The Jolliff Family

Sam and Andrew are making friends with our neighbor kids.  We usually have a good number of kids over on the weekend days and lately the boys have enjoyed playing with them more.  It is fun to see the neighbor kids enjoying the toys we have outside and  being nice friends with the boys!

The boys went on a camping trip today!  Well, not a real camping trip but a camping trip in our back yard! Sam was all set to pitch the tent. Andrew and Jacob were waiting behind until he got everything all ready. Actually, Andrew was taking a snack break! And he shared nicely with his baby brother, too. The tent is pitched and all ready for campers. Andrew and Jacob joined in the little tent and they camped out "all night long." Most precious campers I know!

Two of the three boys went to the barber this week to get a hair cut but three out of three boys were looking precious this week!  :)

After my grandma Rose died and we settled into our new home, a friend brought over a rose bush for me to plant in our new back yard.  She searched for the perfect one and found a beautiful bush.  We planted the bush in a location that we can see from the back porch easily.  Then when we received the snow I was nervous that the rose bush would be dead.  However, this week it started blooming again! I smile every time I look at the rose bush!

Tuesday was the first day back to school for the boys after almost 5 weeks off, besides the one day they went during the break.  Andrew was feeling a little sad on his first day and told Hap that he doesn't like going to school when it is "rainy, foggy, snowing, or cold."  That pretty well counts out all of winter here :) Yesterday the weather here was perfectly sunny!  When Hap picked Andrew up from school yesterday and asked him how his day was since it was sunny outside, Andrew replied that "it was foggy inside my class!" Silly Andrew!

Hap had a yard full of boys the other evening teaching them to play ultimate frisbee!  Yesterday when I came home, the same boys were in the drive way doing passing drills in basketball. I took some pictures from the window, so they aren't the best.  I don't know if Hap or the boys enjoyed it more :)

I completed my first (maybe last, ask me next week)  marathon today on my 31st birthday!  I didn't make it under 5 hours but I did complete it and I'm proud of that!!   I had read about "hitting the wall" but never really realized what that was like until I crossed over onto the 19 mile mark and I secretly wished that I could lay down in one of the bus stop benches :)  I probably could have gotten a couple of other people to lay with me, truth be told!   While I was running the boys watched other runners finish.  Hap, however, enjoyed watching the guards kick people off the course at the finish line if they did not have a number and did not pay.  It looks intense! And at long last, I rounded the corner and saw the boys cheering me on from a rock!  I was like a turtle but I was still running!!  The boys didn't care that I was slow and it was so fun to hear them cheering.  Andrew joined with me since there were not many people...

Today I finish training for the marathon and tomorrow I run it! When I set off on training for the marathon at the beginning of July I could barely run 3 miles without feeling tired and out of breath.   I remember running 14 miles realizing that I had never ran that far before in my life!   When I started training I had three goals for the marathon: 1. Train hard .  I wanted to go into the race knowing that I trained hard throughout.  Though there have been weeks that it has been difficult to train, I feel like I have given my all in the training.  I can't say that I always FELT like going for a run but was also thankful when I finished, knowing that it was what I needed to do.  I can't say enough how much Hap has been an encouragement to me throughout my training.  There is no way in the world I could have trained without the support of Hap.  He deserves a metal as do the boys for their support. 2. Run the entire marathon .  I...

The boys continue to have great imaginations!  They love to watch "Doc McStuffins" on our computer and then they pretend they are doctors.  I found an old stethoscope for them to play with and made a doctor kit out of some supplies I had and put it all in their tool tote and they were ready to play! The tend to get all of our stuffed animals out and have them see the doctor.  Here Superdad was taking his baby to see Doc McSam :) I was told that this doll had a sick eye that the Doc fixed!  We had to limit the bandaid usage because it went a little overboard. Who knows... maybe one of them will be a doctor one day!

Traveling is always an adventure!  My trip across the border was no exception and I am so thankful that I was able to travel with a friend.  We arrived to our destination with no difficulty but Sunday proved otherwise.  For the sake of time, here is the lowdown on Sunday. We walked 1/2 mile and 5 flights of stairs to arrive to our language testing, 5 minutes late. The center didn't know we were supposed to have a language test. The taxi to visit our friends never showed up and we had to find another way to visit friends to the north of where we stayed. Our taxi driver awkwardly stopped beside an abandoned building to use the restroom and came back with "the barn door open!" There was a communication problem with our next taxi driver, who took a "short cut" and on our way  came upon a car on fire. After visiting with friends, I called the taxi driver who informed me he would be to the house "now or in 30 minutes." 45 minutes later, he arrived an...

I have been out of town since last Thursday and never was so thankful to walk into my house than I was last night around midnight, after a very long day of traveling!!  More to come on my trip but I enjoyed cuddling with the boys today and making some cookies for a friend with Jacob this afternoon. Little helper boy wearing his apron!  "Me taste now?"

Today we rang in 2014 with a family hike to a beautiful valley close by.  Jacob was a trooper and walked a long way with us. Sam was off the beaten track and climbed some terraces. It is amazing to find these caves.  The boys assured me that there was no bears in these caves.  Thankfully! Pretty, pretty!! Sweet jail boys :) Sam is a true outdoor boy and loves to hike.  I see many hikes in our future with these boys. Jacob did get a ride every now and then. I think this is my favorite picture form the day.  Scattered in this valley are old houses that used to be lived in.  This house isn't lived in but it was easy for me to imagine grape vines growing on these trellis, food cooking in a big black pot over the fire, and lots of people in and out working the ground and visiting.  So much life that used to abide here! Happy New Year!