Bragging rights?....

I ran a 15k (9.3miles) race in 1:21.16.  

Two things about that...

1. I ran 9 miles

2. I did it a whole lot faster than I thought I would do it

Shirley Temple....

A couple of weeks ago, the kids and I went to the library for some new books and movies.  Molly chose a Shirley Temple movie.  I was curious to see if she would like it.  The kids have not seen a lot of real people movies/shows - they are still into animation!  You could choose between watching it in black & white - like it was made - or in color.  We chose the color one, and we were off.  The first time they saw it Molly commented - "this is weird."  We didn't get to finish it that day, so yesterday she asked if she could finish it while I showered.  I said yes.  I came out to catch her in the act of trying to tap dance while Shirley Temple - aka Betsy - was dancing and singing.  It was the cutest thing I could imagine.  The best part was that she did not know that I was watching.  Maybe she will want to take some dance classes so that I can have a picture of her dressed up in a costume in a dance pose picture like the one my mom and dad have of me when I was young!

Why I am a mom...

Picture #1 is actually the end of the photo shoot.  The kids started to "sit" on me too much, and we were a tumbling tower!  Picture #2 is actually one of the first ones, and Molly surprised me with a kiss on the cheek.  I think my face is worthy of a laugh.  Picture #3 is a favorite.  Kyle got the shot, and one to be cherished when they are grown and out of the house and too far away to come visit me on Mother's Day!  Thanks for the day, Jack and Molly.

My kids on Mother's Day...

We went to a local park that is VERY popular with Eugeneians on Mother's Day.  It was a wonderful day filled with sun.  Jack was most excited about getting to use the camping chair.  I love the picture of him with his shoes.  The look is a classic Jack smile, and the fact that his Nikes made it into the picture is great.  He is in love with his new shoes!  The pictures of Molly make me smile from ear to ear.  I love the one of her in her camping chair.  She is looking back at Kyle and smiling - knowing that she is smiling at something her dad is doing makes the picture all the better.  I snapped the picture of her in front of the azalea late in the day.  I love the facial expression - also a classic Molly face.  I love my kids, and I love that they made me a Mom on Mother's day!

Molly's artwork...

I wanted to share a couple of Molly's art pieces, because I have been surprised at how well she colors inside the lines.  I know that she is not perfect at it, but I think for her age she is doing great.  She loves to have people draw the hearts so that she can color them in.  I think she might be my artist!

Green grass...

Kyle has worked REALLY hard to make the grass green in the backyard.  I thought I would share this photo so that all could see how he is doing in his efforts - pretty darn good!  The kids thought they would have fun in it the other day.  Although they might not look like it in the photo, they loved rolling, laying, and crawling in the green green grass Kyle has grown us this year!  Well done, Kyle.

Our garden of color...

There are MANY pictures that follow.  We love our plants here at the Parker "ranch."

I love maple trees.  We had a friend thin and trim this one last year, and look at how it is already full and the one branch is touching the ground.  My how things grow in Oregon!

This is a fothergilla.  We have two this year, and we love them.  I really like the white airy flowers they get in the spring, and then in the fall the leaves will turn a really brilliant yellow.

This is our planter out front.  Last year, my mom and I transplanted some calla lily and asiatic lily bulbs that were so scrawny from the backyard - it was the middle of summer and so not the time to transplant bulbs!  They have come back and are doing great.  The calla lilies are the ones closest in the picture.  The asiatic lilies are the ones on the other side of the planter.  They have not bloomed yet, but I can see the flowers ready to come through.  I will post pictures when they are in full bloom.  We filled in the rest of the planter with some daisies and geraniums.  Also, the heads of the dahlias are just beginning to come through the dirt.

Our red azalea before the blooms fully opened.  They are unbelievable now!

Our purple azaleas.  We have two of these right outside of our front door.  They are amazing and the pictures do not do justice to them.  They are electric in color, and again make me smile every morning I get to gaze on them.

Our red/pink azalea.  This is a really old azalea that we thought we would do some pruning on this year.  We will see how it likes it this summer.

We call this our Molly rhodie in honor of Molly.  She loves the color of the blooms because they are pink.  We were driving today and she said that she saw flowers the same color we have in our yard.  I asked what color that was and she said you know the Molly flowers!

Our pink dogwood bloomed!  We also have a white dogwood, but I could not get a good picture of it.  Last year they did not bloom, and I was most disappointed.  So this year, I am really happy to see the blooms.  We watered and fed them - my what a difference such care makes!

Our white rhodies.

We have more color to come, so you will have to check back to see more pictures.  I am sure that you are bored of the pictures, but we here at the Parker "ranch" love color!  It is just one more reminder of the beauty God has created for us to enjoy and bring me smiles!

My beloved orange azalea...

These pictures are out of order, so bear with me.  This azalea makes me smile every year.  I love it.  I not only love the color, but also the amount of color that it brings to my backyard.  The first picture was taken a couple of days after the middle one.  I hope that you can see how much fuller the blooms are in the first picture.  It has only continued to grow!  With all the blooms and ALL of the rain, it now looks like the branches may break off.

Thanks for the visit...

Our friends Sam and Matthew came for a visit last week.  It was fun to have them around, and we enjoyed the company of friends from so far away!

Ice cream...

The other night we let the kids have a "picnic" of eating ice cream in the family room while watching tv.  You would have thought the earth came to a stand still.  They were beyond excited about all these things coming together - 1.eating ice cream, 2. eating in the family room, 3. watching tv.  It was fun to see their simple joy!