Halina's Birthday Dinner with Family!

The last and final celebration of Halina's 4th Birthday was with family. Halina planned the menu: Turkey Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, Garlic Bread, and I threw in a mixed Salad. I always think it is so funny that Halina loves meat loaf so much. I never have a problem getting her to eat it even if it is filled with vegetables. All in all, Halina had a wonderful week of Birthday celebrations. On her actual Birthday she had a special pancake breakfast with her immediate family, then the following weekend had lunch with friends and then the following week had dinner with extended family. She received so many great gifts and felt very loved by all the birthday wishes!



I threw these photos in because I wanted to document Landon doing the dishes. Yes, he does clean the dishes and sometimes even Halina helps. I am a blessed Wife and Mommy!

Three of the silly Martins. Not sure what Tony is doing...

I tried to convince Halina to get an ice cream cake from Cold Stone or a specialty cake from a local bakery, but all she wanted was to pick one out from Costco. She even picked the exact same one as last year. When the girl has her mind up there is no since in trying to change. She did, however, save us a little money by going with a Costco cake, but there was so much leftover!

More Birthday Fun for Halina!

Halina's Princess Party with a few of her favorite friends was a last minute decision, but Halina didn't seem to mind and she had so much fun! They dressed up as princesses, searched for Cinderella's lost slipper, made beaded necklaces and shared in lots of laughter. Halina is still talking about how great it was to have her friends at her house. We are so glad she had a memorable party!

Happy Birthday Halina!

Our sweet Halina turned 4 earlier this week. Her imagination and wonder bring so much joy to our family. She is theatrical, silly, sassy, caring and very loving. A few of her favorite past times are playing dress up, acting crazy with her sister and reading books (she's not reading quite yet, but she loves to be read to).
On her birthday she opened her presents from her parents, sister and Grandpa and Grandma. . She was especially excited about the bicycle Grandpa and Grandma sent her from REI. She rode it non stop for about two hours in the backyard that day.

Later that day, Halina went to Awanas club as usual, but she was so excited about club she forgot to tell anyone it was her birthday!

"Get Well Bebe" Photo Shoot

Volleyball Stars

We were finally able to see Landon's nieces play volleyball at their school. It was nice to see the girls in action and they were great! I am not being bias either. They really were strong players and we are so proud of them. Below are some pictures of Katelynn in action. It just so happened to be her birthday too, so she definitely had a little extra pep in her step! Unfortunately I didn't get any good photos of Kloe in action, but there are some great ones of her and the monkey's at the bottom of the post.

Tony was so proud of his birthday girl!

Meanwhile... my girls were up to their usual selves. Making faces, eating anything they could get their hands on and getting as much attention from family as possible. Kloe "Klo-klo" was ready available to play some pat-e-cake and ball tossing. Thanks for the fun Kloe!

Nautica Malibu Triathlon

Last Friday we headed over to the Nautica Malibu Triathlon for Landon's first go at an Olympic triathlon distance. An Olympic distance is a 1.5k swim, 40k bike, and 10k run (in miles: .93m swim, 24m bike, 6.2m run). It was a great day for a triathlon. A little cold for the spectators from the Valley, but great for the athletes. The ocean was smooth and there was very little wind for the bike and run. Unfortunately it was not a good race for Landon. Right away one of his calves started cramping during the swim making it difficult to kick, but he still carried on. During the bike he struggled with even more leg cramps, a flat tire and some brake issues. Still he continued on! Landon tried to walk a few times during the run, but couldn't get any relief from the cramps. He finished the race at 2:44:17. Landon was certainly discouraged by all the cramping, but was happy to have completed his first Olympic distance. Right away he did some research on the cramping and is pretty sure it was due to dehydration and possibly some vitamin deficiency. He will definitely be sure to hydrate efficiently for his next race! Landon's training partner Brian did a great job on his race. I think he even surprised himself at how well he did. His finish time was about 2:35. His wife and kids were very proud of him too.
The event itself was great. The race was well organized with clear start and finish points. The landscape was beautiful and it was fun to see a few celebs. Friday night we bumped into Matt Reid at our hotel (pictures at bottom of post). He was past years winner of the triathlon as well as this years. He was amazingly fast and made it all look effortless. My friend Susie and I saw Trista Sutter (The Bachelorette), whose husband Ryan was competing, as well as we were arms distance from Paul Mitchell. We didn't stay for the celeb race on Sunday. I'd like to do that next time, because there is also a tot trot that would be fun to enter Halina in. The girls had a blast playing with the Groh's. Their oldest pretty much babysat Elise the whole time, she even pushed the stroller as we went from start point to start point. Overall it was a fun and relaxing trip and I hope Landon isn't too discouraged, so we can go next year and he can redeem himself!

So Many Poses!

Curiostiy...

Look who I found smelling the flowers! Every time Landon buys me flowers the girls are all over them. Elise thought she would help herself to a smell. Halina always wants one of her own in a vase or to carry around too. I think next Spring I'll plant some bouquet flowers for this very reason.