I wanted to post this awhile ago but just didn't get to it until now. Glenn came home the other day from picking Bayley up from school and handed me this note. It said that Bayley had received a blow to the head and had to be treated at the nurses office. As Bayley stood there with a large bandage on her cheek I continued to read a hand written description of what had happened. It simply said, "Walked into wall." I tried so hard not to laugh. Then my phone rang. It was her teacher calling to explain what had happened. She could barely get the information out with out busting up. Apparently Bayley was busy looking at her friend as she ran back to class after recess and smacked head on into the wall. Of course the wall was one of those textured plaster walls. She said she was picking pieces of the wall off of her cheek the whole afternoon. My first thought was she is definitely my daughter. Let's face it, there is a reason why the only athletic thing I do is run. I love sports, but I was not blessed with coordination, and apparently I have passed that wonderful trait on to Bayley. So I'm sorry Bayley. Hopefully that is as bad as it gets.

Beach combing...

Last weekend we went up to Point Reyes for the day. Glenn took the kids on a hike and let me run the trail to the ocean (a amazing view over a shear cliff). It was a beautiful day, perfect for a nice run. After my run I met back up with them and we headed over to the beach. Bayley and Isaac have been really into collecting shells, so we went to several beaches before we found the jack pot. We got to the last beach just before sunset and almost gave up there when Glenn decided to hike down the beach a ways and check it out. He found a pocket right where the waves were coming in where sand dollars were being washed up. We found 12 whole ones and would have found a lot more but it was getting dark and Glenn and I were freezing from getting totally soaked. It was so much fun I wish you all could have been there with us.

Noah's 2nd Birthday

So, Glenn and I have been training for a trail half marathon at the end of March.

Here is the description of the race on the website
"You'll traverse the dirt hiking trails through scenic Bothe-Napa Valley State Park, located at the north end of Napa Valley. Along the route, you'll be surrounded by majestic redwood, oak, madrone and bay forests. The course is a bit challenging with the hills, streams and rocks - which makes it all the more exciting and rewarding!"

Sounds like fun right?!

We were so excited, or at least we were until today. Glenn already went up to check out the trail a week or 2 ago but today was my first day. It is insane. While running straight up hill for almost 2 miles (and when I say running I really mean walking with my arms swinging like I was running) I wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry. It is pretty brutal. We have already signed up for it, but the worst part about it is that we have talked a bunch of friends into signing up for it (most of whom it is their first race). So we are probably going to have a lot of people hating us in a few months. It's going to be tough but I am excited for the challenge. Check out the picture, doesn't it look so tranquil and fun- looks definitely can be deceiving. I'm pretty sure a bit challenging like in the description is a little bit of an understatement. I guess we'll just have to wait and see. I was hoping to improve my time, now my expectations have changed to just finishing the race!!!

I love this picture. We went out exploring looking for salamanders. It was a rainy day, so Isaac ended up finding over 50 of them. But, to our surprise we also found a newt. Isaac wouldn't hold it in his hand for a picture, but he did let us put it on his head. I'm pretty sure I would have opted for having it in my hand, but he is a boy. I guess he thought it would be sweeter on his head.

Last weekend we went up with a few friends to the coast and stayed at our friends place. The weekend couldn't have been more beautiful. There was almost no wind or fog. The perfect place to spend my birthday, especially since it was my 30th (I'm getting so old)! We played at the beach, snacked all day long and spent late nights star gazing in the hot tub. It really was the perfect get away.

Second, Christmas and New Years... This year the holiday season seemed a little less festive since we were so distracted with the move. I would go shopping and catch a glimpse of Christmas lights and be thrown off and say oh yeah it's Christmas. We still had a good holiday. We were able to celebrate and do a mini Christmas with my parents before we left and then celebrated together in California. We took a video of Christmas morning. It seemed so chaotic I thought this rendition of the video was fitting, or at least what it felt like.