SPIDERBYTE

Run Like a Girl

how moms train

I won the lottery!   I am one of the lucky 20,000 women chosen (by random drawing) to run in the 6^th Annual Nike Womens Marathon in San Fran this October.

 I know what you’re thinking….since when is running San Francisco hills a prize?

 Well, let me break down the perks for you:

-          A getaway weekend….in San Francisco, duh!

-         Ghirardelli chocolate station at mile 12

-         Pedicure station at the finish line

-         Every finisher receives a necklace by Tiffany & Co!….And did I mention the necklaces are presented to runners by SF firemen wearing tuxedos?  No, I’m serious.

I’ll admit it, I made it pretty clear from the get-go that getting my hands on one of those Tiffany necklaces was my true motivation.  So I felt like a real loser when my friend Vera decided to use this race as an opportunity to raise funds for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society….gee Vera, thanks for exposing me as the true Tiffany’s ho that I am.

As a way to redeem myself, I’m taking this opportunity to urge all my friends and family to support Vera as she trains for her first marathon and raises much needed funds for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.  It’s easy to make a gift on line by visiting her Team in Training Fundraising page….well, surely it’s easier than running 26.2 miles through the hills of San Francisco.

On the Road Again

LuLu gets in touch with nature

Six adults, eight kids, one rainy weekend in Vermont....recipe for disaster, right?
No way!

We had a blast during our 2nd Annual* city slicker pilgrimage to VT, complete with croquet, inner tubing, trains/legos/nerf wars/anything-else-imaginable to keep the 13 and unders from turning on one another.

* No seriously, our hosts actually invited us & our rowdy kids twice...usually people smarten up after one visit...

Slumber Party

Serious bonding

Full Contact Croquet

Having fun in the river

Definitely puts our Death Star to shame

VT is even pretty in the rain

What would Bowie do?

Big news!  Bobby got a hair cut!  It looks great and he is now able to see where he's going which is a nice perk.  Although, the new 'do presented a tough decision for Bobby this morning:

A. To ride his bike like all other mornings, with his trusty helmet and his rowdy pack of friends... or
B. To be chauffeured in a car, to keep his new and improved hairstyle intact. 

When you consider how long it took for him to achieve a respectable faux hawk this morning; with the gel and the spritz and the 13 minute blow drying process, all he had to was ask himself... what would Bowie do?

safety first!

Good form Robert!  Maybe spiderDAD could invent a mohawk helmet with a slot cut out of the top for your swell hair! 

Spiderdad - We Salute You

LuLu & Dad

On the other 364 days a year, your days are filled with work/errands/chores/child wrangling/misc. obligations.  But no - today is your day. 

So, we hope you enjoyed the luxurious downtime in which you were besieged with homemade cards and treated to a breakfast prepared by the (unwashed) hands of your loving children, before you spent the other 23.5 hours of your day doing exactly what you do on all the other days of the year.

Happy Father's Day Spiderdad.

Fave Pic of the Week

The Highlight of Cousin Nina's Party?...Molly the Bulldog, of course.

Readin', Writin', and Sprinkled Donuts

Completely Staged

This past year, we decided to separate the twins for school. Two days per week, LuLu went off to morning preschool, while Puck and I attended his Physical Therapy (all play/no work) and had the rest of the time to spend together…solo.

I intended to use this time to “Home School” Puck for a year.  And if the Home School Curriculum for preschool includes learning the layout of Target, folding laundry, or hanging out down at the local donut shop, we nailed it!

Now that our year of ‘life learning’ is complete, I thought I would share some photos of the great lessons we learned….it certainly won't come as a surprise that we’ve enrolled Puck in LuLu’s preschool for next year.

Learning How to Clean Mom's Bike

Hard Work at PT

PT - No Work, All Play

Snack Break

Making Minimalist Sock Puppets

Another Nutritious Snack Break

Blogging 101

Skate (B)rat

Sugar n' Spice n' Everything Badass!

Lulu_sk8

Rainy Day 'Fun' (ugh!)

Bucket Heads

Rainy Day = Grouchy Spiderbyters

I wish I could tell you that pulling out the Bucket Head game (headbands+velcro+buckets+ping pong balls) was the answer to our rainy days blues, but that would be a flat out lie.  The Bucket Head game morphed into Pelt-Your-Sibling and ended in two scratches, one rug burn, and a handful of crying kids.

And then came the Glitter.  Oh the horrors of the glitter...

The twins found a stash of glitter in the garage and while I was otherwise occupied (watching soaps?  eating bonbons? rearranging my sock drawer for better chi?), they decided to empty five large containers of glitter onto the floor, the furniture, and over each other's heads.

So, I spent much of the day vacuuming up and shampooing out glitter and randomly shouting profanities. Sure, go ahead and judge me.  I dare you.

And here's where things turn bad

Then come the water works

Bucket Head #2

Bucket Head #1

Rites of Passage, Spiderbyte Style

Will's Big Moment - First Wave, Solo!

First Step...First Loose Tooth...First Day of School...Catching Your First Wave Solo...*sigh*

Wasn't it just yesterday that Will was riding on the front of Jason's board?  Actually, that really was just yesterday...

We're proud of you Will-dabeast, just in case you didn't get the message from all our hootin' & hollerin' on the beach..."catch a wave & you're sittin' on top of the world!"

Ya Will!

Puck on the run

Body Surfing

Beachcombing

Happy Friday

Wonder Twins

(Pre)School's out for the summer!

Snake Hunting