Karens Birthday Lunch

Even if we don't get to lunch on our exact birthdays we always try to celebrate the family Birthdays. This was at Crackers last week for Karen's Birthday. Lisa left early and missed the picture but she was there in spirit. Also, Trevi wasn't able to be there. So happy birthday Karen and I can't wait until Jenny's special day coming up soon.

In This picture is Michelle, Jenny, Karen, Marae and Jamie.

Natures Bounty

I've made freezer jam many times but I decided to try canning some raspberry jam for storage in my pantry. It was so easy and I already got rave reviews this morning at breakfast.
Today I'm going to try some pepper jelly because those cute little jalapeno plants I planted in the spring are full of peppers again. I discovered that right now they are green but if I leave them on much longer they turn a bright red. (my favorite color).

A New City Record

ANDREW'S FIRST YEAR OF SWIM TEAM - 5 years old

I figured out yesterday that I had been going to swim meets for 25 years with my kids. We started out with the city of Mesa Parks and Recreation program that kept us busy summer after summer and then moved on to have all 4 children swim for Mt. View High school. What a perfect sport swimming is. The kids are in GREAT shape, there are very few injuries, and even if you don't win a race the excitement of swimming a race faster than you have ever swam and getting a personal best time is a great accomplishment. I am now officially on my last Mt. View swimmer and yesterday was the City Relay Meet that included 16 High schools from Mesa. All three of my boys swam this meet and it was always in early September. Sweating was a big part of this long day but it was worth every drop to see the kids have fun. This year Andrew got to swim on the 200 yard freestyle relay where his team got a Bronze medal. His team got 5th place in the Breaststroke relay and then the highlight of the day was when the "Build-up" relay got a gold medal and broke the city record by 2 seconds. (in swimming 2 seconds is a lot). The way the relay goes is the first swimmer swims a 25 yard swim, the second swimmer goes 50 yards, third swimmer 75 yards and then anchored by the forth swimmer going 100 yards. Andrew lead the race with the 25 yards in 10.4 seconds to give the team a jump start to the city record. It was so exciting to watch and the thrill of victory was rewarded to 4 boys that have worked hard to get in such great shape. We are so Proud of Andrew and proud of Mt View for winning the entire meet to bring home the 1st place trophy. Go Toro's!!!!!




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