Friday, March 22, 2013

TWELVE!



 March 14 is a special day for this girl! 
It's her birthday! 
She really wanted to open all of her presents first thing in the morning, but she still had sleeping sisters and they would have been mad if they missed out..
So, I let her open one before she headed out to school.
A cute homemade owl pillow- 

When she got home from school, she said she had had a good day and a few friends had even decorated  her locker! 
We surprised  her with something not from her list...
a rip stick.
She is always going two doors down to borrow from a neighbor boy- to ride his... he is always willing to let her borrow... now she has one of her own...



 She's a pro!
 After dinner we let her open a few more gifts...
new earphones for her mp3, a bath robe, and word search book, and a communication note book-(so that when she is in one of her moods and doesn't want to talk about it- she can write me note, and I can write back.... so far, this has been an amazing thing)
 No cake for this girl..... Oreo dessert!
 These two love each other so much... and they are so much alike... sometimes too alike... which means they are both hard headed and sometimes fight...
We are all working on helping them build a good strong relationship, especially as we go into the emotional teenage years....
 We planned to take Kara to lunch and a movie on Saturday, and take  few friends along...
Little did she know that that wasn't going to happen.
I had invitations out to several of her friends to help us do a surprise party for her Friday.
She ran with Drew to get pizza for dinner, thinking our good friends the Matthews were coming for dinner.... 
So when she walked into the house to find differently, she was a little shocked!
 Luckily she didn't drop the pizza!

Her friends were really cute in surprising her, and talked about how hard it was to keep the secret for a week.
 The weather was nice so the girls ate pizza out side...
 Dad decided to open the pool to help get them excited for all the pool parties we will be having....

It was a little cold on their toes.... 38 degrees
We really hope for a warm spring to warm up the water so we can start swimming when school lets out.
 After pizza, and  a little hanging out, I sent the girls in 2 groups around the neighborhood doing a picture scavenger hunt.  They had a great time trying to find all the items on the list...
Here are a few pictures of each group...













After we all met back for a human pyramid...



The girls then spent time eating, playing just dance and playing volleyball in the back yard until dark-
It was a lot of fun surprising Kara, and seeing her with so many wonderful friends. I am so thankful for the good friends that she has and that they are all striving to do what is right and that they are a good support for each other.
Happy Birthday Kara!
We are so excited for you as you embrace your new adventure of being in the Young Women's program..
 but always remember how special it was that your mom got to be your Primary president, and how much she will miss seeing you in primary each week !
You are a beautiful daughter!
Love you!

Sunday, March 17, 2013

First 5K

 I will tell you right now- 
I am not a runner...nor do I really love to run... never have! and not sure I ever will..
But I do have a desire to be active and healthy, and always thought it would be fun to do a race with Drew. 
And I recently saw a quote that said...
"Run While You Can!" 
When I showed a little bit of interest and was looking at when local races were, we found one that supported the food bank. Oh and it was only 3 short weeks away...
So, I took a few jogs around the neighborhood, and even went to the gym and ran on the treadmill a few times to prep myself... 
However, running on a treadmill is much different then an pavement and in the cold... 
Race day I dressed warm and made sure to have a good breakfast. 
Part way into the first mile my tummy started cramping- i am guessing it was too much of a breakfast...(see--- not an experienced runner) 
I have yet to run a whole mile at one time, there needs to be a little bit of walking in the middle- so my plan was to do the 5k in less than 45 min... 
Drew said we should aim for 36 min. 
We crossed at 41.06
For those of you that run.. you may laugh at our time...
but you know what?
I did it! And I did it with very little training..
I was filled with emotion as I crossed the finish line, and I am thankful that I had my sunglasses on to hide that.

Thanks Drew for pushing me, encouraging me and even holding my hand thru parts of our run. Yes we could have gone faster and it was a little embarrassing when we were passed by a lady pushing a stroller and then again when we were passed by runners that ran the 10k... but you know... that is okay... 
I participated in a 5k and crossed the finish line alive! 
Will there be another race???
maybe, when it's warmer!

Monday, March 11, 2013

Art in the Capital!

State Capital Art! 
Way to go Brae!
The school  art teacher loved the Syringa flower that she drew and colored, so she submitted it, and it was displayed for a week in the capital!

 You know Drew- he couldn't resist ringing the bell... I love Pat's face... it was louder that we thought it would be....

 Searching....
and we found it!


We had fun looking at all the art that was on the first floor as well as the third...
While there, a small choir came in and sang a few songs.... the sound was amazing... what a fun place to sing, and how lucky for us to hear it that day!



 Brae had to sign the guest book...









So proud of our little artist! 
I hope we get her drawing back so we can frame it and have it in our home!