Some new pics

Life has been good these last 3 weeks, since the family has returned from Iowa. The kids were at RMDC all day and prepped for testing in the afternoons. We have played lots of Wii and they are now very into Club Penguin on the computer. This means that they eat all their dinner, do their chores, and bathe regularly, just to get to play a little more. Whatever!

I need to scan some truly excellent pics from camp, but haven't located the scanner yet (oops). Here are a few pics from the last 3 weeks. Paul has been hard at work, weeding the front yard and Round Up-ing and sweeping the back; soon he will update moeltini.


Until then, enjoy!

Excellent read re Chinese adoptions

People are shocked that the wait time is so long for Chinese girls now. Here is a great summary of a talk given at a Chinese Heritage Camp:

http://chinaadoptiontalk.blogspot.com/2010/07/amy-eldridge-of-lwb-speaks.html

Worth a read.

6 months

My 2 week intro was up at yoga today, so I signed up for a 6month package, while canceling the gym. I figure the weather will hold so I can bike outside, and I can do drop-ins with Anna when I want to swim. We'll see in February if I want to continue with this practice or re-join the gym, which might be good winter tri prep at that point. I am really in love with this yoga. My arms are getting ripped, my flexibility is increasing daily, and now I realized I can bike there. Between long runs and yoga, I think I can take the end of the year to trim my waistline and get back in shape from the winter of Pioneer Woman. *ahem* It will be tough to get there in August, but once the kids are back in school it will be easy. Luckily Paul is willing to take them over the lunch hour so I can get to class in August. Wow - yoga - who would have thought... Paul and I took yoga while I was at CU but it's been years. I really like it and I really really like what it's doing for my arms. Now, if it would just get rid of my tummy too...

Quick Vacation Update

It's been busy here without alot of time to update moeltini. It will be updated eventually with many wonderful pics of our adventures in the mid-west, but here are some Iowa pics for now (our Chicago vacay is chronicled here.)

My family went on to Iowa while I returned home to Denver. All the Moellers but Jean were able to make it (she's a doctor - finally, Jay got his doctor!) and the kids spent a very chill week with their cousins. I believe there was more gaming that anything, but Paul took some pics that suggested that they did get out of the basement (with more on than just undies) on a few occasions.

Fishflies take Dubuque! On the night before our wedding day in 1998, the fishflies were out. Unsuspecting guests to Dubuque who left their hotel windows opened returned to their rooms filled with fishflies. Rosa's reaction to them was the best - the most horrified. Apparently this happens every year around this time. I've witnessed it twice. Glad I missed it this year!


Moellers do Swiss Valley. Here the kids apparently forgot their swimsuits. They fish for crawdads and have a blast splashing around. This is definitely a summer tradition for my kiddos. And this year, no one lost a Croc in the water! Bonus!


The aforementioned gaming. Max, Sam, Henry & Ted in the basement.


Marshmallow guns with Uncle Rod. The kids came home with their treasured guns, each one hand-crafted to their specifications out of PVC pipe.

busy busy

Excuse the stock photo, but my rear isn't nearly as attractive. *Ahem.*

Besides training (or not training, but that's another post), my other focus this week has been building and organizing. LOTS of building apparently. I found Sam a sweet simple desk at Tar-jay and darned if I didn't put it together. It's not as smooth as it should be, so I hope Paul can work on it a bit when he comes home, but I was pretty darned proud of myself! I even have the blisters on my hands to prove it (the directions explicitly showed a picture of an electric screwdriver with a big red X over it. *sigh*)

I also built an hysterical shoe spinner (yes, really) and re-organized the pantry closet so it now fits the cleaning supplies that were continually falling over in the bathroom. That and lots of cleaning (we haven't cleaned since we've moved in) have filled my days. Ole is enjoying his two walks a day and we're both loving the early afternoon nap.

This morning I went to Rabbi Rose's 2nd son's bris (and am thoroughly grateful that I am past the baby stage. They now have a newborn and a 2 year old. Oh, those days were hard. Beautiful and wonderful, but hard.)

Soon I'm off to dinner with Wendy (my crazy Ironman (IronWoman?) friend and an evening of catching up. And tomorrow I'll bike to the Rez and do a lap or two, then run in the early evening. Oh my. I am severely under-motivated.

Fun in Chicago

While the rest of my family shoots off illegal fireworks, watches too much SpongeBob, plays too much Lego Star Wars and stays up way too late, Ole and I lounge around at home. So far, we've slept in til 8am, gone on a long walk, had eggs and asparagus for breakfast, and caught up on blogs. A whole week to myself, even with my big race looming, is amazing.
Our carpeting was installed in the basement, even though there was supposed to be a delay so we could have the area tested for mold etc. And Ted's little cupboard under the stairs wasn't carpeted. I have a call in. It'll be OK. I'm still hoping for a painter. I have lots of calls in for that. It'll be OK.

Last week was lots of fun. We drove to Lincoln on Sunday and swam in the hotel pool. Ted and Mae alternated between the hot tub and the cold pool, flinging themselves into both with abandon. Sam and I shook our heads at them in confusion. We arrived in Iowa on Monday and spent the evening catching fireflies and catching up with G'pa Moeller. I took "our Heather" out for dinner on her last night in our family. On Tuesday we all said our tearful goodbyes to Heather and set off for Chicago. We swam in the hotel pool, claimed the comfy beds and set up our little kitchen in the suite.

On Wednesday we took the kids to LegoLand Discovery Center, which they loved. We met up with Maria and her kiddos, Eli, Sam & Zach. The look of pure joy on Ted's face, all day long, was awesome. We met up with Rosa and Bernhard at Gulliver's that night for dinner; B and my dad trading eating stories while Rosa and I caught up. Her baby is due in November - we are all beyond excited for her. On Thursday we met up with my friend Leslie and her 4 children at The Grove, a living museum. Her sons Charlie and Henry got along with Ted straight away (this happens every summer) while Phoebe (also from China) tried to befriend Mae, without much success. Baby Teddy is almost 2 and so friendly! The kids loved the one-room schoolhouse, the log cabin, the fancy house and the longhouse. They also loved the building with the 100+ year old turtle and lots of snakes. It was a great day, followed with lunch at the Choo Choo Restaurant, another tradition. Friday morning we had brunch at the hotel (so fancy) and after one last swim, packed everyone up and sent them on their way back to Iowa.

My folks got lost taking me to the airport, but I got a taxi and made it in time, so no harm done. I was in 1st class (not sure how that happened, since I got the ticket with Visa points) but if I hadn't had that element I would have missed it for sure. Check-in and security go much faster in 1st class! I arrived home around 8 and gleefully walked the few blocks home and collected Ole. After opening windows and putting things away, we crashed, blissfully, in our own beds.

And now, says Ole, it's time for another walk.

Memories to cherish:

Ted's smile at Legoland

Sam's peaceful, gentle somersaults and rolls in the hotel pool

Breakfast alone with Mae every morning and the ensuing chats

Paul yelling at the TV during the World Cup Soccer games