Backyard Adventures

Farewell to our butterflies.  These were the perfect pets for us!  (Okay, for mom!!)

First swimming pool day... Followed by many more!  Carson is not too sure about this yet...

But he sure loves water table!

Classic!

Shooting hoops with dad

He keeps finding toads.  Maybe it's the same on?  We'll see if he answers to "Hoppy" next time!

Grandpa Randy's garage sale find.  The kids loved it!

A park trip with Grandpa Randy

Up North

The marathon brought us to Duluth, but there was lots more fun to be had over the weekend!!

The caterpillars were everywhere!  One of the days, Cooper counted nine!

Eating.  Surprise, surprise!

Goofing around the night before the race

Saturday morning, Izzy crawled in bed with me loooong before the boys woke up!

Ready to watch the marathon!!  Our double stroller turned into a triple stroller for just a bit :). It was hard work holding back 90 pounds of kid down those hills!!

We made our own fun while watching for nearly three hours :)

 

Izzy's sign was handmade with love, our family :)

 Dana and Rhett came to watch the race, too!

Snuggles with Rhett

A hard-earned s'more back at the campground

Laura and Amanda came over for the evening!  Laura does not like getting messy!!

 Hiking at Gooseberry Falls

 

The big kids' favorite part was throwing rocks in the lake

...And whatever else they could find!

Izzy is Grandpa's girl I think!

 

Carson was running a fever, and fighting another ear infection, so there aren't a ton of pics of him... Hopefully he can feel more like himself on our next adventure!  He pretty much clung to me for two days straight...

Chasing the seagulls away

Sad snuggles with dad in Father's Day

Monday we headed to GR to hang out with the Larsons and the Jensens.  The cousins, just missing Drake.

Amanda gave Cooper a special book to help him get ready for Kindergarten :)

Cooper is so sweet with Rhett!

We had a GREAT time on this mini-vacation!  With the exception of Carson not feeling well, it was a memorable and fun weekend!!

Our Marathoner!!

Congrats to Jeremy who successfully completed his very first marathon!  He is officially in the one percent of crazy people who have run one :)

He did AWESOME!  His official time was 4:51:41.  Due to the extreme heat advisory, over 2,000 runners dropped out.  But not Jeremy!  Not Adam, either!  Both of them were slowed down a bit from their expected pace, but they did great!

We are so proud!!

Here's their pre-race mug shot

Mile 24.5--we were there to cheer them on!!

Yeah!!  Finisher!!

Happy to be done

More photos from the weekend in Duluth to come!

Soccer!

Cooper loved playing soccer!  He has his opponents and scores memorized, and still talks about the games weeks later...

All smiles on a water break :)

Go yellow!!

It was really fun seeing him out there, working hard, sweating, scoring, and having fun!  He really likes soccer, and we're excited to see just how much!

Ready for the Marathon!

I have not blogged much about Jeremy's MS diagnosis.  To tell you the truth, it's just easier not to talk about it or think too much about it.  There's really nothing to 'do' about it, we can't make it go away, and it sucks to worry about it... hence, it hasn't made much of an appearance in the blog :)

Well, fast-forward about two years and here we are.  Jeremy is training for his first marathon.  He had been told that regular exercise is about the only thing he can do to put some time between his relapses and help his general symptoms.  Last summer, he ran his first 5K with me and he decided that maybe running wasn't so bad.  So this past winter, he started running longer distances and signed up for Grandma's Marathon.  He says it's 'because he can.'  It's kind of his way of saying 'take that, MS.'  (Well, in a little stronger language.)

He has had some aches, pains, stress fractures, sore muscles, worn out shoes, and bad knees, but he's almost there!!!  The marathon is Saturday, and he has made it through the training, which many people will say is the toughest part! 

On one of his longest Saturday morning runs, we headed out in our PJ's to cheer him on.

They loved sticking their heads out of the sun roof and cheering at the top of their lungs.

The kids met him at the end of the driveway after 22 long miles.

Just to make sure he was ready for a race, Jeremy ran his first half marathon: The Lake Minnetonka Half.  He finished just under his goal time, and kept a pace of about a ten minute mile. 

Thanks to Adam, Chelsea, Grandma and Grandpa for standing around for a couple hours, we got to see him at the finish line!!

High fives for the kids!!

Way to go dad!

And now... Grandma's Marathon is just days away!  The kids and I are working on the perfect signs, and I am scoping out plans for where we can all watch the race.  Stay tuned!!