Well Roundness

Ella and Carter enjoyed a special day at the theater a couple weekends ago (yes, I am behind in my blogging shocking...I know!). Grandma Blackmer had given them each a ticket as part of their birthday gifts. What a GIFT it was! Ella has been to see the Nutcracker, Cinderella, a few other smaller productions. We went to the Devos Hall downtown to see Beauty and the Beast. It was simply magical. The kids loved getting dressed up and heading out for a special date with Grandma and I. Grandma and I were thoroughly impressed ourselves, not only with the Broadway musical, but with the "show" that took place on their faces. Everything was so magical for them. Carter was awestruck! He was glued to his seat-which I had moments of worry over. But the boy was so good, that I would take him again in a heartbeat. Their little faces lit up with joy as they heard all the music they love. The big production of "Be Our Guest" was so riveting that they both gave it the standing ovation, it deserved. Mom and I spent more time watching the kids' faces. It really is just like VISA says: Tickets= expensive, souvenirs=ridiculous, watching their faces light up=PRICELESS!
I am grateful that Grand Rapids has all these wonderful opportunities available to us. It is such a joy to expose them to the different arts. We just love downtown and all it has to offer us.

Ella and Ainsley- two little ladies ready for a day at the theater.

In the atrium at Devos Hall
Waiting for the curtain to raise

Carter sure does clean up well. Despite the fact that he considers himself a "professional spitter" these days, he can turn right around and act like such a little gentleman! He was so polite and well mannered, a number of people commented on how well both of them behaved. I look forward to our next outing.

Mother's Day

I am so blessed to have a wonderful Mom and Mother in-law. It was fun to be spoiled by my own family for the day as well. The morning started by early morning backrubs in bed by Carter, then Christian came in and sang 'I wuv you, yes I do!" and Elle topped it all off by making me breakfast in bed - her current speciality peanut butter toast! It sure was a special day. They had gone shopping with Scott and picked out perfect gifts (flowers, flower pots, a tank top, and wine) they know me so well. Here are a few pictures to document the special day! Isn't that a beautiful necklace Carter made for me at church?
Mom and dad gave me this cool "thing" for my flower urns.
Look at the presentation by Scott? my gifts are so pretty!

Scott, Dad, and the kids took us out to our favorite restaraunt- Outback!

After running 15 1/2 miles the day before I decided to bone up on my protein, I had steak and crab legs. Yum!

Carter and Scott made brownies and coffee for us once we got home. It was a perfect ending to a wonderful Mother's Day!

My First 25K! Hooray!

On a very cold, rainy, and windy morning of May 8 my dear friend Kirsten (in white) and I laced up our running shoes and hit the pavement of Grand Rapids for 15.5 miles. It was so AWESOME! The sense of accomplishment and exhilaration were worth all those other Saturday morning runs. Try as I might, these pictures are NOT in order. I have played with them enough and this will have to do.
On the morning of the big event my parents came down, my dad stayed home with Christian because he'd been fighting a cold. My mom, Scott, Ella, and Carter piled in the car and made their way through the crowds to get to the finish line. Here I am pictured with 2 of my favorite cheerleaders, Lisa and Julie. They've encouraged me in my training along the way and were sweet enough to brave the elements and cheer us on at different spots throughout the course. Here they are at the finish line!

Here we are right after crossing the finish line. Tired, but thrilled we did it!

The littlest of cheerleaders: Carter was so sweet, all day long he kept saying, "mom I am so proud of you, you ran that race so good! But you didn't win. That's ok. "

Here we are before the race, Kirsten and her husband came in from Detroit so they stayed in a hotel the night before. It was great to go there, meet up,....and use the warm clean bathrooms before we walked out to the start line.

Afterwards in the warm lobby of the JW Marriott (see our very cool medals)

Another one of my very important encourager.....MOM! Thanks for all your support and encouragement. I love you!

Scott and I after the race- thanks honey for allowing me to go on those long runs during my training.

I was so tickled to set this goal and accomplish it. I finished the race in 2 hours and 14 minutes!Kirsten, I am looking forward to our next race. Maybe the Indy Mini, right? But for now, I am slacking. I haven't run since the race. My mind and body are telling me it is time. Everything in life seems a little clearer when I get to run. Boy I'm glad I won't log 15.5 miles again for awhile though. I think I will stick somewhere between 5-8.

Running

Looking forward to running the 25 K Riverbank Run tomorrow morning. I am resting up and drinking water like a crazy woman. I anticipate a great run with a great friend! Thanks for all the support and encouragment. The calls and cards have meant sooooo much! What's a little rain and wind, right?????????????? I will post pictures soon.

Happy Anniversary

April tends to be a very busy month for us between the boy's birthdays, Spring Break, all the hoopla at school, and our anniversary, we seem to be celebrating every weekend! It seems like forever ago that Scott and I our shared our vows on that blustery, HOT, April Saturday. Some days it seems like a lifetime ago when we would work late, go to the gym, grocery shop together, travel on a whim, and just enjoy our life just the two of us! YIKES, I can barely remember those times. Our life is so full of blessings these days with a busy, happy, healthy household. We didn't steal away to Jamaica to relive our honeymoon, instead we were delighted to go out for a quiet and relaxing dinner at Bonefish Grille. My parents came to watch the kids while we browsed a few shoppes and then sat down for a delicious meal and drinks. We shared lots of laughs recalling all the fun and crazy things we've done and survived these past nine years. Whew, it has been a ride! Scott completely surprised me with a pair of diamond earrings, I had another plan with my gift for him. Scott is such a hard worker that I want him to find time to relax and get back to enjoying his hobby of golfing so I put together a little "tour of the local golf courses" for him with gift cards. Hopefully, this way he will make time to get out on the links. I am so thankful for all we've been blessed with and can't imagine life without you! Thanks honey! Ella so thoughtfully, made us a cake (albeit out of play dough) to commemorate our 9 years together. (Isn't she clever to make a candle out of a toothpick and orange dough for the flame?)

A Day at the Zoo

A free photo collage by Smilebox

A collage by Smilebox

We have had such a beautiful April so last Friday we seized the oppurtunity and headed right to the zoo after I picked them up from daycare. We spent the afternoon observing the animals and monkeying around at the park. We are so lucky to have wonderful places like the zoo to explore!

Life in the country

I am a bit behind in the blogging department, so here is my attempt to catch up picture-wise. We met up with our dear friends the VanDerHulst family at the Heyboer's farm. We spent a fun evening playing outside, grilling, and riding horses. The kids were in Heaven, of course. Aren't they getting so big? Brooke, Kaylie, and Elle

Kaylie riding all by herself!

Ella riding Lena with the help of Granpa Larry

The big four year olds

Cowboy Carter of course wanted to "trot"...not JUST yet!

Christian's first trip around the ring

Tickled with the experience!

The clowns getting a good work out!

Dominic taking his turn

Thanks to the Heyboer's for a fun filled night at the farm!

Soccer

We now entered into Soccer Season! Yeah! We love to start our weekend with exercise and fun! It couldn't have worked out more perfectly in terms of location and logistics. Ella and Carter both play at the same time and at the same location. Their fields are just kiddy corner of each other. Carter's class of 3 and 4 year olds is packed. Imagine teaching 20 some boys and girls to play. Coach Justin is full of energy and personality! I may need to bring him a coffee mid May because this group keeps him on his toes. Carter's good buddy, Kyle is on the same team! However, by the end of practice last week, they had forgotten the rules and their game was looking more like tackle football than soccer. Boys!@*! Warm ups
heading in for the goal!

Ella is on a small team of only five. But she is getting a lot of practice with skills and technique! Is seems like just yesterday she was in the little kids class!

Christian is getting a little practice to, here he is caught in the net.

Drills!

Look at the concentration and listening! At this point, he was very focused. I had to take the picture for evidence)

We are off this weekend. But will be back at it soon! We're not sure if the kids will go next weekend since I have my race downtown and they would really like to be there. There just never seems to be enough time in the day. Two day weekends are so short.