This last year, Chelsea took Tap Dance lessons and a class in gymnastics. It was actually her 4th class of gymnastics. With each session she gets better with her balance and flexibility, although being so tall makes it hard to get those long legs over her head! I can't figure out how to post videos to this site, but here is a link that you may have to copy and paste of her last tap recital. She said she wasn't even nervous and had a balst. I'm glad, but I think we'll hold off on the tap lessons for a while and give her a chance to grow a little more. Things like standing on one leg were very hard for her. We had to work for weeks to even get her to sit in indian style! It was a great experience for her and she learned a lot.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hg-w0A6KUys

Memorial Day

For memorial Day, Dan's parents invited us up to Tacoma to use their new fire pit. We had dutch oven dinners and roasted hot dogs and marshmallows. Yum! Chelsea and Michael had a pretty hard time seeing the fire after Dan's accident. After a long time they finally would sit on laps by the fire, but Chelsea would cry hysterically if anything fell in the fire, such as a burnt marshmallow that fell off a stick. What drama! We also went to the "beach" on the sound. The kids loved playing in the dirt, but the water was much too cold to play in. As always when we go to visit Grandma and Grandpa Perry, we had a great time!

Frustrations

Well, it's been a while, so I better update this page. I was hoping to do another triathlon August 4th, this time an Olympic distace. Basically, twice the distance of my sprint triathlon. However, me knee keeps acting up. Dan thinks I have ITB syndrome (at least I think that's what he called it). I've been trying to do some stretches and basically starting over with my workouts and working up distances very slowly, but it's very frustrating. Anyway, there's no way I would be ready by August 4th, so I guess I'm done for the summer. I'm still trying to workout during the week, but I've lost a ton of motivation. Argh. The kids are great. Chelsea is turning 4 in a week, and Michael is entering the terrible two stage, complete with tantrums and trouble. His vocabulary expands every day with his favorite words being "Hot" "Cold" "No, Mine!" and "Bree" (which is his word for his blanket that he insists on caring down to breakfast every morning). Chelsea started swim lessons this summer and is doing amazing! She is actually swimming! She'll jump into the pull and swim to us, after which she says "Go Farther!!". She loves to swim and is getting that cute little swimsuit tan. Dan is officially a 4th year! One more year to go! Woo hoo! However, the stress of where to live after its over is starting to set in. Anyone need dentists in there area? I guess that's all. I'll try posting some pictures later.

It's official...I'm a triathlete!

I competed in my first triathlon on Saturday. It was a complete blast! It was a sprint distance, which means a 500 meter swim (10 laps) a 20k bike (13.1 miles) and a 5K run (3.2 miles). My swim was probably my strongest event and I should have pushed it harder...but I wasn't sure what the rest of the race would bring, so I held back a little. The bike leg was very slow. I'm still trying to figure out the whole cycling thing...so that's where I want to improve on the most in my next race. The last leg was the run. It's an extremly wierd feeling going from the bike to the run. It took me a full mile before I could even find my legs. By then, I had developed a severe pain on the outside of my right knee. I've had problems with this pain before, but thought I was over it. I wanted to push it and "run it home" as that is my favorite part about racs, but it was all I could do to gallop to the finish line. My transitions were fast only because I didn't have all the fancy gear of the other racers. I just wore what I swam in for the whole race, and only had tennis shoes for the bike and run, instead of the bike shoes and bike clothes. I had a great time and am looking forward to my next one. I'm training for an Olympic distance (1 mile swim, 26 mile bike, and a 6 mile run). I'd like to do more, but the entry fees are a little more than we can afford right now. If anyone is interested, it's the best sport in my opinion! A great sight to help motivate and feed the passion is www.ontri.com. Thanks for everyone's support in this! Especially Dan and Chelsea...my cheerleaders through the race! Dan was a real trooper for even coming. He somehow managed to get to each transition with his crutches and supervising a 3 1/2 year old. My overall time was 1:39:30

Did I mention he's mischievous? (I'm realizing as I post these pictures, how much my kids are just like me!...Like when I took the chocolate cake to bed with me when I was little, or fell asleep between the boxspring and the matress...) I swear I was upstairs for just a moment and realized Michael wasn't with me. By the time I got downstairs, this is what I found him doing. The pan was half full of brownies before he started, and he finished it off!!

Chelsea was playing on the arm of the chair for a while, and then I noticed she was really quiet, so I had to look. Sure enough, she had fallen asleep. This was taken right before she rolled off. :) Aint she a cutie?

Tulip festival

My friend Tami knows all the great places around Portland to see, and the Tulip Festival in Woodburn Oregon is one of them. Unforutnately, we weren' able to make it down there until the last day of the festival, which was very rainy and wet! It was still really pretty and the kids had fun. I dont' have the best camera, but here are some pics.