Sunday, April 27, 2008

PK Does a 10K


You read it right - Panod ran a 10K this weekend. And the weather - well, let's just say that if there was actually a way to explain the weather he had to run in, I would place it somewhere near a hurricane snow storm. The snow that was falling was more like small hail pellets, and the winds were driving it into the racers faces at 40-50mph. It was just awful weather to run in, but he really did not complain at all. He did do his nervous laugh a couple of times in the car after the kids and I pulled up to drop him off, but he braced himself against the wind as he got out of the car, and posed for a quick picture before heading off to the race. The kids and I could not stay for the nearly two-hours that it was going to take for the race to start and Panod to run the course. (Ian had stayed home sick from school the day before, and he was clearly fighting a sinus infection.) So, we took off and had breakfast at the Highland Cafe & Bakery. The food was good (and warm), but all we could think about was how cold poor Panod must be as we watched the winds and snow whip by the windows of the Cafe. We were able to get back to the race and park the car where we could sit in it and watch the racers come across the finish line. We were not able to find Panod in the large crowd, but he called as soon as he got across. He managed to run the race in 1 hour, at a pace of 9:40/mile! We are so proud of him!!
Get in Gear

Sunday, April 13, 2008

Taylor's 12th Birthday


I don't think that anyone who has helped make Taylor's day so special can believe that she is already 12. It has been a wonderful day!

I have to rewind to last weekend, first. The weather was beautiful! The neighborhood kids got motivated and they tried to break the world-record for hopscotch. With Taylor and a neighbor at the helm, they were able to get it up to 500! It stretched down the street, around the corner, and around another corner. The best part is that the kids kept making the adults do the hopscotch. The pictures are at the beginning of the birthday album, and they are hilarious.

Yesterday, Panod went ahead and gave Taylor a present a day early. He got her a real rocket! They spent part of the day yesterday putting it together. It was a great lesson for Taylor in following directions, and she did a great job. They finished the rocket today and then they went and fired it off this morning. Everyone was thrilled to see it take-off and land safely (though farther away than they had planned since it was a little windy.) It was also launched again this afternoon, and we were able to get pictures of that one.

After lunch today, the four of us met Grandma, Bumpa, Uncle Rob, Aunt Jen and Cousin Kane at Chuck E Cheese. We spent the afternoon playing games and opening presents. Grandma and Bumpa got Taylor her own fishing pole and a really nice tackle box. She can't wait to use them this summer! And Uncle Rob and Aunt Jen went with the world-record theme and got Taylor an incredible 2008 Guinness World-Records book! The best part is that it has pictures of all of the incredible people and the things that they have accomplished. This is sure to be a huge hit not only for Taylor, but the entire neighborhood gang.

Taylor's last gift was given to her this evening. I was able to track down a gently used unicycle, and I think that she is going to be great at riding it. She has wanted to try and learn how to ride one for a couple of years, and this one presented itself late last week.

Thank you so much to the family and friends that have had a hand in making Taylor's day special. And to those who couldn't make it today, we love you and we think of you often.

Enjoy the pictures.

Tuesday, April 01, 2008

Mother Nature Has an Interesting Sense of Humor



Yep - that's snow. Eight inches of the wet, slushy stuff fell on Monday & Tuesday (4/01/08), and left us with a mess to clean up on April Fool's Day. The kids are on spring break this week, so the timing has worked out well for them to take full advantage of what will likely be the last snow fall of this winter/spring.

Panod and I got the privilge to go and see the Blue Man Group play on Saturday night, thanks to UrbanPlanet. This was an amazing show! Even though a majority of the group we went with had seen the show in Vegas, we all really enjoyed it. It was humorous, exciting, loud and the opening act, Mike Realm, was fantastic.