Got Grossness?? We Do!! And Hikes and Bikes, too!!

 Why, yes, that is a close up of Brian's forehead after Brazen's Dirty Dozen. All that thick brown stuff peeled off....that was really pretty and not disgusting at all.  Kind of like my ultra toes.  So pretty. They make me feel like such a lady. Totally not ugly at all.  So nice that it's flip flop season.  I'm sure nobody notices.

Above and below pic - my left pinky toe.

Below - my right pinky toe.

 I ran on the treadmill this morning and the skin decided today was the day to let go finally. Those nails are going to be painted black for a while.

 After Dirty Dozen, there were 2 down days of legit rest.  Then I was antsy and got moving again with things like mowing the yard, building some trellises...then I was ready to run again...but alas....summer means way more hikes than runs.(although, that will soon change!) So we have been hiking! FYI, I usually edit for clarity and color, but decided not to touch these at all. We have been having amazing weather, super sunny and blue sky, temps in mid 70's, not the 100's we had been having.  Anyhow, the sky has been so blue!!

 

 Do you see her up there? Being the awesome mom that I am, I waited for her to get up there, then took a stick to that pile of horse poo down on the trail and told her she was my target. I made sure to miss, but boy did I get her riled up!

 This guy was not where he should have been, he was solo w/o his herd. He came up behind us as we passed, then got a bit close, but was just watching us pick berries, that's what you see below.......then 4 ladies came up behind him and i knew what was going to happen...he could not go backwards, so he charged us.  I had my arms out to my sides with the kids behind me, stayed calm and told him "No!" over and over again, loudly but calmly.  The ladies were freaked, on their phones trying to call the ranger but had no signal and freaked even more. I swear he flung snot on me before turning and going up the hill and around us.  I love my trail cows and felt bad for him, he was probably lonely and scared. I was super annoyed with the 4 ladies who came up right behind him w/o thought as to the fact they would make him feel trapped between them and us. Their yapping and freaking out spooked him.  Sorry ladies, but if you can't handle seeing a cow...you're running in the wrong area.

 Annoyed, but unfazed....we picked a ton of berries. They ate a ton, filled their bags, and when we got home they still had enough to use to make cobbler.

 There's a farely long stretch of blackberries, should be some for the next few weeks.

 Not often blogged about, this was our family fun day of grocery shopping.  NO really, the kids know that pay day is grocery day and about the only day we spend money. If they have any projects they want to do for the next 2 weeks....that's the day we get the stuff.  We also usually get dinner at....Costco. I know...but they think it's a real treat, and usually they each get a little something, like Myles gets a new Hot Wheels, the girls get a book or some small thing.

 For instance, if they want to build a hover craft.....that'd be a pay day fun thing we would get supplies for. 

 Did you know we were crafty like that?  You just thought we ran, huh??

 This was yesterday's hike in Shell Ridge Open Space in Walnut Creek.  Look at that sky!!

 Frog. The bottom ponds are dry right now, but the frogs still live in the cracks of the pond bed. As soon as you step down out there, they feel the vibration and for some reason, instead of staying safe down in the crack, they all jump out.  If your not a frog person, it's just creepy. There's a lot of them.

 getting more frogs...

 Lunch time!

 And below....BEHOLD!!! Myles is riding his bike!!! This was today. He asked to go to his new school and try his bike.  So we headed out the front door, and he took off. I was running all out just to keep up with him. He rode to the school, rode around this gravel trail around the park by the school, then rode at the school for about an hour, then around the path again, then all the way home!!
This is why my running situation should drastically improve for the rest of summer!! I'm so excited!!
I can throw all 3 on bikes and take off!!!

 After riding home, we went to celebrate this huge, life changing event!

 We hit Burger King for the 50 cent ice cream cones...the machine ran out and we had to wait for cone number 3.  This is what the guy brought out to us!!  Hole cow...that's more then 50 cents worth!!

Well, that catches you up  all the way to this afternoon!

I'll post more pictures on the photo site.