and just like that...she's married

Thursday, June 13, 2013

it all happened about two months ago.

my sister's fella called and broke the news he was going to pop the question...and pop he did. right out of the water.

that's right...he jumped in a creek, emerged from the frigid waters, and on bended knee asked my sweet, sweet sister to be his wifey. awwwww...

then they broke the news that we would have exactly one month to get to colorado for the nuptials and celebrations.

and that's when a perfect plan was born...

farmer, baby, and i would be RV-ING TO COLORADO!! seriously...we (farmer) drove an RV the entire way (about 13 hours each way) while i entertained baby.

we all started in great spirits. baby even rocked her retro-bans for a hot second.

and might i add...my farmer man-handled that RV for 12 hours straight the first day...only stopping for a milkshake in rock springs, wyoming.

nobody looks hotter behind this big of a wheel...nobody...

meanwhile, baby did a lot of napping and a notable amount of whapping my face.

this posture is called: mom, please stop breathing.

another note - breast feeding pillows make excellent neck pillows.

the next morning we started out the day in laramie, wyoming where we encountered 60 mph wind-gusts which promptly ripped the roof partially off of the RV and completely tore the awning off and tossed it across the freeway...seriously. luckily...nobody was harmed and it was nothing my farmer and a roll of duct tape couldn't fix.

#RVPROBLEMS

enough of that...we finally arrived. sister and new husband live in golden, colorado...and if it isn't just the most charming, little town ever...i'm in love. their home is a stones throw from a beautiful creek that sister and i couldn't help but pose for a candid or two...

not our finest moment.

fast forward fast forward, flight delay flight delay flight delay...friday finally arrived and all necessary parties had arrived. it was wedding day!

we sipped from penis straws during out "girls breakfast..."

we posed for more sister pictures...

and got mani/pedis!

please note the moms in the background in their "gravity" chairs. they adapted quickly to the pampering.

and isn't rob's sister, melissa, the cutest (getting the mani)? i kind of fell in love with her over the weekend. she's crafty, she's a beauty, but best of all...she's funny. see! i fell in love.

she's going to be super creeped out when she reads this.

she plays mom to this little man...

he's a month and a half older than kaye. kaye was CLEARLY jealous of all that glorious hair of his.

hey blake...throw some hair-love our way. sheesh.

moving on! 

after the mani/pedis and a stop at safeway for flowers we shoo'd the boys out of the house and got to work on the champagne and bouquet-making. 

an unofficial one-months notice bridesmaids work is never done!

the photographer arrived and we were ready for photos...except these are melissa's photos because we haven't seen the profesh ones yet.

the day was lovely. the day was beautiful. we laughed. we cried. there was a little drama. there was a lot of romance. but what is a wedding without each of those things?

the next day we did a coors tour...seriously, the fun just never stopped.

kaye enjoyed the tour so much when she was three months old she just HAD to go again. seriously...she's slept through the tour twice now. and while kaye napped...

the parents enjoyed the free samples at the end...

that's my dad in the middle. the most photogenic man...ever.

and the very happy couple...

their babies are going to be the cutest...and photogenic.

we finished up all fun and festivities with a BBQ at the couple's house. 

it was relaxed. with great people. with fantastic food. 

and thank heaven we talked them into a cake cutting...what's a wedding without cake?

goodbyes were said. we were beat. baby was exhausted...

congratulations to my sister and brother-in-law. we love you. we miss you. we'll see you in two weeks!

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we ran 13.1

Friday, June 07, 2013

seriously. we ran a half marathon.

me. baby. our farmer.

it all started when i was pregnant with miss kaye. i had this grand idea that when i was no longer pregnant i would train for a marathon to whip it back into shape.

then i had a baby and realized quickly that in my world the amount of time it would take to train was a far cry from reality. i'm not saying that someone else couldn't do it...i just know that it wasn't feasible for me.

but 13.1...that's something i could gut out. so i signed myself up for the famous potato 1/2 in the big city...and secretly signed up my farmer. little did he know, but in about eight weeks, he would be pushing 40 pounds of stroller and baby.

this 1/2 marathon had to happen, people. especially after my nutella phase.

and so training began. i followed a program loosely that included three or four runs a week, one day of cross training (or a short run) and one of those runs being a long run. i increased in mileage by one mile each week. (the actual plan called for one mile every two weeks but i started late...oh well.)

so trot trot trot i did. i ran very consistently for those eight weeks and farmer ran...not consistently. he was busy...farming. instead of running, farmer sacrificed and would watch baby while i sweated out the long runs on the weekends. either that or he pushed baby while we ran together.

i wasn't worried about him though. he ran 30 miles last september for his 30th birthday. also with minimal training. you can read about that here.

race day arrived and what with living in the middle of nowhere and the race starting at 7 am, we had to leave the farm no later than 5:30 am. that gave us a wake-up time of 4:30 am.

we suited up, loaded the running stroller, loaded miss kaye, forgot our race packets and headed down the drive. stopped the truck, ran back inside, snagged the packets and we were officially on our way.

upon arrival, farmer stretched out real REAL good. if anything, he's thorough.

yes, that's a bulb syringe with my baby. she loves it.

the race was a blast. the course was flat. the participants were fantastic. and by "fantastic" i mean they cooed and oooed and aaaaahd at my farmer and baby while kaye smiled as she and farmer zipped by. that's right...my farmer ducked, dodged, weaved, sprinted in and out of the other runners in hopes of finding prime running space. so as he sprinted ahead of me, i fretted about keeping my training pace (9:50's). but then i fretted about some hot runner chic hitting on my farmer and baby so i would sprint after them! this happened for the first seven miles until i finally yelled after them, "RUSSELL SCHIERMEIER! i can't keep this pace!"

it must have been the way i used his full name in a scolding manner that made the other runners laugh, but farmer got the message. he slowed down for me...for a hot second. then he was back at his old tricks...laughing and chatting the whole way. i puffed and panted but managed to keep up.

we were nearing the end of the race on the greenbelt and i said to farmer, "what mile is this? i didn't see mile marker 10! i didn't see mile marker 10!" i was panicked. all i could think was, "are we seriously still on mile nine?"

farmer informed me that we were actually almost to mile 12. what??! brilliant.

we decided that we could totally bust out the rest of the race at a faster pace with our little beaver-baby cheering us on the whole way...and so we did.

folks...i cannot believe that my little miss kaye did all 13.1 miles with us. she slept for only about three of the miles. the rest of the time she just looked at us and all the people around...taking in the experience, i'm sure.

baby, farmer, and spuddy buddy...it's idaho, after all.

it was an addictive experience and i hope we run one again soon-ish. it got me back into running shape. it helped me lose a few l-b's. we rocked out a 9 minute p/mile pace. and my farmer supported me the whole way.

best. farmer. ever.

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KAYE | SEVEN MONTHS

Wednesday, June 05, 2013

my sweet gal is seven months. it seems like such a large portion of time but i still feel like i'm just getting the hang of things.

i'm still a little sleep-deprived.

i'm still struggling with time-management.

i'm still tempted to leave you in your pajamas all day.

girl - you make those footed pj's look good.

you know what else you make look good?

baldness, bottom-beaver teeth, drool, and fat knees.

girlfriend - you have the fattest knees i've ever seen. your thighs are worth a mention as well.

you've definitely hit a few solid milestones this past month and i couldn't beam with more pride:

1. you grew two more teeth. that's right, we're up to six now. four on the top and two little beaver teeth on the bottom. speaking of beaver teeth - i thought it was awfully quiet a few mornings ago. normally you want out of your crib immediately in the mornings. but not this particular morning. so when i peaked in at you to inspect, there you were, beavering your crib rung. when you realized i caught you, your giant blue eyes looked up at me and you smiled. i think you were even slightly proud of yourself.

but beaver (that's what we're calling you these days), please stop beavering your expensive crib.

2. my little sweetness - you are two shakes away from crawling up a storm. you get up on all fours all the time. you've even taken one little "step" with your arm...and promptly fell. i know you're going to figure it out, like any day.

and you know what that means? that means our farmer is going to be EXTRA motivated to get our basement all set up for you. because we all know that upstairs is not crawler-friendly.

3. guess what else you're two shakes from doing? walking. okay...maybe like 10 shakes. but you are almost pulling yourself up on things and once you are in that standing position you can stay there for however long...until you get bored.

okay, so maybe you're not that close, but it's worth noting, regardless.

4. hi. bye. hi. bye. that's right. you kind of wave at appropriate times. i certainly think this is noteworthy. you lift your tiny, chub hand, flip it so your palm is up and do the "give me more" motion...which in my world is a wave. you bet.

5. daddy's girl? i. think. so. i take no offense that you get more excited to see him than all others. that's all that really needs to be said.

6. hello cuddles. remember when you didn't cuddle last month? well guess what sister...you're a cuddler this month and i couldn't be more thrilled. your dad and i rank you cuddles in percentages.

for example: if your head is on our shoulder but your arms aren't wrapped around us, that's about an 80% cuddle. if your head is down, then up, then down, then up...18% cuddle. we're working on it.

7. hey girl - remember last month when you were a terrible napper? guess who is a bona fide napping professional this month? you are. you enjoy two 1.5 hour naps each and every day. and i love it. i love it so much. it provides me the time to get in my run. and running keeps me happy.

8. open-mouth kisses. you give these liberally each and every morning. and you know what? i take them. the more slobbery the better. all i have to do is make the MUAH noise and you come in for the kill, mouth open, and smack me right on the lips.

nicknames: beaver, sweets, baby, bear, cuddle-bear, turtle

weight: 18 pounds. my left arm is getting super strong.

loves: hummus. hummus above all things. baths. you also love your dad.

likes: running, dumbell rattle, being outside, chewing on anything,  bouncy saucer thing, boat rides

hates: being in your bouncy saucer thing for too long, your car seat, diaper changes

you keep me on my toes, baby...and i kind of love that about you.

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