Un bell ievable

That was the name of our Ragnar team this year! I ran it with Ryan's family, and without Ryan who had the Father Family Campout to plan and execute. It was alot of fun to do with all of his cousins, one aunt, and his sister Ange. Our team was running in honor of George and June Bell, Ryan's amazing grandparents who both passed away within the last couple of years. It was a great time and I am so glad I did it again this year!




I got to meet up with Ryan and the kids before my second run in Huntsville as they were heading up to the Father Family Campout. I was sooo excited to see my family. This race always feels a week long for some reason.

Real Salt Lake

We hit the Real Salt Lake game this last week with Ryan's law firm. I love this summer event. A great dinner at the stadium beforehand and then a really fun game, in such a beautiful arena. It is always so fun. Bonus...David Cook was performing too.

Last day of First grade.....

Rex finished his last day of first grade. He and I are so excited for summer, but I was a bit sad to see this year go by so fast. First of all, his teacher was amazing. He has learned and grown so much, and she is just the sweetest person. She speaks in the most quiet voice, and yet the kids just respond to her every time she speaks. It always amazed me the effect she had on them. What a memorable teacher. Secondly, it is always sad to see another year go by so fast. Rex will be in Second grade, really growing up, and it also means Lucy will be starting Kindergarten. Sometimes I sit back and realize how fast time is going and although I love watching my kids grow up so nicely and love seeing their strengths shine through, I do get so sad thinking about them getting older. It is definitely bitter sweet.
The last day was all sorts of fun, with everyone meeting outside the school, including most of the parents to sing The National Anthem and bring the flag down until next year. Then the kids get their report cards with their next year teacher in it. Then they are let out for the summer. Rex played with friends the whole afternoon, we hit Hires and then he and Lucy met up with friends in Lizzie's backyard for a movie on the big screen. It was a really fun day!

Rex waiting with his class to stand for the National Anthem and let the summer 2010 begin.

Rex and Ms. Lindsay

Rex and his buddy Jack with their very fresh summer buzzes (I don't know how Rex talks me into this every year)




Lucy, Molly, Jane, and Katharine posing in the Snows yard right before we headed up to the school to meet up with Rex.


We are so ready for snowcones and sprinklers. Now if we can just get that summer weather to hit us.

Busy Kids

Always said I didn't want busy kids. Still don't. There are a lot of reasons for that that have to do with creativity and daydreaming and all that, but now I have another reason. Busy kids make busy parents. Seems like most Saturdays lately allow fifteen minutes for yard work and no time for any relaxing at all. The upside, of course, is that whatever the kids are doing usually pays off in really entertaining ways. So we have busy kids. It's not how I'd set things up in a vacuum, but I'm not sure what I'd have them give up either. You want Rex to drop soccer, or baseball? Do you want Lucy to not do her play, or Molly not to do her dancing? None of these are acceptable outcomes. So the yard suffers. But the kids thrive.




Take last Saturday, for example. We kicked things off with Molly's dance recital. Do you think she was excited to put on this outfit?






Molly stole the show. Not figuratively. Literally, she walked out in front of the other girls and took a position right out in front, just because she could. Sorry to the other girls, but I guess that's showbiz.

Molly Glo-bug Dance from Ryan on Vimeo.

We ran right from the recital to Rex's end-of-season soccer team barbecue. He played his final game without us there, but we were there for the medal ceremony. He has had an outstanding season in which he kept increasing his hustle and skill set. It's been really fun to watch.


After the barbecue, we got a little yard work done. Then it was time for Rex's baseball game. He's become a really excellent slugger in the past few games. He hit three doubles in a row that game, and was really socking the ball. It's been a lot of fun to see him apply his considerable focus to yet another sport.

Rex Slugging from Ryan on Vimeo.

That was all last Saturday. Of course, just a few Saturdays ago, we did all the scheduled athletics plus Lucy's play, which was so much fun to watch. Okay, the parts Lucy was in were so much fun to watch. I couldn't help but notice that even though she sometimes doesn't pay tons of attention to the dance steps or the words of a song, that girl really exudes charisma and energy on stage. She was really a blast to see up there.

Lucy Play Performance from Ryan on Vimeo.