Jumble of June...

I feel like I say this every month...in awe that the previous month just flew by and we're on to the next. Time sure does fly when you're having fun. And fun, we are having...

We took the girls to see their first 3D movie a few weeks ago on a rainy Saturday morning. They sat still and watched the entire movie, eating popcorn until their tummies hurt.

 Izzy's gymnastics pic...she sure looks big to me here and is progressing in her class each week. I still love watching her learn skills that I used to do...just never gets old.

 Mike and the girls are growing raspberries in the backyard and they love checking them daily to see if there are any ripe ones to pick. Yum.

 I had the opportunity to run with the Special Olympics torch a few weeks ago to kick off the opening ceremonies. Five miles through Terre Haute wasn't the best but as soon as we got into the Athlete Village and ran a final loop around the stadium, it was all worth it. High fives and smiles all around.

 And of course it wouldn't be a McCulloch summer without Man Olympics (aka Beer Olympics). Missed out on them last year as we were moving into our awesome apartment. But this year we came back with a vengeance. Team 'Walk of Shame' cleaned house in almost every event and were the team to beat.

Mike crushed the 'how long can you keep your hand in a bucket of ice' competition.

 Our mini trike relay (complete with shots taken in between laps and peddling through a bubble machine fog) was priceless.

 We also cleaned house on the water balloon slingshot...

 I spent almost 20 minutes on this post. Barefoot. Had to throw water balloons at our competitors and even chug beers. Nothing stopped my inner zen from focusing. Crushed it. Also had cramped feet for a week. The price we pay for victory.

This beauty of a trophy (8-man bong) was worth the battle wounds and is now resting awkwardly (for me, as our neighbors catch a glimpse of this on a daily basis) in our garage.

 The neighborhood pool opened up and let me tell you how nice it is to be able to walk or ride our bikes to it. It's incredible. Convenient. Makes me happy. Izzy has taken to having her quiet time at the pool, always traveling with her "mah-za-zeens."

 While Laney Bug is growing some self confidence in the water every day.

Lots of swimming with her face in the water

 I participated in another CF competition - this time it was a team event, which I much prefer to individual ones. We had a pretty strong team, a lot stronger than where we were last year.

 This was a two day event and Friday night's wod we knew would be our strongest as it was an endurance focused workout. We placed 4th out of 18 teams that night, beating out two very strong teams that ended up in the finals (we, on the other hand, did not). This picture captures our excitement after learning we crushed our goal (and our competition). Me pointing to the clock and the rest of the team's excitement.

 My old pal, Karie, swung by to watch the final wod we participated in. She and I met in 4th grade and I love that we still occasional see each other! Such a great supporter and friend.

Thrusters

Team 'Deadliest Snatch'

 That same evening we celebrated Bri's baby-to-be with the Perfect Strangers. Never a dull moment with this crew!

 Nanny Maddie sent me this pic of the panty princesses

 The girls' latest obsession: raiding my closet.

 Cari and I swung by one of our favorite coach's new gyms where I was able to try my hand at the old rope climb. Haven't done them since I was probably in 8th grade but I still had it (and have the bruises on my shins to prove it).

 And just a few days ago we braved the elements and met the Fechtman family in the wilderness for some camping. Let's just say the car was just as full for 1 night as when we travel to Florida for 8 days. Shew! Check and check. Cross that one off our list. It was rainy but we survived. Girls slept like rocks. Me? Notsomuch. But we had a great time and have some solid memories to carry with us from this trip.

 Whole crew hiked about 3 miles...Izzy didn't complain once. It's a Christmas miracle! Buggy, on the other hand, was carried most of the way.

 The men navigating

 Fechtmans

 Blurry family pic...Lane is grouchy because her feet are touching the ground (read: she's not being carried).

 Hot dogs then s'mores

 Rain management via tent placement

 Ghost stories after dark...the kids giggled so much (so did the adults)

After a busy June, we're heading out for a summer break. Girls are staying with their grandparents while Mikey and I head up to Milwaukee for some Summerfest, Brewers game and brewery tours. Can't wait for some much needed R&R!

Happy Fourth of July!

US Masters National Championship

A few weeks ago Mikey competed in the 2013 U.S. Masters Swimming Spring Nationals. He qualified in many events and swam alongside 2,000 other swimmers from across the country. Here are the events he swam in and the place he finished:

Individual

·         1650 Freestyle – 4^th Place

·         500 Freestyle – 11^th Place

·         200 Backstroke – 14^th Place

Relay:

·         200 Yard Freestyle – 1^st Place

·         200 Yard Medley – 2^nd Place

·         Mixed 200 Yard Freestyle – 4^th Place

·         Mixed 200 Yard Medley – 8^th Place

The meet was a 4 day event at the IU N.atatorium, where the Olympic Trials have been held.

I went to cheer him on during the day for his mile event...this was his best event in college so it was special for me to witness him swim this one in competition.

Then I brought the girls to watch daddy compete. You can tell they loved it.

Mike's college swim teammate also competed, Kip.

Proud of their daddy

Here is Mike counting laps for Kip

Swimmers take your mark...

And Kip counting laps for Mike

Mike did an amazing job at Nationals, I'm so proud of him for all he's accomplished in swimming this year!

Izzy's on her way to kindergarten...

It's official: Izzy is no longer a pre-schooler. She is going to be entering kindergarten in the Fall and I can hardly believe how quickly time has flown by.

A few weeks ago Izzy's pre-k classroom had a graduation celebration complete with a slide show of her class throughout the past 5+ years. Izzy has been with this same group of kiddos since she was 11 months old and all of them will be going to different schools in the Fall, so I knew this day was going to be emotional. Izzy saying goodbye to her teachers and her friends.

On the way to the ceremony Izzy kept telling us how nervous she was about speaking, singing and dancing in front of such a big audience. I just laughed and told her she lived for moments like this; a new audience to witness all her material.

Saying the Pled.ge of Allegiance

While Luke proudly held the flag

Cutest two kids in the class.

The group performed a handful of songs and dances.

And each child had separate speaking parts. Izzy nailed hers.

One of the dances they performed was the Twist...where Izzy got to dance with her buddy Caleb. He twirled Izzy and she was grinning from ear to ear. I love Maggie in the background shakin' it up.

I'm going to have to keep this photo for her high school graduation...she just looks so grown up here.

Every child was awarded with a 'Certificate of Silly Award' and Izzy's was for "The Tiny Dancer." Her teacher told the audience that Izzy was always asking for music to be turned on and she would dance constantly around the room, even to lullaby music. Give this girl a beat and she will drop it like it's hot, that's for sure.

This is Izzy's pre-K teacher, Ms. Scott. Izzy adores her and already misses her. Ms. Scott is an incredible teacher, honing in on students' strengths and letting them shine, while also paying special attention to their weaknesses to ensure they succeed. Izzy loves Ms. Scott so much and their school wouldn't be the same without her. I'm excited to see what Laney will do in her class this year!

Izzy's buddy Audrey

This crew....they have been buddies for years. And each one of them will be parting ways for kindergarten. Maybe they'll all reunite in high school one day. Until then...

And these pictures, oh my. When I sent the above picture to Jaime she immediately sent me the picture below. I can't stop looking at them. All four of us have grown and changed so much over the course of the 5 years. So much has happened. Yet so much has stayed the same. These little kiddos have known each other since birth. Jaime and I met while they were in our tummies growing. And here they are, all grown up. And heading to kindergarten.

Let the floodgates open. Jaime and I were hit pretty hard with the graduation. It's a big life change / rite of passage for the Littles. And for us mommies at the same time. Just another sign of them growing up. And I love every minute of it.

Gala-vanting with the Girls..

A few weeks ago all of my running girlfriends gathered gala-style (not to be confused with gangnam style) to celebrate our dear friend, Meggie Dials. You see, Meggie ran for the Luekemia and Lymphoma Society's Woman of the Year and you can read all about it here. She has done some pretty incredible fundraising for this charity in such a short time frame that we'd be remiss to pass up this opportunity to support Meggie and celebrate all she has done.

We all got dressed up and met in a penthouse suite beforehand to raise our glasses to Meggie...Salud!

Cocktailing

Gun showing

Step and repeating...

There may or may not have been some dancing. Or splits. Or handstand push ups. Let me just tell you this...it was quite possibly one of the most fun evenings I've had with these ladies!

Sure was fun to get out of our running clothes and into our fancy clothes to share a wonderful evening together. We started out as Perfect Strangers and here we are, raising each other up as if we were sisters. So proud of you, Meggie, and all you do!