Go Mommy Go!

Well now that the Danskin is done, I thought I'd post a little about how it went and what I've been up to since then. The Danskin was incredible!! I highly recommend it. I was so inspirational to see so many women of different athletic ability take on the challenge and soar. As for me, the swim was a little harder that I thought it would be because the water was a little rough that day, but I finished in 24 minutes. The bike course and run were both beautiful and let's face it, I was just happy to be done with the swim at that point, so it was all good. I ended up finishing in 1:51 (transitions and all), so a pretty good showing for my first time out. I did another super sprint (about half of the distance of a sprint) triathlon the following weekend. I ended up deciding to do that one last minute to be a swim buddy for one of my classmates from my open water swimming class. I think it was just as thrilling to see her finish as it was when I finished the Danskin the week before. Now I'm hoping to do my last triathlon of the season on Sept 19th. The course is identical to the Danskin one, so I'm going to see if I can make some improvements between now and then. Well, enough of that, now the pics.

My wonderful husband had these T-shirts printed for the day of my triathlon...

He had a few issues with the shirts though. "1st" he had an issue with their spelling of "1rst" and then the put down the wrong date. Needless to say, we got a good laugh and a great discount. Seriously though, I could not have done this without Scott's support and encouragement. Thank you honey! I love you and appreciate all that you do for our family.

We have a few pics of the day of the Danskin, but unfortunately we weren't able to get a whole lot because Scott was busy managing Matthew and I was hard to spot since I was wearing black and white, so by the time he realized it was me passing him, it was too late to snap a shot. He's threatened to come up with some type of crazy outfit for me next time so that he'll see me coming.

Getting ready. Do I look nervous yet?

On my way to the swim start. Ok, now I'm getting nervous.

The transition area.

There were about 3300 women participating in this event.

Hard to see, but lots of women swimming.

It's funny because in this pic, the water doesn't look so rough,

but with all those people swimming around you, it was.

And a special thank you to my mom and dad who traveled from Michigan to cheer me on- oh and see Matthew too ; )

Summertime and the Living is Easy

I posted this pic because it reminds me of the lazy days of summer. It seems like this is all that these two do on hot days. Although, I guess I would just lay around all day too if I was wearing a fur coat.

Again it's been a busy month for the Taylor family (I'm beginning to feel like a broken record), but we have been blessed with lots of out of town friends visiting and being able to share our home with them. A few weeks ago was Michael Shaw's baptism and our friend, Tim, his new wife Chris and their girls (Tim's daughters Claire and Abbey and Chris' daughter, Emma) were in town. Tim and I were honored to be Michael's godparents. It was a great time spent with friends and watching all of our crazy kids play together.

Matthew has continued to stay very busy this summer. He's been riding his bicycle and scooter all around the neighborhood and playing lots of baseball. We've also been visiting many of the local kid hotspots, including the Point Defiance Zoo, Seattle Center, the beach and many more. Recently, we made trip out to The Northwest Trek with our friends and Matthew's favorite playmates- the Sobba's. The kids had a great time and were able to see bears, mountain lions, wolves, coyotes, buffalo, elk and even got up close and personal with a moose having a little snack (see below). It was a great day and Matthew is still talking about it.

We were also thrilled to welcome home our friend, Tim Burns, from his year-long tour with the US Army in Iraq. We attended the welcome home ceremony for part of his unit and it was a very moving experience to see families reunited after a year apart. Despite one's political views, it gives a new appreciation for the sacrifices these families make to serve our country. Thank you and welcome home Tim and the 3-2!!

Fun, Fun, Fun

Sorry it's been so long since the last post. We've had lots going on. I can hardly believe that it's July already. I fear this summer is just going to fly by. We've been having a blast and there's more to come with lots of company coming into town and fun things planned.

As for what we've been up to so far, the Gig Harbor Maritime parade and Blessing of the Fleet was in early June. Matthew loved getting dressed up as a pirate and going to the parade. It was very long this year- two and a half hours!! The next day it rained cats and dogs for the blessing of the fleet, but it's still one of my favorite events.

We also had the opportunity to rent a beach house for a few days in June. The weather was fabulous and we had some friends join us since it was large enough to sleep ten. We BBQ'd, went fishing and just hung out on the beach playing in the sand with the kids. I got some great pics of Matthew with his "girls"...

He's also had a fair amount of "boy time" lately hanging out with David and Drew from down the street. We all went to the Gig Harbor airport to check out some WW2 planes. The boys had a blast crawling through the different planes and pretending to shoot down the enemy fighters.

We also went out with the Sobba family on their boat to watch an airshow over Commencement Bay on the Fourth of July. It was amazing how close the F-18 and C-17 were.

After the show we went to the neighborhood BBQ. It's amazing the amount of fireworks that happen here since it's all legally sold on the Indian reservations. David and Drew's dad was our pyrotechnics operator this year and put on quite a show. Matthew liked watching the fireworks, but from inside because they were "too noisy". Oh well, better luck next year.

Now we are anticipating the arrival of all of our summer company- Marc and Marcy Mickiewicz; the Gregory family; Grammie and Gramps; and Grandpa and Grandma Taylor. Lots of good times to come yet. Not to mention my big triathlon on Aug 15th- yikes! Well got to run for now. Hope you all are enjoying the summer.

Love,

Scott, Cheryl and Matthew

Visit to the Zoo Today

The Last Bits of May and Birthday Week

I realize this post is a little outdated but.....

Well, much to Matthew's dismay, his birthday celebration has come to a close. He certainly did have a great time despite being ill part of it. We kept the celebration low key on his actual birthday because he was just getting over a cold, but he partied like a rock star with his friends on Saturday.

Cake #2- baseball, his favorite

Auntie Julie and my godson-to-be, Michael

Swimming buddies, Jonas and Ronin, and their mommy

The Kunzl's- minus the two boys who were running around with Matthew

One of the other highlights from his birthday included riding his new bike with his buddies. He also got some other wonderful gifts from friends and family. A few of his favorites included his Lightening McQueen car (from Grammie and Gramps), his new baseball mit and hat (from Grandpa and Grandma Taylor), his new soccer net (from Nana and Grandad) and a really cool ball that changes colors when you throw it (from Godmother Ellen and Godfather Gary) and some goodies from Auntie Lynn.

The crew on their bikes

Nana came for a visit as well, and Matthew shared a little time on the beach playing in the sand with her.

Cake #1- Thomas the Train

One Happy Boy!!!

Tired Boy

Happy 3rd Birthday Matthew!!

Happy Birthday Matthew!! We love you so very much and are blessed and honored to have you in our lives. You are truly our "gift from God" and we are grateful for every fun-filled, crazy day we have together as a family.

Love,

Mom and Dad

Busy Boy

Well, it's been a while since our last post. No major events to report- which is a good thing sometimes. We've just been enjoying the nice weather (finally) and a chance to get outside and replenish the vitamin D stores. Matthew has been very happy because he's always been a big fan of the great outdoors, but now has become quite the fisherman. He's got a mean cast with his Lightening McQueen fishing pole, but has been disappointed that the only thing that he's managed to catch has been our neighbors cat, Maisey. We went to the Fox Island fishing pier the other day and let him go "live" with a hook and some frozen herring. Unfortunately, he seemed to prefer throwing the frozen herring in the water so that they could "go swimming with their friends". So we're really not sure how he's going to do when he gets a live fish on the line (if that ever happens).

We've also discovered that Matthew has a bit of a daredevil side to him. The Puyallup Spring Fair was a few weeks ago and Matthew was thrilled to learn that he was actually tall enough to ride some of the kiddie roller coasters. Most of it we got on video, so I will see if I can post a short clip later. He also loved the bungee/trampoline jumping and the swings. All of which gave his mom some heartburn.

In addition to being very adventurous these days, he's also developed a case of "Matthew do it" syndrome. He has to do (or at least try) everything. Most of the time, not a problem. But things like pour his own milk (from a gallon jug), roll up the hose in the yard or make his bed, well...they need a little improvement. He did ask to make scones the other day and did pretty well working with dough without much help from me.

On a rather sad note, Matthew's swimming teacher, Miss Kim, has found a new job and won't be teaching his class again until summer and then after that is going to retire from Kinderswimmer. She has been Matthew's teacher since he was about 3-4 months old. We're all sad to see her go, but wish her the best in her new endeavors. Well got to run for now and get my rest to keep up with the busy boy. Take care.