Mulberry Street

I had a moment straight out of this new Mormon Message tonight. Not the one where the mother throws up her hands and defeatedly says "Go to bed!"  No, I have those moments on a regular basis. Rather, I shared the experience when the mom stares blankly during her child's prayer and is suddenly caught off gaurd by something he says. My four-year-old son said in his prayer tonight, "Thank you for the things we ask for," and suddenly I think, I have not been asking for the right things or asking for anything at all.   I had the impression that I needed to get on my knees and ask my Heavenly Father for help raising my children. That I need to pray for each of my three children, by name, with sincerity because my normal pleading-blanket-statement-prayers are not cutting it.  In the hour since, I have reflected on the things I thought I was teaching my children. I swear I've become a broken record, but I told them...again, that when you make a choice, you have...

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I would like to grow peonies someday.  Their petals really are spectacular.

A weekend stay at "The Owl's Nest" gave our family some much needed bonding time.  We supported Eric through the SavageMan half iron triathlon, took rides in the canoe, played UNO together, and rode bikes.  We all wish the weekend didn't have to end! A few highlights from the trip include: watching Genevieve and Emory jump into the lake... ...watching Eric finish the SavageMan tri... ...taking rides in the canoe or kayak... ...watching Benjamin discover new things. You can see all the pictures here:   share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AZtmrlu0Ys2T7Y

Emory started preschool today. He held my hand as we walked in, hung up his backpack, and then found Archer. If I hadn't said goodbye, I'm not sure he would have noticed I left. I'm glad he has a friend in class, because I am positive the drop of would not have gone as smoothly otherwise.  When I picked him up, he was happy. I think I can handle this. Phew. I'm just not sure how much information I'll ever get out of him.  Me: Did you have a good day? "Yeah." Me:  What did you learn about? "Rules." Me:  Oh, what are some of your rules? "Wash your hands and none fire in the bathroom." Me: Sounds like a good rule. Are there any other rules? "Um, I don't remember." Emory loves to make up stories, only he doesn't think they're stories, let alone fiction. I'm pretty sure I will never get an accurate description of his day. 

I took a break from unloading the dishwasher to use the bathroom, and when I came back in Ben was making car noises... YouTube Video YouTube Video He is seriously driving me crazy. I can't get anything done with this kid around! For every 5 minutes I spend trying to get something done, I spend 3 getting Benjamin out of trouble.

I rode my bike for 64 miles, the equivalent to a metric century (100 kilometers).  I could not have finished the ride without Brenda and Susan.  I am so grateful we rode together and shared this experience. This was the longest I have ever sat in the saddle and I survived.  There might might be a full century (100 miles) in my future... You can see all our selfies and other pictures from the ride at the link below.  Photo credits to Susan and Brenda too!   share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AZtmrlu0Ys2T9A 9/6

We camped at Mathew's Arm campground in Shenandoah National Park.  We met Eric in Luray to watch him finish a triathlon and then drove into the park.  I love Skyline Drive.  There is nothing like it out west and I appreciate the uniqueness it has to offer.  Someday, Eric and I will hike the portion of the Appalachian Trail that runs through the park.  Someday. The campground has a great deal of milk weed and the weather offered perfect  conditions for all sorts of insects to stop by for nectar.  Genevieve loved it! I snuck in a 20 mile bike ride and learned that I am NOT in the kind of biking shape I hoped to be in at this point in the summer.  Regardless, I enjoyed the scenery at my snail's pace and took plenty of breaks to enjoy all the overlooks! We drove to an overlook to watch the sunset.  Gratefully, we timed it just right - to see the sunset, to make some funny faces, and to get back to camp...