New Orleans Marathon, baby!!

I DID IT!!!!!! 21st marathon with a PR of 3:32:44!!!!

Sometimes life just sucks, and while running a marathon isn't easy, I was honored to run this race in memory of my friends sweet little 2yr old boy who passed away from cancer last week. There were hard parts during today's run and every single time I kept telling myself I was running "Vinnie Strong" I even ran through a sea of bubbles at mile 10 and I knew Vinnie was smiling down encouraging me. Patty and Joe today was for your sweet little angel.

I went away, by myself, for the first time ever to run a marathon and above is the takeaway from race day. What a spectacular race, special day and a forever ingrained memory. Christian also had a great weekend with the kids, proving he CAN take care of all 3 solo, lol. Thanks honey for supporting my crazy running desires! I love you!!
 

 

 

 

 

 

Shedd Aquarium

When Daddy can take off work on a Monday morning and big brother doesn't have school until the afternoon and the Shedd Aquarium is offering a "free" day for entrance, you pack up the car with your little family and head down to Chicago for a few hours to enjoy a new experience. What a fun (and exhausting!) morning. We had a blast seeing all the different fish, watching the diver in the tank, eating snacks while overlooking Lake Michigan and catching glimpses of the dolphins and whales from the underneath viewing area. Such a great time and something we'll definitely do again!

 

 

 

Sledding!!

We had lots of snow fall down last night and it seemed like it would be a crime to NOT enjoy the outdoors and get the kids sledding.  Our first, and potentially our last time to do it this winter so why not?  The boys loved it! So much.  Gemma, not so much. Maybe due to the coldness and the fact that I flipped the sled over not once, but twice when she was on with me, haha. Still a fun morning outing with friends!! 

Reid's preschool party :)

There's not much sweeter than watching your little baby have a Valentine's party surrounded by pink and red and hearts and love. I love these moments I'm able to spend one-on-one with my kiddos as they are far too few and infrequent sometimes due to the fact that I have three little ones! It was great to be able to spend time with Reid this morning and watch him with his friends. I am so blessed.

FunWay Bowling!

We decided to try something new and took our kids out for a family fun bowling day. We were quite sure how it would go, all three kids (Gemma did NOT bowl, lol) but it was great! We had fun and are already looking forward to going back.

Big Boy HairCuts!!

The boys got their first "real" haircut! I have cut their hair every.single.time. And while I'm grateful I've figured out how to do it (thanks Kate!) it was actually quite nice to have a break from the hair-cutting routine, which can provide quite a mess! I was actually a bit sentimental, however, thinking of someone else giving my boys a haircut. Christian took them in and the boys had a blast. If only it was free, then maybe I could get on board every time, haha. Christian tried getting Micah a more tame version of his own haircut, while Reid went for the spikey on top shorter on the sides look. It looks great on both boys, and I'm grateful to have another month where I can be haircut free!

Micah's basketball team

Micah decided he wanted to give basketball a try this past winter and Christian and I enjoyed watching him work on a new sport.  I'll give Micah credit...he doesn't seem to be the most athletically talented kid out there most of the time BUT he's a hard work and in both his soccer team in the fall and also his basketball team this winter, I can honestly say I think he's one of the most improved kids from beginning to end. It's fun to watch your child find joy in an activity and I really want to help develop that and encourage it without placing my own ambitions on my 5 year old. I think we're doing a good job, but truthfully am just praying for God's continual grace in this parenting journey, as it's not easy. Micah did a great job with his team, and our family enjoyed going to watch him every Saturday with his team. Looking forward to doing it again next year, assuming, of course, that Micah's interested :)