Fear of vacuum + Polish heritage = genius?

This week I was listening to an old NPR interview with Maurice Sendak.  He talks about, as a child, being horribly afraid of the vacuum cleaner.  When his parents used it, they always sent him to the neighbor's house.

So, Scarlett my dear, you aren't alone.  It's okay to be afraid of the vacuum.  And you clearly have what it takes to be as brilliant an adult as you are as a child. 

Singing in the bathtub

When I was a kid, I remember listening to this Manhattan Transfer CD on car trips.  You know this song, I think it's called the Java Jive?

Emerald and Scarlett

Scarlett was trying to drink the bath water last night.  I told her not to (for the zillionth time.)  She said:

"I'm NOT drinking water." (pauses to continue drinking water) "I'm rinsing my mouth."

So, you can't really argue with that.

Another beach weekend

For the past six years, I have spent this late August weekend alternately running and vanning to the beach, over the course of 30 hours.  This year, without the Hood to Coast to boss us around, we decided to go to the beach like sane people, in a car.

I did a volunteer shift for a friend's HtC team on Friday night.  And even though we ran a mad awesome relay only a few weeks ago, I was jealous once I saw all the runners out there.  I felt like, this is MY party, and I should be running too.  But volunteering was a good way to feel involved, and at 10pm I went home to take a shower and sleep in my bed, and then I started to feel glad that I skipped the whole running-not-sleeping thing after all.

So on Saturday, we took our own beach trip, for Amber's birthday.  Instead of smushed bananas, warm pb&j, and water, we had delicious treats in the form of fresh sandwiches and fruit and fancy cheese.  Most of these were covered in sand by the time we started eating them.  Sandy watermelon tastes better than you might expect. 

En route to the sand, Scar and Lucy looked for bear caves.  Lucy is an expert at this.  Scarlett was unsure at first, but she saw how excited Lucy was and joined in.  Two little girls searching for bears- and later, Scarlett looked for gnomes and their homes- is really cute.

Oscar hung out with Charlie, and with his grandpa, while the girls ran around and Scarlett hid in a big sand hole that Charlie dug.  Shaggy and a friend were paddle boarding.  Lucy's cousin and some other little friends came along, then there was more running around on the sand and splashing and some peeing in the ocean.

We went to look in the tide pools, and for more bear caves.  Then Scarlett and I played a chasing game of our own on the beach.  So in the end, I did some beach running after all.  Happy birthday Amber!  Enjoy your prime!

Peace

Scarlett trying really, really hard to do the peace sign.  Dexterity is tough at age 2.5.

Weekending: Eugene

Kelly and I took a trip to Eugene, and left the husbands at home to do house projects and smoke cigars.  We stayed at a super swank hotel (Lauren's house).  I went for a shopping spree in a super swank boutique (Lauren's closet) and found a few dresses to wear to upcoming weddings.

Mom and Olive:

Ella and Scar holding hands in the car:

But, to be very clear, Arnie is her best friend:

Oliver's like...I'm coming for you...

When I asked Scarlett what her favorite part of the trip was, she said 'Tavish'.  We took him for a walk all the way around the block and she held his leash, alone, the whole time.

Popsicles!

Treehuggers! (It was Eugene, after all.)

Ella loving on her little brother.

We also took them to this cool outdoor pool with a slide and a sandbox.  We took them to Dairy Queen. So, I present you, Ella's first ice cream cone:

It Ain't Easy Being Green

Dan the frog had a rough trip to the park.

We went for Jon's birthday (happy birthday Jon!) and there was a table of food, and picnic baskets, and blankets and chairs.  Dan is Scarlett's second-in-command, trumped only by Arnie.  I try not to let her take Arnie out in public, in case something bad happens.  Something bad does!  Dan and his frog BFF were lounging around on the blankets when the following events occurred. 

• Two dogs are running around in the grass.
• One of them swoops onto our blanket, grabs Dan, runs off.
• I start chasing the dog, Charlie comforts Scarlett, who started crying.
• The dog starts fighting with the other dog over Dan and I'm trying to stop them, but also I'm kindof afraid of dogs.
• Their owner watches, mostly seeming bored and unhelpful.
• Finally she grabs one dog.  I pretend to be friends with the other dog, who then drops Dan and runs to me.
• Poor Dan had to have his broken leg mended.  He is all fixed, but as you can tell by the single-serving wine box in the upper left corner of this picture, he's been having a hard time post-surgery.

Scarlett, version 2.5

Today is Scarlett's half birthday.  She is getting a trip to the amusement park, despite the stifling, terrible heat we've had lately. 

• Last night we found her asleep with her knees on the floor and the rest of her body on the bed.
• We have been taking her to go potty before we go to bed, around 10:30ish.  Most often, she barely even wakes up during the transaction and it takes only a minute.  But last night, she needed more time, so at 11pm she sat there reading books on the potty. 
• Her favorite bedtime activity is to talk about her day.  If she's not very sleepy, then she wants to talk about my day and daddy's day and Arnie's day, then her day again.  We list all the things she's done.  For me, she'll say 'you went to work' or 'you did not go to work'

Hello my pretty little half-birthday girl!

Happy Birthday Dear Charlie

This morning, I told Scarlett we needed to make birthday breakfast for daddy.  She said:

"Boys like bacon.  Girls like chicken... (pause)... and carrots."

As I write this, Charlie is out on a long run.  Something like 15 or 16 miles.  There is bacon cooking right now.  Scar also slept in until 8am, her first night in the big girl bed.  8am is soooooooo wonderful.
Happy birthday dear Charlie!

"For his birthday, duck got a day filled with friends
Who liked him a lot
that's what duck got."
-Happy Birthday Dear Duck

Big girl bed

Scarlett just woke up from her first ever nap in a big girl bed!  I've been postponing this as long as possible, but she seemed ready.  She was so excited.  More adventures to follow, I'm sure.

Vikings Represent

Please, let me introduce you to my Viking counterparts in van 2 of this extraordinary race.

 

 

 

Well, Erin and the kids didn't run.  But she had the difficult feat of watching our child, and her own, while also managing that pregnant belly, for two full days while the rest of us pillaged and plundered.  She was our support staff. 

Cascade Lakes is about 11 miles longer than Hood to Coast, at higher elevation, and the heat was out and proud.  It was prettier though, and at one point we got to stop at a lake for a few hours to recover before we ran again.

The night before, we got together to decorate the vans.  Jody tried on the viking gear.  

Here's the front of our viking-mobile.  VALHALLA!

Beforehand, Charlie and I look all fresh and cheerful.  Warning: this will not be the case 30 hours from now. 

We tagged other team's vans with our trademark Viking helmet.  Someone tagged our van with a picture of poop but Vikings don't take guff from nobody, so we wiped it off with a wet wipe.  Vikings always carry wet wipes.

 I know what you're thinking and yes, we are THAT AWESOME.

 

So we all ran, then Annie laid in the dirt for a while, then we stopped in La Pine and took REAL SHOWERS with FRESH TOWELS.  When we got to the high school, a volunteer waved us in and stood at our van window for a moment.  He told us about the fresh towels, the food in the cafeteria, and the indoor cots we could sleep on.  Eddie said "Hood to Coast sucks".  That remains my favorite moment of the weekend.

The honey badger is really pretty badass.  So is Rex.  He can run uphill for 4 miles straight without even breaking a sweat.  

After we rested, we ran again.  I guess we're all really pretty badass.  Annie and Heather ran in the heat of the day but by the time it was my turn, it was cooled off.   I ran 7 miles while the sun went down, and once again I felt very lucky. 

 

 

 Sometimes in the middle of the night, people go a little crazy.

This is almost our whole team.  Early morning, before we ran for the last time.  My last leg was another 7 miles, which I was prepared for, but it was on the trails and it was in the heat. I was staring at desert all around me, which was lonely, and I knew I was slow.  I don't have this problem at the Hood to Coast, because the legs are easier and I've done it enough times to know what to expect.  And at HtC, I can't stop and walk, because a van will drive by and see me and that would be EMBARRASSING.  But there was no peer pressure at CLR, and I caved.  However, I have survived.

 Eddie flashed Rex, to provide him some inspiration at the end of the aforementioned 4-mile uphill.

 

Oh yeah, my shoes.  So, I'm pretty sure I can't wear these shoes again.  The stinkfactor is overwhelming.  They got wet by accident.  I put them in a ziplock bag so they wouldn't stink up the van, but that only caused them to fester in the heat, in the bag, and make the smell worse.  A real viking would have tied them outside the van while we drove.
(Update- since writing this, I've gone for a run and I was forced to wear the shoes.  I really, really need to go to REI.)

 

Big props to Heather for coordinating this from Bend.  Big props to my van for being so fun.  Big props to my supercute husband for being such a sexy runner.  Big props to the honey badger for being really pretty badass.