Weekend Update...

I feel like Saturday Night Live's Weekend Update Host right now...but for those interested, and even if you're not, you're about to read all about it....

Friday night: Alex has baseball practice from 7-8:30pm!! Who picks that?! Horrible time- Dana took him!
Saturday: Dana has Saturday School from 8-11. He cleans windows with Ivy 11-1:30. Alex has practice 1:45-3:15 (again, who picked that?!). The girls and I leave (no nap for Celeste), at 1:45 to head to my cousin Michael's graduation party across town. We stop at the Temple (see previous post), take fun pictures, then make it to the party by 2:30. GREAT party!! Got to see many family members, including my Grandma, my 3 aunts and uncle who traveled a far! It was so fun- my cousins and my kids hanging out and eating lots of great food! We stay there until 5:30, then we head to another GREAT graduation party for Tina's daughter, Danessa. (Did I mention still no nap for Celeste?!) We get there around 6pm, which Leah informs me is late- didn't I know it started at 5, she says?! Where did she come from, anyway?! Guess what? We eat some more!! Wow! I didn't know we could eat more in one day! Well, we stay there until 7:30, and then we head home- both girls crash in their seats! What a day!! I get home and Dana and Alex are still at Ivy's game, which they finally return home around 10:30pm! They won, by the way, in triple overtime! My family was exhausted!
I took some pictures of Celeste eating cake at Michael's graduation- these are the first of many cake pictures this weekend...1st round up next...

Yes, you see right- that is 2 pieces of cake, and that girl ate them both! Well, she really ate mostly icing (smart girl), but they both were disappearing quickly.

Sunday: Dana leaves 9am for meetings. I iron the girls dresses, get ready myself, and make it to church with the kids by 11am. GeeGee and Liza join us, and I teach Relief Society. Meanwhile, lunch is cooking at home so we can eat when we get back. (that means no nap for Celeste today, either- are you seeing a trend?!) Here are some cute pics from the morning.

We actually do nothing the remainder of Sunday, because we were gearing up for Monday!

Monday: Dana plays basketball at the church from 7am-9am. I get up early and get 4 load of laundry done- (those of you who know me know I am sort of OCD about laundry on Mondays!), paint the girls fingernails AND toenails, fix Celeste's hair (never fun), bake cupcakes, and ice them, with sprinkles, all before 11 so we can get to the Ward Picnic! We made it!! It is a beautiful day and tons of people come to the picnic!! Here are some fun shots...










We end up having such fun there, that we stay a tad too long, because we have other things to do...so, we leave at 2:30- but have to go home first, because this park is filthy, and the kids are so dirty, and Dana, needs a shower- did you see him playing basketball- oh, and softball too! We get home, change clothes, everyone but me, and leave again, heading to another graduation party across town that started at 2. We get there around 3:30. It was fun, because we got to see people from our old Ward that we don't see that often. Here are some pics from that...

This is my Elaina- she is 12 now!! I feel so old...she is so wonderful, and it was great seeing her!









Are you tired yet?! Oh, and still no nap for Celeste- this is getting to be a bad trend...okay, so after this fun party, we leave and head to the cemetery to visit the grave sites of my Grandparents, Dana's brother, and our friend's little baby - thankfully the cemetery is very close to the house we are leaving...We reverently pay our respects..Are we done yet?! NO!! We have one last stop to make...Lowe's- to buy a ladder that is only on sale today, and a new light switch for the bathroom. We make it, the girls are now crashed in the van (how I wish that were me!), and we get the items and THEN we head home!! What a day! I am so thankful all days are not this busy- or this expensive!!
So there you have it- I hope I haven't left much out- it was fun, and fantastic, and exhausting all at the same time!

I love to see the Temple...

Today was a crazy day!! We had many things to do, and much was happening! BUT, we managed to squeeze it all in, despite the craziness. Dana and I had to "divide and conquer" , so I got the joy of taking the girls to 2 graduation parties all by myself!! Yipee!!, (while he got to take Alex to baseball practice, then on to a football game with Aunt Ivy, Liza and GeeGee!) No, really, the girls were wonderful, and we had a great day. On the way to the first graduation party, we took a slight detour, and stopped by the temple to take a few pics. The girls hadn't been there in a long time, and I have never taken their picture outside, so today, I seized the opportunity, and this is what we did! The girls loved it, and it was one of the most perfect days we have had here this spring! We even got to see wedding pictures being taken, and the girls stood in awe and watched this beautiful bride get her photo taken. It was lovely. The grounds, even though the temple is under semi-re-construction, were gorgeous. They love to see the temple, and they so want to go there someday....today I am glad it will be a while for them!!

Image Tag

**note**
I originally misread the "past pet" as "past pest", (it was early this morning!), so I have since revised...

This looked like so much fun, so I thought I would give it a try- thanks, Katie! This is an image tag and these are the pictures I chose to represent the questions....

Age next birthday

Place I want to visit
My favorite thingsMy favorite place My favorite foodMy favorite color The town where I livePast pet

Nickname I once was called

College Major

1st job I had
A goal for next year
Okay, so part of the tag is that I can't explain all of the pictures, but you sort of get the idea- so now it's your turn: Es, Tina, Jen, Jamie, and Laura- have fun!!

Chapter 41

Last week I was "Single Mom" and I hated it! Dana had two games on Monday and Tuesday, so he didn't get home until after bedtime, and then he was in DC from Weds till 2am Saturday (Sunday) morning! Needless to say, I was at the end of my rope doing everything everyday! I love my kids, and we did have some fun, but it was hard doing all things for all people in this house! I am so glad Dana doesn't travel! I miss him when he is gone, not just because of the kids, but because I miss his physical presence. I don't mind sleeping alone, in fact Celeste slept with me, but I don't get much with her in bed. Last night I put up the gate so she stays in her room! It was not fun hearing her cry for me, but it was only twice, and I let her in when Dana left and she went right back to sleep. But besides that, I just realized that I could not do this parenting thing alone for long! That was long enough! I felt like I was always relying on others, which is not always comfortable to do for me, and I had to be at 12 places at once! That wasn't fun, either.
BUT, despite my grumpiness of being the single parent, we did manage to have some fun without Daddy this week, and this included:

-GiGi coming in from California and spending a couple days with us!
-Going to the park - twice for Alex's practice, and the girls on the playground!
-Going to Easton and Bob Evans with GiGi! (Always a treat!)
-Made and ate an entire strawberry pie! (We took one to Jennifer, too)
-Alex get a sleepover at his school on Friday! (With a new sleeping bag from Grandma!)
-I got my haircut! (always love that!)
-The girls and I slept overnight at Grandma's house Friday! (Grandma's house is the best!)
-The girls got to play at Aunt Stephanie's house with her cousins on Saturday!
-We went to a baptism for our friend, Devon on Saturday with many of our old friends!
-Mommy ran the 5K downtown with family and friends!
-Leah had dance pictures taken! (Wait till you see the pink!)
-We ate ice cream everynight! (Leah's choice: Birthday Bash ice cream!)

So, see, it wasn't all bad! Especially when you top it off with ice cream cones each night!! Here are a few pictures of that crazy week-




Dana is back, and it is so much better, and we actually sat around and did very little Sunday and Monday! It was so nice! I actually got to go to the store alone which was even better, and now we can gear up for another busy weekend- but this time we can divide and conquer! Thank goodness! Oh, and Dana brought me home a new Coach purse and matching wallet from DC- it is perfect!

Race for the Cure

Today I ran my first ever 5K! It was so amazing, and I am feeling very good right now! Today was the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure and a record number of over 42,000 people participated in it! Can you believe that?! That is amazing! I felt so overwhelmed at times, and quite emotional, too...it was exhilarating to be a part of something so spectacular, and so rewarding. I got to feel a bit of that spirit and feel like I gave a part of me to this cause. I am grateful for this experience, and look forward to supporting this great cause again and again!

So, the day started out a little cool, so I was layered up, but by the start of the race, the sun shone bright and it got warm! I was pleasantly suprised, and despite weather forecasts of lots of rain throughout the day, we never got any! That was amazing too! I was a bit nervous for this run, I must admit, but once I got going, it was okay...I ran with Stephanie and Ron (a guy my Aunt Lori works with), and I let them run ahead for a time, since I was feeling a tad overwhelmed and needed a minute or two by myself. (I was also exhausted, so the reprieve was good, too!). Here we are at the beginning, with my cousin, Michael, who left us in the dust, and ran nearly 10 minutes faster than us!- That's okay, we understand, why would he want to run with 2 thirty-somethings?- when he is just a baby of 18!!! We couldn't keep up with him if we tried, so we didn't!!This was taken when we were at the 6 minute mile starting line...as if!!! We started with the 8 minute mile runners...yeah, didn't quite make that, either! It was both Stephanie and my first race ever! I convinced her to run, and she never stopped, I was impressed- she was fantastic!

After the race began, it took about two minutes before we made it to the start, so it was easy going then, but it did get harder, and I was tired by 1.5 miles! I was only half way- this couldn't be happening! But I didn't stop!! I kept going till mile 2- then by 2. something, I slowed a bit and tried to absorb all around me- seriously, it was so thrilling and so full of emotion, everywhere. There were bands playing all over, there were cheerleaders, there were crowds of strangers rooting on everyone! I felt like I had my own personal cheerleader nearly the whole time! From about 2.5 on to 3, I got a surge of energy from all the Harley Davidson Bikers that lined the last leg of half mile- they had their engines revving for us, and probably 150 hands out to slap as you ran by, and I hit nearly every one of them! I was in awe- so many Harley men out on their bikes wearing some piece of pink! I loved it! They kept me going, and if it weren't for them, I probably would've been walking by this point! They saved me! All of a sudden, I see the huge clock running and I realize I am at the end!

33:20 was my official time!

If you take off the starting slow down, it was a tad better, but I am happy nonetheless! I usually run a mile in 9:30 on my tread, but outside with this crowd, I was off, but hey, it was fun! I am actually looking forward to doing one again, soon, perhaps! I loved it! I really did, though I do have to work on staying running for the whole time. If it weren't so darn emotional, I probably wouldn't have slowed down, but I really needed to regroup, for myself.

Here are some pictures of the crowds, and the unreal amount of people in that space!

These are a little blurry because I was actually running when I took these, but you get the idea!

This is Team Lori!! My Aunt, the one in the pink shirt, kneeling in front, is a survivor of over a year!! Everyone in this group did the 5K walk, except Stephanie, Ron, Michael, and me (who isn't in this, since I am taking it!). What love and support for her from all these individuals, for her, just goes to show you what an amazing person my Aunt is- we love her and are so happy she is doing so well! I told her we are already gearing up for Team Lori 2009- and my kids want to participate too! She is inspiring!

This is a view of just the 5K walkers! Seriously, this is simply amazing!This is me after the race, (pay no attention to the sweat and crazy hair)- though do notice the smile, since the race was over!- my signs of Celebration for Lori and my sign in Memory for Peggy. They and so many others that I know and love, this one was for you! And at the end, this is Stephanie, Ron and I...our first 5K completed and in record time!! Check out the sun behind us! It was a perfect day for a run, and even the breeze was nice- we couldn't have asked for a better day- one to remember!

To other survivors I know and love: my grandmother, my aunt Barb, Vickie, Sherry.

Statistics show 1 in 8 women will be affected by Breast Cancer. That is a staggering statistic, so the money raised in this race will help find a cure- so race on!

Throwback Thursday!

Okay, since I made everyone laugh so much with the Prom pictures a few weeks ago, I thought you deserved another hilarious post, so here are some fun pictures of me from High School. I can already hear your laughter, so keep it up- it makes me feel good to know that you are not laughing at me, just with me,- or is it the other way around?! :)

These are from 1992, my Senior year, fall football season- I know, I know, what were we thinking?! Just so you know, WE LOOKED GOOD! Or, at least that's what WE thought! See, I wasn't the only one with HUGE hair, mine sort of looks tame in comparison to those around me! This was Homecoming game!

This one was 1991, my Junior year, and apparently my hair was bigger then- standing next to me on my left, your right, is Renee, my BFF and Christy, is the other one in the white jacket, and Aimee in between. She became the Homecoming Queen that year- man, that was forever ago...
Did you get your belly laugh in? Weren't we smokin' hot back then?! I know you are jealous, aren't you? Those were fun times...if only we were all still that size! Where did the time go? Oh, I know, 15 years, 3 kids later, that's where! Enjoy!!