Cousin Love

Jarin and I are very excited to be named Godparents for the second time this weekend. Little Miss Vivienne is getting baptized in SD on Saturday, so we are headed up there tomorrow. We've been discussing it with the kids for a few days now to prepare them for another trek in the minivan, and I've even promised movies!! :-)

Today after breakfast I told Caden and Alyana that we needed to put our shoes on to go to daycare, and Cade threw a huge tantrum demanding that he not go to Nette's, but instead he wanted to see Vivi! Wow. I hadn't realized how badly he had his heart set on seeing her TODAY! Despite the flailing shoes across the kitchen, I could hardly be upset. How could you get mad at a little man for missing his baby cousin?

With us living 1300 miles apart from Justin and Jacque, it is pretty special that my little 3 year old desperately wants to love up on a baby he's only met once. I can't wait to see the interaction tomorrow night when Caden walks into the house. I'm sure his eyes will be wide, and his smile wider.

We finished!!

Jarin and I started training for the BIX7 4th of July weekend... I know, we're procrastinators! That weekend, kid you not, neither of us could run 2 miles without stopping. Little by little we worked our butts off and took turns running each night after the kids went to bed. By last week, I was running about 3.5 miles a day, and Jarin was hitting about 4-5. The race finally came this weekend, and I WAS SO NERVOUS! Since it was my first race I've ever done in my life, I really stressed whether or not I'd even be able to finish the seven miles of hills through Davenport.



But, as a part of the 15,237 runners that completed the trek, we did it! Jarin finished in 1 hour and 5 minutes (4545th place), and I finished in 1 hour and 15 minutes (7206th place)! WHOO-WHOOT! And can I brag a little more??? I even beat two of Jarin's buds!!

So, now I think we are on to the Sweet Corn Fest 5K... any takers?

Smiles and Attitude

We survived the weekend with four kids! And how much fun it was! But then again, what could be better than pizza, Jungle Bungle, DQ, movies, baseball, and a picnic at the park?





And there were only a few arguments between the best team: CARDS or CUBS???

Cade wasn't feeling 100% this weekend, but I did get him to put down a couple cobs of corn... I think these two are true, born and raised, Iowa kiddos!











We took Alayna to get pictures taken on Sunday. Funny that after every 3-4 clicks we had to break for another pretzel! It was the only thing that kept her smiling - what can I say? Take a peek at the proofs: Alayna 18 month photos. I ended up with a life-size framed photo that is now hanging in her room and it is by far one of the most precious that I've seen. Gotta love my little sweet pea. Don't be fooled though... only an hour after these deceptively sweet pictures were taken, she could be found strapped into her booster seat with the entire chair moved to the timeout corner! WHEW! She can be a pistol!!

Time to myself

Sometimes I just love being busy and keeping up with the flow of new adventures, fun activities, and the hustle and bustle of having kids... and then there are other times that I sit back, take a deep breath, and thank God for the nice quiet days to myself. We all know those don't hardly come by often enough, but this was one of those weeks. Jarin left Sunday on travel and my parents took the kids... I had the opportunity to spend time with an old friend, wander around the mall, go running, and eat cereal for dinner! And by Tuesday, I was ready for everyone to come home.

Jarin returned last night, and when I went to bed at 9 p.m. he let Cade stay up and watch Jungle Book with him! (I think he missed the little man!) I'm looking forward to the weekend and being back to a family again, and this weekend we are super lucky because we get my two little cousins for a slumber party! Jarin and Kristi plus four!!

Hoping everyone finds fun in your company this weekend.

A weekend of working around the house

Thankfully, we have parents who don't live too far away and are happy to come help when we get in over our heads. This was just another weekend of that! We purchased a million pound tree and couldn't move it.... dad to the rescue!














While the boys worked on that project, us girls took Alayna to try on her flower girl dress for the big wedding. Oh, my goodness, if she wasn't our little princess before, look at her now! I cannot wait to see her leading her auntie down the aisle next year! By her smile, you could tell that she knew she was beautiful!














Later that day, the kids spent time catching frogs, playing with worms, and getting icky. They loved it! I finally got a little video clip of them with the worm!

Catch up!

Wow! It's been 18 months since visiting the blog world. Somehow along the lines I became addicted to Facebook, and have been posting most of our news there. I'll start with a quick update from 2009. We've had a blast!

In January Alayna celebrated her first birthday











In March my sister became Megan soon-to-be-Hodgins














In April we DROVE to Florida to visit our little Goddaughter, Vivienne. (That was quite the trip!!)











Then in May I graduated with my masters degree (finally!!!!)













June marked 5 years since we've been married














And the last couple months have been spent enjoying the summer months. We have been in Davenport for two years now and recently did some landscaping in the back yard.











Last weekend we had a great 4th with my parents! It was awesome to be "home" for a few days.











Jarin and I are now trying to get our butts in gear to run the BIX on July 25th. It may kill me, but I'm going to make it! It's 7 miles, and I don't know that I've ran since high school..... at least 12 years!!! Wish me luck!