2 days til the Disneyland Half-Marathon

Well it's almost here....Sunday I'm running the Disneyland half-marathon. I promise lots of pictures and a summary of my experience. I ran a half-marathon in San Francisco in 2000. I had no babies and was working full-time. A lot has changed in the last ten years....but I actually think I'm in better shape now than I was back then. We will see. Wonder what my next adventure will be? I think I'm going to try to convince Josh to run a 10k with me in October, running together seems romantic :)

Friends, Bridal Shower, and Swimming

This weekend I got the chance to go to southern CA for a bridal shower for one of my closest childhood friends. Carrie moved in across the street from me and my family in 6th grade. She was in 6th, her sister was in 4th grade...me and my sis became instant friends with her and her sister. Carrie spent hours at our home and really became like a sister to me. After high school, she went to USC, I went to Biola (then Fresno State) but we remained friends. Eventually her parents moved away from the house across the street from my parents house. We went to college (and I got married), then I became a teacher, and she went to graduate school, then I got pregnant and she went to medical school. Now I have been married for 13 years and have 5 kiddos, Carrie is an ob/gyn with a practice in Texas. Our lives have gone very different directions, but her friendship is still a treasure to me. I am thrilled to get to be a bridesmaid in her August wedding. Josh and I will travel to Oregon to be part of this awesome celebration. It was so fun to reconnect with my childhood friends, I could spend hours talking about the fun we had and laughing at the stupid things we did. I am grateful today for lifelong friends!

Kathy, Carie, Carrie, and me....high school cronies
me and the bride to be, Carrie

My mom, me, and Lesley (my sis) at the shower

While I was reminiscing with old friends at the shower, Josh took the kiddos to my brother's. Kevin, Josh, and the kiddos swam. Madison and Joel are a couple weeks apart, Madison was born May 18th, Joel was born June 9th. They are so cute playing together!

Olivia and her BIG smile

pouty faces

Madison and Kevin (I tried to get a picture of Harrison but he didn't want anything to do with that)

Joel and Madison...cousins

Joel....such a trooper on the long 4 hr drive home

Our Week in Pictures

Kristen took Audrey for lunch, manicure/pedicure for her birthday.

Grace decided to color her legs with a black marker, she colored Joel too, I just didn't get his picture.

We made 9 jars of homemade dill pickles.

Grace cleaning the kitchen counter, it's a full body workout.

Haircut day...cuts for all the girls. Getting ready for school to start August 16th.

since the last time I posted...

I got away for the weekend with my girlfriends to Walnut Creek.
Lisa and Audrey...Lisa (my older sis), Hannah (my niece) and mom came to visit for a week. We occupied ourselves with a trip to the zoo, playing with the cricut, eating Fresno State farm corn, and a trip to Bass Lake.

Audrey in her swimsuit she bought with her b-day money.

Joel and me.

My mom, Lisa, and me took the kids to the zoo.

Grace got her cast off!

I took the girls and Joel to the beach for a couple days.

We celebrated Father's Day.

Papa made Joel this amazing motorcycle for his 1st b-day.

Olivia finished pre-school, she is headed to kindergarten in the fall.

Audrey finished 3rd grade and will start 4th grade at Manchester Gate in the fall.

Ellie finished 1st grade and is ready for 2nd grade.

we celebrated Audrey's 9th b-day with breakfast at ihop

Joel turned one!!!

It's June already...

I rarely write a post without pictures, but today I will just write....In Fresno, it's getting warmer and the weather is starting to look more like summer than spring. Audrey, Ellie, and Olivia have 2 weeks left of school then summer vacation will officially be here. I'm not so good with sentences, but I'm okay with bullets so this is what's going on around here:

• Grace broke her arm last week. She broke 2 bones in her forearm, she's in a splint, and should be getting a cast this week.
• I'm desperately trying to lose the rest of my "baby weight." It's been a long, slow road, but I'm getting there. Every time I'm at the gym I wonder why I let myself eat everything I did when I was pregnant. I'm not known for self-control when it comes to food, so that makes putting weight on incredibly easy and taking it off incredibly difficult.
• Joel will be ONE next week!!!
• This really should be a post in and of itself, but I have solved my laundry problem, I am no longer complaining about the loads and piles all over the house on here and facebook. I found someone (thru some moms at school) who washes and folds ALL of it. If you want details, e-mail me. This has seriously changed my life (for the last 2 weeks).
• Ellie turned 7 a couple weeks ago and got a retainer. She is growing up!
• We had a pair of doves nest on our front porch. They had 2 eggs and they hatched. They have since flown the coop, but we enjoyed every second of them being here. Wondering if mom and dad will be back or if they'll find a better place to set up their next nest.
• I'm going to be in a friend's wedding in August in Oregon. I'm thrilled and motivated to keep going to the gym, but it does feel a little weird to be a bridesmaid again. I'm excited about our trip to Oregon, we've heard Portland is awesome!
• I signed up for the Disney half-marathon in September with my friend Kathy. I signed up and there is no turning back. I haven't really started training yet, and I'm not sure how that's going to work with all the kids home this summer, but I do believe my body is strong and I'll endure.
• I didn't get to plant a garden for the second year in a row and I'm a little sad about that. Not sure why, but before I knew it it was June and there are no tomatoes or zucchinis in the ground. I will definitely make this a goal for next year.
• Summer is going to be pretty uneventful. The girls are signed up for vbs one week, and I hope to make a trip or two to the beach with the kiddos, but other than that we are going to sleep in, play in the sprinklers, eat outside, BBQ, take walks, stay up late, and swim as much as we can.

That's it for now....happy June!

YouTube - Jason Gray - More like falling in love

I love this song...the words speak to me. Life can be so busy and noisy, many times I think God uses music to speak to me. This song did that....

YouTube - Jason Gray - More like falling in love

Mother's Day and other May happenings...

May is always a busy month for us. This month I have been to women's retreat, Josh and I went to a wedding in Carmel, and we celebrated Mother's Day. There are lots of birthdays coming up, and we're excited it's springtime. The longer days and nicer weather make playing outside one of the girls favorite things to do. We are counting down to summer and looking forward to lots of fun family times. Here are a few pics of what we've been up to, forgot my camera at women's retreat and the wedding. Got a pic of my kiddos on Mother's Day, but none with me and the kids, oh well...

My 5 favorite kids.

Our Mother's Day dessert (compliments of Whole Foods)...cheesecake

silly girls...


My 2 favorite guys.



Joel taking a bath in the kitchen sink and watching his sisters outside.