Are the Irish Known for Running?

I'm not Irish.  At least not that I'm aware of (dad?).  Because of that I don't generally do much to celebrate St. Patrick's day aside from wearing some token green so that others will leave me alone.  However, for the last 3 years I've participated in Portland's Shamrock Run.  I don't know if it's because of the people dressed like beer bottles or the fact that every third runner is wearing a green tutu, but this is a fun event.

This was my first year participating in the 15k.  That's 9.6 miles to you and me.  The race went well, though I didn't study the race map much beforehand and was not at all prepared when the route took us up Terwilliger past OHSU.  Brutal.  However, I survived and even got a medal/bottle opener to show for my efforts.

Siena missed 2 days of school last week with a fever but was fully recovered enough to enjoy the weekend.

Luis brought the kids down to cheer me on in my race but with all the people (35,000 participants), we couldn't find each other.  It was good knowing they made the effort though.

Mason spent the weekend asking for and performing chores as he seems to have developed a new found respect for the almighty buck.  He cleaned the family room and living room, put away his clothes, and took out all the household garbage.  It only cost me $1.50.  Money well spent if you ask me.

For dinner last night we made a trip to my favorite restaurant, Delta Cafe.  It's a little bit of good southern goodness.  Here's Siena and Luis waiting to be seated.

Besides having the best casseroles and chicken fried steak in town, this here is the finest Arnold Palmer you will ever taste.  Fresh brewed sweet tea and homemade lemonade!  Mmmmhummm.

Well, I have jury duty starting tomorrow so I need to go practice some fanatical rhetoric.

Springing Forward

While I probably say this every year, I'm going to say it again.  I HATE springing forward.  The cruelty of taking an hour away from a Sunday.  I've got a great idea.  How about we don't spring forward or fall back at all!  We'll get our lightness in the spring as ever and our darkness in the fall.  Everyone is happy.  Unlike me today wondering what happened to my hour!

Other than that it was yet another typical Cruz family weekend.  In anticipation for a 15k next weekend that I'm not quite sure I'm ready for, I got a couple of longish runs in this weekend.  I'm not feeling great about how I ran this weekend but I've been running long enough to know that that can change with each run and isn't necessarily indicative of how next Sunday will go.  I'll knock it out next weekend - it may not be pretty though.

Every once in a while I upload pictures and find a surprise.  This is apparently Mason taking a picture of himself on video on the computer.  The kids went to a swim birthday party on Saturday and had an absolute blast.  Made them anxious for more excitement the rest of the weekend.

My Grandpa Art suffered another stroke last Monday which has effected his speech and, more concerning, his ability to swallow.  We decided it'd be a good idea to go visit him today.  His lack of nourishment was evident.  He has lost a lot of muscle mass and is just skin and bones.  He can't speak at all but he seemed to recognize us and enjoyed waving and clapping with Mason.  Siena was sort of frightened to be there.  She hid behind me most of the time.  I asked her afterward if she was scared and she said she was just because he looked different and she is still a little young to understand what was going on and why he looked different.  We talked about it though and she seemed to understand and feel better.

After visiting Grandpa we went to the Old Spaghetti Factory for dinner.  Yaya got some Grandkid love.

On the way home we learned how much of a car guy Luis is when he popped the hood instead of the gas cap at the gas station.  It's my job as a supportive wife to preserve this moment for posterity.

Happy Ides of March!

Another Typical Weekend

The last few weekends certainly haven't been our busiest ever.  With some hard work and school weeks, it's hard to get motivated to engage in exciting weekend activities.  I've been trying to get my workouts in as I have a 15k coming up in a couple of weeks.  Mason finished up basketball last weekend.  Siena is still taking dance.  And Luis is doing what Luis does on weekends.

Speaking of Luis, he had a birthday last weekend (happy birthday sweetie).  I gave him a new pedal for his Guitar Hero drums.  This afternoon all 4 of us played together for a couple of hours.  Its fun having the kids old enough to play games with us.  Siena sings, Mason and I play guitar, and Luis is the drummer.  We're the Band Cruz.  Or maybe the Siena's.

Saturday Jose and Gloria had a get together at their house.  Siena displays her dinner.

The glowing orb known as the sun made a rare appearance today so we tried to take advantage.  Since we were planning to have dinner with Yaya and Papa Ron anyway, we went up a little early to play before dinnertime.  Siena is starting to enjoy basketball and both kids are getting better thanks to 10 daily push ups each.

Daddy and Siena both scoring!

Yaya wanted to me to be sure to get a picture of the "yellow things" growing in her garden.  Maybe it means winter will someday come to an end.

Mason was excited to get some soccer playing in as well.

Even Yaya showed some game.

Paddle ball with Siena may have been more her speed though.  Regardless, I think we were all happy to be outside for a little bit after 4 months of indoor confinement.

Didn't take long for Mason to make his way to Yaya's computer once we got inside though.  This is a typical pose at home too.

After dinner we went out to the shop to see the progress on the Firebird.  Mason helped Papa Ron with the chrome trim the other week and is showing off his handiwork.  The kid is learning a lot about cars from Papa Ron.  He already knows more than Luis and I combined, though that's not really saying much.

Look what I found looking under the hood of the Firebird!

Just a boy and a tire.

Papa Ron keeps a meticulous garage.  He even built a hanger for his bottles.  Note too that they're all labeled.  Printed labels no less.

Yes, these too are meticulously organized with printed labels.

Every tool has its place.

The whirling dervish can put this organization to the test though.  Or at least she'll test the speed of the shop stool.

I'm sure another busy week awaits but it's nice to have some quite low key weekends to recover.