Toronto Ragnar

Last year a group of people from our ward got together and ran in the DC Ragnar. I was pregnant with Elle and there was no way I could join in the fun. To say I was disappointed would have been a serious understatement, with the cherry on top being seeing all the pictures of all the fun on FB!

When they decided to run another one in June I didn't hesitate to say "YES!" I am pretty excited about it although you wouldn't know that by my training effort thus far. Today we all gathered to chose which legs we wanted. I am super happy with mine and hopefully picking our legs will be the motivation I need to get running!

Spring Break Day 3 - Tree Top Quest

First thing Saturday morning Pam surprised the children with an easter egg hunt, and started a new tradition of finding the golden egg. After she told them about the gold egg which had $5 in it she asked Luke if he was going to cry if he wasn't the one to find it. To which he quickly replied "YES!" Then she told him he had to promise not to cry if someone else found it, and he quietly said, "ok." It was hilarious! With those instructions they were off!

Luke and Olivia didn't spend too much time searching for the Golden Egg, they just picked every last egg they could see. Kai and Ethan ended up with way less eggs then those two because they were so determined to find the Golden Egg. Well, Ethan found it! He was through the moon excited, and everyone else was trying their hardest to be excited for him.

After we sorted out all the candy we headed to Sarah's soccer game. It was a beautiful sunny day, and it was so nice to be outside.

Sarah played a great game and I was thrilled to be able to watch her play!

After the game it was time for the much anticipated trip to Tree Top Quest. Pam had suggested it to me as an activity and the second I went to the website I knew we had to do it! It is basically a zip lining obstacle course.

After we were doing everyone was begging to skip some of the other things we had planned to come back and to Tree Top Quest again! If you are in Atlanta or anywhere near one of these, I highly recommend it!

Spring Break Day 2 - Georgia Aquarium

When we decided to go to Atlanta for spring break we had a laundry list of possible activities. Over the weeks leading up to the trip we added, changed, and swapped activities but the Aquarium remained a must see.

The plan we made the night before to leave around 11am, get lunch, and then head over to the aquarium by 1.

Of course nothing usually goes quite as planned. Luke woke up complaining of an ear ache, which I finally realized was swimmers ear from the last night. We gave him some drops which cleared it up, but were already over an hour behind schedule.

Pam told us about an awesome burger place near the aquarium called The Varsity so we decided to go there for lunch. When we arrived it was packed. We had to split up with some in line and some looking for a place to sit. The burgers were delish!

After lunch we were finally on our way to the worlds largest aquarium! It opened a few months after we moved from Charleston and I was always disappointed we didn't get to see it before we moved. When we arrived the line to get in the aquarium was so long, even with purchasing our tickets online in advance. The aquarium only lets you in by the hour. When I bought our tickets I said we would be there by 1. Since we didn't get there until 3 they let us walk right in. No wait at all! It was awesome! Being late has never worked out so well!

We had a little time before our viewing of "Dolphin Tales"and the children found a tunnel that made them look like they were under the sea.

Dolphin Tales was so much fun! It is amazing what those dolphins can be trained to do. The coolest thing to me is when they are above the water scooting backwards. You aren't allowed to take any photos during the show but we got a few before it started!

This was Elle's very first time sitting in the stroller seat. She did so good in there, I really think she loved being able to check everything out!

Right after the dolphin show the children headed straight for the touch tank. Olivia was so funny, she would put her hand all the way in the water and when a sting ray would come up she would quickly pull it out.

I loved riding on the moving walkway under the tank looking at all the fishes. Ethan and I couldn't believe how big whale sharks are! 

The aquarium was HUGE and the little ones started to tucker our toward the end! We did get to all the exhibits, although there is no way to see everything in 1 trip.

Th albino alligators were one of my favorite things we saw. At first they looked fake, and then they started swimming around! WEIRD!

Spring Break Atlanta - Day 1

We arrived at Pam's house around 4:30 in the morning. For the most part everyone slept great! Elle was a champ, which was completely unexpected. Ethan, Olivia, and Luke hardly made a peep. Kai however, was awake most of the drive because he "was just too excited to sleep!"

Hannah and Sarah had school so we had planned on heading to the children's museum. However, upon waking up for the day, hanging around the house and relaxing became far to enticing!

It was a beautiful day so we ate breakfast and visited while the children played outside. After lunch Pam took the children on a hike through the bamboo forest by her house. The children loved it!

After Hannah and Sarah got home they all talked us into taking them to the pool at the YMCA. I decided to stay home with Elle and start dinner. A decision that proved wise since 30 minutes after they all left Elle had a huge blow out! They would have been quickly evacuating the pool!

The first day-of-fun ended with the crowd pleaser Just Dance! It was a perfect start to spring break!

Brian's Birthday

This year Brian's birthday landed on a Monday, which often means the busiest day of the week! So, in order to make it all work we picked up the cake (ice cream of course) after piano, and on our way to Smokey Bones for dinner.

After dinner we headed home for cake, and just our luck we had both a 2 and an 8 to top the cake. Never mind that the 2 has been used some many times it looked like we were celebrating Brian's Z8th Birthday!

Happy 28th! We love you so darn much!

Sweet Baby Elle

We sure LOVE this cute little bumba! 

Holidays

All I see every time I click on Facebook is someone new agreeing with the NO-MORE-LITTLE-HOLIDAYS post, and I for one can't take it anymore!

These "special days" have little to NOTHING to do with things. What they are about however, is creating memories that will last a lifetime. Our children will have days, weeks, months, and possibly years that will be hard and full of trials. So why not, while they are young, do whatever we can to make them smile, laugh, or go to sleep with the excitement only a child can muster. I move a small stuffed elf every night for 24 days for no reason other then to hear the sweet pitter patter of little feet and tons of giggles as they try to find out where Dunkin is, and the best part is when they happily help a younger sibling find him. 

The truth is I am running out of years that my children will even be slightly interested in these things, and I intend to do everything I can to make it magical. Life is hard and these children will learn that all to soon, and there is almost nothing we can do to stop it. I hear mothers constantly complaining that the world these days is forcing our children to grow up way to quickly, and I echo this concern. So why not do a few little things to keep life light and fun? 

I guess I'm the only one, but I am constantly reminding my children to put laundry away, do homework, practice the piano, take a shower, unload the dishwasher, do Saturday jobs, be nice to your brothers and sisters, and the list of nagging mothering could go on forever. So what is the harm in "celebrating" small days? 

As a stay at home, if I don't have 5 minutes (or quite frankly an hour) to do something to put a smile on my children's face, then what in the world am I doing all day! I don't want to be rude, but if we can't push pause on our DVR's for long enough to do something that will make our children smile, the people we love more than anything else in the world, then there's a problem. And it's not with the kids! What kind of message are we sending our children when we spend days preparing a lesson for church, weeks planning a dinner party, all day cleaning our homes when someone is coming over, but sorry kids I don't have 5 minutes for gold coins.

  

 I'm not suggesting spending tons of money on elaborate decorations or parties, but I see nothing wrong with spending a few minutes to make your toilet water green, or dressing up as past presidents, or eating green eggs and ham, or checking to see if spring will come early, or eating pie when its not Thanksgiving, or anything else that is special and exciting to an only-little-once child.

UK vs RMU

Kentucky basketball has been part of my life for as long as I can remember. I grew up watching Kentucky games with my mom and dad. My mom would always get stressed out if they weren't winning by 20 points and have to leave the room. My dad and I would continue to watch and as we cheered my mom would call down from upstairs, "whats happeneing? Whats the score?" I remember it as clear as day.

When I heard that UK would be coming to Pittsburgh for the first round of the NIT tournament I was determined to get my hands on some tickets! When I learned they were $20 per ticket, I knew I needed to get my whole family there!

It was an awesome experience even though Kentucky didn't win. I loved sharing this game and adventure with the children.

Until next year, GO BIG BLUE!