Well, Just quickly I wanted to explain a couple of these pictures...the first shows what a mean mommy I am because I cut all of Eliza's baby curls off! What was I thinking? Her hair was all uneven so I trimmed it all the same length, and had to cry about it after. Also the purple dragon costume had to surface due to the real costume not being quite done yet.
Jack wanted to be a Knight for Halloween and he wanted Eliza to be his princess. So we borrowed the breastplate and helmet and made him the cape, shield and sword. Not bad eh? The next couple are our neighborhood halloween party which was a lot of fun, but also strange that it was 80 degrees that day. The other pictures are of the Alamo, the Riverwalk, and the Botanical gardens here in San Antonio. So there is the quick explanation of the slide show!
Well, most of you probably thought that I fell off the face of the earth, and see no point in checking my blog anymore, since I havn't posted anything in over a month. I have had so many fun visitors at my house in the last month that I have not quite found the time to sit at my computer for more than 5 minutes at a time. And, even though my sister sara is still here, she is glued to a good book, and hence the new post.
Oh me Oh my, we have had all sorts of fun in the last month. My sister-in-law Melissa and her adorable three kids came to visit and we did everything you could possibly imagine in the 10 days they were here. Then my sister came a few days later, and we have been having a blast. she has also been helping me with all sorts of home projects that I would NEVER attempt to do with out her help. (painting for one!...no fun with two kids tracking paint all over the place)
I turned 29 a couple weeks ago, which seems utterly depresssing because that basically means that I am 30. What the heck happened to the last 10 years? I still feel like I should be 22 or something. But lets face it, 30 is the new 20 right? So I guess you could say (for all of the fellow "13 Going on 30" fans) that I am (almost) "thirty, flirty, and thriving." So I am embracing every new year, as my mother would say.
Here are a few pictures to show you what we have been up to.
Here is Jack in the Van, ready to go to the pool, goggles and all!
Now this is what happens when Jack wants to help cook...I scooped the salt into a teaspoon, and told him to dump it int he pot. Does this target seem small to anyone? Because the entire teaspoon went right on the stove. Hmmmm, how can it be that hard?
Jack often tells me that he needs some quiet time, then I come in his room to find this scene. Pretty cute huh?
My sweet Sunday afternoon nappers. Jack is so in love with his Daddy.
Oooops, my brother thought that my arms were his canvas. Naughty little guy.
Eliza is just crawling all over the place now. It is easiest when you don't have clothes to trip you up!
Well, there are a bunch of random snipits of our lives. The weather is getting cool, and we are spending more time outside. We went for a hike on Saturday, and Jack hiked the full 3 miles (well almost, the last little bit he rode on Daddy's shoulders). So life is good, we are loving Texas more and more each day.
Alright, so I know I mostly post about my kids, but I have a most important matter I would like to discuss. If you all can pardon me for being on a bit of a soapbox about this subject, just take it for what it is worth and go with it. So I say to all of my friends out there: STOP SLOUCHING!! I have seen the most slumpy shoulders, hunched backs, and droopy necks in the past few months and I just can't take it. Especially women with children tend to start slouching terribly, and it really looks awful. I know, I know, it is hard to stand up straight when you have a baby on your hip, or quite frankly when you have two half gallons of milk on the front of you at certain times!! However, there is nothing more beautiful than a woman with regal posture. I don't mean look snooty, but throw those shoulders back, stand up straight, tuck your bum in and hold your head high. By golly that looks so much better!! Stand tall, and look confidently radiant!
First of all, I added two posts today, so read on down the way and see some cute swimming pictures. I couldn't let the day go by however, without writing down how much I love Jack today. Since Marcus has been gone a lot over the past few years, Jack and I have really become best buddies. He is so much fun, and always keeps me smiling. Today I had an especially great day with him for simple reasons. First off, Marcus just started his residency program yesterday, so it was my first of many trips to church without my husband. I felt like I was really doing well however, and got out of the house at 10:00 for 10:30 church (I know, amazing right) untill...a really mean guy flipped me off for driving in the fast lane (even though there was someone ahead of me and I couldn't drive any faster!) Anyhow, that just made me feel so sad all of a sudden because my big tough husband wasn't in the car to... well I don't know what he would do, but I am sure it would have been intimidating to the big truck-driving Texan, right? OK back to my point. Hmmm, oh yes, how much I love Jack, and not feeling sorry for myself in Marcus' absence, OK: Tonight I fixed a great dinner: really yummy tacos on homemade soft taco shells, and I thought to myself, "Why am I even putting forth any effort especially when my husband is long from being home at dinner time, and the only other dining guest in my family comes to the table in a dragon suit!
Well it is not too incredibly hot here in Texas, it is usually in the 80s , but every chance we get we are at the pool. Eliza got her first swim suit (actually first two suits)
So, back to the real story, the ceremony was very formal: there was a brass quintet playing as the professors and graduates walked in, and they all looked so great as they came in. They speaches were all wonderful, and then the time came to give each graduate a diploma. They asked that all the applause be held until after the last graduate. So, everybody was very quiet and serious as each graduate walked across the stage. Keep in mind that my children were two of only a handful of children in the entire theatre! Marcus walked up onto the stage, and they called, "MARCUS JAMES RAMPTON", and without any cues Jack screamed with pride in the middle of a very serious croud, "Good Job Daddy!!!" It was soooo cute. Everybody around us kind of turned and smiled. they thought it was pretty cute too. Indeed, we are all so proud of Marcus. He put in many hours at the hospital and in classrooms to learn the art of healing. We know the road was not easy for him all the time, but he made it!! I also love three year olds, who show their joy and pride no matter what kind of setting. They are so pure and true in thier display of emotion. So, here's to you Marcus. The three of us are your biggest fans. Nothing could stop your fan club from cheering you on.
jack playing when he is supposed to be sleeping!
Well, last year I decided that I was going to start training for triathalons to keep in shape. With a little gleaning of knowledge from the Dougherty's (thanks guys you inspired me more than you know)...I did my first duathalon last spring. I was pleased with how I did, since quite honestly it was my first competative race since running in my highschool track uniform! I was completely pumped to do my next race a couple months later which was a triathalon, and would require me to add swimming to my excersize schedule. I was delighted to find out a few weeks later that I was pregnant with our second child Eliza. However, heavy training was put on hold, and I determined to resume training for races after the baby came. My goal was to get back in shape quick enough after Eliza was born to do the same duathalon a year later (which would be 3 months after she was born). I had been saving up for a bike, and a month before my race I got my first very own road bike. Here's what I don't love: running...Here's what I love love love:biking. So, back to the story, race day came, and I didn't feel ready at all. Eliza was still up nursing twice in the night, and I had really only been running for a month, but I decided that I would do it no matter what and finishing the race would be my goal. To make a long story short, I came up over the last hill, and I spotted Marcus and the kids cheering me on, and I had a beautiful, triumphant moment. Children are a sacrifice, but mostly a pure joy. I finished that race seven minutes slower than I had the year before, but I figured my progression in life is much more deep and real than seven minutes in a race. I had a beautiful healthy baby at the end waiting for me. And that is is the real deal. Not many peple in that race sat down on the grass and nursed a baby after just crossing the finish line. It was a happy day. So, I guess my take home lesson is that as a mother of two little people I may not finish life's race first, I may not finish it in perfect style, but my friends I will finish it, most likely with a giggling baby on my hip, a frog catching three year old at my side, and a husband cheering me on.
