Well, as most of you know... I have the BEST mother in the whole wide world. I am super blessed to have the best example of a wonderful Mom in my Mom. She is a godly wise woman that would do almost anything for so many people. She really means the world to so many people, but she means even more than that to me!!
She came back in town just in time for Mother's Day this year and so everyone joined her at her house for the day. Brian and Deena got Mom this pretty candle/birdhouse set. We got Mom an hour’s massage with a foot scrub. And Brandon sent Mom flowers since he couldn’t make it home.
After we cooked out hamburgers and had a yummy lunch, the fun really began.
For some reason, someone started trying to hang a spoon on their nose. For some people, it was really easy. But for others, it was really difficult. Brian, especially, just couldn’t do it. We were all laughing so hard at each other trying to do it.
Brian was only able to do it with Deena holding it up for him. Justin was really good at it.Deena was a natural, but her spoon was hidden-you have to look hard!
Owen did a great job too!!Bill was able to hold his while smiling.Aunt Carroll was able to smile too!Poor Brian!! Notice the spoon falling from his nose.Yay!! Finally!!!And then to up the ante, it began again with forks!!
Aunt Carroll was showing Owen how to make a star out of dollar bills.That was a lot easier to hang on your nose!The flowers from Brandon.Owen and MimiOwen, Brian, and Deena
And Mom with Jennifer and Justin
We love you Mom!!! Thank you for everything you do for us and for loving us so much!!
As I have mentioned time and time again, it really is amazing at the improvement in 6th graders from the beginning of the year when most of them don’t play instruments to the final 6th grade band concert.
Once again, they wowed me with their new abilities. I am so proud of Justin. The trumpet wasn’t what he really wanted to play, but he is making the best of it. We are very proud of you Justin and the skills you have learned this year!
I don't really know what inspired me to run my first 5K, but I thought it would be a great motivator to train for. One of my goals for the new year was to start working out everyday Monday through Friday and I figured if I had a goal that would help.
Starting in January, I woke up around 6:30 every weekday morning and had my quiet time and exercised for about an hour. I took my Christmas money (along with some other saved money) and bought a new treadmill and set the TV up downstairs in the basement so that I could watch Netflix while I exercised. THAT has made a world of difference!! I am proud to report to you that I kept up the morning routine for the full year. And Justin even started joining me after school started back in August 2012. We had the eliptical machine, weight machine, treadmill, bicycle, and most importantly NETFLIX/TV.
So, I signed up for my first 5K in February -the Guns n Hoses at Hobgood Park to benefit Cherokee County's firefighters or police departments(depending on which team you chose). I chose to be on the hoses team so I got a firefighter shirt. My friends Tina K. and Wendy M ran with me and it was nice to have them join me. Everything is more fun with friends, even running. I told them I wasn't going to run the whole time, but walk/run as best I could.
It was super cold that morning and Tina jokingly called me while I was on my way and asked if I was picking up the doughnuts. The sad part is....I thought she was serious.
We started out running together and then Tina left us in the dust after about a mile or so... Wendy and I stayed together until the end. The funny part is she is a personal trainer(with bad knees) so I was actually wanting to run more than she was. But we all crossed the finish line with smiles on our faces. Tina finished ahead of us and our time was 42.15 minutes.
Wendy and I went on to run another 5K at Mccleskey Middle School during the summer and did about the same time on that one too. I don't have the exact time on that one, but we ran that with some other friends from church.
While I was quite proud of myself for actually doing it, I know those times aren't anything to be super proud of. But we certainly weren't near the end runners. So, I do think that I should be proud of actually just waking up early to go run....and completing the races.
Our friends down the street, Donna and Andy, graciously offered us the chance to use their RV camper for the weekend. So, we jumped at the opportunity. They keep their camper in LaGrange on West Point Lake . Donna gave me directions on how to do everything and where everything was kept. We packed the bikes and Jake and the wave runner and all our stuff and headed down there for the weekend.
It was a great weekend of relaxing. We really enjoyed their RV with an outside kitchen, comfy beds, and you could even watch TV outside while you relaxed. Aunt Bob came and visited with us for a while and Aunt Jane came for a while too. I hadn't seen Jane in years, so it was awesome to be able to spend some time with her.
Me and Aunt Jane!
We ate at the Marina restaurant one night and cooked some too. We took the kids to LaGrange and showed them around where their Mimi and Papa grew up and the parks they used to go to and all kinds of other things.
There was a fishing tournament going on while we were there and we went down and watched the fish being weighed in. Also, the marina restaurant did karaoke every night and played some songs I haven't heard in a LONG time.
But, we had a great time and really appreciate the chance to use their camper the lake. Jake had a great time too, and was worn out. He was so ready that he jumped back in the van to rest some after that weekend.
It was an awesome camper! It even had an outdoor kitchen!
Jake looks out the door...can I come out and play?
You could even sit outside and watch TV. What a life!
We had a fire and roasted marshmallows and made Smores.
We have spent a lot of time this spring on a new hobby of ours….riding bikes. Dale has spent quite a bit of time researching and buying us all bikes and working on them to get them ready for the trails. We even finally gave in and bought a bike rack for the car/van so that we can take our bikes to other places to ride.
Some of our favorite places to ride include in the subdivision behind our house, Silver comet Trail, Rope Mill Park and Blanket's Creek.
At first, trail riding was a little scary for Justin and Jennifer and myself. Justin got used to it pretty quickly and wanted to go on more advanced trails, but I really prefer the easier trails when going through the woods. Jennifer really prefers not to even be in the woods at all when she is riding her bike. Dale loves it all.
We have taken lots of family trips this Spring and early summer riding and enjoying being outdoors. Both of the boys recently got flat tires, and that kind of put a stop to the bike riding for a while. Hopefully we will get back into it soon!
Here is a video of Dale and Justin at one of our favorite trails…it really is scarier than it looks. I couldn’t believe he didn’t hesitate without ever even being on that part of the trail.
This Easter, we changed up our routine. After church, we headed to Brian and Denises's house to celebrate our risen Lord with Bill's side of the family. Aunt Carrell had just recently moved up from Oklahoma and this was her first chance to be with the whole family. We had a great big delicious lunch and then the big kids and little kids went out for an Easter egg hunt.
This Spring Break, we went away for vacation with our friends the Hills. The Koehlers had already planned on going to Hawaii for Spring Break and we couldn't get them to give that up, so we went on without them. :)
We rented a house in Myrtle Beach in Ocean Lakes that was a 5 bedroom/3 bathroom house. It was an awesome house. We piled the vans high with kids and stuff and headed to the beach!!
It had parking underneath the house and then Justin had a bedroom/bathroom to himself since he was the only boy( I know...I know....we tried to find a boy that could go, but were unable). Then all the girls were in the 4 bedrooms upstairs. Dana and I both had our own rooms that opened up to the balcony. Jennifer and Jordan had a room and Jaclyn, Jessica, and Katelyn ( Jackie's friend) had a bedroom with bunk beds.
We brought lots of games and the kids and adults played games all week. We hung out at the place most of the time because there were so many fun things to do there.
The weather wasn't the greatest. The first day was really nice and we all went to the beach for a little while and got some sun. Jennifer and Jordan got REALLY sunburned. They said they applied sunscreen but it didn't do much good. They weren't really able to go in the sun any more the rest of the week and we had to do aloe and lotion rubs on them for several days. After that it turned cool and even rainy some days.
The kids all took their bikes and scooters and had fun riding around all week. Justin enjoyed just getting away from it all on his bike and riding around all over the place. Jessica brought her electric scooter which everyone enjoyed using.
We went out to dinner most of the week and enjoyed eating out at many different places. Dana was on vacation and didn't want to cook, and I don't blame her so I enjoyed it as well.
Looking right from our balcony
Looking left from the balcony
Looking straight out toward the beach
At Wonderworks.....
Experiencing hurricane winds
A ride where you pedal yourself around
and pull yourself up
bubble time....
Jessica on a bed of nails
Dana on the bed of nails
My self portrait... haha
Justin braved the bed of nails
Lazer tag was the funnest!
Driving a rocket ship
We had enough kids to play the piano really well
One day we took the kids to Wonder works and downtown Myrtle Beach and the boardwalk area. It was a really fun day for everyone. We did some shopping and had a great time at Wonderworks. When you go in, you walk through a tunnel that is turning round and round and it was hilarious to watch everyone try to walk through it. In reality, the walk is not moving, but it appears that it is as the walls are moving around you. I didn't get any pictures of this, but my kids and I did the ropes course at Wonderworks. It is really pretty scary but fun at the same time. Jennifer did awesome and Justin was really freaked out and didn't want to walk anywhere. You are strapped in so you aren't going to fall to the floor but you could fall off the ropes very easily. Jennifer didn't get to do as much as she wanted to since she had to stay with us and help her brother like a good sister. Here are some pics of the course:
I will admit there were some really tough areas to navigate, and I understand why he was scared, but I don't think he would do that again anytime soon. :)
The place we stayed at was really nice and safe for the kids to run
free. We rented golf carts like everyone else did and everyone actually
cruises the strip in front of the beach each evening. It was wild! It was fun to use the golf carts during the day but in the evening, everyone goes to cruise the strip in them. They decorate them and play loud music and interact with each other. The older girls were too cool to ride with us, so they cruised the strip on foot while the younger kids bundled up in blankets and rode with us.
At the boardwalk
For some of the week, we had some other friends(mostly the Hill's friends) rent a house a few houses down from us. Their daughter, Hannah Leigh, hung out with Jennifer and Jordan and the younger daughter gave Jessica a friend to play with. They had some boys too, but they really didn't ever do much together with Justin. We really just kept missing each other all week.
Later in the week, some other friends of ours (The Hoovers) came up and spent the day with us. It was great to have them come spend some time with us and we were able to show them around. What a neat thing to be on vacation in another state at the beach with a bunch of your friends!
The older girls on our bikes
Jennifer, Jordan, Brittani Hoover, friend, friend, and Hannah Leigh
It was a big deal all week with Jennifer and Jordan wanting to drive the golf carts. There is a STRICT rule that you have to be 16 and they weren't old enough. We followed the rules for the most part but did let them drive a little bit around the house while we were with them. On the last morning, we were packing up and had to return both golf carts and drive a car to get back to the cottage so Dana drove her car and Jordan drove their cart by herself and Jennifer drove me to the rental place. They both did really well and enjoyed every second of it.
We stopped at Steve's parents house in Columbia on the way down there and on the way home and ate with them both times. They have a really nice house and was sweet enough to cook a great home cooked meal for all of us both ways. The food was great and the company and break in driving was even better.
Overall, we had a GREAT time with our friends this week! Thank you Lord for getting us there and back home safely and giving us great friends to share life with!
Owen did a great job too!!
Bill was able to hold his while smiling.
Aunt Carroll was able to smile too!
Poor Brian!! Notice the spoon falling from his nose.
Yay!! Finally!!!
And then to up the ante, it began again with forks!!
That was a lot easier to hang on your nose!
The flowers from Brandon.
Owen and Mimi
Owen, Brian, and Deena
