Friday, December 7, 2012

Long time..... no posts....


SOOOOO what have we been doing? SINCE JUNE!!!!!! In short we have been B-U-S-Y, busy. I must use that word a lot because Kenna was on the computer the other day and I needed it for something (probably facebook) but she said "no Mom, I'm busy" Hmmmmm.. made me think. I really don't want my kids to feel the chaotic-ness of my overly busy life.  I'm ready for winter break and for life to slow down a little bit.
So back to my first question... what have we been up to... here it is! 4 weddings, football games, our first competition, a plane trip home to Michigan all by myself with the kiddos, a little vacation, a few projects, 2 birthdays, beach days, a Disney trip, oh ya SCHOOL started and I'm teaching a new subject this year (I think that's where my brain spends 40% of its time, haha) a very special Military Night Football game, Thanksgiving, Halloween, decorated for Christmas, Jack the Elf came to visit, play dates and nights out with friends.
HALLOWEEN PARTY. No, I am not really pregnant :)

first competition of the year!


Football games.

Cottage Week 2012 with the Family! I will hopefully have a whole post on this so we don't forget our fun times.

Military Night Football Game! This was Eric's jersey sent to Afghanistan.  It was #66 which was my brothers number in college :) 

New Cheer uniforms this year!!!!!

Michele got married!!!!!

We visited a local military museum. It was very impressive!

Disney trip!

my silly team at our last football game of the season

Beach day for my Birthday :)

We went to NWES for Great America Teach-in and taught the kiddos some cheers.   I am so proud to coach such an amazing bunch of cheerleaders this year!

Nikki's bachelorette party.

We did our family photos this year at the marina. of course by the amazing Ashley from Ashley Hamilton Photography. If you would like to see the rest, click the link to her blog. ASHLEY HAMILTON PHOTOGRAPHY

Again from the HHS Military Appreciation Night.  The USSOCOM Para-Commandos parachuted into OUR STADIUM!!! it was sooooo amazing to see this and I know it's a memory our players will take with them.

This summer I grew my first garden.  Really all that grew was sunflowers and okra..... try again.

Daddy's birthday :)

Cheerleading carwash.... they are so creative :)

one of my projects.. I made kenna and carter blankets and pillows. I let them pic our the fabric they wanted.

Nikki got married!!

My gorgeous bestie!!!! what a wedding, WOW!

Melissa and I took our team to the beach. It was so much fun and we decided it's going to be a cheer tradition. Beach day to kick off the season!

Christmas decor is all up!

AHHHHHH Halloween 2012. Pirate and a Princess.

Biology...... 

The best birthday cards I've ever received.

awww, we're kinda cute sometimes.

Kristin and Tim got married!!!

We got married...... 5 YEARS AGO!!!! our 5th wedding anniversary was spent with our family at a cute little mexican place in Detroit :) 



So, that's just a snapshot or a few snapshots at whats been going on with us. Yes, they are all out of order but it's so hard to move pictures around on Blogger I just left them the way they are. If anyone know's an easier way than dragging the pictures around.... PLEASE let me know.  Or maybe blogger should just change this feature to make it easier.  

Anyway, life isn't slowing down just yet.  This weekend I'm going to our Regional Competition, next weekend we are going to GEORGIA TO SEE the B-I-L!!!!! I can't wait to see him and Paula! He is home on R&R ???? for a couple weeks then back overseas for the second half of his deployment.  Then finally after that we have a little break from it all, and I'm ready!

Monday, July 9, 2012

June..... Where Did it GO ?!?!

June flew by! As soon as school ended dates and times didn't matter so much. We had a few planned events, but for the most part the kids and I are "free birds" doing what we want, when we want. 

Here's what we did! 

We are 2 and a half!  So now we can pick out our clothes and dress ourselves!!  Kenna wanted socks with her dress, OK!  "Pick your battles! (Mommy) " Socks with her dress and sandals isn't hurting anything, looks funny, but maybe her feet were cold that day?!  It's ok. However, the socks and dress isn't even the half of funny outfits she manages to put together :) And it always seems she puts the crazy ones on when we are going to the Y.  I wonder what they think of me there??  Oh well, it makes her happy.  It looks like they are also dancing in this picture. We dance around here all-the-time!  I'm learning some GREAT new moves from my 2 year olds.
 Then we went to Kelly's to see Baby Rachel and go swimming.  Kenna is in LOVE with babies!! We bribe her by telling her she needs to show Baby Rachel how good she eats or how to brush her teeth :)
 Here I am with both my babies in the pool. This is the life! We are having so much fun this summer.
 Kenna making sure Baby Rachel was OK. Fan working (check), strapped in (check), needs to be pushed around (check) and Kenna helped Kelly rock Rachel to sleep in the stroller.
 Kenna also likes to help me cook dinner.. haha. She's sitting in the sling (yep, she still fits) and I let her stir a few things.. fun fun!
 Then for Father's Day we went to the beach on Saturday. Chris and I take this same picture every beach trip since he got the Jeep :) you can't see it but the kids are passed out in their car seats and we are happy! Thank you beach!
 Look how cute he is!! haha he's going to say something about me putting this picture up here and saying he's cute... BUT he is! and he is the most amazing Daddy. Carter and Kenna (and me) are so lucky! Thank you for everything Chris. We love you very, very, very much!!!XOXOXOXOX
 AND he got a new grill! It's a charcoal grill that is gas ignited. It's AWESOME! We all benefit from this because he grills and we all EAT. Yum! He also got a new blender (since he broke the one we had) it was the most manly blender I could find. It's called a NINJA and has a bunch of blades.... totally manly.
 silly Kenna... I need to take some more pictures of Carter....
 Playing with our besties!!
 THEN.... we went camping. In the living room! I have a whole other post about this. It was so much fun. (hopefully it gets posted this year)
 I braved Tropical Storm Debby and made it to Kristin's wedding shower! It was such a nice shower. My mom and I made her a "Towel Cake". My Mom makes them for almost all the showers she attends. They are beautiful and the hit of the shower! They look just like a three-tiered wedding cake. We have been talking about opening up an etsy shop for my Mom to sell her towel cakes since my wedding! And, we finally did!! We couldn't come up with a name, so we named it after what she puts on the cakes. She makes all the flowers by hand, they are the little primrose flowers and then she uses pearl pins to put it all together. SO, we named it Primrose and Pearls after her cakes. Check out our shop! click the link Primrose & Pearls
 driving home from the shower they closed 19 and re-routed us through a neighborhood. That's a street turned into a river that actually was creating rapids in front of my car. I have to admit I was a little scared but the trusty Explorer was great and she got us home safe.
 During all the rain we had to do lots of indoor crafts to keep everybody busy and happy.  I found these little Mickey and Minnie statues and the kidos painted them so nice.
 Then in between all the rain we planted our garden, in our diapers :)
June was fun! July we have trips planned so I will post more about those :) probably in September.

Monday, June 4, 2012

National Running Day

National Running Day is Wednesday, June 6th!! Which means in honor of "the" day I'll go running that day. I REALLY hate running when it is 90 degrees out, but I'll do it anyway!  I was looking at the website (found here) and there is a section on the top that says "I run..." which made me think. "Why do I run???????" That is a good question for me and I have been thinking about it all day. This is what I have come up with.

I run....

  • to be healthy
  • its something I can do with my kids
  • its something I can do with Chris
  • I have a really awesome running partner (Lisa)
  • I like to spend time with her while we run
  • because I like to run with my dogs
  • because I'm actually not that bad at it, and the more I run, the better I get.
  • because it's simple, one foot in front of the other, and keep on going
  • some days I run just to listen to my running songs
  • because it makes me feel good to accomplish a goal
  • to train for 5ks and half marathons
  • because I'm a naturally competitive person
  • for a cause (whatever the race is for) breast cancer, moffitt cancer centers, wounded warriors, ect...
  • to train for the BIG marathon with Lisa coming up the end of this year
  • because I like cute running outfits :) and shoes :) (it gives me a reason to buy them both)
  • to live a long, healthy, active life for my kids, my husband, and for myself.


I ran track in high school, but never really considered myself a runner. Before, I didn't really liked running, but I did it anyway. Mostly to stay in tip-top athletic shape for cheerleading and then theres that competitiveness aspect.  I never ran more than 1 to 2 miles in high school. Then in college I would run 3-5 with Chris every now and then. So when I ran that first half marathon, it was an awesome accomplishment. Now I would rather run than spend an hour at the gym, I consider myself a runner.  Next up on the list is a full marathon, 26.2 miles!!!

A little bit of advise for people wanting to get started running or even walking more.

  • Start out small (1 mile) or even run/walk. 
  • Reward yourself! even while you are out running, say "OK, if I run 3 more blocks then I can walk a block". 
  • Keep it enjoyable, don't push yourself too hard-too fast because then you will dread the next run. If you need a break, take it! 
  • Work your way up the miles or time. When I'm not training for anything, I like to gauge my runs on time. I run 15 minutes away from our house, then turn around and try to beat my 15 minutes back to the house.  
  • Find a running partner that is at your same level and motivate each other. Or run with your dog, you both will benefit from the workout.
  • If you have kids, strap them in the stroller and go have fun on a run. Mine now say "faster Mommy!" or "Yay, we did it!" when I turn back onto our street. Then motivate me to keep going :)
Here is a link to some downloadable tip sheets  and fast facts  for beginner runners. What ever your reasons to run, get out there and run on Wednesday. Maybe you will just keep on running :)

Saturday, June 2, 2012

Disney Day 3

On Memorial Day we went to Epcot :) It was fun and a little rainy.  We were getting out of our car in the parking lot and could see the down pour coming across the parking lot, everyone started running back to their cars and we were all piling back into ours. It stopped raining long enough for us to get into the park and go on a couple rides. It rained (monsooned) while we were in The Land, so we watched the show and went on the boat ride. By the time we did both of those it stopped raining. We only had to wear our ponchos 1 time :) 

This is a great picture of Grandpa and Carter. They are so cute together!
 Mommy,  Daddy, and Kenna waiting to go on Imagination with Figment :)
 Carter the composer. He knew just what to do, moving his arms in and out just like on Little Einsteins.
 Just riding around on Daddy's shoulders. She was playing the drums on his head haha.
 It's Bruce!!!!
 Then we went to lunch at the Rose and Crown Pub (our favorite place, first time for my parents to eat there) We usually get fish and chips and a beer, but this time we tried new things! My mom and I got the corned beef sandwich, Chris got the Shepherds Pie, and Dad got bangers and mash. EVERYTHING was fabulous.
 teacher :) Walt, I think so too!

 Yay, we are at Disney!!!!!
 HAHAHA What Chris wants to do to me for dragging him around Disney for 2 days..... hahaha
 Aye! Viking Kenna, Viking Daddy, and Viking Grandpa. I think they look cute in those hats.
 Snack time. Norway has a bakery that my Mom looks forward to when she visits Epcot. She got her pretzel thing, the kids got a berry cream puff, and I got the "school bread" (hey, I'm a teacher :) It was cream filled heaven!!!!!!!!!! I shared with Chris and my Dad, my Mom had to go back and get them each their own school bread heaven.
 The twins LOVED their cream puff.
 So happy to spend the weekend with my parents! The twins we also so happy that Grandpa and Gigi were there, Chris was happy too :)
 Carter was practicing playing drums on Gigi's purse. How does he already know how to hold drum sticks!?!?!?!?!
 Drumming again in Mexico.............I think our boy might be a drummer.
 He is so stinkin cute!
 and he sings!!!!
 Micky!