belly pic

Okay...some have asked when they get to see a belly picture and although I'm not too fond of having pictures taken of me when I'm feeling fat...here you go. Since I have planned c-sections about 10 days before my due date I'm down to about 60 days left...which to me still seems like forever! And as far as we know...it's still a girl, however I think that until I see her parts (or lack of) face to face this girl thing wont really seem like a reality until then. We can't wait to meet our little Molly (or as Luke and Tryg say "Mo-wee")

almost a month later...

This is my official Memorial Day post 3 1/2 weeks later. I took a ton of pictures and didn't want them to go to waste so better late than never! We had a fun filled day at the park with family and friends starting with a little playground action for the kids... Of course there was the requisite barbecue. One of Mark's many talents...flipping burgers while talking on the phone :)

Then it was on to the homemade potato sack races (minus the potato sacks). Apparently they don't make those any more so garbage bags would have to do. And the adult version.... here we have Scotty and Mark in a tight race. As you can see there was a little shoving and pushing going on...

It looks like Scotty may have just edged Mark out at the finish line but wait....is that Scotty's foot out of the bag? Aren't you supposed to have both feet in the bag? Hmmm.... that may qualify as a DQ! Tryg kicking back after a tough potato sack race

Then it was on to frisbee. I'm not sure what Brandon is doing in this first picture but at least it looks like he caught the next one:) Luke became quite the expert offering Dad some frisbee advice on occasion, "No, Dad...you're supposed to do it this way!"

The boys had a great time with Uncle Scotty as he quickly became their personal frisbee reciever and runner. And this is what happens when you don't wear shoes all day....Nice feet Scotty!! As you can see Tryg was a bit tuckered out by the end of the day. He had endured the playground, potato sack races, frisbee, and even a little baseball all without a nap. I think he also managed to consume hamburgers, chips, guacomole, homemade ice cream, brownies, licorice, and suckers!! I would be pretty ungrateful if I didn't mention how much we appreciate all those that have served and continue to serve this great country so that we can have days like this! THANK YOU!!!

Until next year....

4.0 student

Believe it or not I have been an official college student these last few months. I decided to take a 3 credit beginning photography class at Palomar so that I could learn to actually use our rather intimidating and expensive new camera. All the camera mumbo jumbo that Mark would talk about literally felt like a foreign language to me. And..I'll admit the idea of getting away for a few hours each week, having adult conversations, and learning a new skill for 'me' was kind of appealing. However...this class was not easy and sometimes a bit time consuming! I actually had to do shooting assignments, write ups, and tests! Can you believe it? Don't they realize I'm old, been there...done that, pregnant, and have 3 small children at home! :) Of course, Mark was very supportive and even talked me out of dropping the class at one time. Well...I finished and even got an 'A'. This would be my first semester ever with a 4.0! :) Ha! Here are some of my favorite pics that I took for various shooting assignments. I learned that I really like photographing people (i.e. my kids) and capturing 'moments' much more than landscape and nature shots as you can see.... My favorites of Tryg...

And my favorites of Luke...

And some brothery love...

(For the record...I wasn't neglecting Dylan..I usually shot them during the day while he was at school :))

And some non people shots ... This one was right after Chelsea King went missing and there were several blue ribbons posted around the city in honor of her. I can now say that I completely understand the mumbo jumbo photo language and know how to work our camera and it's many buttons...(plus I got to feel kind of young...like a college student which was a bonus.) Mission accomplished! Next...I would really like to learn how to use photoshop. I got a taste of it in my class but want to learn more!

71 and going strong

Can you believe my dad is 71? Many of you know that he had a 6 (not sure what they call that many...quadruple +2?) bypass heart surgery last fall. For those of you that know my Dad, you know that this is a guy who is in pretty good shape so it was definitely a big shock for all of us when we were told that he was going to be having open heart surgery. I hated the idea of my Dad laying on an operating table with his chest cracked open while they stopped his heart so they could fix it (crazy what they can do these days). Well...as you can see, he's made a full recovery.

Last weekend the hospital where he had the surgery had a 5k run for past cardiac patients. There was over 300 participants and my 71 year old dad took 1st place in his age division! He has been doing these 5k's for years and ever since I can remember he would always say..."if I could just make it to the next age division and keep my pace I know I would get some of those awards!" Needless to say, they always seemed to elude him...but not this time (and yes, there was more than 2 people in his age division :)). Way to go Dad!!! Must be those new pipes :)

Here he is with his cardiac surgeon...

Ever since I was about 12 years old and had to run the mile in middle school my Dad was always there giving me advice, the latest research on how to get faster and at every race cheering me on. Running is special to both of us and I'm glad he can still do it. He is definitely an inspiration to all of us. What's next? The Dipsea, a half marathon? Guess we'll have to wait and see. GO DAD!!!!

A little boy time...and a little "ME" time

A couple weeks ago (yes, I'm totally behind as usual) Mark decided to take the boys camping. He set a goal this year of taking his boys camping at least once a quarter and so far so good! Last time he took just Dylan and Luke but this time I said "Maybe you could take tryg too?" thinking that he was going to look at me like I was crazy...but he said "I can do that". WoooHooo!!! Score!! One night of complete peace and quiet for me. I could even go out (with myself of course which is how I like it sometimes) for as long as I wanted! Granted, I usually fall asleep these days on the couch by 10pm but that's not the point. I was FREE!!! I was a little excited to say the least :).

Here are some pics from their overnight adventure....

Apparently Tryg liked the smores but not how they stuck to his fingers... Three snug as a bug little boys in a tent. Tryg was loving his new Buzz Light Year sleeping bag (thanks Grandma Olson!). This was Tryg's first time in a sleeping bag and he did pretty well. He thought they were pretty cool and had fun trying to find his brothes in them.Nothing like a little chocolate donuts and milk in the morning. Luke looks a little cold :) What is it about boys and sticks? Luke loves to find them and then take them home and sleep with them. Dylan just hanging out in a tree Not sure it gets much cuter than that! So what did I do? Well...I got a pedicure and manicure, went shopping, and then came home..watched a chick flick and spread out in my bed all night! Nobody woke me up in the middle of the night or the next morning. It was heaven! Allthough I must say that I eventually did miss the little screams and chaos that usually fill our home but it was nice to have a little "me" time. I love that Mark has made this a priority for his boys. It's stuff they will remember forever! THANKS MARK!!!