Family Shout Out : Good Luck Travis

This is Uncle Travis. Kendra's Awesome Husband.
And Yes, He is snowboarding off of a super crazy high
Utah bridge in this here picture.


With this sort of passion for the outdoors and things extreme it is no suprise that this weekend Travis is competing with his team "Toppa the West" in the SKI TO SEA race in Bellingham. In the attached USA Today Article this event is described as a "grueling outdoor adventure race that blends sportsmanship with competativeness".Travis will be competing in the last leg by doing the 5 mile Sea Kayaking accross the bay. Good Luck Travis. Here is to fun, great weather and calm seas. Can't wait to hear the results.

Mid Week Recap

Well life at the Lyons house is busy on all fronts. Last weekend was a blur and only now is this mom realizing some of the fun was caught on film. Here is a little weekend recap so that you can get that glimpse at Lyons life that I know you have had such a hankering for. (sarcastic...so sarcastic)

Saturday MorningEvery surface was wiped, wiped and wiped again. Every floor scrubbed within an inch of its life and pennants hung from the celing. It was celebration time. Our good friend Dana is just weeks away from getting hitched and it was my honor to host her wedding shower.



There was great food, lots for friends and no shortage of laughter. While the ladies partied, Jack and the boys were off at t-ball where Jack continued to rock. He is getting the hang of this whole coach pitch thing and is doing well at anticpating plays and staying "in the game".

Saturday Evening we left the boys with a babysitter (here is a shout out to Megan Carter..who is awesome)and Jon and I were off to a Travel Planning Dinner. We enjoyed great food, lots of wine and it was my turn to make the dessert...which I did surprisinly well at if I do say so myself. The purpose of this month's meeting was to finalize the itinary and to discuss packing. We are taking one carry on bag each. (hello !! and that takes some thought) It was a great time and got me really excited. September 2011 cannot come soon enough. Take a look at the great view we will get to enjoy from our time on the Amalfi Coast and our Tuscany Hike.



I cannot wait. A visit to place like that pictured above have been my dream since Manthou's Junior year Humanities class. Yippee!

Sunday Morning it was off to church, which I just have to say, I love my church. The people, the worship, the messages...it is all kinds of good everyweek. After church it was time for the big costco shopping and then to the lake for a baptism. This was exciting because Dana's to be husband Joe was baptised along with Violet, who is the classroom assistant for Jack's sunday school class and then a father and son duo. It was great to see each person's spiritual journey be made public with the act of baptism. We have spent the last year praying for Joe and are so excited for him!



After the Baptism it was off to the Mexican resturant to catch up with Jon's parents. If you ask me a margarita and chips and salsa is a great way to end the weekend.

So now, as I post it is thursday and the life this mommy leads is full of everyday suprises like this:



I found the boys hiding in the pantry and when the emerged Jack proudly declared that He had tatooed their arms. Max kept showing me his arm and saying "Jack do a nice job. good work jack, good work jack" Gosh I hope Jack is not honing a skill for prison life.

YUP. Life at the Lyons. I like it.

Happy Mothers Day!

It was a beautiful Mother's Day here in the northwest. I was treated to my favorite latte and a table full of loot this morning. There were great cards by the kiddos, this year the theme was dogs, each card contained pictures of dogs...just more of the boys attempting to sway the mother to "lets get a dog camp". Jack gifted me with a very nice card and flowers. My gift from the all of them was a great pair of workout/hiking bermuda shorts, in a fantastic green color. So fun. Then it was off to church, then to lunch with Jon's side of the family. After tasty sandwhiches at Panera (yum) we loaded into the car to visit the Bellevue Botanical Gardens. Which was great, I got to spend my day sandwhiched between my favorite munchkins.



The gardens where beautiful, the weather was great and we enjoyed spending time with Nan, Uncle Nic and Aunt Rachel. All in all a great day.



Now, as I type Jon and the boys are finishing up their playing then it is off to bed for them and some couch time for Jon and I while enjoying my favorite dinner: tasty steak, yummy fruit salad, garlic bread and a glass of wine. The day was good. It is good to be MOM.

Opening Day

It was a big Saturday here at the Lyons house. The weather was beautiful for opening day of baseball. Jack was thrilled to be there and was excited the whole game. Wow! what a difference a year makes. Jas was engaged the whole time. He was anticipating plays and was running the whole time. His first two at bats he got hits off the tee, but his final at bat he had a great hit off a coach pitch. A great way to end the game. We were excited that once again he is playing with his friend Jonathan. Thanks to Nan, Pop and Uncle Nic for attending the first game.





After the game Uncle Nic brought his new dog Angus over to visit. To say that the boys LOVED the dog is an understatement. They had a great time in the back yard, walked him around the block and even wrestled with him inside. Thanks Uncle Nic for the visit and thanks Angus...for the patience.

Jon Rocks | The Room Reveal

That type "A", attention to detail personality paid off. Jon mastered the paint job of Jack's new Sounders/Seahawks inspired bedroom. With florescent green on the bottom and a cool blue stripe mid wall, Jack is loving the room re-do. While I tried to sway him to let me repaint his bulletin board and forgo some of the red accents, he would not compile. " Mom I still like red too...they can stay that way". So be it.All we need now are three posters for the walls: Sounders, Seahawks and Mariners and Jack would like me to frame his "old" Hasselback jersey to go on the wall. Way to go Jon. The room looks great, and your kiddo is one pleased boy. Does it get better? I don't think so.

It's Good to Have Friends

and tonight..the friend that gets the shout out is (drumroll please) it'a Shelly.
Shelly came this evening to go walking. You know, a nice relaxing stroll around the neighborhood. About half way through the walk, it started raining..then pouring...then massive hail chunks came and pounded us. Both Shelly and I try to avoid running at all costs, but we were soaked, the air was cold and the hail came fast, heavy and sharp and so we then had to run the rest of the way home...including our run up the massive hill. Yup, we did it...and we laughed our way home. Tonight was just one example of why I love my friends. Thank Shelly..it was great fun.(PS) the pictures do not do the hail justice. The driveway was covered, the hail was huge and our clothes were SOOO Wet.

Going Green and Chicken Pickin'

It's a big weekend at the Lyons house and the boys are both super excited about it.
First off, it adios to Jack's fire truck bedroom and hello XBOX green. That is right Jack has gone green...florescent green, with a blue stripe in the middle. While Jon is hard at work in the painting of Jack's room and final pictures will not be ready until at least Monday here is a little sneak peek.



While Jon was hard at work painting today the boys and I headed over to my parents house to do some Chicken Pickin. Last week my parents built a coop and today each grandson got to go with Morfar to the farm to pick out his own chicken. Max and Jack were so excited and cannon wait to spend many a day watching the chickens and collecting eggs. The best part of the whole thing was the picking of names.


Jack, Max and Morfar looking carefully over the selection.

The boys making sure the chickens were okay for the ride home.

Jack with his chicken "Miss Astro..or Miss A"

Max and his chicken "Mavis"

Here are all the ladies: Lucy, Hattie, Miss A and Mavis.