Fun Run 2008

Baylee and Avery
Baylee running like a champ.
Jake and his buddies at the starting line.One determined little boy.
Jake and Spencer enjoying popsicles after their race. Jake's face is so RED!
His class giving the other students five has they run by.

Baylee and Jake's school do a big fund raiser every year where they receive pledges and the kids run for 25 minutes straight. They run lap after lap after lap. Everyone looks forward to the Fun Run and it makes a lot of money for the school, around $30k. Baylee ran 15 laps this year and Jake ran 15 laps as well. Baylee was not very happy about her little brother who is in kindergarten running as many laps as she did. Jake never stopped for a water break or to take a walk break, he was a very determined little boy. Notice how red his face is. It is a big event with great music and all of the parents come to cheer the kids on.

My long lost friend...

In another post I wrote how I ran into my best friend from my childhood at a triathlon we were doing. We noticed each other in a pre race meeting and when our eyes met, we freaked out! I have not seen Jenny for about 11-12 years. She moved here to Portland a year ago. We had no idea where each other lived, we had lost contact. Last night we finally went out to dinner, just the 2 of us and had the best time. We caught each other up on life and talked about the good old days when we were kids. We went to a sushi restaurant, and sat and talked for over 3 hours. We have been best friends since we were 2, (we lived on the same street) and I moved away from Denver when I was 14. It was so fun to see her and rekindle our friendship. We are planning on getting together often so we never lose contact again.

I think I have turned into a soccer mom...

I do not know what Baylee is laughing at, she is funny!
See the determination in his face.

Jake and Baylee are both playing soccer this fall which keeps us busy. I am busy running the kids to practice, washing their stinky uniforms, trying to keep track of their cleats, shin guards and balls, and always making sure they have their water bottles filled. It brings back a lot of memories when I was a kid. Jake counts the days until the next practice and the next game. He is an aggressive little player. At one of his first games, his friend, Ty, was on the other team and they were talking trash to each other. After Jake had scored a goal, he walked up to Ty, chest to chest and said, "Who's the boss now?" I know he does not get that from me, he must get it from Travis. Baylee loves soccer also and has improved a ton from last year. We are still trying to get her to be a little more aggressive during the games, last week we said we would pay her for every goal she made. Money always works with Baylee and she ended up scoring 3. Travis thought we needed to be fair with Jake and do the same thing, I was nervous because the week before he had scored 6 goals, luckily for us he only scored 3. It is fun and we are loving every minute of it! I also am still playing on an indoor women's soccer team. Every time I leave for a game Travis tells me I better not get hurt. I can be a little competitive and pushy.

Back in School!!!

We are all so happy to be back in school with a regular schedule. The summer was great but towards the end I was getting tired of the kids saying every morning, "What are we going to do today? Who can we play with today?" The kids go to a great school that is only a few blocks away and they are loving every minute of it so far, but it is only September. Baylee is in 2nd and Jake is in kindergarten. Jake is so happy to finally be at the same school as his older sister. Sydney really misses Baylee and Jake but she has a playgroup with 5 other girls 2 days a week and we go to story time at the library one day. We also go to Kid's Gym twice a week, so she has a busy schedule herself. Next year she will be in preschool.

Baylee and her friend, Avery

Jake with his buddies, Jackson and Spencer. In his kindergarten class there are 16 boys and 7 girls. Poor teacher. Five of his buddies are in his class, he loves it!

Birthday wishes!

Travis and the kids made my birthday great! Not only was it Labor Day but Travis was home from work and we just spent the day together. Travis' parents were in town for the weekend and we always have a fun time with them. Trav made my annual birthday breakfast of crepes with strawberries and whipped cream and bacon on the side. Travis and the kids gave me fabulous and thoughtful gifts, and they baked and decorated a cake for me. That night we went to a neighborhood BBQ and had a great night with all of our wonderful neighbors. I received so many phone calls, cards and gifts from family and friends. Travis was a little jealous, he said he did not have as many people calling or stopping by for his big day but I had to explain to him that women are different, we make bigger deals out of birthdays for our friends then men do. Thanks to everyone for making my special day even better.

Oregon Coast with Grandma and Grandpa Risenmay

Sydney let Grandma bury her in the sand.

Grandpa was teasing Jake.


Grandma and the girls

What a sweet couple!
I love my Travie!



Travis came to visit us for Labor Day Weekend. We took another day trip to the coast since that is our favorite place to visit as a family. In Cannon Beach, we had lunch at the famous Mo's Restaurant so they could have Mo's famous clam chowder. (I am not a seafood lover at all.) We had to stop at Bruce's Candy Kitchen to get fresh salt water taffy, which is my favorite. Then we took a long walk down the beach, it was really crowded so we decided to drive down the coast to Rockaway Beach where it is very private. At Rockaway, Travis, Jake and his Dad played baseball while Grandma and the girls played in the sand. It was such a beautiful, sunny day but a little chilly. After Rockaway, we had to hit the Tillamook Cheese Factory for a little cheese and yummy ice cream. It was a perfect day, we were so excited to share it with Grandma and Grandpa. Thanks for spending the weekend with us, we always love to spend time with you!

Jake's first soccer game

Jake was so excited to start soccer here. You have to be in kindergarten to play on a city team otherwise you have to play at the YMCA, which is indoors. The high school had a big scrimmage at the stadium and they asked a few teams from different age levels to scrimmage as well before the high school game. Jake thought it was so fun. He is pretty aggressive, if you can imagine. He is not afraid to go after the ball.