Go Mariners!

Derek works every home Mariners game these days.  So he gets a few tickets every month.  It has taken us this far into the season to make it to a game.  But we did it!  And it was a blast.  Most of the game was slow, but at the end it was a nail biter!  We got to sit in club seats.  Super nice.  And thankfully a nice bathroom right up from our seats, since Ben had to go 3 times.  

I love seeing Derek in uniform with the kids.  Not sure why I love it so much.

Trish and Paige selfie!

This is how Ben got through the game.

Grammy took the girls to the play area and to see the Dave statue

Sarah's comment about her outfit:  "At least they're both animals."

Libby's STATS and other health related news...

Libby's Stats:
Height:  45" (8%)
Weight: 41 lb 6 oz (8%)
And her eyes struggled in the vision check.  Time to go back for a new prescription I think.

Well, Libby's check-up was more anticipated than most.  Near the end of school her teacher mentioned to me that she was having a really hard time focusing.  This had been a problem in the past, but I had been under the impression that she was improving this year.  Turns out, not so much.  So I had all 3 of her teachers (reading, math, and her regular classroom teacher) fill out ADHD evaluation forms.  Derek and I filled them out too.  I was comforted by all the things I could mark that she wasn't struggling with, but there were some clear things that she was struggling with.  They all relate to the ability to pay attention.
I was interested in what the doctor would say.  She compared all the forms and they were all similar.  Libby has symptoms of ADD, attention deficit but not ADHD, attention deficit and hyperactivity.  This explains why her teachers didn't bring up her issues more.  She isn't the kid going crazy in the classroom, she is just the kid being quiet and daydreaming instead of focusing on her work.
So, I have been researching options.
There are side effects to medication.  Insomnia and reduced appetite.  We already struggle in both those categories.  She uses melatonin to get to sleep almost every night and she doesn't (as you can see from her weight) like to eat.  I am wondering, however, if she had a better attention span, if she would be able to focus more on eating and get the job done.
Other ways to fix the issue?  Work on proper diet and exercise (I would say she gets plenty of exercise most days...), give her more structure.
We have just over a month until school starts.  We are thinking we will try some medication and experiment now so if it helps or doesn't, we are through with the testing before school starts.
I would really like for this to help.  She is so smart, but has a hard time showing it when she can't make herself focus!  

Happy Birthday Libby!

This week we had Libby's birthday party and her annual checkup (that gets its own post)!  Quite proud of myself for getting both done in her birthday week.  Her photobook still isn't done, but when she was trying to kiss up to me this week she told me she "didn't care that her photobook wasn't quite done."  So, there you go.
Aunt Maren bought Libby as Shorewood Drill birthday party.  So 4 members of the Shorewood Drill team came to do games, put on make up and teach the girls a routine.  I added a few more things for Shorewood Spirit:  each girl got to paint her own SW or Thunderbird tshirt & they all got pom poms.  (Please note if you are considering this, the cheap pom poms shed. A LOT.  So my house is covered in green pom pom shrapnel.  But I guess that is better than other kinds of shrapnel...sigh...)

The Birthday Girl

Sarah showing off her ribbon from the Drill Girls

They played a fun game or 2.  Derek considered staying home from work because he didn't think Ben would have fun.  What do you think?  

Makeup time!

Ready to do their dance!

My favorite picture of the evening.  Just take a look at Auntie Maren :)

Libby got her 7 candle blown out with one breath.  Ben was really sad that he didn't get to help, so we had to light another for him to blow out.  Notice that Libby's birthday "cake" is actually a chocolate snickerdoodle.  That is what she asked for.  Thankfully the internet had several recipe options.  So I made a double batch.  They were pretty good.

The thing I learned from the party, is that anyone who teaches kids this age is a saint, angel, and I would never want to do it.  It takes a lot of energy.

The Adventures of the Shoe Flies--or Ragnar NWP 2014

So if you haven't ever heard of a Ragnar Relay, it is a fun/insane event.  The relay distance is 190 miles.  You can have up to 12 runners (we do it with NO less ;).  Your team splits into 2 vans and you take turns running.  Each runner has 3 legs.  We started at 6:45 am on Friday and finished at 2:10 pm on Saturday.  So, with only a few hours sleep in between, we managed to run from Blaine WA to Langley WA.  Oh, and did I mention you wear costumes?  So, it is a little bit camping, a little bit running, a little bit eating, a very little bit sleeping, and a lot of snacking, team spirit, and road tripping.  Some of my favorite things all rolled into one.
This year my team had 3 returning Ragnar veterans, my sis-in-law Maren, my good friend Jen & me.  Our newbies were my sister Rachel, her husband Brad and our friend Christy.  I was so proud of all of us!  We ran through pain, heat, thirst, tummy troubles, lots of hills, and a little exhaustion.  Is it weird that I think it is so fun?  I guess 500 teams can't be wrong, right?

The starting line...don't we look so clean and happy?

Our shoes, ready to fly!

Jen ready for takeoff--the views from this run are spectacular!

So proud of the way these two ran!

Christy ready to fly

Our race nails.  This polish lasted about 3 minutes before chipping.  But it was fun to have it for a minute.

Brad needed a dousing--it got toasty for a few of our legs.

Maren totally rocks this outfit!

Trish ready for takeoff--if only she hadn't eaten such a big lunch, this would have been a more pleasant run.  Ugh.

Rachel showing some sweet moves.

We are awesome, what?

Christy ready for a night run.

Jen practicing her flying feet.  

Rachel ready for her "night" run at 5:30 am.  

Don't worry Brad, you got this!

Christy on her runner's high after 8.1 miles!

Some spectacular views and our friend Malcom from the Jaragnar Park team.  

Flying at the finish line.

The whole team together.  We did it!

Trip Post #4--Colorado Adventures

After a busy and intense 2 weeks in Utah, the kids and I left for CO on Tuesday morning, in a caravan with the Brion and Geneva.   We stopped in Vernal at the Dinosaur museum--which was AWESOME!  The kids loved it.  Museums in general have gotten so much more fun and interactive.  

The drive got really long and the drive through Rocky Mountain National Park was crazy!  Those are some windy roads with steep drop offs right off the road.  The clouds were descending over the road too.  But it was beautiful and amazing.  

We got to the YMCA of the Rockies and it was so beautiful and an amazing facility.   The first morning was a bit rocky (pun intended...) for Sarah.  I think she hadn't eaten enough food and she barfed all morning.  But after she ate breakfast (about 6 sausages) she was fine.  

The best parts about the YMCA were the library, the swimming pool, the craft house & the fact that I didn't have to prepare any food for almost a week.  Awesome!

We also had a meeting room that we could play games in and (most importantly for me) do yoga.  I taught a yoga class every morning at 7.  It was a good turn out every morning.  

The girls were really into the Dinosaurs.

Check out their pose...just like his.

Sarah loved the dinos with her name.  Tri"sarah"tops and Proto"sarah"tops.

"Libby" Rex.

Our lodge at the YMCA of the Rockies.  Would have been nice to have AC, but we had internet.  I'll take it.  

Swinging at the Library.  Their library was awesome!  The kids spent a couple of productive hours there doing puzzles, reading & playing with the stuffed animals.  

YMCA!

Our hike with the cousins.  This was a great little stroll.  Except for the biting flies.  They were not at all detered by bug spray.  Libby had a panic attack because of the flies (and the heat, and she was tired, etc.)

Our fam--and a photo bomber.  

Amazing rainbow one afternoon.  Ben wanted his pic with it.  There was a ton of walking in this trip.  I carried Ben lots of the time.  Definitely got my workouts in!

The girls had lots of fun spending time with cousin Mariah.  

Dad and Ben learning some wrestling moves from Uncle Reed.  He is the only other wrestling coach in the family.  He coaches in Utah and gave Derek some good training.  They worked together for several hours.  

It was fun to see Aunt Leanne and her boyfriend Josh, even if we only got to see Josh for a few minutes.

 The whole trip we had this background buzz of what was happening as the girls' video went viral.  I was emailing with Good Morning America, then Fox & Friends.  We watched numerous news stories about it.  It was so insane.  Thankful to the Fehlberg Family.  What a blessing they are to us!

 We left CO and drove to UT so we could fly to NY.  What a whirlwind!

Our 5 Minutes of Fame

I got the girls these shirts to wear on the flight.  Wondered if anyone would recognize us.  No one did, but it was a fun conversation starter.  

It has been crazy to be "an internet sensation" as Steve from Fox & Friends called the girls.  In just over a week we have had 180,000 views of their video.  On Thursday of last week Fox & Friends (the morning news show on Fox News) called us and asked us to come to NY and be on the show.  It sounded like a really fun opportunity.  So I said yes.  That meant that we left CO and our family reunion on Saturday to drive back to UT (where I had left all of our nice clothes) so we could fly out on Sunday.  Then we did the show Monday morning and flew back Monday evening straight to Seattle.  At least that is how the itinerary was supposed to go.  I think that I needed a lesson in patience, or some chastening so I would stop being interested in fame?  Flying in and out of NY was a nightmare because of thunderstorms.  We got in SUPER late on Sunday night (I was worried that the girls might not rally for the show, but they did).  Then our flight out of NY was SUPER late (we spent an hour + on the tarmac in the plane not knowing if we would be able to take off at all) and we missed our connection to Seattle.  Thank goodness for Maren's friend Liz who let us come crash at her place in Chicago.  We cut it close in the morning, but we made our flight back to Seattle.  Thankfully!  We are home, with the fun memories standing out and the hard moments fading quickly. 

I let the girls get an overpriced polish at the airport in Utah.  

This dance group saved my bacon in the Chicago airport on the way to NY.  They LOVED the girls and entertained them for over an hour.  Sarah drew them several autographs.  I was really thankful, because we were at a breaking point.  

That black car in the background has a sign that says NORTON.  So cool!  We are stars!

Outside the Fox building.  It was really fun to be VIPs.

This dinosaur was also on the show.  It freaked Libby out a bit.  But she got over her fear and petted him...until he made some scary noises and she jumped!

On the set.  Looking so fab!

After the show we went to the Giant Disney store.  Libby cried that she couldn't have more princesses and Sarah did a Frozen performance for any onlookers.  

I wasn't sure what to do with the rest of the afternoon.  So we took a bus tour.  I loved it!  As you can see, not everyone else was such a fan.  But it helped us get to Chinatown where we bought a few souvenirs.  

This is Tuesday morning riding the train in Chicago.  The girls look a little (okay a lot) tired.  We were all worn out and ready to be home!  Luckily Libby was seated by a really cool lady on the way home who entertained her very well.  

Fox & Friends Segment
Fox & Friends After the Show Show
The girls had fun on the show.  They love positive attention, and they got it!  All in all I would say it was worth it.  (I can say that today now that I have had a good nights sleep I think.)
Honestly, I am so happy to be home.  But if another show called would we go?  Probably.  But I wouldn't want to go to NY again.  Maybe LA or Chicago.