Happy Birthday Auntie Mandi

Have a great day Auntie Mandi!

Dan Patch Days

We took the family plus Mimi (Grandma Jean) to the exciting Savage city festival: Dan Patch Days. Emily and I took part in the 5k race in the morning (31:30 for Emily, and I ran a 20:47). Then we went home, got the kids down for a nap, and afterwords we took them to the Inflatables park, petting zoo, and the taste of Savage.

My expectations here quite low for the Dan Patch Days, but it wasn't bad. Usually the ticket based food scam irritates me, but everything was quite reasonably priced and they didn't have ticket purchase minimums.

Yeah, bouncing is fun!


This is so much fun!


Oh! I pirate ship!


Weeee, down the slide, let's do it again cousin Sophie.


Laura chasing Sophia up the pirate ship.


Down the slide. Being a pirate is fun. Maybe we should move to Somalia.


Laura got to ride a pony (with a little help from dad and his pony pee soaked sandals.


Now for a petting zoo. Here chicken chicken chicken.


Hello Mr. Goat.


What a friendly and docile calf. Do you drink the Valium straight from the bottle?


For being such a good girl, Laura got a sucker when we got home.


Posing in front of Daddy's apple trees.


Here you daddy, you were a good sport.


Last week she played in the pool, and the wet hair gives her very cute curls, so I had to take a picture.

Another Painting For Mimi

Mimi loves to see Laura's paintings, so here's another.

Pants & Art

What do you get when you let daddy dress you? You get a cute pair of shorts right? Except when mommy asks why Laura is wearing Anna's pants. Doh.

They sorta fit.


After I put them on, I thought to myself - hey, no plumber butt, nice. I guess Laura's size is 9M XX Tall.


Laura painted a great picture today - dandelions and clouds. I was impressed.

Little Twins Fan

What's this? Another photo shoot? No thanks.


Try as you might, I won't smile.


Daddy and Anna watching the Twins


This is fun, a lazy afternoon baseball game.


GoGo goes yard. Whatever that means.

Silly Poses

I had a fun photo shoot today, both girls were being quite silly in their poses.


Anna, show them your new teeth! Come on! (Her bottom 2 teeth just punched through, although she's pretty shy about it.)


Hmmm... Diaper might need some attention here.


Anna flashing a smile.


Anna showing off a 'Wow' face.


Laura's turn to be silly. Let's start off with a nice smile.


Now we can be SILLY!


Laura says "Take pictures of ME!"


That's quite a pose Laura.

Sandbox, Hose Nozzles and Half Marathons

Laura's been having a blast playing in the new and improved backyard. Here's some video of her learning to use the nozzle on the hose and some sandbox fun. She doesn't understand that I am watering the plants, and not the rocks.



Also, last Saturday I ran my first 1/2 marathon. It was a good little run, and the weather was really nice at the start. Thanks to my handy GPS 'Man Watch', I put together my little race log (you may have to scroll down a little. Blogger is being weird.

Mile	Mile Pace	Cum. Time	Mike's Thoughts
1	06:39	06:39	Oh, this is easy, I can do this pace forever. I am glad I rested a little before the race, because it is really paying off.
2	06:56	13:35	Ok, that was a little optimistic. But I still feel great, I'll just let some people scoot by.
3	07:00	20:35	Yeah, 3 miles, I've settled into a nice pace. This isn't too bad.
4	07:38	28:13	Woah! Hey wind, where did you come from? Oh my back, I've been running with you for 3 miles. Well, only 3.5 miles of bucking this headwind.
5	07:33	35:56	Wow, that powerplant is tall. Maybe it will shield the wind. Nope.
6	07:43	43:29	Hey there's the lead pack coming back from the turn around. Must not be too far away. My little voice of reason says "No, they are just that fast." As usual, that little voice is right.
7	07:39	51:08	I can hear the music from the turnaround. There it is! Wait, that was just a turn in the road. The turnaround is another 1/4 past that.
8	07:28	58:36	Ahhh Wind at the back, life is good.
9	07:39	1:06:15	A lot of people behind me. Good for the ego.
10	07:31	1:13:46	The wind at my back, all is good.
11	07:39	1:21:25	Hmmm, the wind must be easing, because I am getting a little worn out. I'm sure those white (brown) caps on the river are some sort of mirage.
12	07:47	1:29:12	Nope, back into the wind, and it wasn't a mirage. Hey, why back up hill at the end. Someone has a bad sense of humor. Only 1.1 miles to go.
13	07:56	1:37:08	Beep Beep. Watch says mile 13. so close. Wait, the race mile marker is way up the road. The watch lies! I hate you watch. Legs getting heavy, hoping I look better to the onlookers than I feel.
13.1	6:58	1:38:56	They call my name down the stretch, I see Emily, Laura, and Anna waving. Adrenaline gives a little boost. I glide through the finish line back at my starting pace! Watch says 13.24 miles in 1:38:56.
Car			I push Anna and Laura up the hill a half mile in the stroller as a cooldown. When's the next one?