Happy Birthday Shelly!

My sister-in-law Shelly turned 40 this month, so we are celebrating all month long! Her husband Russ and I planned several months ago to throw her a surprise birthday party before her actual birthday...Boy did we get her!!! With the help of MANY great secret keepers, we pulled off the surprise. I had great help in getting the party ready (thank you to all you), and the person with the biggest job was my mother-in-law. She brought the unsuspecting birthday girl to the festivies. We had a Spongebob theme and even had Spongebob himself as a guest! Everyone was a great sport about wearing yellow, not a color usually found in someone's closet nor in a guy's closet! We had lots of laughs and fun, Happy Birthday Shelly!!!

MNO

We had a get-together a few weeks back with a few of my fellow mom-friends. We met at TGIF's for some catch-up time, food and laughs. A "few" drinks later this is what you get when moms go out for the night...on a school night too! (And these are the tame photos!) Morning came too early for me that is for sure! Lots of fun!!!

P.F. Chang's Marathon

Here are pages I made from the P.F. Chang's Marathon. It still is unbelievable that we (Liz, Susie and I) actually ran a full marathon just one month ago!!! Many weeks of running, crosstraining, speedwork, LONG runs early on saturday mornings, three half marathons and a few short fun races, two full running seasons...and there you have it, 26.2 miles!!! This has been an amazing journey that started with the encouragement of my sister Kari. Along the way I have learned so much about running, health, and what you can accomplish when you put the time and work in. Just 18 months ago, I could barely run a half mile without having to stop, but with the love and support of many, especially my boys at home, I have been able to have reach many goals. A shout out to Angela (our running coach and guru), my sweet sister, the MANY runners I have met along the way each season, the AZ BABES group, and my crAZy Babes, "The Girls" (K,J,K), my family, and especially Eddie, who has been my biggest cheerleader by giving me the time to get my runs in, finding all the fun running gadgets, socks etc. and being there at the finish each time...You are my Rockstar!!!

P.S. Thanks again to my mom and Dave for helping us "rock" through the race, and to Kari and Ruben for being the mobile cheering squad along the way, the memory is a highlight that I will never forget!

"Jedi Training Academy"

We celebrated Logan's 7th birthday this year, Star Wars Style. Logan literally lives, eats, breathes Star Wars so what better theme to go with than his most favorite. We set up a Jedi Training Academy for his pals and cousins to come over and participate in. The kids all had several missions to complete to "learn the ways of the Jedi"; an obstacle course while carrying Yoda for balance and agility, Pass the Death Star for speed and quickness, Pin the asteroid for spatial awareness (fancy for blindfolded), and a lightsaber challenge with balloons. They were fueled with Yoda Soda, Darth Dogs, Speeder Sandwiches Edible Ewoks, Asteroid Apples and Skywalker Salsa with Chips. There was even Wookie Cookies and a Light Saber Cake made by Eddie (he always amazes me with his creations!). My mom helped out with wardrobe and made all the kids Jedi tunics for the party. The kids all had a great time and received their certificates at the end. I don't know who had more fun, Logan or us planning for the big event. Happy Birthday to Logan, our Big 7 Year old!!! We love you!!!

Playtime with Ethan

Here is a page for Mr. Ethan, showcasing his love for sand, water, trucks and playing outside...not sure which one in order is his fav but all combined and you have one happy little boy! He especially loves to line all his trucks up and make their classic noise. I think boys are born with this gift of noise because we sure do not teach it to them. I think they master this sound before they even say their first words. Just part of this boy world I call mine!!!

Our Big Star!

Logan was Star Student in his classroom a few weeks ago. Among the fun things he got to do throughout the week was make a poster all about himself (bottom corner). And on the very last day he brought his fish, Max for show and tell. He was so excited for this week to finally come, he had been looking forward to the day HE would get to be the star! We love you Logan, Mr. Superstar!!!

Our very own celebrity!

The 1st graders at Navarrete Elementary put on a play in January called "Melton the Snowman". Each student participated with a speaking part that they had to memorize which narrated the story in between songs they performed. Logan's line was "Does his tummy ache, does it hurt when he talks?", which he spoke loud and clear. We were so proud of him and his learning to memorize! The kids were all so cute and did such a great job. Ethan loved going to school and seeing his big brother, he was calling out for him once he realized he was on stage. Even though every child had a chance to shine, Logan will always be our very own celebrity!

Snow Fun!!!

Over Christmas break, we took the kids up north for a day trip of sledding and snow fun. We went to a sledding area outside of Flagstaff, AZ and it snowed on us the entire time! My sister Leslie and her daughter Raegan joined for our cold adventure. This was not only the first time sledding for our boys, but it was the first time seeing snow! It was super fun, the kids all had a blast despite the continuous snowfall. No tears or complaints until we got back into the car and realized how wet and cold they really had become. A change of clothes, heat and some yummy hot chocolate and our "snowmen" were back to themselves! Ethan see these pictures now when we are at home, squeals with laughter and pretends to shiver like he is cold again...I hope this doesn't prevent us from further exploring the world of winter sports, my skis are a little rusty and I am anxious to pull them out. Logan keeps asking, "When are we going again?" It was a great day!

Tea Time

Over the holiday break, my mom hosted a tea party for the ladies of our family at Inspirations Tea and Christian Book Shop. She is not pictured in the pics because she was hosting and serving and treating us to a delicious lunch made by her (she is quite talented!) We had lots of fun, especially showing Stella and Raegan how to drink tea and be "ladies". Thank you mom for a very afternoon!

Finally!

I am FINALLY back to working on pages from the holiday...and YES, this will the last page from Christmas as I am sure most of you are done with seeing red, trees and santa. But I had to at least make a page from Christmas morning. Santa was very good to the boys this year. Santa brought a bike for Logan and a ride-on construction truck for Ethan. We had a relaxing morning at home, and after a big breakfast I took a nice long nap (I worked Christmas Eve so I needed a little shut-eye). We ended the day with my mom and her husband Dave. They brought over a delicious roast for dinner, that was present alone to not have to cook, thanks Mom and Dave!!!