Jeff's triathlon

This weekend Jeff did the triathlon in our neighborhood. About 2 weeks prior he learned that he didn't actually sign up for the sprint distance, but rather the Olympic distance, the only distance they were offering this year. He did GREAT!! And he arrived home from a business trip the evening before at 10:30pm and the kids hadn't seen him since Monday. The kids and I went to watch and cheer him on the next morning.

Jeff coming out of the water from a 1500m swim.

Jeff about to leave on his 26 mile bike ride. Uphill twice. Really uphill.

And he's off...

On his way back in.

Now time to run 6.2 miles. Kyle really wanted to run with him. And Emily too. Jeff obliged. So they ran some short distances with him and LOVED it. The evening before the race, Kyle told me how he really, really, really wanted to do the race with Daddy. Look out triathlons, Kyle can't wait to race!

Clean plates

This was a pretty momentous event! Kyle and Emily both cleared their plates tonight! Now they aren't really expected to clear their plates, but there are some meals they just love and tonight happened to be a new one and a big hit for them both! We had green lentils with rice. In the lentils, I also included onions, carrots, tomatoes, freshly ground cumin & coriander, and a dash of cinnamon. To top it, there was a tiny bit of butter, feta and cilantro. And they gobbled it all up! They were both pretty impressed with themselves.

Miko plays piano

Kyle sure does love his Miko. He goes everywhere with him and even plays the same games he plays. This morning, Kyle & Emily were having a concert in my room. And Miko was playing the piano with Kyle.

Sleeping monkeys

These pajamas were too cute to pass up for my little monkeys. They were both so excited to wear them after they finally made it through the wash (which is actually just one day in our house since I'm of the load-a-night school).

You think he likes monkeys?!

Sleeping monkeys

Torrey Pines

Today Kyle, Emily and I went up to La Jolla for our something fun adventure. We met some friends at Whole Foods for a snack and then went to Torrey Pines for a hike. Believe it or not, we started at the bottom, walked up the path and made it to the Guy Fleming Trail Loop, walked the short way to the ocean and checked out a spectacular view of the Pacific and San Diego. (Jeff & Adam - this was the old 'punishment run' with the 1000meter repeat path, but thankfully there was nothing punishment about it today). It was so nice to just walk up this path slowly and enjoy everything around us. Kyle and Emily were troopers making it up and back all on their own without being carried! Kyle just wanted to run up most of the way. Emily loved checking out the wild flowers. Both of them seemed to appreciate the amazing views.

At the bottom:

On the Guy Fleming Trail:

Posing and enjoying the view of the ocean:

After our hike, we went back to Whole Foods for a delicious lunch of Greek salad, orzo and sushi. Chryssi & Spike, remember Whole Foods sushi Sunday? The kids were loving the sushi we shared there today, just how we used to!

First day of tennis preschool

First day of preschool, September 14, 2010. Kyle and Emily, 4 years old. 

1st day of preschool

Today was Kyle and Emily's first day of preschool!! We were all very excited for their new program!! And all went smoothly the first day. They were very brave and walked right into their class with their teachers and new classmates.

Ready to go inside to learn!

Tennis practice time

When we got home, Kyle had run around so much at school and then afterward with some new friends from class, he was very sweaty. By the time I had gotten in the door, he had taken off his shirt and was on his way upstairs to put on non-sweaty clothes.

These are from their second day of school - some action shots:

Two wheeler!

So the training wheels on Emily & Kyle's bikes already needed replacing. They are clearly kids who love to ride their bikes. When the new wheels for Emily's bike arrived first, both Kyle and Emily insisted they wanted to try riding a two wheeler. Okay. Why not? We put on knee and elbow pads and started off. Kyle first.

I started off holding the bike up by the back of the seat for him, but he wasn't really needing my help. So I let go, but running along side him, I had my arms there to catch him if he fell. After about 10 seconds of this, he insisted he didn't need any help. He was right! I ran along side him, but not really able to help him unless he fell the right way. But he didn't need any help! He just got it! I really think he had a good sense of balance from riding his friend Dax's balance bike quite a few times. Nonetheless, it was amazing how he pretty much just got it on his first try without training wheels! The next day Kyle focused on using the pedal brakes, instead of his shoes to stop. The following day, he learned how to get started himself. That is, he learned how to coordinate the process of getting the pedals started with his balance, rather than me holding the bike up so he could start pedaling and then go. It really is amazing how fast this all came together for him! And he's just 4 years old!

Emily gave it a try as well, but she was uncomfortable with the wobble and kept reaching for my arms instead of the handle bars. She tried again the following day, but wasn't really interested, again because the wobble scared her. She will be ready when she's ready.

Please excuse the bouncing videos (first 2) from my running, as I felt I had to be nearby just in case. But he was just fine!

Kyle's first ride, on camera

And finally, this is a long one, but it shows Kyle a few days later, riding again, starting, stopping, one hand, turning all by himself. It is less bouncy, but I am riding my bike behind him so there is some wobble. And yes, you will see that he's still riding Emily's bike. Kyle's bike is just a little too tall to be a 2 wheeler bike for them just yet. It's fine for training wheels because they don't need to touch the ground when they come to a stop, but Kyle needs to grow another 1/2 inch before he can switch back to it as his 2 wheeler bike. So in the meantime, they have nicely traded bikes so they each can ride one safely.