erica danielle

For having “nothing much planned” for this weekend we packed a lot in!  Short recap: Saturday: yard work, friends over and lots of outside time.  Sunday: out to the lake to celebrate Amos and enjoy a quick dip in the ice cold water.  Monday: practice for Des Moines 70.3! 30 min swim// 60 min bike// 30 min run. Which was such a blast. And then over to Kim’s for a bbq.  The kids were so dirty when we got home it was straight to the showers…. and Tuesday morning when I woke them up they literally slinked down the stairs in exhaustion.  Pictures out of order:  Lucy being Lucy and mom-ing all the little ones.  Sissy on a night paddle to see the loon family This is the before picture. These 3 actually got all the way in!  Our 70.3 crew minus Alex plus Lukas! It was exciting and invigorating. And I do feel like it slightly prepared me for what’s to come in 10 days, 23 hours (not like I’m counting down).  TOMORROW is the last day of school! WHAT?! He...

 We are nearing the end of a lot of things over here. School for one. Which is a little bittersweet this year as the realization that I will not have any little people at home with me anymore sets in more and more everyday. Spring brings immeasurable happiness for me. It's like the q-tip of life scrapes out the sadness of winter and I feel like me again. And with that, comes the good stuff. The bike rides, the grilled pizza, the after dinner walks, the front porch wine sits.... the special time with just Sigge at the lake. Mom and I were sitting, toes in the sand, watching Sigge catch minnows and we were so happy to think that this is the beginning. the first swim, the first time on the boat, the first time getting out the sand toys and the beach chairs. Time is a thief and I feel that more than ever. Trying to soak it all in. Hold tight to these days before they slip away.  If I spend my summer thinking about the fall, I will not enjoy summer. So here is to always getting in ...

 Remember when your kids are tiny and you take a MILLION pictures and then they are all cute in a different way and so you keep 14 pictures of 1 kid in one chair looking basically the same…  It kind of stops happening once your kids get big. It’s not that they’re not cute anymore. And it’s not that they won’t smile for pictures (bc they’re also past that stage by this point) it’s just that you kinda stop taking so many pictures. Or maybe I’m the only one?  But when Olle and Sigge went outside to eat their popsicles after dinner and then came back in to make sure “Wuicy” was coming out, I ran out there with my phone and snapped some pics and now I have 19 pictures and I don’t want to erase a single one.  They fight so much, but when they’re getting along it fills every single space in my heart with love and I just feel happy.  I hope there are many moments this summer where I can’t pick just one 🥰 xo. edc. 

I’m firmly and officially in the “spring is the best season” camp. I think summer held that spot for me for many many years, but as I get older, it’s spring that really does it for me. So much hope and warmth and anticipation in spring…  Our house gets messier, we go through more lemonade, we walk instead of drive and even tho there is an unorthodox amount of school happenings- it’s super fun and I’m enjoying it all.  Last weeks weather was near perfect, each day sunnier and warmer than the last. So there were lots of spring happenings:  Finished a long ride with a short run at a 6:45 pace (what??) I think my legs were used to pedaling and wanted to go fast?? Afternoon Friday date…. We only have ONE of these Fridays left with Sigge (Sigge not pictured) 😂  A very messy house got cleaned bc windows were open and what is better than cleaning with the windows open? I finished this book… ehhhh. Not my favorite, but an easy read.  Sigge and I logged some walking mile...

 What a great weekend.  Yesterday I went for a trail run with Haley and Kim then came home and made the BEST quiche and cinnamon chip scones. Sten and I ate out on the porch and the kids trickled out in pjs and ate scones and drink their milk and it was exactly the morning I wanted.  Olle’s team won their football game! He had some great QB throws and had the best time.  We then stained the deck ✅! It’s been on my spring to-do list, but it’s rained every other day, so I wasn’t able to complete this project. Sten and I whipped it out in 45 mins.  Then we went to my sissy’s hose and played ALLLLLL the yard games, ate all the yummy food and had so much fun with cousins that the: “can we sleepover” question was asked. :) I loved being with my family. Like, so so much. I love that the kids didn’t want the night to end. Mother’s Day: Sunrise 25 mile bike with Kim Church Family lunch on the porch Family cleaning party (personal favorite of the day) Hike with Andrea ♥️ ...

I love a lot about our family right now. Big life questions from Lucy. True competition and grit from Olle. The reminder to embrace life’s passions (drawing) with Sigge. And epic singalongs to normal songs in the car by the whole family.  And then I look through pictures of these 3 when they were little and squishy and I wish for a minute I could go back to that stage and hold them in my arms, watch them reach for me like they did, belly laugh at peekaboo, dance party with them as they do the knee bends and then clumsily fall to the ground.  Lucy was so feisty at this age. Always up to something and also wayyyy too smart. Her affinity for princess dresses and accessories rivaled none and she was always up for some dancing.  Olle was white blond, born athletic and so roly poly. He had the raspiest voice and was much more serious than Lucy. One of his favorite phrases: uppy mommy.  Talk about squishy. This guy was just the absolute best snuggler from day 1. I can remem...

 Finished my run this morning and got straight back into my pj pants and took my coffee outside.  This training cycle is kicking. my. butt. I know it is my bodies way of saying it’s time to take a break. And I’m putting it here to remind myself later that I simply am not super human and need to recover after this 1/2 Ironman. I was running today thinking about how this exact run a year ago would have been one of my greatest joys, and although I felt the amazing endorphins after the run, I’m not finding the same happiness as I once did.  Seasons of life change and I’m feeling that shift right now. I want to have energy to play baseball in the yard with my kids, capacity to feed our family good food and be present for the people I love. I’m so drained by 9am that I spend the remainder of the day conserving energy. My friend Trisha said today before our swim that if you’re not finding joy in the workouts anymore it’s time to take a break. That just couldn’t be more true....

On the rainiest wettest day this week Kim and I had a 3 hr bike planned during preschool. It was raining, extremely windy and cold but we decided it would be a good training ride in case race day was less than ideal, so we went anyway. Within the first 2 mins we were completely soaked. It was such an experience. And I decided that if I can do that, I can handle pretty much anything that happens on race day.  We only made it 25 miles because our hands were frozen and we were having trouble switching gears and braking. We talked about getting out of our comfort zones and I think that may have been one of my more uncomfortable moments in life. It also made me think about what else I can do to put myself in those type of situations so that I don’t get stuck in this “comfort crisis” most of America is facing right now. I never want to lose the ability to have grit/determination to get through something.  It took me a long time to warm up. Every single thing on my body hurt the next...