Summer Time Fun

We're into full-fledged summer activities in our house. Having already been to the beach twice, done a bonfire, visited Hoover Dam and went on a weekend getaway to Lake Mohave.

We've also had a good time entertaining the Norwegian relatives (Erik & Erik), or I should say they've been entertaining us. Here's a note my Eric and I posted on Erik's (cousin in Norway) facebook just last night:

The top 10 things Erik and Erik learned in California...

1) Only one person had a red bag on US Airways that first night
2) Hand towels are surprisingly absorbent...much better than full sized towels
3) Stingrays are not actually stepping stones
4) Sleeping on a bench in downtown San Diego is not a "cool" idea
5) Healthcare in the US isn't free!
6) Beer doesn't mix with antibiotics, but shots mix perfectly
7) The floor of the bathroom is much more comfortable than bed
8) Forty year olds are cougars too...particularly on the dance floor
9) Ducks will actually eat hurl and lung butter...
10) They suck at Sudoku

Please don't ask me to explain all of the items on this list, let's just say they all have meaning and involved a part of their "holiday" to California!

So what's up next for us? Well, Taylor and Sammie are at the local Girl Scout camp this week. And Taylor is a youth leader! Next we'll probably hit up the Lake again, maybe including a trip to Vegas as well. At the end of July we'll have our Church camp for a week - and then the countdown begins for the August fun. There's just too much going on in August to list!

The Mommy Muse

Off into summer we go
With a new 3rd grader and tweenager in tow
Seeking adventures both near and far
wondering what the limits of staying up late are

Setting up outings, camps and such
Why do children think parents don't know much?
Asking about cell phones, sleepovers and junk food
Brooding, hormones and a bunch of attitude

Getting the girls captive out on our boat
Forgetting the boys, new outfits, and TV remote
Holding them hostage in their youth a few days more
Tubing, and skiing and joking galore

Raising up two little ladies is no easy task
Asking God's guidance each day I must ask
Why must time speed by at such a fast pace
These are a few questions this Mommy must face

So onward we go, Eric and I
Praying we're raising them right in God's eye
Set the example, some good and not others
But doing our best as Father and Mother

May Days the Burton Way

Whew... We are looking forward to some lazy summer days around here! None of us have had the chance to "sleep in" for over 1 month! It's just the time of year when sports are wrapping up, school events take precedence, recitals, family comes from the other coast to find SoCal warmth, and these are just the predictable events! We've even had a few unpredictable happenings as well.

Taylor's Girl Scout Troop (me included since I'm the "Camping Mom") took a trip to San Fransisco to bridge from Juniors to Cadette's by walking over the Golden Gate Bridge. This adventure happened over Mother's Day weekend, and ended with 11 happy kids and 5 exhausted Mom's! All told the kids did fantastic and relished the Ft. Mason Youth Hostel we slept in, loved the cable cars and busses for transportation, really loved the airplane ride (Virgin America rocks!) and logged more than 14 miles on their tennis shoes. Upon getting home I slept for nearly 2 hours before getting up to a GREAT Mother's Day dinner provided by Eric and the girls.

Eric kept Sammie going all weekend while we were gone by taking her to Disneyland for a little Father/Daughter adventure. He got her to ride the BIG rides too - this was a true feat! They had a picture taken with Chip and Dale at a "Character Dinner" there, and I love it. How do you like Sammie's Goofy hat with ears? That's our Sammie :) Sammie also finished up our soccer season that weekend by competing in a team tournament. 3 games in one day - YIKES! Our little warriors finished in 3rd! Lastly, they surprised our neice (from Tennessee) with Balloons for her birthday.

The next weekend Taylor's soccer team competed in a Tournament in Temecula. It was HOT and windy! Two games were played each day, and they ended up in 3rd place. Another fantastic part of this weekend was staying with Eric's brother Jeff & Michelle - we call them MICK & SLICK. Michelle hooked us up with great meals all weekend long... this really helped us out tremendously since we were all tired from the heat on the soccer fields.

In between we met the Burton side of the family down in Oceanside for a beach bonfire. This was a "school-night" adventure for us, which resulted in exhausted kids the next morning. But it was worth it! There's nothing like a fire - roasted hot dogs, smores and friendly faces to make you feel good inside.

Lastly, one of Taylor's past teachers nominated her for a youth service award with the "Savannah's Organic Ranch" non-profit organization. She wrote a very nice essay nominating Taylor by depicting the ways Taylor has helped others locally, nationally and internationally. The result... we were invited to their annual charity dinner and she received a prize for 2nd place. She spoke at this dinner in front of nearly 200 adults about her civic service. Can you tell I'm proud of her? Then, her 5th grade teacher honored her in front of the whole school this morning with an award that said "Consistently Exemplifies a Scholar." The smile in her picture says it all! You should see the smiles on her parents...

No big deal - just did a 1/2 marathon...

It was pitch black when we left the comfort of home on Sunday morning at 4:30 am to pick-up my co-racer Kellyann. Arriving at the OC Fair Grounds in plenty of time, we (Eric, Craig, Kellyann & I) rode the 5am shuttle to the race start. As we milled about, making sure to use the porta-potty before the lines formed, the reality of the day set it... 13.1 miles is a LONG way to go!

Kellyann and I have been walking together since our oldest girls were in Kindergarten, but this was the first time we took on a big challenge. Yes, we'd walked 3 times a week for years, averaging about 5 miles each day... but 13.1 was a daunting task! We listened to Eric's advice and had proper shoes, socks, inserts for the shoes, hydration, and protein. We'd also timed ourselves individually to make sure that we could do the course in the 3.5 hours limit. At last check I was 15 minutes over, and this was NOT acceptable! So we settled on a strategy of walking for 9 minutes and running for 1 minute, bringing a stopwatch with us to make sure we didn't over do it. We also took advantage of hills and ran down them, even if that meant running before we got to 9 minutes.

How'd we do? Well, our strategy paid off! We finished the course in 2 hours and 57 minutes and we each have a medal to prove it! Eric finished the course in just over 2hours as did our friend Craig.

Soreness set in almost immediately and peeling ourselves out of the car was a bit of a challenge. But today is Wednesday and I've already played softball, done a 3-mile walk, and I'm ready for the final practice Coaching my little soccer team tonight. Life is good! But the best part is the elation at knowing the 1/2 marathon was more than possible, it's DONE! My knee's survived with plenty of icing and I'll live to walk another race... maybe the Rock 'n Roll 1/2 in Phoenix in January... it could happen!

This weekend I'm traveling with Taylor's Girl Scout Troop to San Fransisco to "bridge them to Cadette's" by walking over the Golden Gate Bridge! Sammie and Eric will have a blast together too as they're going to Disneyland and Sammie will compete in her first soccer tournament. Go Soccer Stars!!!

A day later...

Yesterday we participated in the MS Walk down in Carlsbad, CA. It was a wonderful day walking with Eric's family, but the heaviness in the air was knowing that Jean wasn't there to share in it with us. We've all known that the day would come where she wouldn't be at the Walk... and although the time arrived this year, we all felt the loss. She died in November, and she's dancing in heaven, but we missed her smile this weekend. Saturday would have been her birthday - which Eric marked by placing flowers at her grave. On Sunday, when we walked as a family, we wore tags that Julie had made that said "Team Remembering Jean" and it had a picture of her from college. The announcers noticed this tag and asked us about her. It was a cathartic moment for all of us, but greatly expressed by Eric's father, Ron.

In other news, the school year is marching on and the end of elementary school is fast approaching for Taylor. Last week I attended the parent meeting at the Middle School and I left being very excited for Taylor and the adventure that's ahead of her. She's going to have many wonderful times in Middle School - besides the academics. So while others around me sighed heavily with a feeling of loss for themselves, I smiled largely because I remember the great time I had in Junior HS myself. It was one of the favorite times in my life, and I pray it will be for Taylor as well.

Sammie is still hoping that she's going to get a dog soon. Her weekly crying over the prospect of a dog and how much better her life would be with a canine is increasing. In fact, she's been adamant about this for about 9 months now! I remember life with dogs (from my childhood) and I loved them, but I didn't really care for them... so I'm apprehensive! Eric is opposed, but I do believe that Sammie is pulling on his heartstrings and I don't know how long he'll resist. When he finally gives in our yard will be a thing of the past, as will some of our furniture. I know these are just things, but they will be hard things to look at with teeth marks in them! It will be like adopting a child if I recall correctly! No need to rush these things you know!

Next week Eric and I will both be in the OC 1/2 marathon. Eric will run it and I'll be walking it with my pal Kellyann. We've been listening to Eric's training advice and taking into account our speed, we've decided to run for a minute every 10 minutes. We have to finish the course in under 3.5 hours in order to earn our medal... and we're very hopeful that we can. We know that we can complete the distance, it's just completing it in the time allotted that we're leery of. WE CAN DO IT!! Taylor will also be running in this event, but she'll complete the final mile of a marathon and then earn a marathon medal. The other 25 miles she ran at school over the course of 5th grade - cool huh!

Mahalo Maui & Aloha

Would you expect anything other than a crazy update of our lives? Probably not and so why alter your expecations?

Over the spring break we finally took the much anticipated Maui trip and stayed at the Hyatt in Lahaina/Ka'anapali. Maui IS every bit as beautiful as everyone says. I loved that there were no high rise buildings, no billboards on the side of the road, and it felt small and lush, and so happy to be there. In our week we went snorkeling, lava flow driving, , luau oogling, kayaking, waterfall viewing, kite board amazing, and downright relaxing. The pool at the Hyatt had a waterslide that our girls lived in, and a cave with a waterfall that they swam through many times. By the time our heads hit the pillow each night, snores were emminent within 60 seconds! The pacific ocean was our full view from our room, along with a sideways glance towards Mount Halekalea. We fell asleep to the sounds of waves gently lapping the sand... aahhhh.

When reality hit that our week was over in Maui, we silently packed and trudged to the airport. No big travel news here - the girls are wonderful travelers. We capped our trip with a dinner at In-and-Out Burger before going home and it totally completed the perfectness of the week.

On Easter we shared a meal with Eric's Dad (Ron), Julie (Matt & Zack), and Martina and her family as well. (Lada, Rachel & Troy). We hid nearly 60 eggs for the kids to find and luckily they found them all. Each year I wonder though because inevitibally I'll find one rotting plastic egg in the garden sometime over the next 12 months and marvel at how something so cute could become so stinky!

All in all, it's hard to believe that our vacation is over, that the kids are back to school today, and that they only have 2 months left in school too! Yikes, time to start planning the summer!

Girl Scout Cookies & Soccer

That's all we are talking about these days... Girl Scout Cookies and Soccer. How many more cookies do we need to sell for each troop? How many stores will we be in front of over the next couple of weeks to see the cookies? How many more should we sell to get Taylor's troop to San Francisco? Does anyone anywhere need more cookies? I don't need more, stop me please before I eat another Lemonade cookie (my new favorite!)

Also, it's all soccer, all the time. Both girls opted for soccer this spring instead of softball. And it kills me to say this but, I'm really loving it. The girls show so much confidence on the soccer field that you cannot help but smile and enjoy the game. Since I'm coaching Sammie's team too, I'm getting a good workout twice a week with the little 2nd and 3rd graders on our team. Goalie training is very physical and that's a main focus of mine (while the other coach works on a few other speciality things.) Sammie is really spectacular and it shows. You should hear the sidelines when she charges the ball and steals it from the opposing team.

I'm also refereeing games so that Taylor's team can advance to the regional tournament. So far I've ref'd one game, and it was a VERY new experience. I chose a game in a different city, with teams that don't play in our city, and experienced ref's in the center and the other side of the field. To say that I messed up my sideline flag calls would be an understatement! Yes, I coach. Yes, I know the game. But it's very different to make the correct flag statement to indicate what just happened and what should happen next. Here's my most obvious oops... One team scored a goal and I put my flag up to say "Yippee they got a goal." A flag up usually means a penalty! Imagine my embarrassment when the center ref ran over to ask me the penalty call and I just sheepishly smiled and said "Oops! I mean goal? No flag huh?!." He smiled and very nicely said, "we all have our first games." So, the long story short is that I got better as the game went on, but I'm a long way from being anything close to consistent (or good at it - YET!)

Next month we're taking a vacation to Maui! I just booked the trip yesterday and we're ALL very excited. We've never been there and to say it's been on our wishlist would be an understatement. Now I need to get back to the diet and excersise to make sure my shorts and bathing suits fit - gulp... shouldn't have let myself go...

Talk to you soon and enjoy the St. Patrick's Day clip below:

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Kelly

Sammie is 8 and other news...

Our little girl had her 8th birthday party a few weeks ago and celebrated with a small slumber party in the theme of "Littlest Pet Shops." She wanted to forgo the traditional pizza in favor of cheeseburgers and fries, and she couldn't wait to stay up late with her little peeps! And they did... until just after Midnight! Everyone had a wonderful time and went home exhausted.

This month has been difficult for my Dad's health because his kidney (the new one) is under attack. His body finally created enough antibodies to start a full-blown attack on the new organ, and it has. He's been admitted to UCLA three times already this month for specific treatments, and this last time they restarted dialysis. I wish I new more about diabetes and kidney transplants to know if this is a good thing or a last ditch effort. In any case, we're praying for his health.

This past weekend a "Facebook" inspired reunion for my high school took place in Thousand Oaks. My BFF from Idaho flew in town and we went to the event together. It's always interesting to look back at the people that helped to shape you in high school and see where they are now. Some are parents, some are married, some are not. Many have lost hair, or gotten some "work" done. In any case, for me, it was great to be in the room and feel a confidence in who I am now and genuinely happy for those whom I saw and spoke with over their life accomplishments thus far. We didn't go to an affluent school, and I discovered some ugliness in the stories of HS that were recounted (from the home life of these chums) that I was blissfully unaware of at the time. I don't know how I would have handled it then. But now, I know where to go with it and I'm so thankful.

After the reunion, on Sunday morning Nicole and I drove to Ventura to meet another old and dear friend, Belinda. Belinda and I have been friends since 5th grade! In the past 8 years (that's how long it had been since we'd seen each other) she married and had a child. Her son, Justin, is now 4 years old and is so adorable. If I could have taken him home with me I would have, and I believe he would have gone with me too! We had a connection Justin and I!

So as our family heads into March we're looking forward to the start of soccer season, and the final 4 months of school. Taylor cannot wait to begin middle school and still has daily questions for me about it! I'm looking forward to the orientation so that MAYBE some of this questioning can come to an end.

God Bless You All and Thanks for Following our Family Adventure in Life!
Kelly

The Super Bowl!!

You will not believe the great fortune we have! We actually went to the Super Bowl this past Sunday!

It all happened so quickly too. Eric was offered tickets by a vendor on Thursday morning, and by Thursday afternoon I had the kids all setup for the weekend. I love our friends! Thanks Millers and Muellers!

We left on a fully-paid for trip to see our favorite team, The Steelers, compete for their 6th Super Bowl title. Our flight was direct to Tampa and on our plane was "Will.i.am" from the Black Eyed Peas and Sabrina, one of the Cheetah girls. She was also on Dancing with the Stars (very sweet to talk too and had a Cheetah suitcase!) Our hotel was nothing really fantastic... but who cares? We were at the Super Bowl!

Everyone was dressed in Black and Gold. People were high-fiving each other on the street. We walked about 3 miles from our hotel to the stadium and stayed there all day long Sunday. First we were frisked, then we went through a medal detector. And let me tell you this, no camera-bags were allowed! Yikes! So my camera bag was instantly changed into a purse. A purse was allowed and in we went after a quick scan of our tickets. The first stop inside was the NFL experience. This is wear you can actually try out many of the athletic feats these football players do (running, passing, blocking, kicking, etc.). You could also record commercials - which we did! Click on the Bank of America picture and you'll see that one too. Also, there was a ton of shopping, but picky as Eric and I are, we didn't buy too much.

Next came the BIG event, the Super Bowl itself! Pouring into the stadium was a sea of black and gold (and the occasional red shirt... whatever!). People were chanting on the way in... "Here we go Steelers, Here we go - CLAP CLAP." We made our way to our seats on the Club level and found ourselves looking at the Steelers end zone. There were many Cardinal fans around us, but they were quiet compared to the raging energy of the Steelers! Terrible Towels were swinging with reckless abandon. We were so excited to be there we couldn't stop grinning and high-fiving each other!

The festivities began with Faith Hill and then Jennifer Hudson - and it was spine tingling, and beautiful. The flyover by the Airforce Stealth Jets made me jump and the anticipation of the event was palpable! Next, the teams were introduced and entered the field to a fanfare of screams and fireworks - can you feel the excitement? With the game finally underway the back and forth of the score made it constantly emotional. The crowd cheered and boo'd, and yelled at one another, and chanted, and basically went CRAZY over the magnitude of the spectacle down below.

Half-time was cool to watch as the stage for Bruce Springstein was setup in a matter of minutes and people poured onto the field like a river going wild. He was so energetic that you couldn't help but dance and sing along. And... as quickly as it began, it was over and the game was back ON.

The second half became a little bit more exciting for the Cardinal fans, and we noticed that there were more of them around us than we would have liked. We also noticed a man who had drunk himself into a stupor a few rows behind us and Pittsburgh fans were cheering so loud into his ear and laughing as he didn't move! Look at this picture:

At the end, it looked uncertain for a minute or two, but Big Ben Rothlesburger pulled out another victory with the help of every Steeler player and a supporting cast of fans. I don't know that I've ever cheered so hard or so loud in my life! One thing is for sure though, it's an experience that Eric and I will never forget!

The three mile walk back to our hotel was full of fans, both the walking kind, the stumbling drunk kind, and the driving and honking kind. It was a non-stop walking celebration. And in the morning when we got up to catch our plane, and take advantage of the free ride to the airport we were offered by some Cardinals fans staying at our hotel (how lucky are we?), we were ready to get home and share this excitement with everyone else. And Will.i.am was on our flight home too, wow huh!?!

The girls were well loved and cared for in our absence, and they were as excited as we were to see them. One thing is for sure, watching football as a family will never be the same again! Thanks for enjoying the ride with us! Kelly

January Morning Ramble

Having just returned from my workout with my friend Kellyann, and checking on email, facebook, and other details (and distractions) I've realized that it's been three weeks since I wrote any update! Here goes!

Sammie had to have 2 teeth removed because she doesn't have enough room for the adult teeth to come in. We opted to let her have Nitris Gas so that when the dentist removed the teeth, everyone in a 20 mile radious would still have their eardrums in tact! The tooth fairy barely remembered this momentous occasion and flew in at 6:30 am to make sure Sammie was taken care of properly. Whew!

Taylor tried out for the Honor Orchestra for the Capo Valley School District and she was accepted, only 2 students from her school were invited to play violin in this group. The practices now begin and the performance will be in March. We're very proud of her.

My father is having some medication issues relating to his new kidney and he'll be going into the hospital overnight on Thursday of this week. Please join me in praying that they'll find the source of his problem and they're able to remedy the situation quickly. The smile has faded from his lips and it would be wonderful to see it put back.

As for me, well, I'm trying to eat better and maintain my workout schedule. This is hard business! I'm still playing softball every week on a team and unless I get lucky on base, there's not a lot of running involved at this weekly game for me. So I either need to pick up the slack at home OR start going to the batting cages to improve my hitting skills so that I can get on base more. Hummm.... decisions... decisions...

Lastly, Sammie is continuing to work on Eric for a dog. She wants one in the worst way and stears the conversation towards a dog at every opportunity. I don't know how long Eric will be able to maintain his composure on the subject, but only time will tell. Maybe if she tells him she'd name the dog "Rothlesburger" or "Steeler" she'd have more luck with him! Go Pittsburgh!

It's Arrived!!

2009 has arrived for us all, whether we were ready or not! I don't think I was quite ready to realize that in 2009 my oldest daughter will go to Middle School and being Ivy League College minded we're going to have to see a college counselor this year to get her on track! I also don't think I was quite ready face the reality that my diet is WAY off track and I need to get back on target now. I guess Oprah is not the only one!

In the last three weeks our family has been busy as usual, but we enjoyed the pace of visiting family and having family visit us. We embraced the Christmas season head on by letting go of little things (like cooking meals - or maybe that was just me) and opted for convenience to stay later visiting others or in service to our church or community. We spent Christmas with both my parents and brother (and James... wish Danny was there too), and having all of Eric's side of the family over for a huge celebration as well. We were so fortunate that everyone attended including all siblings and their children (we missed Ben), and Martina & Lada's family, and Elyssa too. Yes, this was the Elyssa of our past - and I'm happy to report that we've seen her a few times this past month and each time was marked with laughter and goodness. She's doing well in school as a Junior at the local HS.

Following our big Burton Party we traveled along highway 1 North towards Aunt Barbara's House for a week-long visit. We stopped for a night in Monterey to enjoy the aquarium and the beautiful town. The kids really liked this place and hoped that we'd return soon. With Aunt Barbara and her beau Fred we did so much! We went wine tasting in the Russian River Valley, ice skating in Santa Rosa at the rink Charles' Shultz (think Peanuts cartoon) built, went hiking in Windsor, visited the original Powell's candy shoppe, bought crab for New Year's Eve at Bodega Bay (the spot of "The Birds" movie), visited downtown San Fransisco, and played games every night. We were all so exhausted but didn't want the fun to end! One of the best parts of this trip was that it was our first to her home. However it won't be the last. The kids did a great job budgeting their souvenir money - at least Taylor did! Sammie blew it all in Monterey - oh well... we'll keep working on it.

And now on to business as usual... get some food in the house, get the laundry done, take down the Christmas decorations, exercise (Maybe this should be first?), and get a shower... So much to do -