Archive for the ‘Ava’ Category

7 Jun

Go, Tom, go!

Posted by Rebecca in Ava, Bryan, Friends, Olivia.

We cheered for Tom as he competed in the Kansas Ironman 70.3 yesterday at Clinton Lake. He did a fantastic job, finishing strong and meeting his goal after nearly a year of training.

The swim course alone was extremely intimidating at 1.2 miles long. Tom was one of 2,000 competitors, which means a lot of flailing arms and legs in the lake. We were looking for a white swim cap–the color assigned to his heat.

There he is!

We didn’t get a great shot of Tom on the bike (he’s just too fast), but knocked off those 56 miles with relative ease. We saw him several times as the 13.1 mile run looped through the park. He said it was difficult, but he was smiling every time we caught sight of him.

Liv caught a quick nap in the shade of the finish chute while we waited. Fortunately for the athletes and spectators, the temperature was in the low 80s, instead of the mid 90s like the day before.

At the finish line with some pretty big fans.

One of the highlights of the weekend was meeting Tom’s sister Jenn (left) and seeing his sister Sarah (right) again. We had a great time getting to know them.

Seventy miles in just a few short hours–I found the whole thing incredibly inspirational. Congrats, Tom!

4 Jun

Gardening with Gramma

Posted by Rebecca in Ava, Family, Olivia.

3 Jun

Awkward Family Photos

Posted by Rebecca in Ava, Family.

This doesn’t look like an awkward family photo . . .

But check it out pre-crop.

Saying goodbye is so hard!

2 Jun

Because Mommy just can’t explain macroeconomics on the way home from the grocery store

Posted by Rebecca in Ava, Overheard.

Ava, after a trip to the supermarket: “Mom, how do you make money?”

Mom: “How do I make money, or how is money made?”

Ava: “How is money made?”

Mom: “Well, certain types of money are made with metal, and certain types are made with paper and ink.”

Ava: “Who makes it?”

Mom: “The government.”

Ava: “So when you work really hard the government gives you money for doing a good job?”

Mom (silently contemplates covering the whole state employee thing while deciding to skip right over the part about taxes): “Yes, kind of. My employer gives me money when I do my job.”

Ava: “Where does your employer get the money from?”

Mom: “Um, well, through tuition, I suppose, which students pay to go to school there.”

Ava: “And where do the students get the money?”

Mom: “With the money earned through their own jobs.”

Ava: “But where does that money come from?”

Mom: “You know what? I bet Daddy would really like to help answer some of these questions. Let’s ask him when we get home.”

1 Jun

A fishy tale

Posted by Rebecca in Ava, Family, Olivia.

We spent Memorial Day weekend at Mom and Dave’s. Bryan and Dave did quite a bit of fishing, but the windy conditions kept the kids (and the moms) off the lake.

Ava was itching to use her fishing pole, so Bryan and Dave took her down to a little inlet nearby. Somehow, she managed to outfish both of them in pretty short order.

Using a Little Tykes fishing pole and a minnow, she caught a catfish . . . then a largemouth bass, and a drum, and then a carp.

Here she is with her bass—my mom took this photo down by the lake.

When they came back to the house, Olivia checked out their catch.

“There’s fishes in there!”

Yeah, big ones! Look at the mouth on that bass.

Here’s the whole crew:

And, in what might just be my favorite photo ever, the “largemouth bass” pose:

Thanks to Ava’s luck, Mom and Dave served up a fabulous fish fry before we left yesterday. Happy Memorial Day!

20 May

Ava Fix

Posted by Rebecca in Ava.

17 May

Not everyone laments rainy days

Posted by Rebecca in Ava, Olivia.

Olivia told most everyone she saw this weekend, “I jumped in the mud!”

9 May

Happy Mother’s Day!

Posted by Rebecca in Ava, Family, Olivia.

Thanks to all the wonderful mothers in our lives. We love you–hope you have a great day!

6 May

Swimming lessons

Posted by Rebecca in Ava, Olivia.

Ava and Olivia had their first swimming lessons last weekend. The classes offer one-on-one instruction, and are relatively short at just 15 minutes.

Ava jumped right in, and selected a hot pink pair of swim goggles.

I thought we’d have to restrain Olivia until her turn came around.

Of course, when it was her turn, she was suddenly filled with trepidation.

The instructor was very reassuring, plus she kept telling me how cute Olivia is.  That kept me pretty happy.

Olivia kept covering her eyes—I think the whole experience was a bit overwhelming.

Both girls did well, though, and we return for another set of lessons on Sunday.

29 Apr

Garden girls

Posted by Rebecca in Ava, Olivia, Outdoor life.

After digging up what seemed to be 15 square feet of solid spearmint two weeks ago, the girls helped us put in the garden. A few heirloom tomatoes, sugar snap peas, zucchini, cucumbers, peppers and herbs (NOT mint)…just a short season away!

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »