So I've been writing a lot about Skye and Spider and the joy they bring to us every day! But my husband, Erik, has been working hard on a new project that I thought I'd share with everyone here on Weplay.

Erik's been working on a new sports hydration drink called H2O Overdrive, that literally has just made it onto a few shelves. But it is the best drink for all these high school athletes and young kids because it has so much less sugar. It's just packed full of vitamins and it has protein in it.

Erik, a guy in the target area for this (18-35 male), has been in the gym for 20 years of his life and has seen every kind of drink pass through... And he's always tried them.  He's just so relieved for something like this on the market. 

It's basically like, something you'd put in the sports hydration department, but then it doesn't really fit in with all the energy drinks on the market because of all the extra vitamins and stuff that are in it.  It's just great, pretty fun and very exciting.  Lots of athletes want to come on board because they just believe in it and like it so much. We've had interest from professional hockey players, professional beach volleyball players, triathletes, bicyclists, and obviously my husband and I love it.

It would actually be a great fit for Weplay's wellness section once that gets going. As a mom I was recently driving along in front of a high school and saw the PE class running. I was just floored at the reality of the average high school student right now and how out of shape and overweight they are.  It is really important for kids to maintain a healthy lifestyle, and getting the right vitamins without all the sugar is one step in the right direction.

It has been busy busy as usual and this weekend I'll be doing commentary for the Charlotte UltraSwim.  We'll be in North Carolina at the Mecklenburg County Aquatic Center covering the event with lots of Olympic talent including Michael Phelps, Ryan Lochte, Cullen Jones, and Katie Hoff!

While it has been a while since I've been able to swim, it is always exciting to be back around the competition!  Speaking of competition, I was just thinking about my days at Stanford and the new star Julia Smit who broke some of my college records.

Some people ask if it bothers me, but you know what it doesn't.  I think it would have bothered me maybe if like two years after I broke the record they fell.  But I just think it's great for several reasons.  Number one, they've been there for a while.  So I love the fact that women's swimming at Stanford has really stayed strong.  So they've got some good swimmers.

Overall, I'm not a big record status person at all.  But I like the fact that the caliber of swimmers is now in the record-breaking business.  You know what I mean?

Also, I think it's great because my friend Lea Maurer is the coach out there and I really love Stanford and I want to see them on top at the NCAAs.  And I know that they were fourth this past year, which is awesome.  But I know Lea's goal is to win NCAAs again.  It was the best moment in my swimming career and I wish that upon every Stanford athlete.

When my American records were broken, yeah I was kind of like, "Oh that was a good run. They've been there for 12 years." But the moment I broke Tracy Caulkin's record I learned that they are made to be broken.  They are.  It was only a matter of time and I was pretty proud of how long they stood.

Another milestone in our family as Skye turned three years old earlier this week! I seriously can't believe how big they're getting!

As the kids get older, I find myself returning to some of the things I was doing before the kids took over and turned everything upside down. More appearances, television events and the like. Though one thing I wish I had more time to do is get in the pool and swim.

I really need to get back in the water. I'm jonesing for it lately. It's kind of like if you don't have coffee for a while and you smell a cup of coffee and you're like, "Whoa, I need to get back in there." I've kind of felt that way. I go in with my kids and we splash around a bit when we go visit my mom in the Palm Dessert. But I've been thinking about putting the swim cap back on and really going for it lately.

Of course I still love the sport and always will. But it's been years since I have done it for fun. Think about it, I mean I've basically been pregnant for the past four years. I haven't done that since my son was born - pregnant, nursing, pregnant, nursing.

I actually would really love to do more triathlons. I've only done two. But I'll do a marathon at some point. Maybe my next marathon will be when I'm 40. You know if my knees, legs, hips and all that are okay...

Curious to hear what challenges you guys would like to take on. Drop a line, let's hear about it!

So I totally went off last week on Skye's birthday party (which is Tuesday) so in the interest of fairness and equal opportunity, it's Spider's turn.

That kid is hilarious and oh man am I doomed in a few years. He climbs up on everything. He jumps up everything. He bounces on everything. Honestly, everyday, I try my best to keep that kid out of the hospital. That's my goal. No broken bones today, no falls today, Yay!.... because he is always one step away from it.

Last week, I turned around for one second to answer Skye's question about what clothes she could wear and turned back around and he was all the way to the top of the bunk bed. 14months old and he climbed up to the top of the bunk bed ladder about to get on the bunk bed. And it's not an easy ladder. They're pretty wide steps and he made it all the way up there.

He kind of takes after his sister in that way. She is very active and really loves gymnastics. If she could live with just one piece of clothing, it would be her leotard. She wears it EVERYWHERE. She wears it under her regular clothes. If she could, she would sleep in it. But I just won't let.

I think she really could be a gymnast. It's so cute, she'll say to me, "Mom do gymnasts eat lunch? Mom, do gymnasts have cereal?"

Though by that logic, she may also want to be a football player. I remember a few months ago I was trying to get her dressed, (which is always my challenge) and said "You need to put pants on," and she goes, "footballers don't wear pants." And I said, "Oh yeah, footballers wear pants." So we walked down stairs (it was Sunday). And I go, "Do you see their pants? They're tight pants but they wear pants." So she went upstairs and put her pants on.

She also just can't quit talking about the fact that when she turns five (I don't know how she got it) she can play soccer. "When I turn four I can ride a bike but when I turn five I can play soccer." She created those milestones. I've never said it. But I've said to her, she needs to master the tricycle before we jump on the bike. She needs to get more trike time. Maybe we'll go do that now. Gorgeous day, time to go outside and play!

So the big news in our family is that Skye is turning 3 years old next week! In our family, the third birthday means the first real birthday party. And the hard thing for us, since we're all over the place, was figuring out where to do it. Since we go back and forth between California and Utah, I asked her, "Where would you like to have your birthday party?" We were at the park when I asked her, so of course she said "THE PARK!"

I've spent some time researching a little bit about the parks in the area and will invite some people either there or at the beach. Either way, it will be really small, but a full play day of everything Skye wants to do. I think I'm going to make a butterfly cake, which should be pretty interesting to see me try do that. I really do love baking, though.

For my son's birthday I made him a car cake. Since he shares a birthday with my father-in-law, I made Spider a little car and my father-in-law a big cake. The wheels were Oreo cookies, the windows and doors were outlined in thin red rope licorice and the headlights were little bottle caps. It was pretty fun so I'm excited to make Skye's.

Unfortunately we're back in California, so a lot of her friends aren't here. But we do have a handful of friends. And to be perfectly honest, you don't need too many three-year-olds at a party. We're going to keep it chill. But what's great for Skye is that we're going to celebrate her birthday again when we get back to Park City. And we'll definitely do it at the gymnastics place in Park City.

To be honest all my daughter cares about is cake and ice cream. She could care less about her presents it's just about the candy and the cake.

Skye's at an age that is just so adorable, like when she repeats things to us. I say stuff to her like, "Here are your options: either have this piece of licorice or have none at all. It's your choice." Then she'll come back and say "Mom, mom, what are my options." She'll want jelly beans for breakfast and try to negotiate. "Mom, what are my options?" No negotiation before 10:30a.m.!!!

Hope everyone had a great weekend. Sunday night hanging in Manhattan Beach and the sounds of the waves is totally relaxing me. I've been meeting with lots of folks about some potential gigs coming up, so stay tuned. All about patience and waiting for the right opportunity.

But I'll tell you what, having patience by the beach is a lot easier than having patience in the city or a lot of other places. So I feel lucky that I get to spend quality time with my family right now. I know a lot of people are feeling this to. Everybody's situation is different. Obviously if you are in dire straits, it's hard to think this way but I just keep thinking that I really need to keep appreciating the time I have with my kids right now.

I'm going to be on Rachel Ray, though I don't know the date yet. I'm also going to be on So You Think You Can Dance... which is really something different for me. They had the tryouts in New York, so I went and interviewed all the people who were trying out and then I tried out myself. So that should be great. I'm not sure when that's going to air but it should be in a few weeks.

So today was also a big day for women's sports. I was out at the Opening Game for the new Women's Professional Soccer League. I didn't get a chance to see Brandi Chastain play yet but I will (Brandi, can you hook me up with some tickets? :)

I just think that women's soccer is great for all the young girls out there who are watching and thinking, "you know what, this is a possibility." I've always just liked what soccer has taught kids at a young age... patience, waiting your turn and working your section of the field and discipline. I like the team aspect of it as well. And the players are amazing people. You know, they get it. They don't take it for granted. And I love that.

So no matter what sport you play, if you're a boy or girl, young or old, go for your dreams and love the game. All for now.

Have a great night,
-Summer

As a parent with two children, it's interesting to note the difference between your first and second kids. Sure, you do things differently the second time around, learning tricks get them to sleep or ways to get them to get without making such a mess.

For my two little ones, Skye, who turns three next month, and Spider, who is a little over a year old, I notice more of a difference between the things they are into and the way they behave based on being a boy and a girl. Nothing better or worse on either side.

Spider wants to get his hands on anything and everything. I now understand why they have the cupboard locks and toilet seat locks and the gates to keep them from going down the stairs. He just goes a mile a minute and is into everything. Skye just wasn't like that. She just wasn't as active as early as he was. So the biggest challenge for us is not only having a toddler running around, but also making sure the environment for the little active fella is safe. So it's just non-stop.

Luckily we've got help, as I think I've mentioned, but I know many parents don't. And God bless them. We have Erik's cousin Katie out her helping us. So that's been great. I planned for that because Erik was going to be in Europe for most the winter. But with him home, now it's even better because we have three hands on deck. You know, three against two.

I think the biggest transition for a mom with two kids is sharing the love between the two of them when both really need you. You know they are at an age where they really need your love and attention and need you to be free to play with them. Yet I also feel like I need to encourage them to play by themselves and entertain themselves. Not with television, but with activities in the playroom. I try to give them that direction. Whatever they need to make that happen.

My advice is take notes or reminders with the first one if you know more are on the way. The strangest thing now is that I can't remember things we did with Skye. I sit here and think, "I can't remember when Skye went down to one nap a day." I was trying to think when do I put Spider down for just one nap? But I couldn't remember for the life of me. It's amazing how quickly your memory goes. That's why they have those baby books.

So yeah, I encourage everybody to write everything down. Because if you think you'll remember it, you won't. And these are truly the things you'll want to remember forever, trust me.

Back to the kids!
-S

Watching last night's All-Star Game was super fun, seeing Kobe and Shaq together again was a real treat for everyone. I'm actually going to be doing a few shows for NBA TV coming up, so stay tuned.

In the meantime, I'm just trying to enjoy this time. This bit a of a quieter work time for me so I can enjoy the time with the kids and spend time at the beach. I'm not complaining AT ALL. It was 86 degrees here in Los Angeles when we first got here. It's just been a great month.

The real big news in our family was the recent retirement of my husband, who was a professional skier with the U.S. Ski Team for almost 20 years. He spent a lot of time over the past year trying figure things out. I mean, he was in the best shape of his life. He was skiing super fast, one of the fastest guys on the team. I just think something wasn't clicking during the races and he knew that as well. I think it just took him awhile to figure out exactly what was bothering him. So for him, it was determining what no longer fit into that equation, that missing link essentially.

So it all just happened on day when he was at a race in Belvedere and was on the third turn. He just skied out and decided right then and there that there just wasn't a result that could keep him in the sport anymore. No result was worth missing his kids' lives right now.

Back home and together again, our family is doing great. He's actually going to work for a startup company. It's a new drink called H20 Overdrive. Imagine a Gatorade-type drink with protein in it for adults. It has hardly any sugar and it's just super quality nutrients going into your body right after a workout.

So he's going to work for a company, a "real job," if you will, in charge of athlete relationships and marketing. We're all really excited about that. So, he's going to start in April and that will be a good transition for him. He'll still be involved in sports, just on the other side of it. Kind of like what I've been doing... working on another side of sports since I retired.

So that was the big news of the last few weeks... Hope everyone is well and I'll talk to you again soon!

~Summer

Hey everyone, sorry it's been so long since my last update but lots going on. Not sure I'll be able to get to it all today, but I'll do my darndest...

So holidays... always a great time. This year we had my dad and his girlfriend over for Christmas. And then the day after Christmas my mom came in, so it was a good family affair. My husband came home right before Christmas and announced his retirement from skiing, which I'll get to later...

Other exciting things that happened in the past few weeks, Spider's 1st birthday! Our daughter Skye shares a birthday with my dad and Spider share a birthday with Erik's dads. So both of them were born on their grandpa's 66th birthday. Crazy, right? For Spider, we had one party back in Park City before we left to come back here to Los Angeles with Erik's dad and Spider. I made him this really cute car cake. I put Oreos for the wheels and I used licorice to outline the windows and all that kind of stuff. It was really cute. So I made one for Erik's dad AND for Spider.

Then when we were out here in LA for his actual birthday, my mom came and Erik's mom just happened to be in town. My best friend and her family also came and it was a really, really fun party. And Spider had no idea it was all for his birthday. He went to bed early and my best friend's dad brought out his ukulele and we all started to sing-a-long .

So is everyone ready for the Super Bowl this weekend? You would have never ever thought it would be these two teams, but I really think Arizona is almost like a little Cinderella story there. And the way Kurt Warner and Larry Fitzgerald has been amazing! I haven't had the time to really sit down and think about how these two teams match up against each other, but I think Arizona has the momentum right now. They're on such a high.

Don't think the underdogs have it in them? I mean who would have thought the Giants were going to win last year and who REALLY thought Eli Manning was going to be the MVP of the Super Bowl? Even at the end of the season, no one called that. So I guess that's a similar situation as Arizona this year. No one thought Arizona would be in the Super Bowl...well maybe they did. But I don't think most of the NFL population did. So don't count them out. I can't wait to watch.

Yup, as I guessed, I have to jet and tend to the kids. They're going a million miles an hour. Have a great weekend!

I don't know if you've been to your local mall yet this holiday season, but it's crazy out there... people fighting over discounted merchandise and going all out to get their hands on a toy or piece of clothing.

Good thing we're not a family that does the many gifts thing. We try to follow a philosophy of not just buying things to buy them. So for the kids, we do one Santa gift that's not wrapped, then a bunch of books, wooden toys and small things. We're not really big on the plastic toys in our family.

The big thing for Skye is that she is potty trained now, so she's ready to get a "big girl" bed. So I think that everybody wants to help chip in and contribute to her big girl bed. And she keeps talking about that when she's four, she wants to ride a bicycle, again, a "big girl" bike. So I think she'd like to ask Santa for a bike, but she' not quite big enough yet. She's got a tricycle so she has to master that before we move on.

Of course, the holidays are more than just about presents, right? My husband will be back home for a break, which is a great treat for everyone. Also, my dad and his girlfriend are going to come out and stay with us for Christmas as well.

You know, I think we often lose sight of what really matters. And in joining weplay and having the chance to reflect on my experiences, my parents' role in my upbringing and also my children's future, I think that it's important to keep the real priorities top of mind.

Even though I was super competitive as a kid, I didn't have my parents fighting for me saying you know, "She touched the wall first! You need to recheck the clock from the race!" I actually tried that once and my mom was like, "Oh are you saying the timers are wrong? I don't think so sweetie, nice try." My mom kept me in check and would just say, "The other girl wanted it more. She touched the wall first." And I am so glad she did.

So this holiday season, as you're spend time with your family and both look back on the past year and the great things ahead, cherish the time together, appreciate one another and remember what the true spirit of the holidays are all about.

Love,
-Summer