punta relaxa

Two weeks ago, Matt and I celebrated our ten year wedding anniversary by spending a week in Punta Cana at an all-inclusive resort. We planned the trip 10 months ago along with our good friends, Derk and Bethany, who also celebrated their ten year anniversary on the same date this year (we obviously didn't know each other when we picked our wedding dates!)

We spent a week doing the closest thing to n-o-t-h-i-n-g that we've done in a long time. We sat by the pool, relaxed on the beach, exercised, read, slept and ate.

Back home, the kids were loved on by so many different people and it was a huge blessing to know how well taken care of they were. They went to the giant slip and slide with Mr. Steve and Ms. Theresa, attended VBS with Uncle Brett and Aunt Kara, stayed five nights at Nana and Pa Jen's house, hung out with Uncle Chad and Aunt K3 the last four nights, and closed out the week with Nana and Papa Terpstra and Aunt Cara.

It was a seven day trip (which ended up being closer to nine nights because of an early flight out and a late flight back in) and it was probably a couple nights longer than we really wanted to be away from the kids. Absence does make the heart grow fonder though, and we were all very happy to see each other when we got home!

A-OK 10K

Crossed another item off my bucket list this past weekend: running a 10K. Six months ago I had never run more than two miles at one time in my life, now I've done six and in a fairly respectable manner (our goal was to finish in under an hour).

I've been working out regularly and running frequently for the past few months but I can't say that I trained very diligently for this race. I did a couple of six mile runs this spring so I knew I could do it but I wasn't sure if it was enough. In the end, it was enough and I'm happy with my 58:37 time. I ran the entire race and pushed myself and I'm very grateful to my dear friend T in her purple shirt who set the pace for us.

Favorite Race Day Memories

Procrastination at its Best: laughing/panicking as we scrambled to register Theresa 45 minutes before the race and come up with $30 using only the contents of her car.

Best Cheerleader: Katie P. - I had no idea she would be there but I've never been happier to see a friendly face halfway through the race and again at the finish line!

Moment We Realized We Are Officially Runners: picking up a cup of water from an aid station (without slowing down), gulping it down, crunching our cups and tossing them to the side of the road. I have never felt more alive ;)

Most Exhilarating Minute: running up the Hall Street hill around the 5K mark. Runners were slowing down and walking all around us and we pressed on. And there's nothing like flying down a hill that you worked so hard to climb up.

Favorite Post-Race Refreshment: most races provide you with Gatorade and maybe some fruit...this one featured burgers and dogs at a post-race party. Who doesn't need a little protein at 10am??

+30 Rocks: the other runners we ran into that I knew were all moms, all over 30 and for some it was their first 10K as well. I love that we're all still moving, still learning...

If you had asked me during the race if I would ever do it again, I would have said no way but now that the dust has settled I think I would up for it. The plan for next year might involve some actual, honest to goodness training as well. For now, we are focused on what's next: trying not to pee our pants while competing in the second annual Grand Rapids Mud Run.

summertime to do's

My motto for the summer is s-l-o-w d-o-w-n but that doesn't mean a girl can't still have some goals.

In no particular order:

• Take the kids to the library regularly (weekly?) and finish one of those crazy reading charts.
• Run a 10K race.
• Eat healthier (i.e. figure out what the hey to do with all this fresh, beautiful produce).
• Catch up our family scrapbook.
• Put together a recipe binder.
• Actually hang the items up over our desk area that I've been collecting for the past half a year (procrastination day, anyone?)
• Try out the new Martha Challenges (by the way, 31 Days to Clean was one of the coolest journeys I've ever been on).
• Read, read, read - both to the kids and to myself.

What's on your list during these warm weather months?

As of Late: June

[Came across this 'As of Late' idea on another blog I was perusing...I thought it was a great idea to get the blogging juices flowin'.]

Lately I've started visiting the library regularly.

Lately I've been watching the tone of voice I use with my kids - when I yell, they yell and when I talk politely, they tend to as well.

Lately my body has been protesting my longer runs (and here I thought we were doing so well).

Lately I've been finding inspiration in color. Life is too short to stick with neutral.

Lately I've been enjoying lazy mornings with nothing planned before 10am.

(And lately I've been reminding D&E every night before bed you can only get up if the first number on your clock is an eight...)

Lately I've been thinking through a chore chart system that will work for our family.

Lately I've been really excited to try water aerobics (I know...am I almost 32 or 62?)

Lately I've been keeping Little Blondie up in the afternoons and enjoying some peace and quiet after 8pm.

Lately I've decided my theme for the summer: slow down.

Dad's Day

I always knew Matt would be the best sort of dad but it's still been a blessing to watch him love our kids through the years. When he walks through the door at 6:30pm, all three kiddos make a break for him. The nightly fight is who gets to sit by Daddy at dinner. And even on nights when he's working late they always make sure to tell me as I'm tucking them in, "Send Daddy in to say good night."

In honor of Father's Day, I wanted to pull some pictures of Matt and the kids from the past 6 1/2 years. I started looking through my files and realized I have a approximately a bajillion so it took some work to narrow them down. I grabbed my favorites - the ones that I felt captured some important moments, both big and small.

The moment he first became a dad...

the joy of his first son...

  holding a newborn daughter and realizing he was going to have to give her away...someday...

...and realizing her baby blues weren't in fact going to turn brown.

Always playing...

(even after a hard day's work...)

snuggling...

and goofing.

Flying high with his princess...

passing on Macker wisdom to his little man...

...and cherishing the baby stage one more time around.

  AND happily sharing his birthday cakes with one...

two...

...three little ones.

Happy Father's Day, Matt.

We love you.

forty ♥

June 19, 1971 these two crazy kids walked down the aisle.

So glad they did and so glad they chose love all of these years.

Thanks for the example of what it means to be married...

Happy 40th anniversary, Mom & Dad!

{last} t-ball game

Dylan had his last t-ball game of the season this morning. Here is a little glimpse into how we have been spending our weekday evenings and Saturday mornings these past couple of months.

Playing "pitcher". We are always very serious about our t-ball-ing.

Determination. 

[The boys graduated to coach pitch halfway through the season.]

The sisters found a new hangout spot to beat the heat.

Medals: always a bonus.

"Can I have my picture taken with Dylan??" -Ella

Dylan's teammate and buddy Gibson.

Watching t-ball is very entertaining because there is a lot of room for error - great if you're in the stands, not so great if you're one of the coaches. It was fun to watch the teams get better as the season progressed (by game 8 there were even some legitimate outs) and we'll see how many more games on these fields are in our future 

(Ella is quite enamored by the little girl teams with their pony tails and visors...we just might be watching two kids play next year!)

let's take the "work" out of workout {Six Month Mark!}

Today marks the end of Week 26 of our workout challenge.

26 weeks, 5 workouts per week, 4 friends: 520 workouts in all!

Everyone is still standing and it's been quite a ride.

I have a feeling we are just getting started.

Here is some of what I have learned in the past six months:

1. Just start. If we hadn't made the choice to say yes 6 months ago, we wouldn't be where we are now. Take it one step at a time. Even when it's hard, overwhelming or scary. Especially then. 
2. It really does take a village. In our culture, we are very individual-based and it seems weak to depend on other people. Let me be very clear: I would NOT have made it past week one without these girls. Get yourself a community. Now.
3. The clothes matter. This might be a girl thing, but you feel better when you workout in something that makes you feel good. Added bonus: great workout clothes don't have to be expensive (Target and Old Navy are two of my favorite sources).
4. I DO have 15 minutes a day. One of the biggest excuses out there is that there isn't enough time. I have found out that I really do have more than enough time especially when I manage my time well. I have more energy and am usually more productive on the days I workout as well.
5. Variety is the spice of life. Since my last update, we have also discovered bike riding, walking, canoe-ing, hula hooping, and 10K training. We have paddle boarding and water aerobics on our summer to-do list as well.
6. Everything exercise is spiritual. True story. We are meant to live our lives as whole beings - it doesn't work to segment things off and pretend one area of our life doesn't effect the others.
7. Yep, I'm worth it. To all you moms: we pour a lot of ourselves into other people. This sounds so cliche, but you need to invest in yourself too. You'll be a better wife, mom, worker, friend, I promise.

The first one of us had a birthday this week which means our 31st year is winding down and we're looking ahead to 32. We were discussing over dinner last night what the past 6 months has meant to us. We have all grown a lot and some of that is due to our experiment with exercise. We started out by wanting to push ourselves physically and ended up pushing ourselves mentally and spiritually as well.

Year 31 means something different to each one of us but some common themes are...

saying yes

becoming aware of the possibilities

intentional living

finding our true selves

giving, choosing & living life.

Proud of what we have accomplished in the past six months. Proud to call these girls friends.

And really, really excited to see what is next.