i finally caught her...

Julia's been a little tough to keep up with lately...especially when it comes to catching her on film. But...with all the time I've been spending at Calvin lately (swim lessons), I thought I'd grab some pictures of she and Sarah by the ol' Seminary Pond. Enjoy :: (If you'd like to see them bigger, click on over to the Photoblog)

other summer goings-ons...

We've had a busy and fun summer so far, and we're only three weeks in!

We've had lots of ice cream...and as the years go on, we are pleased to see that more gets into tummies than on the ground, on the clothes, on the faces, hands, feet, others, etc...
Lauren's 1st grade teacher got married. This was a much anticipated event, as all of the 1st graders sang "How Great is Our God" at the ceremony. It was quite sweet.

Fishing and having fun at the cottage... Playing at Lake Michigan...Swimming lessons! It's been about 14 years since I've been on the Calvin College campus as much as I have in the last week! They do a great job there and Lauren is loving it. She's in the water with the teacher right in the center of the photo. Going to the park (Frog Hollow is a favorite)... July and August promise more fun and adventure...so we'll keep you posted! Hope you're all having a great summer!

it could've been worse (but not by much...)

Reeds Lake 10K :: This race day turned out to be one unlike any other.

So, the sun rose on another race Saturday. And the sun didn't hide...it stuck around and made things mighty warm from the start. We felt good though and ready to get moving.

First, allow me to preface :: Here is the description of the course on the race website :: "Scenic 10K route around Reeds Lake which is relatively flat with two hills." Now, I'm not calling anyone a liar, but I counted quite a few more than two hills...and one hill had to be counted twice it was so steep.

At the top of the monster hill, I got chilly (in 85 degree heat) and found breathing to be a ridiculous task. We passed half-way and I caved in and walked. It was walk the road or lay on it, so I opted to stay upright. This continued off and on for the rest of the race. Walk 1 minute, run for 8, walk 1, run 8...

I managed to finish in 56:28. About a minute and a half worse than I was hoping for. Whatever. Hot day, grueling course, I'll take it.

Well, it was at that finish when things got interesting. We didn't see Jeff. My folks saw him finish at 47:47 (el senior speedy), but couldn't find him afterwards. To make a very long tale shorter…after ruling out all best case scenarios, we went for worse-case and, sure enough…we found him here ::

There he was...fully wired in the back of an ambulance (that we passed twice while looking for him) and suffering from heat exhaustion/dehydration. After a bag of fluids, he felt better and his stats improved...we got some marching orders from the paramedics and off we went.

My folks held down the fort at the park with the kiddos while all the hulabaloo was happening. The kids had Grandma stand in line for them for an hour to get balloon animals and Grandpa kept them from falling in the lake. (thank you!)

Fun with friends...

So...it was a weird one (a bit nerve-racking to say the least!), and I guess we're just glad we survived and everyone is on the mend. It was good to have family and friends around...that's for sure! Drink your Ovaltine folks (or Gatorade as the case may be) and stay in the shade!

off we go (again)...

We awoke to another dreary Saturday here in Michigan. But, they seem to be good for running, so we'll take 'em on race day. Today, we ran the Brian Diemer Americam 5K.

Jeff, once again, lined up with the fast folks up front. My brother, Mike, and I weren't too far back this time. I had a goal of beating 26:00, but wasn't too sure I'd do it...especially after I went to turn on my iPpod at the start line and was met with a dead battery. The thought of running without the jams and only hearing the huff n' puffs was a little daunting.

At 9am, we took off and were happy to encounter only one hill along the way...and it was pointed down ever so slightly. It was a nice course and the sans-music running wasn't too bad...I was only slightly disgusted to hear someone contemplating tossing their cookies behind me (ewwww....).

We rolled into the finish a little closer this time...with Jeff finishing at a time of 22:04 (nice!)...and, although I thought I'd beat him (and, yes, maybe trash-talked too much this week), my brother and I actually tied at 25:30...but he is listed on the official time as finishing just before me (argh!). Not too bad. I beat my goal and finished over two minutes faster than my last 5K. This runnin' stuff is fun (and we actually got a cool t-shirt this time).

an evening in the park...

I've got some show n' share over at the photoblog. Take a peek if you'd like!

oh the places you'll go...

Last September, we assured a very discouraged Lauren that by June 2009...there was no question...she would be able to read.
Today is her last day o' first grade and she dun good.

the best campaign promise ever...

America...it's time for a "change". We need new "hope". I present for your consideration...my little candidate ::
"If I were president, I would get a pet cat. I would help the poor."

I'm all for helping the poor...but, if her presidency meant getting a cat in our house...I'm not voting for her.