KETCHUP

Just catching up!  I'm behind in my blogging and I hate when I do that!  We have been really busy in July.  We had painters come 8-10 July so Chuck flew out on 7 July to be here at the house with them...thanks again Chuck!  Christy and Mallory drove up on Friday afternoon and they all stayed through Tuesday!  We had a lot of fun and they helped watch Alex because Marc and I did our first triathalon!  It was a sprint Triathlon...1K (1000m) ocean swim, 20K (15.5 mile) bike ride, and 5K (3.2 mile) run.  On Saturday morning we went to an ocean swim clinic (it wasn't our first time, don't worry) and rode our bikes along part of the course for the next day.  We had an AWESOME time doing it together and we're pretty proud of ourselves.  We did great on the swim and run but need to focus on our cycling a bit more (we focused a LOT on the swim, too much I guess).  On Monday, Alex got to play hookey and go to the San Diego Zoo with Poppy, CC, and Aunt Mallory!  He had a long day of fun and was sooo excited to tell us about it that night!  Thank you again Chuck, Christy, and Mallory!  We are so blessed to have family living close to us now, it's awesome!  Last week I headed to Bull Shoals to join the crew on the houseboat.  I had not been since 2006 and I was not dissappointed.  Great week with great family and friends!  Marc could not get off from work to go with me so he and Alex enjoyed (for lack of a better word) a fun daddy-son week here at home.  Poor Marc was exhaused when I got home Friday and then I had to go to an AquaFit workshop all day Saturday.  We've had a busy week and are looking forward to a nice, relaxing weekend!

Beach Pics (Saturday morning)...

Triathalon Pics...

Marc started before me so he was done when I crossed the finish line...he had Alex like this and they were waiting for me right before the finish line...loved it!!!!!

Here I am crossing the finish line....(take 35 minutes off the time you see b/c I started at 0835!!!)

Zoo pics...

(this might be his first "say no to crack" picture, look carefully, he he)

Houseboat Pics...

WILD ANIMAL PARK

We had a great 4th of July weekend here in California!  On Saturday we went to the Wild Animal Park for 4 hours!  Alex loved it and we're definitely going to be frequent visitors.  He hasn't stopped talking about the elephants and gorillas yet.  We hung out at the house on Sunday and did some swimming...nice and relaxing.  On Monday we took Alex to see his first movie in the theater...Toy Story 3.  I wasn't sure if he would sit through the movie or if it would be too loud, you know.  He was TOTALLY enthralled and sat on his little booster seat the whole time, eating his little box of popcorn.  It was really fun to all go together and the movie was very funny!  Password for video below is alex.

Current potty training status:  10 days with no accidents! Yeaaa Alex!!

D-O-N-E.  That is remnants of chocolate dippin' dots ice cream on his cheek.  He basically fell asleep in the stroller while eating the ice cream on the way out of the park.  He didn't budge when I moved him from the stroller to the car seat.

Elephant Rush from Carrie Cornelius on Vimeo.

All's Fair

We went to the San Diego Fair on Sunday and boy was it fun!  We (Alex) rode lots of rides, ate yummy junk food, and saw lots of animals!  Every ride we got off of would prompt Alex to say, "I wanna do it again."  He has been looking forward to the "carnival" for a week since we told him we were going.  He was SO excited and was very well behaved too.  He was not afraid of ANY rides and rode almost everything for kids 36 inches tall.  Some kids cried on some rides but not our little guy.  He was laughing through them all, including the roller coaster that mommy rode with him.  Last night after he brushed his teeth he said, "Going to the carnival was fun." That's why we're parents, it melts my heart when he has fun and tells us!! password for each video is alex.

Helicopter Ride from Carrie Cornelius on Vimeo.

Goliath Slide from Carrie Cornelius on Vimeo.

Ice Cream You Scream from Carrie Cornelius on Vimeo.