Our Little Athlete

Sanjay has decided to run with the Landsharks club this fall. It's a cross-country running club organized through the elementary schools in the area. They have been practicing for a couple of weeks, and tonight was the first official race.

The little kids run a 1/2 mile loop. Sanjay was nervous... he told me. So far, he's been a natural at sports. He picked up biking quickly and you should see him swing a golf club. It all just comes naturally for him. He's a bit like his Daddy in that regard. In any case, tonight this 1/2 mile run was a real challenge. It was difficult for me to see him on the first 2/3rds of the course, but I suspect he went out just a wee bit too fast and so by the end he just ran out of steam. Before the next race, I think I'll take him out and teach him what it means to pace yourself.

They had an adult run in front of the group to show them the way. The officials told the racers that if you pass the "man in the blue shirt" you get a treat. This was like a dangling carrot for Sanjay; that's all he needed to hear. :) A few times tonight he's already confessed to me that he really wished he could have caught up to the man in the blue shirt and overtaken him.

I've spent way too much time on the computer tonight editing photos and splicing together this video. I shall share it with you now, as my cozy bed and well-worn library book are calling:

Summer Bookends

Summer unofficially starts with Memorial Day and ends with Labor Day weekend. It turns out that we had great weather for both holidays this year and I have some pictures to prove it. We have been enjoying biking as a family since Sanjay graduated to 2 wheels. We have a lot of paved trails around here to take advantage of, and that we've been doing. Even after 7 years of being in Colorado, I still appreciate the beauty that surrounds us. Not a day goes by that I don't admire the bright blue skies and the majestic mountains.






Take a look at the rest of the photos here on Facebook. Even if you are not a member, you should be able to view them.

Sanjay Starts School

Well it took me a couple of days to get this posted, but Sanjay officially started Kindergarten this year. He was excited but nervous about this new adventure. I think probably a little bit more on the nervous side though. Luckily he has a great teacher to ease him into this new phase of life. If you picture a stereotypical Kindergarten teacher, the one they would likely cast in a movie, that's his teacher. She talks so sweet to the children. Sanjay loves her already.

Here are some pictures from his first day...

First Day of School

Priya just started the second half of elementary school today. She is excited to be in the 3rd grade portables, but not excited about all the work that comes with being a 3rd grader. She used to say to us that she wanted to move so that she didn't have to go to 3rd grade at this school. Luckily she was thrilled with her teacher assignment, so it looks like it'll be another good year.






She fell off the swingset at a friend's house over the weekend and the left side of her face landed in some rocks. :( So, I was trying to get some closeups showing the boo-boos... as soon as she realized what I was doing, she wanted nothing more to do with it.


At school she cuddled up with a friend in the class line to keep warm.

You may be wondering "Where are the pictures of Sanjay?" Well, they have a staggered start in Kindergarten so it's not too overwhelming on the students or the teachers. His first day is tomorrow, so look for another blog post soon.

Weekend in Estes Park

Wanted to share the photos from our weekend in Estes Park, home of the Stanley Hotel. The Stanley Hotel was the inspiration for Stephen King's "The Shining". Luckily, we didn't spend the weekend in the hotel, but rather with our friends in a cozy little house just outside the city. We took a couple of hikes, the kids climbed trees and played mini-golf and we thoroughly enjoyed each others company.

On The Road Again

We're all packed up and ready to head back to Colorado in the morning. It'll be three days in the swagger wagon. I-70, here we come!

Caboose on Vacation

My parents have four of these little dogs and Caboose tried every day to get each one to play, but it never worked out for him. He did make huge strides with this one though. Her name is Snickers and she's afraid of big dogs.

On the evening that we arrived, she squealed like a little kid when she was first introduced to Caboose. She ran around the deck literally screaming. I had never heard a noise like that coming out of a dog. Our neighbor looked over, my Mom came running outside... it sounded like she was getting eaten alive by Caboose.

The ironic thing is that he was probably more scared of her. He backed away and cowered down when he heard the crazy noises coming from this little mop. It took her about 3 hours to settle down from the shock of this big guy invading her house. By morning, she figured out that he wasn't going anywhere and she actually started to enjoy his company. Seriously, of the four dogs, she's the one you'll find nearest Caboose at any given time. She doesn't LIKE him, but she does tolerate him.

Dad snapped this cute shot of them hanging on the dog bed while we were away in Mexico.



With the sweltering heat this summer on the east coast, Caboose ended up spending a lot of time in the air conditioning of the indoors chilling out.