End of summer swim meet

What a fun night! Jason brought the kids up to cheer me on and enjoy the festivities. I came in 1st place *in my heat* for the 50 free and both of my relay teams came in 2nd place. Overall, my team( The Lakeview Marlins) won! This summer team was so much fun and gave me the opportunity to make new friends while staying in shape.

Looking forward to joining one of the winter teams especially because my miserable neighbor Lisa won't be!

From Maggie to Megan

One thing is for sure: Rowan picks the cutest little neighborhood girls to befriend! Introducing Megan who lives 3 house down from us. She and Rowan have become fast friends and luckily I love Megan's mom who is also named Jenn! The bonus is that Megan has an older sister (Katelyn) who is 16 going on 30. She's seriously more mature than Jason and I combined. She has become our regular babysitter and just the nicest young girl.

Here are a few pictures of the two of them from last week. Let's hope they continue to play so well together.

Happy Monday!

"We survived the great east coast quake of 2011"

I should really capitalize on this and make T-shirts while it's a hot topic!

We're becoming experienced earthquake survivors. Some may remember my July 16, 2010 blog post when we experienced a 3.6 magnitude earthquake. This one was more severe registering a 5.8 on the Richter scale. We are all ok and just grateful that it was mother nature and not an act of terrorism. Thank you to the many friends and family members who checked in on us today!

Week 2 of breakfast room reno

It's getting there! We're thinking by the end of this week for sure.

One week into addition renovation

Jason and I are getting some work done in the room right off the kitchen which is like a breakfast room. Here are the pictures from the night before Dave started and one week into it. The people we bought the house off of just had a recliner, a desk and a tv in the room. We wanted it to be as functional as possible so we decided to have someone build us custom bench seating and bookcases around the bay window. We purchased cabinets that match the ones in the kitchen that will be used for the bench and bottom of the bookcases. In addition to having a great place to hang out and eat, we'll have more storage and a place to display all Jason's stuff from overseas as well as all our books and pictures.

It *should* be completed by the end of the week but whose keeping tabs? This will leave some time for us to pick out a table that fits well in the space, a cushion for the bench, and a new ceiling fan/light fixture. I'll be sure to post pictures when it's finished. Fingers crossed that all stays on par!

I'm glad to see someone is laughing...

Because 6am in the morning isn't funny to me! Thank God for coffee and naptime.

A comedian in the house

I've pondered many times whether I should posts these or not. Everytime Jason and I come across them we really get a good laugh in! I think he learned this at school but who knows.

Cheers to getting in a hardy laugh -whether it be through these pics, steppin' out, or going on with your bad self (inside joke to Sara).

Thinking of Sebastian

Today Sebastian would have turned 13. This afternoon, after it stormed, I walked outside to see this in the sky. It made me wonder - what is the meaning of a rainbow?

It ends up that rainbows have biblical roots tracing back to Noah and the Arc. God brought the arc to a mountain to rest the same day that later became Easter. It was the beginning of a new day and a new life. God promised to never destroy the earth again with water. He gave us the rainbow as a reminder of his promise. Others spirituality interpret the rainbow as a kind of bridge between heaven and earth and in most western cultures the rainbow has become the symbol of renewed hope.

If anyone has ever lost a pet, you may be familiar with "The Rainbow Bridge" poem. It's tough to get through but ultimately I believe the message. I'm not one who follows any one religion but I do believe in a new day, a new life, and renewed hope.

Thanks Sebastian for giving me this special sign today.