the bigger picture: may days

The final days of spring. I have been wanting to catch this blog up. So many details I fear I have already forgotten. Thankful for my camera that reminds me what we've been up to.

We participated in our first family race, the Tulip Time Run. We ran for TREAD and raised over $500 for shoes for Guatemalan kids. And the 400+ runners through our church raised $47,428.24! Isn't that awesome!! That's 4,743 kids that'll get to go to school since they will get shoes (the only requirement)!! Natalie and Ruby ran the fun run which was 3/4 of a mile. By the time they ran, it was freezing and Charlie couldn't bring himself to do it. Ruby ran with her winter coat on and with her hands tucked into her pockets the entire way! Natalie gave it her all. They were super excited to receive a medal! We are going to be that family that stays active together. So I believe it was the first of many races to come! Jordan and I did the 5K. Jordan's time: 26:35 My time: 26:44. Then off to the Dandelion Festival. And we enjoyed a parade during Tulip Time.

So thankful for these two: Tim and Teresa. The parade marshals that rode in on a manure spreader which is what Tim almost lost his life to. God is so Good!!

The next week we had another race: the Riverbank Run. Jordan completed the 25K in 2:28:57. And I completed the 10K in 55:30. We were both happy with our times since, once again, we hardly trained.

And to uphold tradition, we went to Silver Lake over the Memorial Day weekend. And really, I think the pictures can speak for themselves: kids' first rides in the dunes, Natalie got to go up test hill in the dune buggy, and go-cart fun! Such great times!! And we were thankful that our babysitter/friend, Molly, was there!

This weekend marked ELEVEN YEARS for Jordan and I! I love to reflect on the times we had together when we were just getting to know each other better!

Natalie participated in the Memorial Day parade and so did Grandpa Barkel. What a joy to see him walk that mile route since last year at that time, he was recuperating from cardiac arrest. Honestly, we were so certain that we were going to lose him. But God has blessed us with another year with him!

PS: It was humid!

At this point, school is so close to being finished but we have all been checked out for awhile. The weather is gorgeous and the days are getting longer everyday. Bedtimes have gone from 8:00 to eh, whenever! And baths have been kinda non-existent. This is our bedtime routine: brush and scrub your feet at the same time, dry feet, go to bed, lights out! And they crash every time!

The last day of school finally comes. Ruby had tears that day before about leaving her teacher (and I did, too... whadya know!). And Natalie is in tears on her way out the door that morning because a) she was so tired that I had to physically dress her myself and it was complicated because she was like a wet noodle and I was getting hot and bothered and trying really hard to keep my cool, b) she wasn't thrilled with her outfit as she was upset that she couldn't wear her yoga pants, c) the bus came two minutes early and we couldn't find shoes and the right socks to go with those shoes, d) she was worried that she looked as though she appeared to be crying (which she did!). So I literally ~~shoved~~ ~~pushed~~ guided her down the driveway (without a bra on mind you!) while our older friend, Molly, jumped off the bus to usher her on the rest of the way. Phew! So happy to be done with mornings like that!