Last weekend I turned 30 and I got to enjoy my birthday at the Wyoming state track meet with Josey, who is the head track coach here.  My parents were nice enough to take my kids for 3 days, so it was a great little break and a lot of fun.  The kids got to enjoy Richmond's famous Black & White days and I got to enjoy some relaxing fun times with my husband.  A win-win for everyone, even my parents, who were exhausted by the end of the weekend, but had a lot of fun with my darling kiddos. :)  The Kemmerer boys managed to take home a 4th place trophy, which is the first time they've earned a trophy in about 20 years.

These last two weeks of school seem to get really busy.  Jarrett graduated from preschool and started his first year of T-ball and Jordan has advanced to the minor leagues.  Jordan has yet to hit the ball in a game (it is pitched by a machine), but we are confident that by the end of the season he will be able to get a hit.  :)  His fielding has already improved, and spending our entire evenings at the baseball fields has become a regular part of our week.  A couple of pictures of Jarrett in action:

We took the kids swimming last night and I realized we have a third little swimmer in the making.  She wanted to swim all by herself and when she saw kids going off the diving boards she said, "me try" and then hopped out of the pool and tried to sneak over to the diving boards.  Even though she was shivering (me too!) because the pool is really cold, she swam for almost an hour.  She really is a little daredevil and will try to copy everything her brothers do.

My marathon is in two weeks!  I just finished my last 20-miler yesterday in high winds and rain, and am just a little sore and really tired today.  I keep going back and forth on my goal for this race.  Because this is my first marathon, part of me just wants to "enjoy" it as much as that is possible for a marathon, and part of me wants to try for a Boston-qualifying time of 3:35.  I know I can do it, based on the times of my training runs, but I'm not sure I want to push myself that hard in my first marathon.  I guess we'll just see how I feel on June 9 and decide from there.  Regardless of what happens, I can say I ran my first marathon.

He's at it again...

I found my boys way up in the trees again.  Jordan started this when he was about 3 years old, I think.  I'm not too concerned about it now that he's 7, even though he looks like he's really high and those branches could break off at any moment.  Crazy kids.  Jarrett had a little trouble during his climb that I probably shouldn't share, but I will anyway; just be warned that it may gross you out so you might want to stop reading now.  He was high up in the tree when he realized he had to go pee RIGHT NOW.  (He has a problem with waiting until the last minute and then is often sprinting to the bathroom.)  He realized he would not be able to climb down fast enough so while he is up in the tree, he decides to pull down his pants and just go.  Well, pulling down your pants and underwear while balancing in a tree is not as easy as it looks and he managed to pee all over himself.  Poor guy felt really bad, but I'm hoping he learns his lesson to go to the bathroom before you climb tall trees.

And why did I post a picture of this scraggly-haired little face?  Just to show you how much she loves her sweets.  I'm not sure who she gets that from, but I'm constantly being followed around and asked for a "treat".  Don't worry, I usually don't give in.  But on this day, I did indulge her.  It's not like she actually gets much in her mouth anyway, right?

My Boys

When I found this art project in Jordan's backpack, I couldn't help but smile.  He wrote words on the rainbow that described himself.  What did he come up with?

• Fun, Nice, Good
• I love my sister.
• I like to share.

So why did I smile?  Well, let's just say these might not be the exact words I would use to describe my oldest son.  "Humble" probably wouldn't be one of them either.  Really, I am glad he sees those good things in himself.  It's always better to look at the positive, right?  And he is, in general, a really good boy.  He does love his sister and is always willing to help me entertain her or play with her.  Not to mention he is ALWAYS trying to kiss her and she is a stinker about it.  He wants to do the right thing and has a much greater tendency towards obedience than his younger brother.  And, in case you are wondering, I did decide to comb his hair before he went to school. :)

And what has Jarrett been up to?  This boy loves to touch and feel things, especially messy things.  (Much different from Jordan, who often refuses to play with Jarrett if it will involve getting messy.)  He will spend hours playing with playdoh, in the sandbox with water, and with various mixtures we concoct.  His current favorite is cornstarch with water.  I took this picture because I was amazed at how easily he is entertained.  We did a little science experiment which involved putting some pepper in a bowl of water and then touching the water with a toothpick coated in dish soap and watching the pepper disperse (a lesson in surface tension, which I should have Josey teach the kids.  I just do the experiments and let him teach them what they actually mean).  Anyways, after doing this, he sat there for over an hour just playing with the water/soap/pepper bowl, adding some toys to make it more interesting.  He does this very often, and can I just say, he has by far been the easiest of my children to entertain.  I love that about him!  (Just a note: Josey does not like me posting pictures that include our messy house in the background, but I'm usually oblivious to it until I see the picture.  When I live with an almost 2-year old tornado, there's not a lot I can do about it.)