A Run for Maggie's Place

Back in the beginning of November Andrew and I ran the Maggie's Place 9k and Abby did her first kid's dash.  It was a beautiful day and the girls did really good in the jogging stroller till the end of the run.  Olivia got a little agitated and bored and she was ready to get out of the stroller and stretch her legs.  I told Andrew to go ahead and run so that they could get done faster, so I ran the last 1-2 miles solo.  Andrew and the girls were waiting near the finish line for me and as soon as Abby saw me she ran up to me and grabbed my hand and finished the race with me and told me how proud of me she was, it was so sweet!  After our race Abby stretched and did her race, she had a ton of fun and was very proud of herself as were Andrew and I.

Andrew and Olivia before the race started

The girls right before the race started

Abby getting ready for the kids dash

Abby running

Abby with her post-race popsicle and her proud Papa

Olivia and Mommy relaxing a bit after the race

Turkey Day

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving day complete with all the fixins' thanks to Andrew and Jane!  We had a pretty laid back day of cooking, eating, chatting, and laughing.  Olivia was feeling under the weather and spent a good chunk of the day sleeping.  We woke her up just in time to sit down to eat with us, I just couldn't let her sleep through Thanksgiving dinner!  Abby led us in our Thanksgiving prayer and she also let us know that she is very thankful for her friends and her family.  We all had a lot to be thankful for this year and I am grateful that we are able to set aside a day to remember all of our many blessings.  We hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving as well that ended with full bellies and full hearts, just as ours did!

I wasn't too good about taking pictures but, here are a few from the day...

Our wonderful chef and the amazing turkey!  Yummy!!

Olivia LOVED the turkey leg!!

Abby was a bit shocked at Olivia's table manners!!

Papi, Abby, Mom (the rainbow on Abby's face is from the face painting they did at the gym that morning.  She told me she was going to sleep in her sleeping bag that night so it didn't rub off on her sheets, thankfully she forgot and slept soundly in her own bed!)

November's Random Ramblings

• Andrew and I both have our own bedtime routines for putting Abby to bed.  Andrew always tells Abby to have "sweet dreams of dancing princesses" to which she replies, "Daddy, have sweet dreams of handsome princes!"
• Abby always tells me she knows what Olivia is saying when she is babbling because she is an expert in baby talk.
• Abigail has become pretty good friends with some of the kids in her class.  One day we had a play date with the twins that are in her class.  After we left, she told me how much she likes her new friends but added, "don't worry, I still love my best friend Nolan even though we don't live by him anymore.  I will never forget about him!"
• When I pick the girls up from the play room at the gym Abby will look at me and say, "Mommy I don't want to leave yet, you need to go workout some more."  She also likes to ask what I did for my workout.  After telling her what I did one day she said, "well, that really isn't that much!"  I have also had her tell me how proud she is of me which is very sweet!

So much to be thankful for....

Ah, the holiday season is upon us once again!  Even with the stresses that come along with this time of year, I LOVE it!  I love the decorations, the food, the smells, the sights, the music, the love, the shopping, and most of all the magic.  I have a lot to be thankful for this year so just to name a few...

First and foremost I am thankful for my family.  I am thankful for my 2 healthy, sweet, beautiful girls.  They bring joy to my life every single day and remind me of my purpose in life.  They challenge me, teach me, make me laugh, and love me unconditionally.  I feel like I have hit the jackpot with them!  I am thankful for my husband who is the glue that holds us girls together.  He is such a hard worker, a wonderful husband and the best Daddy in the whole wide world.  He is understanding and compassionate and I am lucky and thankful to have him as a partner in this journey.  I am thankful for my extended family who is ready and willing to help with anything and everything when ever they can.  I am thankful that our families are so close and get along so well, and that they are teaching my girls the joy of having such a loving family surround them even though we are not close in proximity.  I am thankful for my friends that are spread out all over the country.  I am thankful that they have let us into their homes and hearts.  I am thankful for their help, their love, and their support.  I am thankful for the Air Force and all the opportunities it has provided for our family.  We have seen places and met people that otherwise would not be in our lives.  It has afforded me the opportunity to be a stay at home Mom and raise my children, which is the greatest gift I have ever been given.  I am thankful for this and so much more, but there are a couple little turkeys calling my name....Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!!!

My Guy and Me

Yesterday was a very special day at school for Abby.  It was My Guy and Me day.  It was a day for the kids to bring a special guy in their lives to school with them.  It could be a Dad, Grandpa, Uncle, ect.  Of course Andrew went with Abby and they had a very good time.  Abby was so excited to show off her Dad and to show Andrew all the fun stuff they do at school.  After school, Andrew was able to go to Spanish class with Abby and get a glimpse of what goes on there as well.  I have to admit, I am a bit jealous that he got to go to school with her...I always wonder what she is doing while she is away.  I will have my chance in March when it is My Gal and Me Day,  I can't wait!

Abby and Daddy all ready for school

Sail boat project

Playing with the sail boats they made

Andrew said Abby LOVES playing with Lincoln Logs....maybe she will get a pink set for Christmas!?!?

This is the project they made before My Guy and Me Day.  They gave it to their special guy at school that day.  It's very sweet and definitely one of the projects that is going to make it into the "must keep" folder.  Andrew also received a very special footprint bookmark.

This is the inside of the above project.  Very sweet!

Pardon the Dust

I am in the process of updating my blog, please bear with me as I make the changes.  I am far from a "computer person" and don't have "mad computer skills" but I am doing my best.  Also, we are in the process of organizing and loading all of our pictures onto our new Mac (desktop).  Our MacBook (laptop) crashed last week which sucked but in the long run it was a good thing because we got a brand new hard drive and more memory for no charge.  Essentially we got a brand new laptop and a brand new desktop...score!!!  

Hiking at Hole-in-the-Rock

One of the days that we had family in town we decided to go on a small hike. We went to Papago Park and climbed up to the hole-in-the-rock. We happened to get there right around sunset and it was absolutely gorgeous! Here are a few pictures:

This is looking out over the city from the hole in the rock

Andrew's Brother Josh and our nephew Tyler

Olivia enjoyed climbing around on the rocks

The Hole-in-the-Rock

You can see the hole in the rock to the right of Abby