We love you Cam Wam! We are so glad you joined our family 1 year ago.
Love, Mom, Dad, Andrew, and Beck

Last night while sitting at Danica’s soccer practice Alyssa and I were playing pretend. First she wanted to pretend she was my baby, as she always wants. But then she said “I want to be the mom, see look, I’m running so I’m the mom!” I’ve never been more proud. I’m glad she got to see me running this past weekend as we ran the IE Island Half Marathon again.
This was our third time to run this race and we decided to take the kids and try camping for the weekend. It turned out to be beautiful weather and we had a fantastic time with great friends! I’ll begin with the details on the race, since it was the root of the trip although it only took a few hours of the weekend.

We nearly missed the start of the race because we spent too much time hanging around seeing the island on Saturday and by the time we got back to camp, got ready and coordinated the logistics of it all we left late to head over to the starting line. Then we got caught behind a 3K fun run and couldn’t go around... we finally took a small side street and parked figuring we were close enough. We were dragging the kids down the street, turned a corner and kept going until I finally got nervous wondering how far we really had to walk. So I left Tom with the kids and ran back to the car (my warm up lap). I picked them up and we drove another mile or two before getting caught by the fun run van again. We were so far away, we never would have made it if we’d just kept walking!! Still we couldn’t get as close as we wanted but the race was starting in like 10 minutes so we parked quickly, jumped out and carried/pulled the kids up the big hill, past the people finishing the fun run. We settled the kids quickly, hit the bathroom and looked around for our friend who was going to watch the kids. The race as going to start in about 3 minutes....could we just leave the kids?..would our friend show up? His wife was running it with us, would she make it?.. oh the stress... nothing like a little pre-race adrenaline. Finally we spotting them racing toward us. We hollered thanks as we passed and dashed to join the others at the starting line. With barely enough time to stretch my hamstrings the gun went off and we headed down the hill we had just trudged up....

I have been training hard with running, biking and cross fit and was really excited to go into this race injury free. No knee pain at all, probably due to being stronger and my awesome new shoes Mizuno Waverider 14’s... I love them. Anyway, I kept going back and forth between trying to run it fast and just enjoying it and in the end I did both: I enjoyed running it fast. I’ve been doing my intervals and tempo runs and it paid off. From miles 6-11 I felt like I was flying through a flat/downhill portion of the race. It was an exhilarating feeling. I wanted to sing along at the top of my lungs but managed to retrain myself as I ran. As I approached the final hill up to the finish line I was nervous to look at my time but couldn’t resist a glance. To my amazement it said 1:37. I realized that If I really powered through the hill I could finish in under 1:40. The song Power of Love (you know, the one from Back to the Future) came on and I put my head down and climbed. At the top I saw the kids cheering on the side line so I started yelling and waving as I sprinted in the finish area crossing the line 1:39:11. Average pace 7:28. I was thrilled and felt great! It was a good race for me.

It has proven to be Tom’s nemesis as each year things have not gone well for him and he has yet to show his true potential. He is fit, strong and fast right now and has been training well. For most of his runs he hovered right around 7:30, usually below it and even did one of his 10 mile runs with a pace of 7:24! Insane. He was ready to rock this race but murphy had other plans and on Friday morning as we were packing and prepping to head out to the island he just started coughing and wheezing, his voice became weak and hoarse and it got worse as the day went on. That night he could hardly breath so he couldn’t sleep in the tent and ended up sitting upright in the van all night...ugh...I tried to convince him not run the race but he wanted to at least try. Somehow he managed to still crank it out and finished in 1:47. A very admirable time for tough, late afternoon race even if you aren’t sick!! I don’t know how he managed to do it so fast when his lungs were so sick. He’s disappointed because we know he could do it faster if he were healthy but I am still amazed he did it!!! We look forward to the next half being in the states, on a nice crisp, clear morning where he can really shine! He’ll smoke us all.
As for the rest of the weekend, the camping was fantastic. We left Friday morning and headed up to the northern port, just past Nago where we got on the ferry. It was a smooth ride with no seasickness and we were there in 30 minutes! We drove to the campsite and set up. As we talked around Hayden said “it doesn’t feel like I’m in Japan anymore.” He was right, it felt like we were in a beautiful mountain forest. However, upon further exploring he discovered the beach was also just down the hill! Paradise. These are not good pictures of me and my friend Ali prepping to cook spaghetti (the meal the night before the race) but I included them because in the first shot you can see the tents set up behind us in the shade of the trees. In this second shot you can look past us and see beach through the trees, it was that close!! We don’t have any other pictures of the campsite... I’ll have to see if any of my friends got good shots. We were too busy relaxing to take pictures I guess!

The kids climbed trees, played in the sand, caught crabs and cooked s’mores. We enjoyed great weather and with the exception of poor Tom we all slept pretty well. The next day we hiked around through some caves and tried to steady the pre-race nerves. During the race the kids all played on the playground at the finish line. Then we headed back, showered in the beach shower and went back to the race party to get American Dogs (corn dogs), Yakitori, Taco Rice and Fanta Grape for dinner. That night we made s’mores again and Hayden and his friend Landon stayed up late playing in the fire and getting so dirty they had to bath in the faucet. It was a dream come true for him. As a reward for running my friend Ali made a huge chocolate chip cookie dough CHEESECAKE!! It was a dream come true for me.

We headed home the next morning. On the way back to the port Tom and Hayden walked to the top of a small volcano in the center of the island and enjoyed the view of the entire island surrounding them. We listened to Conference all the way home and enjoyed a peaceful day. What a great trip to a beautiful place!!! I wish were going to be here to run this race again next year!!! (Although I won’t miss the 3:10pm start time!! Ugh!)

Guess I should pipe in and give you all an update on the new life in Portland. I've been in my own place for a bit over a week now and I am starting to feel settled, like this is my new home. I am anxious to get out a bit more and explore my new neighborhood but I've been spending most of the time I have outside of work getting things set up in my apartment. It is definitely a work in progress. There are a lot of things I still need to get to have it really feel put together but all in good time, I suppose. I made the decision to have no cable and I am dealing with it ok. Funny how when I have it, I rarely watch it but when I don't, I am totally aware that I don't.

Work is still going well. The busy season is coming up quick and I have a feeling I am going to be at work A LOT over the next couple of months. I can't believe we are already halfway through April - so much to do! We have had some staffing changes to our team so we are all dealing with a shifting of responsibilities and my plate is getting pretty full. I feel like people are daily coming up to me to take on another project...I am still enjoying it though. I have a big project coming up where I will be the main point person on a rebrand for the whole company so I am really excited to take that project on.

What else? What else?...My next big non-work, non-moving event would be going down to San Diego at the end of May for my graduation ceremony. I'm pretty excited to experience some warmth - seriously though people, what is going on up here??? will I ever be able to wear my flip flops again???

I'm definitely feeling the need to visit a movie theater soon so if anyone else is feeling that urge, give me a shout! I'd love to go catch a flick with someone!

Oh and I have found a couple of places down here already - one is Elephants Deli. It is on 22nd Ave and Davis St. and is this awesome deli that has TONS of different kinds of food. It is sort of cafeteria-style where you pick what you want from a bunch of different sections and pay for it at a central register before you eat. Best part - it has a free parking lot! The other place, which I actually still need to visit, is called Ken's Artisan Bakery. It is just around the corner from my apartment so I am gonna try to get over there this weekend for breakfast or lunch some day. It has really good reviews on Yelp and their food looks delicious in the pictures.

Parking hasn't been too bad so far. The farthest I have had to park is about a block away (knock on wood!). Although the Timbers (soccer) season is starting tomorrow and apparently I live in the restricted parking zone for the games. So I have to get a special parking permit to be able to park for longer that 90 minutes during game times. I haven't gotten my permit yet so I'm gonna have to figure something out for tomorrow. May be spending some time at Powell's or Anthropologie!

Well, once I get all these empty boxes out of my apartment, I am excited to have you all come to visit! Here are a few pictures of the place - remember, work in progress...

Kitchen

Kitchen side of doorway to dining room

Dining room to Kitchen

Bathroom

Pretty much the extent of the living room right now - thanks for the couch B&B!

Front door

Down the hall from the living room

Dining room

Bonus room

Bonus room from other direction

bedroom - with the curtains I am trying to make work...

Mom is cleaning out her study because she is re-doing the whole thing. With all this cleaning, she is going through all of her files. Tonight she handed me a bunch of papers of mine to go through which ended up being extra wedding invitations and a bunch of report cards from school and some other gems. I ended up taking home three things from the pile. One of these little gems was a poem I wrote my senior year of high school in my British Literature class. I read it for Marnie and Mom. Marnie said if I did not put this on the blog, she would. So here I go. It was an assignment to write iambic pentameter and we had to do it in like 30 minutes and it had to be about our families.

In the family, sisters three, brothers four
Me, the youngest child, kept home alone
Mike, at thirty three, always slammed the door.
Dave, at twenty nine, drills to the bone.

Those are only two, just wait, five to come.
Brent, at twenty eight, was the one I love.
Tom, at twenty six, brings comedy home.
Onto the three girls who bring all the love.

Marnie, at twenty two, San Diego she lives
At San Diego State, works for a degree
Anne, at twenty
Living the married life, no more a tease.

Then there's me, at eighteen, ready to go
Wraps up my family, just a big show.


That's the poem...

The kids were quoting lines from Kid History episodes 1-4. It was annoying at first, then I gave in and watched it with them. Absolutely hilarious. I've been meaning to add it to the blog but kept forgetting. I saw it on the Beech Tree blog, and it reminded me, so here it is. This is the first episode, but all 4 are funny. (I have no idea why it is expanded outside its borders).

Dave

Time is going way too fast... I need it to really slow down because I am having a great time and am not ready to leave yet! After nearly 3 years of being anxious to get off this island I now want to stay... life here is too easy... no decisions to make... I just live in the house they gave me, go to the school nearby, shop at the only store, drive the cheapest car we found on the lot that was big enough to fit the double stroller and we spend our free time exploring paradise! Who would want to leave? I think that all my family and friends that I miss so much just need to move here and then it would be perfect!
It’s just barely starting and I”m already stressed out thinking about which house to buy and in what school district, what kind of car to buy and where to get it....and that’s just the big stuff...I”ll need to furnish a house, get a cell phone, buy a washer/dryer, lawn mower, etc.... it’s just too much.... listen to what we’ve been doing here and you’ll agree we should just stay put and live on vacation!

Yesterday we got home from church and it was so beautiful out that we had to have a family adventure. So we set off toward Ikei island, a small island connected by a bridge that we’ve ridden our bikes to but never taken the kids or gone with time to explore. On the way we passed some castle ruins and suddenly stopped and got out to walk around and enjoy the view.
Then it was off to the islands where we looked at the fish, the gorgeous water and serene beach... it was heavenly and a great way to spend time together. We had the whole beach to ourselves!




Saturday we enjoyed the kids soccer games in the morning. Danica has come a long way since the last game where she cried the minute the game started and this time she actually touched the ball twice!! Hayden did well and is learning to be more aggressive. After that we dropped the kids at the once a month free day care and were prepping for nice bike ride when Tom got called into work. So I called my great friend here and talked her into riding with me. We set off on a 46 mile ride out to Ikei island. It was a beautiful, tough, long ride. I felt so lucky to have a friend to come with me and gorgeous place to ride...Tom picked up the kids and we watched Tangled and had Pizza Hut for dinner.

A few other fun things we've been up to:
On Wednesday we found a new park, called the Treehouse park. The girls had a blast running around and sliding down.

In other news... Alyssa got her new teeth on Tuesday. She didn’t want them and cried through the appointment but was still compliant. It took a few days before she got used to them but now she’s back to normal and they look great!!! We’re really excited that she was able to get them!
Before:
After:
Hayden has been running a mile every night with Tom. It’s been a great experience both physically and mentally. He literally cried through the entire first mile it was so hard and he was so angry. We decided he needed to work on running after watching him at his first soccer game where he was just so winded, gave up chasing the ball quickly, and had no form. After the first few nights of runs he began to improve and started to like it. Now he asks Tom when they are going to run and is working on getting faster. I hope this lesson can help in other areas in his life because is a chronic “quitter” who only does things that are easy. This is a clear example of sticking with something hard and the benefits that come from it!
He participated in the science fair again this year and was able to go to districts again. It’s a great experience for him and he enjoys the day of learning and fun activities. I was able to go with him and loved watching him in action!
Danica is loving her new gymnastics class!
That about sums up things here... we are looking at flying out of here on June 18th, just after the last day of school...we'll keep you posted as the details come together!!!

Next great family game. Plays up to 7 in about 30 minutes. Fantastic. First run sold out. Second run is in stock now. Thoughthammer.com or funagaingames.com are good online shops.



-- Post From My iPhone

http://jenniferbarnesphotography.com/

A large, fake spider in my bed. All of Dave's belts missing and hidden, along with his razor. An alarm clock stuck under Isaac's bed, going off at 3 am. Sugar in Morgan's shoes. Green soap on the door knobs. Soap on the toilet seat. Just a hint of yellow food coloring in the milk, so it looks spoiled (and really throws off taste perception). And all of this cleaned up before I head to, of all things, his Honor Roll Assembly. Because he's so stinkin' smart.

Adina