My first triathlon

I've been waiting to post on this triathlon because I'm not sure which embarrassing pictures of myself to choose. I'm pretty much scantily clad. More then I am comfortable with anyway. So, if I'm posting them, go all the way, right? I didn't hold back:)

So, I took 3rd in my age group for the race. Pretty much fighting the disappointment, since I knew I could have done better. Chalking it up to 5 weeks of no training thanks to my psoas. At the same time, I realize how ridiculous I sound. And I did enjoy it. I'm trying to tell myself that is what counts, but honestly, I'm too competetive for that. I'm excited to do it again next year.

Jeff came over to our house at 4:25 am and Hans, Mia, and I made the journey to Denver. I started at 6:15. Swimming is by far my weakness. I did breaststroke for the whole thing. Next year I will have to do better on that one. I made up some ground on the bike and then passed tons of people on the run. I'm proud of myself for keeping up faster than an 8 minute mile after the other legs of the race and considering the race was really hilly.

So, now I am onto the half-marathon in a few weeks. I'm totally under-prepared. Maybe I can just do it for fun? Yeah, right.

A new camera

Hooray! I got a new camera. Since we didn't think spending money on our basement which flooded on Tuesday with all the rain was enough, or spending money on 4 shiny new tires for the van thanks to the flat we got on Friday was enough, we decided to go join Costco and buy a fancy new camera. I am really, really, really, really, really excited. That's about as excited as I get, by the way. A nice balance to the frustration for the first two events. Could this fall into the category of retail therapy?

My Ashley is 6!

Ashley is 6. So crazy. It's strange going through the last 6 years worth of pictures. So much has changed in our lives in the last 6 years. It all started with Ashley joining us. We got so lucky in Ashley. She is a sweet, loving, tender-hearted soul. She wants to do good and to be good. She is constantly assessing the moods of those around her and trys to make everyone happy. She is a great big sister and loves her siblings. She plays with them, helps them, and sets a good example for them to follow. We love her incredibly.

Ashley was my first traumatic birth by c-section. After laboring for a ridiculous number of hours the dr finally decided to do the c-section. The cord was wrapped around her neck 4 times. We are grateful she made it here safely. She was 6 lbs 4 oz.

Not quite sure how to describe the feelings of motherhood for the first time around. Pretty much just have to experience it, I think.

She had a little scare with her heart and spent a night or two in the NICU. After an echo on her heart at Primary Children's we were cleared to go.

Ashley at 1. She loved to stuff as many grapes into her mouth as possible. This reminds me that at one point in her life she did like fruit.

Another cute picture of Ashley at 1. She had so much personality. She was our entertainment. Look at all the blonde hair Jen. Maybe I will owe you cookies after all for Mia's hair.

Ashley at 2.

Ashley at 3. Isn't she beautiful?

Ashley at 4. Rachel is quite the photographer.

Ashley at 5. Not many kids have 3 siblings at barely 5. She's handled it beautifully.

Still at 5. Getting ready for the first day of school.

I took these today. She is 6! I need to take a real portrait of her. Ashley loves bugs, stuffed animals, swimming, gymnastics, crafts, school, friends, and her sister Katelyn (Katelyn just told me to write that down). She is a great swimmer. She can do 2 full laps of backstroke and of elementary backstroke. She has moved into the "advanced" gymnastics gymbolts class and is doing great. It was a little intimidating at first, but she is doing great. She has been a great babysitter to our neighbors caterpillars and enjoyed watching them all turn into butterflies. She has fed them from our lilac bush you see in the background and is really into the whole process. She is an amazing gal!

Ashley's party

We had a great party for Ashley. She invited her 7 friends from school and her cousin Elizabeth and sister Katelyn. It was great fun. We started the party by painting ceramic fish. Then they played outside in the sprinklers, on the trampoline, and on our neighbors swingset (don't tell them, please).
Then they came inside and we sang to Ashley and ate cookies with white frosting on them. Ashley doesn't like cake and ice cream. And opened presents. She was most excited about a webkinz dog she got and a digital camera. Both toys are so great for her, but require lots of hands on from me. I'm trying to teach her how to do them both herself. She is getting really good at the computer and using the internet. I've been impressed.

Then we finished the party off by making bug catchers. It was a great party. One of the better ones we've had and I think it's because there were fewer kids there and we were able to do more involved projects. It was great fun!

Misc.

Some more cute pictures from the month of July. Now we are onto August. These are pictures in our backyard with a gigantic swimming pool from my neighbors, which we promptly got a hole in thanks to Justin throwing rocks and driving cars on it. It was fun while it lasted. Also of cute Mia, Justin with his hand me down toys from Melanie, and Katelyn looking pathetic with strep throat. Ashley had it too, but was much more stoic. Everything hits Katelyn harder.

Pueblo

Pueblo is one of those strange cities in Colorado where roads aren't paved and it seems to be in the middle of nowhere. But I love going there because our fantastic friends from dental school live there, and now they have a waterski boat as well. We love the Sonntags! We drove down bright and early and went to their Stake activity at a kiddie ride place. The kids had a great time riding all the rides. They each have someone their own age. Ashley and Phillip, Katelyn and Porter, and Justin and Grant. Rosina is due this month with a baby for Mia. The girls are usually so shy and reserved around other kids, especially boys, but they don't hold back for the Sonntags. I'm grateful. They don't remember life before knowing them. We then went boating with them on Lake Pueblo. We had a great time and came home completely exhausted. Hans is totally in his element riding on the tube and being in the boat. He acts like a 12 year old boy. It makes me smile and love him more because his excitement is completely catching.

Glenwood Springs

We had such a great time in Glenwood Springs with the entire Heath family. There are a lot of us these days. I have 4 siblings, each married, and each with at least 3 children. So, I think the total was - 30. And I think the majority of people are under 6. We swam, went white water rafting, and did some pretty intense hikes. We hiked up to hanging lake which is a steep 1 mile hike. The girls did a great job hiking the whole thing themselves. I was proud of them. Hans and I took turns carrying Mia and Justin since he packed our hiking backpack and bjorn in the wrong car. (When I say pack something in the car do I need to specify the van?) Apparently so. It was a beautiful hike and turned into a really great sweaty workout too. I had gone riding on the trail up to Aspen with Hans, Michael, Jeff, and my Dad. It was really fun. Michael is by far the best rider I've gone with. I felt pushed, which was nice, but I couldn't keep up either. We also went rafting. Hans stayed home with Mia and I took the other kids. Justin probably should have stayed home as well. He loved the bus ride, but hated the boat ride. And it was 3 hours long. The girls loved it and jumped in the water and were brave about big waves going over the raft. Overall, the trip was fun. Glenwood springs is beautiful. I was grateful to have the trip be only 3 1/2 hours. I somehow left Justin's very favorite fire bike in Vail, so we took an emergency trip to Walmart to get another one. The kid lives on that thing.

I just attached the pictures and had to sing my praises (good thing you can't hear me) about cousins. I feel so grateful that my kids have cousins they love and they connect to. Thomas, who is 14 (?), is so great with Ashley. He treats her so well and she has a little crush on him. Joshua, Benjamin, and Jonathan love Justin and follow him around endlessly. He loves the attention. Katelyn has Elizabeth and is pretty much content to stop there. This trip was fun because Justin and Sara are only a month apart in age and realized how much they like each other. I hope we can see each other enough that they remember each other and don't lose those special bonds.

So, thanks Grandparents Heath for a great bonding family reunion! We loved it.

Fox Run

Hans has Thursday's off. I could go on and on about how wonderful it is. We feel entitled to it after a long, late Wednesday. The last few weeks have been especially crazy and stressful for Hans at work, so it's nice to have these added days to spend as a family. We get babysitters and go for bike rides, we go the swimming pool, do our errands, and relax, as much as I am capable of relaxing anyway. A few Thursdays ago we went to Fox Run park. It's so beautiful there. We went for a short hike, played at the playground, saw a really old turtle, fed the goldfish, waded in the pond, and hiked up the short stream. The kids had a great time and so did we. When we got home it poured rain. I love the afternoon thunder storms here. There haven't been as many this year, but we had a good downpour and the girls loved playing it for a long time. According to Justin, "this torm so scary." He stayed inside.

Anyone want to come help fold?

This is what is preventing me from doing what I want to be doing. So when it's done, I want to blog about my trip to Glenwood Springs, our family day at Fox Run Park, the kids all getting strep, and pictures of Ashley at each year of life (I'm only a month behind on that one...).

At least the bed is made under all of that. Somehow that makes me feel better.