Back to the grind...

As of tomorrow, I'm back to work. I can't say I'm particularly happy about it, but a small part of me, the part that was so excited to become a teacher but has shrunk considerably since having a child of my own, is always happy for the start of a new year. I miss Reagan already, and she's only been asleep for an hour.

As many of you know, I started a photography business about a year and a half ago. It's slow and go, but I get pretty busy around senior picture time (which is now). I did my niece's pictures yesterday, and am probably going to be doing another in the next few days. Once school starts, I think things will pick up quite a bit, since high schoolers are procrastinators by nature and their deadline is within a month of the start of school. So I have my website (you can see it here) for my portrait and wedding photography. But I have been doing a lot of "landscape" shots lately and I've been looking for a place to show it off. The other day I found a home for my "more creative" photos... and here it is! So you can call this blog a shameless plug, because I'm not one bit ashamed. In fact, I'm pretty proud! So tell all your friends you know a place where they can get some great photography. :)

I'm praying for some kind of time-lapse miracle where my time with Reagan and Jim crawls and my time away from them flies. I never knew it would be so hard for me to keep working once I had children. I think a lot of things would be different if I had seen that coming, but I suppose that's what they mean when they say live and learn.

Our Trip to California!

We arrived home from California on Wednesday night at about 12:30am. We had so much fun that I'm finally feeling recovered enough to write a blog about our trip! There is a lot to tell, so I'd love to say I'll keep it brief, but there's so much to tell!! Hang in if you have time.

We left on Saturday morning (the 12th). We flew out of DIA and arrived in San Jose at about 10:30 CA time. From there we picked up our rental car. They tried to give us a Mercury Grand Marquis. I asked for a different car after seeing the boat they were trying to saddle us with. At $4.50/gallon (the price of gas in California--I don't know how those of you out there do it!) we couldn't afford a boat like that. So, I asked for the cute Chrysler Seabring that was a few cars down and they obliged. Luckily, we only had to fill up the tank once, which is pretty incredible for all the driving we did!



We got to Santa Cruz around 1:30 and drove down to the main strip, along the boardwalk. There were people EVERYWHERE!! I was slightly disappointed at first, but the longer we stayed, the more I understood the draw to the town. There are cliffs and beaches, it's warm but not too hot, there's just enough "college-town" feel to make it familiar and homey, nice shopping/restaurant area, and I could go on and on. It felt like a mix of Boulder, Durango, and Fort Collins all on a beach. Neat! Reagan got to see the beach for the first time here. She loved it, and wanted to swim in the ocean, but we obviously weren't quite ready for that, especially considering the frigid temperature of the water. Maybe next year.



On Sunday we went to Monterey to see the Aquarium and Cannery Row, made famous by the John Steinbeck novel, Cannery Row. It was really interesting, and a lot of fun, but I think it will be more of both those when Reagan is a little older and her attention span is a little longer. We got to see the 3 major feedings; "Outer Bay" (containing sardines, sharks, tunas, sunfish, stingrays, and mahi mahis), Sea Otters, and the Kelp Forrest, where they have kelp growing and all the fish that live and feed among the kelp. I think that was my favorite because they had a diver jump in with the fish to give them their mornings serving of squid. We also got to see jellyfish that, while creepy, were pretty fascinating.



In the afternoon, it was back to Santa Cruz. We were itching for some beach time, so we went in search of. The boardwalk beach was WAY too crowded to try again, so we followed the signs to the state park called Natural Bridges beach. Because it's a state park, they charged an admission fee of $6/car. But we noticed that all the "local types" were parking on the street and walking in. So, what did we thrifty Lamb's do? That's right, we walked. It wasn't far, and it felt good to stretch our legs. It was breezy, but we enjoyed our time nonetheless.

Monday it was off to Jim's Aunt and Uncle's. Mike and Carol were fantastic hosts, and we had such a good time with them. They let us swim in their beautiful pool, and Claire and Katie were fantastic "big sisters" to Reagan. Katie was especially excited and was a great babysitter. Mike took us to their country club pool and gave me a few much needed swimming pointers for my next triathlon. I now feel that I could swim at least part of it freestyle with confidence. Thanks Mike!



Tuesday we headed to San Francisco. I had never been, and Jim hadn't been in 16 years. And that's right, it was Reagan's first time too. Since we were driving through the city we got to see a whole lot in the short time we were there, but I must say going through downtown San Fran felt a lot like what I would imagine driving through New York would be like--Scary. But it was worth it because we got to see Chinatown and the Fisherman's Wharf, plus, per Jim's request, we got to drive down Lombard street. We figured a rental was a good way to do so (it's steep, windy, and brick. Neat!). Parking is ridiculous: we found a bargain at a meter for $2 for 45 minutes. Eek!



By far though, our favorite thing about the city was a place called the Cliff House. BIG thanks to Carol for this recommendation (and for everything else she told us about)!! It has a restaurant and we saw that it was fairly affordable so we took a chance. Thank goodness we did! The food was excellent, it is RIGHT on the water, and we had 9 surfers putting on a show just for us. After lunch we drove through Golden Gate Park, a place to which we will surely return next time we're there. Then we headed to the GG Bridge and got out and looked around. Poor Reagan was a trooper, but at that point she had had it. We got a little ways across, and she was ready to be unstrapped or put down for a nap. We opted for the latter, and headed back to Carol and Mike's.






Our trip was AMAZING, and I think we've decided to make Carol and Mike's house an annual visit! If you've made it this far, thanks for reading--just be grateful you're not one of my students who has to sit through my lectures!

Blog #60!

I'm amazed that I've written 60 blog entries! Even more amazing is that I still occasionally get comments, which must mean people are still reading!

Not much news to report. I have been busy sewing this week! I'm not much of a consistent sewer, but now and then I get the urge. I love finding pretty new fabric!

Here are some of the things I have made:


This is a "mom purse". I love a Mom Purse! It was made from pre quilted fabric and included my first zipper. For extra fun, I don't have a zipper foot for my machine yet. Neat! It has 2 pockets on the front and one on the inside. This is the lining:






This is a "diaper carryall" for lack of a better name. It carries a wipes container and 2 diapers comfortably. I think I could squeeze Reagan's epi pen in there too, if need be. (If not, it will certainly fit in my Mom Purse! YES!) I got the idea when I saw something similar at Babies R Us and was disgusted to see they were charging 9 dollars for something I whipped up pattern-free from scrap fabric and a fancy button I got for 1.50 from JoAnn's. Even better--one more thing I got to make from my favorite fabric ever (so far).

I made a few other things too, but can't tell you about them because they are gifts for 2 special people who have birthdays in the next week or so. But, if you're curious, you can just ask!

I signed up for another triathlon! Yes! The next one is, unfortunately on Jim's birthday, August 3rd. He swears he doesn't mind. Spectators are certainly welcome! (Jim especially thinks so--it's tough to be a cheerleader AND keep Reagan under control, especially now that she's on foot!)

Speaking of on foot, here are a few pictures of Reagan in the yard yesterday:


(Reminds me of a movie from a few years back, but the new title would be "Crouching Reagan, Hidden Dragon". Maybe Scout can star as the dragon?)





I also got a picture of Scout! Those of you who know Scout at all know that this is no small feat! She is terrified of the camera, and almost always has been. She runs when she sees me get it out, which is why if she ever does appear in pictures, it's as a black streak in the background, usually darting up the stairs or into the hallway to hide.




And a picture of Reagan doing her new favorite thing: talking on the phone. It's adorable, especially the facial expressions! No idea who she learned this one from. :(







I saw my good friend Janella last week. She has safely returned from her 1 year trip to China where she taught English. Her stories made me so grateful for our country! I told her it's a good thing I didn't go because I probably would have gotten kicked out.

On the 4th of July I learned that Reagan has 2 MOLARS! Oh my goodness, that poor girl. It looks painful, but I didn't even know it happened! They're the only teeth on her top row. She's a strange one.

We're off to California on Saturday!! If you need us, call my cell phone or Jim's. Hoping to have some great pictures from the trip!!! Sometimes it seems as though the blogs that start off with "not much to report" end up being some of the longest. (Hmmm... I guess that just means I'm in the right profession; we history teachers do like to ramble...)

Triathlete? Ok!

I had SO much fun at my triathlon yesterday! I was so stinkin nervous, only to have an amazing time!!

I suppose I should start at the beginning.

But I can't do that without telling you that I have the most amazing, supportive, and wonderful husband in the whole world. That's right, sorry girls, MINE is the BEST!

We stayed overnight at my brother Austin's house in Denver because it's fairly close to the reservoir where my tri took place. I had to pick up my stuff the day before. I got fairly impatient with the information session, and consequently probably missed some information, but I survived nonetheless. So, we went out to eat with my friend Leslie and saw her new house in Broomfield. That took my mind off things for a good while, and as always, it was great to see my friend (Happy Birthday Leslie!!)

We got to bed a little later than I hoped, but I don't think it would have mattered if I was able to get into bed earlier, because my heart was racing. I finally fell asleep around 11.

We woke up at 5 the next morning in order to try to be at the reservoir by 6. We made it by 6:10, after having to stop to put air in my bike tires. We were greeted by about 1600 of our closest friends, all with the same hopes of being early. We found a spot and were surprised to find that we would have to walk a little over a mile to the transition area. Of course, this would be the trip that we forget the stroller. I want to stop here, and again reference that I have the most amazing, supportive, and wonderful husband in the whole world. He carried our 25 pound child and her bag full of the morning's needs to the transition area. Yes, she's walking, but not well enough to get there on her own. (Obviously.) So I rode ahead on my bike and found a place to be my "home base". Jim found me, and asked a volunteer for my wave's start time and some safety pins since I didn't get any in my packet. He also helped me get re-marked with my race number. Did I mention he's great? :) (He also took all the great pictures you're about to see-thanks honey!)

At this point, we got separated. I pulled on my wet suit and headed down to the beach to wait for my wave and take a dip in the icy water. Not nearly as bad as it had been 2 weeks prior, in fact it was tolerable, at worst! And, I knew my friend Jeff from college was one of the rangers on duty watching for people who might drown. That settled me a little, but I was still pretty anxious.

Upon entering the water with my wave, we were greeted, as all waves were, by Sally Edwards (former Ironman Masters record holder and Danskin Triathlon spokeswoman). Her lighthearted pep talk through the megaphone to me and the other 99 girls in my wave put me at ease immediately. The swim had been shortened from a 1/2 mile to a 1/4 mile because of the water being too cold (lame), and the course that they set up had blown in a good bit. I think the total swim ended up being about a 300m. Oh well. I swam. I got kicked. I kicked others. Apologized. Kept swimming. See, in such a short distance it's impossible for the group to spread out at all. I stayed in the middle of the pack the entire time. No problem! I still couldn't find Jim upon exiting the water, but knew he had to be somewhere. My home base was easily accessible, and he got to me in no time.

Swim Time: 5:37

I wasn't in much of a hurry to put my bike shoes on, but I did. Got onto my bike and headed out. The website wasn't kidding when they called that course "rolling". It certainly had it's share of tough up-hills, but luckily the downhills were just as good. But I've never felt more encouraged in a race before. As I was huffing up hills, the girls coming down in the other direction were cheering for all of us. It was like that the entire time, and of course, the coach in me felt I should pass on the encouragement.

Transition time: 7 minutes
Bike time: 47 minutes

Now, on to the run. I didn't save any legs for it, that was for sure. I definitely wasn't prepared for how hilly it was!! But, of course, I survived, and my time was acceptable, considering I had just swam and biked--hard. Jim tried to catch a picture of me finishing, but that was the time Reagan picked to try out her walking on the race course. I'm so glad she's walking!

Transition time: 6 minutes
Run time: 42 minutes

Total Tri Time: 1 hour, 48 minutes, 3 seconds.

I'm already looking for another one. I love it!

I think Reagan missed me. She fell asleep on my shoulder on the walk back to the car--something she hasn't done in several months.

Oh My!

It's been a LONG time since I've posted--sorry!
I was laying in bed last night and decided that I HAD to post today because there is so much news, and now I don't have much time, so I'll just give you the Reader's Digest versions:

BRECKENRIDGE:
We went to Breckenridge last weekend with Jim's family. For the most part, we had a great time! Jim's mom was sick part of the time, but she seems to be doing much better now. We took Reagan swimming, played a little tennis, and I went for a 14+mile bike ride on the wonderful trail between Breckridge and Frisco. On my ride, I came up with what I've decided ought to be the metaphor for government. Since I'm not in the habit of posting unwanted political commentary, if you're interested, let me know. :) In addition, Jim was able to go fishing with Bill, and we were successful in getting Reagan to go "right to sleep" in her pack and play. Here are some pictures from our trip!


Here is the panorama from the suite's room.


This is a picture of stars and the town at night.



This one is a video of Jim taking Reagan under water for his first time.



Reagan and me walking into town from our hotel.






BIG NEWS!:
This one speaks for itself! Very exciting news, indeed.


Push play! Push play!!

TRIATHLON:
My triathlon is already here. It's hard to believe! I feel ready, but still very nervous. The day we left for Breckenridge Jim and I did the local annual June race here in the Springs. I ran if not the fastest, definitely one of the fastest 5k times ever (for me). Turns out I may live to tell about this thing after all! I'm hoping to be able to complete it in 2 hours or less, not counting transitions. I figure no first-timer should have to factor transitions into their total tri time! :)

VACATION:
We are taking our first "just us" (and Reagan) vacation since our honeymoon next month! I'm SO excited! We have decided to head to California. The only place I've ever been in California was LA and I swore I'd never go back. Then, I reconsidered because I decided that probably wasn't being fair, considering the size of the state. That would be like someone judging Colorado on a place like Pueblo. So we'll be flying into San Jose, driving to Santa Cruz, staying 2 nights, then driving to see Carol and Mike (Jim's aunt and uncle) in San Francisco for the other 2 nights. Did I mention that I'm very excited??

TALKING:
Reagan has also started talking much more. She still calls everything Dad or Da, or some varion of the word, but she makes an effort. Any time we're out and I mention coming home to see Scout she says, "DAO!"

RELAY:
Tonight was the Relay for Life event put on by the American Cancer Society that I posted about a few weeks back. Thank you very much to everyone who donated! I was able to exceed my goal of $100, receiving a total of $160. So thank you VERY much!! It was a truly amazing event. If you ever have the chance to participate in a Relay for Life in your area I highly recommend it. It is a touching event. Reagan got to come, and stay up extra late on account of it. She was very good and had a great time. The theme this year is "There's no place like Hope".








(I love my state!)






Hope your summer is going splendidly!

Happy Father's Day, Jim!

Today marks Jim's second ever Father's Day.

We went out to my parents house to celebrate with my family. And, speaking of fathers, thanks to all of you who have been asking about my dad. I feel especially lucky to have such a great one this year. In case I haven't mentioned it, he is officially in remission! (YES!)

As usual, I digress.

Here is a little collection of pictures I wanted to share that display what a great dad Jim is.



Jim bringing Reagan back after her first bath and shots.


Napping with Reagan


Reading The Lorax.


In the park after football.


Pushing her on her tricycle.



Playing in the park.



Happy Father's Day Jim! We love you!

Reagan is having a blast!!

Last Saturday, I went with Julie and 2 of her other bridesmaids to go try on dresses for her upcoming September wedding. While we were there, Reagan and Jim went to Bill and Debbie's house for dinner. Debbie had recently been to a garage sale and gotten some fun things for Reagan, including this tricycle. From what I understand, and can see from the pictures, Reagan really enjoyed it!

On Sunday, as I mentioned in my previous post, I decided it should be Jim's turn to go to the zoo and see all the animals. If you've ever been to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, you know it is quite an amazing place. It is literally on the side of a mountain, and they have some very neat exhibits there. For example, as you've seen, visitors can feed giraffes wafer crackers, but they can also pet baby a wallaby as they go through. There is also a bird exhibit where you can have birds land on your "seed stick" (a popscicle stick with seeds stuck to the end of it). It's a very neat place for kids, and Reagan loves it. Jim got to be the designated photographer of the day. The picture of the Giraffe is of a baby that was born just a couple weeks ago. They seem to be keeping the baby from the other giraffes, I'm guessing because he is SO MUCH smaller than the others. He was aparently 5'8" and 140ish pounds at birth. I'm so grateful our children don't come out that big!








Today, Jim decided to come to the first 15 minutes of Reagan's swim lesson. Again, he got to take the pictures. Unfortunately, the lighting isn't very good in there, and it's hard to get very close. But, he did a good job.









And, I'll leave you with her eating her lunch today--cheeseburgers and fruit.