NOW can we get a hamster?

Yes, we finally gave in to our kids relentless asking for a pet hamster. They would do chores around the house without me asking them and then they would ask, "NOW can we get a hamster!" We held them off as long as possible, but finally agreed to go and "just look at them" at Petco. Once Dave let it out that he had two ginnea pigs growing up, it was all over. Thanks hun! Needless to say, we were "the best parents in the world" for at least a few days. It's been fun to watch them take care of "Chewy" or "Chibacca" as Ella calls him. Dave even said he was kinda cute. At least, he hasn't started sneezing from him yet!

Happy Birthday Grandma!

July 26th was my mom's birthday. The kids were excited that Grandma and Grandpa came to watch the triathlon that day. Thanks mom and dad for coming to cheer on the kids! It meant a lot to them and it was fun to have you overnight. For those of you who know my mom, Janice, she has a really hard time keeping her eyes open for a picture. Sorry mom, this was the best one and I couldn't not post you a "happy birthday" on my new blog. Hope you like it anyway. We love you!

Triathlon Day

July 26th was the big day of the race and the kids were all geared up and excited to go. They weren't nervous at all. I think I was more worried about it than they were. They did a great job and had fun too! Even if it was over 100 degrees outside:( We are so proud of them.

Didn't the shirts turn out good too? Dave got to put his logo on the back as one of the sponsers of the event. Of course, we made our logo the biggest so it would stand out.

Ryan was #54 and thought it was cool to have it stamped on his arms and legs.

Here is Ryan getting ready to start his swim. They swam from corner to corner which was 25 meters.

He was fast!

Going to the transition area to get his helmet and shoes on. Go Ryan!

They closed off the road for the race.
He's off his bike and running...

....and a sprint to the finish line! Time= 11:45 min.

Ryan was 5th out of 10 boys in his age group.

But his favorite part of the whole day was that he won the raffle at the end for an I-pod shuffle. He kept saying he was going to win it...and he did! It was pretty funny.

Here was Kylie, #2, getting ready to swim.

She glides through the water. This is were she does best.

Trying to find her bike out of 105 others.

The bike ride was 1.5 miles. They did 2 big loops down the street.

She had to walk a little during the run. She was sure pooped!

And a walk over the finish line...and she was done. It was a 1/4 mile run in very hot, humid weather. Her time overall was 10:49 min.

She was a bit pale at the end but a little food and water perked her right up.

She ended up 6th out of 12 in her age group. Awesome job!

We are the champions!!!!

Call the exterminator!

We were getting ready to leave the house the other day and everyone was out in the car except for Ella. This is usually the case. Anyway, I went inside and called for her....no answer. So I yelled out, "Were leaving, bye Ella!" (which is a phrase I use daily, but never really works). Well, this time she came crying and was really upset about it. She said, "Mommmy, don't leave me here...the crickets will eat me!" I didn't think our pest problem was that bad. Thankfully, the exterminator is coming tomorrow so maybe I can ease a little of Ella's cricket phobia.

"Kids, Do The Tri!"

The kids were excited after I did a triathlon and kept asking when they got to do one. So when we heard a "kid triathlon" was being organized in our community we jumped on it! Kylie and Ryan have been having a great time getting ready for the race on July 26th.

Here they are at a tri clinic to kind of prepare them for the big day. We can't wait to cheer them on!

Dave agreed to have Rusick Chiropractic sponser the T-shirt for the race. It's been fun putting that together. There are about 75 kids participating.

Kylie will be fun to watch, especially to see if she will ride the bike in a wet swimsuit without drying off!

Here's the man! It sure gets hot here in Arizona so he makes sure he's not far from a water bottle. He's also pretty stoked about his new shoes because they "help him run extra fast."

Hair braids

Kylie and Ella decided to get their hair braided on the beach from the Mexican ladies. I was surprised that Ella sat there for 30 minutes while she picked out the colored beads to go on the ends. So cute!

Rocky Point, Mexico

Everyone in Arizona is always talking about vacationing in Rocky Point, Mexico (less than a 4 hour drive from us). I didn't even know the place exsited until we moved here. Well, we finally decided to take a family trip down to the beach with some friends to check out the place. Wow! We had such a great time! The kids loved it and got a little taste of Mexico. This is a view from the penthouse we shared on the 15th story. The view was amazing.