Balance

 
Life with a one and three year old, a full time job, and a desire to stay active can sometimes feel like a juggling act in the big top (and I've never been able to actually juggle).  Trying to make it through this "sprint to the end" of the school year has been a serious challenge for me this year.  There have been moments when I wasn't really sure which way was up........ but even with all the insanity of wrapping up the school year, having our day care closed for two and a half days, having John off in NH teaching a class, and training and running a half marathon, we've managed to have some really wonderful times as a family.

Hazen and Cally made it up Camel's Hump for the third time in one year for our dear friend/Hazey's Godmother's 50th Birthday on a gorgeous May.  

The kids were super troopers in the backpacks and Cal even hiked a bit of the way.  However, these parents were mighty sore after the schlog downhill!

We got to celebrate UVM's graduation weekend with a number of John's fantastic students.  In years past, we've hit a graduation party here or there, but this year we were on graduation party tour!  With so many amazing graduates who have touched our lives and whose lives John has touched, it was such a treat to celebrate this special weekend with them (and meet their parents).  I feel so excited for these fantastic students with so many adventures ahead of them and so proud of John for having made such an impact on their lives.

I somehow managed to run half of the Burlington City Marathon.  Having trained minimally, I felt lucky to just finish it, but somehow my team mate Jen Baer managed to pull through at the finish under 3 hours and 30 seconds-- which made us the first place finishers for the Women's 2 person relay teams (out of over 50 teams).  John and the kids rode along side of me for the hardest part of my run and even though I was bonking, they made me smile and kept me going.  Who wouldn't smile with these two cheering you along?

John had carefully planned teaching a course at a time  when we both believed it would be least disruptive to the end of the school year mayhem...... Unfortunately, the trip coincided with our daycare providers annual vacation.  The good news is that the grandparent reinforcements were ready and willing to help out.  Bumpa and Grandma helped out for the first part of the week and Nana and Grandpa arrived for the second half.

The kids love spending time with their grandparents and we all love the relationships grow and develop between everyone.  Even though we don't have the convenience of seeing each other more frequently, we love knowing that the grandparents are able to help when we need them.

And a special bonus, was seeing cousins from both sides of the family.
 

In other news, Cal is becoming more and more of an artist everyday.  Here is a portrait of Lobby.

 

Even with all the grading and training and writing of exams and whatnot, John and I have managed to do what is most important for us-- we've been able to take some time for ourselves as a couple and go for a few mountain bike adventures together! That, as well as the family hike, are what I will remember most  about this spring.  Not the late nights at school, the weekends spent grading Create-a-Continent atlases, or the lack of sleep, but the adventures and love I've been able to share with my family.