More May Fun

Mike has been so available for the kids throughout the last two months, and Elliott has been eating it up! I'm sure Lucy loves it too, but she is in school so much that she doesn't get to enjoy it too much. Elliott is loving making space-ships with his Legos, and this day, he got Dad's help:

This is a random picture, but it is a sweet little Archie-Mommy moment. Look what a little snuggler he is!

By the way, he is a 9 pounder now! He is now, at 7 weeks old, the same size that Elliott was when he was born! He is a little chunky boy. He looks about the same size, he is just filled out; his skin just looks tighter. Super cute. Here is a picture of his little double-chin:

This is what his little legs used to look like...all wrinkly with loose skin:

And this is his roly-poly thighs now:

In other news, we have always had a big sinkhole right off of our driveway, and this spring the city decided to fix it. Enter SUPER EXCITED ELLIOTT. We sat outside and watched the construction, It was like Elliott's own private dream movie.

One weekend in May, Mike decided to take the kids camping at the sand dunes nearby to test out our new 1958 camper. Archie and I stayed home, and Mike and the kids had some adventures from Friday to Saturday.

Inside the camper.

Climbing the dunes.

Lovely Lucy.

This picture explains the buckets of sand that poured out of the laundry machines after the trip.

Dad is a supreme camping-cook. The kids are enjoying that in this picture.

They fished a little bit on the trip. Fishing with the kids is always tricky because Mike is always helping, so he can't do much fishing, Elliott just likes to cast for a bit and then gets bored, but Lucy, without fail, ALWAYS catches a fish. Usually the first fish, the most fish, and the biggest.

She caught two like this. What a gal. She likes to fish, but isn't too fond of the fish themselves. I love the look on her face.

Thanks for taking the kids out Dad! Maybe next time Archie and I will join you!

On the Road Again

Today I started the Couch to 5k program. I have to say that it's a bit depressing to be starting on the couch when I was racing a 5k this time last year. I can't decide if it's comforting or discouraging to think that it is actually Operating Table to 5k, or Pregnancy to 5k, while pushing a jogging stroller!! Anyway, it's hard and I am starting from scratch. I've done this before, I can do it again. Please pray for me, encourage me, send me good vibes, I'll need all the help I can get!

I have a cool app to help me though, that's always fun.


The program gets you ready for a 5k in 9 weeks. I'm a bit more tentative. My goal is to run a 5k by September. After all, it is pregnancy to 5k for me. I'll find a race to run in September and get in it! I have another, longer-term goal; last year I raced against Coach Pete, next year, I'll BEAT Coach Pete. There, it's in writing, now I'm accountable, I HAVE to do it!

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Korean Visitors

On May 15, Harmony's sister and Brother in law came in from Korea. They came to celebrate Harmony's and his 60th birthdays. In Korea, the 60th Birthday is a huge deal, like 100 in America. In Korean, Uncle is Emobu, and Aunt is Emo. They have never been anywhere like America, and they don't speak ANY English. Ok, that's not true, they can say "Hi, same, Thank You". Anyway, they are the sweetest, neatest people. Mike knows them pretty well, and Lucy and I have met them once, in Korea when Lucy was 1, so we are so excited to see them again. It is easy to see where Harmony gets her enthusiasm and energy, it must run in the family. They are loving the new experiences and always game to try new things. Here are some of the fun moments:

Meeting Archie at Harmony's house.

Habi is the master baby-burper. It looks pretty cute too.

First trampoline experience. They stayed on and jumped and sang for about a half an hour.

This is Emo doing the actions to a Korean folk song, Santoki.

My sister-in-law, Kristine posted the words on her blog, and I borrowed them from her. Thanks Kristine! Here they are:

English Lyrics

First Verse:
Mountain bunny, bunny
Where are you going?
Bouncing, bouncing as you're running.
Where are you going?
Second Verse:
Over the mountain peaks, peaks
I will climb them on my own
Plump, plump chestnuts
I will find and bring

Korean Lyrics Transliterated

First Verse:
San-toki, toki-ya
Uh-dee-reul gah-neu-nyah?
Kang-choong, kang-choong tee-myun-suh
Uh-dee-reul gah-neu-nyah?
Second Verse:
San-go-gae go-gae-reul
Nah-hon-jah nuhm-uh-suh
to-shil to-shil ahl-bahm-eul
Joo-wuh-suh ol-tae-yah

Bonding at our house.

They brought the kids Korean pajamas. They are so cute, and the kids have worn them every night that I'll let them!
They leave June 15, and they have a full schedule until then. They are on their way to Vegas tomorrow, and the Grand Canyon next week. We don't get to go with them, but I know they'll have a great time. Maybe next year we can go visit them in Korea!! Ahhhh, a girl can dream.

May-hem!!

I found some more pictures of when Pappa and Gramma were here. It was so nice to have my Mommy and Daddy here for a while . They are such amazing examples of service and love. My Mom did a great job at reminding me to take it easy and that it's ok to take a nap (as if I need reminding!). Actually, I did need reminding, she was great. They helped Mike with the kids, they ran errands (thanks Dad), and they kept the kids feeling loved and attended to. Elliott was especially excited to spend time with Pappa. It was a welcome distraction for him and helped him adjust to all the newness of having Archer here. We were sorry to see them go. So, in order for us to remember it forever, here are some pictures!

Gramma Karen got Archie all dolled up for church. Lucy wanted him to wear shoes, and these are the only ones we had. Not quite small enough! Too cute.

Pappa oversaw the making of Elliott's fort. Of course there is plenty of tape, it is a dog-proofing gate. It worked too, Eddie was quite confused by it.

Pappa having a moment with Archie:

I love this picture because Archie looks like he's telling you to "call me". hee hee
Elliott loving his brother.

There is plenty of construction going on very close to our house, and Elliott couldn't be more excited. He is looking forward to the new traffic lights going up by the Maverik gas station. We stopped by and let him get a picture by the lights. It is crazy how big they are. Mike says it looks like a photo-shopped picture because of the proportions.

Lucy loves to do her makeup. Lovely Lucy.
Some cones outside of Costco were just too much like construction cones for Elliott to resist.

Gramma got in on the action too!

When the weather is nice, we like to take outings to the gas station. The road construction has helped us out because they finished the sidewalks so it is smooth riding all the way! Here is our first trip.

Even Archie was able to join us.

This is Elliott's cold face. I think it's a brain freeze!
I love the summer!! I can't wait to have more adventures, take more pictures and post more summaries!!! Thank you Mother Nature for the summertime and my lovely family to share it with!

Merry Month of May

We didn't celebrate Cinco De Mayo properly this year because of various scheduling conflicts but we were still able to have some fun. May 5th just happened to be the first day this year to reach over 75 degrees, which is our magic number for playing in the water!! Not me, of course, but the kids love it. We got out the hose, and had a little agua fiesta!

Lucy saw a butterfly so she ran to the garage to grab her butterfly net Gramma and Pappa gave her last year. Unfortunately, she got it wet and could no longer use it to catch butterflies. Fortunately, they discovered a butterfly net is a great rainbow-maker.

75 degrees isn't quite warm enough for extended play, so they soon called it a day and headed inside to warm up. Fun times though.

Then, on saturday the 7th, two exciting things happened: Gramma and Pappa arrived, and a grandfatherly neighbor called and invited the kids to make bird-houses; something he does every spring with the neighborhood kids.

Here are some pics of the creative process:

Picking out the perfect houses...

they look ready for decorating... (Lucy had put on makeup this morning...thus the rosy blush)

painting prep...
Elliott's begun...
Lucy is not far behind...

Elliott's masterpiece...

Lucy's masterpiece.

Our May was super-fun. We're not finished yet!

Spring Preschool Days

Elliott's preschool has been so great this year. He attends a Lutheran preschool in town with a little friend of his and he loves it. We have loved the adorable crafts, the freedom of expression and playtime, and his bible stories he comes home with every week. He has been busy there this spring. He had a Spring Sing at the Lutheran church a few weeks ago, and a nature walk field trip to the land behind the church. We loved the spring sing...it was so cute! So many wonderful songs with great hand motions and rhythm sticks. We recorded the songs on my iphone and took a few pictures on Mike's phone. The next day we lost my phone. HUGE BUMMER!!! We don't have any videos now, it is heartbreaking! But, we do have few pictures that Mike took with his phone, so enjoy!

Last week, Elliott had a fun little walk behind the church grounds. Archie and I got to go with him for a while (feeding time cut our outing a little short). Here are some shots of that adventure.

Each kid got a little brown bag to collect interesting things . Here is Elliott prancing through the field looking for nature.
Proof that Archie was on this adventure with us.
Elliott is always ready for a photo op. He's looking handsome posing on the rocks. So handsome, in fact, that the rest of the class decided to join in:
Here is Elliott's class. Aren't they cute AND smart!?
Keep in mind, this is all within 2 miles of my house. Gorgeous.
Always a helper, even on his own field trip.
I love this pictures. The Pastor gave a devotional on the trip, and at the end they all had a prayer. Elliott loves to explain how they pray differently at preschool. This is his prayer pose at school. So sweet.
Nothing more fun than a hill and some sunshine. They ran up and down this hill for a while, loving how fast they could go on the way down.

Fun times. I can't believe he is going to Kindergarten next year! What a big boy.