Tri like a Mother!

 On August 5th my beautiful Mama and I will Tri for the Cure.  I never would have dreamed that we would be doing this together - 3 months after I had baby #3 and 3 years since my mom had breast cancer. 
When my mom called to tell me she had breast cancer, it totally rocked my world.  I had obviously heard of breast cancer before, but I'd never been close to someone who had any type of cancer, much less my own mother.  If you know my mom, you know that she is a truly remarkable, inspirational, incredible woman with a huge heart and more energy that anyone I know!  She's always good for a laugh and can entertain the masses.  There is NO ONE like my mother.  The thought of this beautiful, energetic woman having something as deadly as cancer just didn't make any sense. 
It has been a long journey but I am thrilled to say that she has been cancer free for 3 years! Woohoo!  And 2 weeks from today, she will proudly put on her bright pink swim cap and join other breast cancer survivors as they dive into the freezing water of the Cherry Creek Reservoir and complete a sprint triathlon (half mile swim, 12 mile bike, 3.1 mile run) 
Roughly 3,000 woman compete in the Tri for the Cure each year and watching the "survivor wave" is truly an incredibly experience.  Everyone gathers around to cheer for these amazing women. They have not only survived cancer, they are celebrating life and living it to the fullest!  I can't express how proud I am that my mom will be one of them.  I guarantee that I will have tears in my eyes as I cheer for her. ( and I'll be thinkin "I know that water is freezing cold! lol!)
Mom has trained so hard and she's gonna be awesome!  My wave leaves a bit after hers so our plan is to meet up for the bike and run. 
Training together has been a blast as you can imagine with this crazy lady.  She is easily distracted by the Colorado wildlife (including bunny rabbits) and has actually fallen off the bike at least once lol! And every time we swim in the Aurora reservoir I swear we going to get hypothermia or be eaten by a fish.  I feel unbelievable bless to Tri with my mother : )

A Memorable Day in Aurora, CO

A good friend of ours is always organizing community events for our MOMS club, helping us get group discounts for local events.  This summer a large group of us purchased tickets to see the 2 children's theater summer productions at the Aurora Fox Theater.  This was our first experience seeing a play here and it was really fun!  The first play was Charlotte's Web and the second was The Pirate Show.  I was too busy with Ryder to get any pics of Charlotte's Web, but I managed to get a few from the Pirate Show last week. 
Unfortunately, it was a really bittersweet day, because I was on my way to the theater when I got a call from Tony telling me about the shooting at the Century 16.  I was so focused on getting there on time and getting all 3 kids seated and quiet, that the enormity of what happened didn't really hit me until we got home.  I think about how we were surrounded by friends all morning, all of us out and about with our kids in the same area where the shooting occurred and near the shooter's apartment.  My mom called me on the way home and couldn't believe I had left the house with everything that was going on.  But even though scary things happen, life goes on.  We continue to get out and enjoy all the fun things our town as to offer.   I will always remember that day and I think it's neat that I will remember our fun morning at the Aurora Fox because it reminds me of what a great city we live in, what awesome opportunities our kids have living here, and how grateful I am that God has led us here and continues to masterfully provide and protect us.  While my heart mourns for the families of the victims of this senseless tragedy, I won't live my life in fear.  I will try to celebrate each and every moment I have. 

Children's Museum

I had the kids make a list of things they wanted to do while Daddy was home this summer. (He is only teaching the second summer school session so he had about 4 weeks off  : )  The very first thing on their list was "the fire truck museum" aka the Children's Museum of Denver.  Although it is a very fun place, it's actually not one of my favorite places to go.  Last year, we bought a membership but the building is very small and every time we went it was insanely crowded.  About half way through the year someone suggested going on a Wednesday afternoon, since they open late on Wednesdays.  The place is practically dead during that time and we felt like we hit the jackpot!  Since then, that is the only time we go.  It's a little pricey, but the kids really wanted to go so we met up with some friends that were visiting from Mississippi, and we all had a blast! We brought a sack lunch dinner and we stayed until they kicked us out!  Scout's favorite thing is the "dancing room" where you can dress up and tap dance to music.  River spent most of his time in the "train room" and was very excited about the new rocket section where you can make paper rockets and shoot them into "outer space."

30 things to do before I turn 30

I'm sort of stealing this idea from some friends of mine who started this really great blog called 2 girls turning thirty.  I'm turning 30 next June (yikes!) and I decided to make a list of 30 things I want to do before I turn 30.  This fits in with the "little adventures" theme because while I won't be going sky diving or getting a tattoo these "little" things are still pretty adventurous for me : ) I will provide updates along the way...

My List
 1.  Blog : )
 2.  Do a triathlon with my Mom (Aug. 5th!)
 3.  Nurse Ryder for a year (only 9 months to go!)
 4.  Start freezing meals
 5.  Pray regularly with Tony
 6.  Make home made baby food
 7.  Do a 5k as a family of 5
 8.  Stop biting my nails
 9.  Have a "computer fast" (either one day a week or fast for a whole week, etc)
10. Memorize 12 Bible verses
11. Read a book a month (first up, Jitterbug Perfume)
12. Get pregnant (yikes!)
13. Try deceptively delicious recipes
14. Create a system for actually remembering friends and family's birthdays
15. Play the piano/guitar more
16. Have "yes days" with the kids
17. Have a kid-free weekend (this will be a hard one)
18. Help Scout write letters to family members as part of our routine
19. Incorporate a walk with all 3 kids into our day
20. Sign up for an Olympic Triathlon ( a Sprint if I achieve #12 : )
21. Try 10 new recipes
22. Move towards eating "clean"
23. Try 5 new restaurants
24. Family "TV fast"
25. Drink more water
26. Figure out how to do my own shellac manicures/pedicures at home
27.
28.
29.
30.

That's all I've got so far.  Any suggestions for the last 4?

Our Newest Little Adventure

On May 13th at 2:24am we began a very special adventure : )
 Canaan Ryder Hawkins was prayed for and prayed for and prayed for...
 We began trying for baby #3 pretty much right after River was born and I never would have thought that it would be 3 and a half years before we'd be bringing our third little blessing home.
Ryder will be 3 months old in a couple of days and as is often said, I can hardly imagine what our life would be like without him.  He's been a great night time sleeper from day one ( Praise God!) and although, like his older brother, he's not the best napper, he is truly the sweetest, most content little guy.  His little smiles light up my whole world and sometimes I think I could just stare at him all day.  He adores is big sister and big brother (and they adore him!)  As challenging as it can be, I am so incredibly grateful to be on this adventure and I look forward to what each new day has in store.

Our Favorite Little Waterpark

Last summer, we tried out several indoor and outdoor waterparks, pools and spraygrounds and this was, by far, our favorite.  H2OBrien pool is in Parker, CO about 25 minutes south of us and it's targeted towards younger kids.  It doesn't get nearly as crowded as other water parks in the area they have a "little squirt time"  especially for younger kiddos from 9am-10am that we like to take advantage of.  My parents got to join us and we all had a blast.  Mom and I were able to take advantage of the early morning lap swim and we snagged a prime spot - a picnic table in the shade.  Ryder even took a nice little nap : ) We plan to come back with friends at least once more before the end of summer.

A Day At The Park

River is armed and ready

With a new baby, I knew we wouldn't be able to get out quite as much as we did last summer, but there are a handful of things that I definitely wanted to make happen.  One of those was a day at Belleview park.  We love this adorable little park!  There is a an icy cold creek that the kids can play in, a little train that goes around the park, a petting zoo, and plenty of shade so mama and baby can keep cool.  We had several friends join us which made this day even more fun and, as usual, the kids had a blast.  Another awesome little adventure in beautiful Colorado.

Splashing with friends in the creek

Ryder and Mama staying cool

Ryder and his buddy Grayson : )

Gone Fishin...

Scout, River, and I recently got the chance to spend a little time at a local lake with the Reeled In For Life organization.  RIFL is a local group of volunteers who are dedicated to teaching kids the value of fishing and the proper way to participate in the sport.  These guys gave us an excellent day at an excellent venue.  We began the day with some basic instructions and information.  Then, the kids got the chance to test their skills at catching some rainbow trout, bream (blue gill), sun fish, and bass (small and large mouth).  We all had a great time as both Scout and River caught a few fish a piece.  At lunch time, the guys of RIFL provided us with grilled burgers and dogs along with cookies, chips, potato salad, watermelon, etc.  After lunch, they held a raffle for the kids, and both Scout and River each won a tackle box!  River got a bait box full of artificial lures, while Scout received a multi-tier box.  It was one of the hotter days of the year, but, we all dressed in our "fishing" hats and had an amazing time!