We started our day with bike lessons at the park just up the street from our house. Cory started taking Cannon every morning last week to refine his skills and he made a bunch of progress. Just about 20 minutes a day but consistency is key!

It’s silly to learn the lesson over and over again but really doing a little bit everyday really makes a big difference. I need to remember this with my running. Sometimes I compare where I am now to where I was when I was training for Ironman or ultras and feel like a couple miles doesn’t mean much. But it matters more what you do everyday than what you do once in awhile.

Given all of this Emmy and I decided to join Cannon and Cory to work on her balance bike skills.

I wonder when she will be ready for her pedal bike.

Cannon took a spill at the end of his lesson when he hit a wet patch. He thought it was hilarious, he cracks me up.

I wanted to get some PT done and a couple miles in so the kids joined me in the basement.

Normally they are fine just playing but this morning they worked on their Homer App because we were going to be gone most of the rest of the day. Homer is a kids education game app, we are using it as well as some other activities to make sure that Cannon doesn’t forget his alphabet and phonics before school starts back up. Emmy is just working on her skills so she is ready for pre-k.

Spending time rolling is key to me getting to keep running.

Then it was time for a Target run to grab some things for our trip ( I can’t believe we leave the day after tomorrow). They already have back to school merchandise out, I am not even close to ready. Although I love halloween decor so I am not sad when that starts to trickle into stores in August.

Cannon had a swim lessons, we are pausing lessons for July to see if we can just practice his skills in our own pool.

Emmy hung out with me in the waiting room, she is very supportive of her brother.

We went to my parents house for the afternoon, then the kids played in the back yard while I continued to pack for our trip. I always want to be great at packing but it still takes me awhile to get it all done.

We are getting really excited about our Oregon adventure. Have you been to Oregon? If so what is your favorite place to visit?

I am so excited that we had the return of the family run this morning!

The kids rode their scooters *most* of the way, Emmy decided to run the last bit and Cory was nice enough to carry her scooter.

Cannon scooted the entire way, I feel like we are going to have to upgrade his scooter soon!

Wore one of my favorite pairs fo Stance Socks to celebrate.

We spent the rest of the day doing chores and packing.

We leave for Portland on Wednesday for eight days and I don’t tent to pack light.

Only the essentials.

Also saw this in stores…..are we ready for Halloween?!?

We were planing on camping this weekend and I was really looking forward to getting back up to Twin Lakes. Unfortunately the weather didn’t look good with lots of rain so we decided to do a day trip instead. It was probably for the best since we need to take some time to get ready for our 8 day trip to Oregon that we leave for on Wednesday.

I had the Western States live stream (still going!) in the morning as we were getting ready to go. It’s really fun seeing these amazing runners give it their all.

We drove a little over an hour to Estes Park to celebrate the solstice. The parking garage was about a half mile from where the festival was being held.

Luckily the walk was super fun along the river.

The Midsummer festival had live music, food, booths and some entertainment. It was fun to see all the people dressed up in their Scandinavian best. It was a bit chilly with rain in the forecast but it was still a beautiful day.

The kids were very happy to get their faces painted.

We shared some yummy food then did a little hike up to the Birch Ruins.

This was a little cabin that was built and then burned down in the 1900s and is right in town.

The views are amazing.

We had such a good time! We also stopped and ate lunch on a patio along the river (food was meh, so I won’t give a recommendation). before heading home.

This morning I got out and ran outside for the first time in what feels like forever.

We are nearing the end of what I think of as our “green season” when the plants come back to life in May things are really green and beautiful usually through June then it starts to turn brown as the summer heat cooks everything. Some wet years it lasts longer and it’s one of my favorite times of year.

Fall is my other favorite for getting out on the run.

After my run the kids joined me in the basement to play while I did my PT.

Cannon was a little tired and didn’t feel great when he was too active so we had a quiet day at home. We have been so busy this summer it was actually nice to slow down and stay home. Over the day Cannon improved, I just think his body needed extra rest to build immunity to his booster.

I had my Athletic greens in the afternoon and the kids had otter pops.

Then we went to the library to get more books and get the kids their own library cards. They were pretty excited about it!

Today is our 16th wedding anniversary, so many years have passed since this magical day.

This year we are keeping it low key but we have done some epic things in the past including a half Ironman, marathon and having a baby (Cannon).

Today was also the 10th anniversary of Cory and my first Ironman!

On June 24th 2012 to celebrate our 6th wedding anniversary Cory and I completed Ironman Coeur d’Alene in Idaho. It was our first Ironman and an amazing experience. I have to admit that I have never been more nervous in my life than when I lined up on that crowded beach but I am so glad I challenged myself to do something I never thought I could do. 10 years later I hope that I will someday complete another Ironman but probably when the kids are older, for now I am loving just focusing on running. The 8 hour training rides just don’t interest me.

All race posts can be found HERE.

Maybe some year we will go relax on a beach somewhere!

I have a friend who is almost 39 weeks pregnant with her third child, she is out hiking and playing with her older two kids like it’s nothings. I am so impressed that she is out making the most of the summer in the heat while I would want to just hide in the AC with my feet up.

That said my friend met us for a play date at a splash pad where we hung out for over two hours.

We love this little splash pad that’s about 20 minutes from our house, this was our first visit this year. In 2020 this was the only splash pad in our area that opened.

After our time at the splash pad we went home for some lunch then quiet time.

I had some work to get done on my computer while the kids relaxed….makes me miss (just a little) the days of afternoon naps. It’s about to be my favorite time of year for sports. Le Tour de France starts next weekend and Western States is this Saturday. In July cycling is on in the background if I am home, I am sure the kids will get plenty sick of it. Lucky for them it’s only three weeks!

After quiet time we went down to the pool for some play time. It was over 90 degrees but when the sun went behind the clouds we all got chilly. I think the pools might just be a tad too cold. Regardless we had fun. Cory joined us at the end for time with the kids but Cannon was too cold to stay too long. We came home to have breakfast for dinner then snuggles, books and bedtime.

Do you like breakfast food for dinner?

Do your kids still get stories before bed? I can’t imagine stopping anytime soon.

What is your favorite sport to watch?

We started out the day with opening birthday gifts.

Cannon was so spoiled by his friends that we have had him open just a few gifts a day. He hasn’t minded because he just wants to play with his new toys! Big fans of Mario this year…we may need to think about dressing up as this theme this year for Halloween…Yes we are thinking about Halloween already.

Cannon had swim lessons then we got to hang out with my parents for a couple hours.

I have been enjoying taking my Athletic Greens with me while driving, I really do think I have more energy while taking this supplement.

We played some Battle Ship (non computer) in the afternoon. This is a fun way to introduce kids to coordinates and graphing.

In the evening we got to take both kids to get Covid vaccines. Emmy got her first dose and Cannon got his booster since he had his original doses in November.

Both kids were so brave, Emmy even gave it the thumbs up (update from the next day, no negative side effects). I am excited that the whole family will now have at least some protection from Covid infection. We have been able to avoid Covid so far but when both kids go to school in August I don’t think we will continue to be so lucky.

We visited the local ice cream shop to celebrate!

After three weekends straight of camping then straight into Cannon’s birthday week and Father’s Day I am looking forward to a quieter week! I love summer time so much (how many times can I say that?)

We met some friends at a playground in the morning and spent a long time just playing and enjoying the day. We went straight to the library because the kids had finished the summer ready program and got to select a book.

Then it was off to swim lessons for Cannon. He is so close to swimming but really floating is hard for him. How old were your kids when you really trusted them in the water?

We checked on our robins’ nest when we got home, it looks like the baby is out using it wings!

After lunch we took the kids to our neighborhood to play and practice our swim skills.

I have been listening to a lot of podcasts about Wester States because the race is this weekend and I am excited to learn more about who is a contender. Billy’s last episode was so good with Hayden Hawks, it would be no surprise if he won!

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Listened to any good podcasts lately?

We had a really good celebrating Cory and what a great Father he is. We did celebrate Father’s Day with my Dad camping last weekend so we kept it low-key for today.

Cory had simple requests for the day starting with breakfast burritos.

Next he wanted to take our “boats” out for some paddling. We have a SUP, kayak and now Cannon has his own kayak. Emmy still just rides with Cory or me until she is swimming on her own.

This was Cannon’s first time out on his own kayak and I was a little nervous. But he did so good!!! I couldn’t believe what a natural he was.

Emmy wanted to ride with Cory on the SUP and we paddled around as a family, it was really nice.

Cannon also practiced standing up and paddling on the SUP and also did amazing. No one fell in!

The kids and I hung out and played on the “beach” for a while so Cory could get some time on his own on the board as well. He usually sits or kneels on the board while sharing it with the kids so they are more stable. But he likes to actually get to stand up paddle on his own when he can.

When we got home we let Cannon open a couple more birthday gifts.

He has a bunch still to open from his party and we find it’s more fun to open them a couple at a time instead of so many all at once.

We had a simple dinner and I made Cory a Key Lime Pie.

It was SO good and easy.

What did you get up to today?

On Saturday we got to host Cannon’s dream party.

His school was right next to a water park and almost every day for months he wold ask me if it was open, even when it was snowing. The park is only open in the summer, so I asked Cannon if he wanted to have his birthday party there this year. Cannon said what he wanted more than anything was to invite all of his classmates. So we rented the biggest space we could and invited everyone.

I didn’t get very many photos at all as we had over 50 people there and was just enjoying Cannon’s special day.

We all had a good time and had great weather.

I am so happy after a couple of years of family only parties we were able to give Cannon a big party with all his friends. Next year Emmy gets the big party.