My First 5K Run

Us, after the race, in our cool bright yellow race shirts

Yes, I have to confess, I am becoming a runner.  I have been running for the last few weeks because I entered a 5 k race with my old teaching partner (she just ran a half marathon)!!  She has been helping me to stay motivated and learn to love running.  Its safe to say that I don't LOVE running by any means yet, but it is not the worst thing in the world either.  So on Sat we met early at the race and ran it together.  The whole time she kept convicing me I could do it and, yes I did finish. We completed the race together and I was proud that I met my goal of finishing a 3.1 mile run.  I finished by running slow and steady...I'm not out there to beat anyone, just to get some exercise. (33:30 was my time, see slow and steady said the tortise to the hare).  The actual race was a fun experience and fun to do with a friend. I think I would like to do another and now I will have to try to convince Johnny to do one with me too. Who knows, maybe some day I will write again telling you all how much I LOVE running...hhhmm, maybe.

Rylyn's Summer Dance Class

Rylyn is the middle waiting patiently for her turn

Rylyn listening very carefully and following every direction

After Rylyn's last tap/ballet class was cancelled last spring, we have been looking for another place for her to take a dance class.  We decided on one for the summer and it wasn't Rylyn's favorite...it was very individual oriented and seemed like a professional ballerina school. Because of that, she didn't get to dance much; mostly spent her class time waiting, watching, and sitting around.  Eventhough the class was not very active, she did such a good job with her steps/ballet positions and really focused on what she was asked to do.  It was only 4 sessions and she was glad when it was over.  Carter wanted to join in too, but this was for 3-4 year olds only.  So, we are on the hunt, once again for another place...maybe we should try gymnastics this time.

Summer Garden Success

Rylyn sitting on the edge of the overflowing garden box.

I had to get back with you after leaving you in suspense from my last garden box post in May.  It was our first garden and wow, was it amazing to watch everything grow.  We have picked a lot of tomatoes and lettuce over the last few months and can't wait for our pumpkins to be ready to harvest.  The girls really enjoyed looking at the big green spiders in the tomato plants.  As the season begins to die down, we have decided that we are going to do a garden again next summer.

Grammie's Celebration

My beloved grammie, Patricia Giarrusso, passed away in June of a stroke.  My family flew back to California this weekend to attend a celebration that my aunt held for her.  I have not been back to CA for a long time and it was my first trip without Johnny or the children.  Johnny experienced his first weekend alone with the kids and survived.  It was a quick trip and one filled with family, love, and support for my grammie.  Though it was a hard occasion to attend for all of us, we got to see many relatives and friends we haven't seen in a long time. 

SUMMER

The girls have been so much fun this summer!  They have been playing in the pools in the backyard and going to the neighborhood pool.  Lucky for us, they both love the water and are always up for a day with water and water toys!  When they are not swimming, they are playing at the park, seeing friends, reading books, or playing dress up...these are the days...:)

Father's Day

For Father's Day we gave Johnny a drawn portrait of our family--he loved it!  I had to sneak around to get a picture of us, give the lady time to draw it, get it framed, and wrap it before Father's Day and before he saw it.  I somehow pulled it off. Later in the day we had a bbq/bday celebration with the Giarrusso side of the family.  Since Nick's bday was on Father's Day and Kyla's was the next week we did it all together.  The hit of the bbq were the pink cupcakes and as you can see, Carter had trouble getting it into her mouth.  We got my dad the best gift I think we have ever gotten him--tickets to Paul McCartney in July!!!  You can see him in the picture going "OOOOH!"  That is excited for him, really.  We were so proud of ourselves for getting him such an appropriate gift!  Next year might be rough because I don't think we will EVER be able to top this year.

Rylyn's Birthday

Rylyn turned 4 on June 4th.  She is such a big girl and becoming a great helper for mom.  She helps pick up her playroom, empties the dishwasher, sets the table, and feeds Cooper.  She really likes drawing with chalk, markers, and crayons.  She is very good at drawing stick people on the sidewalk with chalk and then naming off everyone she drew.  She got some clothes, toys, and books, but still loves dressing up more than anything...pics are of her in her new pink dress.  The best part of her bday was her Princess and the Frog cake!