Memorial Day

We had a wonderful evening at the Anders's home tonight for the Memorial Day festivities tonight. The kids had a great time playing in the play room and the backyard and the adults had a great time chatting around the kitchen:) Casey and Christy came over as well, I just adore them:) Creighton grilled up a delicious meal of shrimp, chicken, snap peas, asparagus, corn on the cob and russet potatoes. Simply Delicious. Alison made an amazing berry and rhubarb crisp for dessert with my brownies. The food was amazing and I am STUFFED!! :)

Inflation Nation

Alison & Emma asked Cy and I to join them at Inflation Nation today. We were excited to go. We love the Anders and we LOVE bouncy houses!!!

Choo Choo brownies!!

Memorial Day Brownies

I had this gluten free brownie mix that I have been meaning to make and what a perfect day to make them but Memorial Day. They were really good actually. I used applesauce and coconut oil which gave them a delicious coconutty flavor. I also added chocolate chips which can really never be wrong!! I think these will look better as little cakes. The ticket is the icing I think, I will try these again for Cy's birthday. Yum!

Seal Team

Creighton has been trying to get me to go to Seal Team training for awhile now. Every once in awhile they will have a "bring a friend" day and that day was today. So, I decided to join him. I was nervous about going because I have heard how hard these workouts are but I was comfortable going with Creighton. The workout was from 8 - 9am at the Carillon. We started with some running, push ups, bear crawls, crab walking, more running, elevations (lifting people above our heads), sit ups, wall jump, tricep pushups, steps, running, sprints, high knees, and more push ups. What a GREAT workout! I loved it!!! I can't wait to go back again!! 

Surviving the Sunshine

Cy and I went to Target this afternoon to get one of those little round blue plastic pools for him to just hang out in when he gets too hot in the backyard this summer. Of course, as soon as we got to the aisle with all the pools my idea changed!! We found this big inflatable one that is 10 feet long and a few feet wide. It is called the "family" pool and holds almost 300 GALLONS of water! Now, I know it's kind of "ghetto" to have an inflatable pool in your backyard but when you live in a rental and don't want to shell out a few thousand dollars to join a country club, this is what we get:) I am perfectly happy with it. We blew it up and filled it up and it fits us perfectly:) Just what we needed to survive this summer Virginia heat!!

Now, if the sun will just do it's job and warm up that water I would get in it:)

Farmer's Market

The Farmer's Markets are opening again all over the city. We didn't really partake in these last year as we arrived mid-june and frankly, it just wasn't on our radar at that point. However, going to the Markets are a weekly occurance for most people in this city so we're going to jump on the wagon this summer. We kick it off with a bang this weekend at the Forest Park Farmer's Market with the Anders. We found some great greens and veggies and local whipped honey with cinnamon...and then we found cookies and bagels and donuts for ourselves to munch on.  Yes, I could get used to this:)

Middle School Prank

We had our Middle School Roast at Steward on Friday.  The 8th grade students get to "roast" teachers and remaining students as they graduate and move up the ranks to high school.  I have made a point this year to tell my students to broaden their music choices to include other artists than Justin Bieber and other boy bands. So, in order to "roast" me, two of my students got me a life size cut out of Justin Bieber! It was hilarious!! I am going to have to find a way to gently leave this behind next year as this is not the kind of impression that I am trying to make at Collegiate;)

Shrooms

Cy and I found these mushrooms in our front yard. These were the first Cy has seen growing (other than the grocery store). He was super excited about them! We had to talk about how they are not the same mushrooms found in our salads and it's not ok to eat them from the yard. He is such a smart boy:)

Best Bud...

Cy and I were talking today, and he told me that I am his "best bud in the woooooooolllle wowld". Melted my heart. I love my little man:)

Summer Food:)

I have decided that since summer is on the horizon, my family and I are going to reassess our eating as of late. With both of us working so much and how hectic our nights are, I am not always happy with the food that I prepare for my family. So, I we are going more fruit/veggies/lean meats during the summer with the occassional sweet stuff. Our delicious "Forks Over Knives" started tonight:) Cy ate nearly every bit of it. The only part he wasn't interested in eating was the jasmine/brown rice and barley mix (which was delicious but the colors threw him off) and the olives. Other than that, he ate as much as I did. Between the two of us (Brad was in DC today/tonight), we ate every bit of this meal!

This is a picture off "ForkYes", my friend Lydia's blog. Pretty close I would say:)

Dominion River Rock Festival!

"Dominion Riverrock presented by Subaru is the East Coast's premier outdoor lifestyle festival, bringing athletes, spectators, musicians, and even dogs to Brown’s Island and Historic Tredegar for a three-day festival against the backdrop of downtown Richmond’s urban riverfront. The festival features a variety of outdoor sports including trail running, kayaking, biking, bouldering, stand up paddleboarding, slacklining and dog jumping. The event was designed to promote Richmond’s unique riverfront, downtown trails and whitewater rapids to outdoor enthusiasts. As a result of the creation of Dominion Riverrock, there is a stronger appreciation for the value of outdoor recreation throughout the entire Richmond region.  All events and concerts are FREE to spectators!"

There is really not much more I can add to this. We had a phenomenal Colorado-type weekend this weekend in Richmond and it was awesome!! My favorite part (besides our races) was the climbing. It was so great to see these people, especially the girls, just tearing it up this weekend. They are so strong, and inspiring. Part of me misses those days when all I did was climb, but then I look at my sweet family and am reminded of how lucky and blessed I am to be exactly where I am at this moment in my life. That being said, those chicks brought it, and it was great to witness!!

sweet shot of the little man and I:)

Urbane Assualt Mountain Bike Race

Brad entered the Beginner Division of the Urbane Assualt Mountain Bike race at RiverRock.  His race consisted of a 10 mile ride through Brown's Island and Belle Isle. He KILLED it. He's not a racer and doesn't do it often, but he should! He placed 2nd out of 90 with a time of 55:31 (just 2 minutes behind the winner). I am so proud of him!!

 Coming through the finish line!!!

 Podium finish!!

So proud of you babe!!

River Rock 10K Scramble!!

I participated in the Rock Scramble 10K at Dominion RiverRock last weekend. It was a great course. It started on the corner of 5th/7th on Tredeger street and ran over the bridge to Manchester, down and up through the Mayan Ruins and then dumped onto Buttermilk, 535past the Lower section put in, up Browns Island and back over the pedestrian bridge to the finish line.  Creighton and I decided to run it together, which I was excited about. But, I shot out at the start and lost him about 5 minutes into the race;( I have a hard time holding back in races and I know he wouldn't have wanted me to anyway. My first mile was 6:52 and slowed steadily there as I got further into the race and onto the trail portion of the run. I finished up at 48:53, a 7:53 min/mile pace, which was awesome for me. Actually, to date, my fastest 10K time is 48:18 on roads so I was really happy with this time. Truth be told, a lot of the race was on single track and there were a LOT of guys behind me, breathing down my neck...so I had to go as fast as I could.

I finished 9th out of 117 in the division 30 - 39 and 21st out of 315 woman overall. I was very happy with my race.

Mama Needs New Shoes!

Keen Shasta WP

I won a pair of Keen shoes at the Urbane Assualt Bike Race in March and finally got around to ordering a pair of them. Brad really wanted me to pass of these shoes to him, and I thought about it, but I really need a pair of hiking/trail running waterproof shoes. I had to throw my last pair out after Kimmy and I's backcountry backpacking adventure up to Long lake in the Zirkels. So, I found these and hope they are going to work perfectly. They're cute too:)

School Photos...

Cy took his very first school photos at KinderCare this month. They turned out great! Totally cheesy poses on the lamo backgrounds, which is perfect and as it should be:) He is a doll!

Defensive Driving Class:(

Well, I got pulled over a few months back for going 45 in a 35...that is So annoying. What is more annoying is that now I have to take a Defensive Driving course. Luckily, I can take it on line but it is TAKING forever. Plus, I am easily distracted so I keep doing other things. It's supposed to take 8 hours..arghhhh!!

Cyrus Sherwood Cooke

                                                    Can it be, Cy is almost THREE?

Here we are, 2.5 years later and we have a full blown boy on our hands:)

Cyrus is 21/2 years old now and he is such a sweet boy. I thought I would write down some of his favorites and things that he doesn't like at this point in his life so someday we can read through them together and share these memories.

He is going to school full time now at KinderCare and really enjoying it. He wakes up everyday ready for school and absolutely loves his class. His teacher, Ms. Carla, is amazing and he talkes about her as his friend. He has a number of other friends in his class that he likes and talks about, and there is one boy, Andreas, that he really doesn't like and is vocal about. I hate to think that he has a mean part to his spirit but apparently, he and Andreas get into it sometimes (sometimes Cy starts it and sometimes Andreas does) and have to be seperated!!

He is still my little angel. He is very opinionated and will tell me when he thinks I am wrong about something. The cool thing about this age is that he is also very rational. For example, if I tell him he can't do something and explain why, he is quick to understand and agree with me. If I just tell him 'no' about something, he will rarely accept that as an answer.

He is very smart, and I'm not just saying that:) He can count to 20 by himself, he recognizes all his letters and numbers, he knows his name and his friends names, he talks to me about things like volcanoes, bald eagles, and rockets. He loves Skylar and Henry and talks to them like they are people which I adore.

He is pretty much fully potty trained now. He had a big set back at his old school but is on the up and up at the new school. He hasn't had an accident in weeks and is quick to tell me and his teachers when he needs to go to the potty.  He still sleeps in a diaper simply because I am not interested in washing his sheets each morning.

He goes to bed at 7:30 and we have to wake him each morning at 6:30 for school. He naps from 12 - 2 at school. He has become a very picky eater which I am not enjoying. His breakfasts are either cottage cheese, cereal, yogurt, eggs, or shares a smoothie with me. He usually eats a HUGE breakfast and then just nibbles the rest of the day. For dinner he loves salad right now which is great. He also loves noodles and rice. I can't get him to eat any vegetable except cucumbers and romaine on his salads. I wonder when he'll grow out of this phase.

He has started really kissing both Brad and I. He grabs our faces with both hands and smashes his lips to ours. It totally makes Brad super uncomfortable but I love it:)

Cy LOVES to read and knows his favorite books by heart. He can say the sentences before I do when I am readying to him. Currently, his favorite bed time book is the "Buddha Book" which has stories with morals. He also loves Bob The Backhoe and anything Bob The Builder.

He LOVES trains. He is obsessed with them. He talks about them constantly and wants to watch them and read about them all the time. When I picked him up from school today, he had arranged his crackers into a choo choo train.

He swims like a fish. He can swim from me to the "safe place" very well, do the choo choo to the steps, climb up, jump back in and swim back to me. He can swim to the bottom to retrieve items. He can take a breath by himself but only when he's in a panic about running out of air.

He says things that melt my heart, "Mommy, I really loooove you". I heard him telling Daddy the other night how "nice" I am. He always has opinions about what he wants to do, where he wants to go, and what he wants to eat.

I love this little man to pieces. I can not imagine my life without him and finally understand what true love is. There is nothing in this world like raising a child and having that child learn to love you completely and trust you fully. There is nothing better.

Peonies

One of my sweet students, Abigail Herring, brought this beautiful bouquet to me this morning from her mother's garden. I love teaching:)

James River State Park

We had a phenomenal weekend camping at the James River State Park. It was beautiful weather and Todd, Sallie, Hailey, Katie, Doc & Jill were there. What fun we had:) The weather was perfect, mid-70s with a breeze all day and cool enough at night for a fire and some snuggling;)  We mountain biked, I trail ran each day (6 miles) and Brad came with me on Sunday for my run, we hiked, we enjoyed the river and we enjoyed each other. I think we're going to have to make this a new tradition:)