Wordless Wednesday: Artistic Siblings

Spring Run-Off

With all the snow we had over the winter, it's no wonder there is so much water. There has been flooding in the low lying areas. Upriver Dam (just a mile from our house) had 5 gates open with water just gushing out. I don't think 5 gates have been open since I've been here (almost 15 years....wow! has it been that long already? wow!) Also, Spokane Falls downtown is a quite a site. Even Mt. Spokane had flooding. The river flooded over the roadway and caused havoc on the one and only road up the mountain.

Spokane Falls from downtown

(pictures taken from the local news website)

24 Hour Mountain Bike Race

Once again we enjoyed our Memorial Day Weekend at Riverside State Park for the 24 hour mountain bike race. This is the 9th year it's been held, and our 9th year participating. Daryl organized a 7-man team to race around the clock from noon on Saturday until noon on Sunday. The course was approx. 15 miles. This year, they had to reroute part of it due to the high river. The normal course was totally under water. All in all it was a good lap. With a 7-man team, each rider did 3 laps. They all had really fast times and I think they all enjoyed themselves too.

Le Mans style start

Thanks to Deb for being our team volunteer and working the course for a 4 hour shift. I really appreciate you taking that on for us. And Great Job to all our team members: Mitch, Josh, Ron, Jey, Chris, Rob and Daryl. You guys were awesome!

watching the racers go by from our camp

We set up camp in our "usual" spot and were fortunate enough to have great weather. My sister, Lisa, and her son, Lucas, came over from Seattle to watch the race. The 6 of us (Daryl, Henry, Natalie, Lisa, Lucas and myself) all slept in the tent trailer Friday night before the race. Unfortunately, Natalie hasn't been feeling very well this last week (some kind of stomach bug) so she had a rough night (as well as rough days). Needless to say, Daryl was the only one to sleep in the trailer on Saturday night. The rest of us went home to take showers and sleep in our own beds. Ahhhh. Luckily, we only live about 25 minutes from the course site so leaving camp wasn't that big of a deal. Hopefully next year, we can camp both nights. I hope Natalie will be sleeping through the night by then....she will be 2, she should, but you never know with my kids :)

Cheering on the bike riders

All in all it was a fun weekend. Natalie is feeling much better today and is all smiles and giggles, a side no one at the race was able to see. Oh well. She can be a good kid when she is feeling good.

Henry, Lucas, Daryl, Natalie and Jacob (l-r)

Again, Congratulations team Patriot Fire. I think you guys placed 6th out of 19 corporate teams. YIPPEE!!

Weight Loss Update

I almost forgot about Daryl's weight loss challenge. The challenge started January 1st and went until May 1st. It's only the middle of May and I'm just now reporting the results. Anyway, to recap, at work there were 4 guys who challenged each other to lose 20 lbs by May 1st. If you didn't lose the 20 lbs, it cost you $100 in the pot. If you did lose the 20 lbs, then you were safe in the fact that it didn't cost you any money. The person with the highest percentage of weight loss would win the pot. Well, 2 of the 4 guys didn't make it. I don't know h0w hard they tried, but that's another story. So the pot had $200 right off the bat It was between Daryl and one of his co-workers, Lou. Well, Daryl lost 21 lbs, and Lou lost 24. Daryl and Lou weighed the same on Jan 1st, so Lou won the $200. Congratulations Lou! And a big Congratulations to Daryl for staying with the program and losing all that weight. You look fabulous (and he says he feels so much better, too). This is a great start for summer. Good job, honey! I am so proud of you.

p.s. as for my personal weight loss program, it's going okay. I'm finally a few pounds lighter than my pre-pregnancy weight, so that's good. I'm hoping to lose a few more pounds for summer. Unfortunately, I am still a glutton for sweets (esp. cake) but I am pacing myself :)

TGIF

Yippee for Friday. Since Natalie's birthday, it's been a crazy couple of weeks, and I'm a little bummed that I haven't blogged in awhile. Just a quick update, hoping not to bore you:

• PartyLite: I finished my first 3 months of business and it's going pretty well. I have acquired quite a bit of stuff ( I am my biggest fan, you know) and hence I am still in the hole. Well....not really. I have oodles of gift certificates that I can use at a later date that makes me break even. Even so, I do have a lot of stuff. So...if anyone needs any PL, I AM YOUR CONTACT!
• Work is heating up and I actually have been going out of town for meetings (something I thought wouldn't happen until the kids were in school). Thankfully I have wonderful neighbors and friends who look after the kids while I'm gone. I'm hoping this does not become a habit. I'm not ready to go back full force....yet.
• SUNSHINE: It's finally spring here, or should I say summer. We have all been enjoying the outdoors this last week. And it's supposed to be in the high 80's over the weekend. Wow!

Other than that, I am looking forward to a fun and relaxing weekend of being domestic and just enjoying the great weather and my wonderful family.

Happy Birthday Natalie!

We celebrated Natalie's first birthday over the entire weekend. Wow, she had 2 birthday parties. Overkill, I know. The first party was on Friday night, which was her actual birthday (May 2nd). We had Daryl's family over for a pizza party, then cake and ice cream. It was nice to see everyone since it had been awhile since we were all together. Natalie had fun opening her gifts, although she enjoyed the wrapping more than the presents. Typical for a one year old.

Make a wish birthday girl

On Saturday, we celebrated again, this time with friends. I invited our friends and their children since Natalie really doesn't have any friends of her own at this age. It was a lot of fun. The theme was "April showers bring May flowers" and our "May flower" was turning one. The whole party was flowers, it was very spring-like. In addition, the weather was just perfect for a May Party so we were able to enjoy the festivities outside. I tried my hand with fondant and decorated cupcakes with bright colored flowers using cookie cutters, then I got this "as seen on TV" edible flower bouquet kit that I thought I'd try. It wasn't as hard as I thought, and it turned out okay. I may actually do it again.

Fondant flower cupcakes

Pineapple, watermelon and strawberry "Daisy Bouquet"

Then, on Sunday, Henry's friend, Avery, had his 3rd birthday party. His birthday is actually on the 2nd (same as Natalie) but he celebrated on Sunday. Once again, Natalie enjoyed birthday cake. She's probably on a sugar overload, but hey, it only happens once in a while.

A birthday cupcake for the birthday girl

All in all it was a fun weekend. My parents were with us. They came up from Arizona on their way back to Seattle so they were able to spend the weekend with us. Henry and Natalie really enjoyed their visit with Nana and Papa.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY LITTLE MAY FLOWER!