We bought Paul a "big-boy" bike a few weeks ago and he loves it! He got the hang of it pretty quickly and it was so much fun to watch him pedal around. We should have bought it for him earlier in the summer but hopefully we have a few more weeks to enjoy it outside!

First Day of School

Tuesday was Paul's first day of Preschool and it went great! I think he was more excited about his new backpack than about actual school. We bought it the night before school and I had to convince him it wouldn't be very comfortable to sleep with his backpack!
Paul really enjoyed his first day and is excited to go again today. It's pretty neat that Paul is going to the same school that Ryan AND Grandma Diane attended!


Trying out his backpack the night before!

Great visit, great friends!

Our friends Jan and Susanne came from Germany for a 3 week visit! They brought their little guy Wito with them and we had a great time! Susanne is a great photographer and she shared all her pictures with me...she had so many I made a video to showcase all of them ( check out the video in the post below)!
The three weeks flew by! We had many laughs, adventures, and wonderful memories to enjoy!
A few highlights from their visit:

• A week at North Star Resort ( a wonderful cabin, beautiful lake, and much more)
• Several trips to Bob and Diane's new lakeshore property
• The big guys took the little guys to the Minnesota Mining Museum while I took Susanne shopping in Duluth
• A tour of Forest History Center and the County Fair
• Super dinners, conversations, and general merriment!

Can't wait for the next visit with our awesome friends!

Susanne and Jan's visit at OneTrueMedia.com

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Trip to South Dakota

In early May, Paul and I went to Pierre with Bob and Diane to visit the Prunty family! Paul did really well on the long drive to South Dakota but his DVD player really helps. It was so great to see Laura, Shane, and of course, adorable Baby Sierra who turned 1 while we were there...wow, did that first year fly by! I can't believe she's already 1 and walking! Paul did really well with Sierra and loved playing with all of her toys.

We had a busy visit...a ladybug birthday party for Sierra, a few garage sales, a great long run with Laura, Sierra's baptism, and a short trip to the horse races. We also took Paul to the local children's museum when it rained and it was a great interactive museum!

I'm so glad Paul and I went on this trip!

Playing at the children's museum inside the huge indoor treehouse

Checking out the fish with Grandma Diane

Sierra's beautiful ladybug cake made by Grandma Diane!

The Prunty family!

Pizza Recipe

This canadian bacon and asparagus pizza has become one of our favorites this spring! I adapted it slightly from a recipe I found in "Runner's World". Paul loves it as well and it's a healthier version of a "traditonal" pizza!

Ready-made pizza crust

1/3 cup Ricotta cheese

1/4 cup prepared Pesto sauce

8 aspargus spears (cut into 1 in pieces)

3 slices of Canadian bacon ( cut into small strips)

mozzarella cheese

Heat oven to 450 degrees. Blend the Ricotta cheese and Pesto sauce and spread over the pizza crust. Toss the asparagus spears in about a tablespoon of olive oil (I also added a bit of salt/pepper to the oil) and place asparagus on pizza. Add the Canadian bacon to the pizza as well. Bake for 10 minutes...asparagus should be bright green.

Remove from oven and sprinkle the mozzarella cheese over the pizza...I don't really measure, just enough to lightly cover. Cook for another 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Enjoy!! This pizza is so great and refreshing!

Race Report!

The whole family has been running this spring and summer! I ran a 10K with Megan and Tyson (in the pouring rain!) in April and ran the Fargo Half Marathon in May. It's too bad we didn't get a picture of us soaking wet during the 10K race! I plan to do a few races this summer and fall and can't wait for my new Garmin GPS watch to arrive!
Paul ran in a kid's race in Grand Rapids and it was so fun to watch! Each child got a T-shirt as well as a race bib which Paul thought was pretty awesome. He took the race VERY seriously and really enjoyed himself. The next day he would tell Ryan and I how tired he was from his big race! I think I have a future running partner!
Ryan has really been running and lifting weights consistently this whole spring and has also run a few 5k's...he's also dropped close to 25 pounds, way to go!! We plan to do a couple of 5k's this summer together which should be pretty fun!

Watching Daddy run a race that went right past our house...he had a great time cheering on all the runners!

Way to go, Daddy! Check out that stride!