Good for you Zach!

For the fourth time, Zach is the student council representative for his class. This year he decided to run for school president.


We made some posters.


And Zachary wrote out a speech.


Elections were last Friday. Pete video taped the speech, which I will post if I ever figure out how to post it to youtube. Several kids ran, but Pete said Zach and 1 other boy got the most applause when their name was called. Unfortunately Zach lost to the other boy. He took it really well. (better than I did) I am so proud of him for running, and being able to get up there in front of the entire school and give a speech. Way to go Zachary!


On the football front, his team is kicking some ass!


They are undefeated at 4-0. Zachary is having a great season and has received the "player of the game" shirt twice. (several players get it each game, but I think Zach is the only one to get it twice!) Almaden Mustangs rock!!

The neglect of four

Last Sunday was Christopher's third birthday. Truth be told, we didn't have any special plans for the day. I figured he was only three and wouldn't know the difference anyway. We would have dinner, eat some cake and open some presents. That is what happens when you are the fourth kid.


Grandma Liz was coming to town.

Saturday was filled with soccer games for Joey and Vinnie.

Sunday was filled with Zachary's football game.

Who has time for a party?

Then on Thursday morning Christopher looked up at me with his enormous brown eyes and asked "Are Michael and Max coming to my party?"

*gulp*

My heart shattered into a million pieces.

I frantically ran over to Pete. "Uh, Christopher thinks there is a party!"

"Looks like we are having one," he said.

So we called a couple of people and invited them over for a swim.

We ate pizza.

We had balloons and opened presents.

And of course, I made him special cupcakes. Puppy dog cupcakes, or as Christopher calls them "woof-d cupcakes".

In other words, we had a party!

Three!

Happy Birthday Sweet Boy!!

Maybe he will teach his father a thing or two...

After dinner tonight Christopher dragged a chair to the sink, then climbed up with his bowl. He then rinsed it out, then hopped down and put it in the dishwasher. All on his own without any prompting/asking/yelling. I wish the rest of the Contini boys/men would do the same!

For every uphill there is a down...

Today I ran the Quicksilver Half-Marathon. I just found out about it a few days ago, and thought it sounded like a lot of fun. The starting line is only about 3 miles from my house, and the entire run is on trails. I have been wanting to explore Quicksilver park more, but have been afraid of getting lost (it is huge with many trails). Also there are frequent mountain lion sightings there, which is not something I am anxious to come across. I knew it would be hilly, but figured this would be a great opportunity to explore the park safely.

I had no idea what to expect for a time. Because the run is all trails and hills, I knew I would be much slower than my usual. Since I did my last half in 2 hr 2 min, I was guessing about 2 1/2 hr for this run.

The run took off, going uphill. The first 4 miles were completely uphill without much of a break. I found the first 10 minutes the most difficult, than I fell into my groove, steadily making my way up. The scenery was stunning. Almaden was a mining town many years ago, and many of the mining structures and buildings are a part of the park. There was incredible views of all of San Jose to enjoy as well. After the initial 4 miles up, there was a stretch of some downs and flats, and small rolling hills. Then we were hit at mile 9 with another long, unrelenting uphill. Not having done this trail before, I had no idea how long it was going to last. Every turn I made I kept expecting to see it flatten out, only to see it continue. It lasted a little over 2 miles, but at that point in the run, it felt like an eternity!

The last 1.5 miles was downhill to the park entrance. While going downhill is easier, it has it's own challenges as well. My back was killing me!

I purposely did not wear a watch because I did not want to feel pressured to push myself on this type of run. I was pleasantly surprised to come in at 2 hr 15 minutes!

It was a difficult run, but I loved it! Trail running is for me. The trail runners were a small, more intense, slightly quirky group of people. This was a very small race-- I am guessing around 150 or less (probably less). There is a Quicksilver 25K in May, which I can't wait to do. There is also a 50 miler, but I will NOT be doing that! (I checked out the finishing times for this online just to see how long it takes. The times ranged from over 6 hours to over 12 hours. 6- 12 hours! The only thing I want to do for 6-12 hours straight is sleep)



Click on the above map where it says "view full screen". You can then click to see the elevation and course.

Like a good wine...

...he gets better with age.


Today is Peter's 44th birthday. Looking back over our years together, I can honestly say I love him more each year. When I see his pictures as a child, I smile as I see bits of our boys looking back at me.

This picture in particular cracks me up. Peter (the one looking right at us) and a friend were the doormen for a play. Don't they look angelic? Apparently they were dropping the f-bomb as people were walking in. Hysterical. I love his sense of humor!



Happy birthday Peter! I couldn't ask for a better husband, father to our boys, or friend. I love you!


edited to add-- When Joey saw the baby picture of Pete he said "Daddy. You have the same hair now that you had as a baby!"