Monkey

 I never know what I am going to get lately from Aspen.  Today it was "mom, come help me climb this tree".  I knew she was already filthy from making mud pies in the backyard, so a little tree dirt wasn't going to do much damage.
Oh well... this just helps her be a little more "tom-boyish" and a little less "princessy", right?

Right again

A race I shouldn't have ran combined with an hour and a half of direct sun for the Lehi roundup parade, and I have a headache that has not let up all day.
I should have heeded Hayden's advice and spent the morning in bed relaxing.

June 13: (yes... I'm behind) Reminds me of childhood

More than anything this time of year, the smell of these wonderful (weedy) trees reminds me of growing up.  I can't get enough of them.  The sweet smell of Russian olive trees.  The lovely memories of the prickly things that we had to cut down from the fields when I was growing up.  Good memories.

A good laugh

We went to pick out a cake today. Aspen is quite particular. She wanted a dinosaur cake...again. So I grabbed one and she protested.
"not the grumpy dinosaur, I want the smiley one".
I laughed for five minutes.

A little bit of music... A little bit of Ed

Hayden introduced me to the musical group LIVE when we first met. I has heard some of their music before but since then have fallen in love with their sound. The group disbanded in the last couple years and the lead singer, Ed Kowalcyzk, was in town on saturday. The only thing better than an hour of listening to him, was being able to be standing in the right spot afterwards and being asked if we would like to meet Ed.
Ummmm...yeah.
Hello.
Too bad my good camera battery was dead and this the picture I came away with. Thanks for a fun night Hayden.

June 12th: Silhouette

Long Beach, CA
2006

Why I love summer

The best and most amazing part of summer is that I get to spend it with this girl.

As she climbed in bed with me this morning to cuddle, she wrapped her arms around my neck and said "your my best friend".  One day she won't think so... so, until that day, I'll be drinking in these moments, realizing all too well that they don't last.

June 11th: Sun Flare

June 10th: An animal

Toby is so big he is sometimes mistaken for a small horse... mostly by Aspen, who likes to ride him.
He is getting old, has arthritis and more gray hair everyday.
He has a red KONG toy that is his kryptonite.  He ran through a bonfire to get it once... not sure if that means he has a KONG addiction, or if it says something about his intelligence... or both.
We got him as a middle aged skinny dog two years ago, and he has put on a good 40 pounds since then.

June 9th: Fresh Fruit

Bananas and grapes... that is pretty much all the "fresh fruit" we see at our house.  Fresh is a relative term at our house... FRESH just means they aren't brown yet.

June 8th: Sunset

While at a conference in Phoenix, I had the opportunity to hike up Camelback Mountain.  The cool part... being at the top at sunset.  The NOT cool part... hiking down 1.3 miles with no daylight.

June 7th: High Angle

June 5th: My Breakfast

It has been a crazy week.  So much to write about: summer, graduation, mud race, Les Mis, Kids growing up, airport, etc.   I have been logging my pictures for blog challenge as well, which is proving to be a bit more challenging than originally anticipated.

Sunday morning I was double lucky.  Hayden held down the fort while I ran a long run AND he made me breakfast!  Hashbrowns, home grown eggs (thanks to Amber next door), bacon (extra crispy, the way I like it) and sausage.  Love you Hayd.  Thanks for spoiling me!

June 4: clouds

June 3rd: Hands

My hands say a lot about me:

• I am not a high maintenance chick and I rarely, if ever, do nail polish.
• I usually have yard dirt I am cleaning from under my nails.
• I am related to my mother.  I always used to run my fingers along her veins when growing up, and now Aspen does it to me.
• I've had too much sun for my own good over the years.
• I bite my cuticles.
• I am a hard worker.

June 2nd: My Favorite Shoes

Much to Hayden's dismay, these are my recent favorite shoes.  He says I look like a burn patient, but I didn't get them for their fashion statement (which is NONE).  I am trying to help my running form improve, and these are supposed to do that.  They are comfortable and I am getting used to them.  Perhaps if I were to wear them on a regular basis (other than breaking them in or running) I might get a more fashionable color.

June 1st: "Self" Portrait

Not sure if having Aspen take them counts as SELF-portrait, but she wouldn't give me back the camera once I had it out.  

Can't believe it is already June.  

Brenden graduates tomorrow.  

My summer is well underway, and it has been cold this first week off.  

Most mornings have been in the upper 30's.

Time to get our summer bucket list figured out.