It's a bird...it's a plane...no! It's Bionic Becky!

Okay, my mom took all these pictures, so I'm assuming Becky is in this crowd of swimmers...and NOT one of the ones using a POOL NOODLE in a triathlon!
Riding her bike...Julie P. is on the bike right behind her
Becky and Julie running...and Becky is smiling and waving at the camera...show off :)!
Becky and Julie at the finish line! Whoo-hoo!
In the finisher's circle!
Becky and Mom
Becky and Dad

My sister, Becky, completed the Danskin Triathlon Sprint one week ago today! She and a good friend, Julie P. (as I call her and not to be confused with Julie C.) swam 1/2 a mile, biked 13 miles and ran 3 miles with 3,100 other women on a very warm June day in Austin, TX. Becky and Julie finished in 2 hours and 27 minutes. And I am VERY proud of her! Way to go, Sister! I am impressed on number of levels: 1. That she even agreed to attempt this thing in JUNE in Texas; 2. She not only agreed to do it, but completed it with a great time and 3. Already has plans to do it again next year and try to improve her time to under 2 hours! But, Becky is definitely a trail blazer in our family...Africa, Machu Pichu, 1/2 marathon in Alaska, and now a triathlon. I'm thinking I'd better get on the stick or I'm going to win the title of most boring sister...but I did finish the floors yesterday! Great job, Becky! We are very impressed and very proud of our own Aunt Bionic Becky!

Teeming with "Sea Life"

Dolphin after a fish
Kids watching the dolphin cruise around.
Reed with his net.

The banded tulip snail wrapping around his shell to flip over so he can motor back out to the safety of the turtle grass. Notice how the snail itself is black with tiny white dots...really pretty.
The juvenile file fish...so tiny!

Sea horse
Tiny baby spider crab

The kids and I had a very exciting trip to Emerson Point on Wednesday. I packed lunch and we headed down there about 11AM and left at 3 PM. As we were locating a spot to set up, some ladies who were there with their little kids informed me there was a shark cruising around right off the shore. They said they had been watching it for about 1/2 an hour and were sure it was a shark. They pointed out the dorsal fin to me and I thanked them for the heads up. I also noted an abundance of people fishing the area and quite a lot of fish activity going on in the water. So, as we headed down a little ways, we were watching the water. Before we had even set our things down, the "shark" took off, parallel to the shore, after a fish. He was swimming so fast, he had wake behind him. Let me just say, this was so cool and we were fascinated! We saw a big fish jumping out of the water in front of the "shark" trying to escape. Then the "shark" slammed the fish up out of the water, caught it and ate it (evidenced by some thrashing in the water). That was about the time I saw and heard the "shark" breathe through its blow hole. Not a shark at all, but a dolphin! I have never seen a dolphin in its attack mode and can I say, "How cool!" The dolphin hung around for another hour or so just cruising around fishing. He did try to catch one other fish and that was when I was able to snap a few pictures. I don't think he was successful the second time though.

Reed took his dip net with him down there. My rule is that you have to carry whatever you want to take, as my hands are full with the bag of necessities, the lunch cooler and my chair. He spent hours dragging his net along the bottom through the turtle grass. He would drag it, pull it up and then examine all of the things he caught. And he kept yelling, "Mom, this place is so full of sea life. Man, look at all this sea life! This is the best place for sea life!, etc...sea life...etc..." He was really cute. And boy, did he catch some really awesome things - as you can see from the pictures. He netted tons of juvenile shrimp, a juvenile spider crab, a toad fish (my picture is too blurry to post), 2 sea horses, a sea scallop, 3 pipe fish (related to sea horses...they look just like a piece of turtle grass and so, consequently, we never managed to get a picture where they were discernible), a juvenile file fish, some other type of crab whose name I've forgotten, a big banded tulip snail, piggy perch and probably some other things I'm forgetting. The biggest problem with all these critters is that I don't know what all of them are. I am learning, but when Reed asks what something is and I have to remind him he is talking to the wrong parent. So, we take a picture, toss the critter back and Daddy identifies everything we can't once we get home. But, to our credit, Reed and I are getting better and better at identifying stuff. We are amazed at what an AWESOME God we serve who created such an abundance of life and equipped them each so exactly to survive!

Well, now that you all are bored to tears and wondering why I thought I needed to write a novel about the "sea life" we caught...I'm done. I've got some posts in the works about recent happenings, but the tile floor is beginning to resemble a "dog-hair rug." And that is just gross...so I've got to go vacuum and mop.

Sticks and Rocks!

This is the only picture of Aaron I had stored on my computer that wasn't from this past Christmas...and it is from sometime in 2006.
Aaron and his gaggle of women...with one more on the way soon!
The whole Whittington clan over Christmas 2007.

Today is my brother, Aaron's, birthday. When I mentioned this to Reed, he grinned delightedly and said, "Let's get him sticks and rocks!" Aaron has a running joke (emphasis on the word joke)with the kids that he is rough, tough and gruff. In fact, he calls himself, "Bad Unc". The kids, Reed in particular, love it. Aaron does too. So, it is with great love and affection that we send big Birthday love across the Gulf of Mexico to Uncle Aaron.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BAD UNC!

Bat Girl and Shark Boy

Bat Girl in her jammies - no black leather "catsuits" here!
Bedtime stories with Bat Girl and Shark Boy. Yes, we made them unmask before crawling into bed.
Grandma Jane gave Reed a boogie board for his birthday! She scored big with this gift! He was running around whooping and pumping his fist in the air. He is one very excited little boy!
Snuggles with Daddy.

Getting ready for the first scoops of the ice cream.

I couldn't resist posting a few more random pictures from the weekend. Kids are so funny. Although, I probably wouldn't mind a bat girl mask myself. Enjoy the pictures.

Weekend Fun

Puzzle with Grandma Jane
The day caught up with Cass!
Yum-O!
Our cookies...and Cassidy who won't stay completely clothed!
All dressed up for church. Can you guess who didn't want to take pictures. I think I've seen that face on my brother during picture time...carrying on the tradition, Bad Unc!

We had a very relaxing weekend at home. It was nice to have some down-time to really enjoy Grandma Jane. The kids played in the pool and on the slip-n-slide for probably a total of 4 hours(split into 2 segments of 2 hours each) on Friday. They were exhausted by the evening...as evidenced by Cassidy's nap on the dining room chairs. She was putting a puzzle together at the table with Grandma for a while. Grandma got up to go and do something and the next time we looked over at Cass, she had stretched out across 2 chairs and sacked out.

Saturday was our day of culinary delights. Grandma requested homemade vanilla ice cream. Once Randy unearthed the ice cream freezer, he and Reed made the ice cream. Cassidy requested sugar cookies, so she and I made, iced and sprinkled the cookies. We used a fish, a star, a teddy bear, a heart and a Texas cookie cutter. All in all, a very yummy Saturday.

Sunday we finally had to venture south through Palmetto and Bradenton. The wreck that happened last Wednesday completely closed a section of southbound I-75 - the main thoroughfare through this area. They had to re-route ALL traffic through Palmetto and Bradenton. Needless to say, the traffic has been unimaginable. I braved it early Thursday morning to get the kids to their schools and Thursday evening to go to Cass's program, but since then we have stayed at home. Four dollar gas is another good reason to stay at home. Anyhow, Sunday morning wasn't too bad...added on about 10 minutes. I had a shower to attend later that afternoon at church and that took me about 1 hour (instead of 25 minutes) due to increased traffic. The closed section of I-75, the southbound bridge over US 301, will remain closed for 6 weeks as they have to completely replace a couple of bridge sections. The good news is,as of last night, they split the north side of I-75 into 2 lanes going north and 2 lanes going south so they won't be detouring people through Palmetto and Bradenton anymore! Hopefully this will alleviate the huge traffic snarl and I'll be able to go to Wal Mart again. I know you guys all needed a traffic report from the Florida Gulf coast.

Cassidy's Preschool Program

The four of us after Cass's program.

Cassidy and her (very patient) teacher, Ms. Angela
Cassidy and Grandma Jane showing off her certificate
Cassidy took this picture...with a litte help from Daddy holding the camera steady.
Mommy, Reed and Cassidy after the program.

Last night was Cassidy's school's program. The kids all performed a few songs and those who were "graduating" to Kinder next year wore cap and gowns and such. I was unable to get any good pictures of Cass on the stage. My flash was too weak, she was in the second row and there was a boy's head in the way (the nerve...hee hee). But we did get some cute pictures with her certificate. She enjoyed the excitement of a "performance" and we celebrated with ice cream afterwards.

Reed's Kindergarten Celebration

In case you were wondering, the theme was a luau. Here they are performing some of the songs they learned throughout the year. His teacher is in the background. She is awesome!

Here is Grandma Jane reading to the class.

Sorry about the picture quality. I forgot the digital camera and these are the ones we took with Grandma's disposable camera. I am really grateful to have them.

The kids are reciting their poem. Reed's line was,"G is for good friends. We made more each day." He delivered it exactly right and in a loud, clear voice.

School is finally out for the summer! Today is our first official day of summer vacation and I finally have a few minutes to post the pictures from the last few days and all their events. We have really been enjoying Grandma Jane's visit. She is such a help to me. I'm glad she is able to fly out to visit and I'm also glad we have a few more days together without my hectic schedule. Reed's Kindergarten class had a celebration of their year this past Tuesday. Grandma Jane, Cassidy and I all went. Grandma was invited to read a book to the class. She did a great job and the kids really enjoyed it. It was cute to see some of the kids who could not pass her by without giving her a hug. One little girl even wanted to sit in her lap. Reed enjoyed his program and the party. We are very proud of him and all his accomplishments of the year. What a great kid!