10K Run!

Madison drew a great picture of Kellie and I with our medals. She loved wearing my medal as well. It was so cute seeing her so proud!

Caitlin also loved wearing the medal...

Caitlin passed out from all the excitement. I wish that I could have slept like this on the living room floor!!!!!

Yesterday was my first 10K run. I was a little anxious about it because I was pretty sore from doing a Body Pump class at the gym. My good friend Kellie reassured me that we would do fine. Actually she told me that she would drag me to the finish if I couldn't do it... She is a faster runner than I am and we were doing the run together. It was a beautiful morning to run. I was a little surprised when the trail headed into the woods and we had to dodge ruts, branches and mud. It slowed me down a little...

I must say that I was happy to see the finish. I actually got 2nd place in my division. My friend got first place in her division. We were pretty proud of ourselves and sported our medals proudly on the way home. My kids were very excited and drew pictures for me when I got home.

The next big one is the last Sunday in September in Lansing. All 3 kids will be doing a fun run. I am so excited for them. I would love for them to do a 5K with me someday.

My wonderful husband let me take a long bath and nap. He also ordered me Chinese food from my favorite restaurant. It was a great day!!!!!

working out - FINALLY!!

So, I have been putting off going a gym for years now. I have always felt a little guilty spending the money when we had a treadmill in our basement. We all know how motivating it is to run downstairs in your basement without even a TV. This past January, I decided that I was going to be a "runner", another crazy dream that I have always had. I started faithfully everyday running on my treadmill. Mile after agonizing mile, I did it! Soon I felt confident enough to run with my friend. I did my first 5 K in April and am heading out Saturday for a 10K. I am also doing a half marathon the end of September. All this running has led me to want to tone my upper body as well. I just joined SWAT yesterday. I went to a Body Pump class and loved it. I am definitely addicted after just one time. The sad thing is my legs are in worse shape this morning than my arms. I thought that my legs would be fine and my arms would be killing. I guess all that baby and kid carrying have kept my arms in a little shape. I am even thinking of trying out my old gymnastic tricks and enroll in an adult gymnastic class. One step at a time. THE HALF MARATHON. I don't want to hurt myself in gymnastics before the big run!!!! It defintiley feels good to be getting a little time for myself back after seven years :)

Chicago

Blake "Mr. Tough Guy" with Sue.

Dinosaurs in front of Field Museum

Madison and Kit at American Girl. This store could cost me a fortune.

The girls pretending to be Cinderella on the carriage ride

Our family in the carriage. The kids really liked this. Thanks Brett!!!!

Lego store. Brett and Blake loved it.

The kids and their new friends at Shedd Aquarium. Do we really need more stuffed animals?

YUMMY treats at the Hershey store.

Brett surprised us with a trip to Chicago. The kids and I were pretty tired out from all the vacationing, but were up for a trip to Chicago with Brett. We went to Shedd's Aquarium on our way in to the city Friday morning. Our kids love animals, so Shedd's is always on the list when we go to Chicago. The kids especially loved the dolphins this time. They were right next to the window in the basement when several dolphins were coming right up nose to nose with the kids behind the glass. It was awesome. Of course one went to the bathroom right in front of them and that is all the kids talk about! After a trip to the gift shop we were on our way to the hotel. We stayed half a block off of Michigan Ave. It was a great hotel. We went to Disney, Lego, Hershey and Rainforest Cafe. This was definitely a kid trip and EXPENSIVE!!!! We ended the night with a carriage ride. The girls pretended to be Cinderella. They loved it.

The next morning the girls and I were off to American Girl at 9 am. It was fun and I even got out of the store with only one bag of goodies. Madison really wanted a guitar for Kit. Go figure... I tried talking her into several other things, but she stuck to her decision. We met the boys and went to Field museum. Animals and Dinosaurs - what more could we ask for???? Brett and Blake saw a 3D dinosaur movie while the girls and I played in the Family Play Lab in the basement. Brett and I were exhausted- (just a little cranky even)

We even stopped at Michigan City outlets and bought clothes and shoes for the kids. So all in all - it was ALL ABOUT THE KIDS!!!!

My little FISH!

Blake is always being silly.

Crazy Madison. She is definitely our little dare devil.

Having fun. Check out Madison with her front crawl in the middle. She is an awesome swimmer.

Cutie Caitlin. She is always ready to flash me her cute smile :)

The kids and I took a quick trip over to the Detroit area to visit with their cousins. We of course couldn't be over there without at stop at Grandma and Papa's pool. Oma and Opa brought over the Warner clan for a quick dip. We all ended up back at the Warner household for the night. My kids love that house. We met up with Christy and Emily the next day. Since it was so rainy, we went to Chuck E. Cheese. It was great to see how big Emily has gotten. They are living in Colorado now.

St. Louis

The kids at the zoo. They all had on their Camp Kangazoo shirts !!!!

Madison feeding a baby camel. She is so brave and not afraid of a thing!

These goats were very aggressive

Caitlin loved feeding them a bottle from outside the fence.

The kids painting self portraits. I was very nervouse of my kids messing up the cute painting, but it ended up adorable. I want to paint one for our house. The kids loved it :)

Madison feeding and petting stingrays. It was very intimidating to have one swim right over your hand and suck up the fish.

Cutie bug on the carousel.

Caitlin finally got to see a real elephant. She loved watching it.

The hippo put on quite a show for the girls.

The girls at the Magic House.

The kids, my mother and I took a road trip to St. Louis. It was a 7 hour drive. The kids were fantastic. We visited my oldest sister and her family. She has a son whom Blake adores. The boys are a perfect match. The boys went to a zoo camp four days. It was really nice to be able to hang out with my mom, sister and my two girls. I took the girls to "The Magic House" - great childrens museum, zoo, and Grant's farm. We also spent some time playing in the backyard on the slip and slide and at the community pool. Madison and I even touched and fed sting rays. I was scared to death, but had to fo it for Madison :) I am still amazed daily of what we do for our children.

We also took our cat, Molly. She will be living with them now. Blake is really struggling with his allergies and we needed to get rid of her. We are so happy that she has a wonderful home. The trip down with her was amuzing. She pooped in the cage before we even left the garage. She also pooped half way there. Thank goodness for Oma. She climbed back and scooped it out. The kids thought it would be so much fun to have the cat go with us until it got SMELLY!!!! Molly is a great cat and will have a happy life at their home.

We are back home for a few days and then will be heading to the Detroit area followed by Chicago. Wow, I am exhausted from my travels. The kids are loving it though!!!! I guess that is all that matters.

Cabin on the LAKE

I love to hear their laughs

Mommy and the girls posed on the beach - we of course had the windiest day to do this :(

My three beach bums!!!!

We used this beach tent everyday. Brett hooked up the ipod with speakers for us to enjoy the music while the kids played. It was great that the cabin was just up the hill from here.

Hiking down the beach. We were right between the Little Sable Lighthouse and the Silver Dunes State Park.

We went on a jeep tour one evening with the kids. The loved it so much and Blake told the guide that it was the best day of his whole life!!!! We loved it so much, Brett and his dad took the kids on their own another night. Madison said that daddy went faster without the guide and even went through water. The jeep was a HUGE hit for the young and old.

This was our backyard for the week. Madison and I spent several sunsets lounging in this hammock. We loved our own private beach.

We rented a cabin for a week right on Lake Michigan. We had an amazing time. Brett and I both agree that it was our best vacation yet. Our family had great weather and such a wonderful time just playing and hanging out in the sand together. We have already looked at other cabins for next year. We are definitely going to make renting a cabin around the wonderful state of Michigan a summer tradition for our family! Brett and my parents' came up for the last few days. The kids loved having both sets of grandparents up to spoil them. I again took over 500 pictures of our fabulous 7 days. I will be putting several up for the next few posts! If you have never been to Silver Lake sand dunes, they are amazing.

heading to the lake

Madison loves to get all dressed up! She always asks me to take a picture of her...

Sorry that it has been awhile since the last post. I took the kids over to the Detroit area for their cousin Ava's 3rd birthday party. We stayed a few days and played with the cousins. We had really rainy weather but did venture to the indoor waterpark two times. Friday the weather cleared and I met a great friend at my inlaw's pool. My kids love to swim.

After doing laundry and repacking bags we are off for a week at a cabin right on Lake Michigan near Silver Lake sand dunes. We are so excited. Of course we have so much to take that Brett even had to go out today and buy a cargo carrier for the Suburban. I plan on several photo shoots on our private beach.