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Saturday, March 26, 2011

Busy Living

Our weeks are starting to get busier and busier!!
Here's my sweet little pumpkin with her new glasses!

Thrilled about her curly hair~you're welcome, sweet girl!
And incredibly satisfied with her dress choice~Thank you, Mrs. Snider!! You gave her many to choose from!~ She was off for the Spring Fling!
Virginia, Pate, Abbie, Kennedy, Kaitlyn and Emma.
Dave and Pate
I cut off Boy's head b/c he was extremely tired by this time and his face was showing it!
One last dance with Mrs. Summers (His incredibly gifted teacher from last year!)
Both kids had the best time ever at the dance and can't wait to have another one! Cade was able to dance the night away and show off all of his new moves! Most of his "moves" involve tap dancing and the cabbage patch to some extent. Hilarious!!!

The day after the dance started Peyton's softball tournament in Salisbury, NC.
The girls did GREAT for their 1st tournament and they came home with the 3rd place trophy!!
I'm really excited about our team this year!
Sweet and talented girls.
Last Tuesday, Peyton had her 4th grade field trip to Wilmington, NC for 2 nights.
At first when she found out that I was going, she was a little disappointed. (I'm saying "a little" to make myself feel better-actually, she was A LOT disappointed!) But once she found out that there were a lot of parents going, many of whom are my good friends, I guess she realized that it wouldn't matter if I was there or not- I would have eyes everywhere!
Anyway, she got over it and we managed to have a fabulous time!
First stop was the beach at Fort Fisher.

Next, was the Battleship North Carolina. And look who we saw there! Flat Stanley!

Yes, I know. I got a little crazy with Flat Stanley, but Cade LOVED the pictures-
especially this one aboard the Battleship!



That evening, after dining at the Golden Coral, we went on a ghost walk through Wilmington's historic city streets. That was SO MUCH FUN! It got dark soon after we started our tour and that made it even more fun! Some of the kids were a little freaked out, but our guide gave the elementary school versions of the "scary" stories, so it was all good. Next time I do a ghost walk, I want the real deal!!!
On Wednesday the kids went somewhere to do something with UNCW students or graduates.
It involved a squid, some scissors and an ink sack.
Then they did some other fun, educational things.

And the parents had a free day to walk around the river walk, shop or go on a boat tour!!
Here are some of my rowdy friends. Don't let the clean cut looks fool you!
JDay, Carol and Margie
Later in the day we met up with the kids at the aquarium.
Peyton and Sarah Kate.
That night, they took everyone to a place called Jungle Rapids that is just like a Celebration Station. Mass chaos!! But total fun! Peyton was playing all of these goofy games for tickets to buy lame little prizes...


So look who hits the jackpot!!
No, not my kid, but KATRINA!!! How does she do that??!
I think even the machines are afraid of her!
Thursday: Next stop- Poplar Grove Plantation!
It was BEAUTIFUL! I kept thinking how much my mom would
love all of the old furniture and stuff inside.
Peyton and Abbie
All in all it was a great week!
Thank you, Mrs. Lano for a great time
and a wonderful experience for the kids!

Monday, February 28, 2011

Myrtle Beach Half Marathon

Last weekend me and my peeps were at the beach getting ready to check in here at the runners expo! This was some serious, exciting stuff! We got a t-shirt, a drawstring bag, a beach towel and tons of little freebies! It was great! So, we find out that Cindy had already run in 5 other half marathons, so she may not have shared in my hyper enthusiasm! (megan soon would after she got the buzz off of the free peach tea samples and free Chick fil a spicy biscuits!)
The morning of we were up and out the door by 5:30! Made it to Broadway at the Beach by 5:45 and were in the port-o-pottie lines a little after 6! With all of those port-o-potties, why in the world were some men having to stop along the side of the road to "go" less than 7 minutes after we started to run???!! Seriously? And note to those men: turn and face the opposite side of the runners so we don't have to see you go! Gross.

You can't really see it in this picture, but there were THOUSANDS of people all around.

Cindy, Megan and JDay

Here we were, annoying people with all of the picture
taking already and the race hadn't even started!

And we're off!! 13.1 miles, baby! I guess we must've been "off" for a little bit b/c the sun is up!
I just don't think that God could've given us a better day! It was GORGEOUS!
Not hot-not cold. PERFECT.
Here we are almost at the half way mark. Yes, still laughing!
The man in the red is our friend, Tic Tac. Lovely man.
I'm guessing somewhere around mile 9??? This is Megan laughing and running up the hill backwards so I could get her picture. Yes, other runners wanted to slap us silly, I'm sure!
We can't help it that we have a lot of enthusiasm that many miles in!
Okay, this picture makes me laugh every time I look at it!
We hit mile 12 and I think we got our 2nd wind.
Ahhhhhhh! The finish! WE MADE IT and loved it!
I can't wait to do another one! Seriously, that was so much fun!
On the way back to the house, Megan thought that it would be a great idea if she
could give her legs an ice bath! I think that her toes almost fell off or something!
It must have been REALLY cold. I wouldn't know- I wasn't crazy enough to
stick even my little toe in that water!!!
So, off to the House of Blues for a post race party. Yeah, a few steps in the door and we realized
that wasn't our speed! So here we are in the dining section, ready to have a quiet dinner.
And it was a lovely dinner with some pretty incredible mashed potatoes!
We were pretty stinkin' tired!!!
Sunday morning Cindy treated us to massages at Massage Envy!
What a fabulous gift!!!!! I LOVED IT! Thank you, Cindy! :)

Here are the shirts I made for the girls.
It was a great weekend and I had such a good time!
Thank you, Megan and Cindy, for running with me!!!
I couldn't have done this without the two of you~
And it definitely wouldn't have been so much fun without you!!

When I got home Sunday night, this is what was hanging in my kitchen:

Thank you, Peyton! I love it!
Oh, after I finished running, I sent a text to my mom, Kathy and Jon and said, 'I just ran a half-marathon! Woo hoo!!!' Jon's response was, 'I'll be more impressed when it's a whole marathon.'
What a punk! :)


Saturday, February 5, 2011

Nothing To Say

Well, you know your blog is bad when your little, baby brother calls you and asks you why you haven't posted anything on your blog in weeks and weeks besides some goofy rantings about a snow day! Awww, Jon, I didn't know you checked my blog!! :)
One of the reasons I don't post anything is because I have absolutely NOTHING to blog about! This is what has been going on at my house:

Cade has been sick since Monday night with a fever and coughing and Peyton came home from school early on Thursday with a fever. They are STILL sick. :(
Other than that, I've been keeping busy with whatever it is that I do everyday. I went to a Silpada/Thirty-One party last Friday and got 3 pairs of pretty earrings, a cool tote for myself and a drawstring bag for Pate. I'm still running a lot. On Monday, Megan, Cindy and I are going to do 12 miles. This is our last long run before our half marathon run in Myrtle Beach on the 19th. GIRL WEEKEND!! Woo! Hoo!! Softball is starting for Pate, so pretty soon we'll be going to tournaments every other weekend. Maybe in the next few weeks my life will get more exciting, but I have to say, I really like my quiet, slow-paced life!

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Seriously???

Just wanted to let everyone know that tomorrow will be the 4th day off from school- IN A ROW- for snow. Okay, so we did get an inch and a half Monday evening which made Tuesday a bad day to run the busses. Today was questionable, I get it. We were just being super safe and sure the neighborhood roads are okay. TOMORROW, people???????????!!!!!! Seriously? Really? Now the county has forced me and my peep(s) (Megan is the peep, Cindy is the questionable plural!) to run at 6:30 tomorrow morning when it will be 21 degrees. No problem. We've braved colder weather! Meg, do you think we should try Big Loop??

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Fabulous Forty!

Tuesday, the 22nd of November, was my 40th birthday so a bunch of girlfriends took me
out to celebrate. I truly have THE BEST friends a girl could ask for!
(Margie got me the adorable cake that was so amazingly delicious!!)

Here are the wonderful ladies who made this girl feel so loved and special!
The hot mama (of four kids!) on the left is my good friend Carol. Our daughters are the best of friends and I have gotten to know her through play dates, sleep overs and softball. We have spent many games together screaming and jumping up and down on the bleachers and yelling at umpires. (Just kidding about the yelling part! Well, kind of.) Her husband coached softball with Dave and we just adore their whole family-even though they are Pittsburgh fans! We forgive you!! ;)
I met Tracy (blue sweater) when Peyton and her son, Addison, were in the same 2nd grade class. We became fast friends when we shared the room mom responsibilities. Poor girl truly had NO IDEA what she was getting into that year!! ;) She was THE BEST editor, emailer, helper, worker and party planner I could've asked for! We had a lot of laughs that year!!
Cindy is the beautiful face peeking out from the back. She was Cade's teacher at the beginning of the year, but because of low enrollment, teacher positions were cut and we lost her! Everyone who knows me, knows how sad I was about that whole situation. BUT, because of that, Megan and I gained a great running buddy! It was Cindy's idea for us to run the Myrtle Beach 1/2 marathon in February, so we've been in training and are going to do it!!
The one with the huge, pretty smile is Megan. She is, quite possibly, THE MOST positive and cheerful person I have ever met! I met her when Cade and her daughter, Erin, were in the same pre-k class. But, we really got to know each other when we started running together last January. We have pounded a lot of pavement together over the months and we do that more for the social time than anything. It's cheap therapy! Also, she is a great influence on me and she is so great about putting up with all of my complaining!!! She really does keep my in line!
The cutie in the white shirt is Kelly. We met when her son, Michael, and Peyton were in kindergarten together. Then, Cade and her other son, Matthew, were in pre-k and kindergarten together and were the best of buds. We carpooled during the pre-k year, so we got to see each other every day. I miss those days!! :) Anyway, Kelly is also a dear friend!
The sassy lady on the right is my wonderful friend Margie. We met a couple of years ago and then her son, Jack, and Peyton were in class together last year. Margie is my sassiest, best dressed and most down to earth friend! She gives great advice, is funny and keeps me in the loop!

Here are Jennifer and Janet. (They left before we got organized enough to get the group shot!)
Jennifer was Cade's teacher last year in kindergarten and I seriously get teary-eyed every time I think about that whole year and how much God blessed Cade AND me with her! She is the most loving, wonderful teacher. She has also turned out to be a dear, wonderful friend!!
For the past 3 1/2 years, I have worked for Janet every Friday in the school office. Poor Janet! I'm sure that there are times where she wishes that she could fire me, but I'm not sure that you can really fire volunteers! :) I really enjoy my Fridays in the office and a big part of that is because of the people I'm there with!
Here I am opening crafty, handmade gifts from the Langston family! I loved it! Poor Kelly, you really need to come over and spend some time in my sewing room to learn how to use the glue gun in place of scotch tape!!! ;)
Yes, I had JUST realized what my silly running peeps gave to me!
It's called a Go Girl. Click here to check it out!
Yes, thank you Megan and Cindy!!
And, because that can't be enough embarrassment for one girl in a crowded restaurant,
I get this! What??!!??!!
Oh yes, just what I needed, a large bra especially designed by Cindy, to accommodate saggy boobies! Maybe for my 50th!!!!
Then I got one of the sweetest, most thoughtful gifts I've ever received- a book filled with letters from all of my friends. It made me cry. Thank you to everyone who had a hand in that precious book! Megan, Cindy, Carol, Kelly, Tracy, Jennifer, Margie, Teresa, Kathy, Kristi, Kimmie, Denise, Donna, Dolly, Tammy, Tricia, Lynn, Nikki, April L., my mom- Beth, and my mother-in-law, Ellen.
Yes, I'm an emotional person!!!
Anyway, we had a great time that night and I just want all of you girls to know how much I appreciate you and love you all!!! Thank you for a great evening!