Out of the Mouth of Babes

I saw this cute little questionnaire on someone else's blog and thought it was a really cute idea so I stole it. Sure hope she doesn't mind. Anyway it's a question and answer session with Colby and I think some of his answers are absolutely freaking adorable! I wanted to put this on my blog so I could document this for later in life. You know maybe I'll do this every year until he refuses just to see how his answers change. I also did this for Chris but I'll save that one for another day.

1. What is something mom always says to you? I Love You

2. What makes mom happy? Me being good

3. What make mom sad? When I do something bad

4. How does mom make you laugh? Saying silly things (Never knew I was a comedian)

5. How old is your mom? 30 (Thanks, Colb, I'll pay you later!)

6. How tall is your mom? 30 and when I asked 30 what he said just 30

7. What is your mom's favorite TV show? Our favorite show (He's referring to Jon & Kate Plus 8 because we used to watch it together a few years ago while Cameron was napping. I don't watch it anymore because they have gone off the deep end. He never knew the name and just referred to it as our favorite show)

8. What is your mom good at? Spelling words

9. What is your mom's job? Working on the computer

10. What is your mom's favorite food? Pizza

11. What do you like about your mom? When you hug, squeeze, and kiss me

12. If your mom were a Disney character who would she be? Daisy Duck

13. What do you like to do with your mom? Ride bikes

14. How are you and your mom the same? We both talk

15. How do you know mom loves you? Because you always hug me

16. What does your mom like about your dad? When he's nice to me

17. Where is your mom's favorite place to go? Disneyland

My Quest for 5K

In May I decided to take up running. At first I didn't take it too seriously and just went for a jog whenever time allowed and didn't really keep track of distance or time. After moving in July and having this awesome lake a block from my house and seeing all the runners out there enjoying it as well I decided to take it more seriously. I set my sights on running a 5K. Even though I played multiple sports in school I was never ever a runner. The most running I did was from one end of the basketball court to the other. So setting a goal of a 5K seemed both aspirational and attainable-can it be both? Since our move I've been running every other day and have made it to my 5K mark to which I am very impressed with myself. If I can do it anyone can! I decided to "complete" my goal I would sign up for a 5K and it just so happens that the Wasatch Women 5K is scheduled for this weekend. After debating and chickening out about 10 times I finally told Chris that if he registered me I would do it. I mean if I paid the money I definitely needed to follow through with it, right? On Monday he logged on to sign me up and found out they had filled all the spots and were no longer taking registrations. :( When I found this out I actually felt a little bit sad because I had convinced myself I could do it and now lost the opportunity. So off I go to look for another 5K to complete.

As it turns out I guess it was a good thing I couldn't register. I went to Salt Lake Running Company on Saturday and found out what type of run I had and what shoes worked best for me. Got fitted for those as well as inserts and after running on them for 3 days yesterday I came home with a huge blister on the arch of my foot. Man it hurts. I called them to find out what to do and they gave me some good advice. Not only do I have a blister but my toenail on my right foot FINALLY fell off. I say finally because it's been dying a very slow death. It started out purple and then turned black then white and now gone...I guess my old shoes were a bit too small. To top it all off with my knee has started to hurt. Not while I run but after I get done and anytime I try to walk up stairs or squat down. I don't know what's going on with it but man does it hurt! I don't want to go to the doctor for fear they will tell me I have to quit running for a while and after all this hard work I'm not about to give up now. So I guess I'll take it easy today and possibly tomorrow and be glad registration was full so I don't have to worry about whether or not I'll make it on Saturday or not.

Colby's New Bike

Finally, a few weeks ago Colby got his very first big boy bike. Well it still has training wheels but it's a real big boy bike. The first day he got it he was riding at Mike and Nancy's and crashed into the neighbors mailbox. He got up with blood coming out of his nose, went in to have Grandma wipe it off and once the blood was gone he was right back up on it. Since then he's done really well with it. One day I thought it might be a good idea to let him ride the four blocks to school with me pulling Cameron in the bike trailer behind my bike. BAD IDEA...it took him longer to ride to school than it did for us to walk the one time we tried that, and trust me he's a slow walker too! But over the last week we've taken him out a lot to let him get used to it and he's doing so much better and getting more comfortable on it. We walked to the lake and I pushed Cameron in the stroller while Colby had free reign on the bike and he loved it and has learned to go really fast on it. In fact, there were several times I had to tell him to stop and wait for me to catch up. So I guess not all hope is lost with him riding to school. Maybe we'll try that again next week and see if we can make better time!

Oh yes, and we cannot forget about Cameron! He got a big wheel for his birthday and he loves to ride it around too. Some how that little boy can get that thing going faster by using his feet on the ground than most kids probably can peddle. It wears me out just watching him. But soon enough he's going to be on a big boy bike too and I am definitely not ready for that yet!

I love the fact that we have the perfect place for the boys to ride without fear of them getting hit by a car. We head out to the garage and our house is the first one on an allyway with about 10 houses on it. Everyone on the ally has kids that play out there and ride power wheels and bikes of their own. The boys have free reign of the ally and can play without worrying about getting hit. Either Chris or I or both of us camp out at the curve to watch for any cars so we can warn the kids to get out of the way and off they go. Lately I've been planting my butt down on a chair so I have a good view of everything. Seems to be working out really well so far.

Swimming Fun

I swear my boys are half fish because they LOVE to swim! I guess they take after me since I love it too. It helped that I had a swimming in pool in my backyard growing up. I could swim anytime, anyplace. Chris, however, can swim pretty much just good enough to not drown but that's about it. So when the boys were little I decided that I wanted them to be good solid swimmers so I don't have to worry as much about them. I started taking Colby the summer he was about to turn one and the same with Cameron. Every chance we get we head to the pool and it looks like my persistence paid off because they are both doing fabulously!

Colby has learned to swim under the water and that's a big step for him because he's one of those boys that couldn't stand to have water in his eyes. Just last week he was able to tread water and keep himself afloat for a long time. That gives me a tiny bit of relief that if something were to happen he would at least be able to keep himself afloat for a little while.

Cameron is a complete daredevil! He does not want to stay in the shallow end where he can touch. No, he wants to be in the deeper part with his floaties on right there alongside his brother. It amazes me how good he does with the floaties. He can swim better with them on than anyone I've ever seen and I'm not just saying that because I'm his mom. Even the lifeguard said the same thing. She was very amazed at him! Sometimes he thinks he can take of his floaties and still be able to swim but I let him and stand right there while he sinks to pull him back up and then he decides maybe he does need his floaties and puts them back on. I have always been very diligent about water safety and Cameron makes me really nervous with his confidence in the water. I guess that just encourages me to watch him even more like a hawk, if that's possible.

I love that they love to swim because it's something we can do as a family and enjoy together! Here are some cute pics of them swimming!

Fun on the Lake!

A few weeks ago Chris and I decided to take the boys out on the lake in canoes. We asked Adam and Erica if they wanted to join us and they happily agreed. Since that particular day was going to be so hot I wanted to get out on the lake early in the morning to avoid the heat but that didn't work out when Chris received a call from Jason that his friend had gotten a flat tire on his bike and they were a long way from home and needed a ride. So Chris went to take care of that. When he got back it was past noon but we decided to go anyway. Since you have to have a resident in each canoe, Erica and I rode together and Adam and Chris rode together. It took us about an hour and a half to paddle around the whole lake. We had a great time and can't wait to do it again. In fact this time we are thinking about taking a kayak but neither one of us really know how to steer them so that could get interesting...

On the way home we stopped at the shaved ice stand and to let the boys play in the dancing water. It was a great day!

First Day of School

On Tuesday we reached a major milestone here in the Carpenter house, Colby started Kindergarten! While he was so excited and ready to take the big step, mom wasn't so excited. I mean I was excited for him to start this new and exciting journey but I just can't believe he's actually in school now. We did two years of preschool before so I knew the transition would be easy for him but I'm just not ready to let go of my baby yet.

Tuesday came and he was soooo excited. We dressed him in some cute clothes, took pictures of him, put on the backpack, loaded Cameron in the stroller and walked to school. When we got there he was not apprehensive at all! He went right to the playground and started playing and the next thing we knew the teacher was blowing the whistle for the kids to line up and head into the school. I took one more picture of him, we said our goodbyes and off he went. I told myself I was not going to cry but for a brief minute when he was safely in the school and I turned to walk away I did have tears in my eyes but that was it. I did much better than I thought I would.

When Cameron and I got back home, I put him down for a nap and just enjoyed the peaceful quietness of the house and for a brief moment I thought to myself, "wow this actually might be kind of nice".

Well, he survived the first day and has been excited every day since. I know that will not last but I'm enjoying it at the moment. One thing I'm not enjoying is the HOMEWORK. I mean seriously, homework in Kindergarten? I never had homework until at least the fourth grade I don't think. And homework every night? Boy things sure have changed. I guess I better buckle up and get ready because this is just the beginning of my life as a parent with school aged children. No more vacations when we want, sleeping in, staying up late, doing what we want in the evenings, those days are long gone!

Oh so serious!

Gotta love the string cheese he just had to eat on the way to school.

Our First Neighborhood Party

One week after we moved into our house an invite was placed in our door for the second anual "Neighborhood Block Party." The party was to be held on July 24th at 6:00 pm with everyone meeting and riding or walking with decorated bikes, scooters, golf carts etc. Chris and I debated for several days whether we should go or not. As you know, neither of us are very good at meeting new people. We are definitely on the shy side so it's hard for us to mingle with others we don't know. The invitation stated that there would be face paiting, bounce houses, snow cones, balloons and fun stuff like that. So we decided for the sake of our kids getting out with other kids and having fun we would give it a shot. We walked to the corner and watched the parade go by and followed along lagging behind because we had forgotten the dessert and had to go back for it. Once we got to the party house our back yard neighbors greeted us and told us that we could sit with them so they could intoduce us to other families. Since we had not brought meat to cook we told them that others could sit there to eat and we'd meet up with them after they finished eating. Immediately Colby ran to the bounce house and started playing. We kind of stood there like deer in the headlights not knowing what to do. There were tons of people our age and a ton of kids so you would think we would fit in. We just kind of stayed to ourselves and got the boys snow cones, popcorn, cupcakes, watermelon, and balloons. Our backyard neighbors did come up and try to introduce us to some people but the conversations never really "took off". We stayed for about 2 hours. All in all it was an okay time. We were introduced to a few people, I don't feel like they will become my next best friends but it's nice to recognize people when you are out and about. In fact, the next night we were at Marble Slab Cremery and a lady walked up and asked us if we were at the block party and introuduced herself so we thought that was nice. And since the party I've seen a couple people out riding bikes or running and I can place them and even sometimes remember their name. So I guess we made some progress in our quest for neighborhood friendship.