Summer is meant for BASEBALL!!!

Jordyn giving Jalen some advice before he goes up to bat!!!

Mom and I got done with our fun afternoon of picking rocks, and decided to head up to Genola to watch the boys play ball. Below is Jalen waiting for his turn to bat!

Here comes Terryl across home to score!
Here is Jalen swinging for the fences. . . when he connects with that ball, it is gonna be OUTTA here!

Grandma's Marathon Weekend!

Grandma's Marathon has become a tradition for me to attend every summer, and this June was no different. In the past I have volunteered at water stops and in the Med tent at the finish line. Last year I worked up the nerve to actually run the half marathon with a goal only to finish alive. I loved it and was ready to run again every year after that. The first problem, it is a lottery system, and out of a few of us that registered, Adam was the only one who was drawn. Two days before the race, I found Chad a bib number some guy was selling on Craig's list, so he decided to run it as well. In the pic below, we caught them at mile 8, and is that a smile on Chad's face???

Let me just say, I was very jealous of the both of them. Coming across that finish line with all those people cheering and ringing their cow bells is the best feeing ever. . . oh yeah and did I mention all the food they have for the runners at the end: turkey sandwiches, ice cream, chips, cookies and FRUIT. . . all the fresh fruit you can dream of.
Here is Adam after the race still smiling (hey maybe if he is still so happy, he could run the full marathon :-)
Here are some shots of Adam and Angela (above) and Chad and myself (below). Angela and I made shirts so that the boys could see us cheering from a long ways away.

Another day. . . Another storm

The falling rain dissolves into mist

And the thunder begins to die

As the sporadic lightning fades

An arch of color pours from the sky.

Rainbows appear after mighty storms

When things look their worst

Just when the sky is darkest gray,

Out of Heaven does a rainbow burst.

God first sent the rainbow to Noah

As a sign that His word is true

The rainbow's eternal message

Still speaks to me and you.

The rainbow is a sign of God's promise

That He will guide us through any storm

That He will ease all our troubles,

No matter what their form.

When you feel battered by life's storms

And you are filled with doubt and dismay

Just remember God's rainbow is coming,

For it's blessing you have only to pray.

Nothing beats a. . .

bike ride on a beautiful day!!!

Mom, dad and I planned on riding in the Unity ride today, and at check in, we ran into Kristie (a cousin on my mom's side)! She had come to the ride by herself (brave soul!) and she joined us. We pledged our money, and rode 25.1 miles (40.4 kilometers according to my speedometer)! Check out the awesome t-shirts we got (notice dad and Kristy modeling them). (And Sarah. . . look closely at my shorts, recognize them??? They are hand me downs from you to me!)

Rough day!

Seeing all the damage throughout the state with all these storms lately, I consider us very lucky to only have had one tree down, and some sticks! However, this squirrel may have had a different opinion. After cutting up the tree that came down in one of the recent storms, dad pushed over this dead tree that mom had wanted him to get rid of for quite a while now. In the process of getting the log on the loader, I heard a "squeak squeak" interpreted by me as "help help" So I made dad stop the tractor, cause I thought there was a bird in the tree. To my surprise, there was a baby squirrel in the hole. I asked (well. . . begged) dad to leave the tree til the next day, I was sure that the mom would come and take care of the baby. Well, we were gone for 15 minutes, and the mom was in the hole with the baby, protecting it. A couple hours later, while I was looking out the window, I saw the mom squirrel go hop hop hopping across the lawn, with the baby in her mouth, moving him (or her) to a new safe home. It just made my day. . . thanks to me, there will be more squirrels to eat corn and make a mess in the yard!!

I sure do miss this crew!

OT Pyramid!

The whole gang!

Katie, me and Ali

Me, Becca and Ali (havn't been able to wear these white capris since Cali, too cold in June in Minnesota!)

On the pier in Huntington Beach. Chad's cousin Kelly (far right) took us out one nite when we were in Cali for an OT conference.