Happy 5th Birthday Cam & Kate

Happy 5th Birthday Kate and Cameron! I hope you each enjoyed your special day.

Last year we started the tradition of having a joint party for the 2 birthday girls who celebrate their birthday's only 7 days apart. And considering their birthday's generally fall amongst the hottest days of the year...it only makes sense for it party to be a pool party! We had exceptionally hot but sunny weather on Saturday and celebrated the fun day with our families! It is fun to listen to the girls scream and observe Jake take in all the action. Ava, Cam, Kate and Sawyer all play so well together that it makes for an easy afternoon of playing. I can only imagine what it will be like next year when Jake will finally be part of all the action!

My triathlon inspiration

One of our good friends, Gus, recently talked me into training for a triathlon that is hosted in their hometown of Indianapolis, IN. Needing something to train for I welcomed the challenge! I have been busy getting reacquainted with the water and have enjoyed the extra miles on my bike that hasn't been used much since my days in VA Beach!

Gus is a superstar when it comes to races. He has completed several olympic triathlons and several 1/2 marathon's already this year. On July 9th, he upped his own challenge and completed a 1/2 ironman. Having Jake by myself, I didn't get the chance to cheer him on as much as I had hoped; however, I did get to catch him at the finish line. Here are some pictures of Gus finishing an 8 hour race in nearly 92 degree heat. Thanks for the motivation Gus! I look forward to our race in a few short weeks!

The last picture is of their 7 month old son, Owen. Classic onsie!

"Girls Night" in Nashville

Since Kate and I had some extra time the week of July 4th, we headed to Nashville on Thursday morning to see a few of my friends: 1) Breagel, 2) Jessica and Harper, and 3) Kelly, Cashen, and Madelyn. It was a quick trip but worth every minute of the travel!

It is a shame that sometimes our life gets so busy that we don't have time to visit those that mean so much. I wish we could make it down to Nashville more often. It was wonderful seeing Breagel and we wish him all the best with a quick recovery from his latest surgery! Breags...you BETTER be in Chicago by the time we get there on the 27th!

The night was filled with a little swim time, a little pizza, and a lot of interupted conversation between the adults. What else do you expect with 4 kids between 5 and 22 months :)

Harper might be just one of the precious little girls I have ever met. Seeing her at this stage reminds me what I have to look forward to with Jake. She is talking up a storm, eats anything in front of her (the picture of her eating a raw green pepper like an apple didn't turn out), and has the sweetest voice you have ever heard! Kate loved playing "mommy" and despite the age difference, the play together great! I look forward to many more visits! Thanks for having us down Jess...even last minute!

My letter to Kate

Kate,

What a wonderful week we just had on vacation together. I cannot thank you enough for allowing me the opportunity to spend several days with you and look at the world through your eyes! I hope you had a wonderful birthday and one that you may always remember! Several people have asked me what we did during our time off school/work and I don't really have an answer other than just enjoy our time together as a family. We of course had to include Daddy and Jake in a few of the meals, but other than that...it was our time to be girls. Your pedicure turned out even more perfect than expected and you have done a tremendous job at keeping them pretty this week. I can only hope this is the start to a new tradition.

You have developed into an intelligent, sweet, and beautiful little girl. As sad as I am that your baby days are behind us, I am looking forward to what the next 5 years will bring. I am so very proud of your manners and I hope you will always work hard at maintaining such good behavior. Remember...there is no such thing as perfect; hard work is the answer to everything! I loved our conversations and am tremendously proud to be your mommy. I look forward to many more "girls only" week together in the future.

Love,
Mommy

Here are a few pictures of our special day together!

Happy Independence Day

July 4th means one thing to Jake...WATERMELON! I think we can now classify this as his favorite food. I am not sure if it is because he gets to eat is whole versus cut up but he consumed 3 large slices and there is the mess to prove it below. His only break away from eating it was to inspect what other type of sweet treat his neighbor was getting.

The night of the 4th, we headed over to Michele's to enjoy some good food, good drinks, good friends, and of course, Will Barber's famous firework show! The scene was total chaos...just the way we all like it. Several of the kids were asleep, several were scared of the noise, and several couldn't get enough of the show. A true classic evening with 7, 2 month to 5 year old's.

Spurlock Family Reunion

Over the holiday weekend, we ventured down to Ryan's family's farm in Oneida, KY. His family has hundreds of acres of land (I'm guessing hundreds...regardless it is a lot) and is always the spot for the Spurlock family reunion. On our way down we swung through to pick up our neice Ava, who provided great entertainment for Kate for the last 1 1/2 hours. They watched a movie, colored, giggled, etc. It is always so fun to listen to their conversations.

Jake enjoyed the ride as well. We turned his car seat forward for the trip since the timing of the trip was not ideal. The AAP recommends keeping them rear-facing until the age of 2 now (was previously 1 when Kate was 1). As our pediatrician recommended...just do it as long as possible, which is our goal. I know he is anxiously awaiting to be turned around for good as he seemed to really enjoy looking at the TV.

We enjoyed a great visit with many of the extended family and especially with Ryan's aunt Jacquie, uncle Carl, cousin Scott and his sweet family, and of course, Ryan's mom, brother and Ava. From the time Kate saw uncle Carl, she was begging him for a ride on the tractor. He finally gave in and it was the highlight of the trip for her! A big thank you goes out to Carl for his patience! We wish we could see Scott, Michelle and their 2 extremely well-behaved kids more! I guess until the next reunion...