For those of you who pray...

I don't pray much myself, but I do believe in the power of prayer.

Our friend, Mark Arnold, is in the ICU with severe pancreatitis. He went into septic shock two weeks ago where his organs shut down. They don't know what has caused this. It is scary to hear about a very healthy 44-year-old (only a year or two older than Kenny) having such a health scare. Mark has been a world-class athlete and still stays in shape.

Here is a link to the website they have set up to keep friends and family updated: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/markarnold

So any prayers you can spare for this great guy and his wonderful wife would be much appreciated. Jill is so strong, but this isn't easy for her. It also can't be easy for their two teenage/preteen kids....

road trip

We went to Monterey last weekend. I guess I never realized how far it was when I agreed to go to the bike festival with Kenny for a weekend. I was so tired from that long drive home. Kenny had to stick around to take down the tent/trailer etc. He didn't get back until 3 a.m.-- so I am very glad I didn't stick around to wait for him. Still... it was a tough drive.

I forget how difficult driving by myself with two children can be. The first challenge came within the first few hours. Amelia had fallen asleep (boy did she need it) and had been asleep for just under two hours. Jackson had to go to the bathroom. Hmmm.... now what? Obviously, the potty break can't be ignored. Jackson is too little to send in by himself and of course I can't leave Amelia in the car. So the sacrifice was Amelia's nap.

I filled up on gas to limit the number of stops. After Jackson's potty break (and Mommy's), both kids wanted a snack. I was sitting in the car dealing with the snack while the gas was pumping. Amelia was being very "two" and demanding her " 'ogurt heezer" (yogurt squeezer). I had to help them both push the yogurt to the top. She was making her usual mess. I needed to wipe everything up with a baby wipe and throw it all in the trash. I saw a trash can across the parking lot, so I put the car in gear and drove toward it. BANG... I looked back and I was DRAGGING THE GAS NOZZLE BEHIND ME!!!!!! Holy Crap! I had never done that before and panic started welling to the surface.

A very nice couple saw the whole thing. The lady said, "I did that a month ago, don't worry about it." Her husband said that it is break-away as a safety feature. He said it just snaps back on. As he tried to put it back, he got gas all over him. OY! I felt so bad. I actually started to cry (add lack of sleep, frustration with cranky kids, the idea of 6 more hours of driving and embarrassment---- there was no way the tears weren't coming). The guy went into the gas station to let them know what happened. I pulled over to the other side of the parking lot to sit for a minute. I was a bit shaky.

When I called Kenny to tell him what happened, I was relieved to hear that he had done the same thing! He told me that he did it in front of a bunch of construction workers who laughed at him. He was driving our old Z4 (the convertible BMW) so it made it that much worse. Why is it that someone else's humiliation made me feel better? I guess I was happy that I was in good company.

Does it make me a bad person....

...if I hoard snickerdoodle cookies for myself?? My friend, Laura, baked me my favorite cookies for my birthday. I don't particularly like cake and Laura wanted to bake me something special. I gave the kids each one that day, but none since. I just enjoyed a few yummy snickerdoodles that are hidden in the pasta cupboard. Mommy deserves some special treats for herself now and then doesn't she?? Sshhhh.... don't tell the kids.

So sad today...

I received an e-mail from my friend Abby wishing me a belated happy birthday. She said that she was going to call me yesterday but she didn't want to bring me down on my birthday considering the tragic news about Kevin. I called her and asked what was up. I hadn't watched the news yesterday at all...

A former coworker of mine, Kevin Vicary, was killed tragically yesterday morning. Ironically, out of all my old workmates, I saw him most recently. I saw him with his wife and youngest daughter at Rubios. He updated me on what was happening at Sycuan. It was so nice to see him and talk with him and his wife and see his little girl who is only a couple of months older than Amelia. It makes me so incredibly sad to think about.

Kevin was cleaning his pool with his two-year-old daughter, Ariana, nearby. A minivan ran a red light at Granite Hills and Dehesa and hit a semi truck. The truck went out of control and careened through Kevin's fence and into his pool--taking Kevin with him. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24143636/

The thing that struck me so much with this whole story was the fact that his two-year-old daughter was there with him. As the truck pushed him into the water and pushed him to the bottom, he somehow managed to get to the side of the pool. I heard from a friend of mine at the casino that Ariana was trying to get in the water to get to him and Kevin kept saying, "Daddy's Ok, stay out of the water!" There was oil and approximately 80 gallons of diesel fuel in that pool which would have been very dangerous to that little girl. It seems that his last act of his life was to save the life of his daughter. I couldn't imagine something like that happening and wondering where your daughter is. I can picture him doing whatever it took to make sure that his baby was safe.

I called Kenny this afternoon just to tell him that I love him. Something like this really makes me cherish my family and what is important to me.

My heart goes out to Kevin's wife, Isabel. I can't imagine the pain she is in. I don't pray much, but I pray for those little girls and their mother. I hope that they find some peace and heal over time.

Happy Birthday to me...

41 is pretty anti-climactic after such a fabulous 40th birthday celebration. I am glad that this year's birthday was so low key. In the morning I opened some fabulous gifts from my family. The kids opened each gift. They didn't care what was in them... they just liked the act of opening them. After that, it was a pretty typical Monday. I took the kids to Stroller Strides, went to coffee with my friends, fed the kids lunch, put them down for naps etc. There was some of the usual stress in getting out the door on time, but all in all it was a good day.

We went to dinner at a family restaurant and had a nice time. It was wonderful that Kenny was able to leave work early enough to meet us. It was a bit challenging, however. Amelia is showing all signs of her terrible twos. She did not want to eat and wanted out of the booster all over Mommy [note to self: Amelia is not ready for a booster. A high chair is still the appropriate choice for our little toddler] By the time we all shared dessert, I was ready to get home and get everyone to bed.

My favorite part of the day was something that my hubby did that really made me smile. From the first moment I woke up, I found notes from him saying things like, "happy birthday," "we love you Momma," and "have a great day." There was one under the pillow in our bed. I left the house before he did because he was finishing up our taxes *rolls eyes* When I came home, there was a note taped to the frame in the entry. I found notes in the refrigerator, on my keyboard, on the wireless headphones, on the remote, in the bathroom.... It was such a sweet, thoughtful thing to do.

small world...

Probably everyone reading this knows that we were evacuated during the fires in October of last year. The Harris fire burned up and over Mt. Miguel, which is directly behind our house. It came down into our canyon where firefighters and helicopters stopped its progress. On Tuesday, October 23 we turned on the TV and saw the fire blazing with our house in the foreground! The news crew zoomed in on our house (which is the first on the block) and showed a group of firefighters sitting on our lawn furniture watching the fire and waiting. I called the local fire department and told them to get a message to the crew that they were welcome to anything in our home... water, soda etc. I wanted those guys to stay put in case the fire came close to our house! When we returned home, we realized that they had been in our house. They removed some curtains from an upstairs window as a precaution as well as pulling some other curtains away from the big picture window on our landing.

Well................ Jen's husband Greg, who we just spent a long weekend with, is a firefighter for National City. One evening at the lake house, we were chatting about the fires and comparing stories. Greg asked where we live. He then asked some more specific questions. Suddenly, his eyes got big and he laughed and said, "I used your bathroom!" He was in our house! He sat on our chairs! This was before I had met him, so he had no way of knowing that the children in the pictures on the wall played with his kids at Stroller Strides.

Out of the thousands of homes threatened by that fire and the thousands of firefighters protecting those homes.... what are the odds??!! It boggles my mind.

Fabulous weekend!!!

This past weekend, we went with my friend and running partner, Jen and her family to stay at her sister's lake house in Canyon Lake. It was actually our first time taking a trip with another family and it was really, really enjoyable. They have a four-year-old boy and a two-year-old girl and they all had so much fun. The grownups had fun too. We had compatible energy levels, humor and parenting styles.

I am going to use pictures to describe some of the highlights of the weekend. The kids all had a lot of fun. They really enjoyed the boat and each other...

Jackson and Greyson were inseparable.


And the girls were two peas in a pod as well!



The kids were able to go fishing! If they caught something, it would have been quite a feat since there were no hooks or bait *wink* They had a good time with it though...




The kids weren't the only ones to enjoy themselves... Here are pics of myself, Kenny, Jen and Greg:



It had been over a decade since I waterskiied. I was a bit nervous that I wouldn't be able to get up. I am not sure if I look determined or relieved in these shots.


But it all came back to me...




Even the crashes! This one HURT.


All in all, it was SO much fun. I wish we could have skiied even more.


Jen kicked some @$$ too!!




And a killer crash or two *wink*


The dads had fun too! Greg tried waterskiing too.

Earlier, he had flown over the wake on the wakeboard



And Kenny tried out wakeboarding for the first time. If at first you don't succeed....


Try, try again!!



Jen and Greg really treated us as family. We felt at home in a beautiful home on the lake. Hats off to Jen's sister Toby (sp?) for allowing Jen to bring her friends to her wonderful place. Thank you SO much!