the final countdown

so the school year is coming to an end...in 9 days to be exact. the end of the school year is always a welcome time since summer will begin. swim season is in full force now, so we'll be busy everyday just not with school stuff. june means our anniversary and birthdays...lots of birthdays! :)

this has been a wonderful school year! i have loved being back in first grade and it was made extra special by having connor in my class. what a special year it's been! kaleigh is ending her time at elementary school and will be heading to middle school in august. new adventures for her! it will be hard for me to adjust to not having her with me at my school but i know she'll do well on her own. i'll miss our little chats in the car on the way to school and seeing her on campus everyday. now it will just be connor and me. i look forward to watching him grow and experience school these next few years.

let's get through these 9 days and have a fun filled and memorable summer! can hardly wait!

diva-in-training

yep, it's true! i'm a diva-in-training. i'm training for the san francisco diva half-marathon in may. am i runner you ask? no! but i've set a goal for myself and i'm going to achieve it! i've already done a 5k (when i was in worse shape, hadn't been running at all) so i think i'm off to a good start. i've been following a training program online, doing cardio workouts with shorter runs during the week and a longer run on the weekend. my longest run completed so far was 6 miles. yay me! it hasn't been easy (major shin splints, sore muscles, sluggish days) but i'm looking ahead with excitement. i have a little over 2 months to go. if this body of mine holds up, i'll be one happy diva!

the PBR

if you know me, then you know that i'm not into country music, wranglers, big belt buckles and cowboy hats. but i've been slowly getting hooked onto watching bull riding on tv. when val first turned it on, i'd laugh and then leave the room. then the kids started watching it. and then i gave in and sat through one event. i couldn't believe how crazy these guys are to ride these huge bulls. well after a year of watching the pbr (professional bull riders) on tv, we finally got to see it in person! the pbr came to sacramento and we went, along with mimi & pop pop, and don, jana, and cole.

the introduction had a huge fireworks display and all the cowboys were introduced. the top 5 riders were put in the spotlight above the chutes.

funny thing about the bulls that night was that most of them didn't want to go back in the chutes when the ride was over. they ran around the rink until they got roped and were led back in.

we had great seats. we could see all the riders getting ready in the chutes as well as the bulls in the pens behind the chutes.

valdiron de oliveira (one of the many brazilians) won that night. my guy (mr. hollywood) didn't do too good, ended up taking a horn to the chin and getting stitches.

the kids LOVED watching the riders and the bulls, even watching the rodeo clown dancing for the crowds. they can't wait to see them in person again!

Happy New Year!

a new year is here! yay! i'm excited for it to begin. it was just the 4 of us for new year's eve, which ended up being perfect. we watched dick clark's rockin' new year's eve on tv. i can't believe it's been 40 years for him! we all had a fun time listening to the music and being silly & dancing. our favorite performers were LMFAO and Pitbull. even connor was singing along! we all made it to midnight to see the ball drop and 2012 to begin. after the kids went to bed, val and i sat outside by the firepit and watched the fireworks in the neighborhood until we were too tired to stay awake any longer.

it felt great to sleep in...all of us! i kicked off my new year's exercise routine with an amazing 8 mile walk. it was such a beautiful sunny day that i wanted to enjoy the outdoors. i kept walking and walking and walking. i felt wonderful! i'm still focusing on my health this year, trying to eat better, get plenty of exercise, and reduce the stress in my life. val & i have signed up for 4 more obstacle runs this year which is fun to look forward to. they're spread out throughout the year, so we have something to train for. it will be fun doing these together and getting in shape together as well. :)

hiking with the pesmarks

our family went hiking with the pesmarks this afternoon. since they live on mt. diablo we thought we'd start from their house. it was a beautiful afternoon and the kids were excited to be outdoors together. the men and the kids left denise and i in the dust. we didn't seem to care though. :) it was a great hike--some major uphill climbing with amazing views, and a killer leg workout.

the amazing view from the trail above denise's house.

pesmarks on top of the world! well, mt. diablo at least. haha!

here's us. yay tompkins family!

Connor's loose teeth

connor went to the dentist for a cleaning last week and we found out he had not one, but FOUR loose teeth! what a surprise! we could see his new tooth already coming in before the others were ready to come out. he was so curious as to what was going to happen and how. once kaleigh mentioned the tooth fairy, the questions just kept coming. haha! kaleigh reminded me that connor needed a tooth pillow of his own. so i dusted off my sewing machine and made one just for him. he was so proud!

his tooth was barely hanging in there two days later. he let val pull it out. what a brave kid!! i don't do loose teeth well...i was in the other room, covering my ears and shutting my eyes. :) once the tooth was out, he kept looking at himself in the mirror, while i kept asking to take his picture. he wanted nothing to do with that though. so the few pictures i got were of him squinting or not being able to see his new space. oh well. the tooth fairy left connor a note and $5, just like kaleigh's first tooth (she reminded us of this). our little buddy is growing up!

back to life. back to reality...

back to work!! yikes! the past 2 weeks have been amazing, wonderful, terrific, fabulous, and just what i needed. :) i have relaxed, refreshed, and recharged my body and mind...it feels so good! in a way, i am glad to be going back to work and the daily routine of life. i enjoy the people i work with, i have missed seeing some of the familiar faces that make me smile (both adult and child), and i definitely need to get back into my normal sleep routine. ha!