Summer is HERE!

Summer is most definitely here.

It may not be official but it sure is hot enough.

Today, the temps soared in to the 90's.

And...

the kids are out of school.

That means we have to come up with activities to keep them busy.

Daddy is still working so that means it is up to me.

Today we decided to go to Uncle Jeff's pool.

The advantage to having a house key

and Uncle Jeff living near by.

A private pool.

The kids are LOVING it.

Arm floaties are a must.

But it really helps to have Abu & Meme there.

Ian warmed up to being on his own after about 30 minutes.

Not that this is the first time in the pool,

just the first time he has gone around the pool alone.

Once he got the hang of it, he didn't want ANYONE near him!

My sweet Gabi.

Terrified of the water.

Well, anything beyond the 2nd step.

But I managed to get her out there after a major screaming fit.

Sofi is by far my water child.

Just like her momma was & still is.

She will be swimming in no time at all.

The girls loved to play "fishing".

Obviously Gabi was the fisher & Sofi the fish!

And my favorite photo of the day.

My beautiful boy grabbing for his Abu's hand.

Doesn't get better than that!

Summer has definitely started and I see many pool visits in the future.

Makes me wanna have one in our own back yard.

Running a Half Marathon

I always thought "they" were crazy.

Who in the world would want to run further than a few miles?

Not I...well, in a way I did.

In my mid twenties, I started jogging.

Nothing big, a couple of miles about 4 times a week.

I stopped for a while.

Trying to get pregnant & jogging didn't fit well together.

It wasn't even a thought until about 1.5 yrs after the kids were born.

Of all months to start, I decided July was the best.

Don't ask me why my brain thought July.

Guess if I could run during one of the hottest months

of the year, I would maybe stick with it.

I did well for a while.

Ran about 2.5 miles per day, 4-6 times a week.

But once again, had to stop.

This time the culprit was the knee.

So I substituted w/ Jillian.

But it just wasn't the same.

So again, I chose July to start running.

2.5-3.5 miles.

I was upping the mileage.

And then Diana came in to my life.

She is my BRB (best running buddy).

She is the reason I go on days I don't feel like it.

But best of all, we motivate ONE ANOTHER to keep going.

We started tackling the miles.

3 miles 3 times a week & then a longer jog on Fridays.

There was talk of signing up for a 10k.

By that point, we were running a 10k on Friday runs.

It wasn't a challenge.

Then she proposed a half marathon.

I didn't even hesitate.

And so our training began.

5-6 times a week with our long runs on Fridays.

February 19th was the day.

We were more than prepared.

Even came up with costumes to run in.

Aren't we cute?

The race started at 7:30.

Needless to say, we weren't competing, just trying to finish.

Our goal time was 2:08, the average time

for a woman in the 35-39 age category.

It was great.

We chatted along the way.

Enjoyed the others around us.

And finally finished.

I ran 2:05:05.

Diana ran just over 2:08.

We did it!

All along I thought it was a joke.

The drinking beer part, after a race.

It ain't so.

It is tradition.

And I enjoyed a couple of glasses.

In case you are wondering about the beer...

"“Beer contains predominantly water and carbohydrate, both of which are essential in post-race recovery,” she says. “A recent study at Granada University in Spain found that the sugars, salts and bubbles in a pint can help athletes absorb fluids more quickly than rehydrating with water."

We had already discussed it.

Agreed to get ink after the run.

To commemorate our accomplishment.

And there it is.

Totally worth it.

Not painful.

Every time I see it, I smile.

Mission accomplished.

This triplet momma ran a half marathon.

In case you are wondering, yes...we will train for another.

And when our kids go to school, we plan on training for a full marathon.

Why not?
It is only another 13.1 miles?!?

April at a Glance

We decided to take the kids to the International Festival this year.

It went pretty well.

We got there at about noon.

Checked out a few of the vendor booths.

Tasted food from Argentina.

Hello empanadas!

And then found a spot near the live band.

Plopped down for a good hour and enjoyed.

That's D...she's my running buddy.

Oh boy, that is a whole other post!
Running, my addiction.

We also took our last trip to La Escondida until the fall.

It just gets way too hot in central Texas and without AC,

well...you get the point.

NO WAY.

This last time, the kids spent the better part of 2 days in the water.

They loved it.

We loved it.

They were content and CONTAINED.

Don't know why I didn't get a shot of Gabi.

Not even sure if she was in there at the time.

Go figure.

April flew by.
I don't remember most of it.

How does that happen?
It was like we were celebrating the kids turning four

and then BAM...May 1st.

Yeah, peace out April.

See you in a year.

And give this gal props, 2 posts in 3 days!

WOOT!

They turned FOUR.

And then I had three FOUR year olds.

I really do plan on blogging more.

Just trying to blog on the {SIG} blog,

sew, take care of kids, keep the house

semi clean, keep up with jogging, and stay sane.

How to do all that, I am not sure.

Since February, so many things have happened.

Enough that I probably can't write it all down without

having help from some photos.

We took another trip up to La Escondida.

I went solo with the kids.

My first road trip with them.

Daddy had to work all weekend.

Luckily, we had Tio, Tia, Wild Bill, Abu, & Meme

to help through the weekend.

Picnic down by the little pond proved to be great fun!

Below...Ian & Happy.

Since meeting Happy, Ian has called every other

subsequent "pet" (snail, lizard, etc) Happy.

Happy & Ian have bonded for life.

The kids had a great playdate w/ their bestie, Malina.

She is in Gabi & Ian's class but all 3 love her to pieces!

Then we celebrated Teacher Appreciation Week.

We were "WILD" about our teachers all week long!

Did I mention they turned FOUR?

Yeah, they did.

Can't say I am too sad about saying goodbye to the threes.

Although I am sad that my babies are growing up.

We decided to keep the party low key, family only and

the kids good friends (one big family) so they had a

few friends over to celebrate.

It may be hard to top March.

It was a great month!

And let's see if I can keep up with this damn blog.