We meant to post something weekly, but it's been a month now! Life is very busy, as it is for everyone. First and foremost, I finished the half marathon!! And I didn't get picked up by the van. My time was really bad though because the last 4 miles I barely walked. My feet were so blistered and painful. They're still not fully recovered. But that just proves that I didn't train enough, so it's my own fault. It was a lot of fun though overall and I'm really glad I did it. But not glad enough to do it again! The most rewarding part was shuffling through the Phoenix Airport, looking crippled and tattered, to find Rob, Gage, Bella, and Maya at the top of the ramp waiting for us. They were holding a sign that read, "Good Job Mommy" and Gage ran up to me for a hug. That was a nice surprise. Now we are training for a sprint triathlon in November in Casa Grande. Rob is doing it too so it should be really fun.

Gage started soccer a few weeks ago and somehow I managed to volunteer as the coach. The games are pretty funny...none of the kids really know what to do and they sometimes cry if the ball is kicked away from them. But they are getting a little better each time and seem to be having fun, although Gage says sometimes that he doesn't want to play. I think he's letting his frustration get the best of him. I have no idea where he gets that from!! Ha ha!

Bella is doing her own version of crawling now. It looks like a caterpillar and is pretty funny. She may or may not crawl the correct way, but for now it is hysterical to watch her. Gage never crawled the right way either..he did the army man crawl. She is just barely cutting her two lower baby teeth and she's almost 9 months. We don't mind because we love that gummy smile still. I had my first embarassing moment when your child says something honest and inappropriate. I took Gage's glasses in to get repaired and there was a saleswoman in the store who kept smiling at him and commenting on how cute his glasses looked. I said to him, "What do you say?" and he responded, "Thank you, you look like a witch!" In his defense, she did resemble a witch and I just quickly tried to pretend he was talking about something else. I hope she bought my distraction.

Rob's business is going well and keeps him busier all the time. He is still traveling quite a bit but we are hopeful that will slow down in the next couple of months.

We started our softball team again through Gilbert. Go Ligers!! Our record is 1-1, but we should have won the first game too. I'm sure that's what everyone says. It's a really fun team and Rob will actually get to play in a game next week.

INAUGURAL POSTING

We were inspired by our brother and sister-in-law, Cameron and Addie, to start our own family blog to keep everyone updated on the goings-on in the Powers Family. I am sure that our postings will not be nearly as fun, clever or witty as Cameron and Addie's blog. So here goes....Gage is a very rambunctious 3-year-old as you all have witnessed. We are always surprised by the things he says and his looks he gives. Although, we shouldn't be that surprised because he is pretty much a Rob Jr. He is so entertaining, but also a sweet boy who loves life and everything and everyone he meets. He just started an at-home preschool program with Braden, his cousin, and two girls. They rotate houses, so I will teach them two days a month. He loved his first day, but told me he was sad because he pushed one of the kids. I told him that an easy solution would be to just not push anyone anymore. We're crossing our fingers. Bella is now 7 months old. She is such a happy and easy baby - we are so lucky. She makes us feel that having two is much easier than having one. She adores Gage and he loves her so. He is so protective of her and she lights up when he comes in the room. He's a great helper and is getting more and more enjoyment from her as she gets older. She doesn't have any teeth yet (she's a little late) so she still has that priceless gummy smile. She loves to take baths and go in the swimming pool with Mama.

Rob is very busy with his work. He is co-owner of a pet products sales and marketing group. He likes being his own boss and is looking forward to giving himself better hours. So are we!! Alyssa, Mary Kay and I are training for a half-marathon that takes place at Disneyland on September 3rd. Two of Mary Kay's sisters are running too. It sounded like such a good idea when Mary Kay told us about it. All I can say is, WHAT WAS I THINKING??? I realized that I was right....running is boring and I don't like it. I think I need another two months training to be able to run the whole thing in a decent time. I'll be thrilled just to cross the finish line without being picked up by the van for keeping too slow a pace! I don't care if I'm running, jogging, walking or crawling!

We just had the whole LaDuke Family here to celebrate Alyssa completing her Masters Degree in Education. It's so much fun to get together and see all the cousins play together. Aaron and Kristen's girls are so good to their little cousins and huge helpers to the rest of us. I think Papa and Grandma are glad to get some peace and quiet after those gatherings. We're getting so big that our get-togethers are going to have to be at a park from now on. We're looking forward to Thanksgiving in Tucson this year! We're so happy to have all the LaDukes back in Arizona again! At least temporarily, until we lose Billy and Alicia to the Air Force.

Rob's mom and dad are doing well, despite all of their health concerns in the last year. Rob's mom is in remission and his dad is doing much better. We are planning on going out to Sacramento at the end of September for our niece's Surprise 30th Birthday party. We are looking forward to that.

We hope that everyone else in our large family will do their own blogs. It's fun to read and see what everyone is doing!