Lighthouse

One day during Spring Break, we took advantage of the sunny skies and warm weather and headed up to Lake Erie to one of the lighthouses.

It's a nice long walk on the pier.
Sisters!
Cousins
At the end by the lighthouse.
Abby and Micah
It was a bit windy that day!
Me and my girls


Looking back.

First 10K Race

Last fall, I got antsy to start running again after taking over a year off. Billy and I talked about what kind of race I should train for and he said a 10k would be good for me. My friend Krista told me about a race she was doing at her college at the end of March. Perfect! Lots of time to train.

At the beginning of January, I got serious. I printed off a training schedule and started running. I ran a lot at our local Rec center on an indoor track. Ten times around is a mile. For two or three miles, that's ok. But one time, I ran 45 times around. Yuck. But the track was better than a treadmill.

A few times, I ran outside. In the snow. One time, my sister and I went to the rails-to-trails and it had snow drifts several feet high. It was like running on ski moguls. My knees were sore after that!

Finally the snow melted in March and I was able to run the longer miles outside.

March 27 was race day. Since the race location was three hours away, we drove down the day before. I hate sleeping in hotels but it was better than getting up super early on race day.

After a good breakfast, we gathered at the local park to sign in. It was C-C-C-COLD!! 28 degrees and then the wind made it feel colder. Good thing I had been training outside.

Me and Krista
Some of our cheering section - Krista's brother and mom. Krista's friend Jill also ran.
My biggest fan (who waited in the warm car while I ran 6.2 miles)!
Coming in for the last mile
Here comes Krista
Almost to the finish line (I'm back there by the girl in the pink shirt)
Krista finishes
A reward of fruit!

I met my goal of finishing in under an hour - 59:30. I was happy with the race, especially considering how cold it was.

Next up, a local 5k. Let's see if I can get another PR.

Family Time

My dad just had his 70th birthday and my mom invited several people to come for his party. My dad's brother Jim and his wife Marlys came from Kentucky and brought my dad's mom, Granny. My brother Michael and his wife Melissa and their son Woody came in from Maryland. And my sister Rachel came with her children from North Carolina. Whew!

On Friday evening, Mom had everyone over to her house for dinner. Good thing they have a big picnic table.
Abby and Uncle Michael
Rob, my Granny and a sweet lady from our church, Miss Dawn.
Hantie and Sarah
Jordan, Karen, Michael and Billy
Sarah doing her hula hoop dance.
Hannah was the most popular with the younger set of cousins.
How many can you hold at one time?
Nana and Papa with most of their grandchildren
Uncle Jim, Granny and my Daddy
Happy Birthday, Daddy! We love you.

Edible Artwork

Coloring eggs is a favorite tradition for our family. Billy and I colored eggs before we had children(okay, it was just me). I love to make designs with the little white crayon and then dip them into different colors. I also like to leave the eggs in as long as possible to get the brightest colors.

Fortunately, my girls share my love of the dipping and the dyeing! We did two dozen eggs this year. Fun! Good thing we like deviled eggs and egg salad.

Sarah was much more gentle with her eggs this year. Last year, she threw one on the floor after Abby accidentally dropped one. She is a good follower.
Love her refrigerator art! We love going to the library every week to hear stories and do crafts.

Writing on her egg before dyeing it.
Sarah loves her Daddy!

Easter Baskets

The Easter Bunny came early this year. On Friday, in fact. There were a number of reasons why... a hectic weekend schedule being the primary culprit.

So it was appropriate that "she" (as Abby informed me) brought them chocolate crosses. It was Good Friday.
Boy, did it taste good! Can't go wrong with Malley's!
I think she ate one bite of those eggs before devouring the last of the chocolate.
On Resurrection Sunday, we went to church all dressed up. Our church normally meets on Saturday nights, so it was different trying to get us all out the door at this early hour.
The Easter Egg Hunt was at my mom's house that evening. I think Sarah found the most.
It was because we had told the older kids to let the little ones have the "easy" ones and look for the ones that were harder to find. But we still got plenty of chocolate.

A Peek Into Sarah's World

I found this scene one day after Sarah had been playing by herself quite contentedly.
Organize much?

It makes me laugh. Notice how everything is neatly categorized. The phones are together (the pink calculator is her "Blackberry" just like Hantie's). The babies are together. The spoons and cups together. And one golf club per stair - one is under the babies.

Makes my heart smile.

A Teaser

Yep, it's me. Behind on posting again. As usual, a lot has been going on. Here's a little teaser from Easter weekend.


Catch-ups coming. Thanks for your patience.