I’ve been waiting for July to get here forever! Well, at least since June began. July means Kroliks are here to visit (all too short a time), Lexi is here most of the month, and most exciting is our first family camping trip!

Last night we had the Kroliks & Gustafsons over for dinner. I made the fun suggestion of shish kebabs (or kabobs) for dinner. I was happy it was successful. I think the full house is a little overwhelming for Miles. He’s been having issues with big groups of people.

I am feeling good about the camping trip, if we can fit everything we want to bring inside Steve McQueen. The packing list is big,
but we aren’t so far away from civilization that we can head into town if we need something. This camping trip comes with some nervousness, but the key will be letting go, and being flexible. I will try to take pictures, and I hope this will be a good time for everyone.

I must confess I stopped watching Wimbledon when Andy got knocked out. Add to that my favorite girl retired before the French Open (Henin), and it wasn’t worth making an effort to watch. I do hope Federer wins today though. To get my fill of sports, we’ve been watching all of the Olympic Trials (swimming & track and field). I will know all their names come August. This does not mean I prefer Summer Olympics over Winter Olympics. I prefer Winter.

Alright, I have to eat breakfast, get on with my day. I’ll close with a quote from Flight Of The Conchords (this one is for you Geoff).

Murray: Be careful with it. Don’t stand next to any big magnets.
Jemaine: Why would I stand next to a big magnet?
Murray: I don’t know what you do in your personal life.

Love them! Frodo, Don’t Wear The Ring.

June is nearly over, and I barely blogged! What can I say, most of it wasn’t blog worthy. But here’s what was:

Genevieve Gustafson was born! Two days before her due date. And what a sweet little angel face! Everyone seems to be doing well, and I predict the Gustafsons summer will be filled with fun and people flocking to meet the little girl.

Bible study for the summer has begun. I am very excited about it, and left the first meeting feeling like my spirit had been renewed. This is another Beth Moore study, Breaking Free.

We had our good friends Chad & Khara over for dinner & wii on Saturday night. I miss them! And they just live on the other side of Denver from us. But driving an hour to each other’s houses can be much. We’re going over in August to see their house and meet their puppy. We also totally sold them on getting a wii. Bwa ha ha.

Camping plans have been solidified. I’m very excited. The only bummer is missing out on Krolik time while they are here in Colorado, since the dates overlap. We still need to buy a few things to make camping easier, write out a camping list, and plan our meals.

So that’s all going on. Trying to stay cool, trying to keep kids amused, and trying to stay sane. I’m still finding time to read, so my brain isn’t turning into mush.

I know I usually end with a movie/tv show quote, but I wanted to share with you a quote from Anthony Bourdain’s book Kitchen Confidential.

(Tony’s opinion on garlic) Avoid at all costs that vile spew you see rotting in oil in screwtop jars. Too lazy to peel fresh? You don’t deserve to eat garlic.

I feel like summer has been kicked off already. We had a lovely trip to Steamboat Springs, my race went well (see my training blog for more info), and the weather was perfect. Right our weather is sitting in the 70-80F range which is great. I’ll be sad when it climbs higher, because then it’s just too hot.

What have I been up to? Not much. I have summer bible study coming up soon, which I hope I will be able to do. Like everyone else, I’m waiting for baby Gustafson to arrive. I am anxious to know her name, and to see Kevin & Ali become parents. I also (selfishly) am anxious for Kroliks to come back to visit. 🙂 Lexi is coming for a few weeks in July, and has graciously offered a few nights babysitting for us. July we will also go camping, for the first time in Colorado. I think we have our campground picked out, we just need to set the dates.

I need a haircut, badly. I’ve been putting it off for a long while (last haircut was August 2006), as I can’t decide what I want to do with my hair. I think I better commit soon, after all, hair grows back.

I finally finished watching Twin Peaks. I had never seen the entire series, and I got the gold box edition for my birthday. Now I’m bummed because it’s over, and I wanted to know my favorite characters go on to live a happy life. Sadly, this was not the case. Now I hope to plow through the disk of special features. On the plus side, this means I won’t be watching it before bedtime, and giving myself nightmares. Come on, Bob is scary!

I blogged a few weeks ago about my passport expiring, and you’ll be thrilled to know I got it in record time. Seriously, from mail date to Canada, to DHL delivering it to me, it was 10 days. Nice eh?

Now that my half marathon is over, I have my sights set on taking the rock climbing class at the Trails this summer. I might try and get a girlfriend to do it with me. I may never get out into nature and climb a rock or a mountain, but I do plan on using the wall at the gym for exercise.

I’m gonna close now with a quote from Big Daddy.

Nazo: I had a doll like that once but my cat bit his head off.
Julian: What kind of cat would do that?
Nazo: Are you calling me a liar?

A little belated for some, a little early for others, but best birthday wishes go out to Karen, Cindy, Laurel, Brooke & Mike.

Apparently this is my 1001st post. Whoo!

Here’s a silly song to make you smile.

Frank Shorter Statue decorated for the Bolder Boulder by…

Centennial State Pipes & Drums. We stand by them every year.

Daddy’s fans

Geoff, out in front (blue shirt, blue hat), he ran faster than I was ready for

Um, I don’t know what to say. I’m not mad at you, I just haven’t had much to write. 🙂

But this blog must serve some purpose, because my friend Khara has been reading, and as a result, we’re hoping to meet up in Boulder to cheer for our hubbies on Memorial day (Bolder Boulder!).

In my free time, I’m playing Mario Kart. Productive? Not really. But it amuses me. I’ve also manage to keep up with reading one book a month, though this month was pretty cheap, I read a very short book. Maybe I ought to squeeze in another short one.

Bible study has wrapped up, and I indicated my interest in doing another one. It keeps me in the Word, so it’s a good thing.

Last week, I was going through something. It’s hard to explain, but I got it out to a few people, but I don’t quite think I dealt with it fully. It was about my hopes & dreams, and my self esteem. Another part of it was about allowing myself to be vulnerable to people who will likely hurt me. And my unwillingness to go through that. Geoff pointed out, I was not created to close myself off, to which I agreed. I do enjoy relationships that grow, but I don’t think I can open myself up to hurt. Maybe I need to give people the benefit of the doubt. Even if they do hurt me, in the end perhaps what I shared, will impact them in the future.

Okay, next topic. My passport is about to expire. Oops. That’ll show you how long it’s been since I used it. I am not adverse to traveling to the Great White North, I’m just picky about where I want to go and who I want to see. 🙂 As I tell all my Canadian friends & family, we’ll see what happens. No trips have a departure date, but there are a few cities on my list. If I had money, right now, I’d be in the beach house in Laguna Beach. Sigh, a girl can dream.

Well, dinner isn’t going to make itself (it can, it just won’t today). I’ll close with a quote from Titus (I just got the whole series!)

Christopher Titus: A lie is a lie… unless your friends and family are in on it. Then it’s a “commonly held belief.”

I’m teasing, I love when my friends have blogs. 🙂

I was pretty lazy while Geoff was away on the weekend. I didn’t do much more than play Mario Kart, watch a ton of this seasons episodes of Lost, and read a ton of stuff on Lostpedia.com. Meanwhile, he traveled to Kingston to see his beautiful cousin Karen get married to a very nice guy named CJ.

The bride

The family, minus me, the kids & Meg’s husband

He was grateful to have the time to talk to family he hasn’t seen in a while. Heck, he hasn’t seen his sister since 2005!

Mother’s Day I picked Geoff up at the airport, and we walked around Southlands. Must be spring/summer because the fountains were on. Elijah drenched himself, he was so happy. We ended up getting Jim ‘N Nick’s take out for dinner and then relaxing at home.

This week, I have my last Beth Moore meeting, and it will be our potluck. I’m going to make a pound cake. I may sign up for the summer study, depending on if I can work it into my schedule (i.e.- depends on the childcare situation).

Race day is in 20 days. Maybe you’ve been reading along with my training journal. I’m not sure what will become of it after I’m done my race. Time will tell.

I’m going to close with a quote from Burn Notice (new episodes start July 10th!)

Michael: You can learn good self-defense fighting with students in a class, but great self-defense you pick up fighting with your family.