My Life With Power Rangers and Yummy Raspberry Jam

Mimi is in town and we found a great deal on Raspberries, so we decided to make some jam. This is the second time I have made jam. It's so fun and so easy. We made 10 jars of jam in just over an hour.




Mimi bought these AWESOME Power Ranger costumes for the boys. They are actually for "dress up "so that they will have "boy" dress ups instead of Lily dressing them up as princesses or girls. They had so much fun in these. I bought them other Halloween costumes, but I won't be surprised if they decide to wear these instead. Here they are doing a few kung fu power ranger moves and being fearless catching HUGE grasshoppers.

Happy Fall!

Just wanted to post a few fall pictures. I love this time of year. Watching the leaves change color, visiting pumpkin patches with the kids, and anticipating the holidays is so much fun for me. The leaves are in full autumn color. Those of you who have been or lived in the northeast at this time of the year know just how beautiful it is. Happy fall!

P.S. I admit, I didn't do my kid's hair this day. I just had to comment on this because Matt was making fun of their hair in these pictures, and me not doing it.

Completed Marathon...Check

One more thing to check off my list of things to do before I die. The marathon was AWESOME. It rained the entire time I ran, but I can't complain. I hoped and prayed for a cold day to run in. I run much better in the cold than in the heat. My time was slow (4:39:58) which averages out to about a 10 minute 40 second mile, but I finished. I started out doing around 8-9 minute miles, but when the pain set in around mile 20, I slowed to about 12 minute miles. Matt of course killed it again. Another Boston qualifying time of 3:15:40. Matt's sisters Heather and Joanna also ran and kicked butt! You girls are awesome! The day after the race I hobbled around like a little old lady, but it was worth it. Would I do it again? 100% yes...BUT, I need a running group. I'm tired of doing long runs all by my self.

The rest of the St. George trip was fun as well. We were not stop with fun, fun, and more fun. The kids loved hanging out with my mom's horses, swimming in my grandma's pool (Omi, as the kids call her), fishing, and and visiting with good friends. We were able to get together with Matt and Haley Hammons. We didn't get any pictures with them, dang it! And then we saw Laurie for our annual visit to the Olive Garden for Millie's birthday.




We also got to see and visit my grandpa. He is 86 years old and lives in an assisted living. He has dementia pretty bad and doesn't remember me too well, but we love him and enjoyed seeing him. Jack took a particular liking to him, and had no problem sitting on papa's lap. I know my grandpa enjoyed seeing the kids. As the adults talked, Lily, Jack, and Cole found entertainment with my grandpa's walkers We had to put a stop to it when they started taking other old folk's walkers as well!

Here are just a couple of pictures of Jack and Cole on our trip that I liked.

Fun times and good memories.

St. George Marathon or BUST

Most of you know that I am training for the St. George Marathon which is in 2 weeks. Those of you who don't know, guess what, I'm training for the St. George Marathon which is in two weeks! Anyways, as my training come to and end and my long runs are tapering, I thought I'd share a few thoughts about training in Erie, PA. Training in Erie, PA is...interesting. Here are some of my favorites things about my runs:
1. the wind- it doesn't matter which direction I'm running, I'm always running in a head wind.
2. humidity- gotta love feeling all wet within a few feet of the beginning of a 10 mile run.
3. hills- yup, up hill both ways. I never knew Erie was so hilly!
4. road kill- how do I make the time pass on the long run? Count road kill. Living out in the
"county"I have seen dead raccoon, Canadian geese (an entire family), squirrels, muskrats, ground hogs, cats (sad), frogs, snakes, skunks, mice, birds, and probably more, I just didn't know what they were after being run over so many times.
5. dogs chasing me-these country dogs sure protect their property.
6. dog bites- Yes, one of those dogs chasing me finally got me. It actually just happened this past Tuesday. I think it is the first time I have cussed in... well, several years. It did draw blood, but I am fine.
7. Dodging grasshoppers-Where do these things come from? They breed like rabbits. There are days that I spend my running making sure I don't step on grasshoppers. I DO NOT want grasshopper guts all over my new Asics.

Yes, running in Erie is very eventful. But there have been many highlight too like running in the Presque Isle 1/2 marathon, finishing an 18 mile run and feeling good, and getting in shape (I didn't say lose weight, just getting in shape).

Ready or NOT (emphases on the NOT), here I come St. George. What's my goal time: just to finish. Here's a look at the marathons elevation map. I'm LOV'IN the down hill!

Halloween...ALREADY!

We've got the Halloween spirit around here...already! It's hard not to when the stores start selling Halloween stuff 4 months early. We changed our blog header to fit our spirit and enjoy it for a month or two. I will admit, I do love Halloween. It means fall weather, fun decorations, and candy. My kids have already decided what they want to be...until they change their minds tomorrow. I promise, I won't start talking about Christmas until after Halloween!

Erie County Fair

We decided to head out to the Erie County Fair last night. It had a very small town feel to it, which is what I like when I go to the fair. The kids enjoyed animals, rides, corn dogs and cotton candy. Here are a few pictures of the evening.

Bitter Sweet Day

Today Lily started full day Kindergarten. It is kind of a bitter sweet day for me. Seems like I have been dying to have her go to school and be occupied and busy on a daily basis, but today when it came right down to it, it was harder for me than I thought. I guess I should have known when I got teary eyed from a WalMart commercial the other day about a little girl going away on her first day of school. Pathetic...I know. But this morning she was all smiles as she put on one of her school outfits, packed her lunch and stepped onto the bus. We are so proud of her and excited for her to learn new things and make new friends. Maybe by the end of the year she'll be reading me bedtime stories.


Here is a picture of her lunch. For those of you who know Lily and her eating habits, YES, that is a smoothie in her lunch. I never would have guessed we'd still be relying on the smoothies as a main part of her diet. And isn't her lunch purse cute...or as Lily would say, "it's sassy." It looks like a purse, but it's a lunch holder.

The boys started preschool today. They are pretty excited too, but Jack was pretty upset that Lily got to take a bus to school and he had to drive in the family car.

Here's to a great school year. I am proud of my three kiddos.

Baird Fam. Vacation '08

Every year Matt's family, including his parents and 5 sisters and their family, go on a family vacation. We love to head out west and let our kids reconnect with their cousins enjoy fun, sun, and relaxing. We really packed it in this time. Within a week we went to Sea World, San Diego Zoo, Disneyland, the beach, and still found time to swim in the hotel pool. Here are some pictures of our vacation. It seems like we look forward to our trips and do so much planning, and before we know it, its all over.































This picture of Jack with the 3 girls and Fairy God Mother is classic Jack. He always wants to be a part of everything. I love this picture of Cole at Disneyland with Grandpa Baird. We had a fabulous time thanks so Leslie (Matt's sister), who did all the planning. It's our turn next year to plan the trip....we can't wait until Baird Fam. vacation '09!

One World One Dream-Beijing 2008 Olympic Games

Did you see the opening ceremonies in the Bird's Nest! All I can say is WOW... AWESOME... SPECTACULAR. I guess when you have a 300 million dollar budget for opening ceremonies, nothing less should be expected. Matt and I love the Olympics , and although, sadly, it is also an event that brings propaganda, boycotts, political statements and discriminations, we try to focus on the Olympic spirit of honor, glory, fair play, friendship and peace. We love to watch world class athletes come together and compete in numerous events. Over 205 countries and 10,500 athletes will participate. Some of our favorite American hopefuls include Michael Phelps, who is aiming for 8 gold medals in swimming, Dara Torres who is competing in her 5th Olympics and is 41 years old and a new mom (also swimming), Dave Zabriskie (from Utah!) in cycling, and Shawn Johnson competing in gymnastics. Some of my personal favorite events include women's volleyball, canoe/kayaking, rowing, swimming and gymnastics. Can't wait to see how everything turns out. As I go out on my agonizing 13 mile run tomorrow AM, I'll just think of these athletes and the time and training they have put in to make it where they are. Just a few last words before the games begin......KICK BUTT USA!!!