Can't get enough of this face

Serious

Sweet

Little grumpy

Full of joy

Silly

Innocent

Sleepy

Quiet curiosity

Every time I look at this face ... I feel blessed

Stormy days and Sunny days

Yesterday we had one of the stormiest days of the summer so far - torrential downpour and damaging winds kept us inside the whole morning, and the afternoon was filled with sounds of chainsaws and BPW trucks perusing the streets looking for downed power lines. We were thankful for maintaining power through the whole ordeal, and had no tree damage on our property.

Despite the icky weather, Taylor and I still had fun inside...

Rocking in the rocking chair

Baking muffins

BUT, today was a whole different day - the sun and blue skies were gorgeous and we had SO much fun being able to play OUTSIDE with friends!

Hanging out at the fountains with Ty and Taylor

Picnic lunch...the best kind!

Taylor standing in the middle of the fountains - brave little girl...

Run, run, run!!

And of course playing with trucks goes hand in hand with playing at the fountains ;-) (thanks for sharing, Ty!)

My little climber

Couldn't get a smile :) (BUT you can see Taylor's little buddy Levi in the background who we saw playing in the fountains, too - hi, Levi!! :o))

Rain or shine, we find ways to have fun!!

Swim.bike.run

Summers used to be full of just that - swimming, cycling, running...repeat. Those were the days before my life priorities and perspectives shifted a bit. The days before I was "mama". I still get opportunities to put on the cap and goggles, clip in for rides, and lace up my shoes for jogs, but it is not like it was before. And I am okay with that. There will be a time in my life when I can get back into training more and racing more (I miss that adrenaline rush!!!!), but this is a season of life where I am taking a little step back and finding other ways to enjoy the sports that I love!

Last weekend I signed up for my first race since having Taylor, figuring that there had to be a 4th of July event somewhere up north where we were staying for the holiday weekend. Sure enough, the Boyne City Independence Day run was going on the morning of the 4th. My parents, Ryan, and Taylor came with me as my little cheering squad - it was fun to have them there! It was also fun to be able to end a race with Taylor at the finish line!

I did see a dad pushing his kid in a jogger during the race, so maybe next year I will take Taylor along with me for the ride. (Although I don't think I will be able to negative split my run like I did this year if I am pushing a toddler.) :o) AND, maybe someday she will want to be a runner, too!! (This may or may not have been "borrowed" from runmichigan.com :o))

Onto the bike....

I LOVE riding my bike, and we knew we had to buy a trailer to be able to take Taylor for rides with us. I do want to make sure we have a helmet for her, (after getting hit by a car in 2006 while riding, I NEVER go without my helmet!!) but the one we ordered hadn't arrived yet, so we took a little, slow trial run on Sunday just to see how Taylor would like it.

And she seemed to LOVE it! We could audibly hear laughter a few times from the trailer as we buzzed along. Too fun!

Next up...open water swim event coming up on Saturday... slowly but surely, getting back into the groove again, racing a little, playing a little, and having fun doing things as a family! :o)

Fourth at the Lake

Sunny weather, busy lake, sandy beaches, lots of family, good food - the makings for a great Fourth of July!! :o)  Taylor and I drove up with my mom and dad on Friday, Ryan joined us late Saturday night, and we enjoyed a full cottage of people for the holiday weekend!

Hanging out on the couch with uncle Jeff

Sitting in her chair

Being a little stinker - Taylor constantly wanted to stand in the chair

Hands in a box of cereal - this was a frequent sight this weekend as she pulled a box off the shelf, opened the top, and pulled a handful of cereal out...but we eat a lot of cereal in this family (for obvious reasons), so Taylor fit right in :o)

Reading with grandma Mem

Doing puzzles with uncle Jeff

Playing on the beach

Floating in her raft - she LOVED this raft, riding along in the waves

And last - I just couldn't get enough of her curls that the lake air seemed to produce...so sweet