April has been busy...and it is not over yet!

I keep thinking things are going to slow down but wow...April has been a busy month. I look ahead to the summer and it is not going to slow down but of course there will be lots of fun too!

 

 

We have been spending lots of time at the baseball fields now that the season has started. Lucas LOVES baseball and has gotten some pretty good hits, has enjoyed playing catcher a few times, already participated in a 4-game tournament and just loves his friends on his team (most of them are on his soccer team too).

 

I just love him in his uniform!

 

 

I was in Chicago a few weekends ago for a very special occasion...for my dear friend Pam's baby shower. We were so excited to throw her a beautiful shower and I know she loved it and appreciated it....just as much as we love her and can't wait for this next chapter in her life!!! She is due next month and I can't wait!!!!

 

Me, Marina, Pam (the mommy-to-be), Becky and Venessa

 

The next weekend I had to switch from baby shower mode to birthday mode. I can't believe it but Lucas, my baby, turned 7!!!!!! Sometimes it seems like a lifetime ago that he was a baby and sometimes it feels like just yesterday. Lucas is growing into such a great little guy (full of lots of energy and crazy of course). He seems to LOVE school, is becoming an amazing reader and loves sports, legos and playing with his kindle. A few months ago Lucas started going to CCL (Center for Creative Learning). It is the school district's gifted program. He goes to this school just one day a week and he loves it and we can tell it is so good for him. We are very proud of him.

 

 

We celebrated his birthday with a big party at Vetta (indoor soccer/inflatable).

It was a really fun party and he had a great time!

 

The NHL playoffs started this month and we have been cheering on the Blues.

Go BLUES!!!



 

It was a beautiful day on Easter...the weather seriously could not have been any better. We celebrated with Bob's family on Saturday and mine on Sunday. Spent as much time outside as possible, of course the kids had an easter egg hunt, and just spent some great time together. It was a great day.

Hope everyone had a great Easter!



Late winter/early spring highlights

Honestly, we haven't had the most exciting end to the winter and early spring. We have been using just about every spare minute to finish our basement and upgrade the kitchen a bit. I can finally say that we are just about done. All we need to do is get some things on the walls in the basement and it is done. I know, I know....after pics. Not sure I really want to share after pics just yet since I would love to show it off in person a bit first.

 

Here are a few highlights from when we took a break from all the work....

 

Addison and Bella (Addison's BFF) at the 2nd grade musical

 

Lucas and I after the 1st grade musical

 

The sweetheart dance. Doesn't Addison look so grown up!!!!

 

Addison scored her first goal a few weeks ago. I know there are lots of kids out there that score goals every game but Addison is just in her 2nd season and is still learning the game. She was very happy when she scored....Lucas was very jealous because he has not scored yet. Lucas has a lot more skills on the field and runs hard and has come close many times...hopefully it will happen for him soon.

 

The kids just had spring break. I wish we would have gone on a vacation but since we just went to the Dells the month before, it just didn't make sense. I worked too much in the basement and we got our counters installed during their break and it didn't leave us a ton of time to have fun.

 

 

We did get a chance to go to the zoo with Linda, Molly and Katy (my sister-in-law and nieces). 

 

And here is a pic of the kids and I at Purina Farms...that was a nice day.

Now that we are really into spring and done with the basement I am hoping we get out more and have some fun. Lucas has started baseball and has his first game this weekend. We will be at the baseball fields a lot in the next few months. Addison is getting ready for her dance recital next month. Oh, and Lucas turns 7 next weekend...how can that be???

Winter so far.

 Well like many areas we have had quite the interesting winter this year. We got a lot more snow than we normally get and that turned into a lot more snow days (9 total) and a lot of time stuck inside...oh and really cold temps! We managed though and are finally getting some warmer temps this week.

We managed to get out with friends a few times this winter. 

We went out for dinner and drinks with friends to a great new restaurant and had a fun night. 

A pic of the girls...me, Bridget and Lisa

Indoor soccer has started. Lucas had his first game and they won! 

The team went out for breakfast afterwards to celebrate. 

(Addison has her first game coming up this weekend).

This past weekend is the highlight of our winter. We drove 6+ hours to the Wisconsin Dells over President's day weekend and spent 4 great nights at the Wilderness Territory (Glacier Canyon) with 4 of my best friends since junior high and their families. We spent some great quality time together, acting like kids along with our kids in the waterpark and just had a great time. If you have not been to the Dells with your family....I totally recommend it. 

Here are a few pics from our trip...

The wave pool....one of 3 indoor waterparks that we had access to during our stay. I haven't laughed that hard in so long.

Bob had the opportunity to take Lucas skiing for the first time. He loved it. 

These kids are such good buddies.

Crazy kids going tubing. 

We went out for dinner to celebrate Becky's birthday. I can't believe how many birthdays we have celebrated with each other. It was a great trip and I hope we do it again!!!

(Marina, me, Pam, Becky, Venessa)

The other highlight of our winter....after almost 6 years in our house we have finally decided to finish the basement. We are hiring out some of the work and doing some of it on our own. I can't believe how many decisions have to be made and how much is involved....and how much dust there is all over my house and the mess! It will be all worth it though! Stayed tuned. 

Here is a pic from early in the construction. 

We already have walls up and are ready to start painting and putting in floors soon!!!

Top 13 of 2013

1. We had lots of visits from the tooth fairy for both of the kids.

2. We joined the subdivision pool. (it cost a pretty penny to join but we are so glad we did).

3. Lucas learned to ride his bike without training wheels which then led to a lot of family bike rides.

4. Addison and I went to the Taylor Swift concert in Chicago with friends and had an amazing night.

5. Bob ran a personal best half marathon in 1:38!

6. We bought some new furniture for the house and made some much needed improvements to the exterior of our house. (can't wait to see what improvements we make to the house in 2014).

7. Lucas had his first season of baseball and loved it (as well as soccer) and Addison started soccer too.

8. A very wonderful friend became pregnant for the first time and is due in May. :)

9. Bob and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary and we had an amazing vacation in Colorado. We went whitewater rafting for the first time!

10. I ran the Chicago marathon (my 3rd marathon) and finished in 4:09.

11. Addison got her ears pierced.

12. Bob completed his first full year at Stinson which has been an amazing career move for him and it is a great and growing law firm.

13. We had a happy and healthy 2013...what more can you ask for!

Thanksgiving, Christmas and a few things inbetween.

I have become really lazy with the pictures that I use on the blog. I use the ones I already posted on facebook because I am too lazy to upload other pics from my phone. BUT, I am just glad I am still posting on the blog!!!

 

 

Thanksgiving family pic.

Not the best but I am just glad that I got a picture from the day. It was a normal Thanksgiving spent with family.

 

 

Right after Thanksgiving the kids and I went on a quick adventure to Springfield, IL. We met Marina, Hendrix and Maddox (they drove from Chicago). We went to the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum which was really amazing. We spent the night in a great hotel and had a chance to check out a few other sites. It was fun but a really quick trip!

 

 

I love this pic of the kids outside of the library.

 

Between Thanksgiving and Christmas was consumed with shopping, list making, class parties, family parties. Lots and lots going on and very little pics taken.

 

 

Christmas Eve family pic.

The party was at my parents house with lots of family members and lots of fun!

Christmas morning.

 

Addison's favorite Santa gifts...monster high dolls (as if she didn't have enough), shirt/earrings from Justice, legos, soccer ball, jacket, AG doll clothes.

 

Lucas' favorite gifts....legos, legos, legos, magformers, baseball glove, batting glove, hexbugs, Blues hockey shirt, football

 



 

Nana and Papa topped Santa this year....they got each of the kids a kindle fire. It has been a huge hit! They love them!!!

 

Christmas day pic.

Dinner, cousin time and great family time at Bob's parents house.

 



 

The day after Christmas we met up with our friends Steve and Sarah (in from Florida) and went ice skating. It was so much fun. We haven't taken the kids skating in a few years. Lucas was so excited to skate as fast as he could and didn't care if he fell. Addison took it slow at first and was a little pro by the time we left. 

So Christmas is over and I am super sad about it. I am not ready to take the tree down and move on to boring January. We have some fun things coming up in February and the kids start soccer soon....so we will be plenty busy.

Some fall happenings.

We have done a lot over the past many weeks of fall.

 

 

 

We went to Fright Fest at Six Flags right before Halloween and had a great time. We aren't going to get season passes next year...we want to take a break and come back the following year even more excited to go...and hopefully the kids grow a few inches and can check out some new rides.

 

 

 

Just one pic from Halloween.

Addison was a Monster High Girl (who happened to be a werewolf) and Lucas was a Werewolf. 

 

Bob ran the St. Louis track club half marathon a few weeks ago. He was going for a PR (his best time was a 1:44) and he finished in 1:38!!!

 

 



 

Both Addison and Lucas had their last outdoor soccer game. They had a great time playing this season.

They are taking a break right now and will start indoor in January.

 

I love this pic of the kids...

 

Just recently we took a mini vacation to Kansas City. We got to spend some time with our friends Kurt, Jsun and their kids which was so nice. We stayed at Great Wolf Lodge while we were there. It was fun but not as much fun as we were expecting considering all that we have heard. We had about as much fun as we could have and of all things - the family hot tub was the kids favorite thing about the water park.

 

Before heading home we went to the T-Rex Cafe and that was really cool. 



 

And last weekend Bob and I went to a charity dinner (Angel Arms). Bob's firm had a table.

I love this pic that we stood in line for. :)

 



 

We are now anxious to put up our tree and start the holiday season....one of my favorite times of the year.

Chicago marathon....again.

Years ago running a marathon was not even on my radar. I remember about 4 years ago when I decided to run my first half marathon and it seemed like such a big challenge. It WAS a big challenge but running twice that distance then seemed impossible. Somehow I got up enough courage to train and run my first full marathon in Memphis almost 2 years ago and it was a major fail (I was so sick on race day) and finished in 5 hours. So, I ran the Chicago marathon last year and totally redeemed myself. I ran a 4:14 (my goal was 4:20) and it was one of the best days of my life. I knew before I even crossed the finish line that day that I had to do it again.

After having to go through a lottery, I was successfully signed up to run the Chicago marathon this year. I was so excited until about 8 weeks ago when I completely fell while on a 15 mile run. I was on a single track dirt trail (with plenty of rocks) and I fell so hard right on my knees onto some rocks. I was with my good friend Lara and she helped me with the 3.5 mile walk back to the car. 

I felt silly to even complain about a stupid injury but when running is just about my only hobby, I was devastated and in a lot of pain and very swollen.

It took a few weeks to feel back to normal and I had to change up my training a ton but it all worked out. 

As I was just starting to get back to training, I stumbled upon a major bonus when I reconnected with a friend. Our daughters took dance together when they were like 4 and we remained friends on facebook. It turned out that she was in the process of training for the New York marathon (which is just 2 weeks away) and we were both desperate to train with someone. I am pretty sure Michelle and I ran together every Thursday over the last many weeks (and hopefully we will continue to). We helped each other so much!!! I am so glad to have a new running buddy and great friend in Michelle. 

Ok, so back to the marathon. The weather on race day was amazing (low 50s at the start and a high of about 63). MY BFF Kris was running the marathon as well (she is way faster than me) but it was nice to be there before the race with a friend (btw - she finished in an amazing Boston qualifying time of 3:35)!!!!

I tried to tell myself that I didn't have a goal because my knees were still not at 100% and I didn't want to feel like I was letting myself down. I told myself I wanted under 4:20....but I really wanted to finish around the same time as last year or under (so 4:14 or under). 

The first few miles seemed hard. I think it just took my awhile to warm up. Bob was not running this year and he was so supportive and met up with me on the course to cheer me on at about 6 different spots along the way. That was a huge help. My BFF Marina and her boys came too and that was a great moment....

My friend Pam and her husband Ryan cheered me on as well and I got to see them twice which was really great. 

I took a pit stop around 13 miles. I walked for a moment through some water stations in order to get a good drink and took a few times to stretch out my legs. I pretty much felt good the whole way until about mile 20. 

It was crazy because I kept a VERY consistent pace throughout most of the 26 miles. I kept telling myself to just keep the pace and it actually worked. My knees were in a ton of pain though for the last 6 miles but I knew I could physically keep running and that slowing down was not going to help me at all. 

I saw Bob at mile 25 and he gave me the last bit of encouragement I needed to finish. My last mile was my fastest...8:45. I don't know where I got that energy from.

So, here is my time....4:09 (9:28 pace).

Running the Chicago marathon is hard to even describe. The crowd support and volunteers throughout all 26 miles is amazing. People hold inspiring signs and funny signs and it helps so much. There is so much to look at and see that I don't even need to run with music. I ran through our old neighborhoods, and even the street that we lived on where we started our family with Addison. It is emotional to run though such a great city.

I don't know if I will be back to run Chicago next year. Maybe I will take a year off, I really don't know. Finding the time and putting in all the training is what is hard....and race day is amazing and worth all the hard work. I am just so glad that I did not disappoint myself at all!!!