VISITING
Emptiness started to fill the Dungan household earlier this week as Grandpa Powell and Grandmolly packed up their RV and drove away, back home to New Mexico. They were here for almost a month, and now, sadly, they are gone! The kids loved having them around, and sharing their activities with the grandarents we don't see often enough!
The kids got to celebrate grandpa's birthday with him, and help blow out the candles. When we were picking out the cake, Nicole assured me that the cake with the yellow icing and huge pink flowers was the one that grandpa would like the best!

We also got to celebrate Father's Day with Grandpa Powell on two different occasions; once with much of Kurt's large family, and another more quiet dinner with just us. Victory Brew Pub was a favorite with the men!

The kids loved going to the camper to play and visit! Here we are relaxing before a cookout---the cooking was done just before the rain came, but the eating had to be done inside the camper!

Jack's favorite position in the camper was in the driver's seat. He really could barely control himself when sitting there---he would honk the horn over and over and over, even when he knew he was about to get into trouble! Doesn't look like he feels too badly about it!

Grandpa and Grandma also got to see the kids "run" in a little Fun Run on the 4th of July; then see the kids' joy going on rides at the fair. (Well, OK, Jack wasn't too joyous, and Nicole wasn't that happy to go on a ride with him when her friend was off doing other things, but it was fun nonetheless!)

The kids loved the attention they received with two sets of grandparents over for a July 5th barbecue. But as all good things must come to an end, so too did Grandpa's Pennsylvania visit.
We were very sad when the final good-byes were exchanged at the end of the evening. Goodbye grandpa! Hope to see you out in New Mexico sometime this year, but we hope you'll be back for another visit next year!

ANOTHER RUN...
Ok, so I may have been bitten by the 5K bug, just a little bit! Another one down! Erin (my pacecar from my first run) and I started our day out a little too early, again! I'm pretty sure I was barely awake at this point, when Kurt snapped our pic.

Wow, this was a big one! We're somewhere in the crowd, although I couldn't tell you where!

I kept up with Erin for a while---here we are passing Firecreek in Downingtown---but I had to stop to take a breath at some point along the way, and I lost her quickly in the crowd!Here I am nearing the finish line---it was a hard run for me. The roads were relatively flat, but I wasn't feeling great almost from the outset. I had to stop and walk a few times along the way. I got some energy back when I turned a corner and saw a finish line in sight, a ways up. I was surprised, but I ended up beating the time in my last race, by about 30 seconds. Results: I came in number 402 out of 867 runners. My timing chip time was 28 minutes 12 seconds, and my gun time was 28 minutes 21 seconds (please don't ask me to define these, because I still have no idea!). My pace was 9 minutes 6 seconds per mile. I came in 15th out of 54 runners in my age group (females 40-44 years old) and I came in 130th out of 413 female runners, every age. I was miserable during this run, and as soon as I finished, I vowed that I would never run another one as long as I lived. I don't know what compelled me, mere minutes later, to tell my friend that I was going to look for one more in the next few weeks! I hate running and I struggle through it. There's no explanation other than I've been bitten by the 5K bug!!

We signed Nicole up for the kids 1K Fun Run. (Max assured us a number of times that he had no interest in running.) As soon as Max ran into one of his best preschool friends, wearing a race number for the Fun Run, Max pleaded with us to sign him up for the run! We couldn't turn him down. His friend's sister and Nicole became fast friends the last time they met, so we had a very happy foursome preparing for their run!And they're off...They had to run to a cone and back (the distance wasn't even close to the touted 1K) and Kurt and I are quite proud that both of our kids came in almost dead last. Kurt told them to hit the books because there will be NO athletic scholarship in their future! I ran with Max and was pulling him back to the finish line, not even realizing that Nicole was actually behind us! She really did start out strong!
Everyone is a winner in the Fun Run, and the kids proudly showed off their medals!

Yay for us!

I should note that Jack was screaming that he could not run with his brother and sister. Daddy didn't bring sneakers for him, and there was technically no category for a 2-year old. He was not a happy 2-year old! If I had to bet, Jack would have placed top three in the 5 and 6 year old race, or at the very least, he would have outpaced his 5 and 6 year old siblings by a mile!

5K ...again!

As I sit here on the eve of a 5K run, I realize that I have not yet written about run number 2, which occurred 2 weeks ago. A different group of ladies ran with me this time, through the streets of downtown West Chester. The run benefited the Chester County Legal Aid Society, but this fact had nothing to do with the reason for the run! I think I was bitten by the 5K bug a little bit---I wanted a few more runs under my belt, I wanted to beat my time for my first run and I wanted to feel good doing it!

(Note to self: Flying pony tail was quite distracting throughout run! Remember to do a low pony for tomorrow's run!) This 5K was a double-loop run which started with a big downhill and ended with a long incline uphill, and was mostly flat in-between. There were a lot less participants than the first run, and it had a lot of much faster runners!! I did beat my first time by almost 1 and a 1/2 minutes---my final result was 28 minutes, 52 seconds, pacing at a 9 minute 19 second mile, and placing 94 out of 150 runners. I was happy enough about the time, but not by my place! Must....do.....better! Must....do.....better!

I will post about tomorrow's run shortly! (Unless I do poorly, then you won't hear from me for quite a while!)

SOME SUMMER FUN

Although I thought that Nicole and Max would have long outgrown our toddler pool, I was very happily surprised that the pool entertained them more than it did toddler Jack! (I have no idea where the almost perfect Charlie's Angels pose came from!)

Just had to post this action shot! Max is lithely flying through the air to start out his arduous trek to get the car up the hill!Summer fun has begun. I am hoping that Jack's aversion to grass on his feet will be outgrown. This could interfere with some serious backyard play!The kids also had a great time watching a movie played on a large screen in a local park. (Put those feet in the grass, Jack! You have shoes on!)

No really, it's OK to put them down!Hmm, seems like only a mouth full of animal crackers can make him forget his feet-in-the-grass problem!Another June favorite was a trip to the Lego store! We really could have spent hours in there, but for the nasty looks from the staff showing that we overstayed our welcome!

I think they should charge an hourly fee to let me drop my kids off while I shop!!

LAST DAYS OF KINDERGARTEN

Just as I was starting to get the hang of it, kindergarten ended for Nicole! With a few fun end-of-the-year field trips, and a kindergarten presentation for the parents, the first two weeks of June flew by! The kids presented a few songs to the parents at the end-of-year concert, and I, for one, was pretty impressed with their version of "God Bless America" which was sung AND performed in full in sign language by the kids!There was a little celebration in the cafeteria after the show. We were very happy that Grandpa Powell was in town to enjoy the show with us! (Well, I was also very happy he was there to help keep the boys under control. One look from grandpa and the boys retreated to their seats and cowered there for 10 minutes!)The very last day came too quickly for Nicole, who seemed happy at pick-up time, but burst into tears when we got home because she was going to miss her friends, and her class!Nicole was very happy to have another good year with one of her best friends during her entire three years in preschool; he was the only person she knew who would be attending the same school for kindergarten, and quite serendipitously, they ended up in the same class!

School's out for summer!

TYPICAL WEEKEND WITH JACK:

Daddy's lament:

(Nicole did egg him on a little, but Jack came to me with the costume, insisting that he wanted to be Snow White. Who was I to turn him down? Although according to a very upset daddy, I should have! But really, he's 2!)

Mommy's lament:

(I know the picture is a little blurry, but yes, that was his finger planted solidly in his nose---and it was held there for quite some time! And not surprisingly, daddy was not remotely bothered by this one. But I was!)

Ahh, my little man...what DOES the future hold for you?

ANOTHER GRADUATE!

While Max's preschool graduation was a big deal to us this year, we had an even bigger graduation in the family! Big brother Joe graduated from high school in early June! The ceremony was at the Sovereign Center in Reading. Wow, look at the size of that graduating class! (There's Joe in the yellow cap and gown!)

We celebrated with Joe and his mom, and other relatives back at their house after the ceremony. What a fine-looking crew!Congrats to Joe on his hard work in high school! Although Joe was interested in college in California, we are very happy he will be going to school right outside New York City! Not only will we see him more, but we may get a few extra trips to NY out of this! (Don't worry, we won't stalk you up there, Joe!) We are very proud that Joe is receving scholarship money to play water polo at his new school. He has been playing for years in high school, and is the best! Best of luck and much love to you as you embark on this new era of your life!