THANK YOU VETERANS!

Our school has a tradition of honoring veterans.  Yesterday, we had over 20 veterans and their guests join us for breakfast at school.  The students then presented a short program which included patriotic songs and poems and prayers for the veterans.  Each veteran was given personal recognition and a small gift.  When you compare what we do for them and what they did for us, there is no comparison at all.  It is a privilege to have these men and women as our guests and be able to show our students (including my own kids) the importance of saying thank you.  Some of the veterans at our school program have told us that they have never been thanked, never been honored before now.  I teach at a Christian school.  We can pray and pledge allegiance to the Bible because of all of those who serve for and protect our country.  So I am thankful, for all of the veterans, for those currently serving, for those who gave their lives, for those who stood by their loved ones while they were away.  Thank you!

Last weekend, this weekend

I fear that something is wrong with my netbook.  Not good.  At some point yesterday my printer at school stopped printing, and the problem seems to be with the computer, not the printer.  Just now I tried putting my SD card into the slot to upload some pictures, and the computer isn't recognizing that there is anything there.  I'll deal with trying to figure out the problem later; that was just my long-winded excuse for why there won't be any pictures on this post even though some of the events were picture-worthy.

The weekend was all that I had hoped it would be.  We had a great time with Christa at Cocktails Curing Cancer (yes, I have a picture of us there).  On Saturday, it was rainy and cold, but I managed to run a bunch of errands, freeze a huge pot of applesauce, and get the house into order somewhat.  That evening, JD and I took the crew to the bowling alley after I was inspired to do so by my favorite blogger.  JD and the kiddos bowled while I followed Quin around and kept him off the lanes (I have bowling pictures).  We took a trip to the mall afterwards in a search for fall church shoes/boots for Ryley.  We finally found a decent pair of shoes that fit her after visiting numerous stores.

The weekend was followed by a busy week with soccer practice for Ryley and Zeke, Taekwondo for Zeke, staff meeting for me, soccer game for the big kids, and numerous other things.  I have a longer-than-I-want-it-to-be to-do list for this weekend.  I'll let you know how far I get with it.


To do:  go grocery shopping, get caught up on school work, conquer Mt. Laundry, clean bedroom, balance the checkbook, do some form of exercise, do something fun outside with kids (It's supposed to be beautiful this weekend!), and read a book.  I guess I better get started.

Thursday Thoughts

1.  I need sleep!  I realized at 7:50 that I could be in bed by 8:00.  The boys are sleeping, Ryley is reading in bed, and JD is at the shop replacing something in his truck (I'm not sure what, but it causes a puddle of something on the garage floor every morning.)  But then I decided to check facebook one last time, then to see if it was my turn on any of the online Scrabble games I'm playing with distant relatives, and finally my email.  The email slowed me down from shutting my eyes by 8:00 as I had some funny ones from my colleagues.  Speaking of which...

2.  I love my job.  I love that I am friends with my fellow teachers and with most of the parents of my students.  I love that we're a small school and everyone knows everyone else.  I love that I don't dread going to work every morning.  I love that I get to see two, and someday three, of my kids throughout the day even though they are at school and I am at work.  (I am already nervous about how it will go when they are both in my class though...)

3.  I'm excited for the weekend.  Tomorrow afternoon we have in-service and get to learn about how to align the new Common Core standards with our student objectives.  I'm not jumping up and down about that.  I'm looking forward to attending Cocktails Curing Cancer in the evening though.  You can read more about that on my awesome-cancer surviving-half marathon running-friend Christa's blog.  I'll be supporting her in a walk (American Cancer Society- Making Strides) next month.  I haven't done a lot of fundraising because I H-A-T-E asking people for money, but I do believe it's for a necessary cause as we all know someone who has been affected by breast cancer, so if you feel led to help raise money to find a cure, let me know, and I will let you know how you can donate.  Also, if anyone is in the area, and would like to walk, we'd love to have more people on our team!

8:30- Eyelids are drooping.  Goodnight!

Once Upon a Time

Once upon a time, I felt like I had time to blog every once in awhile.  Along with the summer, that time is gone.  School happened.  When the end of August rolled around, it was not only time to get the smallest members of my crew onto a new schedule, it also meant a very different day for me as well.  During the summer, we generally slept until 8:30. Well, most of us did.  JD was the exception. Sleeping until 8:30 meant that I could stay up pretty late and be in decent shape the next day.  Now my alarm goes off at 5:30, and I'm up at 5:45 at the latest.  My early mornings are not because I'm a high maintenance girl, although a shower every morning is a must.  The early rising is because I have to get myself and three kids, including a 13 month old out the door by 6:45 in order to get the littlest guy to his babysitter (who we love, but lives out of the way) and then to school by my teacher start time of 7:30.  It's going okay.  We've made it to school on time every day.  I'm going to bed earlier and trying to be super organized.  I make lunches the night before, set out clothes for everyone, make sure soccer gear is packed, etc.  The kids have been going to bed earlier which gives me time to work on school stuff.  I'm trying to be more school-organized this year also.  I'm currently up-to-date on all of my grading and planning.  I hope I can say the same every week!  JD has been working like a madman.  It means less family time, but also less stress about getting bills paid.  He was laid off from the job he has now 3 years ago, and as I remember how tough that time was, I'm thankful he has work that he enjoys even though we don't see him as much as we'd like to.

One Week Later... The weather in VT has been beautiful.  By nature, I'm usually cold and winter is not my friend.  It's been in the 70's all week, and I love that I can still wear short-sleeved tops without getting goosebumps.  We had a great weekend which started off with becoming an aunt for the first time on my side of the family.  My new nephew was born 6 weeks early; he is doing well considering his size.  He lives out of state, so it may be awhile before I get to meet him in person, but we get lots of pictures via texting and facebook.  Saturday was spent shopping in Burlington with my mom, cleaning house, and ending with a low key evening with friends.  After church on Sunday, we went down to Rutland for a VT wedding reception of the Florida wedding we attended in April.  Ian and Nikki rented a bounce house and the kids had a blast.  I wish I had taken pictures of the decorations; Nikki is very talented and her ideas are the kinds of things I find (and love) on pinterest (one of my latest addictions).  All in all, we had a fantastic fall weekend!

It's time to post before another week goes by.

County Fair

By January, when the excitement of Christmas has worn off, Zeke begins asking when the fair is going to be. We pass by the fairgrounds often, and without fail, we hear his question. Ryley usually pipes up with a not-so-nice response that it's not until August. August has become a big month for us in the past few years. It means the fair, Quin's birthday, and Zeke's birthday. This year, it also included our Fresh Air visitor from Brooklyn and a camping trip.

So, back to the fair. The first full week of August means county fair, the largest agricultural fair in Vermont. The fair, affectionately known as Field Days, is only a few miles away. I've noticed that the people who love Field Days the most are those who grew up here, who have memories of piling into an old wood paneled Station Wagon, trying to be the first to notice the lights of the Ferris wheel, those who have memories of watching the same events over 20 years ago.

The fair means demolition derbies, tractor pulls, candy apples, horse and cow shows, carnival rides and games, corn boxes (think sand box with kernels of corn instead of sand), rainbow ice, free chocolate milk, children's barnyard, maple milkshakes, fried bread dough, bloomin' onions, more jogging strollers than you've ever seen in one place, and so much more.

JD and I started hanging out at the fair 12 years ago. A large group of young people were hanging around the FFA food booth, when all of a sudden, everyone disappeared, either to the "pit" to finish getting their cars ready for the demo derby, or to the cow barns to take care of their cattle. Only JD and I were left, and the rest is history.

We love the fair, the kids love the fair, and I'll sign off with some pictures of the fair.

Ryley's fair experience obviously included horses.
She was able to ride in a cart class behind my aunt's horse, Macey.
I think I have a horse-lover on my hands!

Zeke loved the rides, stilts, farm equipment, and ice cream cones.

And Quin loved corn, freedom from his stroller, and Caroline!

Camping Trip #1

The morning after returning from Maine, I began unpacking and repacking. Our next destination was a state park about 20 minutes away where we'd be camping for 3 nights. For the most part, it would be 4 moms and 17 kids (with some of the dad joining us in the evenings). It was crazy, fun, and I'd do it all over again. The days were spent swimming in the pool and biking around the campground. The weather was beautiful, the kids were well-behaved, and the skunk didn't spray anything/one!

Mom of 4 Kids, Mom of 5 Kids, Mom of 5 Boys, Me
Baby JJ was our youngest camper at 4 months

Instead of planning meals for the 20+ of us, we separated into two groups for all meals which worked really well. Julia and I camped together last summer, so we planned meals for our families. Melissa and Sarah joined us this year, and took care of theirs.

All 4 families are represented here--Lots of little blondies!

Next camping trip is less than 2 weeks ago!

The Anniversary Post

10 years. We made it. Next goal- 20 years! JD and I recently celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary. We had a low key today which included calls from all of my siblings, most of them joking that they couldn't believe JD had put up with me that long. We took the kids out to the local creemee stand as we'd be leaving them for the weekend. The next morning, we headed to Maine. I had never been, and JD hadn't been since he was a kid. We had a great time outlet shopping, going to the beach, checking out different little towns on the coast, eating seafood, and even mini-golfing. It was really nice to be free from responsibility, but we were both ready to come home after we'd been gone for two nights.

10 years have brought many changes. When we got married I was 20 and still in college. My dad was alive and wheeled me down the aisle. He passed away 8 years ago. JD has had a few different jobs, but is now back with the same company he was with when we were dating. We've lived in an apartment and three different houses, three different towns. We have three kids that we're responsible for. Some things are the same; JD is still my best friend. Marriage is hard work, and things haven't always been easy, but it has truly gotten better with time and I love him more than ever.

Making Memories

It was about 4:30 p.m. and I was getting antsy. I asked JD if he wanted to go for a bike ride (we went for a short one last year, but otherwise haven't gone in about 7 years). He thought it was too hot. I didn't; it was in the 70s today after several days with temps in the 90s. I decided to take the kids and go anyway. We would go as far as we could and then call JD to come pick us up. I texted a friend, not sure that it was a brilliant idea to attempt this on my own; she couldn't come, so it was just me and my crew. Ryley and Zeke both learned to ride bikes last year. They still have wreckcidents every so often, but they're pretty steady. They really only bike on the short road we live on and when we go camping; an actual ride on the road is something we had never attempted. Quin had never been on a bike, but we have a pretty cool bike seat that I bought when Ryley was a babe, and I was quite sure that he'd enjoy the ride. JD put some more air in my tires, as my bike hasn't been touched since last year's August camping trip the week before Quin was born. We donned helmets and off we went. The first part of the ride was downhill as we live on the end of a mountain (biggest reason I was glad this was a one-way ride). We were on a dirt road, and only met one car (and two tractors). The kids did great. We reached the neighboring town and I convinced them to walk their bikes up the rest of the hill that we stopped at. We turned onto another dirt road and kept going. I rode between the two kids, so that I could yell to either one if I needed them to stop or stay to the side of the road. We got to a point where I realized they could easily make it to the next town, and we did. JD was shocked at how far we had gone, about 6.5 miles. (I know that isn't high mileage for some, but for me and a 5 and 7 year old, it was.) He met us at the market and got the kids slushies. (I hadn't planned on us making it too far, originally, so I had half a bottle of Vitamin Water with.) Quin did great also; he dozed for part of the ride and checked out the scenery for the rest. We didn't hear a sound out of him. I'm not sure when we'll do this again, and there really isn't another route we can try without taking the kids on the main, shoulder-less road, but even if it doesn't happen soon, I know that it was a great experience for them. I know it's something they won't forget and can already hear them saying, "Remember when we biked to .... " It's about being with your family, doing things together, and making memories.
Unfortunately, I failed to take any pictures.

Blogless Summer

It's been about a month since school got out and about a month since I blogged. You would think that I would have more time to do things with no job to run to in the morning and keep me occupied throughout the day, but that hasn't been the case. Life as a "stay-at-home mom" is busy, and we rarely actually stay at home. We started the summer with a road trip to Michigan for a family reunion. It was the first time that I attempted to take the kids in the car for a distance of more than 2.5 hours. It was a long ride, but thanks to borrowed DVDs, the big kids did great. Quin wasn't quite as content and has put up a fuss about being strapped in his car-seat ever since the drive home. I don't think he thought he'd ever get out of that seat.
We've spent time at various pools and beaches. It's been a warm VT summer with temps in the 90s this week. Our most exciting beach day was spent trying to outrun a storm on Lake George in New York. It was the 4th of July and we spent the day with friends and their two kids on the beach and then took their boat on the lake. A storm came up out of nowhere, and we tried to head back through it to get off the lake, but with high winds blowing rain and bits of hail sideways, Dave couldn't see, so we turned around and headed further south. We spent about an hour trying to stay ahead of it. The waves were about 3 feet, the rain was coming down, and I was a little worried, not that we'd die, but that we'd end up in the lake. The adults all donned life-jackets, the kids were curled up on the floor, and we just kept heading south with about two dozen other boats, including a coast guard-pulled-boat that had taken on too much water and sank. It eventually calmed, we found a place to get gas and use the bathroom, and then we headed north on a much more peaceful lake. It doesn't seem so bad now, but at the time it was scary, especially having five kids, including a baby with us.
Along with fun, their has been work. I've been painting, staining, and laying down flooring. The painting is hundreds of linear feet of trim for our new garage, the staining is trim for Quin's new bedroom, and the flooring is also for the bedroom. I'm looking forward to the completion of these projects, but know that there will just be more to follow.
Today is Saturday, and I may or may not try to hit a few garage sales this morning. I'm currently undecided.

Fathers Day Facebook Statuses

My sister: Dear God, Please give my dad a grizzly bear hug for me, let him drive some tractors around, and cook him a bratwurst or two. Please make sure he knows how much he is missed by his kids, and family! And tell him his little girl loves him to the moon and back! Amen.

A brother: wish'n heaven wasn't so far a away...miss ya dad!

Another brother: Two old country songs come to mind every Fathers Day, Daddys hands by Holly Dunn and Love with out end Amen by George Strait. Although his time on earth was cut short, it was part of God's perfect plan. We struggle to understand that plan, but the promises that lie before us that we will meet again is a promise we all look forward to.

A cousin: Missing you today Dad! Wish you were here...thankful for all you taught me to be.

A cousin-in-law: It's so wonderful to celebrate Father's Day - to recognize Dads for all of their hard work, dedication to their families and all of their love. Happy Father's Day Dads. BUT it's hard to see the ones that suffer each year without their fathers. Everything about the day reminds them of their Dad and how they don't get to spend the day with him. Sorry to everyone who is missing their Daddy today. Love and Hugs.

A friend: Today is a hard day as I miss my dad. Even though I will never understand why he was taken from us so soon I have over the past few years become a stronger person. I have also realized how blessed I am to have a loving husband, family and friends. So this morning I will celebrate in church-a place that was important to my dad. Happy Father's Day everyone!

Things I love

It's raining out. Again. I'm stuck inside with mountains of laundry waiting to be folded, carpets covered with dog hair in desperate need of a good vacuum, and clutter that should be cleared off the counters and table and put in its rightful place. Instead of getting started on my long to-do list, I'm sitting here and enjoying the peace. All of my boys are sleeping at 3 in the afternoon. This never happens. Quin is napping because he's a baby and that's what they do. Zeke is napping because he's exhausted from the busy week we've had and fell asleep on the way home from town. JD is napping because he has worked incredibly long days all week, including working 8 hours this morning before 1 p.m. Ryley is playing quietly in the toy room.

When it's quiet, you hear things that you normally don't pay attention to. I hear the the rain dripping off of the roof, a neighbor using an excavator, our bunny, Ruby, making some kind of racket in her cage, and every so often, a car traveling down on the main road. It's kind of nice to enjoy the sounds I usually don't listen for.

I've added some pictures of my family doing things that I love.

I love that Zeke loves his little brother and that they can even sometimes "play" together. I love how Ryley is such a big help with Quin, and can even feed him if necessary.

I love looking out the window and seeing this.

I love that my girl loves animals as much as her dad and doesn't just put up with them like I do.

I love my baby's smile, how happy he is when I wrap him in a towel, and how proud he is of every new thing he figures out, like how to sit on the hearth.

I love little fires on the patio and making s'mores.

Memorial Day

Memorial Day 2011

Ryley walked.

Zeke rode.

Quin slept.

I pushed.

JD watched.

I love these kids!

Ten summers ago, I was just married and living in a little 3rd story apartment.

Now I have all of this!

Zeke and Ryley enjoyed Slush Puppies after a long walk/ride in the parade.

Ryley carried a banner for our school and walked the entire parade route.

Zeke rode on the float with his buddies and threw candy.

Quin slept through most of the parade, but was adorable anyway.






When we got home, JD hauled the kiddie pool out of the basement.
Summer has arrived in Vermont!

I'm tired and can't think of a good title.

Thanks to a five year old who unknowingly chewed on my power cord to the point where it no longer is able to charge my netbook, I was without a computer for awhile. I forgave him, finally made it to Burlington to buy a new one ($80. Ouch.), and no longer have an excuse not to blog, except for the fact that these are the final days of school, and I've been extremely busy. I hope to post pictures from Memorial Day weekend within the next day or so!

A Blur

This weekend was a blur. I left school Friday afternoon, and before I knew it, it was Monday morning and I was back. Friday evening was Book Club. It was a fabulous evening of delicious food (thanks to our hostess, Becky), wine, and conversation. We didn't talk about the book very much other than to say that we all enjoyed it. I got home late to a sleeping husband and sleeping kids. Quin woke up way to early, and the other kiddos joined him shortly afterwards. JD was working, so I packed up the kiddos and we headed to a community yard sale at a nearby school. We didn't get any fantastic deals, but I did get some clothes for Quin, some trains for our wooden Thomas set, some old school Nintendo games, and books for all of us. It poured as we drive home, and it was nice to pull into our newly built garage and not get soaked. Next, we were off to Truck Day at a local church. The rain held off for the rest of the day, and the kids enjoyed being with their friends, checking out trucks and farm equipment of all kinds, going for a hayride, and eating popcorn and hot dogs. By the time we got home, JD was there, and he put me to work shoveling gravel. For a few hours, we worked on the lean-to that is attached to our garage and will hold our firewood for next winter. Then it was off to Lowe's (for some garage items) and Burger King (for a quick dinner and play time on the playground for the kids). Sunday was also full with church, family dinner, visit to JD's grandmother, cremees with friends, and more. All of a sudden it was Sunday night, and I had to switch gears and finish some reading for school. Now I'm counting down the days until next weekend which will include a wedding, a bbq at our house, and the largest Memorial Day parade in the state!

Fresh Air Fund

"Since 1877, The Fresh Air Fund has been giving inner-city children the joy of a summer vacation with volunteer host families and at Fund camps, creating unforgettable memories and fresh possibilities."

When I was growing up here in rural Vermont, some of my younger friends had Fresh Air sisters. Kristin had Latoya, and Micah had Felicia. I only had brothers at the time and really wanted a Fresh Air sister, but because my mom worked long hours as a nurse, and my dad was often busy in the fields or the barn, we were never able to invite a Fresh Air child to stay with us. Even then, I hoped to have the chance to be a host mom as an adult.

Ryley is 7 now, and like me at that age, she doesn't have a sister. When I mentioned having a Fresh Air sister this summer, she was definitely on board and stayed on my case about contacting someone. This week, we filled out the applicaton and interviewed with the Fresh Air Fund coordinator in this area who also happens to be the mom of one of my students. Being home in the summer gives me the perfect opportunity to participate in this program. We plan on hosting for 10 days in August and are looking forward to hearing about the little girl that we've been matched with! I'm praying that we are matched with a child that will blend into our family fairly smoothly, and that we can continue inviting the same child year after year and create a lasting relationship with her. The Fresh Air Fund is looking for many more host families for this summer...

Failure to Run

I've set my alarm to get up early on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday (today). I still haven't run. I have very good reasons (excuses).

Monday- I didn't sleep well. I made the mistake of napping for about an hour on Sunday afternoon even though I know that causes me to have a hard time falling asleep. I was still awake at two. I shut the alarm off and went back to sleep.

Tuesday- JD and I share an alarm clock. He hit snooze a few times, and by the time he woke me up (if he's there, I don't hear the alarm), I didn't have time to get much of a run in, so I went back to sleep.

Wednesday- I woke up in plenty of time and got enough sleep. I had a headache, but was going to force myself to run anyway. I went to grab my inhaler off of the treadmill and Quin started crying. He was my excuse this morning.

I plan on being creative with my reason (excuse) for not running tomorrow.

Book Club

I love to read. Since Quin was born, I haven't had too much spare time to sit and read, but I've tried to at least complete the books that have been chosen each month for Book Club. My friend Helena started Book Club (BC) about 3 1/2 years ago. A bunch of girls meet one Friday night a month (we take turns hosting) and discuss the book (a little) and life (a lot) and enjoy good food and wine. It's a fun night out, usually without kids (sometimes a baby will make an appearance) or husbands. To date, we have read the following books:

My Sister's Keeper
The Double Bind
Kite Runner
The Power of One
Water for Elephants
Observatory Mansions
Stolen Innocence
Bel Canto
The Shack
The Thirteenth Tale
Revolutionary Road
Jesus Land
Without a Net
American Wife
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Olive Kitteridge
Weight of Silence
The Help
Sarah's Key
The Neighbor
The Reliable Wife
The Lost Symbol
Same Kind of Different as Me
The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake
A Disobedient Girl
Freedom
Good Enough to Eat
Room
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet
Half Broke Horses

I'm sure I'm missing a few, and I may need some of my fellow BCers to help me out with the missing titles. Of the above, the only three I didn't finish were Observatory Mansions (I had pneumonia the week of BC, and never picked the book up again), The Lost Symbol (busy month?), and Freedom (didn't get the book on time, hope to read someday).

BC forces me to read books that I normally wouldn't. While I would have eventually picked up some of the above anyway, the majority are titles that I wouldn't have chosen, but am glad that I've read. I'm hoping to begin writing brief reviews of each book that we read (present tense) beginning with Half Broke Horses by Jeanette Walls. If you love reading and aren't part of a fabulous Book Club, you're missing out!

Don't ya just love a bargain?

Those who know me well know that I love bargains, deals, clearance racks, etc. I do a lot of shopping at garage sales, on eBay, and on Craigslist. I have gotten items off of Freecycle and from the side of the road. I like good quality brands and items, but I don't like spending a lot of money on them. Garage sale season is upon us, so the last couple of Saturdays I've packed up the kids and headed out to sales that I found out about on Craigslist. Sometimes my "deals" don't turn out to be deals afterall. Last week I bought a baseball glove for Zeke. It looked brand new, and at $2, I thought it was a pretty good buy. It turned out to be for a left-handed player. He's right-handed. Oops. This week, I bought a bunch of books, and we found a few things for Quin, including a like-new pair of Carhartts for 50 cents, which was probably my best buy. After a couple of sales I went to Agway and bought some flowers and plants for the yard. After quickly dropping over $100, I wondered why I bother shopping for bargains when trying to make my yard look nice costs a fortune and there aren't exactly clearance racks for plants. Unfortunately, I don't know enough about plants and gardening to save money by knowing when to transplant plants, separate them, or do anything else really, except water them. I guess that's a plus to the 7 days of rain that have been forecasted for this week; I won't have to water the flowers!

I ran...

...early in the morning. I did it. After refusing to get up earlier than normal, I've come to realize that if I want to run, that is when it needs to happen. I slept in my running clothes and slipped my sneakers on this morning. I was ready to head out the door for a short run at 5:30 when JD told me he was leaving in 10 minutes. What! The whole idea was that he'd still be home to be with the kids. We didn't communicate that he was leaving early for work or that I wasn't planning on staying in and using the treadmill. I almost went back to bed. Instead, I ran on the treadmill. Not too far, not too long, but better than not running at all. So far I'm feeling good and energized. Maybe getting up earlier a few days a week won't be so bad afterall.

Flashback to Florida

In April, I headed to Florida with the Crew for 9 days of beautiful sunshine. We don't travel much due to our work schedules and finances, but when we do, it's usually to Florida. We have relatives to stay with there. My mom and her husband own a condo there. It's warm there. This year, JD's step-brother was getting married there. A destination wedding which just so happened to be 20 minutes from my parents condo, on a weekend that I had off from teaching, at a time when my parents would also be there to watch the kids. Perfect. My sister, "Dolly", flew with us to Ft. Lauderdale where we stayed for three days with my aunt and uncle.

My little swimmers

The kids splashed in their pool all day long, and we were happy to watch them have fun and enjoy the warmth after the longest, snowiest Vermont winter ever. Then we drove to Ft. Myers where the condo is and the wedding would be. We stayed at The Pink Shell on Ft. Myer's Beach with JD's mom and step-dad.

Their Mama and Daddy

The welcome bbq, rehearsal dinner, and wedding/reception were all very nicely done. After the wedding we headed to the condo for three more days, which included beaches, shopping, pools, mini-golf, a sunset sail on a catamaran for the 30th birthday, and more shopping. We drove back to Ft. Lauderdale on the final day to catch our flight home.

Tips to cheaper travel: 1-Be willing to drive farther to an airport (We had a direct flight on a low budget airline out of Plattsburgh, NY). 2-If you can, rent a vehicle away from the airport (We saved $400 on our minivan by getting it off-site). 3-Don't feel like you have to go to expensive attractions (We decided not to try Disney and are glad we didn't spend the money. The kids had a blast at the beaches and mini-golfing and would have hated the lines there).

I love Florida with the kids. It's a vacation, but not a super-relaxing vacation. I think I will love Florida without them too. We're hoping to go back kid-less in the fall with friends. I'm watching airfare. :)

To run or not to run; that is the question

I decided to start the new year with a goal of getting in shape. I haven't really run since I played sports in high school and really wanted to be in shape enough to run a 5k. I started a Couch to 5K program on December 31st. It was hard to find time to run, but I did, and finished the program in time to run my first 5k at the end of March. My time wasn't great, but I was okay with that; my only goal was to finish without having to walk. It was a freezing cold day and I had many layers (including two pairs of pants) on, but I survived. I then took a few days off, and a few more, and well, I hang my head in shame as I say that I haven't run since then. And we're into our second week of May now.

Reasons I haven't run:
I don't enjoy it enough to try hard to make time for it. (I refuse to wake up any earlier, the baby needs to be asleep so I can get an uninterrupted run in, by the time that happens, or hubby is home, I'm worn out).

Okay, so I guess there is just one reason, but it's a big one: I don't love running. I do love how I feel afterwards, though, and the sense of accomplishment, and knowing that I'm doing something good for myself. I don't want to give it up. I want to love running. I want to have time to run.

I'm going to sign up for another 5k. It's at the end of June. I will have to start running soon, like tomorrow. Ryley and Zeke are playing t-ball, so I have an hour in which I can try to get a run in while they're at practice. It will mean pushing the baby around town, but I have a decent stroller and that should go okay. So here's to giving running another chance. Stay posted to hear how it goes.

I'm back!

After many busy, exhausting months, I'm back! Quin is 8 months now and life is a little easier, although busy in a different way as he's crawling around and getting into things that he shouldn't. Ry and Zeke are playing T-ball, JD switched jobs, I'm teaching full-time, summer is on it's way, and life is good!