"Summer of Determination" Goal MET

Summer of Determination Goal Post


dang i am proud of myself tonight :)

let me back up, yesterday i needed to squeeze in a run (mostly since i spent the afternoon napping) so i started running to my in law's house (we were on our way for dinner) and i had josh and the boys pick me on the way. i got in 3.2 before my ride arrived and then had them go another mile so i could run a bit farther. we made it in time for dinner and i felt good about my run. grandpa george is visiting and up until he was 80 (or close to 80), he was still distance running. he mentioned to me at dinner that he was proud of me. i let on that my true goal was to run the 8.2 miles to my in law's house.....and he said, well if you can run 4.2 then you can certainly run 8.2........

today i truly needed to squeeze in a run. i spent the majority of my day up in cadillac with my parents and my mom's aunts visiting. my 2nd cousin karen was talking about her running and the she has so far run 6 miles....and will be running a half marathon in october. her words and running were really inspiring to me....so when i got back, i  really really really wanted to run.....and i needed to get over to my in law's house. dinner was going to be at 6 and the boys had spent the day there while i was up north :)

so..... i bit the bullet. i asked josh to come behind me in 30 minutes and see how i was doing. he found me at approximately 33 minutes (mile 4.2). i was wiped out......i climbed in the car, drank a bottle of water and then got back out. josh continued to go on ahead. at 5.2 miles i was again wiped out.....but asked him to go a bit more. 6.0 miles....i knew that i had to continue....mostly because i did not want to go all that way, feel that miserable and NOT make the entire way :) so when we got to 7.5, i told josh to go get the kids and cheer for me as i came into the drive way. with about .25 to go, i could hear jack and luke cheering their hearts out for me! i could see my awesome, incredible supportive husband clapping and cheering, and grandpa george--and i kicked it in!!!! :)

i ran the 8.2 miles in just over 76 minutes. turns out that i ran about 9 1/2 minute per mile average. that my friends i am feeling pretty darn good about.

this is the farthest i have ever run. now that i have accomplished it, i may never do it again :) or who knows, i am one crazy lady....................

Melissa Came for a Visit

i am a bit behind in my blogging..... :)

at the end of july, melissa came for a visit! the last time i saw her, i was prego with luke :) so that was a few years..... melissa and i met our freshmen year of college when we were moving into the dorms! her dad found out my home town and came to chat with me--turns out half their huge family lives in my home town :) it was a hoot. over the years, melissa and i grew closer but it wasn't until she spent a year abroad that we grew super close (absence does make the heart grow fonder, eh).   we now both teach but she lives far far far away... :( i am thrilled that she got up this way and was able to visit for a bit! :)

Muffin Man Update

Original Muffin Man Post

on sunday we ate again at the local diner (mmmmmmmm) for brunch. and once again, my boys were creatively drawing pictures. jack decided to keep his to hang on the fridge as it had cool rockets, planes and trains on it. but luke immediately asked if he could give his to the muffin man. of course he could :) he gave it to the muffin man, who thanked him and walked away smiling. luke asked me where the muffin man took the picture....so when he came by, i asked him where he put his pictures....and he said that he places them on a bulletin board at his house and that he has all of the ones the boys have made him! josh told him he did not have to keep them all.... :) awwwwww it warmed my heart to see that sweet muffin man smile :)

a LEGO party!

jack loves legos so it was a natural choice for him to pick a lego theme for his fifth birthday party! now most of you know that the teacher in me is strong so it should not come as a surprise that i "lesson plan" the entire birthday party :) 

we started by renting a pavillion at a local county park--included with the pavilion was the use of the playground--totally a smart idea! :) 

as the kiddos arrived they played on the playground. 

then we got started with the party. i had the kids gather round the "instruction manual" for our building party. 

step 1: locate hard hats 

 

step 2: find/create manual bookmark 

step 3: find something to build 

 

step 4: follow manual and build 

step 5: test 

we used slides to test and race our cars :)

 

step 6: if needed, fix!! 

josh made this really cool lego cake!

then we had pizza, snacks, and cake :) 

Birthday friends :) 

Including Uncle Aaron...Kaden, Chloe, Jack, Luke, Sam, Chris, Amber

jack absolutely loved opening his presents! 

 

what a haul he got :) he was thrilled with ALL of his presents!

then we walked down to the flatt river, which flows through the back of the park. 

 

overall this party was a HUGE success! :) and a lot of fun!

bow ties

what can i say, bow ties make any kiddo more adorable and my boys are no exception :) 

the super cool part about these particular bow ties is that they were my grandpa's ties :) as we cleaned out his house, the boys stumbled upon them and instantly took a liking to them! in fact, they liked them so much that once they went on, there was no taking them off :) they both wore them to church on saturday evening and got lots of adorable looks! oh my boys!

My Four Mile Race

i got up this morning and thought, why now--i will go run the danish festival four mile road run. i had been pondering it for the past two weeks and had talked myself out of it....but then josh talked me back into it. i am glad he did.

i ran well.
1 mile split: 7:19
2 mile split: under 15
3 mile split: 23:03
**i would like to note that that split was 25 seconds FASTER than  my 5k i ran in may! wahooo!
4 mile race time: 31:34

my goal was to run under a 34 minute race. i certainly accomplished that goal and then some! i figure i ran around 7.5 minute miles for the first 2 and then 8 minute miles the second two.

i placed 3rd in my age group (30-34) and was a bit bummed since the gal in front of me beat me by 3 seconds! argh! oh well :) i got a medal and that was a nice surprise. i was 41st overall (out of around 200 or so runners)

overall i feel good.

PS i know i ran hard because i gagged all the way up that hill :) 

Thank you Luke :)

Summer Bounty

i made a tasty supper the other night for our family and josh's parents--rib eyes, smashed garlic red skins, marinated tomatoes, blueberries, cucumber slices, and bread. i also got out my new table cloth and set the table pretty :) the produce i used was all fresh (minus the blueberries--even the red skins came from a local grower who lives a few miles down the road)

believe it or not, this pretty vase of tomatoes was 2/3 gone by the end of the evening :) josh and gary snacked on them all night long! the little vase on the left is a treasure i inherited from my grandpa.

our cukes are crazy big!!!

these jalapenos are so fresh and tasty---not too spicy.....which josh wishes they were more i am sure :)

The Big FIVE

jack is thrilled to be FIVE! last night we put him to bed around 8:30  (normal time for summer) and at 9:30, he came up WIDE awake....so i gave him some books to "read" (usually helps him fall asleep) and at 10:00 he came back up....still wide awake :) so i let him lay down on the couch and watch the next food network tv star :) he loved it....and kept talking about his birthday!

this morning jack bounced off the couch with birthday twinkles in his eyes! he keeps telling us that being five means making decisions and getting to do different things! the kid is in fifth birthday heaven :)  he is currently at mc d's drive thru since daddy told him his first decision was where to go eat/get breakfast from. jack chose mc donald's :) (surprising....normally picks margo's--diner in town).  i will have more to post later after his big lego party! for now, enjoy the pictures below of jack growing up :) he looked at pictures from his birth day yesterday and was in awe!

i love my sweet BIG jack!

Birth Moment--Jack Thomas Boyer  9lbs 3 oz

Jack was three weeks "early" :) and such a big baby!

In love with our little man!

after his first bath!

12 Months

2 years

3rd Birthday

4th birthday

The Corvette Bus

my boys are obsessed with "buying" things with motors (especially things that i "won't" let them get...or daddy get)--examples are motorbikes, snowmobiles, corvettes, etc. tonight as we drove though a tiny local town we saw that same blue corvette for sale--this is the one that often prompts our "when i get big i will buy" conversations.

tonight's conversation went something like this......
 luke told us that he was going to buy the corvette and drive it to school with lots of kids--maybe five or maybe more. so we told him he would have to make it into a corvette bus. then he said that he would be the dad and jack would be the mom. jack told him no that once you are a boy you can't be a girl.....so luke decided that both of them would be dads and the kids would have two dads....both named josh. when asked, luke told us his five kids would all be named luke. then he said that he would also get five dads with five moms. so i asked how he fit into that relationship...... and his answer...... (wait for it)..... i have a ship mom :)

oh luke! i love you kiddo! you crack me up!

"Summer of Determination" Goal

my "summer of determination" goal is to run from my in laws house to my house...approximately 8.3 miles. i am a "short" distance runner....3 is my "favorite" distance and i rarely go more than 5.... in fact, i think one time maybe 15 years ago i ran a 10k (6.4 miles)........... yuck! so this goal came about probably b/c i am trying to challenge my self :)

tonight we were at my in laws. i had my running clothes on and shoes were ready. i got it in my head that even thought it was 80 degrees with 65% and rising humidity, i would conquer this feat...oh and did i mention, i also ate dinner an hour before this idea :) so i took off...and josh came about 24 minutes behind me....and i had gone 3 miles. i was DYING of humidity and heat!!!! i got in the car, drank an entire bottle of water, rode a few miles and then got back out to run the 1.3 home from the random stop sign.

sigh. i did not make my 8.3 but i did make 4.3. tonight i will take it.

Chex Mix

my grandpa was so wonderful :) today, to honor him, i made homemade chex mix! read below if you want to know why...i have posted a draft DRAFT draft of the eulogy lynda and i gave for him--we stood together and i did the talking. i ended up finishing it by hand so don't have that ready to pasted in :)


William F Johnson
DOB: 4 3 1933
DOD: 8 2 2010

We had a hard time gathering our thoughts for this eulogy—it is hard to think about how to sum up what grandpa meant to us in just a few words. So instead of trying to give you everything our grandpa meant, we are going to share the things that really meant the most.

We had a unique relationship that can only exist between a grandaughter and her grandpa. He was wrapped around our little fingers :) and we were his world. Living less than ½ mile down the road means that we spent a lot of time at his house throughout the years and got to be his little girl. Even when he was gruff to others, and rough around the edges, he was always tender with us.

Many of our memories of grandpa include him in the kitchen—this may surprise some of you—but he loved to bake bread, make home made chex mix and he loved to brag about the “great big deliscious supper” he was making for grandma. Christmastime was not complete without each of us getting coffee tins of check mix from grandpa! We have had a running joke between us for a long time that he was my susie homemaker and I was his betty crocker. We would even call each other on the phone and ask to speak to the other with our code names. I know my love of being in the kitchen is inspired by my grandpa.

My grandpa was an outdoor man and had such a passion for protecting nature. He made this his second career as a recreation specialist and fire spotter for the forest service. On top of that, he also helped start the cherry grove selma township volunteer fire department. His passion was contagious—both his son in law and grandson were inspired and took up fire fighting to help protect nature and others. Grandpa loved to work with wood but made sure to plant a replacement tree. In fact, he was so into making trees were planted to keep protect our forests, lynda, tom and I often brought home a baby tree (or ten or twenty) to share with our parents. The forest service was not just a job for grandpa—it was his second family. He loved the difference he made in other's lives. A big part of his job in the summer was over seeing youth corp. He would take a group out to work on projects. He talked fondly of the positive changes that occurred in the teenagers. He was so proud to see them make better choices and learn from the mistakes they made.

Grandpa was so talented—he could take a piece of wood and create a masterpiece. He created a beautiful log cabin look inside his home—open beams, wood flooring, log paneling. He also built his outbuildings and over the years tore them down and rebuilt different ones. He also loved to build wishing wells for yards, huricane lamps, shelves and other various home decorations. On top of being talented, he was also meticulous. Everything he built or did had to be perfect. Lynda and I were chuckling about this as we

humor

wig

hiding

jokes

“make a telephone call”

buy busy busy guy

wood working (wishing wells, hurricane lamps)

wood smoking fish

lawn care....clippings for 25 cents!

Built his out buildings

created beautiful inside of his own home

well liked

My Susie Homemaker

today my grandpa passed away--he was my susie homemaker and i was his little betty crocker. i will blog another day about our wonderful relationship. i will miss you dearly william f. johnson. 

Vacation for Me!

***i started this blog a WHILE ago....and then with my grandpa passing, etc. i did not get it finished....here you go :) 


i was a "she woman" as one of my friends said and drove over 1200 miles this past week by myself! i headed out to MN and back. our first summer back in michigan, my good friends tracy and angie came to visit me. the next summer, kim came out for a few days and we headed up to a spa (amazing treat). so it was time that i made the journey back to see them.

for me, it was a last minute decision to head out there....yes i knew two full weeks in advance but in my brain that is last minute :) i had a few things planned and the rest fell into place! angie graciously offered to have me stay with her and it was a great choice--she has a wonderful family and it was so easy to stay with them! below are a few highlights of my almost 5 days in mn......

day 1--sunday
**drove drove drove :)
**arrived in mn around 3 (left early here)
**watched kenzie (6) lead her calf as she prepared for the fair, hung out with angie's family and held the new nephew jacob (7 days old) who lives across the street from angie. his mom is also a friend of mine--laura
**went to the free concert on the riverside--josh thompson. it was a lot of fun to sit and listen to the music. we also got roscoe's for bbq supper! ate that in the park too.... mmmmmmmmmmmm roscoe's bbq!
**visited until late at night and hit the hay

day 2--monday
**got a country run in--i had forgotten how hilly it was in mn :) it was a HOT and slow run

Kaleigh--our favorite baby sitter and a dear friend of ours

**visited our old daycare provider and my lovely friend--missy and her daughter kaleigh (who was our bestest and only sitter) and her son noah. gosh i miss them so

**continued on my way to goodhue to see my former colleagues--quite a few were able to join us (tracy, heather, casey, kim, jenn, alice, denise, vonnie, dawn, chris....:))! i got to meet all the "new" babies that were born in the two years i was gone! heather and casey both have 18 month olds now...kim with her 6 month old, tracy with her 4.5 month old  , emily with her 2 month old....... gosh that is a lot of babies! we hung out from noon to 4.... then tracy and her baby luke and i walked up to see my former principal mark :) we hung out at his house for a while before realizing the time and had to get on our way...... because we were already going to be late for our night out!

Tracy, Melissa Boraas and Baby Luke

**dinner out with 8 friends :) we hit up jen pachi for some awesome Japanese steakhouse food! beth, tara, missy, miriam, kim, tracy, angie and i had a blast!

Missy Emerich and I :)

**even though it was late when we got out of dinner, we had to go to tracy's parents' house to get my truck so we visited there too :)


day 3--tuesday

Baby Luke :)

**tracy, angie, baby luke and i headed to lanesboro for a day of "toodling"--we had a blast. we shopped, ate, shopped, took pictures and talked/laughed a lot! we did end going a slightly longer way to get there....ummmm actually an hour out of our way by taking the wrong cty 8 road! :) oh well, that just gave us more time to chat and laugh! my favorite part of the visit to lanesboro was when we bought 9 bottles of wine and it was just easier to carry luke and push the wine in his stroller :D 

FRIENDS :) Tracy, Baby Luke, Me, and Angie

**i went over to have supper (mmmmmmm dominoes) with my old neighbors--steve, lyn, isaac, ashlyn and their "new" baby letyon! it was so awesome to spend a few hours with them :) they were such great neighbors and friends and i had a really nice time visiting with them!








** watched tv with eric and angie--last american cowboy and ice road truckers! :D

day 4--wednesday

**i had insomnia tuesday night so i hit the snooze many many times....got up later than intended but still made it for brunch with kim and angie at canadian honker--sooooo tasty!

Kim and I :)

**pedicures with angie and kim! super fun!!!
**went to caribou and got much needed coffee beans :) and then to apollo liquor and got much needed fat tire beer for josh!
**toodled around rochester for a while...and hit target for some clothes :)

Kyle, Beth, Andrew and Me!

**visit with beth and her two boys--a lot of fun and so great to see them....and amazed at how grown up they are now!

** Toured the family farm

**dinner with angie and eric and their two kiddos--fajita burgers! mmmmmmmmmmmmm so tasty!
**helped kenzie lead her cow again
**visited with becca and tia who were over at grant and laura's house to see the new baby and reagan! it was a lovely visit :) i even got to see grandma dolly!
**rode quad with kenzie :) her small quad is so much fun

Becca!

TIA

day 5--thursday
**i had insomnia on wednesday night so my drive home was long.......... long......... long....... but i made it :)