Graduation party fun.

The afternoon following our 5K, we had a graduation party to attend to celebrate one of Cory’s cousins graduating high school. Because there were so many little kids attending the party, Cory’s aunt and uncle rented a bounce house – which was such a great idea! That thing kept all the little kids busy for hours. My boys only took a break to eat or when the “bigger” kids invaded. It was a fun afternoon, visiting with family & chasing my boys.

"The" bounce house.

Bouncing with 3rd cousins "A" & "M".

The three boys were having a blast together!

Wyatt coming down the slide.

Colton coming down backwards.

Re-creating a picture from almost 4 years ago.
(4 generations (skipping the 2nd one))

These 5 kiddos are 3rd cousins & all born within 5 months
of each other...we're all starting to turn the BIG 4!

A race date!

The weekend before Memorial Day, Cory & I ran a 5K in a near-by city (I love running brand-new routes!) while the boys hung out & played with Grandpa. They were even lucky to be dropped off early enough to help make & eat his “famous” pancakes for breakfast!

This was Cory’s first race he’s run since early March when he was having some back issues.

It was a beautiful, sunny day in the 50s/60s & a challenging course running mostly on a trail which ran along a gorgeous river. The first half of the run was a gradual downhill, which meant the last half of the run was a gradual uphill – great for those gluts! Both of us got great times & felt great afterwards.

A fun, healthy morning with my sweetheart!

Mom’s Day Run

The Saturday before Mother’s Day, I had signed up to run another 5K…but this time the boys were coming with me.  I didn’t think it’d be right to run a 5K just for moms without bringing along the two little bugs that made me a mom!

We arrived a bit early to pick up my race packet and were lucky enough to be able to stroll through a local farmer’s market that was set up next door while we waited for the race to begin.

I had to talk the boys into staying in the stroller for the most-part for this run…the route went on some trails & some city streets, so I was more comfortable keeping them a bit more contained.  They rode well for the most part and I got a great workout, as I haven’t run with both of them in the double stroller for a while.  I did let them out to run along with me for a good ¼ mile along a trail part of the route…they loved it – it gave them a little freedom & a bit of exercise.  They happily crawled back in to ride a crossed the finish line!

It was a beautiful day with great weather…something we haven’t been getting much of all spring!  A fun way to celebrate being a mom!

Pre-race group picture!

Colton & Mommy ready to go!

Wyatt & Mommy ready to go!

Silly faces!

Post-race with our goodies. (a rose for mommy & bubbles for Colton)

 

Post-race with our goodies.

Colton & the last bubbles he blew that day

(this picture was taken as my leg was getting soaked with bubbles!).

March of Dimes – March for Babies 2014

The annual March for Babies event in our area was held earlier this month. Another great turnout year far for such a great cause! I surpassed my original goal by raising over $741 (& surpassing my total of $685 from last year)!! Totally.awesome!

The weather was beautiful again this year – sunny & warm. We were able to walk in our team t-shirts with just long sleeves underneath! Cory was out of town and unable to join us this year, but we still ended up with a great team of walkers – a total of 21 walkers showed up for my family/friends team! We arrived early to register and turn in our donation sheet. After we registered, we received the walk map, signed up for door prizes, chose a lei (color of the lei was based on who you were walking for – we chose purple because we were walking in honor of our healthy “preemie” babies) and got a breakfast snack of bagels & fruit.

Annual family picture!

Wyatt & Mommy ready for the walk!

Mommy & Colton ready for the walk!

The 3 mile walk was a totally different route than the past year’s path. It took us through a local park & some of the surrounding neighborhoods, including walking right past the hospital where the boys were born.

After completing a 2-mile walk event a couple weeks ago with Cory (while I ran the 5K event) the boys figured they were old-pros at this 5K walking business and didn’t want to ride in the stroller. The walked & ran almost the entire 3 miles! There were times here & there when one of them would pop into the stroller or wagon (between the 4 boys – my two & my two nephews) but that was really the minority of the time…they were having a blast doing this “walking” thing.

They truly enjoyed walking past the hospital and asked all sorts of questions about where & what as we circled it.

At the end of the walk there were lots of activities & food to enjoy in. We grabs sub sandwiches, chips & water for lunch and enjoyed eating out in the beautiful weather. After food, the boys enjoyed the bounce house that was set up – including getting some goodies for playing…bubbles, free admission to a local water park & more. Colton also had his name drawn for door prizes again this year, in which he won a $100 gift card. A very enjoyable & successful family-fun morning.

Lunch!

I want to send out a great, big thank you to everyone who joined us for the walk that day. You helped make the walk a success & helped raise awareness for the importance of full-term, healthy babies. I especially want to say thank you to everyone who made a donation toward this awesome cause – it’s because of you that this organization will be able to continue its research & support – helping future generations get a great start in life.

A Racing Weekend

Two 5Ks in two days…that was my fun last weekend!

Saturday’s event was a 5K run & 2 mile walk, as a part of a local spring festival. Cory & I had both signed up for the 5K but since he is still in recovery mode with his back, he decided to push the boys in the stroller for the 2 mile walk. He had plenty of company, as my parents, sister, nephews, cousin & her boys all participated in the walk as well. It was a small race so I hope to help promote it in years to come to help it grow! The 5K route kicked my butt with some never-ending hills that I’m not accustomed to running…but it was a good change for me & a good challenge. I can say I got a really good time even if the hills slowed down my pace a bit. The boys & Cory had fun on the 2 mile walk; which Cory informed me that the boys walked/ran a majority of…my future running partners??!!

Pre-race family pic...at least 2 of us are smiling!

Post-race pic with my first ever medal!

I even took 2nd place in the women’s 30-39 age group (I won’t mention that there were only two of us in that age group).

After the race, we hung around the festival for a bit to let the boys burn off some more energy in the free inflatables. It wasn’t too busy & they had a blast. We grabbed a little something for lunch & headed home just in time for naps.

Colton climbing in.

Wyatt climbing up.



They had a blast together!

This Spiderman one was their favorite!

Sunday’s race was more just for fun. A group of my friends had joined together to partake in a “color” event. It was cold with a chance of rain, but lucky for us the rain held off until the afternoon! It was a lot of fun to run in a race with a big group of friends and I can say that we ran about 90% of the race route – and ended up covered in color!

Not much color left by the time I got home...

A fun & active weekend spent with family & friends – a win-win!