hello summer

summer has arrived.... right on time... 6 weeks before the rest of the country.

i always know its here because i am always greeted with a lovely attractive sun blister right on my lower lip. without fail. the beginning of summer=big fat sun blister on lip. i get it. i just wish one summer i could manage to escape this warm welcoming.

we have already been swimming in our pool for a good 3 weeks now and jack is on his way to becoming the next michael phelps. he loves jumping off the side and he is getting pretty good at it.
however, ava isn't too fond of the water but she is starting to get her feet wet. she seems to be more worried if she has put enough sun block on or not. she probably reapplies it at least 20 times in an hour. the good news is she won't get sunburned. eden just hangs out in her saucer and looks out at us from the covered patio like we are a bunch of crazies.

some of our other past times have included visiting the splash park by tempe town lake. the difference between there and swimming in our backyard is getting to see a wide a variety of people. like the overweight lady  who feels she needs to walk around with her boob hanging out and her baby strapped to her side. disgusting. this isn't africa and its not the discovery channel, so put that thing away. thank you very much(i am pro nursing, by the way, just not the flash your boob kind of nursing). 
at least jack gets to make use of his umbrella because we all know that thing aint gonna be used for rain anytime soon. 

so summer is here wether we like it or not. and i do like the idea of summer and i actually kind of like the heat, well, okay... maybe hawaii heat, but i do love the swimming and the getting wet part, but i don't like the steaming hot car when your trying to buckle your kids in and they are screaming and crying because they feel like their faces are melting off. so, i end this post with a quote from jack as we were leaving from the splash park today and our car was 400 degrees.

"mom, i hate the heat... its soo hot. i hate arizona. why can't we move to oregon. like, forever."

(coincidence, i think not)

my dream house

i found it. 

my dream house... in eugene, or.

yes, i am still hooked on the oregon thing and yes, this very house is on the market as i type.

however, because of this wonderful recession we are in, i am lacking the funds.

that is why it is my dream house and not my reality house.

i absolutely love all the windows and openness and cottage charm.

(however, i am excepting donations from anyone who has some extra cash lying around.)

{any takers??}

i can just picture all my kids eating their breakfast on this super fabulous built-in nook.

i could not have thought up a more perfect kitchen in my little head.

and of course, all of the other rooms are, unfortunately, as equally cute and quaint.

in the mean time, i will just cry myself a river.

make it an ocean.

breakfast in bed

i was sitting in bed sunday morning, which happened to be mother's day, wondering if i should get up or not. usually, i am greeted with a special breakfast in bed. i waited a couple of minutes and decided i should just get up because it wasn't going to happen this year. as i turned the corner, my husband saw me and told me to get back in bed because a surprise was coming.

back in my bed, i patiently waited. moments later, my sweet boy jack came in with a big smile on his face and a piece of paper in his hand.  giggling with excitement, he looked at his paper and began asking me what i would like to drink for breakfast. i told him water would be great.

he quickly returned with a glass of water and preceded to ask me what i would like to eat. he tried to talk me into the french toast but i had to turn him down. then he asked if he could have a drink of my water to which i replied "yes, why of course". i then told him eggs and toast would be the most delicious breakfast ever. actually, i knew it would be the fastest thing to make on the list, knowing i still had to shower and get everyone ready for church in just a short hour.

he ran out of the room with my order, but not before getting another a drink of water and telling me happy mother's day, again, for the tenth time mixed with some i love you's. by now ava and eden were sitting with me and a few minutes later jason with jack trailing behind returned with my made to order breakfast in bed.

it was a delightful mother's day morning, sitting in bed with my children and eating my eggs, toast, and homemade hash browns, an extra bonus, and drinking my half drunken water.

thank you, my sweetest kids,

i love being your mother

xoxo

tag... your it

traditionally, ava prefers to only tag herself (and other inanimate objects.... toys, doors, walls, books, etc.), but i have a feeling she may be getting a little bored of that.

meet her newest victim...

sweet innocent eden.

she is quite proud of it, by the way.

stretch it out

"sit up straight and here we go."

"stretch to the right."

"now take it to the left."

"drool out of your mouth if you can."

"now try to touch both feet."

"good, and hold it."

"last one!"

"try to touch your belly to the ground."

"good job, everyone."

EDEN.

5 months old.

rock star stretcher sitter upper.

shock factor

warning:if you are from arizona, you may experience shock, light-headedness, possible fainting, dry mouth (from your mouth hanging open too long), or any other related symptoms.

yep folks, these homes have charm, they have originality, they have character, they have likability, and most of all... they have colorful trees, plants, bushes, etc.

now take a deep breath and scroll...

pretty sure that is a subaru outback in the drive-way.

and i love the red door.

one of my personal favorites.

{homes found in eugene, oregon}

this is the saweeetest treehouse. it has a cargo net connecting the 

two little houses. a child's paradise.

 someday, kiddos. 

sigh.

eugene marathon

usually when choosing a marathon to run, i consider the surroundings and wonder if it would be a place to have great vacation too. for instance, disney world, enough said. new york city, who wouldn't want visit there. san francisco, cool city. you get the point. so, one might ask, why eugene, oregon. well, any runner would know the answer to that. besides the fact that it is one of the most beautiful lush green places on the planet and i am now considering moving there (not really, okay, maybe really), but it is where running legends are made. the biggest running legend of them all, STEVE PREFONTAINE! one of my idols. i got that fuzzy warm feeling just seeing hayward field at the university of oregon where Pre (pre is what everyone called him) ran and set tons of american records. some of you may not know who he is because he died in his early twenties  in a car crash. check out his story. he is amazing and beyond inspiring. kind of like Rudy, but better.

mt. hood in the back ground. it has snow on it year round.

it is the "hood" over portland.

in eugene, we drove by a marijuana rally. pretty normal actually. so, there are a

lot of tree huggin hippies here and almost everyone

drives a subaru outback. not joking. our rental car...you got it...

a subaru outback.

did i mention nike was born here. that's right. Pre's coach at the

U of O used to make the soles of his running shoes with a waffle iron.

those shoes later evolved into nikes that later evolved into

the billion dollar nike company. crazy.

quoted by the great Steve Prefontaine.

are you inspired yet?

jason and i discussing where he will meet up with me along the course.

plastered on hayward field. no pressure.

Marathon Day

may 3, 2009

where's deborah?

(click here for race highlights)

post-race

all over. after running for just under 4 hours.

secretly, i am screaming in my head because my quads feel 

like they are going to explode.

tired.

my scruffy handsome husband who cheered me on

for the whole 26.2 miles.

couldn't have done it without this guy.

xoxo

enjoying an ice cream treat with my fancy new medal.

it's back to brown arizona....

...and back to reality.

**stay tuned for charming homes throughout eugene,or.