A benefit and a night with Kalai

On Saturday Rich and I went to a party at his boss' house. Every year they have a pool opening party on the weekend of their anniversary. This year they decided to do it a little different. Brian Cardall (the guy who was killed by police men with tasers) was a relative of Alex (Dick's boss) so they had a benefit for his wife Anna, who has a two year old daughter and a baby due in September. I kept thinking we really can't afford to be donating money on our strict budget, but then I'd think of how tough it would be to be suddenly left alone to raise two kids. So, we went in our swimming suits all ready to hit the pool to celebrate summer. Not 10 minutes after we got there, it started to rain. And about 10 minutes later, it started to POUR! It got crazy cold and we all had to gather in their breezeway (between the house and the garage) and huddle and talk and occasionally dash out to the taco stand that they'd rented to get a yummy, authentic taco.
At 9:00, Kalai showed up with his gear and luckily it had just stopped raining! What luck- but it was still super chilly. Anyhow, I'd heard of this guy but never heard his music. He was pretty cool- kind of a laid back Jack Johnson-y reggae type. His wiki page describes him as urban vintage. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalai) He was born in Hawaii and raised in Alaska and was a pretty funny dude. He spent probably 5 to 10 minutes tuning his guitar between songs and entertained us with comedy. It was pretty awesome being up close and kind of personal with him.
At 11:30, after I'd been wondering what the neighbors were thinking, the cops showed up to break up the party. I think they were surprised that is wasn't just the stereo at a raging party and they commented on how good he sounded. But still, they had to do their job and Kalai was "broken up by the volume brigade" as he said.
We would've loved to have stayed and hung out with this guy but I was exhausted and freezing (because it was supposed to be summer so I was wearing shorts and a T) and we had to get up to do our yard sale super early so we took off. But it was a pretty cool evening with a pretty cool guy. You should check him out-

Rich is an awesome dad because...

**He is a get-down-on-the-floor-and-play kind of dad. The boys LOVE to play with dad!
**He plays hide n' seek with the boys (which is a bit difficult in our little apartment, but they always manage to have a blast).
**He comes up with the funnest things to play- like the time I caught them playing Duck, Duck, Goose on and around the couch.
**He is an excellent cook and encourages the kids to try new things- especially healthy stuff.
**He carries the boys "backwards" (upside down) and "like a baby" (hanging in the towel after the bath). The kids beg for it daily.
**He reads to the boys every night before bedtime, sometimes in different accents. It cracks me up and the kids love it.
**He was eager to teach the boys how to ride without training wheels when they asked and they accomplished it in one night! And he loves to take them on bike rides, around the neighborhood or the mile long trek down to the dirt hills.
**He does shadow puppet shows at night when the kids are in bed from the light of the lamp. They ask for this often.
**He'll go out and play catch with Zachary and golf with Karter whenever they want.
**He never hesitates to have boys' night in when I need a girls' night out. (This is probably my FAVORITE!)
**They all love to snuggle on the couch- be it Saturday morning cartoons (yes, Dick likes them as much as the kids) or movie night on the weekends. I caught this cute moment a few Saturdays ago:
I know sometimes I have my moments of irritation with him, but he is probably one of the best dads my two boys could ever ask for and we love him very much!

Happy Father's Day Rich!!

Blog #2

Here's my new blog to post my fave layouts and some cutsie little projects. If you wanna take a look, here's the link:

http://creationsbywendym.blogspot.com/

RUN

Okay, so Dick made fun of me for taking a picture of my shoes but it's kind of hard to take a picture of me running (plus, that would be kinda scary!) and that's what this post is about. Running has become such a big part of my life and I love it! I'm past the hard part and up to 2 1/2 miles a night. It's gotten to the point where it's not excruciating anymore and I feel GOOD afterwards! Every once in a while I get lazy and have to talk myself into actually going, but when I do, I'm glad. I always feel good when I'm done and I'm about ready to up the anty a little. Maybe 3 miles?
Tonight I almost didn't go because of the rain, but did and it felt so good. I didn't get as hot, therefore, I felt better. And I have my power songs that seriously help a ton! I've noticed that I run faster to some songs more than others. And thanks to a recommendation from Ash, tonight I listened to Paramore and ran faster than I ever have before. They are great! It kinda made it fun. You know how sometimes when you're listening to a song in a store or something and you kind of walk to the beat? Well, I ran to the beat. I know that sounds lame, but it helps to get your mind off of how tired you are.
Anyhow, my goals are to run a marathon next year (a FULL one), fit into my old pants and capris (not that old either, only like from last year), look good in a swimming suit this summer, and of course to get in shape! As of tonight I've lost 3 pounds. I know that's not a ton and your body flucuates anyway but I've also lost 4% body fat!! Woo hoo! And I can totally see a difference in my butt (still working on the love handles). It looks good, you should check it out next time you see me. :)
I'm excited that I'm finally seeing some results! I just hope I can keep it up!

Goodbye Kindergarten: Congrats Karter!!

I never thought I'd say this, but I can't believe how fast my baby is growing up! This year has flown by! (And I'm sure the summer will too and then he'll be in 1st grade!)
Karter graduated Kindergarten on Thursday, May 22nd. The daycare really went all out- they had caps and gowns and everything. All the little kids looked so cute! They did their cute little walk down the aisle to the graduation song and then stood in a group on the stage. It was hilarious to watch the kids try to stand still and be quiet.... meaning that they didn't. Then the said the Pledge of Allegiance and sang the National Anthem (I'm surprised they can still do that in school). It was so awesome! That song gives me the chills everytime I hear it and to hear these kids sing it was even cooler.
Then they sang this cute little alphabet song where with each letter they said something that started with it and did the action and/or sound. For E was elephant, of course, and Karter's elephant sound stood out- he does it so cute. I wish I would've gotten it on camera. Then they had each kid come to the mic and say what their favorite thing about Kindergarten was. Karter's was learning money and farm animals. Then they handed out the "diplomas" and now's it's official! My baby is not in Kindergarten anymore!
I'm shocked at how fast time is flying- but not sad (yet). With Karter, each new thing has been so exciting for all of us. Next year he'll be a 1st grader at Riverdale Elementary. I want summer to drag on as long as possible but I'm sure it'll fly by and the next school year will be here in no time.



Karter with his "girlfriend" Harley (on the left) and a few other kids in their cool caps and gowns.

Karter getting his diploma and shaking everyone's hands. It's so cute to see kids do such grown up stuff like this. I thought he looked so handsome in his white shirt and tie with the cap and gown.
CONGRATULATIONS KARTER!!! I LOVE YOU!!

The boys on their "two-wheel" bikes:

Training wheels- Be Gone!

We took the training wheels off the kids' bikes tonight. Karter tried to convince us that he needed to wait until he was 6 to learn how to ride without them, but Zachary was rearin' to go. I love that kid- he's always up for anything. But they both did awesome!! I can't believe how well the did on the first day! It's funny- sometimes they had a hard time steering and they ended up on the grass but they just kept on riding. They were out there forever having so much fun. We didn't come in for dinner until 8:30 and even then I had to argue with them. And then Karter told me that the news should definitely come put them on TV, riding their two-wheel bikes. If only...