An Independent Lunch

Mariann has moved into that independent stage where she wants to do everything herself.  It doesn't matter what it is, she needs to do it.  From pouring her own milk to closing all the door, she has to do it.  If you try to help her she gets mad.  She tries to climb everything just to prove she can.  It doesn't matter how dangerous it is or scared her Mom is watching her.  This past week she was helping me make lunch.  We were going to have peanut butter and strawberry jam sandwiches until she decided she would rather have . . .

a strawberry and cheeto sandwich.  Mmmm . . . Yummy 

She really did seem to like it and ate more of it then whe we have a regular sandwich.



 (She had just gotten out of the bath when we had lunch.)

This is just a picture of Peter that I love.

First Triathlon

I ran my first triathlon on Saturday, April 30.  I decided to sign up for one after Peter was born and I need some motivation to lose the extra baby weight.  I decided if I signed up for a triathlon, I wouldn't want to make a fool of myself, so I would work hard and get in shape for it.  It worked wonderfully.  Knowing that I had a triathlon coming up, kept me going getting up early to go to the gym (even when Peter was awake half the night.)  I was able to get back to my pre baby weight and got into great shape. 

My goal was to go faster the 1:45 and I was hoping to get closer to 1:30.  My final time was 1:36:58.19. Yeah!  I made my goal and had a great time. 

Peter fell asleep waiting for me to start the swim.

The swim was 450 yards.  I managed the swim in 9:14.04.

The bike was 12 miles.  This was the slowest part for me.  I think I rode a little slower then I could have because I was worried about the run.  There was also a terrible head wind for half the ride and run.  It was so hard to bike and run into the wind.  I couldn't believe how stiff the wind was.  The ride took me 58:48.47  This also includes both of my transition times.  According to the time on my bike the ride actually took about 52 minutes with the rest being transition time.

I did really really well on the run and finished with the time of 28:55.68.  The run was a  5K or 3.12 miles.  The finish was right I around a corner so I couldn't see it until I was on top of it or I might have started sprinting sooner. (Although I might not have I was tired by then.) 

I had a great time and I really felt like I accomplished something.  I think next up I'm going to do the Turkey Trot in Dallas.

Easter Fun

For Easter we decided to celebrate the birth of our Savior by going to the Mesa Temple and watching the Easter Pageant.  It was wonderful to get away and a great way to feel the spirit of Easter.  We had to get there early to and had a great time laying on the grass and looking at the beautiful Mesa Temple.

This was our first real Easter with the Easter bunny.  Mariann was so excited when we got out the Easter baskets on Saturday night.  We also placed carrots on a plate for the Easter bunny to eat.  We figured he would be hungry by the time he got to our house.  The next morning when Mariann woke up, she was so excited to see if the carrots had been eaten and if the Easter bunny had put eggs in her basket. 

When I was growing up, the Easter bunny always hid our baskets somewhere in the house, so we would have to find them when we woke up.  When Mariann woke up, she seemed a little disappointed that her basket wasn't where she left it the night before.  We explained that the Easter bunny hid it and she got excited to look for it.  She looked all over and finally found it under the computer.

One of her favorite items was Mickey Mouse golf.  We have played it non stop since Easter.

Peter found his basket with the help of Mariann.  Peter got a new ball that moves and lights up but ...

. . . his favorite thing was the grass.  He loved grabbing it and pulling it apart.

Mariann loved all the candy that she got.  She can't get enough jelly beans!

The Easter bunny hid Lee's basket in the dryer.  It took him a long time to find it and the Easter bunny was pretty proud of herself.

I found my basket in a box above the washing machine. 

After we played with the stuff in the baskets we went outside to find the eggs the Easter bunny had hid.  Mariann didn't really understand the egg hunt.  She would find an egg, put it in a basket, cover her eyes, count to three, say "Ready or not here I come", and then go look for another egg in the exact same spot she found the last one.

Peter found this egg (with a little help from his Dad.)



We didn't have time to dye Easter eggs after we got back from Mesa, so we dyed the eggs on Sunday after church.  Mariann got so dirty.  She had dye on her hands for days.

She loved using the little sponge to paint the eggs.

The finished products.

We had a great Easter.  (I have ate so much candy, I'll probably gain ten pounds.)  Mariann is still talking about how the Easter bunny brought her some eggs filled with candy.  She keeps wanting to get out the baskets and hid the Easter eggs all over again.