Mulberry Street

Eric's biking roots are firm in Poky's Mountains. He is a mountain biker through and through and even once wore a sticker on his helmet that read, "Death to Roadies." Why is it then, that Eric hasn't been on his mountain bike since last summer? Because, Eric is now more than 50% roadie maybe even as high as 90%. He will deny this assertion but the truth is just last weekend he picked a road ride over a mountain bike ride. He came clean with his mountain biking buddy and told him about his affair with road bikers, promising to get out his mountain bike next weekend... I don't mind his biking obsession because now that I have a road bike and Eric pulls Genevieve, I can almost keep up with him. It is healthy for him physically and emotionally and I think it is important to invest in your spouse's mental health (just as long as he doesn't leave me behind). Since Eric was in UT and had one free day to kill, his brother Rod, invited him to bike the "...

I went for a run tonight and thought I should report on the night's events: Wildlife : Sometimes I can imagine what it would be like to live outside of a city and based on what I saw tonight, it would be nice to live in the peace and quiet to enjoy God's creatures. I run with my glasses on, which may be funny to some of you, but it helps me see traffic and the Doe, numerous Bats (I even heard their radar squeak), and 100+ Fireflies. (I love June in VA because of these romantic little bugs) Weather : It rained a couple hours before I ran so it was a nice temperature when I began to run. However, the rain decided to return and brought with it thunder and lightening. There is nothing like a good storm to motivate your pace. I think I ran my last mile faster than the first three but I escaped the downpour, barely. Physique : Running has done a lot to help me get my pre-pregnancy body back and slowly but surely I have been rebuilding muscle. Well I thought I was getting int...

Here is a picture of Genevieve's new dress (my new favorite) which she wore to church today. Speaking of church I propose that all chapels have a play pen. Maybe they could install a Plexiglas wall between the chapel and overflow area. That way the kids could play freely and their noise would be kept to a minimum. Three hours is a LONG time for a child to be restrained and after just one hour, I am exhausted. Genevieve spends every minute of the week playing and wandering to her hearts extent. Then each Sunday we go to church and expect her to stay quiet and still. HA! At least the second two hours have a little more room for her roaming.

Not coming to visit huh? I don't blame you. Now that anyone can carry a hand gun in the District, I don't want to go in for a visit either. The hard truth about this ruling is that with an increase of guns comes an increase in gun-related violence. It is funny to me that some individuals feel safer because of the repeal and others feel less safe. I happen to feel less safe. Here are a few different articles if you haven't heard: http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1818325,00.html?cnn=yes http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=91931889 http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25404848/ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7474924.stm In other news - it is very sad to hear about the California wildfires. There are burned Giant Redwoods near Big Sur, CA.

My sis took these amazing photos of my grandmother's iris garden. There are well over 50 varieties with different colors, sizes, and textures. It has been a long time since I have seen them in person. My grandma is almost blind now, she can only see fuzzy outlines of objects, and it makes me very sad to know she can't see her flowers this year.

A few months back my friend Alison got this random advertisement in the mail for a running relay of 182 miles. She mentioned how it would be cool to get a team together and actually run it. Yeah...right. We had just begun to work out again and I was far from serious about running anything other than my pathetic 10 minutes on the treadmill. Fast forward to today and you'll find that Alison did indeed convince me to run and with the help of our friend, Amber, we actually got a team together. Here's the deal: 12 team members, 3 legs each 182 miles from Cumberland, MD to Washington, DC 36 hours of running non-stop Our team (we're calling ourselves "The A-Team" because Amber, Alison, Ali, Amy, Ashley, Annie, Ann, Alisha, Archer-Becks, Susan & Ryan all have the amazing letter A in their names) met recently to hash out who's running what and I received Runner #4 for my assignment. That means I run legs 4 , 16 & 28 totaling 14.3 miles. I ran track in High S...

Sometimes, as a parent, it is hard to be 100% sympathetic and the middle of the night warrants one of those times. Now, because Genevieve has been a great sleeper from early on we feel ripped off anytime she wakes up in the night. Many times she cries for a minute but by the time one of us gets to her room she's quiet again and doesn't make another sound until morning. Hoping that last night would be one of those quick-check nights, Eric was the first out of bed (at least I think so but my memory is a little fuzzy from lack of sleep) he said because of his Daddy-guilt. However the crying was pretty intense for us to get off easy and go back to sleep. It all started around 1:30am. During the next three hours one or both of us were out of bed trying to console Genevieve, setting up the humidifier for her newly developed runny nose and searching for the Tylenol as a last resort to drug her into sleep. During the middle of the night it is also difficult to be patient with your spou...

Has it really been a year? I have said it before and I'll say it again, everything about having children is cliche. In the past year the days have dragged on but the months have flown by. Genevieve has been a tremendous addition to our family and we are excited for all the long days and short years ahead of us. Genevieve made her first wish over a candle and we've been trying to figure out what it was. Did she wish for a pony? or a lion? or a fish? Maybe she just wished everyone would stop singing so she could check out the intriguing flame in front of her. I wouldn't describe Genevieve's first cupcake experience like a lion devouring his meal on the Serengeti. She touched the frosting, tasted it, and took a few bites but it didn't turn into a smear-fest. At least she enjoys spaghetti, I suppose I could make a pasta cake next year... Some of the fantastic party guests just after singing. They were all great sports for cramming into our little house, skipping naps, a...

Rare sight of Eric among the wildlife Eric would like to contribute to this blog but unfortunately hasn't had the time. Where is Eric, you may ask? He is working, scouting, playing Daddy, traveling, working, riding his bike, bathing Genevieve, planning scout camp, working, sitting in traffic, writing a brief, chasing Genevieve around the room, sitting in hearings, chasing down merit badges, putting Genevieve to bed, etc. In case you haven't heard, Eric is the new Scout Master for our ward. He received the calling about a month ago and camp is next month. Eric is also at trial (not the exciting kind that you see on Lawyer TV shows about homicides rather about energy issues) but in front of FERC - the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. When he gets home he spends as much time with Genevieve as possible before I make him put her to bed. Hence, he hasn't had a lot of time for blogging. It IS unfortunate, I know. So, I will take up the responsibility of blogging on his behalf...

"People are just about as happy as they make up their minds to be" I heard this quote recently and looked it up on http://en.thinkexist.com/ which is a rather cool search website. In any case, I am going to take this quote to heart. The mind is a very powerful thing so I will apply this advice from good ol ' Lincoln.

My mom and I took Genevieve to the Smithsonian National Zoo yesterday and we all had a great time. The weather was cooler (mid 70's) so the animals were out and about. Here are some photos of our trip to convince you to go for yourselves. Mom & Genevieve at the CT Ave. entrance Beaver Gazelle Turtle Lioness Asian Elephant Zebra Orangutan Anteater Giant Panda Komodo Dragon Sea Lions Goat Alpaca Prairie Dog I could not have taken any of these photos without our zoom lens. It pays to invest in good equipment of any kind. For more animals at the National Zoo click here: http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/PhotoGallery/

1. Bisous slept in the box for over an hour. 2. Genevieve crawled and climbed all over it. Of course, these two events were not simultaneous.

Each year Eric and I have a conversation, not unlike one on New Year's, about how our lives have turned out. We have been blessed with so much and we are grateful for every day from the last seven years. This past year has certainly been unlike any other in our marriage, but just as good as the rest of them. My life would certainly have turned out differently if I had never met Eric. I am 100% satisfied for how my life has turned out because I never would have done these things: Traveled to places near and far. Met people I will never forget. Graduated from college. Raise(d) a beautiful daughter. Hung out with with the greatest friend anytime I wanted. Eric thanks for such a great time. I love you. XOXO.

Have you been to Fairfax Corner before? ( http://www.fairfaxcorner.com/main.html ) It is an outdoor shopping mall and has some of my favorite stores/restaurants (like Potbelly's, P.F.Changs, & R.E.I. ) along with concerts and random activities during the summertime. It also has some fountains in the main square which are fun to play in on hot days, especially for those of us that don't have a pool. A group of us met at the fountains to enjoy sandwiches from Potbelly's and play in the water. Genevieve was skeptical the entire time we were there and very cautious of the water. I must admit the fountains were stronger than I expected and a little rough for the smaller kids. Here are some photos of the outing: Genevieve My mom and Genevieve Alison with Rosie & Gabe Ashley playing (doesn't her hair look cool) Makenzie Gabe

The magnolia trees are about to burst into bloom here in No. VA and DC. I found a blossom, that was lower than six feet, so I took this picture. My sister, Angela, saw these trees first in Mississippi so I thought I would send her a little love from the south. (Virginia was part of the south and Richmond was the capital of the confederacy.) Ang - this one is for you

This is my friend Ashley causing water to rise from the ground with her magical powers.... Check out her technique - attention focused on the water source, both arms raised with fingers spread open. I think we could really learn a lot from this. Actually, we went to Fairfax Corner and played in the fountains, or at least the kids and Ashley did. This photo just turned out funnier than I expected.

Genevieve enjoyed her first meal of spaghetti. We're not sure if it was the food or playing aspect of the meal, but it was fun to watch. Bisous even helped clean up some leftovers from the floor (who knew he liked pasta?).

At the store today, I couldn't find Genevieve because my mom had dressed her in a disguise...

I have several scars on various parts of my body and I like to refer to them as "battle scars." Somehow it justifies and glorifies all the pain I experienced with each injury. I have six visible scars that will probably stick around for the rest of my life. The best battle scar I have is actually hard to see because it is on my scalp and my mane covers it pretty well. I got a 1" cut from my one and only snowboarding experience since I had to get 8 staples to repair the laceration. I have tried to document my current injury because my bruises just keep getting better and better. 3 weeks after initial injury (today - the bruise is finally going away although it is this gross green color) 1.5 weeks after initial injury 1 week after initial injury 4 days after initial injury I am sorry to all of you that don't get awesome bruises because, you're right, it does justify the pain and it is fun to show them off while you're narrating your experience. I went to th...

Although I have put my mom to work during her visit with us, we have also tried to sneak in some fun activities. We were able to go to the Kennedy Center for an orchestra and aria rehearsal for La Boheme by Puccini. I have to admit I was skeptical when the rehearsal began because it was not a dress rehearsal, nor did we hear the entire opera. However, as the evening progressed I was grateful that we had the chance to see a maestro in action. He worked with the orchestra on several different measures, critiquing and fine tuning it so it sounded perfect. We were also privileged to hear three or four (I can't remember because they started and stopped several times) arias with the tenor and soprano. The music overall was spectacular, even though it only included excerpts from the opera. I think we are too complacent in our listening experience and forget what live music feels like. To sit in a theater allows all your senses (well at least sight, hearing, touch - through feeling th...

Doesn't Bisous look like a chocolate bunny? The cheap, hollow kind you get at Easter time. This pose also reminds me of a cinnamon bear candy.

Last week, my mother and I joined some friends and went strawberry picking near Great Falls, MD. Picking strawberries is hard work, but, once we got used to the back ache, numb knees, and hot sun we got the hang of it. I specifically remember being grateful that I didn't have to pick strawberries for a living. In high school, I worked in grain and potato fields moving irrigation pipe, then in the fall I worked in spud harvest. Manual labor is hard work but all that was available to me when I was 14 & 15 years old. I would never choose that line of work today and picking strawberries was a novelty. Thanks to everyone who picks, packages, and ships food to my grocery store! Here are the highlights in pictures: Detail of our strawberries. Genevieve enjoying a very juicy berry in the field. A nice looking chicken. Genevieve meeting the chickens. She also met goats, sheep, and pigs. I think the pigs were her favorite. My mom with our harvest. Thanks for your help mom, I couldn...