Valentine's Day fun and Surviviing Chuck-E-Cheese: Jillian turns FIVE!

 Saturday, we did some hiking at Mt. Diablo near our house.

 Ross bought some Boston Marathon themed flowers for Valentine's Day --- 9 more weeks 'till Boston!

 Fun with cupcakes

 Jillian still has pizza on her face :)

 a special note from Jillian  (Fo is how Jillian has sounded out "from")

 my sweet girl on the eve of turning FIVE!  where has the time gone?

 

 She woke up so excited that her birthday was finally HERE!

 singing Happy Birthday in Dutch too :)

 she chose McDonald's for her birthday lunch

 she declared that she was the "boss for the day" and she got to chose what we did all day .... but I think we all really know that she is the boss everyday :)

 she chose to ride her bike to 2 different parks in the afternoon

 and then...... we headed off to Chuck-E-Cheese

 intense concentration to earn tickets!

 Helen was excited to get some Root Beer for dinner

 she was excited to get some "cash" like her older siblings

 

 ride #1

 ride #2 -- never too old for a merry go round....

 .... or Bob the Builder

....blast from the past!  another birthday person in our house rides in Bob the Builder @ Chuck E Cheese.

 one of Jayden's ticket jackpots

 Helen cashing in her tickets

of course, Jayden earned the most tickets

hard work and talent

Overheard the kid's swim coach the other night talking to the kids and she said "Hard work beats talent when talent is not working hard".  I really like this quote!

Last weekend, the kids competed in their first USA swim meet here in California - overall they did amazing!  We haven't seen rain here in California for 46 straight days.... until last Friday night -- the first day of the meet.  Saturday was nice and Sunday.... RAIN and WIND. 

 On Thursday, Graham swam fifty 50's on the 0:50.  his face was a little red when he finished :)  and some crumbs from the Hot Chocolate treat night :)  you can see Helen in the back of the photo grabbing some goodies too!

 boys started band this week --- Graham chose trumpet and Jayden chose trombone --- the little woodwind inside me is crying

 i made some photo collages from the weekend's swim meet --- radar just before boys swam on Friday night... the pile of laundry from the meet on Sunday.  I worked the check-in table on Friday night and put my backpack in a garbage bag to keep it dry.  Sunday was a double-rain coat kind of day!

 i had to bake 50 potatoes for the swim team concession stand --- I didn't mind though, turned on the oven just before I left for my run on Sunday morning @ 4:30am - ugh!  But I did end up beating the rain for the day! 

 Graham's race bling  - Graham swam a 5:59 in the 500 free!  crazy fast!!

 Helen was the most decorated swimmer of the meet - earning 5 A standard times!!

 Jayden's race bling --- I know that he earned at least 3 Junior Olympic time cuts -- -I haven't looked at his results from Sunday --- this swimming book-keeping is a full-time job :)

 Jilly's swim bling

 my sweet girl told me she wasn't too old for the baby swing

 found this dress for Jilly's birthday, but Ross said no.... a little too creepy?

 new Nuun Ambassador running gear - yay!

 pink sunset at the pool

 kids played a valentine's day game at the pool tonight for practice. 

been craving steamed veggies lately --- love the colorful carrots!  Ross says the house smells like stinky broccoli :)

 Every Friday, the kids have a half-day of school - today we rode our bikes around town and stopped at the pottery shop to make some cereal bowls.  It was fun to watch the kids create their own bowls.

 Helen's design

 I learned that helping a lefty paint can be...... well, a challenge :)  she wanted to make a rainbow bowl, of course ...... you know for Rainbow Dash My Little Pony

Graham helps Helen put the finishing touches on her bowl

Camp Adventures and an Empty Nest

 Found this picture last week ---- can't believe how big my babies are getting!  Biking them around in this bakfiets would make for some great Ironman Bike Training.

The boys left last Wednesday for a 3-day outdoor adventure camp north of Sacramento with their school.  They panned for gold and did a Ropes course.  They were super excited to go but the girls definitely missed them when they were gone..... hugs happened right away when they got back and then they were back to arguing with each other within 5 minutes....  sigh.

Graham and his swim group had a wall-squat challenge during a dry-land workout:  He and 2 other teammates lasted for 1 hour and 38 minutes on the wall!  Crazy!  Where does he get that competitiveness from?

 Helen participated in her first Book Club Chat at the library.  She loved it and can't wait to participate again next month!

 Jilly found a quarter on the ground and couldn't wait to spend it!  It was burning a hole in her pocket :)

 Jillian dressed herself last Saturday -- she calls this outfit "My Little Pony meets Lady Bug Girl"

 a new use for our old bike trailer --- went grocery shopping and then picked the kids up from school. 

 another amazing sunset @ the pool

 the view from my run one morning last week.

 A nice long run during the Super Bowl last Sunday ---- no traffic on the road :)  Got back just in time to watch the half-time show.  Only 11 weeks until the Boston Marathon!!!

Found this book at the library a few weeks ago ---- pretty funny... I've included some of my favorites from the book

  

 view of the harbor one morning

 caught the sunrise by our house this morning - so beautiful.

 first time i've been able to see the sun rise at the pool --- finally getting light earlier in the morning. 

 another sunset at the pool

Yesterday, I registered this sweet girl for KINDERGARTEN!  I asked her if she wanted to wear a nice dress and this is what she picked out - I love her personality!  I told her that since she was going to kindergarten, I thought it might be a good time to have another baby at home --- she IMMEDIATELY responded with a FIRM "NO!".   I said "Don't worry, no more babies for us  --- you will always be my baby".