First Days, First Words, & First Dashes, Oh My!

Did no one think to warn me that I'd be much (much, much, MUCH) busier "staying at home" than working full-time?  Far too often I find myself looking at the calendar realizing how much time has passed since I last captivated you with some Hjelmstad tales of yore. At any rate, sorry it's been so long...again. As such, I'm copping out and resorting to the all-in-one update. Apologies.

On the docket:
1) The Warrior Dash
2) Ethan is 10 Months Old!!!
3) Marie Starts School!!!!
(Note: Understand that #2 and #3 bear far more significance than mere exclamation points can convey).


DASH ONE, DASH ALL!
For those who haven't the privilege of being accosted by our exciting Facebook news feeds, I must share that last weekend we became official Warriors! We drove into the mountains with some friends for the long-anticipated Warrior Dash, a 5k obstacle course in which one jumps over fire and scales plywood walls insurmountable cliffs and clambers through the muddy depths to emerge victorious! (All while benefiting St. Jude Children's Research Hospital)! In our case, we did so with gusto...while sporting some fabulous costumes. I volunteered my old Army uniform items so we could run together as Army gals, and Peter (who refused to be seen in uniform so soon after being set free) chose to honor his other great love (second only to me and the kiddos): a Chipotle burrito! What with a few rolls of green bubble wrap and a few yards of aluminum foil, he couldn't have looked more delicious. Seriously, I was almost appalled by the looks he was getting...I mean, it's not every day you see both men and women, old and young checking your husband out. A few people even asked to have their picture taken with him; it was almost like escorting a celebrity around! The race itself was a ton of fun, and not too difficult considering the fact that it was our first adventure race and we did zero--and I mean zero--training. Peter burrito shuffled his way ahead of all of us, and the amazing marathon runner of our group was nice enough to stick with me so we could cross the finish line together. And also to make sure I didn't end up collapsed and wheezing in the mud at 10,000 ft. Thanks, Kristin! And many thanks to the rest of you lovely ladies who convinced us it would be worth it! (If you're really intrigued and have time to kill, you can see the professional action shots of Burrito Man and me here ...bib numbers 77166 and 77165 respectively. There are some real gems).

Ladies before the race, a tasty burrito, the muddy aftermath,
and one fabulous Warrior helmet/medal! 

10 MONTHS--WOAH, BUDDY!
Moving along...guess who's 10 months old today? And has already said his first word?? And took a (sort of) first step and is about to walk?!?  I'm sticking to pictures and videos on this one since I'm sure I'll need to save every ounce of my sappiness for two months from now. In the mean time, my battery is constantly dying while I keep my phone on video trying to capture those first real steps. Slow down, little man! Sigh.

The Fabled First Word (melts my heart):

E-man on the move: Climbing the stairs, mad that I locked him behind the gate so he couldn't escape to climb the stairs again, and rifling through the cabinets testing every single empty sippy cup to see if there's a delicious beverage awaiting him. Also discovering that he open can the oven drawer and deposit the aforementioned sippy cups. How is it that I've never had to childproof an oven drawer until now? And how does one exactly go about childproofing such a thing? Suggestions welcome...I'm also thinking it'd be worth it to never move again simply to avoid having to install child locks on another entire set of kitchen cabinets!

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL
Speaking of slow down...
Let's all take a moment to honor the millions of tissues sacrificed this year for first-time school moms everywhere. I only went through one box myself. (Only one!) For the longest time my sweet pea has been super excited to start pre-school; she's been marking off each day on the calendar with an X, constantly walking around scribbling in her notepad delightedly doing "homework" (we'll see how long that one lasts!), and on the First Day of School Eve we surprised her with her first backpack and a little old-school supply kit complete with ruler, pencils, and a pencil sharpener. In her excitement, both pencils have already been sharpened into studs. She loved every second of her time at school, and I foresee lots more Kodak moments as our avid little learner continues to amaze me in the year ahead. My, how fast they grow!

A Splish Splash Birthday Bash!

Two weeks ago we celebrated Little Miss Four-Year-Old in summer style with a Splish Splash Birthday Bash! And I'm realizing as I write this that I already have to say "two weeks ago." But better late than never, right?

We set up the kiddie pools in the backyard, told the other kiddos to bring their swimsuits, and sat back and watched everyone dump buckets of water on each others' heads splish, splash, and have a blast. The best part (aside from the beautiful weather which was kind enough to cooperate) was that we had both sets of grandparents and all aunts and uncles present for the birthday girl's big day since my family flew in to town for a visit. I also got the treat of seeing a friend from school for the first time in five years (why didn't we get a picture together, Brittney?! Next time). I'm just loving that our new home seems like the perfect crossroads for all sorts of reunions! But I digress...

I took equal advantage of Pinterest and my loving family's desire to help, and the end result wasn't half bad. Especially since it made the birthday girl light up with glee--which we all know is the only thing that really matters! But for you folks out there who are Pinterested (ha! get it? okay not funny...) here's the behind-the-scenes breakdown: 

FLIP-FLOP CAKE

I promised my kids (well technically, myself) that I would always make their cake of choice for their birthday. My mom did the same for us growing up, and I always appreciated all the love and hard work she put in to our own special cake, regardless of how outlandish the request might be. That said, I'm not half the baker my mom is, and when the lovely lady suddenly informed me that she didn't want the oh-so-simple beach ball cake she'd originally requested (I had such lovely visions of easily frosting and decorating just one perfect round cake) and instead wanted a flip-flop cake, I panicked a little. Okay, a lot. Thankfully, with this nice little tutorial from Betty Crocker Kitchens and some help from my wonderful mother, I survived. Of course, the first cake I baked fell apart in pieces as I tried to unmold it, and after baking a second very crumbly cake, it was clear we wouldn't succeed in achieving the lovely version that the Betty Crocker ladies produced with ease. Moral of the story: never underestimate the power of high altitude, and keep the expectations low until I have my own cooking show. All in all, though, not bad! (Thanks, Mom)!
   

FLIP-FLOP BANNER

The rest fared much better, thankfully! My favorite was the flip-flop birthday banner (much of the credit goes to my brother and sister for endless hours of cutting and assembly!). Though time-consuming, it was pretty easy to figure out. Supplies included some day-glo cardstock from Office Max, one pack of colored letter stickers from Michael's, scissors, and some ribbon. We made a template and cut out the background for each letter. Then we cut little slits in each, through which we fed scraps of card stock to make the sandal straps. Last was to stick on the letters, feed each flip-flop in order onto the ribbon, secure it with some tape wherever needed, and hang. Pretty easy!

FINGER FOOD 

Of course I didn't get a good close-up of any of the food before it was gone, but it wasn't hard to run with the theme when it came to the rest of the spread! Pizza was the main course, rounded out by the following: iced Nutter Butters as "flip-flops," Goldfish in a bucket with a shovel scoop as "fresh catch," sour gummy straw "pool noodles," blue Kool-Aide "ocean water," and homemade "dunkeroos" - graham sticks with blue-colored marshmallow cream cheese dip. For the labels I just used the same card stock and some scrapbooking stickers from Michael's. All in all, very simple and fun!

FAVORS

No good pictures of the favors, either, unfortunately, but they were simple as well. We used mini buckets from Target filled with Swedish Fish, bubbles, and a mini beach ball. We printed a tag for each one with a picture of a beach ball and flip-flops that said, "Thanks, we had a ball!" 

And indeed, we did! Now crossing my fingers that my son sticks with his request for a "Blue Balloon Party" when he turns three next month...because a balloon cake I know I can handle!

Le Tour de West

I could be going to bed early right now. Instead I'm flopped on the couch with a cup of tea and a computer on my lap, trying to process the strange silence enveloping me after nearly two weeks of blissful chaos. Translation: my whole family finally made their first epic trip to Colorado! Since they've never been, and we've been apart for a good six months, you can only imagine the frenzy of squealing, hugging, cheek pinching, bread breaking, Olympics watching and tourist attraction frequenting that ensued.  We did some hiking, biking, swimming, golfing, shopping, family photos, water balloon launching, Pike's Peak, Red Rocks, downtown Denver, fireworks, and my tired brain forgets the rest. Throw in a little girl turning four and her birthday party (more to come on that) and the crazy meter was pegged!

Getting back into a routine after trying to squeeze so much in to two weeks is certainly appealing, but since their departure, my mind keeps coming to rest on two largely related schemes--the first: how to re-draw the map of the United States to cut out the yawning chasm of pesky mid-western states that separates us from my wonderful family in Pennsylvania (no offense, mid-westerners)...and the second: that beautiful house across the street that's still for sale and surely the perfect fit for my mother, father, and sister. (Hint, hint)!