Wordless Wednesday: Riding my bike

Progressive Dinner

I thought it would be fun to organize a progressive dinner with our neighbors. We planned it a couple months in advance so that everyone could participate and had it last weekend. It was a hoot! We had 5 families involved and we just moved from one house to the next for each course. We started with appetizers at the Shropes; then moved to salad at the Kush's; main course at the Aspinwalls; and dessert at the Jones'. You may be wondering, "what about the Lohstroh's?". Well, we thought we would all enjoy a "kid free" evening so all the kids, young and older, hung out at our house for pizza and pool time. I then helped Patti Aspinwall with the main course. I brought a side dish and vegetable. We enjoyed visiting with everyone and progressing from house to house. We actually all ended up at our house in the end to pick up the kids (I thought by not hosting a course I would get out of having adults over and having to clean my house....no such luck. They all came over to a kid rampaged house. Oh well)

In the end it was a fabulous evening. We all enjoyed the various courses and of course visiting with our wonderful neighbors. We are definitely going to do this again. It was so much fun. I encourage anyone to get together with neighbors, friends, and family and have a progressive dinner. You will love it!

Company Picnic

This year Daryl's company picnic was at Silverwood Theme Park. What a great place to have a summer outing. It's the only amusement park around here, and it is actually quite impressive. Before kids, Daryl and I used to go every once in a while, but haven't been for the past 3 years. My how it's grown. There is now a huge water park called Boulder Beach with a wave pool, lazy river and of course water slides. The Theme park has grown as well. They just added a new roller coaster called "Aftershock". Unfortunately, we weren't able to ride it this time. We were on a tight schedule since we had to leave early for our progressive dinner that same evening. And since it was a Saturday, it was very crowded with somewhat long lines. Needless to say, we spent the majority of our time in kiddie land which was perfect, actually. There were no lines and Henry was able to ride just about everything. He had a great time. Natalie went on the Ferris Wheel and hated it. She cried the whole time. Oh well. Maybe next year, when the kids are bigger, we can enjoy the park more. I can't wait!

Henry maneuvers the Red Baron

Henry and Patricia on the Ferris Wheel

Self portrait of Daryl and Natalie on the Ferris Wheel

Enjoying the choo choo train ride

Wordless Wednesday: I'm walking

Camping with the Cassie's

A couple of weekends ago, we went camping with our friends, the Cassie's. Nick and Ania have a 2 year old daughter, Olivia, who is a friend of Henry's. Ania's sister and brother are visiting from Poland and they joined us on our camping excursion. It was a lot of fun. We went to Sandpoint, ID to a quaint campground called Springy Point. It's run by the Army Corp of Engineers. It's a very nice place on the Pend Orielle River. There was a nice beach area for swimming and for the kids to play in the sand. Our campsite was quite nice too. It was very close to the restroom building (almost too close) but it was quiet. You could not hear every flush of the toilet....nice! The restroom building also had showers (which I did not take advantage of....I like to be dirty when camping. That is what the river is for). The showers were nice though. 25 cents for a 10 minute shower. Not a bad deal at all. There was also a dishwashing sink and counter so you could clean up after your meals nicely. It was really nice. We were also able to enjoy campfires this time. Normally this time of year the campfires are prohibited due to the fire danger. The Cassies brought a dutch oven and we enjoyed a couple of meals using it. Nick even baked a cake. It was so yummy. All in all it was fun and we look forward to doing it again next summer.

Henry and Natalie playing in the sand

Henry goes for a kayak ride

Natalie sits comfortably at camp

Looking out at the Pend Orielle River

Cherry Pickers Trot

We did the Cherry Pickers Trot on Thursday evening. It is a 4 mile fun run around the farms at Greenbluff. It's the pinnacle of the cherry season, so there are cherries for sale, cherry pie, cherry ice cream and even a cherry pit spit competition. You name it, they have it when it comes to cherries. Unlike years past, the weather was actually quite pleasant. Normally it is scorching hot, even at 7 pm when the race starts. This year it was only in the low 80's and very comfortable. Before the race, Henry enjoyed the tractor-barrel ride and he participated in the Tot Trot. He was so cute as he skipped along the race course. Most of the other kids in the 3 year old race were running quite competitively, but Henry was very dainty and light on his feet. He didn't come in last, but he was pretty close. He did have a smile on his face when he finished though, so that was good. For participating, he received a red ribbon and a bag of cherries. Yippee. At the fun run, Daryl pushed Henry and I pushed Natalie in their baby joggers. Since I am still training for a triathlon, I thought I better get a good workout and try to run the full 4 miles (which includes some major hills, by the way). Daryl walked it. He joined our next door neighbors, Stephen and Patti Aspinwall, as they pushed their grandkids in a stroller. They were able to visit as they strolled. Me, well, I was sweating bullets the whole time. I was slow, but I did manage to run the entire thing, even pushing Natalie (a feat in itself for me). All in all it was a good time. We look forward to doing it again next year.

Henry getting ready for his tot trot (he is in the middle with a white shirt, sitting on Daryl's knee. Daryl is wearing red shirt and sporting sunglasses....do you see them?)

Family photo op

Wordless Wednesday: Daddy's Little Helper

Valley Girl Triathlon

The Valley Girl Triathlon was on Sunday, July 13, and it was awesome. I always have so much fun doing it, it is no wonder I keep coming back for more. overall time was just average (1 hour and 27 minutes for a 1/3 mile swim, 10.5 mile bike and 3 mile run), but it ties for my personal best, so I was happy. Just think what it would be if I actually trained on a schedule rather than cramming it all in 2 weeks before the race. I should "tri" that some time.

That's me on the bike!

Heading towards the finish line

(I'm in the pink shirt which incidently I put on backwards. Oops!)

Happy Birthday, Henry!

Henry just celebrated his 3rd birthday. He is getting so big, I can't believe it. Although it seems like we've been doing the parenthood thing a lot longer than 3 years, he has grown up fast. We celebrated a lot again this year. He can't just have one small birthday bash, oh no. We have to do it up. Go big or go home, right?

Playing in the sprinkler ball

Well, we had a birthday party for 14 of his closest friends (he is only 3...I doubt he has many of his own friends at this age. But my friends came with their kids, and that works just fine for me. My friends are his friends, and he loves them all). We did an early party from 10 am to noon. It was warm. Not as warm as last year (100 deg) but still warm enough to run through the sprinkler. When the kids get a little bit older we will do pool parties, but right now, that's a lot of work/ responsibility for the parents.

Girls playing in the dirt...hmmmmm

We had craft time and then made PB and J sandwiches. I made cake cones this year which was interesting (cupcakes baked in ice cream cones). It made for an easy clean up anyway. No wrappers. All in all the party was a big hit, and I think most everyone enjoyed themselves.

Make a wish!

Later that day we celebrated again with Daryl's family. This time it was a pool party, although only cousin Kendra and her son, Parker, made it into the pool. Daryl, Natalie and Henry also swam, but that doesn't really count. It was fun to see the family again.
All in all, Henry really enjoyed his birthday. He is talking more and he was so excited the days leading up to his big day. He would tell you all about it. It was kind of cute.

Happy Birthday, Handsome!

Pilates Class

I am currently taking a pilates class at the community college. My friend, Darcy Staudinger, is the instructor and she is amazing! Not only is she in fantastic shape, but she is so much fun. She has a bubbly personality and she is like your own personal trainer and cheerleader. She really makes the class exciting and inspiring, despite all the agony my muscles go through. I took her class a couple of years ago, and really enjoyed it. She then stopped teaching and went back to school to become a massage therapist. This summer she came back to teach one class of pilates, so I signed up. Pilates is great for stretching and lengthening your muscles as well as strengthening your core. It makes a huge difference. I feel more flexible and stronger (even though I don't look like it). And when I took her class last time, I wasn't even sore after intense work outs or races. It was amazing. I'm hoping for the same results, especially for my Valley Girl Triathlon, which is coming up this weekend. I have just started class, but hey, 2 weeks of pilates before a race is better than nothing. Thank you, Darcy!

Happy Birthday to me!

I had a great 38th birthday this year, believe it or not. Since Henry's birthday is only 3 days from mine, I've accepted the fact that mine doesn't really count anymore since all the attention will be on him. I am okay with that though, really. But my birthday this year was very fulfilling, to my surprise. I had friends call me in the morning to wish me a happy birthday and I was showered with gifts from family, friends and neighbors. My friend, Ania, even baked me a chocolate birthday cake (from scratch). It was wonderful. Thank you all so much for thinking of me.


I have signed up to do the Valley Girl Triathlon again this year. The race is this Sunday, July 13th. So I've been cramming in some last minute training. I train the same way I study....I CRAM! Not the best way, I know, but that's what I have time for right now. So on my birthday I woke up early and did a 2 mile run. Then in the afternoon I rode my bike to the community college (5 miles) to swim. I swam about 3/4 of a mile, and then afterwards I had my pilates class. It was like doing a mini reverse triathlon. By the end of the day, I was beat. I did not have the energy to ride my bike back home. But that's okay because Daryl and the kids picked my up at the college and took me out to dinner at the old Red Robin. It was a lot of fun. What a great birthday.

Fourth of July

Ken and Mary Lohstroh

56 years of wedding bliss: 50 for him and 6 for her :)

The 4th of July is also Daryl's parents' wedding anniversary. 2008 marks their 56th year of marital bliss. Congratulations Ken and Mary Jane. We went out to their house in Deer Park and had a BBQ. My friends, the Craftons were here, so they were able to meet and hang out with the Lohstrohs. It was fun. The original plan was for Daryl, Henry, Natalie and I to stay out there and watch the fireworks from the backyard. The City of Deer Park puts on quite a productions for a small town. They light them off in the park which is only a couple blocks from Daryl's parent's house. It's a great view from the backyard. We were going to pitch a tent in the backyard and spend the night after the show. Since Julie and family were heading back to Minn. early the next morning, it was going to be a bit chaotic for all of us to spend the night. So the Natalie, the Craftons and I headed back to my house just before the fireworks (to beat the traffic) and Daryl and Henry watched the show and spent the night. It all worked out really well.

Liam pushing Henry on the big trike

The Craftons are here!

Liam, Ryan, Lance and Julie

My friend Julie and her family came over to visit with us for a few days (She's the one that introduced me to blogging and this website....fun). They live in Minnesota. They were visiting family in Oregon and stopped in Spokane for a short visit on their way back home. It was great to see them. It had been a couple of years since their last trip to OR and since we saw them. The boys and Natalie

They got to meet Natalie for the first time too. Julie and I were roommates here in Spokane right out of college. We meet through a mutual "friend" and have been good friends ever since. Her family is from Minnesota and that's were that have been living for the last 10 years. Her boys are growing up fast. Why aren't mine? Lance (11), Liam (6), Henry (3) and Natalie (1)

It was fun to have them over and Henry really enjoyed playing with Lance and Liam. Julie's and my birthday are only about 1 week apart so we were able to celebrate them together, which is always fun. 2 years ago we did pedicures, but since we both just had our toes done, we didn't do them this year. Even though their stay was short, it was a lot of fun to hang out with them. I wish they lived closer. Thanks for visiting Crafton family.

Patricia and Julie

Nana and Papa

Thank you Nana and Papa for letting us invade your home for 10 days. We really appreciate your hospitality. Thank you, mom, for doing all of our laundry (which was on a daily basis) and preparing awesome meals everytime. I hope you both are feeling better after contracting Henry's cold. I didn't realize that his stuffy nose was was such a threat. It's a bummer to get sick in the summertime and I hope you are all better now.
We all enjoyed your company and our visit to Seattle. We were able to enjoy quite a few activities including walks to the beach, Woodland Park Zoo, Boat ride with the Faths, Swimming at Arbor Heights Pool (which is where I went swimming as a child), Lucas' 5th birthday celebration, Lisa's Open House Dinner Party, Shopping at IKEA, Maruta and Trader Joe's (of course), Visiting a high school friend (See you in October, Jen, for our 20 year high school reunion), Running in the mornings with Lisa and her neighbors Angela and Carrie, Burien's Strawberry Festival (By the way, where were the strawberries?) and just a lot of R and R.

Summertime in Seattle is a lot of fun. It started out a little cool, but by the end of the week it warmed right up (a little too toasty, even) and Seattle is gorgeous when the weather is nice. I wish I took more pictures to capture the beauty. Maybe next time.

Cousins

We really enjoyed our visit to Seattle and Henry and Natalie just adore their big cousin Lucas. It would be nice to live closer so the kids can play together more often, but for now they will just have to take advantage of the time they do spend together.

Thank you, Lucas, for entertaining your cousins.

They really do admire you!