Gymnastics

Clara wrapped up her last gymnastics class today with a little finale presentation. It was pretty cute. She joined the class just over a month ago - after attending a birthday party at Spokane Gymnastics of her dear friend Maddie. I decided to sign her up after watching her zipline into the foam pit forty-seven times. Given her less than daring past, I was slightly shocked and thought a few weeks of gymnastics might do her good. And it really did. She gained skills and a lot of confidence. She was far from proficient at most skills, but she was probably the most excited gymnast. She certainly has the most exuberant "tada" I've ever had the pleasure of hearing ;).

Bar twirls

Pencil jumps

Waiting for her turn on the trampoline 

TA DA!!!!!

The cheering section

Little Girl

Not much to say - just a few pictures Jono took of the Clara girl tonight. I just keep looking at them over and over again. When did she become such a little girl? 

Summer Parkways

Wednesday marked the second annual summer parkways event. It is quickly becoming one of my favorite summer traditions. Bikers, walkers and runners take over four miles of south hill roadways to celebrate community and an active lifestyle. Jono's clinic sponsored the event this year and set up a BBQ/popsicle stop along the way. 

We mostly hung out at the PT Associates pit-stop, but let Clara ride up and down the roadway occasionally. She got to ride her bike, play some sort of imaginary fairy game with friends, and consume two popsicles (she tried for three before being discovered). So it was a pretty great night for the Claranator.

Love this little biking girl

There was a steady stream for nearly three hours 

This little girl is five days older than Caleb! They had fun checking each other out ;)

Playing some sort of "fairy chase" game, with helmet and popsicle in hand

Clara adores Amara and wants to be just like her (she's four)

The crowd

Look mommy, I got another popsicle!

The Pickering boys joined in the fun too!

Outdoor Swim Lessons

Clara started outdoor swim lessons this week. As you might expect from this first picture, she was pretty much beyond herself with excitement! She's done a few mommy and me classes at the Y and one this spring all by herself, but this marked her first time taking outdoor lessons. 

I'm excited to see her progress, especially since she'll be in the pool every day for two weeks! Maybe someday soon I won't have to stress out at the lake and at my parents' pool? It still seems like a long way off. But in the meantime, we'll enjoy the learning process :).

Father's Day Weekend

For the third consecutive year, our little family of (now) four went to the lake for Father's Day weekend. It seems logical as it is Jono's favorite place on planet earth. The month of June at Priest Lake is never very "summery". The water in the lake was high thanks to weeks of recent rain. The weather was mostly overcast. And there were hardly any people (or boats) to be seen. 

Despite all this, our time there was just what we needed about now. We napped and hung out in the cabin, we hiked and rode bikes in the campground next door, and Jono and I watched the first movie we've seen together in months, which was actually surprisingly cute. I know this weekend wasn't about celebrating me, but I think I needed the little break from life at home more than anybody. 

Motherhood is kind of kicking my booty right now. It's all the more reason to be thankful for my amazing man - I'm so glad I have a partner in parenting! And Clara and Caleb are basically the luckiest two humans in the world to have Jono as their daddy. So happy Father's Day, Jonathan Caleb Hook. We love you.

We returned from the lake Sunday for a family BBQ and some swimming in my parent's pool. We celebrated both my dad and Jono's together with fish tacos and the best huckleberry and coconut cream pies I've ever tasted (thank you, mama). Somehow we managed to forget any shots of my dad (or mom or granddad or brother). Or of Clara jumping from the diving board (a first!!). Oh well. Here is what we did capture...

My loves

Three generations of Hook men

Hangin' with Nana

Enjoying Amie Hook (yes, there is another Amy Hook in the family), visiting from North Carolina

And I know I'm a broken record here, but I am just thankful beyond measure for my dad and Jono's. Words cannot begin to describe the impact they've had on their families and countless others. Sheesh. Someday I will do them justice with a more lengthy post. For now, however, I'm in a blogging marathon and must continue or quit altogether (that's just how I roll...) ;)

Bike & BBQ

You'll have to trust me on the BBQ part because there are no pictures. I just had to include a few of these for the sake of documentation. I just adore helmets on little heads, I've decided. Jono had the camera (as he pretty much always does) this evening at the Randalls. I love some of the shots he captured. He failed to get one of the nine-kid biking parade around the block (eight boys + Clara) but I'm sure you can use your imagination on that one. 

Sweet Ella - I adore her

Daddy helping Elijah

She's on a mission - probably to catch Benjamin (the world's fastest two year old on a strider!)

Clara & Ayden (one of her seven loves - she's a lucky girl and has lots of boys to choose from) ;)

I love this picture of Benj

And finally Parker, rounding the finish line

Hurrah for the start of summer around here. Hopefully there will be LOTS of BBQ and bike rides in our future these next few months!

St. Maries Half Marathon

Jonathan ran in his second half marathon Sunday in St. Maries, Idaho. We all woke at the crack of dawn to travel with him and act as cheering section. It was kind of a crazy move - leaving way too early to spend three-ish hours in an unfamiliar small town on a chilly day with two kids under the age of three- but it turned out to be alright. In fact, I'll even say it was kind of fun.

Although feeling pretty sick (and stopping twice during the race to use the bathroom -TMI, I know), he managed a 1:35-ish time. Ridiculous, I know. Maybe one of these days (If I can ever run again) we will attempt a half together. It would look something like me running & him speed walking...but I'm still up for attempting it. Someday.

The two cutest fans - The other runners were jealous ;)

Nearing the finish

She was the loudest fan too - I can assure you

Although he never slept the entire time (he makes me crazy), he was happy hanging out in the stroller

So proud of daddy!

Victory! 

Papa's Birthday

We gathered as the Hook clan to celebrate Papa's birthday this weekend. The weather wasn't quite what it was last year, but we managed to have a great time despite. We were sort of celebrating three things: a birthday, an exciting new job change (from principal to district office), and a visit from cousin David (an air force pilot doing survival school in Spokane). In years past, Hook visits have been dominated by GIRL pictures. Not so this time around ;)...

I love this one

We can't seem to figure out who Caleb looks like in the family. Maybe his Papa?!

Second cousin (or something??) David - it was so fun having him in town!

Sweet Hunter

It's much easier to see who Hunter resembles!

Oh wait, the girls made one picture after all ;)

Wisconsin Weekend

I bet you have never been to Minocqua, Wisconsin. I actually haven't been there either. But I have been in the vicinity of Minocqua. Like somewhere just a few miles north or south or east or west of the place. The only problem is that I can't remember the name of the exact lake we stayed on. There are something like seventy-three lakes close by on the google map and I spent way too long trying to jog my memory. So I will just lie and say I went to Minocqua. Except now you know I'm lying. But you get the point. I was at a lake somewhere in Wisconsin a few weekends ago.

What was I doing there, you ask? I was spending the weekend with some girls I love: Carly, Amy & Kelly. And of course my buddy Caleb. Why Wisconsin? Because Kelly, who has spent the past nine months in Germany, flew back to the midwest to see family. Her in-laws own an awesome place on Lake Ican'tremember, and the three of us Spokanites decided to join her there. It was an incredibly beautiful spot.

And what we did can be summarized in two words: girl time. That was basically it. We drank a lot of coffee, ate a lot of food, went on one walk and a ridiculous run in the midday heat (what was I thinking?). And talked and talked. A lot. Here are a few pictures of our time (we didn't take many).

Stopping on the way for a little afternoon caffeine

Making dinner together 

Sorry, Carly. I just had to share this awesome picture with the fish mits

Evening walk

Mr. Calebo - was mostly happy during the trip (just not on two of the four flights!)

Happy Birthday, Amy!

The four of us

Oh yes, and one more really fantastic thing happened (read sarcasm). After our horrible run, I decided to make good on my promise to jump into the lake. Since I couldn't see the bottom and have an intense fear of deep, dark, unknown lakes, I kicked out really hard on impact. Somehow while kicking I subluxed my patella (dislocated my knee cap). Awesome, right? I'd done it once or twice in high school and it was painful but I got over it quickly. Now (three weeks later) I still can't bend it much and my PT husband thinks I either strained my MCL or tore meniscus. So that's what I get for jumping in the lake from the dock. So dangerous, right? I'm crazy like that.

Okay, that's all. Oh yes, and here are a few pictures of Norah & Evelyn, whom we saw briefly before returning to the airport. They have grown so much in nine months! We love you and miss you, Kelly.