June 2009

June was a crazy month!

Cody had a week off work so we were able to work on a lot of projects around the house:

Before

I had a better picture than this, but it wouldn't load right to the post.

After

Cody laid the travertine and I painted the walls a taupe color.

Before

I had a single rod going across the top of the closet and a shelf on top of that.

After

We bought two 300 gallon water tanks a couple months ago, but couldn't fill them with water until we had shade for them.

Cody built these to protect them from the sun.

We got to spend time at the cabin too.

Cooper loves his cousins and the cabin.

Elizabeth is so good to Cooper. She takes him everywhere she goes.

These were a mess.

June was the month of sugar cookies. I think I ended up making them at least once a week for different reasons.

He licked off the frosting and discarded the rest.

We watched Elizabeth and Crew for 2 days while Whitney and Chris were out of town. Three kids under the age of three. Wow!

We also spent a week in Salado, Texas for a work retreat. Of course I didn't take any pictures, but we stayed at a charming bed and breakfast with a huge room and a gigantic bathroom (my perception might be skewed since our bathroom is the size of most people's closets). Thanks to Whitney and Angie for watching Cooper while we were away. He had lots of fun!

Cooper had his first and second known ear infection (one in each ear). The doctor said "Wow...he has a 'wicked' ear infection!". Poor guy. He was actually really good considering the constant 104-106 degree temperature he ran for almost a week.

The Grand Canyon

Jed (my father-in-law), Sydney (my sister-in-law), and I hiked the Grand Canyon last Saturday. We spent the night on the North Rim, woke up early (3:45am) and began hiking. We went down the North Rim, across, and up the South Rim all in one day. There are signs on both sides of the canyon which tell you not to attempt hiking from Rim to Rim in one day. This is what one website said about it: "Going Rim to Rim in one day can be suicidal because the endurance needed. 5700 vertical feet down and almost 15 miles to the river. Then another 9 miles and 4500 vertical feet up. 24 miles!" The last 4.5 miles are ridiculous! It is constant switchbacks that never end. The hard part is to keep yourself from looking up (or down for that matter) because the trail is right along the cliff face and when I would look up I would think "I have to get all the way up there!?". At 1.5 miles remaining, Cody's cousin Jen, her husband and 1 year old son were there to greet and encourage us. That was a life saver! Thanks Jen and Ty! When we were all done Sydney asked if I would do it again (she's done it 5 or 6 times already). My response: "I will once I forget how hard it was!".

Cooper...as a Girl?

This is what happens when I leave Cooper with my Mother-in-law for two days and my Sister-in-law gets a hold of him.

He's actually a bit pretty...don't you think?

Bottles & Pacifiers

After a year, we are finally free of both of these! Cody & I decided to go "cold turkey" and it took several days until Cooper was okay with out them. I think I suffered more during this time than Cooper did. Glad to have that over with!

Ragnar Pictures

Sorry these took so long to post. Enjoy...

Our next adventure...hiking the Grand Canyon in May.

This is Steve. He's 12 years old and this is his 4th Ragnar Relay. Oh and he was averaging 7 minute miles for 7-8 miles at a time. Crazy!

My Father-in-law found this owl on the side of the road and decided to throw it on top of his car. Everyone kept honking and telling him he had something stuck up there. His reply "Dinner". This random guy jumped on the car in the parking lot and started looking at it. 

Getting my ipod ready so I could run.

Our van.

Our whole team.

Skater Boy!

The neighbor kids have taken up skateboarding and Cooper always watched them with a twinge of jealousy on his face. Cody pulled out his skateboard and took Cooper on a ride and he loved it. His favorite though was when Cody did ollies. Cooper would get so excited and run around the driveway. I think we might have a "skater boy" on our hands.

Mmmm...Strawberries!

I have been completely addicted to strawberries lately and I've tried to share my new love with Cooper to no avail. Cody was eating one a couple days ago and Cooper finally took a bite. He LOVED them! He probably ate six or seven of them by the time the day was done. Eventually I took his shirt off and had to give him a sponge bath afterwards in order to get him clean.

204 miles...1 mile at a time

The Ragnar Relay

Prescott to Mesa

204 miles

12 members

3 runs each

2 vans

31 hours

"Saguaro cactus, red rock cliffs, live bands, and

biker bars. Your team of 12 maniacs will run around the clock in this springtime relay through the Arizona desert. While this 204-miler only runs from Wickenburg to Mesa, the inside jokes may last forever."

ragnarrelay.com

What an amazing and crazy event! Our team consisted of the Riding cousins and friends. We started at 6am Friday morning and "shadowed our runners" throughout each of their runs. We would stop during their runs, give them water, and cheer them on. Paul, one of our runners, said it well "It is 204 miles, one mile at a time." My three runs were 5 miles, 4.7 miles and 3.5 miles. My 4.7 mile run was at midnight. That was crazy because we were running outside of Wickenburg on the freeway with a reflective vest and a flashlight, but it was amazing to see all the stars.

Pictures to come soon...