Hello there! We haven't been together for over a month now. Where did the time go? I think that is the longest break I have taken from blogging since beginning this little venture back in September of 2009.
There are myriad of reaons I've been gone. But I think the over-arching reason was some devasting news we received about a month ago. It took the wind out of our sails and made it very difficult for me to sit down and make light of our busy weekends and lives. We've since had time to digest the news and I realize that life doesn't stop. We keep on living our lives and making great memories for our kids. And so, I'm back.
I'm not trying to be cryptic, but I don't feel the news is mine to share. Please know the hubby, myself, and our kids are good. And for that we're grateful. And with that, I'll begin...
1. I ran a marathon! I did it. It only took me nearly five HOURS. Ugh. 4 hours and 50 minutes. But I decided running a marathon is like giving birth. I swore I'd never run another one. In fact, I used every swear word I know while running that damn 26.2 miles. I would have made a sailor blush!
However, now that it's in the past, I am mulling over signing up for the Chicago marathon next October. The idea of running one of the biggest, most spectated races sounds fun. Not only that - but it's FLAT. The KC course is NOT!
I cannot stress to you how much the hills took such a toll on my body and my spirit. There was a mile and a half fairly steep uphill around miles 11 - 13 and that was really, really hard on me. I felt more tired after that uphill than I felt running my 20 miles during training. But I pressed on...waiting for my friend, Carmen. I kept telling myself I only had to make it to mile 18. It was there she jumped in and ran the last 8 miles with me. She was my life-saver. It made a world of difference to me and was the best gift she could have given me on my first marathon. Thanks, Carmen!
Here I am about mile 25:
And here I am later that day (after running to Lumber Liquidators, a soccer game, and Target):
2. We left the next day for Disney World. Yep, Disney World. It was great! We had a wonderful 2-bedroom condo that slept eight. (If you need a deal on a place in Disney, I've got the hook-up, yo!)
We flew out on Sunday and came back the following Saturday. My parents joined us Monday and left Friday. It was nice to have them with us.
Monday was Animal Kingdom. I posted this picture on Facebook but it's my favorite of the entire trip:
Monday also brought about the ONLY NAP OF THE WEEK!
Tuesday was Epcot. Here is #4 while we took a break in France to eat a little snack:
Wednesday was Islands of Adventure for #1 and #2. My parents kept the littles back at the condo for a day of rest. It was really nice to be able to split up the girls so everyone got a little more adult time.
Here is the hubby with the girls and they are all enjoying Butter Beers in Hogsmeade:
Thursday was Magic Kingdom and breakfast with the pricesses:
Friday was Typhoon Lagoon. Seriously a favorite for all of us!
That's the fastest recap of a Disney Trip I'll ever write. But oh well...you get the idea! I had every intention of blogging that Sunday but I was just plain exhausted. Obviously it never happened.
3. Halloween was up next. #1 was Katniss from the Hunger Games. #2 was a clown using an old dance costume that belonged to my sister. #3 was a cowgirl who refused to wear her hat or boots. #4 was Snow White. They had a blast!
#1 was invited to a party and to go trick-or-treating with a great group of kids from her school. #2 went trick-or-treating with her friend. And I took #3 and #4 with our neighbor girls and her dad and another dad from the neighborhood who wasn't ready to give up trick-or-treating. So funny. But honestly, I had a blast that night and it was very much needed.
We even managed to carve four pumpkins all in one night - on Halloween Eve. Pretty good, no?
4. The following weekend was insanely CrAzY!! We had five soccer games (I attended them all!), two birthday parties, a photoshoot, church, and a playdate. Seriously nuts. While I was running the girls all over town, the hubby was busy installing a new toilet in our half-bath downstairs. Like I said, crazy busy weekend.
5. The following weekend was supposed to include a trip to Omaha. However, #4 had a nasty cold and we didn't want to get everyone sick. So I stayed back with the girls. The hubby and #1 made the trek up north Saturday morning and came back Sunday evening. We still had a fun and productive weekend. The highlight? I started working on my Farmhouse table. I really wanted to finish it in time for hosting Thanksgiving. Here it is in progress:
Even thought I spent my weekend in the garage playing with power tools, the girls had friends over, we made it to Sonic Happy Hour, and we had movie night. A solid weekened.
6. The next week brought a milestone to our house - #3 turned six! She was so excited for all of the fun. She had a gymnastics birthday party the Friday night after her birthday and all her friends made it! It was a crazy night but the girls all had a blast.
7. The weekend before Thanksgiving was fun and busy. I worked on my Farmhouse table and we had craft day with our friends. The kids made glittered pine cones and snow globes. Here's craft day:
The next day was followed up by a swim meet for #1 in Columbia, MO. We had to get up at 4:30am to make it in time. But honestly, it wasn't that bad. I had my coffee and my iPod while #1 slept in the back of the Suburban. And the meet was really, really well-run and so fun. It was her first real meet and it was really exciting to watch. Here she is on the blocks:
We were back home by 2pm that day which allowed me time to get a coat of stain on the table. Score!
8. Thanksgiving! I finished the table and I love it:
Both sets of grandparents were here and we managed to seat 10 people at one table. I LOVED it!
We started the day off with the Sprint Thanksgiving 5k. The big girls both ran and did great! #2 actually beat #1 by about a minute. I think #2 finished in about 32 minutes. It was really fun to be able to run beside her for the whole 5k and help her learn the tricks.
The grandparents took the littles girls in the wagon and walked the whole thing. How cool is that?!
Of course we stopped by Starbucks on our way home. I had thought ahead and prepared a breakfast casserole in the crockpot. It was ready and waiting when we rolled in. Delicious!
And Thanksgiving was awesome. We had way too much food and just as much fun. I was only sad our siblings couldn't make it. The hubby's brother and sister both had to work. My sister had to order drinks on the beach in Miami. Whatever. We still had a blast!
Honestly, I just love hosting Thanksgiving. I love spending the day in the kitchen. I love having our families together at one big table. I love the relaxed atmosphere of the day - no schedules. No stress. Just good food and good company.
And there you have it! I think we're caught up now. Phew! I'm tired and it's time to catch up with The Good Wife. Have a great week!
