Little Swimmers

As soon as we got to the lake we didn’t even bother to unpack the car, we just found the bathing suits (or swim diapers) and jumped, being joined by Sean & Papa in short order.

Escape to the lake

We needed to pick up a couple things from the lake for the weekend, so we spent a couple hours in the water & imagining what summer & sun look like after weeks of torrential downpour in Munich.  All in all, very promising…  

Backyard

I find it amazing that we have lived in apartments for almost 4-1/2 years now.  I don’t really miss the yard work, but every once in a while, I can understand the need to have a yard again.  Where we could just open the door, and play happens – provided it isn’t really raining. 

Tonight was one of those nights.  Alexandra is still trying to figure out the walking issues, but she had a great time on the stairs, and Sophia loved watering for Nana.  It is another beautiful day in Seattle…  How did we get so very lucky?

Ms at the Mariners

Mom was so fantastic & purchased Mariners tickets for us to come home to on Wednesday.  The girls loved the game, its always so entertaining & such a great show.  There doesn’t seem to be a bad seat in the house, we often change our tickets around the stadium, and today we were right behind home plate, albeit on the 300 level…  4 seats, 4 drinks, 4 dogs  – best entertainment for the family!

We had to leave in the 8th inning, so we didn’t see the team blow up at the end, but while they were ahead it was perfect!

Dancing in Seattle

There are always some special gifts from Nana & Papa when we arrive, and this year was no exception.  Given Sophia’s fun experience in Ballet class, both the girls were given ballet costumes to play in. 

Sophia wore hers all day, including to pick up Sean from his baseball practice.  (unfortunately we only have the memories & stories of her fetching foul balls around the field in her tutu)

Alexandra just loved having something similar to Sophia, and never wanted her skirt off either.

Just a lazy afternoon recovering from jet lag, with a bit of a smile…

Munich Update

Sorry for the silence on the blog, but the weather has been just soooo depressing!! Weeks of pouring down rain (and not the Seattle rain that just mists all the time, but doesn't really affect your play - Thunderous, lightening rain, that ruins your day...)
I'm just really looking forward to getting home next week!

The Tri

So, Troy has been bugging me that I haven’t posted anything on the triathlon, so here you go.

I actually woke up in the morning really sick, and didn’t know if it was from nerves about the race, or just that I was sick, but I would never recommend doing a triathlon on an empty (emptied) stomach… We arrived in time, the girls were happy, and then we were off!

The water wasn’t too bad compared to swimming in the Northwest, and lakes are pretty normal for me, so the swimming part was by far the easiest part for me.

(on a side note, entering the water with the entire group was a little freaky. There was a bunch of bumping in the water, and I think people who are a little weak in swimming would have a really hard time at the beginning and should wait 5 seconds after the start for the field to spread out a bit. The water gets cloudy, and if you are used to seeing where you are swimming you would have a hard time with it.

Then came the 20k of biking, needless to say, everyone that I passed in the water came back at me at full force…

Although it seems there was at least one person behind me… And I was still smiling at the end.

The first 2k of the run was really hard, my legs just didn’t want to move, but I got thru it (thanks to my headphones & a podcast of “wait wait don’t tell me”) and managed to finish it running.

Then I watched the 5 people finish behind me. Sad…

All in All, a great experience, and I think I may be hooked. I’ve been looking up sprint Triathlons in the Seattle area, I just missed the Munich one by a few weeks, and I’m definitely interested in one to train for in the fall. Something to keep me motivated during the summer vacation.

Following the end of the triathlon, the school sponsored a “Kinderlauf” in which the kids ran 100meters on the track for various prizes (Frisbees, jump ropes, bubbles, balloons, etc.) Sophia was very excited to take part, and did a great job staying in her lane… She didn’t win, but it was fun for us all to see her so active!

Sophie (2nd place) and Sophia with their loot!

Sophia's Ballet Performance - Video

And here is the video of the performance... I tried to cut out all of the slower parts, and you will hear a bit of Alexandra in the background (Troy had her in the carrier while he was doing this).

Sophia’s Ballet Performance

Earlier this year, when Sophia turned 5, she began taking Ballet lessons at school once a week. Today was the end of year performance to show what the girls have learned. It was taken quite seriously by the teacher, although the girls didn’t actually learn a new performance for the day, and she ran them thru some of the drills she does with them in class while they were all dressed in leotards & matching skirts.

They all looked so sweet, and had a wonderful time being on stage. Sophia is already talking about doing it again next year, and we will surely have another dancer in the family.

Our final Sunset

After another perfect day in the sun, and Sophia’s swimming prowess, we watched the sun’s final movement during dinner and then we watched the sunset, again.  It felt like the perfect end to a perfect weekend…  And I can’t believe we have to leave tomorrow…

 

With love from Croatia…