California Sun

Done and done!!!!  I did it.  Ran my second half marathon.  And it was quite a whirlwind to travel to do it.  The week before last there was mention that snow was headed out way.  It wasn't until Thursday that we and the meteorologists realized that the snow was not just a mere dusting but a full on dumping.  It was decided around 6:15 pm that we would change our flights from Friday afternoon to the last flight out Thursday night at 9:15 pm.  (It's a good thing we did because all the morning flights and our flight had been cancelled.  Can you imagine how panicked I would have been?  Also, by Friday Denver had received 12.5" of snow. )  We, quickly, packed and were on our way to the airport by 7 pm.  Our friend took us to the airport and as payment we gave him the dinner that we had made for that night.  I didn't get to breath a sigh of relief until we pulled up to the airport a little after 8.  Talk about stress.  It's one thing to pack for a vacation but it's another thing to pack for a specific reason for the vacation, aka-my race and fear that something important was forgotten.  Luckily everything that I needed for the race was packed.  The only thing we forgot was the Baby Bjorn for Disneyland.  We got into LAX and was picked up by my dad around midnight.  I thought that leaving the airport at such a late time we would be able to cruise on home without traffic.  I spoke too soon.  Part of the freeway was shut down for construction and there was traffic getting off the freeway.  Who drives at 12:30 at night?!?!?!?!?!?!  By the time the kids were settled down and Troy and I were in bed it was 1:30 am CA time meaning 2:30 am CO time.  What a night!!

Now onto the pictures!!

Friday was spent relaxing.  My aunt and uncle came down a day early before the Chinese New Year gathering and taught my mom and "I" how to make steamed buns.  I say "I" because one can only learn so much when one doesn't understand a lick of Mandarin besides the numbers 1-10.  Regardless of the language barrier, I was able to communicate to my aunt that the buns were delicious.

Saturday, Troy, the kids, and I headed down to Huntington Beach to pick up my packet.  Brooke loved walking in the sand and collecting as many seashells as she could get her hands on.

 After Huntington we headed to Uncle Jimmy's for the Chinese New Year gathering. 

Brooke had a blast playing with all the toys and Connor enjoyed meeting his cousins (however many times removed). 

Sunday was race day.  I was nervous but excited to do the race.  After 10 weeks of on and off running I was somewhat nervous that I would not be able to complete the race as well as I had wanted to.  I only averaged about 2 runs a week since week 4 of my training.

 I think there were over 14,000 runners that participated in the half marathon.  

My official time was 2:17:32.  I was thrilled with my time.  Only a minute behind my previous race.  If I do this race again I know that I can totally beat that time.

 Monday was spent recuperating.  We had originally planned on going to Disneyland on Tuesday but of all the days that we chose to go that was the only day that there was 100% chance of rain.  So we decided to head to the Ronald Reagan Library instead.  They've changed the layout of library since we were last there.

 Brooke liked seeing Air Force One up close and personal.

 Connor...not so much.  I think he was just bored and ready to get out of his stroller and crawl around.

 Wednesday was Disneyland day.  We went with my cousin, Rachel, and her 3 girls.  I'm so glad we waited to go on Wednesday instead of Tuesday.  It was a gorgeous day.  We didn't even need a jacket when the sun had gone down.  Can you tell Brooke was super excited go?  Along with Violet.

I borrowed a carrier from my cousin so that we had something to hold Connor in while on the rides.  This was my only chance to really snuggle with him since he never and I mean never falls asleep in our arms anymore.

 Brooke loved having control of the ride.

 I just liked these next 2 pictures.  I think this was on Snow White or Pinnochio.

Obviously there was something scary.  You can tell by the look on Brooke's face and that Ryleigh has her head buried in the lap bar.

 Brooke loves the carousel.  I spent my time on the ride looking at the floor to avoid getting sick.

 My other cousin, Anita, and her kids met up with us later in the afternoon.  There were 4 adults and 8 kids.  What a group!

 The kids were getting ready to ride Gadget's Go Coaster.  This was Brooke's first roller coaster and she had no idea what to expect. 

 Although she was a bit worried at this particular part of the 20 second ride, she loved it and wanted to go again.

 I think Ryleigh got scared at the same spot Brooke did.

We also got to meet Donald.

 Troy and I were able to finish off the night by riding Space Mountain.   

 Connor was pooped by day's end.  He didn't even stir when we brought him into the house.

 *Note: If you're planning on ever visiting Disneyland, you must go in February.  We practically walked onto every ride and if there was a line, it was a very short wait. 

 No trip back home is complete without a visit to the duck pond.  Brooke had a fun time chucking the bread out and the geese and pigeons were fearless.  It's a good thing we had Troy to protect us.

 Thanks mom and dad for a wonderful time.  Looking forward to our next visit!!!!!

Oh, and P.S.  Happy 9 months to Connor!!!!!!

T Minus 6 Days

10 weeks in the making and I'm finally ready (or not) to run my Surf City Half.  Training has not gone as smoothly as it has when I was training for the Moab half (chalking it up to the fact that I'll be the big 3-0 this year) so I'm hoping that being at sea level and a flat course will carry me through.  If not, you'll probably see a picture of me being dragged across the finish line. Ha!

 Lately the kids have been fighting off some sniffly noses so we've been chilling at home.  Brooke wanted me to take some pictures so obliged.  (Do you notice how much lighter Connor's hair is compared to Brooke's?  Kind of looks like there's a little bit of blonde mixed in with the brown.  One can only hope.)

 Connor is, once again, a drooling machine.  In a matter of a week he has popped out his top 2 teeth.

 Brooke doing what she does best...dragging all her blankets and stuffed animals down so she can sleep in the front room.

Gung hay fat choi!!!

Couple of big events over the last couple of weeks. First, Tracie hosted a Chinese New Year party last night that was fantastic. The food was amazing and plentiful, the company was great, and the evening was a lot of fun. She made fried rice, spare ribs, shrimp and celery, romaine lettuce, potstickers, almond jello, plus we picked up bbq pork buns and don tat from the local Chinese restaurant. Delicious, and with leftovers a plenty for the next few days.

By the way, did I mention that she did all this after running a 10 mile race on Saturday morning? Rockstar.

Also, last week, we finished up the basement. It turned out even better and quicker than we expected, and obviously the kids enjoy it.

Especially Brooke.

The basement has a play room, storage, bedroom and bathroom fit for any visitor.

Also a media room wired for future dreams, not current reality. :)

Most importantly, it has plenty of room for grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and friends who want to come spend a little quality time with these two.

Also, our little Connor is growing up faster than we anticipated. We noticed this morning at church, not one, but both of his top front teeth poking through. Before we know it he'll be borrowing the car keys.

8 months

In looking past posts I realize that I was far more on top of things when documenting Brooke's month to month life during her first year.  In attempts to catch up I thought I'd do an 8 month post on Connor.

If you can't tell already Connor is probably one of the most mellow, easy going, even keeled baby I know.  Even more than Brooke was.  Within the past month he's been sick more times than not and you would never know except of the constant drip from his nose.

 Connor has finally started to be aware of the kitties.  Lexie's smart and keeps her distance from Connor but Squishy, on the other hand, remains always in the line of fire.

 Since before 7 months Connor was already crawling all over the place.  I thought, for sure, it would be a while before he tried to pull himself up but once again, he decided to surprise me.  Just today I saw him cruising along the furniture.  Any guesses as to when he'll be taking his first step????

 Loves, loves, loves his big sister.  Anywhere she is he is also.  Hopefully this love/love relationship continues for a while.

 Connor's still sporting the cutest dimples ever.  Hopefully they stay too.

 Has decided to take up exercising at an early age and loves doing the slide n' glide.

Haven't weighed Connor in a while but, as you can tell, he's a chunk.  Definitely the opposite of Brooke but who can't love a little chub.  :) 

Monday, One Day

Quick...can you name where the title comes from?????

Last week felt like the longest week ever...at least for this year. Ha!  I don't know if it had to do with Christmas and getting back into the swing of things but man oh man am I glad to begin a new week.

The kids are still enjoying their Christmas presents.

 The front room is strewn with toys but I'm too lazy to pick it up for it to be a mess in less than 2.2 seconds.

Brooke likes to pretend to read...maybe that means I should start teaching her the basics.  Can anyone guess what movie she's quoting????

 Connor is all over the place these days.  You can usually find him next to some closed door (in this case, waiting for Brooke to get out of the bathroom) or next to the stairs.  I finally had to pull out that baby gate because he can't get enough of the stairs.

Connor has found a new way of crawling.  Amazingly enough he's actually pretty quick.

The dust is finally starting to settle in the basement.  We are pretty much complete except for the carpet.  We should hopefully be getting that in the next couple of weeks.  I don't know if I'm more excited to put the toys down there or to have the kids down there!

Oh, and lastly, did anyone see the sweet ending to the Broncos game yesterday?  If not, here's a replay...

One White Christmas

The week leading in Christmas reassured us that we were in the winter season.  Monday night we were welcomed with 6 inches of snow followed by another foot Wednesday.

Luckily the kids didn't mind staying indoors and kept each other entertained.

Connor has become quite the crawler these days and the best way to keep him put is to block him in.

As you can tell, he's already looking for a way out and has already begun pulling himself up.  I know that I'm totally in for it having a boy!

Christmas eve, Brooke and Connor were able to open their Christmas eve presents.  Brooke has become quite the expert present unwrapper.

She has become very fond of her new Tinkerbell pjs and I think she's worn them at least 4 times within the week.  I'm sure if we let her, she'd wear them everyday everywhere.

Christmas morning was a bit of a change up since we have church at 8.  We were hoping to slip out before unwrapping presents but Brooke found her new couch hidden underneath a blanket.  Don't Brooke and Connor look so snazzy in their Christmas gettup?

First family pic in front of the tree.  (If you look closely, you'll notice that there aren't any ornaments below our head level due to the rearranging of ornaments by Brooke and trying to keep them out of reach of Squishy)

Who cares about changing out of church clothes!  Let's get to the presents.

Brooke and Connor scored by getting a train set.  Troy and I will score when the basement is completed and the train set is moved down there.

Brooke was a fan of her new couch and wanted to break it in.

After presents at home we flew to UT to spend the rest of the holidays with both sides of the family.  Brooke loved spending time with her grandparents and cousins.

Connor did too.  So much so that he fell asleep sitting. 

Does that remind you of this picture of Brooke...

Brooke was spoiled with all the fun she had with her cousins.  She went to Kangaroo Zoo with Jason, Sierra, and Elena.

Followed the next day with a trip to Lows Airsport something or other.

The last day we were there I got to meet up with some good friends from my childhood.  I think we've been friends for at least 18 years+.  Kind of crazy to see how much we've all grown up.

We celebrated the new year by heading to our friends, the Cowans.  They were so nice to set up a pinata for the kids although Brooke didn't seem to be a fan.

She was perfectly content to plant herself on Stacie's lap and watch.

In looking back at 2011 we have had a wonderful year.  We can't wait to see what 2012 will bring us.