Saturday, February 23, 2013

2013 Cowtown 10K

This is me with my good friend Cynthia.  Last August Cynthia asked if I would help her train for a 5K.  She had never run one before and really wanted to do it.  I was thrilled! I wanted to get to know her better and I love helping people exercise so we were a perfect match.  She had only run track in high school but hadn't done any serious running since.  

We started out running at 5am in the morning 2 to 3 times a week, and then a run on Saturdays.  She works full time as a teacher and the summers are HOT here in Texas.  Looking back we were pretty crazy! I lost so much sleep! But it's all been worth it.  We ran our first 5K right after Halloween and our second 5K on Thanksgiving.  Then it got cold so we switched up running in the evenings.  After the Holidays were over we started back up and decided to run the 10K.  Cynthia works so hard and I'm so proud of her for making it this far! We'll most likely do another 10K and then she wants to make it to a Half Marathon.  

Side Note: There is something about running with someone that brings you close together.  Maybe it's all that time you spend with each other so you just spill your guts to them everyday.  I've been lucky that Cynthia is such a good listener because I talk her ear off and it's great therapy for me!

Monday, February 18, 2013

Valentine's Day

We were in Houston for Valentine's Day so we decided to take the boys to Chuck E Cheese! This was the boys' first time.  When Chuck E came out to say Hi, Blake freaked out!
 The both LOVE the carousel
 Blake wouldn't smile....stinker
 They really got into some of the games. It was fun.
 Go Blake Go!
 All the Boys enjoying the game
 Austin climbed up and went down the big slide
 Cruising with Chuck E!!!
 Throwing baseballs
Tyler really enjoyed it!  Not your typical romantic Valentine's Day. But we had lots of fun!

Afterwards we bought some BlueBell ice cream and headed over to our friend's house and had ice cream and heart brownies with some of her delicious homemade chocolate sauce. YUM!!!

Sunday, February 17, 2013

Houston

 Tyler has a training meeting in Houston that lasted 3 weeks.  So after he was gone for a week we decided to join him for the next week.  He was staying at a really nice hotel and the company was paying for it so we thought, why not? 

Well, after being cooped up in a hotel room for the first two days due to rainy weather I began to second guess my decision to come.  I did take the boys to the racquetball courts which was really fun for them, but that only lasted so long when I was trying to fill an entire day up to keep the boys busy.  But thankfully I connected with a friend who lives in Houston and the next 3 days of our visit were perfect weather so we took the chance to get out and explore. 
 We went to the Houston Zoo which was a very pretty zoo! Lots of nice scenery and very large.  There was a lot to see.


 Here is my friend Sharon and her cute little Rosie!!! 2 and a half months old.  She smiled a lot and was a really good baby while we were out and about.
 Here is the other half of the crew.  Austin and Blake got along really well with Gordon.  He became our new best friend.  In fact, he attached himself very quickly to me and was more cuddly than Austin and Blake ever are to me.  It was pretty funny.
 We also went to the Children's Science Museum which was amazing! So much stuff to see and do. I felt bad pulling them away from some things because I wanted them to experience other things as well.  Here is Austin practicing his EMT skills.
 And Gordon was so excited to make us a pizza!
 We went shopping for fruits and veggies.
 The boys got a kick out of this.  You press a button and watch the pompoms. I need one of these in my house.
 Austin showing off his muscles
 Golf ball swirly. Blake LOVED this one. 
 Golf Ball racetrack...another favorite
 Gone Fishin'
 Austin loved this car and rode in it to avoid eating lunch.

 Blake loved it too.  I love his face here!


 We also headed over to the Museum of Natural Science and History.  On Thursday from 2-5pm you could get in for free so we went to see the new dinosaur exhibit.  Austin has really gotten into dinosaurs recently.  We stayed only an hour since Austin kept asking when he would get to see the real dinosaurs! He wasn't so impressed by just the bones.


 Friday was another beautiful day so we hung out at a nearby park that was very nice!
Blake tried out the big swings for the first time and picked them right up! He's getting so big!
Overall, I am so glad we went.  It was a hard beginning and we didn't get much sleep, but it ended up being a fun trip with lots to do and see.  Thank goodness for Sharon!  She almost talked us into staying an extra week to go to the beach, but Tyler said it wouldn't work because he wasn't getting enough sleep at night...since Blake still wakes up multiple times during the night.  I don't think I could have lasted another week either.  We were ready to get back home on a normal schedule and home cooked meals!

Sunday, February 3, 2013

Austin turns 3!

Austin's Backhoe Loader cake. Vroooooooom!
 Tyler has been working hard every night on the Treehouse and he really wanted it to be finished for Austin's party.  It was pretty close!  Tyler will be posting his experience sometime I'm sure.
 Singing Happy Birthday!
 Blowing out his candles
 He was a pretty happy boy all day
 Excited to open his cardboard box! hee hee.  We get lazy when it comes to wrapping.
 A new basketball to practice his dribbling! He'll also be able to make baskets on our basketball hoop outside when it's on it's shortest setting.

He also got a Superman shirt with a velcro cape, a play golf set, frisbee, bubble wand, sticky mitt and ball, squirt gun, m&m's(his favorite), and a slinky from his friends!!! Thanks everyone!
 Tyler also made this wooden airplane for him from scratch.  He's getting to be quite the "wood" man lately
"When will it be my birthday?"  Way too soon I say