Fast forward.... one year.

Since I've last posted, lots has happened. A quick scan of the list will catch you up on some of the highlights:

• Tyler played fall soccer in 2009.



• I ran my first half marathon in September 2009.



• Scott bought me a 4 door silver Jeep to match the one I left behind in Dubai. He was instantly named Emmett, as was the first.



• We moved from our temporary apartment to a rental house in October of 2009, and our belongings arrived from Dubai.



• I started interning as a librarian for the Business School of a university in
  Philadelphia in October 2009.



• We welcomed our first nephew in November 2009.



• I ran my first marathon in Las Vegas in December of 2010 and finished in 4:18.





• We vacationed for several days in DC and Baltimore, taking in various Smithsonian museums and the National Aquarium.





• Tyler turned 6 in February 2010!



• We took the kids skiing for the first time, and they are hooked.



• Scott ran his first ever 10k race.




• Tyler and Alex played Spring baseball in 2010.







• Tyler learned how to ride a bike without training wheels and survived his first harrowing bike crash at Peace Valley Park.



• We picnicked at an Amish Farm thanks to our farm share, and even got to walk behind the mules as they plowed potatoes from the field.



• I graduated with my Masters in Library and Information Science from Drexel in June 2010.





• We celebrated our 13th wedding anniversary in June 2010.



• We moved to another rental house, 6 houses down the street from where we had been living because the owners sold the first house.



• We attended our first major League Soccer game to see the Union vs. Manchester United.





• We caught the uber cool Lego exhibit at the Philadelphia Zoo.





• Tyler went to his first concert to see Jack Johnson.



• We took the kids on their first real camping trip to Ricketts Glen State Park.





• I raced my first sprint triathlon.





• Alex turned 9 in August 2010!



• The kids started school - Alex in 4th grade, Tyler in 1st grade!





• Alex progressed to joining the elementary school orchestra and continues to love playing his viola.



• Tyler is playing fall outdoor soccer, and Scott is assistant coach. They are both enjoying it.



• I traveled to Hawaii with my best friend of over 20 years to watch her compete in the Ironman World Championships.





• I landed a full time job at the same university as a Business Research Librarian in October 2010.



• I got into the NYC marathon and will be running it on 11/7/10.

Whew. I think you are basically all caught up, now. Life has handed us ups and downs over the past year, and we are enjoying the ride.

I want to ride my bicycle...

This summer, when we arrived in the US, I offered to purchase bicycles for Alex and Tyler. They both declined and instead, they requested scooters. So for July and August, they scooted around our apartment complex and various parks.

This week, as part of the Camp Mommy experience (more on that soon), we spent one afternoon at Peace Valley Park with friends. We played wiffle ball, rode scooters, fished, rode paddle boats and thoroughly enjoyed an amazing afternoon. Toward the end of our excursion, Alex decided he was going to try to ride one of his friend's bicycles sans training wheels. Much to my delight, he hopped on and did it! Alex often needs to do things at his own pace, and although I frequently felt the urge to force him to ride without training wheels, my patience finally paid off. We are so proud of him for trying and succeeding!



After riding his friend's bike, of course Alex was geared up to get one of his own. He had long outgrown his bike that is still in Dubai, so off we went to find his new bike. Yesterday afternoon, we started at Peddaller Bike Shop, but they were closed for the holiday weekend. Then we travelled to Toys R Us and Performance Bike to no avail. Alex did not like the colors, the words, the size.... You get the idea. This afternoon, we hit Target and Wal-mart. Same story. Finally, we visited BikeWorks in Harleysville. They were fabulous! Dan treated Alex like his most important customer, and the whole experience was a treat. Alex finally found the bike he wanted, and it was high fives all around. BikeWorks totally won me over for their customer service and selection.




Tyler also scored some new wheels. We'll be working on taking his training wheels off in the next few weeks. He particularly likes that his helmet and his bike match. Go figure.



My bike should be here in about 6 weeks, and I can't wait to be able to ride with the boys!

Run, Forrest, Run.

In response to my training, Monika continues to inspire and ridicule me with her quotes from Forrest Gump. My mileage is increasing, along with my speed and endurance, and I can't wait to run the ING Philadelphia Distance Run on September 20th. Already, I've completed a 12 mile training run, so I am well prepared.

The Distance Run has been in existence since 1978 and promises to be a great course. The race begins and ends at Eakins Oval near the Philadelphia Museum of Art, winds through historic parts of the city including Fairmount Park and boasts musicians all along the 13.1 mile route. I even convinced Monika to run it. My cousin Carrie will also be on the course, along with more than 13,000 other runners. Maybe I'll even make some new friends at my pace, since Monika and Carrie are both speed demons compared to me.

This past Saturday, I ran the EMC Relay for Life 5k in Horsham. All summer I've been trying to break my personal best (PB) time for a 5k which was 27 minutes flat. Not very fast, at all. On Saturday, I blasted through my PB and ran the 5k in 24:24, averaging a 7:52 mile according to my Garmin Forerunner 305. I was thrilled. I placed 46th overall in a field of 160, and I was the 5th woman in my age group. Had there been 5 year age brackets for awards, hardware would have been mine. Next time, maybe. At least I am finally fast enough to keep up with Natalie.

Hawk Mountain

On Saturday, Scott and I announced to the kids that we were going hiking. Groans ensued. Grumpiness abounded. Whines surrounded me. Too bad, it was my birthday weekend, and I was picking the afternoon's activity. Off we went.

We packed into the car around noon and traveled north to a spot just east of Allentown, Hawk Mountain. Scott and I were there once before, and we knew the kids would love it. Love it they did. Within 10 minutes of being on the trails, Alex was exclaiming he could not believe he didn't want to come. Tyler reassured us that we could return any time. I was ecstatic. We hiked to both the South and North Lookouts, and along the way the boys were enthralled with the varieties of mushrooms and insects they found. At the lookouts, I was pleased to spot a kestrel and lots of turkey vultures. Sharing memories of my days working at environmental education centers handling owls, hawks and eagles was fun. The impatience of little boys precluded me from seeing too many raptors, but three hours in the woods on the mountain after living in a desert for almost a year, was spectacular.

Kids on the lookout.


The view.


The trail.


Mushrooms everywhere! Green ones...



Black ones...


Tan ones...


Orange ones...


Brown ones...


Red ones...


Purple ones?!? My favorite color in a mushroom! Who knew mushrooms could be purple?


Mushroom eating fruit flies? Maybe they should be fungus flies...


Alex's find of the day, a walking stick bug. Very cool!

We are all looking forward to returning to Hawk Mountain during the Fall to witness the peak of the raptor migration and the changing leaves. If you are in the vicinity, we highly recommend it!

38... No Way!

In two hours, I was supposed to be on a flight back to Dubai. I should be at the airport, right now, but I'm not. Plans have changed. I'm grateful for the experience I had abroad and for the friends I made. I am disappointed not to be working at ASD one more year. I'm feeling a little lost, but I know I'll find my way. Friends and family have been more than generous and wonderfully supportive. Being welcomed home again feels great.


Yesterday was my birthday, and I turned 38. In the words of my friend David... "38, no way!" I don't feel 38, but somehow I am. To celebrate, I did what makes me happiest. I went for a really long run. I ran with my best friend of 25 years, Monika. By 7:30am we were in the parking lot, gearing up, and by 8am we were off. Our run lasted about an hour and fifty minutes and wound along the river in the shade of the trees. We spent almost 11 glorious miles on the trails of Valley Forge. By the time we wrapped up, I couldn't stop smiling. It really was the perfect way for me to spend the morning.

The rest of the day was just as lovely. Mon and I cleaned up, then grabbed breakfast at a great little spot near her house. When I got home, I took Tyler to the pool for a few hours and basked in the sun of a nearly perfect August day. At 5pm, my parents showed up to watch the kids while Scott and I went to a Vietnamese restaurant for dinner. While we were at dinner, I managed to extract information about my birthday present from Scott. He attempted to purchase something the night before my birthday to no avail. At the restaurant, I was raving about Monika's Garmin Forerunner 305, a GPS training device for running. Much to my surprise, I discovered that my Garmin will be arriving this week. I'll be strapping it to my wrist just in time to train for the two half marathons I'll be running this fall, the ING Philadelphia Distance Run and the Philadelphia Half Marathon. For dessert, my parents provided the obligatory ice cream cake, from Freddy Hill, no less. All in all, I can say that 38 feels just fine.

Old Fashioned Fun

Today we had the pleasure of attending the 5th District Fireman's Water Battle at Towamencin Volunteer Fire Company. My Dad has been a member of the TVFC since I was a baby, and he now serves as the Fire Police Chief. He was pleased as punch to have us there in our TVFC neon yellow t-shirts. Along with checking out all the fire trucks, we watched the Tug of War, the Midnight Ride and Bucket Brigade. The day was beautiful, the events were fun to watch, Tyler couldn't get enough of the free hot dogs, and for the third year in a row, Towamencin took first place among the competing fire companies. Go 76!








With a mascot like this, how could they lose?

Emmett

I mentioned in the last post that I've been reading the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer. Since I've arrived in the US, I've been addicted to reading these books. Maybe it's because I haven't done much pleasure reading for the last three years that I am so consumed by such easy, cheesy, summer reading. I finally sat down to watch Twilight, the movie last week. I loved the book, and I liked the movie. I was totally surprised to discover that the car we bought for me just prior to leaving Dubai for the summer is almost exactly like one from the Twilight movie.

If you know me and Scott, you have probably heard us talk about our cars by their names. The first car we bought was Zippy, a bright blue Geo Prizm. Then came McCloud, the blue Toyota Highlander, followed by Nessie, the green Toyota Highlander. While we had Nessie, we also had Snowcap, the white Toyota Rav4. After searching and searching for a name for my treasured mid-life crisis car, it seems that he can be named nothing other than Emmett (since my Jeep is a ringer for Emmett's Jeep in the Twilight movie)...

Here he is. I can't wait to take his top off...