We've been taking Claire to our community pool in the evenings before dinner and she's getting quite comfortable in the water.  She jumps off the side of the pool and then swims a couple of yards to me.  She watched other girls swimming and wanted to learn all of the different strokes that they were doing.


Excited to go to the Wirth Park pool with Jen on Tuesday.


There is a lot to do at Wirth Park.


On Friday, Melissa, Tony and the kids came to visit.  They all went to the zoo on Saturday and the kids rode a camel!


More fun at the zoo.


On Saturday I met Pete at Kettle Moraine for a day of camping.  I've only seen Pete one other time since college and it was great to get to spend some quality time with him just like the college days.  Pete bumped his knee on our run through the Ice Age Trail and it swelled up the size of a golf ball.


We got a tad too much wood so we had some fun with it.


A cute photo of Claire sleeping.


Claire made me this for Father's Day while at the library on Saturday.  "D" for "Dad".


I signed up for the American Birkebeiner this week.  It's a 50K cross-country skiing competition up near Hayward, WI that takes place next February 22nd.  Now I need to learn how to ski.  I read a couple of books on XC skiing this week to get some background knowledge on the sport.

STILL COFFEE FREE:
Four weeks down without drinking coffee.

CURRENT HABIT - EXERCISE 30-45 MINUTES 6 DAYS/WK:
The first week of trying to incorporate exercise back into my routine went well.  I exercised for over 30 minutes every day aside from Friday.  Monday through Wednesday I ran 30 minutes, Thursday I biked 30 minutes and lifted, Saturday I ran 70 minutes, and Sunday I ran 45 minutes.  Signing up for the Birkie has definitely helped with motivation to get out the door and exercise each day.

FINISHED READING:
"Peace is Every Breath" by Thich Nhat Hanh
"Wisconsin Winter Trails" by Phil Van Valkenberg
"Cross-Country Skiing: A Complete Guide" by Brian Cazeneuve

The pool opened at our complex this week so Jen and Claire went swimming.  Claire is getting very comfortable in the water.


We went to watch the kids compete in their triathon this weekend.  Here is Summer on the run.  Both of the girls did really well and we are happy to be able to come and watch them now that we live so close.


Here is Savannah on the run.


Summer on the bike.


Savannah dismounting the bike.


On Saturday after the triathlon we spent the day exploring downtown Madison.  We also got to meet up with my old high school friend Winslow for a slice of pizza.


At breakfast on Sunday Claire wanted Rudy to have his own seat.


HEADING TO CHARLOTTE:
On Sunday we dropped Claire off at my sister's house so she could spend the week with her aunt, uncle, and two cousins.  She was very excited for her little retreat and they were too.  We flew back to Charlotte for work and will be coming back on Friday evening.

STILL COFFEE FREE:
Two weeks down without drinking coffee.  I don't really miss it aside from when Jen brews a cup right under my nose.  I feel good about my chances of breaking this habit.

FINISHED READING:
"The Attention Revolution" by B. Alan Wallace, PH.D.

This weekend we headed to Melissa's house to celebrate Ben's 4th birthday with the whole crew.


Quite the birthday cake.  Melissa is very creative.


Claire and Ben storming up and down the street.


Claire getting after her sandwich on the way to visit family.


We went to a farm on Sunday with everyone.


Claire got to hold a chicken.


And ride a pony.


And scrunch into a big tire with Summer and Savannah.


Lots of outdoor time playing with the kids.  Holly with shades; Kevin pushing Claire; Ben in his "Bad To The Bone" shirt.


Sarah at the camp fire; Summer with Claire; Ben on a pony; Claire on a pony.


Ben feeding the goats; Claire bouncing around; Jen and Sarah milking a cow; Claire and me milking a cow.


Kevin, Sarah, Savannah and Summer holding chickens; Claire riding "hat"; Ben and Claire ready to eat cake; Claire pounding some cake.

NO MORE COFFEE:
On Monday I decided to stop drinking coffee and I went the whole week without a drop.

FINISHED READING:
"Finding the Still Point" by John Daido Loori

I think Claire's quality of life has increased tremendously since moving back to Wisconsin.  She gets to see family very often and gets to spend time with our friend's daughter quite often.


This weekend we went to Sarah's house to watch our nieces in their dance recital.  They both did great.  Here was Summer.


And this was Savannah.


On Saturday we also watched Savannah's soccer game.


It was another chance for Claire to play with her cousins and for us to visit with family.

FINISHED READING:
"The Path of the Human Being" by Dennis Genpo Merzel

GUITAR:
I added in the C & F chords this week and started working with the following progression: Am, C, F, C with both strum patterns.

On Monday, Jen took Claire to the zoo. Claire calls all private parts "butts" so when she saw a giraffe during mating season she said "Hey Momma, look at the giraffe's big butt!" Then she came home and told me all about the giraffe's "butt". The next day they went to the zoo again and she came back home and said "we didn't see the giraffe's butt today but maybe we will tomorrow".


Claire and her BFF Violet swapping jammies.


Trying to keep up with Claire Bear on the bike.


Playing in the sand box at the park.


My high school friend Erik stopped by with his kids on Wednesday night. They are moving to Memphis in a couple weeks. Funny how things work out.


We went to visit Grandma & Grandpa K this weekend for Mother's Day. Happy Mother's Day to Jen and both of our Moms.


Claire finishing off her dance routine in the back yard.


I brought the mountain bike with us because there is a forest preserve 1/2 mile away from Jen's parent's house.

FINISHED READING:
"Taming the Tiger Within" by Thich Nhat Hanh

GUITAR:
I've added the following strum pattern: D D DU UDD (DU) along with the chords Am (A minor) and E (E major).  Moving from G to D is getting easier and the previous strum pattern is near autopilot.

This weekend we headed to visit the whole family at Sarah & Kevin's house.  Claire gets really excited to see family.


Taking a break from all of the outdoor activities.


On Saturday we watched Savannah's soccer game.


Kevin coached.

And the family came to watch.


Summer played with the kids.

Ben looked like he was "B B B B Bad, Bad to the Bone".


Holly kicking the ball around.


We did a lot of outdoor activity this weekend.  Here's Claire doing "windshield wipers" during her core routine.  Look at the agony on her face.  You've got to want it.

Jen's parents had a trip to Charlotte planned before we decided to move so Jen and Claire took a trip to spend some time with them at the Great Wolf Lodge in Concord.  Claire had a blast.


We're now only 2 hours away from them so they'll get to spend a lot more time together.


Jen told me that Claire had the time of her life.


Story time in zebra jammies with Grandma.


Tongue out like Michael Jordan.


Claire smiles a lot.


Waterpark!


Claire loves the water.


Playing the wand game with Grandma.


Towards the tail end of the week Jen and Claire visited their friends Sara and Elliot.

FINISHED READING:
"A Briefer History of Time" by Stephen Hawking