two days ago, big j learned how to whistle. not just that pretend airy "whooo" thing that little kids do, but real live whistling. i sent him whistling off to the bus stop, a proud mom. after all, whistling is cool.

so that day, he comes home and says school was not good. apparently, he got THREE tickets taken away (his teacher's form of punishment...if you lose four tickets in a day, something really bad happens. i can't remember what it is, but it might involve fire ants).

he said, "are you really mad?"

hmmm. really, can you be mad at a kid who gets tickets taken away for whistling in school on the first day he learned to whistle?

i couldn't.

probably why i wouldn't make a very good teacher.

this is a positive message about mankind :) i've been just blown away by how considerate and nice some people can be this week. i had about 50 people pre-register for the 5K, and most of them showed up on saturday. there were a handful that did not. and do you know what? i've heard from every one of them. they all wrote me to explain why they couldn't make it and to apologize. one guy had an asthma attack. another guy couldn't get his car started. a lady couldn't find anyone to watch her son.

i have to admit, i feel kind of crappy. if i didn't show up for a race i signed up for, i really don't think i'd write the organizer to explain why or to apologize.

but i will from now on. i know that much.

so this past weekend was the spudfest celebration here in montrose, our second annual. pretty much everyone from this small community volunteers to help and i'm the organizer of the Spudfest 5k. being a people pleaser, my biggest concern was that people had fun and wanted to come again next year. i also had big fears about asking people to volunteer to help because races start early, and volunteers start even earlier. so, my help for mapping the route on the streets consisted of my neighbor and two first grade girls. let me tell you, our flowery purple and pink start and finish lines with hearts and exclamation points were something to see. i think we'll make it a tradition.
then, on race morning, people from all over the place started showing up about 7 am for an 8 am race, which kind of freaked me out. at that point, it was just me and my boys running around main street setting up the water station, time clock, tables and all the registration stuff. i'm sure they were thinking "ummm. seriously?"

by 7:30 we had a line. my neighbor and two friends saved me again at the registration table, and pretty quick we had 70 people lined up to run our colorful route. i decided to lead the race on my bike--i was afraid people would get lost (i decided to do that at 3 am the night before and it was a good call). the race went pretty fast, the winning guy ran it in 19:03 and the winning woman finished at 22:05. even little j and big j raced in the mile, and little j broke the 10 minute mark. his big brother was not far behind, but not at all happy about it. the biggest smile of my day came from my good friend and running partner, sara. we usually run together and finish at a pretty modest 27ish minute pace. she ran without me, and finished in 24 something minutes. obviously, i've been holding her back all this time. i'll either need to get me a new running partner, or find a fifth gear somewhere.

at any rate, the big spudfest started off a success in my book. next year i want music, t-shirts and a little more sleep the night before. :)

a certain blogger over at the backforty is having a birthday this weekend. just so ya'll know. :)

i swiped this photo from an email my friend suree sent, i hope she doesn't mind that i used it. i just wanted to share a picture of my "home" girls. these are friends i've had since high school, chris was missing and we haven't heard from liz in years, but otherwise, these are the girls that all smashed into my little dodge colt so we could drive around the black hills with the radio blasting, looking for keggars at places like "falling rock" and "three bridges." or was it four bridges? or did we ever find it?

well, here we are. first day of school. little j goes to "junior kindergarten" and big j is a second grader. they wanted to ride bikes on the first day, so the whole family rode down the hill. i parked my bike so i could walk little j into his classroom, but when i turned around he was already gone. i looked through the door and his big brother was herding him down the hallway, off on their next big adventure.

you know how you go to an event or on a vacation or have an evening out with interesting people and you almost can't wait to get some think time so you can rehash and replay and relive the entire event, over and over?

or is this just me? do other people do this too? i'm sure you must, because without the replay button, what is the point of anything?

anyway, i actually savor the rehash. i save it up like dessert and wait until i have no distractions. then i hit replay and i go back for a visit. usually it's in the middle of the night, or while i'm driving or on a run. i love love love when i have something really interesting to rewind in my mind.

seeing some of my best friends from high school this week has taken my brain for a total detour. i have been rehashing high school and friendships and thinking about people and places and things i haven't thought about in years. it was a quick trip, and we all really only had one night complete with sangria, enchiladas and some good conversation by the fire, but i'll be thinking about it for days.

thanks for the memories girls. and in case i didn't say it, you are all still the best.

i have olympic fever. michael phelps is my new hero. i love america. i wish i could swim. :)

seriously, i have not seen anything as exciting as the men's race last night, where the american team beat the french by a fingertip. especially knowing that the french were talking trash beforehand.

i also love how all these records are just being smashed to smithereens.

it makes you wonder, HOW much faster, harder, stronger can these athletes go? what are these people made of? it's just nuts.

at any rate, if you didn't see last night's race, go find it. it will do your heart good. i promise.

today my neighbor helped me put the ping pong table away. let's see how long it takes for anyone to notice...he he he

there is a theme to the blog posts today that really match my mood as well. it's a theme of thankfullness, of being happy for the little things, of taking time to see the beauty in life and appreciate what we have. i've been feeling this way about my summer, and now that it's coming to an end with school starting soon, i'm getting restless. i know that i've sort of "coasted" through summer, getting my work done before noon so i can spend time with the boys. i haven't used my brain as much as i should, and i haven't really made time for anything that doesn't involve kids. after three months, it's time to "go back to work." my brain is craving a challenge, even as my body is itching from another beautiful day at the swimming pool. i have loved this summer. but i see a need for more. i feel a little lazy, a little self-indulgent and a little too comfortable. i think that God is telling me to put the talents he gave me to better use, to make the most of my time and fill my days up with things that don't just involve...well, me. so. this fall, i am going to buckle down and take on more challenging projects. i'm going to volunteer for something that is meaningful to me. i'm going to make more time and put more effort into my relationships--especially with friends that live far away. i take for granted that you guys will just always be here, rolling your eyes and saying "well, that's just carey." i'm going to ask God to open some doors, and show me what He'd like me to be doing. i know He's got a plan. i just haven't made the time to look. i guess i'm thankful that God makes me restless. restlessness is an excellent motivator. so...two more weeks on cruise control, and then i'm going to dust off my brain and do something cool. look out!

there has been a change in my big j boy that makes me kind of smile. i remember being a kid, and suddenly discovering MUSIC. big j has started to like different bands, and he now has a little boom box in his room. i often find him in there, playing on the floor, listening to the music. the husband is disturbed because he says big j likes "gangster rap", but that is just how the husband describes anything that's not johnny cash. in reality, big j pretty much likes the same music i like. he says he loves the words the most, which i think is really cool. it's the reason i love music.

his tv shows have also been changing. he chooses shows like icarly and drake and josh over spongebob or jimmy neutron. he reads everything from calvin and hobbes to the newspaper, but rarely will pick up a "kid" book anymore. last night, we had a deep conversation about the holocaust. his emotion sometimes astounds me. he gets absolutely outraged at social injustice. during "iron man," when the soldiers were dragging the boy away from his father, big j stood up in the theater and yelled, "somebody needs to do something!!"

at any rate, he's not a little kid any more in a lot of ways. and now, he's into music. it seems like such a "teenager" thing to be into. sigh. why oh why do they have to grow up so fast?

my oldest j boy has been missing his glasses for two days. we searched high and low. this morning, we searched again. the living room. the bedrooms. the toyroom.

they were nowhere.

about ten minutes after i gave up the hunt, he says, "i found them."

he tells me he found them on the toyroom bed. this morning, i took all the animals off the bed, looked on it, under it and around it. no glasses. i tell him that i'm amazed he found them because i already looked there.

he said simply, "i know. but i prayed."