Easily Amused

We had a summer rain storm come thru this afternoon which made for some pretty good gutter puddles. The minute we arrived home and got out of the car, Karsten made a BEELINE for the gutter. She plopped down and started splashing about with joy! How easily she is amused.

Need I remind you of her gutter puddle escapade from last July?

Hey, the girl is consistent and clothed this time!

Look how big my baby has gotten! So big, so fast!

T-I-R-E-D

This is after one night of camping. Friends, cousins, family, treats, and a full moon made for some not so ideal sleeping conditions. She finally gave in and fell asleep around 11:00 pm and then awoke around 3:00 am due to some incredible "daylight" in our tent from the full moon. And then she was up for good at 6:00 am. Can you say NAPTIME when we got home...for mommy and daddy too!

Hayden Triathlon

On a whim at 6pm the night before the race I decided to sign up for the Hayden Sprint Triathlon. It is a very small race-about 300 participants-so I went for a "practice run" the weekend before the race that I have been training for. I knew no one participating, but it was great as it was about a mile and a half from the house. So at 6:00 am I hopped on my bike and headed down to Honeysuckle Beach for the race. Chris stayed at home until Karsten woke up so missed the swim, but found me out on the bike course-a few times! I feel great, am happy with my time and totally ready for my race next weekend!

Almost finished with the bike.
Just before I crossed the finish line.

Standing on the beach looking back at the transition area/finish line.

Karsten still in her jammies happy that Mommy finished! And Hannah was just pooped after running with Daddy all over the course taking pictures!

Giving it a T-R-I !

Call me crazy, but my latest adventure is a sprint triathlon! After the half marathon last May I swore that I would not train for or do anything like that again...well fast forward a year and now I am on to training for 3 sports-WHAT?!

I will be participating in the Race the River Triathlon at Riverstone in Coeur d'Alene. I have 9 days until race day and am pretty excited to see how my first race goes-wish me luck! I am not really sure what I am in for. Well, actually I do: .5 mile swim, 11 mile bike and 3.1 mile run.

Open water swim training in Hayden Lake. The water temps are still REALLY cold so a borrowed wetsuit comes in handy! I am swimming on the left. And funny enough the swimmer in the pink cap next to me is my cousin Shannon! She just happened to be swimming when I arrived!

No pictures of me biking, but here I am at last year's half marathon.

First Fishing Expedition

Over the weekend Karsten had her first fishing expedition with Daddy. It was such a beautiful morning and she was so excited to go. We took her to Honeysuckle Beach on Hayden Lake. She did great, for a bit, and then wanted to walk around the dock. I think she was more interested in swimming than fishing!

The best part...as we were packing things up to leave she dropped the fishing pole in the water...so long to the little Zebco!

Thunderstorms A Brewin'!

Beautiful but eerie sunset. We got some wicked thunder and lots of rain. Just wish it would have been an evening thunderstorm so we could have enjoyed watching it...rather than being waken up by it!

Sprinklers Anyone?

It was playtime at home after school and as mommy was watering the flowers Karsten decided to take on the sprinkler. Not sure who won, but she for sure had a great time!

And I quote from Karsten, "Mommy, I all soakin' wet"!
So the strip down began...And the fun kept coming!!!

Karsten,

Mommy just LOVES to watch you joyfully run and squeal with so much excitement as you play in the water. You bring so much laughter to our family and have such a fun personality. I love to watch you grow and adventure more and more each day. You are fearless, my child! Keep that zest for life-it will take you far in your years to come.

xoxoxo-

Mommy

Helping Grandma

Karsten got to spend some time this afternoon with Grandma and Grandpa. She helped make dinner and dessert. Here she is stirring the brownies. Always the great kitchen helper!

Can you say STRAWBERRIES?

OH MY GOSH-talk about a bumper crop of strawberries! We are loaded this year and they just keep coming. We literally cannot keep up with them so I decided that we needed to pick and pick and pick and then make some homemade jam. So here are the two bowls from just 1 day of picking-I kid you not! And the best thing is that these little red loves get more and more tasty each year.
And then here are just a few of the 20 something containers of strawberry freezer jam we made. It is DELICIOUS if I do say so myself! A hit in the Towery house for sure!

Now we await the ripening of the raspberries and blueberries...

Playing with Dawson

We had pizza night with the Cushmans. Karsten and Dawson had a blast together as usual. Their antics tonight consisted of madness in the sandbox. Not sure who won the battle, but each had loads of sand to wash out of their hair. You should have seen the ring around the bathtub after they were finished getting cleaned up!

Whoa-think Daws was surprised by this one!

Smirk...I'll get you back, Karsten!

Can you say DISASTER? For these two D-I-R-T-Y spells F U N!