ohhhh10 Summer

Summer of oh10 will be one for the books! It's been busy busy busy, but never a dull moment! I spent 4th of July in Nashville, TN for the Little People of America conference - where my girl Casandra competed in the dwarf national swim meet - and won THREE Gold Medals! (I have pictures, but not here!)

Ian and I took his family to hoppin' Maupin for a fun filled day of white water rafting - which never gets old! Ian's boat was a little tippy tippy, but the day was so fun!

Ian and I celebrated three years of wedded bliss, and had a WHOLE WEEKEND OFF. so we took a look at the SF Giants web site, saw they had three games against the DODGERS in SF - sent a quick text message to our boy Sergio Romo who hooked us up with players tickets! So we did a quick road trip to SF and watched the Giants SWEEP LA! which was so fun.

And now I (Kendra) am in Keizer for a few days hanging out with the fam. Dad had open heart surgery a week ago, and I'm here to help out for a few days. It has been so fun and special to just spend time with the family.

That's what were up to!

Books

We're going on vacation soon! We're headed to Washington to spend one glorious week at Anderson Island - and I can't hardly wait!

This week is finals week - and I had a math final, a writing final (which was a 6 page essay) and a physiology lab ALL DUE on MONDAY - needless to say last weekend sucked. Big Time. & when Monday was over, I was happy - and now....I have one last finals on FRIDAY! Friday? Really? How annoying. I wish I could have just taken it on Tuesday to get it over with....

Anyways, with no school today I had a fabulous day - I spent the morning with two girl friends we went for a drive, ended up at beautiful benham falls and went for a little walk. It was just so nice to get outside, and be with some wonderful women. This afternoon I meet a friend for sushi, and now I'm on my way to the pool! What a great day!

One thing I really miss since starting school is reading. For enjoyment. All my spare time that I used to spend reading for enjoyment is now spent doing homework, or reading for school. Lame & lame.

Over Christmas break I read Donald Miller's new book A Million Miles in a Thousand Years.

Now, over spring break I have two books I want to read : Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne and Crazy Love by Francis Chan. I am really really excited to sit at the Island House and read these books!

Isn't it funny the things we get excited about? I used to hate reading for fun, but my girls in Philly helped change me! Now I can't wait for a week off to read. I'm getting excited just thinking about it!

I highly highly recommend Donald Miller's book - ALL of them really - but A Million Miles in a Thousand Years is A-MAZING. Life changing really. I'll let you know what I think about these two, but they come highly recommended!

Today I'm just thankful for a great day off, and two new books to read during my week off!

Wacky Wednesday

The craziest day of my week on the pool deck is always Wednesdays. You know, it's the middle of the week, and I'm in class all day, so by the time I get on the pool deck I'm a little tired. But one reason it's actually crazy is because here in the Bend Lapine School District, kids go to school 1/2 day on Wednesdays. So they are out early, and it just throws things out-of-whack, it's not part of any routine, for any one, and it's in the middle of the week, so kids show up to the pool after their half day of school and it's always a little wacky. They are usually early, and wound up, and busy- and I don't know maybe they sit around and watch TV and eat sugar for the second half of their day before coming to the pool- whatever it is, Wednesdays are consistently crazy.

Today was no exception.

This afternoon I show up on the pool deck, the kiddo's hop in the pool and are warming up like normal (just so you can see it, we practice in an 8 lane pool, and swim in the first three lanes, the rest of the lanes are filled with lap swimmers) and all of a sudden in the lane next to my lil guys (where lap swimmers are...), I hear "HELP! HELP!" I look over and see this man, carrying this other man slung over him who looks DEAD. His head is flopped back, eyes closed, and he wasn't breathing. The lifeguard runs over, my kids are(in the pool next to dead-looking-man) asking "whats going on? whats going on?" and all I have running through my head is "oh shit...oh shit... oh SHIT"

You see, when stressful events like this happen I can process no thoughts. At least nothing logical. You know what I thought as soon as I first saw this going on? Besides repeated curse words...

JUMP IN.

That's all I could process. To get in the pool. Which makes NO SENSE. The man is being carried in 4 feet of water. They don't need a fully clothed, crazy woman jumping in, that would not be helpful. At all.

My second thought? Was RUN. I just wanted to get out of there. I was sure there was a dead RIGHT THERE. I just wanted to get as far away as I could.

My third thought? HOLY SHIT I HAVE 20 - 8 YEAR OLD KIDS IN THE POOL.

My friend Jody was standing right there (and luckily, thankfully, she can put together thoughts in stressful situations like this....) and I looked at her and - in a panic asked her- " What should I do?!" and she, in a calm controlled voice said " get the kids out of the pool!"

Great. Yes. Something I can do. Something I know how to do.

So there I am, a totally panicked Coach Kendra Getting! Kids! Out! Of! the! pool!!!!! ahhhH!!!!! And my crazy energy isn't helping 20 eight year olds who are watching this dead looking man being drug out of the pool. Right next to them.

"is he dead?" They keep asking. I keep thinking 'I don't freaking know!! Lets just get out of here!!!'

I start herding all the little kiddies to the other end of the pool, away from all the hustle and bustle of the dead looking man with no heart beat.....and we walk to the other end, and I felt light headed. My hands were shaking. My heart was racing. I needed water and to sit down. I thought I was going to faint. (thankfully, I didn't)

You know those people who are totally cool in situations like this? Thankfully, sitting on the bleachers of parents there were a few of these calm cool people ,one was a fire fighter, and an ER nurse - who quickly jumped up raced over to helpe. In talking with them after, it's just whats ingrained in them. Stephanie said "as soon as I saw it I just ran over there, I didn't know what I was doing, or going to do" but she just ran over and did whatever she needed to do help the man. Un like me who just wanted to jump in the pool, or run. Neither of which options were very smart OR helpful.

I'm very envious of these people who can take charge of a situation, and put together logical thoughts in stressful situations. And tonight more than anything I was just happy to be surrounded by those kinds of people. So I could sit and sip on my water and almost faint over seeing something scary. What IS my problem?

Did you know I fainted last month? Ian had this surgery done on his mouth. It was gross, they took a graft from the roof of his mouth and stitched it on his gums above his tooth..... anyways, it was gross. So he had this surgery, and I had to pick him up after, because he couldn't drive after being on all these 'surgery drugs' so I was the shuttle home. I went into this TINY room where the nurse is telling me all about what he can and can not eat, and how to take care of his mouth post-surgery and how to take care of stitches and la la la la la.... because Ian probably won't remember most of the important info- because he's on all these drugs. And while were in this tiny room, I all of a sudden got REALLY hot. light headed. I started getting all dizzy, so I ask for a bottle of water, and boom. I fainted. I was supposed to be the ride home! Ian's on drugs after this surgery- He's walking and talking fine - but can't drive, & I'm the one fainting!

I'm telling you I have no composure in these situations.

Oh just so you know; un named man did not die. He had no heart beat, and was not breathing when they yanked him out of the pool, but the lifeguards and people around him did CPR right away, got his heart beating, and he was 'stable' when he left. Apparently he has some kind of heart condition....I'm not sure what really happened, but he left on the ambulance. We stood around, answering lots of curious 7 year old questions, trying to be positive, but of course I was freaking out inside.

Anyways, on this especially Wacky Wednesday I'm thankful for ER nurses, fire fighters, Lifeguards, and friends of mine - who can come up with complete, realitive thoughts in stressful situations.

This time of year is always so much fun! So busy, always a little crazy, but so fun!

It's championship season, which means lots of pool deck time, LUCKILY I coach with my friend!

Time spent on the pool deck is quality. The District Championship Meet was last weekend, and our Bend High Lava Bears were no disappointment! They steped up and raced their hearts out, we saw tons of best times, lots of swimmers in the big finals, and some medals! This kid is exactly why I love coaching High School Swimming:


The begining of the season he could. not. swim. He coudln't side breath, or dive....and here we are at the district meet with two medals around his neck! MEDALS! He swam 24.9 in the 50 free (which is fast, for those of you non-swimmer types) and he made it to state in two relays! It's really awesome what can happen in three months! We had 12 kids qualify for the State Championships which is just, AWESOME!

Here's my girl doing my hair and rocking out to some music before the meet begins; fun times!

And here are some future Lava Bears!
And you KNOW pool time doesn't mean all work and no play, we got some fun mountain time in, with a special treat this week, Ian's dad joined us for a Tuesday Snowboarding sesh!
In MT Hood for the weekend for state, then I'm in Eugene Sunday to watch my little guys race at their state meet! woo!

Happy Feb!

UnPlugged

We had this past weekend off - and if you know us at all - you know that a weekend off together is rare. So to celebrate this rare occasion my wonderful husband booked us a little cabin over in Camp Sherman - you know - the Metolious River area - called Lake Creek Lodge.

It's about 45 min away - not very far - easy to get to in a day - but far enough away to be unplugged.

You know what I mean by unplugged? No cell service, no wi-fi, no T.V. It was quiet, and peaceful, and beautiful. Just Ian, myself, and our two little pups all snuggled up in this little cabin in the woods.We were planning on snowboarding Saturday night at Hoodoo - but I'm not feeling 100% - I've come down with that icky cold- sore throat, stuffy nose and lingering cough- so we thought a night on the mountain wasn't the best plan, so we stayed in, which was just perfect. Here is Abby in her favorite spot: right by the fire.

There is something really special, really intimate, really wonderful when you spend a weekend 'unplugged.' We went for long walks with the dogs, took an afternoon nap, snuggled up by the fire, engaged in conversation. Really special conversations happen when there is no TV on, or computer to be in front of, or cell phone to be checking. We had conversations in that little cabin that would be impossible to have at home - just because of the sheer fact we were away from it all - only 45 min away - but it felt like we were miles and miles away from the busyness, and craziness of our lives...

We made a yummy dinner, and played mancala - you know?

That game with the colored stones. We never play that game at home, but we had so much fun playing together, just laughing, and talking and playing that silly game.

We were talking on the way home, just about how intentional we were this whole weekend, making dinner, taking the dogs for walks, having conversations with no noise, no distractions, just simply sitting for a few hours playing little games, and why we don't do these things at home. The conversation turned from why we don't do these things to - "hey! Lets try."

And I'm not sure if it's possible...Maybe it is, and I'm sure with some effort it can be acheived, but it's so easy to find a million things that have to be done like we need to clean out the garage, pick up the back yard, oraganize the closet....there is always something to do. And if we aren't doing busy work at home, than the TV is on, or the radio, or we are in front of the computer, or on our cell phones.....Maybe weekends away it just makes us appreciate it more....or maybe we should be intentional about unplugging ourselves at home, and sitting together, making dinner together, take the dogs out together, and have special conversations right here, in our home.....all pleasant thoughts - I'll let you know how that goes for us =)

For now, I leave you with a few pictures from our unplugged, wonderful relaxing weekend at Lake Creek Lodge:

Here is Abby & I on a walk

Our famous self-portrait shot:
Here we are in front of our cabin. *note* We tried to get a picture with both dogs, but honestly it's hard. Being outside with two dogs who would much rather just run off the porch than wait 10 seconds for the timer on the camera, this is the best we could do:

Here is Ian, Abby & Taylor on a walk

And here they are all packed up in the back of the car, ready to go home
Ahead we have a fun-filled week of school work & the big o'll district swim meet! woo-hoo! & Go Lava Bears!

I heart Tuesdays

I know, I know, it's been a LONG time since I last updated this, and trust me, I've thought about doing it a lot. Something funny will happen, or something new, and I want to write on here to keep our fine readers in-the-know when it comes to our Anderson Adventures, but quite honestly we're really busy.

And lets be honest, everyone says that. Who's not busy, right? But trust me when I say, we're busy. But you don't want to hear about our boring everyday life, so I'll update you on the cool stuff!

Starting with this little love:

Abby! Our new little puppy. Look how tiny she was in the above picture!

We got her from the humane society the weekend after Thanksgiving. She was 8 weeks then, so now she's like 14 or 15 weeks? Something like that. She's awesome, and Taylor LOVES having a playmate.

We got Taylor when she was 2 - so we missed all the puppy stuff - which trust me, there are plenty of nights with Abby I wish we missed all the puppy stuff, but mostly we just love watching her get bigger, and play with Taylor, and do cute funny puppy stuff. Currently they are on the floor just wrestling and chewing on each other. Having two dogs is awesome, because they just entertain themselves! They love going on runs together, and playing with each other. I look forward to Abby being 100% potty trained, not digging up my back yard & loosing her desire to chew on everything.

But just look at that sweet puppy face? She's so stinking cute! Even if she still pees in my house and chews on my things, that face you can't deny: she's CUTE.

And there they are. Best Friends Forever. Taylor & Abby. AWwwww.

Kay enough puppy puppy for now.

You know how I'm in school? And it's swim season -which means I'm coaching two teams? Ya? Well I also got a job teaching at a pre school! Which I love, but if you add it all up: That's three jobs, full time school & a new puppy (who needs to be let out every few hours), not to mention Ian got promoted and is now managing his own store.... The facts don't lie folks, we needed a second car: DESPERATELY!

I don't have a picture, though I should have one. After much debate over another Jeep, Ian would have LOVED a truck, we drove an Audi, and a Passat, we ended up with a 2002 Subaru Impreza Sport. Which will eventually be my primary car, when I learn how to drive a stick. It's a sweet little silver car, 4 doors, hatch back, so both dogs fit. Gets better gas mileage than the jeep, handels well in the snow, is all wheel drive, and people tell us they last for ever. I will eventually write a blog about my thoughts and feelings on one vs. two cars, but for now we got a second car which makes life SO. MUCH. EASIER.

Tuesdays have become they day I look forward to every week. It's my day off. We when I say day off I mean I still work 4 hours, but I get the day off. I have pracitice from 4:30-8:30, but no class, and no pre school. So I quite like Tuesdays. And Ian being a manager now, he gets to write his own schedugle which, you can probably guess what day he takes off most weeks? Yup. Tuesdays. This is what we did last Tuesday:


That's Hoodoo. Because on Tuesdays @ Hoodoo, a lift ticket is $19. So we can buy two lift tickets, gas to get up there, lunch on the mountain, and still not spend as much as we would on ONE lift ticket at Mt. B. As much as I love Bachelor - heck Hoodoo is cheap- so we like to spend Tuesdays there, when we can. Though today is Tuesday, and I'm sitting in my living room writing this blog. Well that is because this Saturday for the first time in 5 weeks, I do not have a swim meet! So we're taking the weekend off. Which means Ian is working today, and I still get the day off. Well you know, not off, but it's easy to be on the pool deck at night after a day off.

As for our weekend off, it will surly be an Anderson Adventure I will want to write about! Ya know - We have friends who love to go to the city for a weekend off. Get a nice hotel room in Portland, go out for a nice dinner, and hang out in the city - but you wanna know what we're doing? We've rented a little cabin in camp sherman - packing up the pups, and we're spending the weekend in this sweet little cabin - gonna snowboard Sat. night @ Hoodoo, and just spend the weekend relaxing in our little cabin in the woods. I'm really excited.

Then, after our splendid weekend away - its GO TIME as far as swim season. Championship season is upon us, we're tappering, going to pasta feeds, & getting ready to race. It's time for the big district meet then off to the State Championships! Love it.

I'll leave you with these last few pictures of our crazy few months, and I promise to get back on here more often to update you on our lives more often!

Glow Stick Dance Party on the bus on our way home after a meet in Corvo.

Ian & I on our way to snowboard for the first time this season!
*Happy Face!*


And one last puppy-puppy pic - 'cuz you can't get enough of that face!!

(I LOVE it when her ears flip up like that!!! So funny!)

six year old's have six hundred questions...

We have our friend's daughter with us until Tuesday. Her name is Sarah and she is 6. We have her from Sunday - Tuesday, and she's awesome! But it is 9:15 at night, and I'm exhausted.

Like I said, she is six, and has so! many! questions! "why is it so cold? "is this why your house is so cold? (pointing to the skylight)"where do teeth come from?" Why do teeth fall out?" (she lost her first tooth last week, that's why so many teeth questions!) were there trees around before people?" These questions come just randomly too. there's no preparation, no warning, we're just driving in the car and BOOM! You're hit with one. Like "were there trees before people??" Ian said no - I said yes because there were trees when dinosaurs were around- he said there were caveman's - we stopped before we confused the poor girl.

I figure with so many questions, either parents are really smart, really creative, or just have no answer. Right now I'm all over the map with her, I don't want her to think I am stupid, so I want to offer some sort of answer, but I don't want to lie to her, she's bound to find the real answer someday...She's so curious....

I just studied for a math test while watching Fraggle Rock (and luckily my math test is WEDNESDAY, so it's not like major-important-studying going on, just brushing up..) and I thought to myself, how DO people do it? Study, work, raise a child. Studying and Fraggle Rock to not belong together, but somehow, people do it.

There is this concert tonight that Ian and I both wanted to go to, but someone's gotta stay home with the kid! Ian went - he is after all - the music guy. Oh, and I had to study. But it was like "oh. Weird. Only one of us get's to go......" Not like we could find a sitter -- we are the sitters!

It's good to have these little "glimpse" into parenting...The only thing I can think right now is how tired I am!

After we bought our house, people ask us, like once a week if we are gonna have a baby. This makes me want to put it off another year or 500....

We really really do love watching other people's kids, we love the opportunity to play and feed, and take care of some of the best kiddo's around! We're really thankful people trust us with their kids, its a huge honor, and we're so happy to do it!

Today we went on a hike, swam at the pool, and made a mess of the house --watched Fraggle Rock, ate popcorn & hot chocolate-- tomorrow I think a movie is on our agenda, and possibly carving pumpkins -- fun stuff, for sure! I'll get some pictures up soon of our fun little adventures. Happy fall!