Pat's Run 2014

This year Pat's Run was on Saturday, April 26. We drove to our rental house in Avondale, Arizona on Wednesday afternoon. I had Ever in big-girl undies the few days before we left, and she seemed to have the potty thing down. To be safe, I put her in a diaper for the 5.5-hour drive. She told us when she wanted to pull over for a bathroom, however, and kept her diaper dry.

Thursday morning Jim and I went for a run while Ever played at the house with the Karners. We met Wade Eagar (Jim's old mission companion), his wife, and their youngest son at Chick-fil-A for lunch. (Who knew Chick-fil-A was so delicious? And with the playground for the kids, it's a hit with the whole family.) Jim took Ever in the pool that afternoon.

Christian was being a megalodon (extinct species of shark that lived millions of years ago). Jim kept saying, "No, Megalodon!  No!"

Then Ever started doing it, too.  "No, Megalodon!"

The Karners brought a scooter that Ever hijacked for the whole trip. She LOVED it. She was very careful about not running into things, so I let her ride it in the house. Back and forth, back and forth. During naps and nighttime, she "hid" it in her room so that no one else could get it. We allowed that selfish behavior because it meant she'd let us close her bedroom door, and Kara and Christian didn't seem interested in using it anyway.  Here she is with crazy post-nap hair, getting the scooter from its parking spot by her bed:

Friday morning Jim took all the kids (except Alina, who is a baby) to the park while the rest of us grown-ups got a little more sleep. It was awfully excellent of him. She rode it to the park Friday. These photos remind me of The Young Riders, jammies-style:

We (well, Jim, Ever, and the Karners) spent more time in the pool on Friday.  We Kringels had a quick dinner Friday night with Jim's former roommate, Mike Latteier, and his family. Then we had some ice cream at home. Nobody told Ever not to bite off the bottom of her cone. She had some drippage, but she dealt with it:

Saturday was race day. We lucked out this year and had amazing, cool weather. Jim, Derrick, Ever, and I raced; Mel stayed home with her kids. In past years, we have gotten there before the beginning of the race and have had to wait around a long time. This year we tried to guess when stroller group would start the race, and we showed up then. As we approached the ASU stadium, we saw zillions of racers heading toward the finish line:

Derrick, Jim, and stroller

Turns out all corrals had already gone. We had to cut through barriers and run to the start line, as it appeared they were shutting it down. Derrick was dismayed that we made the run longer.

Jim, stroller, and Derrick

At first it was exciting to be the very last racers because we had no one in front of us. Then we caught up to everybody and had to walk a lot because all the slow pokes were blocking the road.

After we finished the race, we went into the stadium, ate fruit, and drank Gatorade. Stadium group shot:

Then we went back down to the start line for the kids' .42-mile race. Deb and Jonathan Moffat ended up going to AZ that weekend, last minute. Deb did the regular race and registered Parker for the kids' race. We found them at the start line so Parker and Ever could run together.

Parker and Deb in front of Ever and Jim

Jonathan in the background, me in yellow, Ever, and Parker

It was a struggle to get the kids to keep running, and it was a struggle to get Ever to run in a straight line:

Parker was ahead of Ever for the first while. Then a big area opened up in front of them, and I told Ever to make her move. She sprinted right by Parker and cut in front of him. It was awesome. Deb was on the side waving Parker on and yelling, "Come on, Parker! She's beating you!" This video was taken right after Ever passed Parker. You can see Deb's legs and most of Parker behind her. Deb is yelling, "Go get her!"

It was a proud moment. I wondered if people thought we were serious tiger moms. 

Jim, Ever, and Deb (egging on Parker, who didn't quite make the pic)

Jim, Ever, Deb, Parker, and Jonathan

Based on these pictures of Parker and Ever about to cross the finish line, you would assume all was well:

This picture Deb took from the other direction, however, reveals that Ever was totally crying: 

Apparently she wanted Jim to carry her, but Jim thought it important that she cross the finish line on her own.

Parker and Ever, post-race (Jim's hiding behind Ever as if it's a shenaniquin shot):

Ever enjoyed playing in the drink pool while Deb and Jonathan loaded up a bag full of the free goods:

Jim and Ever chilled in their race shirts back at the house:

Saturday Jim made me finally get in the pool. 

Afterward Ever and I enjoyed a candle-lit bath together: 

We tried to go to Macaroni Grill for dinner, but all of the high schoolers were there on prom dates. We ended up next door at a non-chain. My dinner was delicious. Ever really enjoyed the rice:

We polished off the ice cream back at the house:

Kara and Ever

Sunday was the long drive home. As always, it was a lovely family vacation, and it was fun to spend time with the Karners. Ever sure loves those Karner kids. She's adorable with little Alina:

Looking forward to Pat's Run 2015!

Easter Weekend

The Friday before Easter, Ever and I went to Kristi and Lance Rondo's annual Easter egg hunt. This was the first year we were invited - I assume because we finally have a kid old enough to participate. Jim got a last-minute invitation to a Padres game, so we had to go without him. I was really awkward for a long while, standing around and mostly not talking to anyone. I wish I were more socially graceful sometimes.

They did an egg hunt in the front yard first. Each egg contained a single puzzle piece. The kids found the eggs and put the puzzle together while the men hid the candy eggs in the back. Ever was too small to participate in the puzzle portion, so we sat on the side and watched. She kept asking where the candy eggs were. We went to the backyard a little early, and Ever found a trike with which she was instantly obsessed. She tried to pick up a few eggs, and I told her to put them back; it wasn't time yet. Then eventually all the other kids came rushing out, and I told Ever it was time to find the eggs. She stood by her trike and looked a little stunned. I urged her to find eggs and put them in her bag, and then I watched from the sidelines. She picked up a couple eggs that were right next to her, shook them by her ear, and put them back down. I finally went over to her and said, "Ever, these are the candy eggs. You know these are the candy eggs, right?" Eventually she selected two eggs (not sure how she decided which were keepers), put them in her bag, brought her bag to me, and got back on her trike, where she remained for the rest of the evening. She rode backward and forward, up and down the asphalt as all the other kids rushed around searching for eggs.  I was pretty pumped we didn't come home with a bunch of candy.

Saturday night we went to dinner and a movie (Draft Day, which Jim and I enjoyed) with a new-ish couple in the ward, Haleigh and Alan Bruns. We totally forgot to put Dolly's Easter basket together before bed. Fortunately, Dolly woke up around 5:30 Sunday morning needing to go to the bathroom (the joys of potty training). I helped her, then made her get back in bed even though I knew she wouldn't go back to sleep. I went downstairs and threw her basket together. Candy, Play-Doh, and sidewalk chalk:

In honor of Easter, Jim had no meetings before or after church. It was nice to have him home all morning. We went on a little bike ride, and then Jim and Ever played with her new Play-Doh. Nails (Jim) and jewelry (Ever - necklace and bracelet):

Jim's the best dad.

Church meetings were nice. After church we went to Nanny and Papa Wilson's for Easter dinner and an egg hunt. Jeremy and Trisha and fam ended up having to go to her parents' house for Easter dinner, so they weren't there. It was Nanny and Papa, Ben and Mishelle, Zach, and Chrystal (Karen's niece) and fam. The Wilsons have been so nice to adopt us.

Egg hunt:

Ever and Mishelle

Chrystal's daughter Abby (I think) in the foreground

Tiny E