Sophia started Preschool

Sophia got to start preschool this year at Patchwork Preschool (check out the link on my sidebar)! I did it more for the social interaction, because Gabriela is in kindergarten now, and also becuase I think she'll just enjoy it. I'm not too worried about my kids being geniouses before they get to kindergarten. She loves it and will come home telling me all the fun things she does. There first unit was on the farm and we got to take our baby chicks in for the kids to see. So if you are still looking for a preschool, Mrs. Rebecca is great. I should know, because she is a close friend of mine. I've seen her teach and she is amazing with kids and a very enthusiastic teacher.

I did it!!!

 I can't believe it! I actually got the guts to go compete in a triathalon. This has been my goal since January. I trained in the beginning months of the year and the race didn't work out, so here I am, in September, and you know what....I DID IT!

My two sweet friends, Traci (on the left) and Amy (on the right) convinced me to do the Yuba Lake Tri. It was open water, which was really scary to me. I've been training at the gym for probably the past six weeks or so and yesterday was the big day.

We had to be down there at six a.m. which means I was up at 4:30 in the morning to make the hour drive. I didn't really sleep good, for fear of sleeping in, and on the way down I had loud music blarring in the car to pump myself up. Miguel was the only one who went down with me and that was a good thing, because it was freezing! I mean toes numb, teeth chattering, cold!

Once it was time to get ready for the race to start, I thought I was going to throw up. The swim looked so far to me and my too previous open water training experiences had not gone very well at all. I really couldn't believe I was about to do this. I had never raced in anything before. Not even a 5k! I think I'm nuts!!!

I rented this sweet wetsuit which would at least keep me afloat is something happened. Not my greatest look, but I was more worried about staying alive, then what I looked like at the moment. Do you see that orange buoy out there. Yep, that's how far I had to swim out, but you can't see the really long stretch that was to follow it.

Traci is my awesome visiting teacher, whom I adore and love. She is one of the most positive people I know, and I'm inspired by her dedication to these races. She was a great support. I think that's nervous energy being displayed.

Once they called us into the water to start, I was thinking, Oh my gosh, I can't believe I have the guts to do this. I have trained and here I am, in the water, about to do this thing...I SHOWED UP!!!

And then the whistle blew. I held back and let those who were serious racers go ahead, for fear of being trampled. It was a long hard swim. Much of it was back stroked and 2/3 of the way in, I couldn't breath, but I just kept telling myself I could do it. I would sing in my head, "slow. and steady. wins. the race." to keep my pace and fill my head with positve thoughts. When I came up out of the water, Miguel was a little shocked to see me, for he thought I would be further back and one of the last ones to come up. Up the boat ramp I came and all I could say was," give me the inhaler." After taking my medicine, I was off to the transistion area to prep for the bike ride. All I had was my mountain bike, which was going to make things more difficult. Once I peeled off my wetsuit and put on my helmet and number, I was off. 12 miles was what I was in for and I could tell I was going pretty slow, but it didn't bother me so much. I just still couldn't believe I was racing in a triathalon and was was pretty happy and proud of myself for it. Once I made it to the half way turn around it all went down hill. My bike went flat on the back tire and I started to panic and think how was I going to make it the six miles back to civilization. If you haven't been out to Yuba, it's in the middle of nowhere. Other riders were passing me and asking if I was alright. I was doing fine, but the bike was not. It was making all kinds of noise and getting harder and harder to pedal. If I could ride it like this it was going to take me forever to get back. I finally got off it to take a look and the tire had come off the rim and was jammed in the brake. The back tire was locked and I couldn't even roll the bike anymore. I wanted to cry at this point. All of that hard work, all of those good feelings, were gone. I just picked up my water bottle, layed the bike down and took off my helmet. I guess I was going to have to walk the six miles back to the transition area. It was heart breaking. I knew I could do this thing, and wasn't going to get the chance. After walking for a bit, I ran into the the truck that was following the last rider. He picked me up and then went and got my bike and took me back. It was like a ride of shame, and I tried to just tell myself, what do you do? But in the back of my mind, I really thought," out of all 300 something people out here, why am I the one who ends up with the flat tire?" Seriously! I saw Miguel waiting by the rode and once I got out, I cried on his shoulder from the disappointment. He was a great coach and supporter and soon enough I was holding my head high again and deep down I was really proud of myself. I had conquered the swim, my biggest fear, and I was doing the bike ride and would have finished the whole thing, if it hadn't been for my dumb bike. So I cheered my friends on and treated myself to lunch at the Cracker Barrel for lunch. Home cooking will always make a girl feel better.

So, I not giving up. I think I'm going to try it again in November, at the SHAC pool, so you can come too! There aren't very many open water tris this late in the season, so this one will have to do.

The Chicken Saga

If you have been reading this blog pretty regularly, you will remember that we have pet chickens, right? We still do, but it has been a long, hard, road. You will also remember that the racoons ate our two ducks previous to the chickens, right?

Well the raccoons struck again!

Last week, on Gabriela's first day of school, I went out to get my stroller from the garage for when we were going to walk Gabriela to school, and found that there was only one baby chick in the cage. I freaked out and then went out into the backyard and they were gone. Five out of six of our baby chicks had been eaten again. I sat on the back steps and cried. I found feathers from a few of the birds in clumps in the grass and knew our babies were gone. I think they flew out of the cage and made there way outside in the night. When I told Gabriela when she woke up, she started crying and then I cried some more. It was so sad people. The smallest of our chicks, named Squirt, was left and kept yelling from the box because chicken hate being by themselves.

Gabriela insisted she wanted another one just like Sassy, so I went to work on the computer to find us some more. I also had to run over to my sister in law's to borrow one of her birds to keep Squirt company. We took another trip back to SLC to get three more chickens the next day. I now know that each bird has his or her own personality. These birds are a lot more docile than our previous birdies.

Things were going great, but our little flock was not complete. We only had four and we are allowed up to six in the city. It's better if they all grow up together to help them get along better, so two days ago, I found a guy selling some here in town. We went and picked up two from him and decided to get some lunch and eat it at the park. Our other chickens are really good about not running off when we put them outside. It's easy to keep and eye on them and not to bad to catch. That being said, we thought it would be a good idea to let the little chickens play in the grass while we ate our lunch.

WRONG...BAD IDEA!!! One of those chickens must have been part road runner, because he took off like a bat out of (well, you know where) and would runner underneath about ten rows of picnic tables going the opposite direction you are. I looked like an idiot out there chasing this bird and long story short, he ran up into the woods, behind a chain linked fence, never to be seen again.

He didn't even make to our house! So lets do the math. I've purchased eleven birds and I only have five. Can we say that I'm definately an amateur farmer. Good grief.

On a more happier note, we got the chicken coop finished and the birds are sleeping outside now. Wahoo!!! Pictures soon to follow.

So stay tuned, I'm sure the chicken saga is far from over.

The Morning Rush

This past week has been crazy trying to adjust to a new schedule. Gabriela is not used to being woken up to then get thrown into the shower all before breakfast, and for the record, neither am I. But once dressed, I look at that kid and think WOW, you look great! I seriously love the uniforms. She looks so good every morning. Sharp. Not the usual rugrat I'm used to seeing with her hair in her face and wearing whatever she thinks looks good at the moment.

But then again, she's the only that has to be dressed and out the door by 8a.m.

Julianne represents what the rest of us look like at the breakfast table.

Our Little Gymnast

Sophia had her very first gymnastics exhibition today. She loves it so much. I ask her all the time what she loves more? Dance or Gymnastics. From day one, she has said gymnastics. She has a great teacher and it's a great outlet for all of her physical energy. These pictures were taken during her class this week. I chose to video her today instead of taking pictures during her show. But it was generally the same thing.

This is her class warming up.

Julianne is always a good supporter. She keeps me company. Don't worry her time will come.

Doing front rolls.

And doing "flamingos" and "kicking soccer balls" on the beam.

(Mrs. Nola is very creative in her teaching methods.)

And here she is today, after the meet, with the ribbon she got for participating.

And even Grandma and Grandpa came to support her.

First Day of School!!!

 She did it ladies and gentlemen! She went to Kindergarten today. Did Mom cry? Nope. Not one little tear. This girly is ready. I didn't worry about her making friends, or missing me, or misbehaving. Not at all. She is so independant and mature for her age, that I sent her off this morning full of confidence that my baby will succeed and love school. She gets to wear snazzy uniforms which makes getting ready a cinch. I got up and made her favorite breakfast...pancakes with strawberries on top. She was sporting her backpack that she picked out and out the door we went walking to school.

This is her teacher, Mrs. Felhberg

And off to class she goes. See that big smile. That's my girl!

Sisters

Man, I love these three! But more than that, I love when they love each other. It's probably because these moments are so rare in our home. Usually Julianne is following me around and the other two go from best friends to worst enemies every five minutes. But when I see them getting along I feel an urge to run get my camera to capture the moment. Those are the moments I want to remember, not the screaming ones. 

As a good friend told me not to long ago, we all have sweets and sours in our days. Let's all try to focus and remember the sweets a little more.

Oh and that is also in the Ten Virtues by Pres. Hinckley under Optimism.