The Race

This past weekend James and I went away to Nashville, TN to do another half marathon. Really it is an excuse to get away!! I did not do as well as I would have liked, but then again I did not have the time to train like I should have. But, we finished and enjoyed being away. And thanks for Nana and Poppy for watching the kids while we were away. My kids are still talking about being at their house!!

I registered Caitlin for kindergarten this past week, tears were flowing! I can't believe she will be away from me all day every day next year. And she is so ready for it, the teacher came to get her to test her and she walked away from me without hesitation.

Today we did a walk through of the elementary school. Caitlin again had no hesitation, she was front and center. It was a good thing to see the school, it is so big! Braden was all about it, though when I asked him if he was going to go there he told me no!!

The kids had a birthday party today at the school park. They had so much fun, and it was a beautiful day for it.

We had Brendan's first birthday party last weekend. It was at their local park. The kids had fun playing with eachother. Caitlin was like a little mommy, taking care of Ethan the whole time, and Ethan will follow her around. They are all like siblings the way the love eachother but also fight!

Now we are have a busy weekend, like always...soccer, hockey, tennis, church. Hopefully I will get some more pictures of something during that time!!

Busy Saturday

Today was a busy day for us. We took James to tennis then Caitlin to soccer, my car was getting new tires so we were sharing. Caitlin had fun, even though she was tired from being up late last night. Her team won the game.

This if from after the game, snack time, the girls favorite time. I looked over twice during the game and saw both girls, Zoe and Caitlin dancing. They have such short attention spans!

My kids are so programmed for photo shoots. We were at James' tennis match and I thought it was a great place for pictures. I told them to get together and this is how they posed! Love the Azeala's blooming in th back!

Fun Day

Today I had both boys and we had no where to go, which was such a nice change. Usually I am taking at least one kid to school, working, driving a kid to a class. So, we decided to just play here all day. It was a beautiful day outside. Caitlin had her best friend Laine over, they have been inseperable recently. It is nice because they entertain each other.

The kids played hard and then Laine's mom, Laurie, and I took the kids to get slushies, a good way to cool off. The girls separated for a bit then so Caitlin could go to soccer practice. But only for a bit because then Laine came to Little River, the elementary school where they will be going to Kindergarten.

How cute is she! She takes such good pictures!

Love these two girls!

Little River had a movie on the fields at dark. We decided to stay so the kids could watch it. James had to take Braden home early, he was wiped out! Caitlin stayed of course because Laine was there. They were front and center of the movie! Both kids fell asleep on the way home.

Tomorrow Caitlin's soccer team plays Laine's soccer team. They are so excited!

Day with the cousins

Today we met up with the Rego cousins at a local park. My kids were so excited to see Emily, Sam and Isabella, the could not stop talking about them. They had so much fun running around and it was such a nice day. Poppy even started up a nice game of baseball with the boys, though Braden was kind of fickle! I got four of them to take a group picture, hmmm, wonder who is missing. Isn't that the story of his life!! Braden will do what he wants when he wants to do it and you cannot make him change his mind!!

After a nice picnic provided by Nana, the girls went shopping and the boys went to the club to play golf.

Not sure how Poppy does it with those two boys but they love it. Both have their own set of golf clubs and I guess they want to drive the cart, I think it is better off that Poppy drives!

I took the two little girls to the play area in the mall while Wendy took Emily shopping. Caitlin and Isabella love each other! It is very sweet to watch. Then we headed back to Nana and Poppy's house to wait for everyone else. Uncle Brett was able to make it up and of course the kids were so excited to see him, though it was hard not to use him as their playground. He visited our sister in Denver and while skiing broke his shoulder blade, ouch! We also started preparing for our garage sale, time to get rid of a bunch of junk!!

We hope you all had a great weekend! I am still learning how to make these pictures move around my site!

My Birthday!

So, yesterday was my 35th birthday. Needless to say it was memorable. Braden woke up having a fever and asked for chocolate milk, now you have to know that the kid can drink a gallon of chocolate milk a day. So, when he took a sip and told me it tasted yucky I knew something was wrong. We went to to the walk in clinic at the pediatricians office. The Dr. took one look down his throat and said he has strep. In my mind I was thinking, thank goodness it is him because he takes medicine like a champ, not his sister. About 2 hours after taking his first dose of antibiotics and motrin he was a new kid. I decided to head up to my moms house, pretty much to get out of the house and visit her. Caitlin kept wanting to sit with me, I kept telling her to go and play. We drove home and I decided to keep them outside to play since it was such a nice day. At one point I looked over and noticed Caitlin sitting in a ball in the garage. I brought her upstairs and took her temperature, it immediately went to 102 and of course it was after the Dr. office had closed. I decided to take her to the Minute Clinic b/c I wanted to get her looked at before the night. Again, the nurse looked in her mouth and said her throat was red and swollen, the test immediately tested positive for strep. Great, now I have to give my child who hates medicine, medicine. Though I have to say we are on day 2 and she has done a great job. And, I really can't complain b/c that is exactly how I am with medicine!

Both kids woke up today like new kids, happy, playful, fiesty as ever!!

We had a great day. The kids played her all morning then this afternoon we met up with neighborhood friends at our playground. The kids had fun and are worn out.

Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures for this post, I keep forgetting my camera. But tomorrow I am meeting up with my sister and her family and will bring my camera.

Hope you all have a good one!!

An Amazing Easter

Were to start? On Friday I attended Stations of the Cross at church. It is a recreation of Jesus's final time up to when he dies on the cross. It was very moving. It is like the Passion.

Then the kids and I went to the annual egg hunt at Sarah's house. Of course they had fun and got a lot more candy!

On Saturday morning my parents took the kids for the day. They went to their club for yet another egg hunt. Caitlin remembered from last year that someone gets a golden egg, which they turn in for a big Easter basket full of things. She kept telling me she was going to get it. I talked to her and told her she could try but it was ok if she didn't get it and to tell the person who did good job. There are lots of kids in this hunt so it is not something that can be easily done. So imagine my surprise when I called to check in on them and she told me she found the "golden" egg! I thought she was kidding. Nope, she did and got a basket with a huge chocolate egg and a stuffed bunny. We have not touched the chocolate bunny yet!

James and I went to a prayer vigil in the morning and then had practice for Mass. We had a break before having to return to church in the evening. Mass started at 9 p.m. outside. All four priest precided over the ceremony. We were considered the guests of honor and we were the firsts ones in the sanctuary. Those that had not been baptized were baptized first, there were a total of 18 people. Then we were all confirmed by the Monsigneur, followed by all the priests and deacons blessing us. We then received the Euchrist for the first time as Catholics. I can honestly say it was truly amazing and life changing. Both James and I had sponsors for our journey that guided us through the process and I can say I was blessed to have someone very special!

The ceremony lasted until midnight then there was a reception in our honor. We left and got home about 1 am. Braden had a asmtha attack and of course I did not leave my parents with an inhaler so we had to go up and resue them at 2 am. We got home at 3 then had to stay up and prepare for Easter Sunday, get the clues out for the baskets, get the baskets filled and the eggs stuffed. I finally crashed at 4 am. The kids let us sleep until 8 in the morning, later than usual. They had fun hunting for their baskets using the clues that the Easter Bunny left. They played with their new things for a bit then hunted outside for the eggs. We took an early morning walk to the store for the paper, it was a nice thing to do since usually we are at church at that time.

I started my tomato plants in the afternoon. I am really hoping I get some good ones this year. Fresh picked tomatoes are my favorite! We all did some yard work since the day was so lovely!

Now both kids are falling asleep, it is 7:15. I am soon to follow!!

Happy Easter to everyone and God Bless!!

Easter Parties

Yesterday both kids had their Easter Parties at school. Braden's was first and he had a good time finding eggs, then ate tons of food. They also made cross necklaces that he wore all day yesterday.

We then went to Caitlin's class where they always go above and beyond. The kids had activities, games, food and of course the egg hunt. Mrs. High gave every student a number, she was 12, and they had to search for their numbered eggs, what a great idea for their age.

Caitlin and her friend Laine helped each other find their eggs. Then they went back to the room for their snack, and Braden proceeded to eat more, because he did not have enough earlier! We were planning on coming home but instead stopped by a neighbors house where other kids were playing outside. We got there at 12 and stayed until almost 6, it was a beautiful day! Needless to say the kids were wiped out by the time we got home. Round two starts today! We will be dyeing eggs with their friends this morning, then heading to a Sarah's house for her annual Easter Egg hunt. I will post more pictures of it.

I am heading to Stations of the Cross today at noon, without kids. It is where you walk the path that Jesus did before he died, the Priest leads us and tells us about it. Then tomorrow is our Big day!! We have a prayer service in the morning, then rehearsals. Then tomorrow night at 9 Mass starts. My parents will have the kids and they will be coming, not sure how long they will stay.

Happy Good Friday to all!!