Run, Calleigh, Run

Last Sunday Calleigh experienced another first in her young life.  She ran a race.  At the last minute, Duncan had learned that Forest Lake Education Center (the Adventist elementary school associated with our church) was having a 5K fundraiser race which included a "mini" race first for the kids.  So we thought, why not?  Calleigh was all for it so off we went for the 8:30 start (yes, we missed First Watch again, for the third week in a row!).  I'm not a runner in any shape of the word.  In fact, I look back at my high school years and remember being tortured by my P.E. teacher, Mr. Foote, in having to run a single mile.  I couldn't even do that.  In a rather weird coincidence, Mr. Foote is now the vice principal of FLEC and ran in the 5K.  Anyway, Duncan is definitely the runner of the family and I do so hope that Calleigh will take after him.  At the very least, she enjoys it.  

Calleigh's age group was the pre-k to third grade set and they let the youngest kids out of the "gate" first.  They obviously did not run a 5K and I'm not sure even how far it was other than to say it was about a half lap around the school.  The winner probably finished in 10 minutes or less.  She started out with a bang but as I suspected, tired out and needed some encouragement from Dad to keep at it.  Duncan said she would get disheartened but then she would go by someone she knew and they would cheer her on and she was start up again.  She was one of the last ones to finish but I was proud of her for finishing!  The winner turned out to be Luke Deininger who Calleigh had already declared to be her future husband only because he's Lisa's son.  Not that he isn't a nice boy...

Waiting at the starting line with her friend Cassie.  If they give the low numbers to the good runners, Calleigh's chances aren't looking good.

The winner, Luke.  A ringer at shirt number 1024.

Aubree really wanted to run too but settled for a Pop Tart.

Waiting for Daddy to come by.

There he is!

The 5K winner.  As my dad would say "He's no spring chicken."  He won by at least a minute or more which is pretty good in a 5K.

Everyone who finished got a medal.  Aubree was sporting Daddy's.

Sabbath was a particularly enjoyable day especially after nap time.   Calleigh had gotten a Bible trivia game for Christmas that I finally pulled out to play.  It said it was for ages 5+ but we decided to give it a go anyway.  I was really amazed to find that she probably knew about 80% of the answers, even ones I didn't know that she knew like "Who played his harp for King Saul?"  We went through every single question (probably like 50 of them at least) and she loved it.  Then we read a book called "What What Jesus Do...For Kids" that I had gotten the day before at a yard sale and had fun acting out different stories like the paralyzed man being lowered down through the roof.  During this time, all I could think about was how this was where it is at (pardon the poor grammar).  Just seeing your kids so engrossed in the Bible stories and learning and having fun, is priceless.

Remember when Aubree wore the little dress like this and this one was Calleigh's?  My, how time flies.

A visual reminder....

The trivia cards for her game.

This week we had some more frustrations with Duncan's truck which every now and then chooses not to start.  Typically it's about every six months but it last happened on Duncan's birthday before refusing to start on Friday (last week).  On Sunday, Duncan went to try and start it to no avail.  We signed up for AAA in order to get the towing service since that seemed more cost effective than paying for a tow.  Luckily, Ron and Elaine were out of town until Tuesday night so Duncan was able to drive their van to work.  Before calling for the tow, he tried the truck again and voila! it started.  He drove it right to our mechanic and I picked him up to take him back to work.  As we pretty much expected, the mechanic couldn't find a thing wrong with it.  So frustrating.  This is how it always works.  It randomly doesn't start but then no one can ever find a problem.  Sure enough, Wednesday evening while I was on the way home from Adventurers, Duncan calls to say it's dead again.  This time it started up again after a few minutes.  I'm sure it will happen again soon enough.  I'm not sure what we're going to do.  It's a 2004 with only like 80,000 miles on it so you really hate to have to get something else right now.  We have more important things to be spending our money on besides a new vehicle!

Wednesday morning we hit up SeaWorld with the Bergherms, the Z boys, and half the Isidro clan (Allen and the twins).  It started off with a bang when we got through the bag checking process and the entrance only to discover that Brady's binky had fallen out somewhere despite having a cord on it (granted, it hadn't been hooked on anything).  We retraced our steps through the front of the park with no luck.  I hated to have to exit and then go through the whole entering process again (we had brought sandwiches with us which hadn't been a problem by our bag checker but then just after that in another row I saw one of the workers tell someone else they couldn't bring theirs in).  With no other choice, I decided to abandon our stroller and our bags at the exit and just carry Brady.  Out I went with the girls walking slowly behind like little ducks.  Thankfully our trip wasn't in vain and we found the binky lying in the parking lot almost back where we had parked the van.  Luckily it was in a section where no one had driven their car so it was still completely in tact.  Binky crisis averted!

I just loved all his funny faces!

The boys, particularly Blake, love to talk to him.

Kaleb and Calleigh

Aubree went on the ride with Jennifer...

....while Calleigh and Zachary sat together.  They were so cute walking to their seats, holding hands.

As usual, we were only there for a few hours but it was long enough to enjoy the splash playground and some of the rides.  Around 12:45 I figured it was time to call it a day and head back out to the van.  I had the Sit 'N Stand so that the girls could both stand with Brady riding.  Let me tell you, it's quite a hike from the kids section to the van when you're pushing three kids in a stroller.  Calleigh had to hop off now and then so I could get a break.  It all worked out perfectly though because Brady fell asleep on the way to the car which kept him awake on the ride back home which meant he was ready for his regular nap when we got home.  I was was ready for a nap too by then but duty called.  

Wednesday evening was Adventurers and since Duncan had to work late, I was called into action.  I haven't been there with them in months and it was a bit of an eye opening experience.  You know those kids or even adults who sit in a class or a meeting and they don't really say much?  Well, Calleigh and Aubree are NOT those kids.  Oh my word!  The Little Lambs break off into their own class and those two would just not stop talking.  They had to answer every question, they don't raise their hands, and they are loud. Aubree pretty much repeats everything that Calleigh says.  Often, their answers having nothing to do with the topic at hand.  Here are some of the random items that Calleigh mentioned:

• "One time when my dad was in bed and I was trying to get into the bed, my mom grabbed my arm and it popped out."  Everyone laughed which caused Calleigh to burst into tears and run to me.  Please don't call DCF.  This was when she had the nurse maid's elbow.
• "My mother works on her computer at the table at night and she saw a cockroach crawling on the floor."  Now everyone probably thinks we live in a dump.
• "Shawn threw a soccer ball to my mom and it hit her in the mouth and her tooth fell out."  It was really a teammate at Andrews who threw a softball and my tooth didn't actually fall out.  But I guess when you're four, you can use a poetic license. 

So yes, it was a very entertaining and eye opening experience. 

The Little Lambs....Of course, Aubree isn't even officially part of it so I feel like I need to shush her so she won't be kicked out!

Wednesday night as I was going to bed, my right ear started hurting a little bit and then I noticed that it was blocked.  Yup, it was that time again.  Time for my every-two-years ear wax cleaning.  As we were finishing up breakfast at 8:40, I got a hold of the doctor's office and the only morning time they had for me to come in was 9:15.  We were all still in our pajamas but somehow I managed to get us out the door and get us there (next to Winter Park Hospital) in that short amount of time.  Sure enough, my right ear was all blocked up and my left was in pretty bad shape too.  This time, when they squirted the solution in my ear with the water bottle, it hurt pretty badly and brought tears to my eyes.  They took care of the right one fairly quickly but the left was having problems and I ended up having to just stop because I was feeling light headed and hot (normal symptoms).  I thought I was going to pass out.  They prescribed me some drops to take over the next ten days which should help loosen it.  Okay then.  That's probably more than you wanted to know about ear wax.  

 

This morning we had considerably more success on the yard sale circuit than we've had in a long time with a good haul on clothes for both the girls.  We did notice that it's starting to get pretty hot while we're out and about with temps in the upper 80's.  It won't be too long until we're stifling out there.  

This evening I put Duncan on Daddy's duty while I met my friends from work, Nicole and RoseMarie.  I hadn't seen either of them in ages so we met at the Colorado Fundue Company for supper.  It was SO nice to catch up with everything and we had a lovely time reminiscing about our days back in Accounting.  They are working in other parts of the hospital now.  Meanwhile, Duncan took the kids over to Ron and Elaine's where they were celebrating Russ' birthday (as they go out the door, Calleigh looks over her shoulder and yells "Bye Mom.  I love you more than Satan." What a ringing endorsement).  I think Duncan was so tired out from the activities, he went up to bed before 10:00 and I didn't even get a full accounting of what went on there. 

Pictures from Grandma's house this evening.

Doesn't he look like he's working on the splits?

Brady has had an adventuresome week.  He has gotten a lot bolder with his activities and has gotten pretty good at pulling himself up on things.  He's been seriously considering the stairs for the last few days and I know we're going to have to get our gate attached back up on there.  One of the sure ways to torture him is by putting the girls in the tub and then keeping him out of the bathroom.  The bathroom is attached to the girls' room and while they're in the tub, I keep the door open and work on cleaning up or folding laundry or whatever.  Well, all Brady wants to do is get into that bathroom and I have to try and come up with creative ways to block the door.  He absolutely loves the tub and when you pick him and bring him in there, his feet start kicking back in forth in pure excitement.  On Tuesday, I had set up a little chair to block the way but then he figured out how to climb up on it.  I flipped it over but he pulled up himself up on that and before I could get up to get him, he had fallen down, not too hard, but enough to cause his lip to bleed.  I got the blood stopped pretty quickly but after supper, it started up again and I couldn't get it to stop.  It was inside his mouth right under his top lip in the middle.  I thought I had it stopped but then when I was nursing him before bed I looked down and saw blood on my bra.  Of course, then I got all paranoid that he was going to choke on the blood while he was sleeping so I kept checking on him.  He was fine but there were blood stains on the sheet in the morning.  I'm sure this is just the start of my many adventures with a boy and the mischief they get themselves into.  

"I'll get you yet, my pretties!"

One of my favorite things is listening to Calleigh explain things to Aubree or when she tells Aubree things that are not authorized whatsoever by me ("Aubree, if you clean this up, we'll get to have two jelly beans.")  I was particularly amused by her explanation to Aubree on how we get milk from a cow which was shared very earnestly over breakfast one morning. "So Aubs, a cow drinks milk and the milk goes into its stomach.  Then they get a pump and get the milk out and then we drink it."  There was no explanation forthcoming on where the original milk came from.  

This week we were reading the story about Esther, the girl who became queen, which prompted this funny and interesting dialogue.

Me: "Remember that her name was Haddasah (sp?) but then she changed it to Esther"

Calleigh: "Why?"

Me: "I'm not quite sure why.  Maybe we should ask Papa."  

Calleigh: "Papa? Why, was he around then?"  

A minute later, we get into the part of the story where Esther decides to go and see the King even though she hasn't been invited and she's very worried.

Calleigh: "Why did Esther need an invitation? They were married.  Didn't they live in the same house?"   

It's funny because whenever you read a story you may have heard a hundred times, you always see it in a different light when you read it with your kids.  They point out things you've never thought of before. 

Finally, I know that Braelyn made a similar quote to this one but I'll still share.  I was reading the girls their story before bed and I had just started in on it but then Aubree frantically yells "Pause it!  Pause it!  I need to finish putting on my pajamas."

Have a great Sabbath everyone!

 

A few more pictures...

Breaking in Grandma and Grandpa's pool for the season last weekend.

Yup, it was a little cold.  Nice toe, Duncan.

At the playground on Monday morning.  The girls played with two boys they met there for almost two hours.  You can barely see Aubs' head.

Grandpa performing a magic trick that be brought back from San Francisco.   He wanted Calleigh to put her finger in the little guillotine but she adamantly refused.