The Lara Family Adventures

Lame Blogger

2009-07-08T16:55:00.001-04:00

I think I am learning that 1) I am a lame blogger and 2) I think it is seasonal. Since it is officially summer and I am barely working, I am not teethered to my computer these days. Forgive my lame blogging behavior and just know that fall is right around the corner. Well, kind of....

Truck Decorating Part II: The Party!

2009-06-25T10:32:00.002-04:00

Here is most of the truck party crew!
Isn't she looking so stylish?

Truck folk hard at work; The Toyota people thought we were loony!

More photos and a youtube to follow. You don't want to miss the playing of Taps for the truck...

All Hikes Lead to Swinging Bridges....or Tires

2009-06-20T07:10:00.000-04:00

We hiked to a tire playground at Patapsco State Park.

I've never seen so many different sized tires before used so creatively.

Just in case engineering doesn't work out,

Paul and Olive are practicing their balancing act on our hike.

Who loves a girl in stripes? Me!

Truck Decorating Part I

2009-06-19T20:46:00.007-04:00

In case you haven't heard....our truck is being repurchased from Toyota because of a rusty frame issue (due to a defective sealant Toyota used on their 1997-2001 Tacomas). Since we are all very sad the truck is leaving us (especially me...), we are having a Farewell Truck Party this Monday evening and will decorate the truck for its final send-off. Olive and I couldn't wait, and we started the decorations! By the way, Olive's lollipop "i"s (in her name) crack me up! As does her coveted Hello Kitty dress!

Anna's 8th Birthday at the Comic Bowling!

2009-06-15T21:06:00.006-04:00

Too much fun! Glow-in-the-dark bowling balls, really loud music, fluorescent lights and a pack of 2nd grade girls (plus, some assorted friends and family, like us!). Thanks, Anna Banana for having us to your party!

A Cousin Sleep-over

2009-06-15T21:01:00.004-04:00

Jess and Anna spent the night at our house. We had so much fun with them! Of course, we jumped rope, visited our local playground, made homemade playdoh (see the side photo - we made bright blue and red), and at one point Jess, Anna, Olive and I were all asleep in one bed! "Uncle" Paul was exiled to Olive's room, so us girls could talk girl talk, read stories to each other and cuddle. I must admit, I think I fell asleep first before any of them. Being a mom of three is fun and busy, no?

Splash Park for Dillon and Tobey's Birthdays

2009-06-15T20:56:00.004-04:00

We had so much fun at the Germantown Splash Park for Dillon's 5th birthday and Tobey's 1st birthday. It took Olive a touch of time to warm up to all the fountains, cool water and sprays, but she rallied and loved the place. I must admit, I thought the experience was a hoot!

Butterfly Garden Visit

2009-06-15T20:34:00.009-04:00

Silly Olive and Always-kind Dillon giggle at the Butterfly Pavilion

Aren't they cute together?

Kate and I swear they look like brother and sister.

Olive is four years old and Dillon just turned five years old.

Olive and Dillon playing in the gardens outside the Butterfly Pavilion.

Actually, I think they are sharing popcorn from Trader Joe's.

Kate (my girlfriend from grad school at Hopkins)

and Tobey at the Butterfly Pavilion

Grammie Visits Maryland

2009-06-11T10:14:00.003-04:00

Grammie, from Memphis, was just in town. We all enjoyed our visit with her and had lots of great "girl time," as Tom was out-of-town and Paul kept busy with guy things (you know, fixin' stuff, riding his bike, running, fixin' more stuff....). Some photos of our time with Grammie will be uploaded soon. Here are some highlights from our weekend with her:

Girls sleepover at Dana and Tom's house (participants included Olive, Jen, Dana, Jessica, Anna, Grammie and Bo the dog)
Ladies lunch at Nordstrom's Cafe - I personal favorite of mine!
Cheering Jess and Anna (and the other Kangaroo Kids) at their regional qualifier in Virginia. Guess what? Both Jess and Anna (and their teammates) qualifed to attend the Junior Olympics this summer in Iowa. Yahoo, jumpers!
Adult Gals day at the new Whole Foods in Annapolis. Paul took all the little girls to see UP! while us, big girls, enjoyed a day of shopping, eating, sampling, buying, shopping, eating, sampling, buying. We like repetition.

See what I mean? We had such a great visit with Grammie!

Supporting the Arts

2009-06-06T21:14:00.010-04:00

Plain & simple, our family supports the arts. Case in point, attending Jessica's String Orchestra Concert (and art show in the foyer). If you haven't attended an elementary school concert recently, then treat yourself. It is refreshing to see 3rd, 4th and 5th graders strumming along on their violins, cellos, basses & violas. Some might say "tough on the ears," but not us. Since we attended last year's concert, what we heard was progress. Life is about babysteps after all, isn't it?

Olive and James

2009-06-03T23:33:00.002-04:00

Yesterday, Olive and I played host to our neighbor, James. He's a real cute kid with the greatest red hair. In the photo, James and Olive have ripped apart just about all the toys and puzzles we own (on that level of our townhouse); We then proceeded to explore the toys in the basement and garage. It was a successful morning measured by how many toys we cleaned up at the end of our playdate and how much laughing and smiling the three of us enjoyed.

You asked for it, you got it!

2009-06-01T22:13:00.004-04:00

Alright, alright...I'll add more photos! Be careful what you wish for....here's one to tie you over. While Paul was biking in Virginia, Olive and I went hiking. Lately, all our hikes bring us to the same place - a swinging bridge. This one was surrounded by greenery and hung over a lapping river. We stopped for lunch just a bit further down the trail from this spot.

Maiden Voyage!

2009-06-01T12:50:00.002-04:00

Ahoy! This is our first blog post for the Lara Family Adventures blog. I would of just gone with "Lara Family," but apparently that blog name was already taken. Who knows, maybe they are distant relatives of ours? Hmmm.... At any rate, today marks our maiden voyage and we'll see how our blogging goes.

The latest and greatest news from our family:
Memorial Weekend - Our family spent the entire weekend camping and enjoying a mountain bike festival a touch south of Harrisonburg, Virginia. It was a great festival Paul found (right after he purchased his new Trek mountain bike). Needless to say, he was eager to ride his new bike and Olive and I were eager to oblige. We are mountain girls, after all, right? After spending three months nestled in the mountains of Nevada/California and Colorado for the winter, we all were happy to get back the hills. The festival was a great gathering. We camped with 200+ people who all seemed to share a love for the outdoors and especially biking (both road and mountain). I did a women's ride one day for three hours (about 22 miles). Though the ride was billed as a "mellow" ride, there was nothing mellow about it in my book! Single track, hill climbs, in and out of the saddle, fire roads, rock gardens. Mellow, my tush! I enjoyed the exercise, loved the distracting conversations with fellow women riders, and felt accomplished after my ride was finished. I was not super eager to ride more, but instead enjoyed hiking with Olive and playing in the local river. With just a small contribution to riding, Paul made up for it! Paul enjoyed two different rides. The "swift" ride, as it was called, was semi-swift, 30+ miles and challenging. Paul enjoyed some big hill climbs and the company of a fellow rider, who Paul tactfully told me provided Paul with plenty of opportunities to rest. Apparently, his new-friend-co-rider wasn't in tremendous shape. But, it is just May, the start of the season, right? Who is in perfect shape? The next day, Paul opted for the "huge" ride and enjoyed a steady day of challenging hill climbs, single track, rock gardens, road sections, skilled riders and 50+ miles in and out of the saddle! Typing the description makes me tired.... Paul loved the huge ride confirming that he has an eye of the Shenandoah 100 (yes, a 100 mile mountain bike ride/race during Labor Day weekend). He is making the most of his new bike purchase, isn't he?

...This is the spot where I would normally upload a photo, but we could not find our camera the entire weekend....

June events - Though the summer usually slows done for our family, this year, not so much. Paul will balance working full-time, riding his new bike (see a theme here?), running and road biking and attending a class at MIT this summer. Besides the Shenandoah 100, he is also training for another fall marathon, some century (100 mile) road rides and other mountain biking events of various lengths....Oh, and spending time with Olive and I! Olive has a busy summer of Courtney (our awesome nanny who Olive adores), finishing up her gymnastics season, a trip to the beach with the Amin Family (Dillon, Toby, and Kate - we are leaving the dads at home!), and spending time with her cousins (when they are not jump roping or going to camp), as well as, Paul's family, a hopeful visit to Florida, a visit from Grammie....life is forever a party for Olive! Me? I am inspired! I am developing a technology class for educators (which is what prompted me blogging), then re-developing the course for online delivery for parents and grandparents so they, too, will be in the tech-loop and researching some "other" ideas I have floating around my head. I think the high altitude and dramatic landscapes this winter planted seeds within me. I shall water them! Other fun things scheduled for me include a Jen-only trip to Chicago this summer to work at the Alli Tour (an action sports tour, my friend, Wade organizes) and to meet up with four very special girlfriends who I taught with in Ecuador. I am flying in from Maryland. Sheri is flying in from California. Angela is driving in from Michigan. Shelley is flying in from Canada and Jen M. is flying in from Singapore! Isn't that neat? We five are so looking forward to being together! Ahhh....

Ok, remember that technology class I am developing? Well, I really need to go and put the pedal to the metal. I will try and blog another day. Until then, Jen