Future drummer?

Triathlon completed!

I finished!!!! It wasn't that pretty, but nonetheless, I finished. I finished about 6 minutes under my goal, which was good! The run, as expected, is what I struggled with the most! I guess that gives me a goal to shoot for for next year! There were 550 women in this race, which made it pretty fun!

Cael loved the Chariot

Finished!

Look who I found!! My friend Krisanne from PT school, who I also went to Arizona with!!

So one quick story...they do a raffle, and I figured I was 1/550 to win, so we didn't stick around. Krisanne called me to let me know that my name and bib number was drawn for the grand prize...a Wii system, with a Wii Fit! Much to my dismay...you had to be present to win!! I thought Krisanne was joking, but she really wasn't! Bummer!! Moral of the story...stick around for raffle prizes! I probably will never win again!!

Random moments!

Bath and meal times continue to be Cael's favorite!!

After Cael's baths he loves to attempt to crawl around...he is definitely becoming more mobile!

Cael really does like green beans, even when they get all over his face!!

Cael has figured out his reflection in the mirror...and loved it! It works out well that we have a mirror door on our closet...it can entertain Cael for a while at least while we get ready for the day.

Future director?

I was vacuuming and Cael thought it was fun to hold onto the hose! Future firefighter? Who knows!

Daddy is another year older

Daddy turned 29 last weekend, and we were able to celebrate with Gramma and Grampa Rixen, Auntie Molly, Uncle Jarod, Auntie Erin, and Cousin Flynn. It was a beautiful day, so we spent the majority of the afternoon at the Como Zoo with Molly and Jarod! It was a fantastic day watching all the animals! Cael stayed awake during this trip to the zoo, and I think he was fascinated! Daddy carried Cael in the Bjorn the majority of the afternoon, which he loved!! The fish were Cael's favorite!

Gotcha Auntie!We finished the afternoon with a picnic in the park. Cael is down to the diaper, and loving it!

We had a great day! Thanks for celebrating with us!!!

7 months old!

Anything and everything goes in the mouth!!

Boxes can be so much fun!

Who knew a big empty box was so much fun! Cael was entertained for about 20 minutes in the box!!

No where else to roll! Cael hit the edge!

Rounding out a very busy 6 months!

Hard to believe Cael is at the end of 6 months!! He has started doing so many new things this past month! He continues to be an extremely happy baby, with a few rough days here and there! Contributing to those rough days: fluid in his ear (again), thrush (battling for past 3.5 weeks!), and today his 2nd tooth poked through!! Other than that...he is doing really well! He particularly likes to eat anything he can...newest thing...yogurt!

Rolling:

Rocking when on hands and knees, moving backwards instead of forward, attempting to pull himself up, leaving a few bumps along the way...just a few things Cael is doing to keep us busy!

Ryan family fun...IN ARIZONA!!!

So it has been almost 4 years since my entire family, including spouses and kids, have been together. Well...it happened! We all got together, in Arizona in August, of all places!! It was HOT, but fun...you really learn the difference between 110 degrees of dry heat and 95 degrees with 90% humidity! I'll take the dry heat!


Mom, dad, Andy, and Hannah came to stay with us on Friday night, then we all flew out on Saturday morning...early! We took the light rail to the airport, which was a treat at 4:30 am! Once in Arizona, we went to Eric and Cyndy's house, where Cyndy had lunch all ready to go! After a few hours, we decided to drive through Saguaro National Park to attempt to take some family pictures! We thought about doing some walking, but it was too hot...we could hardly stand it!

Sunday morning, the Arizona Ryan's came to the hotel, and we took advantage of the pool...it was a really nice pool, and with the heat, any time of day is a good time for swimming!! The biggest challenge was to keep the little boys out of the sun the best we can! Sunday afternoon, we headed to the water park! The girls had so much fun...we would probably still be there if the park didn't close! The wave pool, and the tube slides were a hit! The little boys loved the kiddy pool...particularly the shade of the mushroom! Cael even took a little nap under a shade tree!




Monday was a relaxing, low-key day, which was needed after all the activity and water the day before! The men went to Tombstone, AZ...they had a lot of fun visiting the sights of the ol' shoot outs back in the day! The moms and kids hung out at Eric and Cyndy's, played, made dinner, Chloe had dance mid-afternoon (I stayed back at the house with Cael and Kjetil...Kjetil was much better behaved than Cael!). We ended the evening with a bonfire in the backyard, roasting the biggest marshmallows I have ever seen!

It was sad leaving this morning, but we knew we needed to get back home, to get back to work, and for Cael to get back into his routine. It had been a very busy couple of weeks prior to Arizona!

Thanks Eric and Cyndy for such a fun time in Arizona! Don't worry...we will be back to visit!!

First Fireman's Picnic

After the fish fry, we went to the Waukon Fireman's picnic! It brought back a lot of memories for me as a kid, looking forward to these picnics ever year! Cael got to live my childhood...including playing in the sawdust looking for quarters, egg toss, having a picnic, firetruck rides, water fights with the hoses!! Cael loved the firetruck ride...he fell asleep on top of the truck!!

Kyara vs the boys...Kyara won!!!

Ryan family fish fry

Aunt Mary and Uncle Dick have all the Ryan families over every summer for a fish fry, for whoever is able to come. Cael and I were able to make it this year, however Jonathan wasn't able to come! It was fun to see aunts and uncles, cousins, 2nd cousins, grandparents, and great-grandparents there!! Cael got a chance to play with cousin Samuel again...who also lives in the Twin Cities!!