spin class, but then I crawled in to bed with Mai as she was waking up and by the time we got done cuddling and she had read me the entire Space IQ book, it was too late to go (totally worth the extra hour of snuggle time, though!). Finally around 11:30am I decided to go for a swim, but then I remembered that I lost my swimsuit. I dug an old one out the other night and it wasn't until I was walking from out of the pool and to the sauna that I remembered why I quit wearing this one. One too many wears under my wetsuit and the entire butt seam and an inch to either side of it are completely see-through...as in "Hello butt crack, nice to meet you, most people keep you covered up, but I'm glad to see Julie is letting you see the sunlight today."

So, determined to swim, I headed to Sports Authority to find an athletic suit. After trying on at least 25, I ended up with a purchase. Got to the gym and continuing with the day's theme,  talked myself out of a swim. I did work out, though...so I'll pat myself on the shoulder for not being a total lamo. The Cybex can really get your legs pumping high. I kind of liked it.

But really, the day was a bust. I was all out of sorts about one thing or the other. Didn't want to spend 5 hours away from the kids while I hiked, but on the other hand, had no desire to actually play with the kids. I know, bad mom. It happens. Skipped church :-( and then stuffed my belly with a burger and fries and locked myself in my bedroom to watch Crazy Heart. I liked! Hit the hay and woke up in much better spirits today, so off to the gorge.

I decided that Ki and I should take the "more difficult" option up Dog today.

Normally by the time we get to this sign (about .7 miles into the hike) it seems quite ridiculous to make it even MORE difficult than it already is and so we always go right. Not today. Guess I needed to make up for yesterday's weenieness. To the left is the same elevation gain, but you do it in about a 1/2 mile less. Really the only up side I could see to this was that we would miss out on the You are freaking kidding me, I'm going to die hill.

So we continued on amidst many many many many thoughts that this was dumb. My ankles were killing me and my right calf was cramping so bad, but we carried on. I started to wonder where this trail would hook up with other one, when we came upon a familiar looking log bench and I realized we had just hooked up...
...right at the bottom of the.. You are freaking kidding me, I'm going to die hill.

CRAP.

We made it to the top in record time!! I wasn't feeling great, but I was happy it was done. Coming down hill we ran into Couloir, my TNT mentor from the '08 tri season and visited with her and her friend for a few minutes before hauling butt to the bottom. Since we made such good time, I decided today would be the day to stop and soak my feet in the very cool Columbia River. We found a perfect little beach.

If I had brought a suit, I would have sat all the way down in and taken care of the whole lower body, but my feet and ankles appreciated my effort.

I have at least three group hikes coming up in the next two months, so I'm super excited for some company!!

Got home and remembered I promised the kids we would plant flowers today, so we got to work on that and we're hoping for a good showing this Summer! So far we have in some Glads, Astilbe and Canna Lily. Tomorrow we'll plant some sunflowers, morning glory and zinneas.

Off to hydrate and shower! Hope you all had a good weekend!

Dog Mountain, Kids, Dog Mountain, Kids...

Yes, that's pretty much my life right now as you can see from my posts and pictures :-)

I've been sick all week. The only exercise has been in the form of dog walks. I was intent on getting a hike in this weekend, so...
At 4:50A!M! the freaking alarm went off.
At 4:51 a.m. Steve was still trying to get me to wake up to turn it off.
At 4:52 a.m. I had stumbled into the kitchen to turn on the coffee before plopping myself down on the couch to fall back asleep.
At 4:53 a.m. I heard a happy (and highly fevered) voice of Jack "Hi Mama! Aren't you glad I'm finally up?!?!"
At 4:54 a.m. I had children's tylenol in him and the cuddling started.

So...instead of getting an early start, I was watching Ben 10 Alien Force with a little boy who couldn't fall back asleep. I finally got out of the house at 6:20am and remembered the benefit of such early morning alarm clocks ringing

Bad pic, but you can tell the colors of my morning sky!! This was viewed to the constant coughing up of lung butter, but by the time we hit the trailhead, my lungs were clean and clear.

By 8:25am, I had a phone call from the girl child telling me she needed me home NOW to take care of her (sorry kiddo, I'm half way up a mountain)
and by 8:30am, Ki and I came to our first lookout

and took a seat on our favorite "Free My Soul" bench,

where we saw one lone bloomed balsamroot. I know this hill will be covered within a few weeks! Can't wait!!

We summited by 9:15. I finally got smart and brought myself two lunches (or I guess breakfast in this case) so that if Ki stole one, I could still eat. Actually, I made what I thought she would like and I was right. She gobbled up that turkey on whole wheat wrap with a generous amount of cream cheese and ate it so fast she started choking. Nice. Maybe today I'll get to use that Dog CPR I learned last month.
While she worked it all out, I was free to enjoy my tuna sandwich without interruption. Perfect!

Headed down the mountain with no troubles, a nice chat with Dad on the phone and then back to the trailhead and an uneventful trip home. I'm still not ready for St. Helens. I guess I usually go in pretty unprepared for most things, so it's not like it will be a first for me...

Tulip Festival

We had such a great time at the tulip festival yesterday.

Mai tried to fill some big shoes.

Then she had to run off some energy.

Jack wore braids and was not happy when he realized his mix-up.

Jack standing in a field of pink. (again...not happy with Mama...hehehe...Can you tell I love to torture him?)

We had fun with cousins.

Mai loves this little one much much much.

Look, we're riding in big wooden shoes.

Jack bungied.

Mai rode the bull (2 minutes trying to get onto the thing and only 3 seconds to get thrown off).

Jack used his noggin and found an easier way to get up on the bull. Climb up his head...

Then casually work your way back to the saddle...

We looked at lots of pretty flowers. Tulips - my favorite.

Julie is...

...a Certified Personal Trainer through The National Academy of Sports Medicine!!

WaaaaaaaaaaaHooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!

Jack's Turn

Jack finally got to go to baseball practice last night after last week being completely canceled due to rain. He was excited to get out there. It looked like he had a blast, but after it was done I asked him how it was and he gave me a "medium" hand signal. SO LIKE HIM!

I sat back and studied and let Mai take pictures to keep her busy and warm (it was SO cold out!)

Make a game of finding something positive in every situation. Niney-five percent of your emotions are determined by how you interpret events to yourself.


Attitude and personality are as important as experience and ability. Choose wisely.


Set peace of mind as your height goal and organize your entire life around it.


Remember, you only have to succeed the last time.


It is not failure itself that holds you back; it is the fear of failure that paralyzes you.

~ Great Words From Brian Tracy ~

Jesus, T-ball And My Sweetest Boy

First and most importantly - Happy Easter To Everyone!! I'm so excited about this weekend's services. I'm also gearing up for two birthday parties, studying and month end stuff for the business. I had the whole weekend kind of mapped out in my head for my "to do" list and it was making my heart pound a little too fast, so I've decided to take Mom's advice to "slow down and enjoy Easter". Me walking around all frazzled will do nothing but make me all the more frazzily...so I'm just taking it minute by minute - it will all get done.

Jack starts baseball next week, but this week was all about Mai. She was the only girl at practice on Wednesday, but that did not seem to bother her in the least. She was happily displaying her new mitt from Grampy. Do you see the pink stripes :-)

I see a future full of boys chasing her.

They didn't stand a chance - she's always in the middle of it all!

She takes the advice so well from Coach. I wish she would take Mama and Daddy's advice so eagerly...

And as promised...
My Sweetest Boy

Happy Easter!!!