Park Days and back to Summer Fun!

I feel like this week was much more of a "normal" summer week for us, especially if you compared it to a typical week from last summer. We were fortunate to still have my mom stay until Tuesday, and we enjoyed going to various parks all week long. It was great after being stuck in the house almost all of last week. Our windows for leaving the house have shortened due to naps and potty schedules, but at least we were getting out and having a great time.

Monday my mom was here, and we decided to take Keira and Soren on a little bike ride. It ended up being very little, because Soren was just not super happy to be in the trailer. We stayed in our neighborhood and went less than 2 miles, but it was still fun to get out. Keira had a blast.


Once Ryan got home from work, it was time to do some serious bike riding. Ryan and I met up with Michelle at Lakeshore Park so that we could train for our upcoming race, and my mom watched Keira and Soren on the great playground that is there. I had a couple pretty hard crashes, and was left with a huge "trail" rash on my left elbow. I was going through a tight section of trees and hit a handlebar on one REALLY hard. I am just very thankful that I was only left with some bruises and likely a nice scar, especially as the week went on.



On Tuesday, the kids slept in after the late night at the park, and we scrambled to get to Plymouth for a storytime, only to get there and realize that it is NEXT week. We enjoyed a nice breakfast of milk and pound cake instead, and then hit REI before my mom needed to get on the road.
Here are a couple pictures from home. Soren has been really excited about doorknobs, and he was quite determined to get this one.



That afternoon, Ryan had a drive event on the test track at work. He had the opportunity to drive several sets of future model cars. Those are always fun events. I also swam with Cristina at Island Lake, because peer pressure and my competitive spirit are making me want to do another tri this summer. Linda stopped by to watch Keira and Soren for the few minutes that I was gone before Ryan got home from the drive event. Keira was so excited to be able to see both her Grandma and Nana in the same day.



Wednesday was our first park day of the summer! Our ward has traditionally set up meetings at local parks on Wednesdays, and this was the first one that we could do. We met up with several families from church at Rotary Park in Livonia for some fun.
Keira and Elise had a great time playing together in the "bubble".

When Ryan got home, he went to Lakeshore Park with his team to practice, while I ran with the stroller in the neighborhood. His teammate, Tim, had a bad crash at the beginning of the ride and hurt his shoulder. It wasn't until the end of the ride, after doing the full trail, did he realize that he likely broke his collarbone! This made me so grateful that I was not more injured in my crash, because Tim was an experienced rider and more familiar with the trail than me, and still had this injury.

Thursday was another busy day. We started the morning with the Library Storytime.
Soren was pretty brave, and crawled out into the middle of the carpet with all the other children.
I think he now realized that he was way over there, and I wasn't behind him! He was pretty cute, though, swaying back and forth to the music.

Then went to a great little park behind the library/high school complex to meet up with another group of friends from church. It was a really great little park that was not crowded with nice restroom facilities (which Keira refused to use so we had to leave early). I spent most of the time socializing while Keira played, so I didn't get an pictures of her with her friends. Here is Soren during the few seconds that he was willing to be put down.

I also rode Lakeshore again tonight on my own, being careful to pack my driver's license and cell phone on me for the ride, just in case. I was also much more careful to go slow and not worry about speed as much and just not crash. I made it through without incident.

Friday was Fun Friday for the church Park Days, which meant we were going to the Plymouth Sprinkler Park. Unfortunately, I had to turn down a trip to the zoo because I was going to the park days, and then everyone from the park days cancelled on me, and it was too late to switch gears and head over to the zoo. We still went to the Sprinkler Park, and had a great time. Keira and Soren are surveying the situation. It took them a while to warm up to the idea of a sprinkler park, and get over the fact that we weren't going to the pool.
Keira is activating the sprinklers with her hand.
Keira actually ran through the frog's mouth today, which I don't think she ever did last year.
Action shots:


When we got home, we had some fun with bubbles in the yard.



Saturday was another busy Saturday. We were very worried that the weather would not hold out, and were happy that Keira's prayer for good weather was answered. It was gloomy for parts of the day, but it stayed mostly dry. Ryan rode with the Wolverines out to Kensington and Brighton and back. While he rode, I took Keira and Soren into downtown Farmington for the Founder's Festival. Last year, they had a lot more free things set up for the kids, like a fire engine and petting zoo, but they didn't have either of those things this year. We walked around through the arts and crafts fair and one of the local churches off the main drag near where we parked had a free bouncer (as an alternative to the $10 for the ones actually at the festival), so Keira got a little bit of bouncing in. It was a fun time, and a great way to spend the morning out of the house while Ryan was gone. This is a pretty boring picture from the festival, but fitting since Keira and Soren spent almost the entire time in the stroller.
Once Ryan got home, I took a chance on the weather and met up with Barb at Island lake for a 12 mile ride followed by a 5K run. Barb really pushed me on the bike, and I pushed her on the run, so it was a great workout all around. Ryan was starving (and apparently so was Keira) when I got home, and we went to California Pizza Kitchen at 12 Oaks for dinner. Keira ate 7/8ths of her children's pizza for dinner. We couldn't believe it, because usually she never eats her food when we order it specifically for her and end up taking it all home.


Sunday was a pretty typical Sunday, except for a late night baking project. We went to church and then to Kris and Linda's afterwards for dinner and dessert. Linda gave me a copy of Martha Stewart's Cupcakes, and I just had to make the peanut butter filled chocolate cupcakes. I was up pretty late making them and then waiting for one to be cool enough to eat. They were pretty tasty! They are very dense, and go down nicely with a glass of milk. They are my kind of dessert.

Martha probably wouldn't approve of my use of an IKEA children's plate for display purposes, but at almost midnight, what are you going to do?
Up for next week, we have the much anticipated Tree Farm Relay, where Ryan and I are each on separate teams. I also was selected to be a digital brand ambassador for PUR, and will be blogging there in addition to here. You can check it out at: http://community.active.com/blogs/pur/2009/07/17/pur-digital-ambassadors. I haven't made a post yet, but will likely do something this week and surely after the race. I should be receiving my welcome kit with purifier and water bottle sometime this week. I am very excited about this since I have always been a big fan of reusable water containers and will now be able to purify my own water at home.