It's been awhile! Let me catch you up!

BEWARE IT'S A BIG ONE!

In October the kids had two days off of school so we decided to pack up and spend the night at the Great Wolf Lodge. We had a great time. It is really a wonderful place for families. Good memories!

In October we have three birthdays. Me, Austin and Dad so we had one big party for all of us. As always we had a great time. We love to get together with family.

Oh and then there was Halloween! Shaylyn was a sweet little angel and Austin was a member of the Cowboys team for about the 3rd year in a row. Oh well he has all the gear!

Chance chose to go hunting with Doug so I don't have any pictures of him trick or treating this year. (he is a little old for it anyway) The kids saved him some candy. They had fun!

Shaylyn's birthday was November 15th and she decided to invite her 3 best friends Alli, Kaylie and her cousin Cierra over for cake and presents and then I took them all to Disney on Ice. They had so much fun! It was a little scarey for me to take 4 little girls by myself but they were all very good and listened to me and we had a great time. Here are a few pictures from the show.

They saw Mickey and Minnie

Goofy

Cars

Tinker Bell (which I think was there favorite)

Lion King


The Little Mermaid



A couple of weeks ago Shaylyn finally decided she was ready to get her ears pierced that is until I signed the paper work and they had the earrings in the guns. Then she had a meltdown and wanted to change her mind but we went ahead and got them done, and now she loves them and is happy she did it. She is growing up so much.

Ausitn's Football Game

This is Austin's first year of tackle football and he loves it! He loves any sport! The Graham Eagles is a great program, good coaches and good kids. He is having fun. Here are a few shots of his 3rd game. They won 32-7! They have won 2 and lost 1 so they aren't doing too bad. Good job Austin!

Emotional 5K

So today I ran in my first 5k race at Northwest Trek. Many of you know my sister Jodi started running several years ago and has done all kinds of races up to a 1/2 marathon. When I would go to see her run I would always think all those runners including her looked miserable coming to the finish line and I never thought I would actually want to enter a race. Well she said just do the 5k and try it so with no training I decided what the heck I can only improve from where I start. The first time I ever ran a full 3 miles was yesterday at the Y, and it took me 46 minutes which I didn't think was too bad for my first time. I knew I was slow but I ran 3 miles that in itself was huge for me. So today I woke up to pouring down rain and we headed out to Northwest Trek. I was so nervous to start. My biggest fear was finishing last which didn't happen so I was happy. That first mile was horrible, the second mile was ok and the 3rd mile was really emotional. I did! I ran the entire thing without stopping to walk. I wasn't fast by any means but I did improve on my time I came in at 40:02 with a 12:53 pace per mile. I did way better than I thought. I just wanted to make it in an hour. I cried as I came to the finish line it was such an awesome accomplishment for me. I never thought I would be able to run like that, and I can now only improve. I understand now when runners say that racing gets addicting. I want to tell my sister Jodi thank you for doing this with me. I am grateful for your love and support and I want you to know that you are my hero and my inspiration. I wouldn't have wanted to do this with anyone else. I also want my mom and dad to know how much I love them and are grateful for there love and support also. They are also my heros for many reasons. I couldn't have made it throught without any of them. Also without the love and support of my husband and children. I know this is a long winded post but it was a very emotional day for me and I am very grateful for all that I have been blessed with and especially for my friends and family. Oh and since it was pouring down rain we had no family there to take pictures I had them take one of me at home with my shirt and number so I have proof:)

Girly Skirts

If you have girls you have to check out my friends blog. She makes the most adorable little skirts. You can tell her the colors you want and she finds the cutest fabric. Check it out and you will want one for your little girly girl. Check out her blog.

Girls week in Hawaii!

My sister and I and two friends Leah and Charlie decided we needed a break from reality and we took a trip for 5 days to Hawaii. We were all very fortunate to have wonderful husbands who took care of all the mom duties that allowed us to be away for a week. Thank you Doug you will never know how much I appreciated the break and time to relax. Here is our first picture on the airplane, I think we were just getting ready to land. Jodi loves to take pictures of everything including her food which you will see on her blog:)

On Tuesday we had a fun day in the water. We hiked to this beautiful waterfall and swam out to it and was able to sit under the waterfall it was awesome. I don't have any flattering pictures of me under the waterfall so I will just spare you those.

A senic view along the way to the North Shore.

This is where we went snorkeling. It was called Sharks Cove which is a little freaky but we didn't see any sharks so it was ok. I did see a really mean looking fish with lots of teeth grinning at me which needless to say got me swimming a little faster. We did see lots of awesome looking fish. It was way fun.

A beautiful Hawaiian sunset.

Our quick stop at the temple on the way to the beach. It is closed for 18 months for renevations.

Jodi and I posing with the Duke statue.

Yes I know you can't believe it but I did it, I went parasailing. Jodi and I happen to sit in the wrong spot on the boat we had to be first to go up out of the 12 people on the boat. It actually was probably better that way because I was so scared. But it was awesome. I can't wait to take my husband and do it again.

Then of course one of the things that we really wanted to do was hike up Diamond Head. It is a pretty wild climb with lots of stairs at the top but it was so much fun and so worth it. The view is beautiful. Here are some shots from the top.




Oh and just some random shots of me when we were out to dinner and the other one is off the balcony of our hotel room.

I had such a great time and I am grateful I was able to do it. I missed my kids and husband but it was so wonderful to have time just to myself. Thanks again to my wonderful husband who ran ragged the whole week. Now he knows! I love you Doug!