Random updates of us

Some random updates from our family! I still have a bunch of catching up to do from the end of last month and the beginning of this one, but I will get to it sometime! :) For now, hope this post makes you smile.

Having my family on the course cheering me on made such a difference. I knew where they were going to be and was able to distract myself looking for them. This was at about mile 8 and my knee had just started really hurting. They were just what I needed! :)
Part of my cheering section. I forgot to get a picture with my parents! My official time was 2:25:33 (that is two hours, twenty five minutes and 33 seconds). I am now even more motivated than ever to keep running. I would love to do this again next year and get close to the 2 hour mark. We will see how training goes this year!

This is our my little man woke up the other day from his nap. He just cracks me up! Can you see the hair?! Now that is what I call bed head.

Critter just loves trying to be like his big sister. He has discovered he can sit at her little table. Once he gets up there, he is not quite sure what he wants to do, but he just sits for a few minutes than moves onto something else. This time there was a toy up there, so that seemed like a good idea to play with. Man, he is growing up so quickly...

These pictures might not do Pumpkin justice! She had a snow day at school on Thursday. They trucked in a bunch of snow for the kids to play in. We brought an extra outfit for her to change into from her wet clothes. Apparently, she was one of the only ones in her class to get herself completely dressed by herself. Now that I say that, take a closer look at these pictures. She put on her jeans and shirt backwards. It was cute, so I had to take a picture. We get in the car from picking her up and she said "Mommy, I am backwards today!".

Sorry about the cat tail in this one, but you can really see her backwards jeans here! I just love my crazy family. :)

Finished...

I finished! Not too much energy to post much or add pictures. But, I am done. I felt better than last time, except for my knees and hips. I think my time was around 2 hours 25 minutes, if that is right then it will be 2 minutes faster than last time! Thank you for all your support, it means a lot. When I get some pictures I might post them, we will see how they look! :) I am off to rest now and EAT! Enjoy your day, I know I will now!

Ready or not....

Tomorrow is my big day, I am running my second half marathon! Here is my checklist:

New bright colored shirt to make it easier for my parents and hubby to find me - check (do you like my lovely model!)

New running sunglasses - check

My race number - check

My timing chip - check

Flowers from my wonderful hubby and kids - check ( I knew I married him for a reason!)

A lovely stuffy nose one of my kids gave me - check! :)

So, I think I am looking forward to tomorrow. I am certainly looking forward to crossing the finish line. I thought I would be able to train better this time around, but life with two crazy munchkins got a little in the way! I did do longer runs this time than I did before my first. We will see how the stuffy nose plays into things. The good news is that it will be 30 (yes I typed that right...30) degrees warmer this time than last time I ran two years ago. That day was the coldest in the area in 16 years! It was barely in the 40s when I finished. This time it will be close to 70. I don't know if that is a good thing yet, at least I will be able to feel my feet when I start to run. So...for about 2 1/2 hours tomorrow morning, think of my while I keep running and running and running!

Made me laugh....

Today we were getting ready to go for a walk. Pumpkin wanted to go on her scooter. I told her she could wear her helmet or just wear a hat. She ran and grabbed a hat. As she was putting it on, she said

"I want to be like Uncle Cory!"

She then put her hat on like this...

I laughed and then thought about it. I then found these pictures as evidence....

So, thank you Uncle Cory for giving me a laugh today without realizing it. Amazing what kids pick up on! :)

The first...

...black eye! Critter and the coffee table had a little fight the other day and the coffee table won, this time! I have realized something about the way that he plays. Pumpkin did not have an older sibling to follow around the house and "learn" from. Critter does. Both of my children have been blessed with my coordination, lucky for them! :) Pumpkin never bumped her head as much as Critter does. He just stumbles over his feet trying to keep up with her. This one was from trying to climb the new bean bag chair and having his eye meet up with the coffee table. I guess I should be used to bumps and bruises by now, but I am not! This was a fun way to start the new year! I have more updates coming including our fun day trip to see snow. But, I have to go off and work on some pictures now. Even though Critter is bruised, he is still my adorable guy! :)

Happy New Year

Many wishes of a Happy and Healthy 2009! This was an amazing year. I have been reflecting on it all day. We have grown so much, accomplished so much and loved almost every minute of it! Pumpkin started school, Critter turned one, Hubby got a new assignment at work, I picked up my pace with photography; we have had a great year. I have two happy and healthy children. I have a life that I adore. I have wonderful family and friends. I love taking a moment at the end of a year to reflect on all that has occured during the year. I think that if you can look back and see the good and what has come of the not so good, then the new year is off to a great start. Especially with all that is going on in the world these days, our little family has it pretty good.

I am looking forward to 2009. I can see there being many new adventures in our lives. We have trips planned, a new class for Critter (yeah for him!), more school for Pumpkin and more things that I don't even know about yet. I hope that in this next year I will be able to slow down enough to enjoy all that our lives bring us. I hope that I have the courage to continue pursuing my photography in a slightly more open way. I hope that our family can strive for balance between work, friends, family and ourselves. I hope that each and every day my children go to bed knowing how much they are loved by so many. So, I guess these would be my "resolutions". I don't have anything that I am setting in concrete. My main goal of running a 1/2 marathon was met two years ago and will be met again in 3 weeks (yikes!). But, I see 2009 as a time for our family to remember what is important to us.

So, to end 2008....thank you to all our friends and family out there. We love you and appreciate all you do for us. Thank you to our friends who had us over tonight. It was the perfect way to end the year, being around people who love us and appreciate our craziness :) May this end of the year bring you peace and contentment in your hearts. May this new year bring a road of newness and happiness to your lives. We love you.

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas

We had a WONDERFUL Christmas at our home. It was filled with lots of love, food, presents, friends and family. We hope you enjoyed your day as well. The kids really enjoyed the day this year. Both kids are blessed by the people who love them. This is the kids before church, looking all clean and nice!
It is not Christmas without leaving cookies and a carrot out for Santa!

I have a tradition of having them wear matching pj's. Hopefully when they are older they will still humor me! Critter thought the game of the day was climbing all the presents!

Unwrapping presents is more fun when you get to sample the wrapping paper! Pumpkin actually really helped this year with handing out presents. She knows what her name and Critter's name look like, so she divided the pile for us.

She received this princess hat from one of my aunt's. It was on her head ALL day! It was hard to break it to her that she could not wear it to bed!

He did not keep this on for long, but he let me take a picture! Such a dapper young man...

Wishing you a very Happy New Year!