Steps On Our Journey

What's Your Name?

2010-12-24T14:13:00.000-08:00

Today I asked Amanda what her full name was and she said, "Amanda Richards.com".

Kids these days are just so into computers!

What Did We Do This Summer?

2010-09-14T09:09:00.001-07:00

Our summer. No, not the two year old girl that eats more than the seven year old boy. What we did over the summer.

So what have we done?

We canned.

What does that mean?

Putting fresh food in jars and saving it until later.

Are we old fashioned?

Yes, and probably crazy too.

How much?

Almost every jar we have.

Total count?

24 bottles of peaches (Thanks Erica!)

6 bottles of peach nectar

14 bottles of green salsa (just hot enough that our kids won’t eat it)

11 bottles of dill pickles

8 bottles of bread and butter pickles

8 quarts of strawberry freezer jam

Years ago, I remember my sister’s pantry full of all these beautiful bottles of stuff that looked so colorful and healthy. Now we can proudly say our pantry is full of all these wonderful things as well.

Nice job Lisa. You inspire me.

Our next adventure is a chicken coop. Beaverton City just approved up to four chickens 20 feet from your neighbor’s house. Great! A pet more productive than a dog and one that will help us teach the kids responsibility.

Signal To Noise Movie Competition - First Place!

2010-05-14T13:31:00.000-07:00

Natalie's 3rd grade class competed in a film competition against all the classes in our Beaverton School District. They made the attached movie and won 1st place for the best Elementary Music Video.

We are all so excited that her class won!

More Lacrosse Pictures

2010-04-15T20:57:00.000-07:00

I think Lacrosse is my new favorite sport for girls. Natalie is doing fabulous!

Lacrosse Season

2010-04-10T20:53:00.001-07:00

So lacrosse has hit our family. Before April, we had never seen played, or even knew what equipment was needed, but for whatever reason, we decided to put Natalie and Brendan in. I even signed up to be Natalie's assistant coach, but one weeks before the season started I was asked to be head coach. Makes it a little tough to coach a sport if you don't even know the rules, but we've had fun.

Natalie has done fabulous and one of the parents took this great video of her playing today. I can't say how grateful we are for it. Lisa hasn't been able to watch a game due to the little kids short attention span, so now finally we can watch it over and over!

Natalie is #14.

Note that in the last play she actually scores!

Vegan - Am I off my Rocker?

2010-04-06T10:25:00.001-07:00

Because it is more than likely that no more than two people read this blog, I’m going to air my thoughts on my most recent conversion. If anyone does read it, feel free to let me know if I’m off my rocker.

So I think I understand why people decide to go vegan and I think I might try the same.

This is could be huge change for me, just ask Lisa. I’ve always been one of those people who complained about not having enough meat on the dinner table. Just for reference, when we first got married, we used a one .lb block of ground beef for dinner in spaghetti, tacos, or you name the casserole. Now that we house six people, we still use a one .lb block of ground beef. I used to complain habitually about how, “a man needs more meat” and would even make suggestions by occasionally coming home with a few steaks (somewhat like a man coming home from a deer hunt).

You are probably saying, “here goes Ezra again”, but honestly, I think I have good reason. As I’ve upped my exercise routine with longer miles, faster tempos, and increased frequency, I tend to listen to my body more often.

Figure it out, if I’m about to go ride a bike for two hours, I have to manage what I eat for several hours before so I don’t have a brick in my stomach. Then while I ride, the last thing I want is to see that big hill and realize the energy isn’t there to get up it. Even worse, sometimes I ride out in the sticks or through the middle of town. If things start to,… um, “flow” either way, then I’ve got to act fast or it won’t be pretty. Then what about that next scheduled workout? Something has to give me some juice and let me go again.

Call it the pains of doing triathlons, but I love the way a good workout makes me feel for days afterward, so of course, I want to push myself again, and again, and again…What? You can’t find AJ and when was the last time I saw her? er, uh, yesterday? j/k

Of all the foods I’ve stashed in my bag for lunch, nothing quite does it like nuts, fruits, vegetables. My kids regularly tease me that I eat “nuts and berries” for lunch and on more than one occasion a sly little fox (Natalie) has slipped a peanut butter sandwich into my lunch bag. But the more I eat grains or meat, the more I feel like just sitting down and watching TV. They both still taste great and fill me up, but sometimes I wonder if my recovery after a meal really should be as long as my recovery have a 6 mile run on a hot day.

One could ask, “Is it a weight thing?” No, not really. If you have seen me lately, it certainly isn’t about weight. You can still count my ribs and my body fat is lower than ever, so if anything I’m concerned about being that skinny guy at work who everyone thinks has a disease. I’ve tried to gain muscle (or fat), but apparently it just isn’t my thing.

Can you really eat fruits and vegetables all day and not be hungry? To be honest, I can’t sit down to a fully compostable meal of twigs, but I can pick at fruits and veggies all day and stay perfectly content. Twenty minutes after I throw down some wheat thins or a ham sandwich I get that bloated, stuffy feeling that says, “relax, you’ve worked hard and need a break, how about some chips?” Wheat intolerance? Not likely, I’ve even tried just a few slices of any given meat. It all does the same.

So if do become a full blown granola, I’ll still eat my dairy, take a multivitamin, and grab a bite of the occasional whatever, but don’t be surprised if you see me microwaving an occasional sweet potato at the office during lunch.

And by the way, don’t even get me started on sugar. When I stop by the candy bowl at someone’s desk around 3:00, the rest of my day is ruined because all I can think about is eating more sugar or chocolate. The addicting habit of an afternoon candy bar has almost ruined me more than once.

(And yes Lisa, this fad will more than likely pass sometime as well.)

Reverently, Quietly . . .

2010-01-17T22:02:00.000-08:00

Today in sacrament meeting a two-year-old girl struggled to get past her six-year-old brother. He was guarding the aisle and keeping her in the row by bracing his feet against the bench in front of him. It was one of those magic moments in a sacrament meeting when the speaker has the congregation's full attention and they were hanging on his every word. The two-year-old flung out her arms, stomped her feet and shrieked in frustration. The child's mother whispered, "Don't hit your brother!" She replied in a loud and angry voice, "I didn't hit him, I kicked him!"

Sheesh, those Richards kids. I don't know why those parents can't teach their kids how to behave at church.

Natalie In Motion

2010-01-10T20:41:00.000-08:00

Someone just sent us this picture of Natalie from her last soccer season.

Christmas 2009

2010-01-01T18:15:00.000-08:00

I think everyone in the family would claim that Christmas this year was a hit.

Summer knew exactly what to do with a doll and bottle. She hasn't stopped since. Amanda received the exact same doll and it has been hilarious to watch the two race their strollers around the house or argue whose doll is whose.

Amanda helped me unwrap my new tie. Can you see the chocolate on her chin? It was the first thing she opened and she wasn't interested in anything else until it was gone.

This kid couldn't help but smile.

Halloween 2009

2010-01-01T18:08:00.000-08:00

I know it is late, but I had to show off the costumes that Lisa made. Note the quality pioneer dresses on Summer and Amanda. She also made the puppy costume for AJ.

As for Brendan, a $15 Darth Vader costume was more than worth it.

Gotcha!

2010-01-01T18:04:00.000-08:00

So my sister Heddie was married this summer to a guy that we all love (Ryan). Of course, someone had to decorate the car. All I can say is that the picture above shows evidence of who did the deed... ;)

I swear that Brendan and Natalie were there just to "watch".

The Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-19T14:03:00.000-07:00

Last year we skipped the pumpkin patch and the Christmas tree farm and we heard about it all year long. We bought our tree at Fred Meyer for $20 and we felt jipped. The thing lost half the needles before Santa could show up and the kids wondered if he would even bother stopping by.

Needless to say, this year they made it very clear that we had to visit the pumpkin patch. But what about the $20 pumpkins you ask?

Lisa made a deal with them. We'll go to the patch and ride the boat, ride the train, and do the maze but if we buy a pumpkin there, we can only get one. Otherwise we can go to WinCo and everyone can get their own pumpkin for $.17 a lbs.

And the kids chose Winco.

Now about the train and boat ride. We're not talking Disneyland here. the rides are about as low budget as person can get. Note the scary, tailless shark attacking our boat?

The train ride back was pretty tame, but AJ still managed to get scared with the noise.

The Laundry Basket

2009-10-19T13:55:00.000-07:00

Of course Summer and AJ are into sports as well. Previously you saw Summer doing the high jump into the washing machine. Below you see Summer complicating Mom's life.

Tae Kwon Do

2009-10-19T13:44:00.000-07:00

Brendan is going on 1 year in Tae Kwon Do and we've been happy with it. I think his confidence has grown and his motor skills have improved greatly. The sales pitch they hit you with makes you think they will build your kid into a combined Abraham Lincoln and Chuck Norris. We haven't seen that yet, but he has really taken an interest in Star Wars light sabers.

Above is Master Kim putting Brendan's latest belt on. Master Kim won the Olympic gold medal in Tae Kwon do in Barcelona in 1992. We have been very impressed with his patience and demeanor. But I still don't see the Lincoln/Norris connection.

Blue Lake Runs

2009-10-19T13:20:00.000-07:00

During the pre flu era (last week) I trained for a 15k run at Blue Lake in Gresham. The purpose was very selfish, I wanted to see how fast I could run.

Of course, I've dragged Lisa and the kids all over Portland to various races this summer. When I hit her up with this race, started off with, "Remember Blue Lake and the great play equipment they have there? They have a kids race! oh and did I mention a 15k!"

Natalie was at soccer so we took the other three and one of Brendan's friends.

At the start of the half mile run. I think the two boys were a little intimidated by #314.

This is Bren crossing the finish line. The funniest part was when anyone tried to pass him, he would speed up until they gave up. Then he would slow down to his little trot.

I didn't really like the pictures that came out for me, but I will say that I ran well. 7:13 average per mile and 11th place overall. That was good enough for 2nd in my age group. Not bad for my first attempt to be competitive.

And if anyone tries to tell you to carbo load by skipping all carbs for a few days and then piling on the pasta, don't do it. It is an evil trick to ruin your glory for a few days after the run.

The Kids

2009-10-19T13:17:00.000-07:00

Trouble

2009-10-19T13:13:00.001-07:00

The 14 month old is now hobbling (controlled walking) and getting in the most unlikely of places. Who knows what she was looking for inside the washer.

Usually she can't make it in, but I'm guessing that she just ate a big meal so her center of gravity was, uh, above the waist. All she had to do was start leaning and then...

Soccer Season

2009-10-19T12:36:00.000-07:00

With the change in cool weather comes soccer season! It seems like Natalie enjoys the game, but is starting to enjoy the socialization even more. Do other kids always go through that "I don't want to go tonight" and then dance around and be a clown at practice stage?

Brendan is playing too, but since I coach his team that leaves Lisa battling the two younger kids on the sidelines. I wonder what the parents would say if I took pictures while coaching the kids at the same time.

On second thought, I should record what they say. That would be much more funny.

Flu

2009-10-19T12:00:00.001-07:00

So I'm working on day #3 of the flu and getting quite tired of it. Unfortunately, I don't have the energy to do much. So what shall I do? Update the blog.

Of course, I don't really know if I have the swine flu, but I hear the risk getting H1N1 at the Dr. while getting tested is fairly high. So I'll just stay home until I'm better. Unless I start to making oinking sounds or grow pig ears.

So all of those who have not yet abandoned blogging for facebook, read on!

But she's still our baby

2009-07-26T21:18:00.000-07:00

Today Summer is one year old. Happy Birthday, Baby!
The kids played "Limbo" with streamers for a stick. More like "Speed Limbo" since they were running.

Brendan wrote a sweet card with some spelling help from Natalie.

She wasn't quite sure what to do with the cake. But she figured it out pretty quickly.

The cake was a hit! Happy Birthday Summer Pie!

Snake

2009-07-26T21:08:00.000-07:00

Written by Lisa:

I hate snakes. Hate them hate them hate them. Normally, they inspire shivers up and down my spine, a racing heartbeat, and a "creepy-crawly" feeling for the rest of the day.

Yesterday I was out in the backyard when this big guy slithered by about 12 inches from my foot. I did not freak out, my heart did not race, I didn't even move. I calmly called the kids to come see and to bring the camera. I proudly showed Ezra this photo tonight thinking he would be amazed at my newfound reptile maturity. The only thing he said was, "Why didn't you catch it????"

I guess I'll pat myself on the back. Good job, me.

Tae Kwon Do

2009-07-19T21:13:00.000-07:00

Brendan and Master Kim at Brendan's Tae Kwon Do rank advancement. I think Brendan's favorite part is the sparring where he gets to chase after one of the instructors to use his moves. I would hate to be on the receiving end of one of his attacks.

Silver Falls Part II

2009-07-19T21:05:00.000-07:00

A few more pictures of Upper North Falls and North Falls.

Camping at Silver Falls

2009-07-19T20:44:00.000-07:00

So Ezra, Natalie, and Brendan all took off on Thursday for a camping trip at Silver Falls near Salem, Oregon. The weather was hot, the place was packed, and they picked the perfect spot to go explore.
The pic above is just as we started the short hike down to the first two falls. an you see the trail right behind the water fall? Back in the 1930's the original owner of the land used to charge people $.10 to watch him push old cars off the falls into the pool/rocks below. Times have changed a bit.Natalie catching up on the Star Wars action...

Brendan chillin...
Dad nappin...and Brendan Karate Choppin?

My Morning Ride

2009-04-22T21:02:00.001-07:00

I feel like Superman.

Yes, on days I ride my bike I wake up before the crack of dawn and dash around the house putting on my tight little biker shorts and hoping I didn't forget a comb to smooth out my helmet hair when I finally arrive. Then I dash under the garage door, careful not to trigger the sensor, but as fast as I can in stiff biking shoes.

Then I'm off.

Riding into the dark on my white stallion, we fly past a few early morning joggers and hope that the just awoken driver is aware of the bright lights flashing in front and behind me. The first descent brings enough speed to need the fastest gear as I build for the first big hill. Just as I feel the sweat start to soaken my hands, I try shifting to a fighting gear, but as usual, shift the wrong way. "Crap!", I say and scramble to adjust and get my sorry butt up the hill.

Then I'm off again.

The descent is short, but oh so appreciated as I zoom around, quickly approaching the terrifying beast. Then, just before the last hill, What? A red stop light! NOOOOOOO! I need speed to tackle that monster! I'll unclip, no wait! I see yellow! I can do it! I peddle harder, then shift, relief, and pain. Shift, relief, pain. Shift, relief, pain. I stomp on the monster as I climb up his back, each time pushing my legs to grind as deeply as possible. Then I stand, one final assault at the peak of the battle.

I've conquered the magnificent creature.

I slow to a stop, unclip, and race down the steps to the already waiting train. I race to the door and wave to the waiting chauffer. People notice my breath and look away, surely wondering why someone would dress like a freak to fight for the day. I rack the bike and lean to the wall. Panting and feeling my legs tight as rocks. The people, they glance again at my battle gear as I smile and they look again to their books. I soak the looks in, for again, I conquered their creature.

And still they stare.

We escape at the booth and to hide from their stare. I stable the stallion and shower up fast. I change to my daily clothes and enter the routine. I walk to the floor and say hi to all who unknowingly just awoke. I sit at my desk and nobody knows.

Natalie, something is missing from your mouth!

2009-03-02T22:19:00.000-08:00

Any tricks to helping the tooth fairy remember the pick up and delivery?

Taste Test

2009-03-02T22:15:00.000-08:00

So AJ, which was the winner? Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, or the pear?

Natalie's Big Day

2009-03-02T22:07:00.001-08:00

Natalie turned 8 in February so she decided to be baptized and become a member of our church. It was a very special day for the entire family, especially because Grandma and Grandpa Heath were able to attend as well as Grandma Jean.

Who has been playing with the camera?

2009-03-02T21:51:00.001-08:00

We downloaded the pictures to the camera today. Lets see if we can guess who has been playing with it.

Upside down on the couch. Could someone have been standing on their head with a camera?

Lights must have been out. 23 perfectly black pictures.

I think we have a clue....

More feet?

Getting warmer...
Gotcha!

He used 143 pictures. Good thing we don't have to pay for film anymore.

BRENDAN!!!!

Fire!!!!

2009-03-02T21:35:00.000-08:00

So on Sunday Ezra had the brilliant idea to make cinnamon rolls. He has made them before, but this time things turned out a bit differently. As the rolls expanded, butter dripped onto the tinfoil in the bottom of the oven and started smoking. We opened all the windows and the kids were swinging towels around trying to get the smoke out.

Then before we knew it, flames were in the oven and making even more smoke. Luckily we pulled out the nearby fire extinguisher and put the fire out.

The worst part: The lost cinnamon rolls.

The funniest part: From the moment Ezra said fire, it took Brendan exactly .05 seconds to be out the front door and to the designated emergency meeting tree.

What we learned: We have 7 smoke detectors in our house and everyone of them works very well. Also, Summer can sleep through all 7 without waking up.

Fact #1: The smell of smoke can last in your house for at least two days (and counting).

Fact #2: Cleaning out the oven is worse than cleaning up any kid fluids.

The Best Part: An unforgettable lesson (including visual aids) in fire safety.

The Next Sunday Cooking Challenge: Rice Krispie Treats

"Mom, my toast didn't taste very good today."

2009-01-06T12:02:00.000-08:00

This past Sunday after church, we were having toast for lunch. It was the "healthy" precursor to our Sunday Sundaes (our weekly bribe for good church behavior). Ezra served everyone toast with what he called his new "secret sauce". He later showed us that he had added a little sprinkle of nutmeg to go with the cinnamon and sugar we normally use. We all thought it was a nice twist to our standard toast.

Today I told Brendan to make his own breakfast while I showered. At our house, "making breakfast" generally means pouring yourself a bowl of cereal and milk. Brendan took advantage of my absence today and decided to do a little cooking on his own.

So as I was finishing drying my hair, Brendan came into my bedroom. Here is our conversation:

Brendan: "Mom, my toast didn't taste very good today."
Lisa: "Toast? You made toast?"
Brendan: "Yes, but it didn't taste very good." (makes a yucky face)
Lisa: "Umm, okay (trying to be patient while thinking of the mess in the kitchen). Did it get burned?"
Brendan: "No."
Lisa: "Well, why didn't it taste very good?"
Brendan: "Well, I tried to use Daddy's secret sauce. But I didn't know which one it was. (remember, he's still learning to read) So I had to use them all."
Lisa: "All of what?"
Brendan: "All of the little things."
Lisa: "You mean all of the little spices?"
Brendan: "Yes, spices."

I came downstairs to find his toast preparing station:
Here I have lined up the spices so they can be clearly seen. He remembered from Sunday what the nutmeg container looked like and found all of the similar-looking canisters in my spice rack:
And here is the tasty toast. That is a quarter-inch-thick layer of spices on the second slice!
And yes, that is also a snickerdoodle on his breakfast plate. I guess he found that in the freezer while getting out the bread. I'm not sure why he didn't finish that.

I think tomorrow I will stay in the kitchen while Brendan makes his breakfast.

Update

2008-12-26T10:17:00.000-08:00

Wii won.

Tae Kwon Do

2008-12-15T21:32:00.000-08:00

When soccer finished we immediately started looking for another activity for Brendan because everyone seems so much happier when he has something to keep him busy. Luckily, his school had a Tae Kwon Do class for a few weeks that seemed to channel some of his energy.

At the end, they put on a show and had an official "Board Breaking" ceremony. If you are not a grandma or grandpa, you may not be interested...but we thought his little performance was quite cute. Especially as he tries to keep up with the other kids.

Let's just say he is quite pleased with his performance...

Oh, and we signed him up!

A Driveway with a View

2008-12-10T13:19:00.001-08:00

Who says Oregon winters are dreary and gray?

"Santa is all I can think about!"

2008-12-10T12:50:00.000-08:00

Today Brendan said to me, "Mom, when it's Christmas like this, Santa is just all I can think about."

He left, and then after an usually quiet fifteen minutes, he came back and said, "Mom, I'm sorry to tell you that as I was counting the Christmas presents, my biggest present ripped open. All I could see was some black, so I don't really know what it is. I repaired it with some orange paper."

Now didn't he do a nice repair job?

Other Christmas comments by Brendan:

"Santa doesn't really go down each chimney. He just flies over each chimney and drops the presents down. He has to hurry because there are so many houses."

"Santa has a pocket with every garage door opener in the world in it. That's how he really gets in."

"Santa doesn't get to sleep. He just has to keep delivering presents to all the houses."

"Santa is already delivering presents. It takes him so so long because there are so many houses. So he has to start now."

Way Behind

2008-12-10T12:43:00.000-08:00

I hope our blog readers (both of you) aren't feeling neglected at our lack of posts. This blog is not the only thing that we are behind on. Although we did get our Christmas tree, half of our Halloween decorations are still up. And this will probably be the first year of our marriage that we won't be sending out Christmas cards. Apologies to all. We promise to make them extra-glittery next year.

But we just might get a couple of new blog posts up soon. We certainly have plenty to blog about. Just don't hold your breath waiting for the new posts!

A Typical Saturday Morning At Our House

2008-11-19T21:38:00.001-08:00

"The Worst Mom"? "Dumb"? Ouch!!

2008-11-10T08:51:00.000-08:00

On the way home from grocery shopping on Saturday, Natalie casually mentioned that the kids in her class think that I am "the worst mom" because I don't make very good lunches since I don't put many treats in her lunch box.

Well, I believe that fruit snacks are equivalent to gummy bears, that goldfish crackers are essentially cardboard, and I actually follow our pediatrician's and dentist's advice to cut out most juice, especially the juice box-type drinks. So if that makes me "the worst mom" then I guess I am, in fact, the worst mom. But, ouch, that hurts my feelings! I don't want to be the worst mom. I don't want the kids at school to think Natalie has a witch for a mother. This is not a fun feeling.

I then asked Natalie how many kids' moms write notes to them on their napkins that are packed with their lunch? She could only think of one other child in her class. So I felt happy that at least she knows she's loved when she gets her napkin note from mom every day at lunch.

Now this morning as I was packing her lunch, she mentioned that the kids in school think that I am "D-U-M-B" (yes, she spelled it out for me) because of the things that I write on her napkins. Ouch again! I do write rather silly things on her napkins, like "Boom Shaka-Laka" or "10 days til Halloween" or "Thanks for making your bed so nicely this morning". I can picture the kids sitting down at their lunch table and someone saying, "So, Natalie, what did your mom write today?" in a mocking voice and everyone laughing. Again, not a fun feeling.

I expected peer pressure to come someday on clothes, music, going to sleepovers, etc., but SACK LUNCHES? I must confess, that every once in a while, I DO buy fruit snacks, goldfish crackers, and red-colored sugar water mislabeled as "juice", mainly because I recognize that a sandwich and fruits and veggies can get boring day after day. But I guess an occasional treat is not enough for my daughter to escape ridicule.

Should I just ignore the pressure and take satisfaction in knowing that she is eating healthy? Or should lunches from our house become a pre-packaged party of sugar and cardboard?

Signed,
Lisa (aka "the Worst mom")

Lightning Brendan

2008-11-01T23:12:00.000-07:00

Brendan played on the Purple Dragons soccer team. The kid is fast if you just can keep him moving in the right direction.

Natalie Soccer

2008-11-01T23:05:00.000-07:00

Natalie played on the Purple Panthers team this year with a crew of her friends and did great. \

Check out the war paint she put on to keep the sun out of their eyes...wait...this is Portland in October...there is no sun in your eyes!

(Hint: You can click on the picture for a larger image)

Summer Doing What She Does Best

2008-11-01T23:00:00.000-07:00

Halloween

2008-11-01T22:48:00.000-07:00

Two pioneer girls, one pumpkin, and one Boba Fett with a laser gun (that makes an awful noise). The funniest event of the evening was seeing this 8 year old pioneer girl run around with a laser gun...

Lisa made the pioneer costumes, don't they look great!

And AJ had a great time.

Carving the Pumpkins

2008-11-01T22:25:00.000-07:00

We originally planned to go the pumpkin patch, but after unending weeks of soccer, we were exhausted. On the way out of the last soccer party we saw a pile of pumpkins at a grocery store and offered root beer floats and one pumpkin each if we could just pick one out and go home...boy I'm sure glad the kids like root beer.

As can see, the kids designed them and then we helped cut them out. For the first time, Natalie scooped everything out by herself.

Summer Smiles

2008-09-17T13:07:00.001-07:00

It's been appearing randomly for a couple of weeks, but today we finally captured it--Summer's smile!

"Should I smile for Mom?"
"I guess maybe just a little smile."

"Okay, you can have a big smile."
"Here it is!"

"Now give me back my fingers to suck on!"

Move over applesauce, Amanda's got a new favorite food

2008-09-17T12:59:00.000-07:00

When she gets hungry, she knows just what to do--head straight for the freezer for some Tillamook!

Visualization of Hood to Coast Results

2008-09-02T22:14:00.000-07:00

Remember, I'm an absolute data geek...so please have patience with me.

When I ran Hood to Coast with the Team "Runs in the Family", we placed 201st in the Mixed Masters group. So I grabbed the race results and plugged them into my new favorite website - Many Eyes. The site takes your data and plugs it into different visual graphics. Just think of user friendly Excel that helps you visualize results and interact with the graph.

So how did our finish time compare to other teams?

The professional teams are to the far left. My team finished 201st.

How fast were the teams from the different cities?

Each color represents a city. The larger the circle, the slower the time. If you mouse over the circle you can see the team name and place they finished.

And lastly, the distribution of where we finished.

Thanks for listening...I got the "That's nice dear" look from Lisa when I showed her...

I promise to not show any more math or running posts for a long time...

Friends Come to Visit

2008-09-02T20:50:00.000-07:00

We had some fun when some friends from California came to visit this summer.

In mid-July, our good friend and former across-the-street neighbor Melodi came to visit. She and her two children, Nehemiah and Adie were visiting her mom in Eugene, so they came up for dinner one Sunday afternoon. We met Melodi's mom and were able to catch up on what has happened in the year since we both moved from Lorelei Ave. The kids got to play Legos with Nehemiah (just like old times) and we were able to meet Adie for the first time. The only thing missing was Ken, who hadn't arrived in Oregon yet.

Then last week, Tom and Mindy and their three girls from good old Lakewood 3rd Ward came by. They were driving through Portland on their way to a family reunion on the coast. They stopped by to say hi. We ate pizza and the kids kept busy on the trampoline. I had wondered if the kids would be shy around each other, but after about 10 seconds of shyness, it was like they had all seen each other yesterday. Good times!

So if anyone out there is making travel plans, please note that if you come to the northwest, you can get a free dinner at our house! We love visitors!

Hood to Coast

2008-08-26T21:49:00.000-07:00

What Hood to Coast is NOT:
-A trail some tree hugger treks each year
-A rap song about the homeboy Richards clan (wouldn't even know where to start)
-Wearing a hoodie while you snorkle...
-The latest Oregon Rain gear (environmentally friendly of course)
-Something I want to do again in the next 350 days

What is it really?

A 197 mile relay race from Mt. Hood to the Oregon coast. Twelve people to a team and over 1000 teams participating. Imagine traffic jams, no sleep, sweaty runners, and way to many crazy people torturing themselves to finish the race.

But we had a blast....

Heddie, my sister, came up and showed us how the pros do it. At one point I even heard someone say, "Dang she's fast! She's even faster than when she started!"

Above you can see the cheering squad at the end of our first run. The whole family made it!

Below is our team. I'll tell you, by the end of this race I knew everyone very well...

What a great time...if you ever get a chance, I highly recommend it.

Size

2008-08-01T23:28:00.000-07:00

Amanda still seems like such a baby to us, but the difference in size amazes us.

Amy Yoder Begley - Olympian

2008-08-01T23:17:00.000-07:00

Today we drove by a local shopping center and saw a big crowd of people all waiting in line to meet and get their picture with Amy Yoder Begley. She is running the 5000 meters (10k) at the Olympics in a few weeks. She was super nice and signed pictures for the kids. She runs about 70 miles a week and cross trains a ton. Even more impressive...her mile pace is about 6 minutes. Geez I feel like a slug.

Go Amy!!!

Does anyone else have their kids pumped up about the Olympics?

A Great Help

2008-08-01T23:09:00.000-07:00

Grandma came to visit and was able to hold the baby and help out on a million other things.

Thanks Grandma!

Summer Ann Richards Pictures

2008-07-28T13:38:00.000-07:00

Summer Ann Richards

2008-07-27T19:08:00.000-07:00

Lisa and I finally got together for some time without the kids, but we were happily interrupted at 4:09 when Summer decided to visit.

The facts...
-She checked in at 9 lbs. 5 ounces. The largest of our four.
-She is 21 inches long which is the same length as Brendan, but his feet were much bigger.
-She sleeps a lot. Natalie, Brendan, and AJ were a bit noisy (or rather, they kept us up all night).
-Lisa is doing very well and will come home Monday morning. She was a true champ.
-Ezra barely made it.

Check back later for a few pictures.

What's Happening this Summer?

2008-07-21T20:47:00.000-07:00

Here is a quick summary of our summer thanks to Wordle.net
(Click the image to enlarge)

More from the Backyard

2008-07-16T13:49:00.000-07:00

Ezra has come up with some great ideas to keep the kids busy this summer. We call Tuesdays our "Creative Projects" day. On these days, Ezra sets up supplies and instructions with a few starter ideas. Then we turn them loose in the backyard.

Our first project back in June was pinatas. They had balloons, newspaper strips, and paper-mache paste. They needed some help to get doing, but seemed to enjoy the gooey mess. They finished the paper-mache part over three or four days, but they don't seem motivated to decorate the pinatas or break them (even though we already bought some candy to fill them). I think they just don't want to destroy their hard work.

The next project was "Fort Richards". They got old sheets, clothespins, blank t-shirts, markers, and anything they could scrounge out of our recycling bins. We thought that once they had their fort set up, they would happily play in it. It turns out that for them, all of the fun was in the building and they weren't quite sure what to do with it once it was built.

Presenting . . . "Fort Richards":
Soldiers guarding their fort:
Check out their t-shirts. You can tell from Brendan's upside-down name that they were colored while the soldiers were wearing them.

What's happening in our backyard . . .

2008-07-08T16:41:00.000-07:00

Our backyard is having a busy summer. It will take a few posts to get it all in. Let's start with our great up-close "nature experience".

In May, a robin started building a nest in the rafters on our covered deck. It was abandoned shortly after and the beginnings of the nest fell down. Then a couple of weeks later, the robin (or possibly another robin--they all look alike, you know!) returned, and she was serious this time. The nest was built in just a couple of days. Then two robins started hanging around. When they were gone, we checked the nest a few times to see if there were any eggs. We never saw any eggs in the nest. Now we know that we weren't looking deep enough into the nest. Then about two weeks later, the robin started flying back and forth with worms. We watched carefully and realized there were little tiny beaks pointing skyward to receive the worms. The eggs had been laid, kept warm, and hatched ten feet from our kitchen table and we were clueless!
After only a couple of days, the baby birds had grown enough to reach their necks up and be seen. We counted four. The kids really got into watching the nest. Even Amanda, sitting in her high chair would give a little yell when she saw the mother bird arriving at the nest.
It was amazing to watch the mother robin go back and forth and back and forth with worms ALL DAY LONG. I tried to think of a fitting analogy between bird mothers and human mothers. Here's what I came up with: robin mothers and human mothers stay really busy trying to feed their families. Observant, deep, and profound, I know. I should become a writer, don't you think? Ha!

Once we saw the mother come back with a frog (maybe an inch and a half long). The baby birds fought over it. We're still not sure how the winner choked it down.

Here they are, approximately two weeks after hatching. They left the nest within the next 48 hours.
We read on Wikipedia that only 25% of baby robins survive the first year. The day our robins left the nest, we found one of them dead near our fence. We hope that the three remaining robins fare a little better and maybe next spring one will come back to build their own nest in the same spot.

Shoezy Suzy (aka Amanda)

2008-07-01T12:08:00.001-07:00

Watch out Imelda Marcos--Amanda has a shoe infatuation! When she isn't wearing her own little pair of summer sandals, she's trying someone else's shoes on for size.

Daddy's shoes are a little hard to balance in:

Mommy's flip flops are way too big:

Natalie's sandals are smaller than Mom's, but are still tricky to stand up and walk in:

Brendan's fit a little better, she can actually walk around the house:

Amanda keeps us smiling!

Competition in the Marriage

2008-06-25T11:27:00.000-07:00

So we picked up a new game a few weeks ago and it has become quite a competition between the two of us. I won the first 3 games and Lisa thought about nothing except playing again. Now she has absolutely demoralized me twice in a row. Did anyone out there have a clue that Lisa has such a competitive steak? She doesn’t just win... she takes your shirt off and throws it out the door!

Lisa, I challenge you to a rematch to tie the score (3-3)!

BTW, our favorite game with the kids right now is Pictionary Junior. Who knew Brendan could draw like a little Picasso! He definitely has his mother’s competitive streak.

Bookworms? Ya think??

2008-06-18T19:49:00.000-07:00

It's a picture perfect summer evening, and this is how our kids are making the most of the gorgeous weather:

At the Races

2008-06-18T19:13:00.000-07:00

Ezra wasn't the only one to race last Saturday. The kids and I (Lisa) signed up for a 1K Hike 'n Bike. The idea was that we could cover the short course together with me pushing Amanda in the stroller. Yes, I am eight months pregnant, but one kilometer is practically NOTHING!
Here we are just after checking in. We still have fifteen minutes before our race starts.
Natalie and Brendan were bored, so they started running up and down the steps. Good warm up for their race muscles. Plus, it was chilly outside.

Here we are lined up at the starting line. When the kids heard "GO," they took off (Natalie running and Brendan on his bike) faster than I have ever seen either of them move. So much for staying together. Running is not option for someone in my condition. I didn't see the kids again until the finish line, where they had already finished their snacks and drink and had gotten tired of waiting for me.
And by the way, that race was at least two kilometers, probably more like 2.5. Even in my current state, I can walk a mile in twenty minutes. I was walking my very fastest and it took me thirty-five minutes to finish. That's a mean trick for Parks & Rec to play on a pregnant lady. All in all, a great first "race" experience for the kids. As for me, I should have just waited for them at the finish line and saved my energy.

After our race, we went to go meet Ezra at the half marathon.

My champion runners:

Running!!!

2008-06-16T19:50:00.000-07:00

On Saturday I, Ezra, ran the Helvetia Half Marathon for one of my New Years resolutions. You probably remember the post on my training log.

Let me just say that I had a blast and I’m already looking for another. Lisa thinks I’m crazy but I’d like to find a marathon sometime in September or October. Unfortunately, almost everything lands on a Sunday, unless I want to go race above the oxygen zone in Utah. If you know of a good one, let me know.

So how did I do?

I finished in 1:52:46. A 8.5 minute per mile pace throughout the 13.1 miles. I had done a very long training run (11 miles) the week before and then did a 4 mile sprint a few days later so unfortunately I was a bit sore during most of the run. Oh well. The race felt great and it was an awesome environment to be in. Even better, the race was very well organized and was actually quite peaceful—even with the scores of racers puffing up the hills.

Now if you really like math…stick around…

A short time after the race, I noticed that the times of all finishers and all kids of other data was posted to the website. So of course, the math geek in me was curious to know how well I really did. So I tabulated the frequency and created a distribution showing the finishing times of all runners.

What does this mean?

It shows the number of people that finished at any given time. My overall finishing place was 503rd out of 2607 runners. Or rather, my time fell in the column identified with the red arrow. The good news was that I was slightly better than average for the runners (assuming most of the finishers after 2:50:00 were walkers).

But wait!

Then I was looking at the data, I noticed a 66 year old guy and over 160 women beat me (no joke!). So as I was feeling washed up I noticed that the age groups were listed as well!

A few short clicks and I came up with the distribution above showing how well I did against the males in my age group. I still finished better than half of all runners in my age group who ran the race, but not by much. Again, the tail trailing to the right was most likely made up of walkers. Shaving just 15 seconds off each mile would easily take me into top 25% of runners.

What have I learned?

Buy new shoes and training makes all the difference. Also, next time I run a race I plan to have a goal to shoot for—not just a plan to finish the race.

If anyone is out there and wants to go for a run…just give me a call!

John Deere

2008-05-08T22:42:00.000-07:00

I had to go to Davenport, Iowa for work this week. I didn't quite know what to expect, but I ended up having a great time...especially because of John Deere. John Deere headquarters and a huge museum are nearby, so of course I had to go check out a piece of American history!

Now if I could only convince them to let me take them for a spin...

Lisa's Side on the Wii

2008-04-21T21:40:00.000-07:00

Ezra really wants to get a Wii--EVERYONE has one, you know. Think of all we're missing!

I do not want to get a Wii. Here are my reasons:

Eleven months ago we made a drastic change in our home—no tv for the kids. No PBS Kids, no Disney Channel, no Nickelodeon. No videos from the library, no Wiggles! Only two or three times a month for family movie night do they get to sit like rotten vegetables, staring and drooling at our television.

It took two agonizing months for the “can I watch TV?” requests to go from at least twenty per day to now only once or twice a week. The new “default” activity has changed from watching TV to picking up a book or crayons. Natalie has become a voracious reader. And even though he can’t technically “read” yet, Brendan can spend hours engrossed in books. And when they are not reading books, sometimes they actually play creatively. They use their dress-up clothes, food and dishes, dolls, trucks and lots of empty boxes to head off on some sort of adventure together. Often the adventures are a re-enactment of Little House on the Prairie, a series that Natalie has been reading (they have never seen the show). Playing creatively like that was rare when TV was an option.

Now why would we want to take these two “unplugged” kids and plug them back into electronic entertainment? They aren’t even asking for it. They do not know what a Wii is. Someday (probably soon), they will play it at a friend’s house, love it, and ask for it. We can think about it then. But as for now, we have a "no video games" plan for our family. And that plan is working just fine.

Ezra and I are having a fun debate over this and figured that if we each posted our point of view, we'd be sure to get comments and advice from everyone. So . . . what do YOU think?

Ezra's Side on the Wii

2008-04-21T21:31:00.000-07:00

So I’m torn.

Lisa doesn’t want a video game system in the house but I’m a little more willing to try the Wii (although I have no interest in the other game systems).

I think the differences lie in how we view the system. Lisa looks at it like another mind numbing activity you play for hours on end. I view the Wii not as a video game system, but more of an activity; similar to a trampoline, pool table, or even a TV.

Her biggest concern is manageable, I think. We (including me) don’t want to become the zombies who think about beating Zelda during Sacrament meeting. The risk is manageable (again, I think) because we manage the TV very well and only turn it on for two monthly Netflix movies, Lisa’s The Office fix, and Lost.

The Advantages: The Wii looks like something I can compete with my kids on and get some activity (or wear out the kids) even when the weather outside is less than appealing. To play, the kids have to move and I won’t bet bored playing Chutes and Ladders for the thousandth time.

Things we will have to deal with:

Brendan begging, “Can I play the Wii?” Very similar to what he does now with the computer.
Shutting it off after the kids go to bed. I can just see myself playing until the late night hours-Just like I played Zaxxon in high school with my Dad.
Setting limits on how much we play. We already have a limit on computer time, bed time, shower time, etc…how many more timers do we need to have? At some point these kids are going to wake up starting their stopwatch.

I guess I’m hoping for the ultimate entertainment device that Lisa can plug the kids into as she cooks dinner. The kids get all the wiggles out and sit down to a calm, peaceful dinner. Strangely, their reflexes are so much faster from the exercise that they manage to catch everything before it spills or falls on the floor. Once dinner is over, the kids exhausted from playing the Wii, complain that they are tired and want to go to bed early. We all calmly sleep the night away while the kids do math problems in their heads.

Doesn’t that sound idyllic? I don’t have any idea where the math part comes in, but if it helps me convince Lisa, I might try to justify it.

Anyone else have thoughts on the video game system vs. no video game system?

Brendan Sleeping

2008-04-11T22:18:00.001-07:00

Brendan insisted on sleeping with all of his stuffed animals (or at least those he could find). When we went in to check on him, he had made space for each of the animals and had no room left to sleep. He squeezed into the corner and zonked out. I think his leg is actually falling between the bed and wall.

I wonder what he'll look like at 2AM. I'll bet he climbs into the other bed....Can't disturb Dalmatian, Quacky, and the others.

Camping During Spring Break

2008-04-11T22:08:00.000-07:00

Because we were confined to the house during Spring Break, we decided we had to do something interesting to keep the kids entertained and make up for the loss of the missed trip to California.

So what did we do? We went camping inside. Yes, we set up the tent, made smores in the fireplace, and ate tinfoil dinners by flashlight. The tent was a tight squeeze, but it fit! We'll have to test it out during the summer!

As usual, Natalie has tied to a book and could hardly finish dinner.

Brendan's 5th Birthday

2008-04-05T13:23:00.000-07:00

When we are celebrating three birthdays in eleven days early in the year, Brendan feels like it is NEVER going to be his birthday. But sure enough, it came! We had a Transformer-themed party (just the five of us).

He couldn't wait to open the birthday package from Grandma and Grandpa. He thought this was a very cool birthday card.
Mater pajamas that are his favorite color! What a score!
Blow out the candles! Happy birthday, Brendan!

Bike Riding

2008-04-05T13:08:00.001-07:00

Brendan got a bike for his birthday. We had planned to go bike riding right after his birthday dinner (pizza and broccoli--his choice). First, he needed a little help from Dad. In this photo, Natalie is riding behind Bren and Ezra on the path.

He was very happy. The joys of a bike ride!
After about two minutes with dad, he was ready to go on his own. He even turned his head and smiled for this photo as he raced around the track.
He caught on pretty quickly.
Hey! Wait for us!
Amanda explored the t-ball field while everyone else was riding around.

April Fool's Day Pranks

2008-04-02T20:10:00.000-07:00

We are always up for a few pranks...

Ezra started the day finding green milk and all the cereal bags switched around to different cereal boxes. He gave up and finally opened a new box of his favorite Wheat Chex. When Natalie woke up she said, "Why is the milk colored when it isn't even April Fool's Day?" It took her a while to wake up, I guess. Brendan was delighted when Cinnamon Life poured out of the Cheerios box and refused to "fix" the cereals when it was time to clean up. "I want April Fool's tomorrow, too," he said.

Then as Natalie scrambled for the bus, she found all the coats (we have a lot!) separately packed in grocery bags and thrown in a pile on the floor. She screeched and worried show would be late for the bus. After a few minutes of calming down, she dug through the pile and ran out the door.

Then for dinner, we all sat down to eat with unusual utensils and plates. Brendan struggled to keep things separate in his salad bowl, but he ate everything without complaint so maybe we'll try that again tonight. Natalie ate with salad tongs off a muffin tin. Ezra did well with his spatula and Lisa really liked eating off the cookie sheet because it was hard to spill--Everyone agrees that Natalie should use the cookie sheet every night. Amanda did just fine with her fingers, as she does every night.

Happy April 1!!!

What we are Playing At Our House

2008-03-29T23:16:00.000-07:00

The adults and kids can play and neither gets bored.

Anyone else played it? Any other good recommendations for fun family games?

A Hit!

2008-03-29T23:10:00.000-07:00

Can I just say the trampoline has been a hit with our kids. Nothing like telling them to go burn off some energy outside before dinner. I can't wait for summer!

Amanda's back . . . and she's discovered candy

2008-03-27T13:52:00.000-07:00

We are happy to report that Amanda has almost fully recovered from some complications of pneumonia that prevented our Spring Break trip to California. Thanks to everyone for their prayers and help with meals and watching the big kids while we spent most of last week at the doctor's office, x-ray lab, and hospital.

Of course, Amanda doesn't realize what she has been through. But on Easter morning, she made a wonderful discovery. She learned that the colorful plastic eggs hidden throughout the house can be opened with a good squeeze. And then she learned what CANDY is and where to put it (straight into her mouth). She became quite the scavenger over the next couple of days, finding lost jelly beans and an occasional missed Easter egg. We are so glad to have our happy and busy little girl back!
Happy Easter, everyone!

Backyard Progress

2008-03-26T23:35:00.001-07:00

We finally finished the planters for our garden. Now we just need to set them in the ground and fill them with good planting soil.

The kids already have stuff picked out to plant...Broccoli, corn, pears, apples, and bananas. Lisa and I hope for tomatoes, broccoli, peppers, carrots, and lettuce. Maybe we'll just tell the kids the seed is a from a banana ...but something weird happened so it came out as a tomato.

The Science Project

2008-03-26T23:23:00.000-07:00

Since we couldn't go to California, I thought I would post a few quick pictures of things we've done over the past several weeks.

This one is of Natalie's Science Project. She did a great job!

Just a quick, funny story. She did all the typing in MS Word and of course there were a few misspellings. At one point, she asked me what the green squiggly line underneath many of the words meant. I told her it was a grammar error. I then started explaining that the red line meant a spelling error, but she quickly stopped me by saying with a smile "oh, I already knew that!" She also figured out that if she forgot to capitalize a word after a period, the computer would do if for her. Pretty soon she just started letting the computer do all the capitalizations.

Dr. Pope Would be Proud

2008-03-26T22:51:00.000-07:00

The Rock Score:

Natalie: 5 buckets
Brendan: 1 bucket

The kids raced outside this morning in the pouring rain and each filled a bucket. When the rain stopped, Natalie went back out with a vengeance and was still working when I came home. She even had another bucket that was almost full, but she was too tired and hungry to finish it.

Some interesting observations...

1) Brendan started fast and furious but petered out quickly. I don't think he really understands the value of a dollar yet. He doesn't really have a toy that he is drooling over (or should I say he just wants every toy?), so he really isn't yet motivated by a few extra green papers in his wallet.

2) Natalie was thinking about all the money she was earning the entire time. When I came home from work and asked her about what she was going to buy, she said a CD player, a Hanna Montana CD, and stuff for my room. So she must realize that with money you can buy cool stuff and that to get money all it takes is a little work. One of the neatest things to see was that Lisa didn't have to bug Natalie to do the work....she just went out and did it.

3) The kids quickly learned that if you used the rake, you could fill the bucket much faster. They apparently also learned that if extra leaves and dirt were put into the bucket, the bucket filled up even faster. We weren't sticklers on the amount of dirt and leaves in the bucket, but the kids found a flaw in the payment process and took advantage of it. Good for them! But next time I'm going to set a stricter rule.

Just so you know, we don't pay the kids for every job they do. They have a very long list of regular chores that have to be done or they can't do certain activities. We only pay for money jobs that are above and beyond the normal call of duty...or Lisa and I just don't want to do them.

Either way, I'm very proud of Natalie. She did a great job and worked very hard. Now if I can just find the right incentive for Brendan... Any suggestions about what works with boys?

BTW: Dr. Pope was my Econ 110 Professor...I loved that guy.

Lava Rocks and the Value of a Buck

2008-03-25T21:32:00.000-07:00

Much to our chagrin, the previous owners of our house filled the flower beds up with lava rocks. Of course the rocks are grenades, lawn mower missiles, and flower killers so they had to go. Unfortunately, quite a few still hide in the bushes and in the mud.

Anyone remember Econ 110? I loved it because I think all people are motivated by self interest--even irrational 5 and 7 year olds. So I ran an experiment (don't tell the social workers) using my ki..., I mean guinea pigs.

On Monday, I offered $2.50 per bucket of rocks that the kids found. It worked pretty well. Brendan was the first to fill a bucket and then Natalie persisted and filled two buckets. Of course, we heaped the praises on them and gave them the money as soon as possible.

Now I know for a fact that there are still quite a few rocks out there...so I offered them this.

It is supposed to rain tomorrow but Thursday and Friday we have other plans... I guess we'll see how much Natalie wants that Hanna Montana CD and how much Brendan wants another transformer.

I'll post their earnings tomorrow.

Our Backyard Fun

2008-03-23T21:26:00.000-07:00

We followed everyone's advice and picked up the trampoline. Ezra is totally bummed that his nice, new, green grass is covered. Of course it was a family project to put the whole thing together. This is just a quick video of us putting it together.

The rules are strict:
1) Your parents have to agree before you jump
2) Only 2 people of similar age at a time
3) No toys or flips on the tramp
4) No fighting, pushing, or wrestling (at least no wrestling without dad)

There are a whole bunch more. What rules do you use?

It's a . . . . . . . girl?

2008-03-09T21:33:00.000-07:00

Our long-awaited ultrasound was Friday. I think I was more on-the-edge-of-my-seat excited with this one than I was with Natalie or Brendan (we chose to be surprised with Amanda). I was POSITIVE it was a boy. Ezra didn't have feelings one way or the other. We left only knowing one thing for sure-- baby #4 is very modest. He/she kept his/her legs crossed almost the entire time. We were able to get a brief glimpse and the ultrasound tech gave her opinion that it was "probably" a girl. So, yea, another girl!!! We think. We'll let you know in July. ;-)

Ezra's Run

2008-02-25T14:48:00.002-08:00

One of my typical New Years resolutions is to exercise more, but I always seem to fall short of the level I would like to be at. I also firmly believe that "what gets measured, gets done"... So if I could some how measure my progress and have all my friends bug me about keeping my goal, I will somehow succeed. Right?

And so I signed up for a half marathon.

Now how will I measure it? Click here. Each time I run, I'm going to log my time and miles in this handy little spreadsheet. Then I can easily compare that to the plan I found at some fanatical runners site selling spandex (not going to happen) and $200 shoes (Looking for the right excuse).

Occasionally, I'll publish a little graph, like the one below, showing how I'm doing.

The spreadsheet also shows the course I ran (find the web address to the right) and other bits and pieces of data that I'll collect along the way.

I expect to start slow...hey I just had surgery...and I doubt I'll ever hit the 25 miles per week, but at least I've committed to all my friends and the www that I'm going to finally get into shape...or kill myself running 13.1 miles.

Now, to make this work, I need everyone to bug me about it and I need your motivational support.

And how can I get people to help me?

If you leave a short motivational quote or comment, I'll write it on a white t-shirt that I'll wear on race day... Ok, that sounds kind of cheesy, but if you think its a good idea, let me know and I'll still think about it.

Either way ... help me! I need motivation!

Endoscopic Nose Blah Blah Blah...

2008-02-23T16:12:00.001-08:00

So Ezra had Endoscopic Nose Surgery on Thursday and is home recovering quite well. Lots of naps, tissues, and pain killer has kept him quite passive. The kids have been very patient and helpful. Look at the cute note Natalie made for him on the day he came home.
Click on it to see a larger picture.

Let me point out a few things...first he just finished reading the book "Ender's Shadow". Can you see the book and words in the lower left hand?

Second, Ezra works for an electric company that builds lots of power lines. Can you see the spelling of Electricity and the power lines?

Lastly, we were looking at stars last night as we drove around.

What a thoughtful kid!

Bowling with Brendan

2008-02-13T21:02:00.000-08:00

Tonight was "Mommy-Son" date night. Brendan and I went bowling. This was his first time and it had been many, many years since I had bowled, so it was an adventure for us both.

Have any of you been bowling lately? Bowling has changed since the 1990s at the Wilk. They have AUTOMATIC bumpers. They popped up for Brendan and went down when it was my turn. They also have fancy animated balls and pins acting out strike/spare/gutter/etc. on the overhead screen. But the rental shoes still stink.

I wish I had a picture so you could see Brendan in his little size 11 bowling shoes, hugging his six-pound bowling ball. He loved that ball. As soon as it came out of the machine, he grabbed it and held it until it was his turn. First he tried bowling the regular way, with one arm. Too heavy. Then he switched to the "granny", setting the ball on the ground and giving it a big underhanded push. That worked better, but the ball still rolled so slowly down the lane that he got bored waiting to see if it would hit anything.

Once as I was starting my steps towards the lane, he yelled "Go Lisa!" Hearing him call me Lisa caught me completely off guard. My ball went straight into the gutter.

One other new thing is a little light and buzzer that go on when you "scratch" or step over the line. Brendan thought that was pretty fun. When he didn't set it off as he rolled the ball, he would stomp on the line to set it off. He later described it as a "buzzer that doesn't shock you".

I'm proud to be able to say that even though I did not get to use bumpers, I still won. By an amazing score of 69 to 67. I taught Bren the meaning of "gutter ball", since I was the only one who had one (or maybe a few more than one).

Richards Can Dance!!! (but not pregnant Richards)

2008-02-05T13:32:00.001-08:00

Don't send a lame eCard. Try JibJab Sendables!

Fun in the Snow

2008-02-03T15:45:00.000-08:00

Last weekend we rented a cabin up on Mt. Hood with the Smiths and had a blast. Snowmen, snow tubing, lots of friends, and all kinds of other fun stuff.

Natalie and Brendan absolutely froze after about 30 minutes in the snow. We only rarely needed snow clothes in California so we sent them outside in jeans and a coat. It didn't take them long to get soaked through to the bone. I think we are going to have to take a trip to the store soon.

Thanks Derrick and Jenn for meeting up with us, we had the best time!

Flu

2008-01-23T10:22:00.000-08:00

So Lisa has the flu and has been feeling miserable over the past few days. Carrying a baby and harboring the flu – What could be worse?

Will everyone please leave some encouraging words for her!

Blog announcements

2008-01-10T13:53:00.000-08:00

So Ezra and I love all the feedback we have gotten on the trampoline vs. play fort issue, and we'd like some more input from family and friends.

We have been wondering--what kinds of things are appropriate to announce on a blog? Can we tell everyone how silly and fun our kids are? Yes, we've certainly been doing that.
Can we tell about all our Oregon exploring that we have been doing? We've been doing a bit of that too. Can we tell a story about a rolling, spraying, exploding can of Sprite that covered our kitchen and how even though we have spent HOURS cleaning, the floor is STILL STICKY? Haven't told that one yet. What if we posted that we were expecting baby number four in July? Would that be okay to announce on a blog?

What do you think? What kinds of things can we announce on our blog?

Please Help Us! Play Fort vs. Trampoline

2008-01-07T21:48:00.001-08:00

So now that spring is just around the corner (and the backyard is finally finished), we are debating what we should put in our backyard for the kids to play on. The two big options are a Play Fort or a Trampoline. We can see different advantages to both, but we wonder which the kids would play on/with the most.

Does anyone have one or both and how do your kids do with either? Even if you don't have either, what would you do?

JFK on Mormons

2008-01-01T21:48:00.001-08:00

I thought this was interesting...

Chubby Toes

2007-12-31T09:02:00.000-08:00

What is it about babies' toes that is so . . . so . . . yummy? Amanda's are so chubby that they crowd each other out.

Corish Gay Hens

2007-12-15T11:12:00.000-08:00

In following my mom's tradition, every year for New Year's Eve, I try to make fancy foods that aren't anything like what we normally eat. I have a lot of fun doing it, even if the kids end up hungry because everything is too weird for them. Christmas dinner is already planned--the turkey we didn't eat on Thanksgiving. So I was thinking ahead for New Year's Eve. Today I asked the kids if they would rather have Little Smokies or Cornish Game Hens. I expected them to say Little Smokies, (oooo, tiny hot dogs on toothpicks!!) but I tried to sell them on the Cornish Game Hens--(wow, your very own little chicken!!). Natalie opted for Hornish Pens and Brendan opted for Corish Gay Hens. What a crack up. ;-)

The Christmas Tree

2007-12-09T21:16:00.000-08:00

So we drove out to a Christmas tree farm about 15 minutes from our house and chopped down our first real Christmas tree! This is a huge step for us, for the last 8 years we have used the same 4 foot tall, fake tree. So now we finally have the space to have a big tree, and wow did we get one!

We packed the kids into the car-complete with rubber galoshes (Lisa used her red polka dot boots) and loads of warm clothes. Of course, Brendan was worried we forgot the ax.

After too much debate over picking the best one, we finally decided on something too big and very wide. But heck it only cost $27!

As you can see, we picked a great one...

Now if we could only get the kids to stop rearranging the presents twice a day.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Checkers

2007-12-04T21:17:00.000-08:00

So I don't claim to be any good at checkers, but I thought I could at least hold my own against a 6 year old. Today, Natalie jumped four of my pieces all with the same piece. I'll admit I set her up to jump two pieces, but I didn't see the other two. The little stinker then had to laugh and gloat about it. Lets just say I won the game.

Natalie vs. Amanda

2007-12-04T20:42:00.000-08:00

Lately Amanda has reminded us of Natalie at about the same age, so we decided to do a bit of comparison. The top 3 pictures are of Amanda and the bottom 3 are of Natalie.

The funny thing is that their personalities are exactly the opposite. Natalie couldn't hold still (and still can't). Amanda takes a few crawls away and then just stops...puts a finger in her mouth...thinks...goes back to where she came...thinks again.

And Brendan, well he's in a league of his own.

Cocked and Loaded

2007-12-02T22:34:00.000-08:00

Check out these two trigger happy little tykes.

So they were just paint ball guns, but the kids got pretty good at hitting something ...eventually.

Thanksgiving Feast!

2007-11-25T22:02:00.000-08:00

We had a great Thanksgiving with friends in a city about four hours south of Portland called Grants Pass. Jed and Erica, two great friends from BYU, invited us down for a few days. I have to say one of the highlights of the trip was the truducken...Anyone heard of it? Ok call it crazy, but someone gave Jed and Erica a turkey stuffed with a duck and then stuffed with a chicken. Yes, one stuffed inside the other with three different layers of cornbread stuffing sandwiched in between the birds. Even better, the whole thing was boneless!!!!

I dare say this quickly topped the list of the best Thanksgiving foods we have had in a long time. Everything was so well seasoned it didn't need gravy or the cranberry sauce...Heck, I was picking the leftovers out of the fridge during breakfast the next morning!

Our cf card was full so we don't have any pictures of the actual bird, but you can get the idea from the picture below.
Great food, great friends, and just relaxing; it all made for an absolutely outstanding Thanksgiving! Thanks Jed and Erica!

The kids had a great time chasing around with their kids and making candy houses. If I can get a few pictures I'll post them of the gingerbread houses the kids made. Ezra and Jed also snuck out to play paintball for a few hours and had a blast...I'll see if I can get pictures of that too.

Amanda is Crawling!

2007-11-15T22:30:00.000-08:00

On Tuesday Amanda made a few brief attempts at a crawl and today she amazed us by doing it pretty consistently. Seeing her effort at moving each arm is just too cute!

Sorry about the long clip, we are just proud parents!

A Walk Turns Into A Wild Goose Chase

2007-11-13T13:51:00.000-08:00

The hayseeds and I decided we would go out for a little fun while Ezra was gone on his "catch up with the guys/BYU football game/laser tag/eat really good food/get two nights of uninterrupted sleep" weekend. We went to Bethany Lake park to see what was there.

We were having a great time exploring the new (to us) park with its little lake . It was a gorgeous fall day.

Brendan said it was too hot to wear a shirt. (It was in the low-60s that day).

Some nice folks gave us some bread to feed the ducks and geese.

Natalie and Brendan got scared by the geese. The geese were big--they came up past my waist. The kids started to run away, but they forgot to drop the bread. So the geese started honking loudly and chasing them. I managed to stop laughing long enough to yell at them to drop the bread. They did.

Come back, Brendan! (that's him way off in the distance between the power poles) I'll stop taking pictures so I can protect you like a good mommy should!

Random Brendan Moments

2007-11-09T12:18:00.001-08:00

Brendan loves to make people laugh. His budding sense of humor and his silliness keep us chuckling. But sometimes what makes us laugh the most are moments when he isn't trying to be funny. For example, today at lunch he asked why there aren't any vegetable yogurts. He thinks broccoli yogurt would be fun to try. Yuck!

Look closely at this picture.

Fighting "He Who Must Not Be Named"

2007-11-01T21:06:00.000-07:00

Let's just say I'm grateful the orange washed out.

Lisa made the costume, doesn't it look great!

Mummies

2007-11-01T21:00:00.000-07:00

As part of the Halloween party we also gave the kids a roll of toilet paper and had them make mummies out of themselves. Now we wonder how long it will be before the kids start doing it on their own...or even worse...to someone's house!

Halloween Party

2007-10-30T20:10:00.000-07:00

We had a little Halloween Party last weekend. We played traditional Halloween games, like donuts-on-a-string and bobbing for apples, both big hits with the kids.

Can you guess who we are dressed up as?

Nat and Bren get in on the HP action too.