This is a tree in our backyard. Not just any tree mind you, it's the biggest, oldest tree in the area. It's huge. My bh on the other hand quite frequently calls it "that blasted cottonwood", especially during wind storms. Last year, a giant piece of this tree fell to its demise, leaving us with plenty of firewood for our backyard fire pit. I personally like the tree. Imagine this thing being around for 60+ years. How can you just get rid of it? So we put up with the mess it makes in the fall and the pacing it makes my bh do during those summer storms. It's that big, old tree that has become a part of our backyard activities. I'm glad it's there. At least for now.

Some photos from the race this past Saturday. It was called the Challenger and a challenge it was! Beautiful scenery but oh the hills! Once you got up and down one, there was another one. These pictures are at the beginning, before we got on the trails and at the end, thankfully getting off them! So no photos from the "inside" It's a tough course for only 3 1/2 miles but it really is exhilerating. I finished six minutes faster than last year. Considering the terrain we were on, I was pleased. And it was a perfect morning, no wind, no humidity in the air, my family at the finish line. Great race for a good cause...bringing our own Sgt. Corey Briest back home this weekend. That's really what it's all about.

My son is getting into this photography thing. Hmmm, wonder why?! :) My bh and I celebrated our 13th aniversary a few weeks back and my son, bless his heart, thought it would be neat to take our picture. So he posed us and snapped away. He did a really good job! I was smiling but deep down all I kept thinking was "please be careful with that camera, please be careful with camera..." So here's the photo my son got. He even tried to get my bh to smile but no luck. His dad just can't smile for a camera, never could. Wow. 13 years. 13 great years with a great man. I'm glad my son wanted to do this photo. It will bring back lots of memories when we are celebrating all those future anniversaries. Love ya, sweetie!

Just an update, Wednesday was MUCH better than Tuesday. Darn Tuesday. Messed up what could have been a pretty good week! The kids and I got the list done and then went on a bike ride through the campgrounds when daddy got home. The plumber's coming a week from Monday, the carpenter after that, the chair's fixed and that overwhelming feeling has diminished. Shewww, that was a close one. Now it's back to fun stuff for awhile, just pray I don't get all spacy again! Life goes on and it all works out, good days along with the not so good ones!

This is my son on his last day of golf lessons. They played in a little tournament and he did really well. I can't believe how much he has improved from last year. And he really loves it. Grandpa got him a new golf bag this year, one of those fancy ones that has it's own legs and of course, Packer wood covers. Anyway, I told him once he was done with lessons, I would take him out for a round. So the tee time is set... a date night for me and Brody.

It's been a bad day. I don't even have a cute picture that I can post because nothing is relating to what I'm blogging about. So no picture on this one. Just some venting, spilling my guts and even a little whining in hopes it will make me feel better. I could blame it on PMS or maybe I could chalk it up to just one of those days. Either way, I'm glad it's over and I can start fresh tomorrow. Actually, when I read what I'm writing, my day could have been worse. My kids are healthly, I'm healthy, hubby's healthy, dog' healthy...so what could be so bad? I won't go into any boring details, but getting into a summer routine is really hard. I can't seem to get an anything done. Once I start a project, something else comes up, then I get totally distracted and at the end of the day, nothing gets completely done. I know I've blogged about this problem I have before. I wish there was a pill I could take to cure this crazy siyndrome. So the list keeps piling up. I'm just not good at this balancing thing. Never have been, never will be. That's all there is to it. My hubby on the other hand, is the opposite. Must be why he's a supervisor and has been forever. He gets things done. So why can't I? He tells me I need to prioritize my day. Priorities? Let's see, kids...kids...kids. Then hubby, dog, house stuff, food, bills, then me. To top off the endless lists, my patience is wearing thin on people I'm waiting for. Remember that plumber I contracted for our new bathroom??? Still not here. My Jeep??? Still not here. Someone to come fix our week-old massaging chair??? Still not here. The cable guy to check our signal??? Still not here. Ugh. In cases like today, I am reminded of what my pastor said to do when I'm stressed. Pray and have a Jack Daniels. He was kidding about the JD but the prayer thing comes in handy on a day like today. I envy those of you who can come up with a great Bible passage. I can't come up with one that speaks to me. So I have prayed and just hope for the best tomorrow. There. I vented, spilled my guts to blog friends and probably some complete strangers but I feel better already. Thanks for listening. Bring on Wednesday!

That's me and my running partner and friend, taking the scenic route on our long runs. She is such a great friend, we met 11 years ago when we first moved here. They have 3 kids...1 boy 2 girls, same ages as our kids and our husbands hunt and fish together. So it was an automatic chemistry for us and our families. I have to say, not only is she a great friend but one of the best running partners I could have. You see, she can talk your ear off with stories from the school (she's a teacher), kids, just life in general. Running with her is almost like therapy! Listening to the stories can totally make me forget about that fact that I am, well, running! We really bond during training and I look forward to meeting up, pounding the pavement together and get caught up with some quality girl time. Before I know it, we will have been running for an 1 1/2 hours. Time just flies. I'm grateful to her for being who she is because I think if it weren't for her, I wouldn't have nearly as much fun. I hope we can keep this running gig up together for a long, long time.