Thursday, April 30, 2009

Almost Friday!!

We have had a pretty good week and are looking forward to the weekend. I get out of school at 11am tomorrow due to our high school softball team making the playoffs....YEAH!!!

Wednesday night we went to the fair in town and Jake had fun after the initial motorcycle ride....he came off crying but rode it again 15 minutes later and was fine. Landry rode 1 ride and was a little less than thrilled although we did get a couple of waves from her!


First prize we "won" (or paid $5 for) when we got there....:). Jake is getting better at "cheesing" for me.

The first motorcycle ride....trying SO hard not to show a scared face! Got around one more time and he was crying to get off!
Landry's reaction to her first ride.

Jake LOVED the play house..although I had to carry him through it the whole time.
Landry and her Big D!


Tammy Coates and Dianna Grigsby surprised me this morning with a cake in the teacher's lounge at school. No I didn't have my camera! This was Tammy's pic. They are SO sweet! Their daughters have been my running partners...so thankful!(notice the 2 dots between the numbers...the guy misunderstood that they wanted a colon between the numbers and not a "dot dot" as he was told! Just gotta remember who your working with when you order a cake!)
We are having baby dedication next weekend at church and I needed a head shot of Landry for the church. So we went to our trusty Wal-Mart store this evening and got a pretty good shot of her. The new picture of the 2 of them above turned out great too! Happy Mother's Day to my mom, mother-in-law, and Aunt Lou! They will get these for gifts. Mom was with us so she already knows:)!
Jake with his trademark drool. What more can I say!
We have parent's night out at church tomorrow and we are planning doing something fun...still in the planning stages. Looking forward to that. And only 21 more days of school.

Saturday, April 25, 2009

Saturday FUN!

I am so tired. This will be quick...we had a great day that started off in Bossier with a birthday party for Hudson. Then on to Ruston for a crawfish boil at Russ and Lori Golden's house. Had a busy but fun day. We didn't get home until almost 9.....the later my children go to bed, the earlier they wake up. Pray that won't happen tomorrow!

Post from a Stranger

Found this post from a friend's page on FB. Was so touched by this blog post that I had to post it. Sums up the readon why I'll go back to Boston again. The crowds were AWESOME(if you didn't catch that before!)
Click HERE

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Spring Break Fun!!

We had a wonderful and busy day today starting with donuts for breakfast in the front yard..why not something different for a change!

After that we met up with some friends at Lincoln Parish park to feed the ducks and play on the playground. The kids had a blast and we stayed for over 2 hours. The weather was wonderful and it was good to catch up with Katie and Erin.


The kids were more excited over the caterpillar they found. Pictured with Jake and Landry are Conner Johnson and Landon Hall.
Swinging with my babies
Landry loved waving at sweet Kennedy.

Smiling at all the bubbles


Then this afternoon we had to run some errands and I let the kids get an ICEE. They loved it and thought these pictures were cute to share:

Tonight we went to our friend Reed's baseball game. The kids did not STOP running from one end of the ballpark to the other. They had a great time! Looking forward to many memories there with Jake one day! Hoping they will sleep great tonight.....
So...we are in for a busy weekend and will keep you posted. Have a great Friday!






Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Boston Summary

I received the idea of posting a race report from a friend of mine, Bri, who posts a report of her race experience after each one. So here goes! We got up on race day around 5:30 am. Seems REALLY early for a 10:30 start, but you have to remember that there are 30,000 people going to the race site on the same shuttles you are. So we went and ate a big breakfast in the hotel around 6am and were headed to the subway by 6:20. Wave 1 participants were shuttled out to Hopkinton, the town where we started, between 6:00 and 6:45 while wave 2 participants were supposed to arrive from 6:45 to 7:30. Always a good idea to arrive early. Everything was very well organized as they used approximately 400 in this stage of the race preparation.

So we got to the race site around 9:15 and immediately found some port-o potties with out an incredibly long line. After that we went into the athlete's village and I got to do some great people watching. You can imagine seeing people from all walks of life getting ready for their big day. Probably should have done less watching and more self-preparation, as I lost track of time and was moseying along to the starting line, which was .7 of a mile from the athlete's village. I stopped along the way to used the bathroom one final time when I heard someone say it was 10:22. I asked again to make sure I had heard correctly and when the time was confirmed I sprinted off without stopping for my last potty break. I had about 1/2 mile to go in mob crowds in less than 10 minutes. Needless to say I was a little panicked. Had been hanging out ALL morning and then missing the start...great! Well, I made it to my corral with a minute to spare. Whew!

When the race started, I was extremely cautious in the beginning 3 miles. It was mainly down hill and I did not want to go out hard and die on the hills that remained during the last 13 miles. Looking back, I probably went out too slow, but I just did not know!.
What was the coolest thing about the entire race??? BILL RODGERS the 4 time winner of the Boston Marathon the the late 70's and early 80's. I was quite surprised he was running back in our coral when he could have started with less crowds in an earlier coral, but I am sure he just wanted to experience it like everyone else. It was pretty cool and I could hear the crowds and everyone around me start to realize who he was. No, I didn't try to talk to him, everyone else was crowding around him and finally his partner had to ask for them to give him some room.


By mile 6 I HAD to stop and use the bathroom since I didn't get a chance before the race. I was pretty upset about this because I never have had to stop and every port-o-potty I ran by since mile 2 was occupied. By mile 6 I just had to stop and wait my turn. UGH! But nonetheless it cut my time by only a minute or so. Still, I hated to stop as it interrupted my stride....that shouldn't have mattered because the crowds DID not thin out at ALL. You had 1,000 people with the exact same marathon time start as the same time. So you can imagine the crowds along the way.

At mile 12 we passed the famous all girls Wesleyan College and that was awesome because you could hear them from 1/2 mile away screaming. The entire college was lined up on the small 2 lane road on route 35 into Boston. What pride the entire area has for this marathon! I was still feeling strong and waiting for the hills...
There were some rolling hills but also felt that there was enough time in between them to recover. By mile 20 I was looking for the infamous Heartbreak Hill but not expecting it until the next mile. Well, I started a pretty good climb on mile 20 and thought that if this wasn't HB hill, I was in trouble. Long story short: I did HB hill without knowing it and was too embarrassed to ask anyone! I figured there would be a big sign or someone would yell it at me, but no one did. Hill conquered and I still felt pretty good the whole way.

I could tell I was in better shape this go round, but I just never did get out of my stride to pick up the pace. The hills were rolling but I didn't think the overall course was that tough. Perhaps I should have gone out stronger-NEXT time(yes, I will do it again for sure) I will. Around mile 24 we were going through Boston College and the crowd was just awesome. I was overcome with emotion and started to pick it up due to all the cheering. I felt like a celebrity! WAIT-I came back to reality when I reminded myself there were 2 miles to go! So when I finally rounded the corner and could see the finish line, I had about an 800 meter stretch. Couldn't believe that I still felt strong(at San Antonio I was just spent) until the finish. Well....I cannot begin to tell you the amount of pain I felt AFTER the finish. Every muscle, blood vessel, ligament, BONE-everything was screaming at me! I was in more pain after I finished that before! But it soon passed and I found myself before long in the hotel bathtub.

So, overall I had a great race. My time wasn't great, but I felt good with my effort. After San Antonio I was not even thinking about when I would run again. After Boston, I am ready to sign up for the Chicago marathon! Yes, I would like to get faster, but I am just not wanting to sacrifice more family time to gain speed. So I will come up with a plan-not sure what but I'll work on it-there has to be a way! I wrote this somewhat fast and didn't do the whole Boston experience justice but I tried. The crowds were AWESOME and I cannot begin to tell you the strength you gain from their presence. It was electrifying-really. They take such pride in the event, which is why it is so popular. Yes, I qualified again for next year and will more than likely do it...but I'd like to do Chicago in October and think I have talked myself into it(with Matt's blessing...couldn't do any of this with out such a sweet and devoted husband).

Excuse the typos-got to go get Landry up.

Monday, April 20, 2009

Quick update!

I am doing this very quickly because I am tired! We had a great race day and I was very pleased with my effort. Mom did a great job as well, but didn't feel well. I ran 3:34:31 and she ran 4:44. So the time qualified me again for Boston and if Sarah qualifies, I'll definitely do it again. Post a race report by Wednesday night.
At the shuttles that bused us out to the race site. Very organized considering they got 30,000 people out to Hopkinton in 1 1/2 hours. Approximately 400 buses were used in the process.

Entrance into the Athlete's village
Camping out with everyone else before I lost track of time and barely made it to my coral(had 1 minute to spare before the start of the race...only me....)



Sunday, April 19, 2009

Greetings from Boston

Took this picture last night with Dick Hoyt...you have probably seen him on TV and such. He runs with his son who has CP. Has done numerous marathons but even more impressive is that he has done some Hawaii Ironmans with his son in tow. Amazing. Felt pretty dumb when I told him he was in the same coral as mom(they were according to the bib number listed on the BAA website). I knew as soon as the words came out of my mouth that I had said something stupid because he said, "Oh no, we would get run over, we start at 9:22 with the wheelchairs." Just felt that I should have known that. Felt pretty silly and mom and I have laughed and laughed about it. Guess you just had to be here!


We have had a full day in Boston and are almost ready to call it a day. I have spent more than my share of $$$$ and have plenty of Boston memorabilia! We are trying to get to the pre-race pasta party, so I won't be long. Just wanted to share these pictures with you!

At the finish line of marathon.
With Carrie Tollefson, US Olympian and former NCAA champion at Villinova.

In front of the official symbol of the Boston Marathon.

Mom picking up her race number
The guy looks super excited to hand me my number(but he really was nice!).


In front of some sign.



We are in the second wave, which starts at 10:30. I am in the first coral of the 2nd wave, the 14th(each coral has 1,000 runners in it) and mom is in the 21st coral. The shuttles for us start at 6:45 and run until 7:30. They will bus us out to the town of Hopkinton where they have an Athlete's Village set up. At the appropriate time, we will be ushered to our coral by order. It should be cold and windy in the morning but hopefully no rain. I did buy some arm warmers to run in, although I hate that I am trying something new at this point. And since I paid, $30 for them, I also hate to throw them away if they become bothersome. Lets hope they are OK! Everyone has been pretty friendly and most think we're from Texas...close enough!

Saw this quote today:

Chasing the finish line and not my kids, this is "me time". Thought that pretty much summed up why I run. Yes, I have expectations and truly hope I will not be disappointed with my effort. Remind me to have some fun!

Friday, April 17, 2009

Because I am a Loser!

Although I know you have SO many better things to do, just thought I would let you know that I will be posting from Boston. Leaving tomorrow and getting things packed up as we are going to Bossier tonight. Matt is staying with his parents in Bossier this weekend.

Please keep Jake in your prayers as he is undergoing a surgery on Tuesday morning. Won't go into great detail, but this is his 3rd one and hopefully his last. I will not be there for him until I get home that night. We had to schedule this procedure during spring break and it unfortunately fell during the same time as Boston. So please keep him and Matt and Landry(you get the drift!) in your prayers. HATE that I won't be there and am working on getting an earlier flight in from Boston on Tuesday.

So until tomorrow night, happy running!

If you still need the link for tracking at the marathon, click here. My bib number is 14508. Can't remember mom's number off hand. You can look it up on my older posts. Gotta go!

Thursday, April 16, 2009

4 Days Until Boston!!

Well, the moment is almost here! We leave for Boston on Saturday and will be coming home Tuesday. The Boston marathon has always been run on the third Monday in April(I think that's right!). Mom is getting to Boston a little earlier than I am with hopes to get to the expo before they close. I arrive around 3:50 and the expo closes at 6. We are staying right across the street from the expo, so maybe I'll get a chance to peek in there before they close! I'd like to take care of that on Saturday as Sunday the expo will be PACKED and we want to do some sightseeing that day! If you don't know what an expo is, it is a place where there are hundreds of vendors that represent everything in the sport of marathon and more. They will be selling anything you can imagine! I cannot wait to go:)!

And for lack of nothing better to post, Keith Prince(Emery's dad), wrote a sweet article about Mom and I in the News Star this morning. Click here to check it out!

We are on Spring Break next week, so it will be nice to come home and relax with my precious babies before heading back to work. Summer will be here soon.......hurry up please!

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Happy Easter!

I am trying to post this while the babies are sleeping. We have had a very eventful morning as the Easter bunny visited last night! Jake was so excited and I accidentally went a little overboard with their baskets, yet most of it came from the dollar store! I didn't even do baskets last year, so I maybe I am just making up for lost time???!! The main thing we talked about was the Easter story and why we celebrate this holiday. This morning he asked me if we were going to see baby Jesus at church. Praise God for good listeners! In future Easters we will focus more in the true meaning and less on the bunny rabbit!



I posted more pictures than I usually do...sorry, but I had some cute ones! Jake got up around 8 and Landry Grace wasn't even moving around by that point, so we went ahead and let Jake look at his basket and hunt the eggs I had hidden around the house. By 8:30, Jake was wanting Landry's basket and wanted us to get her up so that HE could play with HER toys(oh the battles!). By 9 we just went in and woke her up...bless her heart, she was just worn out! LGT was a little less than thrilled with her basket, but did dig in DEEP to a Reese's egg...what is Easter without one of those?



Jake has a small obsession with stickers....and he posed for me last night as we got home from eating crawfish.



I thought LGT looked a lot like Jake in this picture!



The Easter bunny brought some goodies....



He got SO excited that there was candy in the eggs.

Loving the peanut butter egg....yes, that was her breakfast...we were kinda in a rush since she got up so late!


All dressed up!

They loved shaking the eggs!

This is fun!
My sweet baby girl


Our family pic...



Saturday, April 11, 2009

Carousel Rides and Egg Hunts!

We have had a great couple of days and been on the go constantly! We played on our tractor and wagon yesterday morning, and when Matt got home from work we went to the mall so that Jake could ride the carousel. He talked about it all morning and could not wait! Landry, on the other hand, was a little less than thrilled and rode it once while Jake took THREE more rides:).

Last night we went out to dinner with some friends and tried out the new restaurant in town. It was really good and we saw quite a few people there! It was fun and we got a babysitter for the occasion, as mom and dad have been helping out a lot and we needed to give them a break! Luckily both kids slept in and we got up just in time to make in to an Easter egg hunt at Trinity!
Our carousel ride...


Before we went inside, we had to take a picture with this bunny. Jake wasn't too sure that the bunny wasn't real, but after a few minutes he decided to take a picture by it.
We had a great time and there was a lot to do inside as well as hunt eggs outside. So glad they put little toys in the eggs instead of junk! We'll get enough of that from the Easter bunny tomorrow!

Jake shook every egg to see if there was something in it. He got so excited...too funny!
Landry hunted them for a while, but she mainly just wanted to be held. Playing the games inside. This was taken at the "duck pond" and shortly after, Landry decided she wanted to get WET and tried to climb in....luckily I caught her just in time.
After this we went to the Tech spring game festivities. The game didn't start until 1 and we arrived a little after 11. So needless to say we really didn't make it to the actual game...nap time took precedence and my battery went out on my camera. Tonight we are going to eat some crawfish with Matt's aunt and dad....YUMMY!
I hope you have a wonderful Easter!

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Weekend Post...Finally!

Loading pictures took forever!! Sorry about the delay....but we had another good weekend despite the fact that Landry still wasn't feeling well. Friday I stayed home with Landry who had been battling ear infections all week long. We had planned on doing parent's night out at our church, but had to cancel due to LGT. So we just hung around the house hoping Saturday would be a little better.

Well, Saturday came and Landry seemed a little better, but we were on day 6 at that point. I took Jake to Jackson Lee's 2nd birthday that morning and he had a ball! He loved playing with his buddies and hopefully we can see more of them this summer when I am off:).

After a short nap, we headed to an Easter egg hunt at Heather Yates' mother's house. Jake loved hunting the eggs and enjoying the treats. I loved watching him get excited about them and his facial expressions were priceless!

Sunday was a little better for Landry, but Monday morning(4:45) she woke up screaming and it took me a while to get her settled again and back to sleep. She fell back asleep until 9, and thankfully mom came over and watched her. Needless to say we were back at the dr. this morning and are on another dose of antibiotics. Thanks mom for keeping her those 2 days.
My mother in law is driving over from Bossier tomorrow to keep her, and then Dorothy is closed the next 2 days. I am off Friday and Monday, so hopefully by next Tuesday she will be ready to get back to her normal routine.

This weekend we are looking forward to time off and of course, Easter. Be back soon.....

Jackson and his posse....trying to help him open presents(or steal them and run off, as mine did.....
Jake singing Happy Birthday to Jackson. I love hearing him sing....so sweet!
Jackson's sweet cake!
On our way to the egg hunt...had to include Landry in the picture as she didn't get to go with us to any of the festivities that day:(.

Jake listening to the instructions before the big hunt!

Posing for a picture.