Elle's 7th Birthday

Elle's birthday was September 26th. I am a little late getting this blog out. In fact, I haven't blogged since August. I am officially a blogging loser. Once the triathlon was over, so was my motivation. But....I have started training for the Rock 'n' Roll half marathon so maybe that will give me more motivation. Who knows.

Anyhoo, Elle had a swim party for her 7th birthday. We decided to have it at the club house of our condo. It turned out great. The kids had an awesome time. I can't say we spent less money, but a good time was had by all. Oh, well, maybe not for the kid in the back of this photo on the noodle. Apparently she almost drowned three times...even though she could stand up. That's a story for a different day. Here are a few pictures of the kids playing in the pool. If I was a great comedian, I am sure I could come up with a caption for this picture. Elle holding a cup and her friend with the bucket on her head. Any idea?

Look how big this girl is. I can't even believe it. Seven. How did that happen?

I already know the green clumps of "grass" on this cake look like poo. Elle loves this cake because it was a pet shop cake. Anyone who has kids Elle's age knows what pet shops are.

Here is Elle's second cake. Since she doesn't actually like birthday care, we made a rice crispy cake for her. The kids loved both.

Ryan and Sophia given a little knuckle.

I think Sophia had a good time.

What you can't see are the puddles of water on the floor as they ate their pizza sopping wet.

Hey good lookin. Love the smile.

Right before Elle perched in this chair she announced to everyone it was her birthday and everyone had to do what she says. Funny, she is still saying that and her birthday was a month ago.

We gave her our birthday presents the next day which included a new bike. She was very excited. So far we have practiced once. A couple more times and I think she will have it.

Oh, hey good lookin. You again?

I think you can guess what's on Pierce's list for his birthday. Look at him eyeing the bike with pure envy.

Happy 7th Birthday Elle. You are such a joy. I am so lucky to have such a wonderful daughter. I can't wait to see what this year brings.

Idaho Vacation

I am finally putting together the post for our vacation in Idaho. We did a nice job of planning for the Triathlon to be at the beginning so we could enjoy the rest of the time we had on vacation. Here is a picture of the house we stayed in from the dock. It was a great house. I couldn't even imagine what it would be like to live there. I think the kids wanted to move in for good. They had so much room to run and play as well as the swing set in the back. It took us a little while to get the city kids out of the house, but once they started playing they had a great time.

Elle and Janelle became fast friends. She still wants to know when Janelle is babysitting.

This is as far as Elle made it into the water. I think they were expecting the bath water like the Lake of the Ozarks. It was a little cooler then that so neither one of the kids would swim. Elle was a little braver, but no way was Pierce getting in.

We had a cooking contest while we were there. It started on Sunday and went through Wednesday. Lets just say we ate well on vacation. Here is Janelle with the winning dinner, enchiladas. They were yummy.

Don't ask me about this picture. I think it was the watermelon mojitos. Anyway, Keith and I had the disadvantage of going first. Ours was forgotten. We did make a new salsa that turned out great. I can't wait to make that again.

This is a great summer drink. Sweet tea vodka, lemonade, and a fresh squeezed lemon. Did I mention that one of the contest categories was cocktails?

Jenni made this, fried ice cream. Wow. One of the things that Bud always wanted to do was go panning for gold. The kids had a great time. Unfortunately Pierce put his thumb on the camera lens and most of my pictures turned out blurry.

The stream was a great place for frog catching.

After I finally realized there was a finger print on the camera lens, I was able to get some good photos. This was after the kids and I headed back to the car. Everyone else was still panning but the kids were bored.

Since I am usually the ones taking pictures it was nice to get a few with me and the kids.

I love this picture. I was trying to take it of all four us but our faces didn't fit. It's cute.

I love this picture of the kids. It's amazing how much they look alike except the color of their eyes. They have the same smile, nose, and lips, but their eyes are such different colors.

More food. These ribs rock. I am actually making them tonight for our Labor Day dinner.

The house had a fire pit down by the beach. We all sat around making s'mores.

We ended the night with s'mores and began it with cinnamon roles.

The kids loved playing on the equipment at the city park. Look at the legs on that girl. Oh my, we are in for a world of hurt in a few years.

This is a devilish grin if I ever saw one.

Pop Pop and Elle.

The kids had a great time riding in the canoes.

I am so in love with this boy right now. He is at the perfect age. Some of the things he says are just a riot. He is still attached to Elle at the hip, but he has started developing his own little personality. He is just too dang cute. I want to eat him up.

This is the group (minus Jenni's parents) that made the trip. It was a really great time. Everyone got along well. The week just flew by. Thanks everyone for making the trip to support us in the Triathlon. It made for a great vacation. I am up for another one (vacation I mean), how about you?

Birthday Fun

Saturday night a bunch of us got together to celebrate my birthday. It was really just an excuse for an "adult" night out, but it was great. Keith took care of arranging it and calling my friends which was nice. I was surprised with how many people came considering it was pretty far north for most people. That made it cool. Here are a few pictures from that night.

My friend Belen with Keith. She is crazy. It's hard to believe I've known her for about 13 years. She is one of the first people Keith and I met when we moved to Phoenix. She has been doing my hair since then and is awesome.

Jessica and Matt. They left their little one at home for a nice night out. You can't see it in this picture, but Matt had a big girlie drink to start with. He downed that sucker and went to something more manly. Don't worry Matt, I won't hold it against you. :)

Apparently Lucy and I discussed our outfits before we came.

Gail and Larry. They are always a lot of fun.

The shot that Belen has was intended for me. Many of you know that I haven't done a shot since October 31, 1999 for reasons I would rather not discuss.

Jake showed up towards the end of the night. I have to say, he was kind of like a dog in heat around Belen. Who can blame him, she's pretty hot.

Belen enjoyed teasing him the whole night. I had a lot of other pictures but for some reason my camera kept blurring. Rich, Jennifer, Julie, Jason, Jim, Jenni, and Janelle all came. I never noticed, but I think I really like people whose names start with J.

Overall I had a great time. Thanks everyone for making the trip.