Intentions

I truly have better intentions of posting more often!! I've been doing this blog since May of '08 and plan to print it(Blog2Print has great deals) for my children. It's a great way for us to enjoy these memories in the future. All of you, I am sure, have been super busy as we have. No new news here other than a few minor details I'll share with you.

My mom "went under the knife" last Thursday to fix her sagging chin and eyes. She is hurting pretty bad due to the pressure in her face and says she wouldn't do it again. We'll see! I cannot believe she went through with it but this is what she wanted so I am happy for her.

I've been going back and forth for a while now on whether or not to run the marathon in Vegas instead of the half. This week I have just about decided to "go for it" and try to qualify for Boston in 2012. The Boston marathon registration for 2011 opened yesterday at 6am PST and closed in a record SIX HOURS. My training partner who qualified for Boston last year didn't get in and I am floored that the race filled that fast. Last year it took 2 months to reach capacity and we all thought that was quick. With that being said I plan to do 20 miles before school on Friday. Crazy I know but Matt's training schedule calls for a 5K on Saturday. So we'll be doing the Autumn Breeze race in Shreveport this weekend. Enough about running....

My mother in law had Monday off from school so she asked if she could take Jake to Great Wolf Lodge in Dallas. He had A BALL! So much so that I have just about talked J and LG into having a birthday getaway instead of a party. LG was set on having an Alice in Wonderland tea party and then I remembered that Alice has a breakfast at the Gaylord Texan across the street from GWL. So then she was on board. I hate to think that they are missing out on a party, but it will also be a fun family getaway that will also include Big Mama, Big D, GiGi, and Aunt Lou. This of course will be the weekend after the Vegas trip and during the crazy month of December. I am getting tired just thinking about it but it should be fun!

I will just go through the pictures by event.

For our Columbus Day holiday we headed out to the park for a Barbie car ride around the lake and then a fruit picnic(and pudding for my picky eater...LG).

The Tech game against Utah State was fun since Tech scored a win. Thought this picture from my phone was cute!
We have had so many professional pictures taken in the past year that I didn't do pumpkin patch pics. But we had our own mini session. They look way too posed in the pic below but the second one is my favorite!
Just wished I could have brushed his hair!!
Rachel McGehee(Peek-a-Boutique) made these precious stools for the kids and I loved how they turned out. The stools are large and will grow with them. Thanks Rachel!

Last week Matt and I headed out to Squire Creek for a silent auction to benefit Legacy Park. There was a great turnout and an extremely generous amount of donations were raised for this great cause.
Jennifer Sexton and I
Katie, Shelley, Sarah(who is due early January...can you even tell she is pregnant...she looks fabulous!) and myself.

Last weekend we took Big D with us to Tech Homecoming while Jake was at GWL. LG had a wonderful weekend being the only child and of course sat with her Big D the entire game. To say that she loves him is an understatement.
Afterwards we met Emily and Jon Pruitt(who are also expecting...in early December) at Log Cabin and gave them a good dose of the toddler terrible twos!
We also ran into Cullen and Katie Clark. Fun times!
Today was Jake's pumpkin patch field trip with school. I met them at Barnes Studio to watch him decorate a pumpkin and clown with some of his classmates.
A lot of Jake's stories from school involve "football practice". They cannot have balls at school so they just practice and tackle(per Jake's interpretation). These are his practice buddies: Jack, Jake, Peyton, Stafford, and Grey.
And Tulley showed Jake how to hold a cricket. I love being a part of these small memories!!

I will try to get better about posting and hope you have enjoyed this one.

Catch Up

I am trying to catch up on being blog absent the past few weeks. Matt was gone for 3 weeks straight to New Jersey for job training, so between work and taking care of 2 babies...blogging just wasn't in the priority category. We have done so much over the past month so I'll try to be brief:).

You know by now that I went up to visit Matt a few weeks ago and we went to the city. We ended up seeing Mary Poppins and it was really good. This was our third Disney on Broadway show to see(Lion King and Beauty and the Beast are the others) and they(Disney) never seem to disappoint. Hands down my favorite show is Lion King. I already plan to take the kids when they are older. It is FANTASTIC!

We did do a little Christmas shopping on the side. Landry Grace is going to get her first Itty Bitty Baby from American Girl. I tried talking her into a doll but she wanted the baby. I don't know why I am trying to rush this stuff anyway....many years ahead for the "big girl" dolls. We also made it to the Lego store. Jake has been into Lego's lately and we found a neat Toy Story set there for him. After shopping and seeing the show, we met back up with some other people from Matt's group to watch football. Wish I could be a true Southern gal and say I love to watch college football....sorry, I don't! But we had a great trip. Thanks for those of you who made suggestions on what to do. Deni, we tried to make to to Serendipity but just didn't have time.

Back in Ruston we had birthday parties and time with friends and family. I cleaned up the yard and pulled out the fall decor. The weather turned cold for a little while and that was nice.

Matt and I are training for the half marathon in Vegas on December 4th. My sweet daddy came over 5 days a week between 5 and 5:30 to watch the babies while I got my training runs in. That is LOVE. Matt is up to 5 miles on his long run and for someone who isn't a runner, I am so proud of him!! Meanwhile my mom ran her ninth marathon last weekend in St. George, Utah. She didn't have a PR(personal record) but finished and already planning another.

Enjoy the pictures.

Leaving the AG store in NYC with LG's baby. I'm a dork...but fun times!
In front of the Mary Poppins sign.
Big Mommy caught another lizard for Jake. This one made it to show and tell!
Sibling love!!
Landry Grace hanging out with Hank and her freshman cheerleader friends after an RHS pep rally.
Celebrating Bella Grace's 3rd birthday on October 2.
The we went to hang out with Sharon and her crew. Emma is a little momma and LG loves her.
Jake caught a fish but would not consider touching it. Had a little help here but what a cute picture.
Finally I cleaned up the yard and planted some flowers. We live in a very old house(built in 1965) but it has so much charm. Pleased with the outcome.
We were invited to go a style show last week with some friends and had a great time.
My running partners were there and we had to take a picture.
Yesterday we headed to the Tech football game and helped them pull in a win over Utah State. We are off from school tomorrow and looking forward to it!

NYC!!

Love me some NYC!! I flew up to visit Matt last night and we are looking forward to a fun weekend in the city. MOST of all I am looking forward to getting a few runs in this great weather. We aren't set on what we want to do yet. We've been here several times and seen lots of shows, but you can't visit and not see one! Thinking Mama Mia or Mary Poppins. Any suggestions on other fun things that we may not have done????

La Tech game

Saturday was a pretty busy day but I hit the ground running(literally) with a 10 miler that morning, then a birthday party at 10 followed by a much needed nap. After that we took our time before heading up to the Tech game. This is the first year that we brought the kids and they did OK. Jake had a good time running into his buddies Landon and Kennedy as well as his friends from school. We didn't tailgate due to the time factor. At this age and with 2 kids, you gotta choose where you want to spend your time(because it's limited!) so we just chose the game. They loved seeing the jet fly over the stadium and then the parachuters were a great hit. However, I do think we could have done without the rap music that played on the jumbo tron throughout the game....but that's just me. Unfortunately Tech could not pull out a victory but maybe next week!Landry Grace and Kennedy with her precious pig tails!
Smiling when they aren't arguing;)...Jake with his buddy Landon
The crew semi-together
Representing with our blue and white on!
At the beginning of the game before any melt downs!

Trivial Tragedy

This morning when we woke up Jake went to find his lizard outside. He came back in saying that the lizard was gone and the ants had eaten him. I thought he had let the lizard out of the "bug hotel" but it was true. We had left the little creature outside last night and ants had eaten the lizard down to it's carcass.

To say Jake was upset was an understatement:(. We had kept him all week and he was so excited about taking the lizard to show and tell today. I was probably just as heartbroken as he was.....so i found a cricket at school and Big D took it to school in the bug hotel to save the day!!

Then he got bit by a student and kicked as well. Bless his heart, but he's been well taken care of this evening!

Little Blessings

I have a few things on my heart that I want to post quickly! The past month has been a furious rush with school starting and adjusting to the new transition of the school year, etc. This past week I hit a few lows and was reminded of God's faithfulness and wanted to share:

• Mondays are crazy with ballet and gymnastics and a dentist appt...Matt was in Bossier and I was trying to balance everything. Jennifer called me amidst all of this and told me she had cleaned out her closet and was sending Patrick over with clothes and shoes. She made my week!! I love when Jenn gives me her hand-me-downs AND I didn't have to spend a dime:). (OK, I admit, this may have not been God sent but I had to throw it in here!!)
• Tuesday was a rough day emotionally. Won't go into silly details but I was tired, the kids were hungry and tired and dinner didn't go as planned. After my pity party I was laying on the couch watching the news while the kids played. Well, Jake found a lizard that had somehow made its way into the living room. It made the kid's night....and mine as well. Totally changed the mood for the entire evening as we made a "home" for it and talked about what it liked to eat and do. Small blessing but very big at the time:).
• Wednesday Jake found his costume waiting for him on the doorstep when we arrived home from school. He was in Buzz Light Year HEAVEN! He insisted on playing outside in full gear and in superhero mode for an hour. Again God reminded me of how fast these years are going by. Thank you for my Buzz Light Year!
• This morning I woke up exhausted for my run and as I always do, check my e-mail. My college roommate and sorority sister had sent me the sweetest message about inspiration. Thank you Lord for friends.
• And tonight after Jake got out of the bath tub he gave me a big hug and said, "Mommy, you're my best friend." I have no words for that.

I am so blessed and hope that when there are times when things seem to have you overwhelmed, God will show his face. Thank you Lord for the little blessings in my life!!

September Catch Up

Not sure how it has happened but we are at the half way mark in September and I haven't blogged. Just to fill you in quickly, Matt was gone to New Jersey for work training the last week in August and the first week of September. He got home the Friday before Labor Day, we went to Atlanta for a dear friend of mine's wedding, Matt got the flu last Tuesday. I joined a dinner group that started last week and we met at the Bistro: fun! Landry Grace started dance today. Add a lot of small activities into the mix and we have just been really busy. At night, the last thing I wanted to do was get on the Internet. I've also been trying to stay off facebook as it is a time consumer and there are more productive things to do. Soooo that's everything in a tiny nutshell. Enjoy the pics!

Our dinner group with several missing due to functions or being out of town. It was so nice to meet new people and catch up with old friends.
Labor Day weekend we headed to Atlanta for Ashley LaBudde's wedding. We met 14 years ago at running camp in Brevard, NC. We were the only girls in our running group and ultimately became very good friends. Due to me having lots of family in Atlanta(where Ash is from), we saw each other multiple times when in high school and even more when in our college years and after. I can think of no one more deserving of happiness!!
I have always thought Ashley looked a lot like Julia Roberts. Crazy that they are both from Smyrna, GA and grew up in the same Catholic church. Useless tidbit of info I thought I'd leave you with, free of charge!
Today was LGT's first day of ballet. We were in a rush when I picked her up from school and she was a little cranky, but when she saw her buddies Bella Grace and Mallory from church, she was thrilled!!!
Bella Grace, Mallory, and my sweet baby girl
Hanging up their bags.

My mom has laughed at my excitement over dance class. This stems from my childhood experience with dance. I did not like it AT ALL. My parent's surely spent money they did not have and I would sit in the corner and refuse. Opps....hope LG likes it but if not, we'll find something else!

Other than that life is good. I have been frequenting the streets early in the a.m. again(running) and am SO ready for some cooler weather. This morning it was 66 degrees on our run and felt SO GOOD! It sure is hard getting up an hour and a half early just to run but the feeling I get when the run is over is worth the lost hours of sleep. Have a great week!