Spring Cleaning task No2.

Jumping back again to the late fall and early winter, there was a whole lot of running going on but not the type that was wearing out my sneakers. During the Holiday Season we were on the road just about every weekend to visit friends and family putting most of the load on the tires rather than my feet. For Thanksgiving we loaded up the wagon and took our 2 little indians to visit all grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles and friends. This involved a lot of driving but also a lot of eating, a lot of fun and a lot of time spent with the people we love. Next time we need to make sure we get pictures of the entire groups. Here's a shot of the boys with their Uncle Jared! Our next stop was the barber shop where Aidan got his first haircut. (the only one so far) So he doesn't look like such a hippie. Christmas of course involved the same round of marathon visiting. First the boys woke up at home on Christmas Eve Morning to learn that they had slept through Santa's early visit to our house. Wow! what a big surprise! Santa must have spent all night putting their gifts under the tree and look at all the fun that they are having with the two .99 cent toy cell phones from their stockings. They did have a lot of fun with the wrapping paper and boxes too. From here we packed up the sleigh and it was on to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas Morning at Grandma's (Cari-anne's parents) and then on to spend Christmas night and the next day at my Mom's or as Aidan would put it "Other Grandma's. " (Other Grandma changes depending on which Grandma's house you are at or talking about.)

Here Santa Scott made a very surprising and convincing appeareance as ole Chris Kringle himself. I was sure this was my brother inlaw but was half expecting my lump of coal too. The boys were a mixture of delight and tiny terror. Ryan still hasn't come around to encounters with such luminaries as Micky Mouse and Santa Clause but Aidan was right at home. After this we headed into the final stretch of the Holiday Season and planned for the usual quiet New Year's Eve celebration at home! Grandma (my Mom), Aunt Dale and Cousin Albert came up for a nice quiet transition from 2008 to 2009. It was so quite we didn't even take any pictures. The boys were tucked well into their beds hours earlier so they didn't notice the passing year either. Happy Belated New Year Everyone! Ok, then there was one final celebration, a New Years Day party where the boys got to visit with Other Grandma (this time Cari-anne's Mom) and more relatives and friends. They got to sit with 2 generations of Grandpa's too! Then it was back home to settle into the New Year and rest from all of the months running. Now as you can see I didn't talk at all about really running during these days and weeks. I've used the excuse before so I'll use it again. I just didn't have time. OK, I know that's a big cop-out. I did have the best intentions of getting up early on January 1st and starting the year off right but it was weeks before my first jog. Yeah, I know Slacker. Then the cold weather really set in, and of course the snow, and the ice. Can't leave out the ice, but I'll save those excuses for later.

Little Steps With The Boys!

The weather has been getting quite a bit nicer. There are still those rainy cold days and we were hit with a yucky sleet storm yesterday. This past weekend though, was fabulous. I’ve been passing on the lousy days but have taken advantage of the nicer ones to get out and stretch my legs a bit. Sometimes on my own, but usually with Georgia or the boys or both. These are mostly brisk walks or slow jogs. You glass half full folks might consider the latter. I particularly enjoy the jaunts with Aidan & Ryan. They are delighted to be pushed around in the double stroller and particularly like riding in the gravel rather than on the pavement. As if I wasn’t already aware of it by the increased effort to push, but they each let me know where the hills are by repeating up, up, up, up, up as we climb. They let me know where the downhills are too. Down, down, down, down… I also get the musical treat of the alphabet song. Come on! you know the words! A-B-C-D-E-F-G…. although not necessarily in that order and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star too. Sometimes mixed together. Hey did you realize that they both have the same tune? Another of my favorites is watching Aidan look after Ryan on the speed bumps. First he alerts us of the upcoming bump in the road. You got it! Repeating speed bump, speed bump, speed bump as we approach. Then he puts his arm around his brother, holds him as we go over and releases him once we have safely passed. He’s so cute. These ideal moments almost make ya forget about those battles over the one toy that Ryan is trying to play with and Aidan suddenly needs too. Boy’s will be boys I guess. On this particular outing we did our usual loop and then stopped by the lake on our way back to the house. Cari-anne and Georgia came down to meet us and we sat on the dock handing the boys pebbles. They would count to 3 scream with glee and toss them in the water. I’d forgotten how much fun this was. The boys were having a blast. Now one thing that has been a bit of a challenge has been separating Adian from his pacifier. We have dozens of pictures where we say “if only he didn’t have that in his mouth.” On this day I suggested “Hey, what do you guys think about throwing your pacifiers into the lake too?” They each had them out and ready to toss in a wink. I had to say “Wait! Wait a second. Once you throw it in we can’t get them back and they will be gone forever.“ I’m sure they don’t have any idea what forever is but it was enough to make them rest their beloved pacifiers in their laps. I explained that it didn’t have to be today, but they should think about it, and someday we can come back and throw them in with the fishies. The stone tossing resumed and soon it was time to head back up to the house. To my surprise, as I was backing the stroller up, I saw a little hand wave, a flash of blue and white, heard a little ploop and there bobbing on the surface was Aidan’s pacifier. When I asked him did you mean to do that he said “yes, Aidan’s a big boy now.” He repeated this all the way home and spent the rest of day telling his story to all who would listen. When bed time rolled around he found his brothers pacifier and when asked what he was doing he said “this not for Aidan, this for Ryan. Aidan’s a big boy.” I was so proud of him. What a guy! Earlier as we left the lake I had waited behind a few seconds behind to retrieve it. I wasn't quite believing that this wouldn’t be needed again. The first night was fine. I do have to admit that there was a bit of a relapse a few days later and we struck a deal that he can have his charm in bed when going to sleep. I do think we turned a little corner. Small steps add up. Speaking of steps, I’m still a bit of a lazy runner (glass half empty) but then again this time last year I had not even started yet.

Spring Cleaning task No1.

As we move into the warmer weather and I continue to get back on track with my daily runs I’d like to take a blog or two to tidy up a bit of the "something to do with running", "little to do with running", and "nothing to do with running" items from over the winter. Way back in November we took a family vacation to California. One of my first outings after the marathon was along the shore of the Pacific Ocean from Redondo Beach to Manhattan Beach and back. Not very far but in very different surroundings for me. The song says “it never rains in California” and this tune and "Raindrops are fallin’ on my head" were playing in my mind that morning. No worries though. I’d certainly run in the rain before but never in the rain in California and it was a very nice jog all the same. I captured an image on my phone of a light house on the pier in Mahattan beach on this stormy morning which I was rather fond of. It survived the run in the downpour but 4 days later I unveiled my lifeguard skills in the hotel fountain and this picture was lost for good. While offering Aidan and Ryan the opportunity to explore their world I stood by as they played at the waters edge at the resort. One moment Ryan stood smiling and pointing at the bubbleling little waterfall and a split second later he was diving down into the drink. I was in waist deep water a split second later with a very startled little boy in my arms. We were all no worse for wear barring my poor cell phone and its pictures. O well. This picture of me and the boys is from the same streach of beach taken with our camera. Luckly not over my shoulder during Ryan's swimming lesson.

Aidan brought his share of excitement when we taught him to beware of the prickely pear cactus plants that lined the path at the zoo. He promptly swatted one with his hand and the next hour was spent with the medic removing the quills with tweezers one at a time. Here's a prickure of the offending plant. Weeks later we asked him if he remembered this and he pointed to his palm and said ouch. Overall the trip had more to do with hiking and walking than running and it was largely free of further dangerous encounters for the boys as well.

Grandparents lead the way as we covered every inch of Disneyland. Jared and Caitlin charted our course along the trails on top of San Jacinto. Well actually Aidan called the shots as to when we took breaks and where we wandered (always with his

big stick in hand)

We also made 2 trips up to Joshua Tree National park from our base in Palm Springs. All in all it was quite an active and excellent vacation. The Boulders at Joshua Tree being my favorite.