Lanzarote

So above is our little alcove....or beach.  We have yet to swim in it since we just got here yesterday and today it was too windy.....the waves were crashing and honestly it looked fun...but not with a 4 and 2 year old.  We hit the pools again and then this afternoon my dad and I ran into town.

Everything was closed due to the strike - which is why we are here early.  The girls have had tons of fun in our pool....I say ours since the resort is really quiet, not like Aruba or Mexico.....One nice thing is there is NO humidity!

Below is a picture of the coastline....everything is black...from the volcanoes.  It is a neat contrast to the water and all the white buildings.  Even the side walks are white.  More pics to follow tomorrow since it takes forever to upload them.

24 hours

Sorry no pictures, I will try tomorrow when I have an adapter.  The one I packed is not working.

It was a LONG 24 hours of traveling.  I had braced myself with the thought that it would be long, but in reality it was LONGER than I thought - by a lot and at one point I do recall sleeping in the Madrid Airport on a mat with Jackson next to me.  The kids were playing on the indoor playground.  Why do the US not have these genius things...

The long and short.  We sat on the tarmac for over an hour trying to get out of Philly, Aly got sick on the plane as we were landing in Madrid.  Both girls only slept about 2 or 3 hours, and super Jackson - well lesson learned - he does not sleep on airplanes.....Just fantastic!

In Madrid we had a 4 hour layover, for our flight to Lanzarote.  We took turns resting and watching the girls.  They were pretty fried - it was 3 am our time and they were done.   We went to board the plane for Lanzarote and literally stood on the jet bridge for 45 minutes.  Apparently as Easy Jet let us know the pilot forgot he was supposed to be at work.

Needless to say we were ready for a bed when we arrived here.  Then we found out that the US had not sent our reservation to Spain.......FANTASTIC!!!!!!  So 2 plus hours on the phone with the US resort contact......solved! Don't worry we got an upgrade and did not pay for the additional nights that we are here! 

 I will post pics tomorrow....Aly and I just finished dancing at the Disco.....Aunt Tara would be proud....she will have a partner in Aruba!

Check out my babies

We head to the airport this afternoon.  Yesterday we got the call that our flights were cancelled due to the strike.  We quickly made the game time decision to fly out earlier rather than later.  In Lanzarote, we are staying at the place that we own in Aruba so they were more than happy to accomodate us.

I got a little crazy yesterday trying to get everything done and get Ryan off to his flight.  We hada birthday party and I needed to get everyone packed for two climates this trip.

Check out their passports, all of them have flown internationally at about 3 to 4 months....so cute!

Our next update should be from sunny Lanzarote!

Ramblings

So this is most likely where you will find Aly in the afternoons during "quiet time"  patiently awaiting the laundry to be finished.  She LOVES the laundry.  Ohhh if only it would last!

I am finding it nearly impossible to get a picture with the three of them looking.  This was the best attempt and already I am getting the annoyed look from Aly.

Things are going well.  We depart for Spain in about a week.  Ryan leaves for Scotland this weekend.  Things are just busy!

Mission completed

After every child I have run a half marathon.  I was determined to do another one after Jackson.  Before his arrival I had looked at different races and was planning on trying a couple of small tri's and a half.

That was before he came.

Then he arrived, and I was sick.....soooo sick for the entire month of June I felt horrible.  I didn't even really care that I wasn't getting back into shape because I could barely function.  I got better and Jackson got a little bigger - well okay a lot bigger FAST!  He started being more predictable eating every 3 hours round the clock and then I just adjusted to some sleep and set my sights on completing my half.

I also enlisted the help of a coach......best thing I EVER did.Enter  Mary Holt Wilson and Tri Moxie Coaching   She kept me on track.....in a big way.    Moving to PA I lost my running friends.....well I did not lose them but the ability to run with them in the mornings or weekends.  My motavation was mediocre at best but I really wanted to be back into shape and run.

So I did....people often say to me I don't know where you find the time.  The truth.....anyone can find an hour.  Whether it was in the am before Ryan went to work or in the evening or weekends when he was home I biked, swam and ran.  I have a long way to go.....for next summer but I finally feel like I am back on track.

So the run was on Sun am.....the trains dont run from Lansdale until 6 am which put me in Center City too late.  So I drove to the nearest train station that had trains running at 5 am.  I fed Jackson right before I left and then hopped in the car and left.  I got to Center City around 7 and found the bag check and the corral I was supposed to be in.  I stretched and relaxed a little...and then we were off!

I felt good, the first few miles seemed to go by quickly....there were 15,000 runners so the course was crowded.  The upside was that there was either an aid station or band every mile.  The downside...there were so many people at times it was suffocating.

The weather was great and the course looped through Philly and then headed out on Kelly Drive along the water.  The was opposite the marathon that I ran in 04.  It was shady and the course was really flat.  Mile 10 I started to feel just tired.  I knew that this would happen but my goal was to finish with a pace around 10:15.  I still have a really hard time gaging my miles and pacing.  So I just plugged on....the last two miles were the worst - full sun and I just wanted to finish! 

The good news was the crowd was great at the end and there were a ton of people so it was nice.  I finished in 2:14 which I is close to if not my best half time.  Ryan was a trooper he had the kids all morning - well honestly most of the weekend....since I had plans both evenings.  Jackson was missing his momma....well I think he was missing nursing more...when I got home.

Straight from the midwest

Definitely Ryans kid....already wants to eat beef...holding out till his first birthday...no doubt he will want filet mignon!

We have been enjoying the fall weather.....

Off and running

Ryan wanted this to make the 4 month pictures of Jackson.....look at those thighs....I just want to snuggle him....there is soo much of him!

Ryan is staying in Philly for the next couple of nights....so the girls and Jackson have been hanging here.  Last night Aly scored her first goal in soccer - she was so proud....I am constantly amazed at how fast they grow.  Today at preschool the teacher pulled me aside to let me know Aly did her pattern work all by herself and then helped her friends - oh that made me so happy.  You try as a parent to teach your kids to be good, and sometimes at home in the thick of things you forget they are kids...so today it was so nice to hear that.

Brianna is really enjoying dance... she got a special treat at school today for sitting and listening during calendar.....hmmm not sure if she regularly does this or not but she LOVED her ruler. 

And Jackson is just a joy....minus the need to eat....this kid is my dream child....he is so happy and ready to drive!

In terms of running....my half marathon is this weekend.  While I have worked hard to get my mileage up.. my knee has been bothering me...I do attribute part of that to mileage and the other part to lugging a 20 lb 4lb around.  I am hoping to cut back on my miles after the half and rehab my knee a little.

Jackson 4 months

Today Jackson is 4 months.....hard to believe how fast time has gone.  He is such a happy boy, unless he is hungry then all bets are off.

Thursday night he watched his first football game with dad

He is out of his infant car seat and into his big boy seat.  He is wearing 9-12 month clothes and weighing in at over 20 lbs.  He is just a big boy.

He is working on finding his thumb and does enjoy the pacifier. 

He is starting to grab things....watch out girls!

Really.......is she 4

Where did the little girl go......seriously.  This afternoon I put Brianna down and was nursing Jackson in his room.  I asked Aly to stay in our room so she did not wake up the others.  Five minutes went by and she came into the nursery....asking me if a shirt of mine was clean or dirty....she was sorting laundry.  I know in 10 years I will be begging her to do something with her laundry.

Then downstairs she found me IPOD....informs me that she has a favorite band...The Fresh Beat Band...Apparently they are on Nick Jr.  I have no idea.....welcome to the rest of my life.

She was on the computer at school today when I went to pick her up.  On the way to the car she informs me that she needs e-mail.  Hello you are 4 okay.....4.5 and I did not have e-mail until after college.

She changed laundry....moved the laundry from the washer and to the dryer.  Then proceeded to start the dishwasher.  I am off to put away clothes....I am sad that this is our last year that we are not tied to a school schedule.

Enjoying the last moments of summer

We finished Labor Day weekend with a BBQ.  It was cooler out - mid 70s and Uncle Barry convinced the kids they should get ready for winter!

Of course that did not deter them from eating smores!

We had a great time playing on the swing set and kicking the balls around

Jackson loved the swing we put up for him...

He lasted ohh about 20 minutes or so

Check out the marshmallow from Brianna....

Our Weekend Visitors

We made our sixth trip to the zoo, I won't bother with too many animla pictures,  but we had a great time.

In case you did not figure it out.....we LOVE the zoo.  Here is the new baby giraffe that we saw while we were there...

The adults did have the first laugh as the second animal exhibit that we saw that day was the tortises, and they seemed to be having a great Labor Day.....ask the kids and they were getting piggy backs

Here are the rest of our pics from the zoo:

Big shoes to fill

Brianna spent the morning walking around in my running shoes.  Too cute.

We have been busy migrating our way through hopefully the final heat wave of the summer.  Everyone is great.  We are glad that Ryan came home from is 10 day trip.  We are looking forward to hosting some visitors this Labor Day weekend.

Check out Jackson sleeping......he insists on the blanket being over his head...no matter what.

He really is under there