felis catus

as ya'll know, we have a cat. his name is oliver and he loves to have his head stroked (he actually twitches when you rub his ears. it's fun):

he also has a very fluffy tail:

and enjoys playing with plastic shopping bags:

i'm definitely his favorite human:

his relationship with lucy is more like the good, the bad and the ugly (minus the guns, cigar, poncho and squinty eyes). all day they warily circle each other, waiting to see who'll strike first.

sometimes lucy wins and oliver spends the day cowering behind the dryer. other times kitty wins and lucy gets a bandaid. it was pretty intense the first few months after he came home with us but it's since calmed down. oliver's reaction to lucy, however will probably remain the same. forever:

blue bell, zoobilee, easter, the beach & mothers' day

get ready for a catch up post! i've been meaning to do this for ages (before it got as long as it did) and since grant has taken the car to be fixed, this is the perfect opportunity.

way back on april fool's day, the girls and i went with some friends up to the blue bell ice cream factory:

while we were waiting to get in, hazel tried to get some milk to make her own ice cream (she happily remembered that "milk comes from cow bums"):

lucy wandered off to brainstorm with the big wigs:

and then we made it inside:

after the tour we all enjoyed our scoops of deliciousness. i had caramel kettle crunch (popcorn in ice cream sounds wrong but it was soooooooooooooo good! i'm dying to have that flavor again but its not being made this summer *sob*). hazel enjoyed cake and ice cream:

and lucy had krazy kookie dough:

april 7th was the zoobilee:

the girls were each given a "passport" that needed to be stamped in different areas of the zoo:

the carousel was free so we waited in line:

ever wondered who lucy looks like?

hazel picked a cougar to ride on. ewww:

i'll be doing my best to never let that happen again. (heh heh heh) lucy picked a turtle:

not that you can tell from this picture. after the dizzy ride, hazel and lucy received their last stamp and claimed their prize:

easter festivities began on the 21st with an egg hunt:

so many friends! and so much candy:

easter sunday dawned with a bucket for each girl filled with sunglasses, coloring books and posters, and matching dresses (i never took a proper picture of them together in their dresses. oops). after church, we had dinner with some friends. i made hot cross buns and roasted asparagus. once dinner was over, we had another egg hunt:

then the adults did an egg toss. hazel took the camera and actually snapped a picture of the first egg casualty:

yep. i'm that super nice person who laughs hysterically when you get slimed by an egg. (sorry, emily!) grant and i came in second. so, anyway. easter was nice.

we headed to the beach the first saturday grant didn't have to go to school (30th):

as you can see it wasn't a pretty, white-sands-blue-water sight. but it was still fun times. we started with lunch:

and face-making:

before hiking through the dead kelp to play in the mud and waves:

we spent a few hours playing and then decided to splurge on dinner at the rainforest cafe. the girls were spoiled, not only did they get the volcano dessert but there was also a woman making balloon animals:

mothers' day was great. grant gave me a new yoga mat and gym bag (both were sorely needed). hazel kept drawing pictures of "happy mommy with a love heart":

usually i'm drawn with a sad face because i'm trying to rescue hazel from various villains. this was refreshing:

lucy gave me some pretty flowers:

and potty training duties. it's been a week and a half. she's doing really good and rarely has #1 accidents (except for today). i put her in a pull-up when we go to the gym, store or when she takes a nap and she usually keeps them dry. she struggles with #2 but we're further along than i thought we'd be. count down to zero diapers is ON! 

see & do

 kitty see . . .

kitty do.

hazel see . . .

hazel do.

lucy & mommy see . . .

lucy [almost] do: 

and, yes. yes, mommy do, too: 



photo curtesy of hazel

an old park with a new name

once upon a time there was a park. this park was beloved by toads, who were in turn admired by two little girls. for several fortnights, strange men came and dug up the earth around the park, adding pipes and laying down cement.  when the two little girls returned, their toads were not waiting:

one girl searched diligently:

the other feasted on cantaloupe:

and shared her bike with the less fortunate:

it was then that the little girls made a discovery:

those same strange men who scared the toads away, had also created a watery wonderland:

the girls decided that no longer should this magic place be named "the toad park". it will be now known as "the sprinkler park":

and there was much rejoicing:

so much rejoicing, in truth, that some found it difficult to journey away  again:

the end

revolution

today was monumental. let's take a look back over the last 15 months . . .

january '10: i can't run a quarter mile without gasping for breath, clutching my side, and wishing for death.

february '10: amanda and i get serious about running and sign up for a 5k. i begin a training program.

march '10: i continue training and begin to panic as i realize i have to run 3 whole miles.

april '10: amanda and i finish our very first race (38:55) and feel pretty darn pleased with ourselves.

may '10: the madness doesn't stop, i run solo at the aquarium/veteran's 5k (34:03).

june '10: 5k-ing again with amanda up in the heights (36:28).

july '10: i run my first 6 miles (on a treadmill - 1:07:46) but do no races. hello: it's houston, if you're somehow not having a stroke from the heat and humidity, you're being eaten alive by the mammoth insects. 

august '10: grant buys me new kicks for our anniversary and we run a 5k in utah (34:55). grant places 2nd in his age division (punk).

september '10: i break out of my comfort zone and go to a yoga class. it's love at first savasana. my breathing and flexibility improve tremendously, and in turn improve my running.  

october '10: amanda and i step it up a notch: we run a halloween 10k (1:16:35). i hurt my foot.

november '10: i decide to run another 10k on my foot and walk a lot of the last 3 miles (1:20:25).

december '10: amanda and i begin seriously training for our half-marathons.

january '11: we do a 12 mile practice run. amanda does her first half. i get the flu and feel less bad that i wasn't running with her.

february '11: after struggling to regain the stamina i lost while sick, i run my very first half-marathon.

march '11: i add strength training to my workouts and run a record 52 miles during the month.

this humid, misty morning, my running life made a complete circle: i did my second rice flying owls 5k with amanda.

can we say "dork"? *sigh*

here i am bringing it in:

yes, i am smiling. why? because the finish line is mere yards away (and because i'm passing someone). i have a confession to make: i'm a competitive jerk. nothing gives me more pleasure than passing up fellow runners during a race. i did it to some lady right at the finish line of the half marathon:


see?! she even has a knee brace on. smirking, heartless jerk! (me, not her).



i did it several times today, not quite as close to the finish but still. i can't help it. once i'm on the home stretch, i have to run my guts out because the sooner i finish, the sooner i can collapse in a heap. and it pays off, my time today? 31:12!!!!! i can't even tell y'all how proud of myself i am. and i'm really pleased that i didn't end up vomiting on the lady taking the timing chip off my shoe. i had to cover my mouth and breath deeply but i managed it.

i really can't believe i've stuck to this so long. do i love running? sometimes. i do love how i feel after. i love the sense of accomplishment. i love runs that go good (like today's). do i still get shin splints? it's hit and miss. running on cement or asphalt definitely makes my shins sting. my foot occasionally cramps. it's certainly not all rainbows and butterflies, but it's been worth every sore muscle . . . at least, that's how i feel in my runner's high.