Our Summer Thus Far.........

Ryanne jumping on our neighbors trampoline.....

Gotta love the fact that she didn't take off her bike helmet first....that's my Ryanne.

A sneak peek of the girls club house we are building....OK well it's the view from the club house. We are almost done with the building part....pictures soon.

The college near our house puts on a Swim Team camp every summer so we send the girls. Its for kids that are already good swimmers but want to work with coaches to learn new skills. It's great exercise, wears them out and they learn lots. :)

Morgan was on the swim team for three years so she loves jumping right back on the platforms and taking off.....

By yesterday the coach was begging her to come back to swim team and she had to politely explain she loved dance WAY to much to quit now. ha! He later told us he was sad he couldn't convince her. Ha!

This is our busiest week this summer. I pride myself in letting my kids be "bored" during the summer. Ha! Just not over scheduling them and letting them run free and be KIDS! But this week we had swim camp AND bible blast so we are T-I-R-E-D! It's all good though. God has helped us dig deep and find that joy we want to have for the almost 400 kids attending.

Our theme this year is the Olympic games. Morgan is a group leader this year for the 2nd graders. She's doing a great job.

Ryanne is on the ever rambunctious green team and likes to carry her team flag. I am working registration and snack....super fun!

Our friends next door have been coming along each night......

Smiley faces......

The energy of all the kids worshiping together is crazy contagious. I LOVE it!

Milo mentioned he wasn't getting enough blog time so here he is getting some morning love. He beats up the great dane. He might look sweet but don't be fooled, he's a bully.

Marriage........

Christian marriages seem to be crumbling apart all around me. Is it just the times we live in? Has it always been this way but I am just now noticing? Sometimes we get involved with hurting marriages and it gets messy. Things come out and we cringe at having to know the hurt that is happening in our friends lives. We can't fix people. We can't make people do the right thing. How as believers do we love our neighbor as our selves, be with them when they are falling apart and yet not get consumed with it? As Christians we get our hands dirty serving the Lord right? How do we not go home and let anxiety wash over us as people are hurting? It's a balance. A balance I sometimes do alright with and other times I call on my prayer partner begging her to meet with me and just pray. Asking for accountability in whether I am pointing people back to the word instead of telling them to run. Our human nature when faced with something that we know is not fixable is to flee. But do we believe Gods promise in Jeremiah 29:11 that says he knows the plans he has for us? The entire verse where it says if we call upon him he will hear us and if we seek him we will find him? If so isn't that the assurance we can rest knowing God hears our cry for help? And if we believe that then surely we must believe Romans 8:28 that tells us that all things work together for good for those who love God. Not good in our image but His. Can you even wrap your brain around that kind of goodness and healing? If your reading this and your marriage is struggling I beg you to stop and imagine Gods best for you. Flash forward and try to picture healing in your life and marriage. The blessings that will flow from not quitting on your spouse or God. If you have never heard of the movie Fireproof or the love dare I challenge you to get the book and do what the book says to your spouse. I wonder when I see marriages hurting all around me how I can serve Dan more. How I can love him more. How I can honor him more. How I can make his burdens lighter. Then I remember to seek first the kingdom of God daily. Read, pray, love the Lord first and best not worrying about what anyone else is doing and I will be able to overflow into my marriage and do those things for Dan. I was reading about Noah this morning. I don't know if God ever intended for Noah's story to be a marriage sermon but it struck me as such. Noah lived in a time when it was most evil. It was the norm to be lawless and without regard for anyone or anything. Not loving or serving the Lord was pretty much expected. But Noah set the bar high for himself and his family. Setting apart his life and heart for the Lord. He didn't care what others around him were doing but instead was obedient. I wonder if when our spouse is doing the wrong thing, wants the wrong things, serves the wrong things, loves the wrong things if we don't put our face to the ground and worship Him who made us that our spouses will turn from those things. If we cry out to God to restore our spouse to Him and care more for their walk with God than what they are doing for us if they won't feel that kind of love and turn back to the Lord. I think Noah is a great example of leading his family and my hope is that despite whether or not we fell loved by our spouse in this moment or what the world is telling us we just do the right thing out of simply wanting to honor our God. Not needing to get anything in return from an earthly place but to store up treasures in heaven instead.

Our Weekend Thus Far....

Friday 6:35am: A loud explosion rings through our neighborhood followed by a power outage.

6:40am: Morgan says,"Mom I smell a fire." I look out my kitchen front window to see this.

6:45am: We hear fire engines roaring up the canyon. I call and wake the neighbors who's house is closest to the blaze.

7:00am: All the neighbors have thrown clothes on and are out watching the fire crews hike the hill and the bulldozer climb up after them.

By 7:30am the air attack is in full swing.

In 2010 we were evacuated so luckily it is all still pretty short on growth on our hills. We of course kept a watchful eye but since it was early in the morning, still cool and no winds we felt safe.

I text my poor husband who was just getting off a 96 to let him know he was coming home to fire drama at our house. Ha! Poor firemen can't get a break. They did an amazing job of protecting our small little neighborhood as they always do. That is the only down side to living up here. Oh and rattlesnakes! Our neighbor had a baby rattler in her living room last week. Ugh!

Despite his extreme fatigue and lack of time to train my hubby sucked it up and went to his race in Big Bear this morning.

Now I will be the first to admit that when the alarm goes off at 4am to head out for one of his races and few thoughts might go through my head. None of which are,"Boy am I glad my husband does triathlons!" Ha! But once the sun peeks over the horizon and I see the work and dedication all the athletes put in I can't help but have a festive spirit the rest of the day.

I'm not entirely sure why swimming over a mile at 8,000 feet is appealing but hey to each their own. He's looking good out of the water......

Feeling good on the bike transition.......

Heads out into the beautiful morning for his 30+ mile bike ride.....one guy ate it going downhill and was rushed to hospital with SEVERE road rush....that kinda puts a damper on the day when you hear sirens rushing to the aid of a racer and you don't know if it's your loved one.

Finished the bike looking strong and is heading out on the 6 mile run........

Dan talked a friend into doing one for the first time and he ran the last leg with him to encourage him as he was seriously hurting......Kent may have mentioned to me as he passed that he was less than thrilled with my husband in that very moment. Ha! I told him to take two Motrin and give it three days; he'll be hooked. He! He!

Our good friends son who is in the middle finished 9th over all. His dad works with Dan and we have been around him since he was a tiny little boy....now he's trying to tower over Dan and kick his butt racing. Such a great kid! Congrats little Joey on your race today.

As usual the girls were great sports cheering everyone on and encouraging their daddy....it's a family affair.

Fun to see friends meet their goals and just be in a beautiful place for the day. Have a blessed weekend and happy fathers day to all you daddy's out there who rock!

Happy Dance........

So today I am strolling the isles at Trader Joe's hoping something will inspire me to cook dinner. As I round the corner I see a tall stack of Joe-Joe's and then just as I am about to think something unkind about people who can eat cookies whenever they want I notice the Gluten Free flag across the front of the box. What? Gluten free Joe's. No way! I read the label like 10 ten times to make sure it's for real. Then I grab the nearest stranger and demand that they pinch the crap out of my arm so I can confirm this is NOT a dream. Then it happened......yup' I broke out into the happy dance. It wasn't pretty but it had to happen. Forget dinner kids we're having cookies! If for even a fraction of a second you ever doubted my love for you fellow blog readers, rest assured that by me letting the cat out of the bag on these it is TRUE LOVE. I mean what other motive would I have to share?

To confirm my love is genuine I will let you in on one other life changing gem I came across. They are the new Udi's gluten free tortillas sold at Fresh N' Easy.  Now if you have ever tried gluten free tortillas I know what you are thinking, BLAH! Right? But wait, these are the real deal. They heat up nicely and even roll into a real burrito. I almost cried. I actually might have a little. It had been 6 years since I have had a burrito. SIX YEARS! I am in love. I'm moved to a happier place of thinking nicer thoughts about regular tortillas and the people who can eat them. Sigh.......life is good.

Since I'm gaining weight just writing food posts let me add a non-food fun find. Ha! Say that fast five times. Non-food fun find! Non-food fun find! Non-food fun find!!!! OK you get it. I found this cute little basket at Marshal's and put cute little mini herbs in them on my cute little dining room table. Perfect turquoise color for summer. Be blessed today friends! 

This was me in the isle at Trader Joe's today.........I didn't mind the stares. 

You're Gonna' Thank Me.....

Because our family eats gluten free we don't use white flour. When baking I will often use a gluten free brand that is already mixed or a rice flour blend I have made. But the other day my friend (thanks Candace) gave me a copy of a recipe that used Quinoa flour.  I was so excited to try something new. Hey, when your calendar is empty it's the little things. ;) So I'm here to encourage you to ditch the white flour, the white sugar (as much as possible) and use healthier ingredients that make having a brownie OK. Well at least better. Ha! I made these and let me just say,"YAHOOOOOOO!" Enough said. To make the flour just buy some quinoa and run it through your food processor or even your blender will work. Also, I used organic peanut butter instead of almond butter because I need the good fat from it.

I'm FREEEEEEEEE!!!!!!

I'm free. It's official, sanity has taken up residence in my brain once again. No more school, no more dance, no more circus, dance rehearsals, shows, school meetings, finals, learning records to fill out. No MORE! I am giddy with anticipation at what doing less will look like. My eyes have uncrossed. I don't think there are words to describe the complete feeling of elation at not being woken up by an alarm clock. And I didn't even sleep in BUT it was my choice. I can lounge around in my robe. Take my time doing my devotions.Bake. Make ice cream till my head pops off. Try new recipes AND be home for dinner to eat them. Read a book on the patio as the sun rounds the corner in the morning. I can *gasp* watch the morning news. Yes, all this and more is possible now that I am free. I exaggerate you say? Oh no, no trust me when I tell you May for home school moms brings the finish line into view. As of May 1st you just want to go to the light which in our case is May 31st. If your head wasn't attached it would literally pop off and float away. If I wasn't helping with a school final, an end of the year project, giving a test to my 4th grader. I was answering emails from my middle school kiddos teachers, racing to dance recital rehearsals, circus practice, dealing with costume issues for my ballerina. Wondering if the bathroom fairy was finally going to show up and clean because I was to busy and hoping that I could imagine dinner on the table and it would appear before we had to leave for a class. But that's all in the past. We kicked off our summer by heading to soak city and floated in the lazy river with not a care in the world. So AMAZING!!

 Summer Bucket List:

1. Build a club house in our backyard for the girls

2. Finish our driveway and build a shed

3. Clean out garage, move everything to shed.

4. Drive Jeep that is now in cleaned out garage.

5. Go to soak city and enjoy jumping in the wave pool with my kids.

6. Stare often at my calendar that is empty and smile BIG!

7. Put white lights up in club house when done and have a camp out with my kids.

8. Make enough ice cream that my freezer is full and we can share with EVERYONE!

9. have LOTS of water balloon fights with my kids.

10. Go fly fishing up North with my hubby and kids.

11. Snuggle on the couch with my husband and girls WAY past their bed time.

12. Say YES more.

13. Watch my daughter get fitted for her first pointe shoes.

14. Try not to cry when my daughter stands in the mirror in her first pair of pointe shoes.

15. Ride bikes at the beach

16. Date my husband more.