Another crazy weekend

I think I need to find new adjectives to describe our weekends. Or just get over how absolutely jam-packed they have become (and how they seem will always be from now on...)

On Friday, Jenetta's dad Pat and his wife Shelley came out from Phoenix. The girls never get tired of having more grandparents. L was commenting how excited she is because she has "much grandpas and much grandmas..."

That night after we went out for dinner, we went to Cruisin' Grand to check out the old cars. The girls were so excited to see the Hernandez family. Jena and her mom Shari were tearing it up at the hula hoop competition!

Carmel popcorn and a walk through town is always a treat. Plus, we stopped to visit just about every dog in Escondido!


On Saturday morning, I got up at 3:30 so I could run 20 miles before the day really got busy. I made it with minimal leg chafing and only a slightly upset stomach. I'm convinced I can complete the marathon in two weeks without stopping to walk or rest now. My original time goal was 4 hrs 45 min, but I'm pretty sure I will be closer to 4:30 now. I was very steady over 20 miles. It was kind of neat to run the first 5 in complete darkness. There was no one else out at that hour!

Something that was kind of cool was that I paused briefly at 13.1 miles to say a prayer for my brother Joel who was running a half marathon in South Dakota. After our runs, we checked in with each other on the phone and it turns out because I started so early, (and I run slower than him) I was actually within a few minutes of his finishing time.

Then we went with Pat and Shelley and took the girls to an adoption support carnival event in the city. That was a lot of fun. The girls won some prizes and got their faces painted. It's nice to have grandparents to help at an event like that. It was also cool to connect with some other adoptive families that we hadn't seen for a while and hear about what they are experiencing.

After nap time, we took the girls to Crystal and Brandon Barnett's home. Thank you! Thank you!!! They looked after the girls and let them play with Austin as we went with the majority of the Giles clan to the reception for Frances and Earnie's wedding. It was a very nice dinner, and even though we could only stay for a few hours, it was great to have an evening away with adult conversation and to get dressed up for a special event. It was good to check back in with Jenetta's relatives. They all made the drive over from Phoenix that day.

Much of the weekend was also spent coordinating the details for a last minute video production session for work. We are putting together an educational video to give to our customers, and one of our expert testimony contacts was only available on Monday, so I helped to coordinate all these details and arrange for flights to get him here tomorrow morning. So on top of all the other stuff we did, I spent a lot of time on the phone... :(

I had hoped Sunday would have been a day of rest for us. But O woke up at 3:00 and although we dealt with her concern quickly, it was hard for both of us to get back to sleep. Church was really good. We really need our supports there. Everyone is so helpful and encouraging! I wouldn't mind meeting with those people almost everyday :)

After church, all the Giles relatives came over to meet the girls. That was a lot of fun - more super grandparents!!!

After nap time, the girls were pretty wound up, so we played quietly at the house for a while, then I took them to the pool again. This is getting to be their favorite activity.

After dinner, we planted some tomato plants and some new flowers together. After bath time, Jenetta popped some popcorn, and we watched Thomas the Train on cable on demand.

After all that, I took some time to put new music on my iPod, but I have laundry to fold and dishes to wash... never ending...