123!

**That is how many miles I have ran since starting my training a little over 2 mo. ago. I added it up last night and couldn't believe it. If I never run another mile in my life, I would be happy about that-ha! But, I still have 3 weeks of training left until my Mini on April 19! So, there will be many more miles in my future...I hope, anyways! I had to offically retire my super-duper tennis shoes today and order a new pair. I can't wait to get them and break them in...I am sure they will make me SUPER fast! hahaha! (yeah, right!)

**I also ran my first ever REAL race Saturday morning. I ran track for a few years in middle school/high school and I participated in charity run/walks over the years, but this was the first race that I trained for and set out to RUN...for a time! I was scheduled to run a 10K, but once I saw the weather, I decided 5K would be good enough..ha! It was pouring rain and freezing cold, but I LOVED it. Now I know why running is so addicting. It sure isn't because it's 'fun,' at least not in my opinion..haha! However, I loved everything about the race. I love a good challenge and running is NOT something that I am naturally good at, so this has all been a big challenge for me. I like to try something, master it and move on, but running is not at all like that. I think I could run for the rest of my life and never be a 'runner!' Anyways, I was pleased with how I did. I knew I was hanging around the middle of the pack, and that was my goal. We got our results in yesterday and I finished 55th over all, and 22nd over all for the women. There were about 140 people running the 5K, so I will happily take that! :) The winner was a high schooler that finished in 16 min!!! HOLY COW! That's insanity to me! haha! For those of you familiar with the area, the winner was LEAVING Horner Park as I was entering....hahaha!

Prayer Request!

A dear friend of mine had a baby last week and yesterday morning they discovered he needed emergency surgery because his intestines were twisted. While doing the surgery they also had to remove his appendix. He is recovering under the watchful eye and care of a great medical staff, but of course, his family is very upset, worried, etc. If you could say a prayer for Kyle and the Watson family, I would greatly appreciate it! :)

Ladies and Gentlemen...

Meet Bebo, the crazed robin that is obsessed with getting into our home...haha!

I snuck and got a picture of Scott trying to block the window (which I am NOT against, by the way..haha!, I just don't want him to shoot the bird).

Bebo's response.....'thanks, for the extra perch, Dude!'

So, he was knocking AGAIN this morning. Why do you think a bird would be doing this? It's so weird, and it is starting to freak me out a little...is he trying to warn us of something...haha! Yeah, so I can be a little over dramatic at times. He's probably just an idiot bird that is trying to fly into our basement. haha!

Awesome Day!

This Thursday was PACKED full of fun. My Mom came in town early that morning and got to go with us to Abby's first gymnastics class. It was SO stinkin' cute. I am ready to reserve a place in the 2020 Olympic games...hahaha! She LOVED it, and, if I do say so, she is quite good. The coaches were even impressed. She did everything they asked of her, and I was VERY impressed, too. She would swing herself over on the bars and kick things off of them (they would set things on them to see if she could kick them off). They asked her if she could walk a balance beam, NOT one on the floor. It was raised a bit (insert me having a heart attack here-ha). She waltzed right across it and then JUMPED off the end of it. They were cracking up. Then they wanted to see if she could balance something on her head and walk it...she did. Then they put things on the beam for her to jump over...did it no problem. Then they had her use a hula hoop as a jump rope almost and jump through the hoop while she walked it, and SHE DID IT! I almost fell out. I was so proud of her. She was flipping every where, LOVED the trampolines, was doing her little hand stands all by herself!! The coaches said that she is a little natural, that she was willing to try everything, she followed directions wonderfully and that she was very respectful the whole time. (and, they think she is an absolute doll!!! :) It was too cute. I am so glad Mom got to see it all, too! I will try to get pictures at some point.

**Anyways, after gymnastics we went to lunch at the Bread Company, then home for some more fun. We took a walk down to the water, so Abby could feed the ducks and fish. It was such a nice day!

That night, Scott and I had tickets to Cirque Dreams, Jungle Fantasy! We got to do to dinner first and then the show. It was AMAZING!! I think I was more amazed by the athletes than the actual show. They have NO fat...anywhere...haha! I think the average percent of body fat for the entire cast is maybe 1%. It was an awesome show.

**Thanks, for coming to keep the girls, Mom! We appreciate it more than we could ever express!! And, I know they loved every min. of it, too!

These Crazy Girls!

Just some cute pics to share....


Abby was dying to go outside the other day, and it was a little chilly and getting ready to rain. I told her that if we went out, she had to bundle up. She went in her room for a minute and came out and said, 'I'm ready!' hahaha! I am digging the sock-glove!

And, this is how I find Olivia after every nap.....

happy and half-naked! haha! I don't know how she gets undressed, but she does. I am assuming she just kicks the snaps open. Who knows with her! :)

Olivia and I got invited to a VERY SPECIAL tea party the other day....Abby's Tea Party, and boy was it a good one. She even put on her 'very best clothes' for us!

What a delightful hostess! She even had food for Olivia....the chicken leg! ha!

Abby is always planning tea parties, wrapping gifts for people, etc. She is such a sweet and giving little girl. She always wants to give gifts and make things for people, and when we have 'parties' there is always a seat for EVERYONE that we know. She is truly such a thoughtful little thing. I just love it!

Our new pet!

So, we have had a robin pecking on our dowstairs window for a week now. Abby LOVES this bird. Everytime we hear him, we go running down to see him. He's not stuck, he just likes to fly down in the egress window and tap. She even named him Bebo. I have been trying like crazy to get a picture of him, but he flies off when we get too close. Sure, it's annoying at times. One morning I thought it was Abby and I went into her room and she was sound asleep, and Mom did the same thing this morning, but other than that, he's a pleasant little addition to the home--haha! Mom and Abby even left him food yesterday. Fast forward to this morning, he was knocking on the window and Scott grubles, 'I'm gonna shoot that bird!' I respond, 'Whatever!' and roll back over and go to sleep. However, I wake up this morning and see that Scott had the pellet gun out, waiting for him. WHAT! So, here is my official warning dear husband of mine....IF YOU SHOOT THAT BIRD THAT OUR DAUGHTER LOVES, YOU BETTER RUN BECAUSE I WILL HAVE A PELLET IN YOUR ASS NEXT!

End note!

(And, yes...the DISCLAIMER I have to put on here, since some people that don't know us might not have a sense of humor, I will not TRULY shoot my husband in the ass with a pellet gun, it's just a warning...however, if he does shoot the bird, he will pay dearly for it in some manner, probably monetary, as I might just go out and buy her a nice new pet bird to keep in the house...hahahaha!)

Rainy Day!

What to do on a rainy day?? Arts and crafts, of course! :)

Abby and Nanny collected some pine cones, so we painted them today.
Very nice, Abby! :)

And, Olivia...being Olivia! haha! This is the GOOFIEST child I have ever seen. It is so crazy how different she is from Abby. Abby was and is always so cautious, makes sure every situation is to her liking before proceeding-ha!, never has or did put anything in her mouth, chew on things, etc. Olivia, on the other hand, is OUT OF CONTROL! She is into EVERYTHING, everything goes straight into her mouth. She tries to steal all our food, drink, anything we are holding. She is fast and just goes! We had to drop her crib to almost the lowest level, because it was just a matter of time before she got out. Abby never climed out of her crib, and I think Olivia will be attempting it before she's 1! haha! She is just so silly and fun. She's going to be one of those people whose life is a party everyday! I just love it. She acts so much like my sister, and that is a VERY VERY good thing! :) I would have it no other way! She will crawl/scoot onto her Boppy and flip on her back so she can hang upside down over it...that is her favorite thing to do these days! ha!

Abby isn't in preschool, yet. For one, she is a Decemeber baby, so she still has 2 full years before she starts Kindergarten, and she is involved in so many other activites, we just haven't been in a hurry to start her, yet. However, I try to make sure we do lots of learning activities. Nothing big, just activities that we work into our day. Yesterday, we learned about mixing colors to make other colors. She loved it. Her favorite was yellow and blue make green. I think she used the entire bottle of blue and yellow paint.

***Funny Abby story: We have also been working on opposites. The other day we were at the park and she took off, then turned around to me and said, 'come on, Mom....I am fast and you are slow!' haha! Thanks, Abby.

This picture cracks me up. I have seen pictures of Scott as a baby with this EXACT look on his face! haha!

Silly girl! She is so sweet, too. If we say, 'awwww, Sweet Baby!' she will lay her little head down on us and love on us. A couple of times she has even laid her head on me and said, 'awwww' herself. She is babbling ma-ma-ma, and da-da-da now. And, I know I am crazy, but I swear she has tried and come close to saying Abby and few times. Wouldn't surprise me, as she is SO in love with her big sister and I am sure she hears that word 1billion times a day..ha!

And, another Abby story, while I am thinking of it:

***We were at my in-laws this past weekend and Goggy, Scott's Dad, and Abby were picking little holly berries and throwing them at each other, etc. Well, she came over and told everyone, 'Goggy threw those apples at my head....I am going to knock that boy into tomorrow!' haha!

Hat Ladies!

A friend of my mother in law's made these hats for the girls. They are so cute. Of course, Abby wanted NOTHING to do with them, but she finally humored us and put them on so I could get some pics!


They look like two little old ladies in this picture! ha!

Don't look so happy, girls! haha!

Awe...sister snuggle time! :)

I hate that she has a pacifier in her mouth, but I love this picture of her!

Soaking up the Sun!

The weather has been absolutely PERFECT the past few days. Sunday was ground breaking day for many of our outside projects: landscaping, MORE trench digging-ha!, painting, staining the fence, etc. We are pretty sure Abby handled at least 75 earth worms that day, and she said she even kissed two of them...haha!

Monday we met our friends at the park and played for a few hours.

After the park, we went to get ice cream. Olivia is such a little celebrity among all the kiddos. It's so sweet!

Yesterday we pretty much played outside all day! It was so beautiful. Olivia had lots of big out door firsts! :) Sitting like a big girl in her strollers. We took a little walk to the water in the double stroller!

First time in her swing! Abby was SO excited for her! :) Olivia loved it!

Pure Joy on the face of your kiddo...nothing better!

Giving Olivia a little push!

Early stages of landscaping!

Sitting like a big girl in her other stroller!...watching Abby, her favorite thing to do! :)

And, this is when things got REALLY fun. ha! Abby was dying to have Olivia ride in the jeep with her. Obviously, we weren't going to let that happen. So, she started pulling things. One idea led to antoher and this is what came next! DISCLAIMER (in case strangers read this blog): I had control of the stroller at all times, the jeep goes about 1mph, NO ONE WAS IN ANY DANGER. haha!

Hold on, Olivia!

Toting her little sister! Yay! haha!

Not to be out done by Abby....

Olivia has some athletic skills of her own! Check out these planks and push-ups! That's one tough baby! haha!

And, a super sweet baby, too! She loves putting on a show for us. The more people watching her, the better and the more she hams it up.

'hee..hee, catch me if you can!'

Sisterly Love!!! I keep wondering when the fun of having Olivia will wear off for Abby, but so far she still just gushes over her and loves her so much. Today she told me that Olivia was her best friend!...I hope she is still saying that in 30yrs. :)

Happy Birthday, Scott!

Scott's Birthday was Saturday. He was the big 32! We had a nice, relaxing. Abby and I made him a birthday banner and got him some goodies, baked brownies and for dinner we grilled mushroom/swiss burgers and I made some pasta salad and turkey queso. YUMMY!


Abby working on his banner! :)
We let him sleep in. Abby was SO excited when he finally got up (he only slept until 8:30, but it felt like all day to her-ha!)

She had to put on her birthday finest for the candle blowing and singing!

Happy Birthday!!

I love this picture of them! (Olivia managed to sleep through it all! I am sure by next year she will be just as excited as Abby!)

And, Abby is NOT a fan of brownies! haha!