Run Forest, RUN!

WOW – seems like I start most of our blog posts…but that’s all I can say about 2009…..it’s right up there with Rock Star status! Okay, okay, maybe not ROCK STAR yet, but it certainly is SUPER STAR!

Set out a few goals for this year and am hitting some of them…..and feelin’ really good. They weren’t impossible things, but stayin’ on track is tough. One of my goals was to turn 40….well, I did that one. I know, it was coming regardless if I wanted it to or now, but on January 1 when we wrote our goals down, I needed at least one to be able to check off the list at the end of the year.

Another one for me was to sign up for a race (not to run but possibly walk and jog it), set a time limit to finish, and of course FINISH it. Let’s back track a bit, if you know me…you know I am not a runner, you know I am not of an ideal weight, hell, as of January 1, I wasn’t even physically active (although working on that one and discovering, I might be liking it)….

Well, this past Saturday was the Trolley Run. It’s a 4 mile race that benefits the visually impaired in our local town. WOW! I have such an admiration for runners, hell, even fitness walkers. That is some tough work and if memory serves me the first woman to cross the finish did it in less than 21 minutes – that is 5.25 minutes a mile. WOW!

Turned out to be a great, great, day….no rain, wasn’t to terribly hot, and had a slight breeze every so often. IT WAS AWESOME! I DID IT! I finished. I even beat my personal time goal by almost 7 minutes. I am so darn excited. Did the race with 3 other girl friends…all of whom are not runners, trying something new…and we all did it. I am so damn proud of these girls. So, because of that, we are doing a 5k on Mother’s Day. Still decided I am not a runner, but am going to do these sorts of things from time to time to keep it interesting. YEAH US!





Last week was also ‘take your child’ to work day. So, Jacob went to work with Robb in the morning. As you can imagine with the sense of creativity that Jacob has, we had to do everything just like dad, the ‘worker guy’. From dressing like dad, had to have coffee (albeit hot chocolate) in a to-go cup, blackberry on his belt, and ID card to get in the building, and a pen on his shirt. He insisted that he also went out to lunch for business talk. So, Robb being the great dad he obliged…and I even got invited to said luncheon. We talked business, and it was great seeing them interact with one another.



Last, but certainly not least…Isabella had her first Soccer game. The girls were so cute. She had so much fun. Although, I think she is in it for the gear, because she posed for the camera way to many times as the ball would go right by her. She even told us last night her favorite part of the entire weekend was Soccer Day.







So, this week....SUCESS, FUN, ADVENTURES, and lookin' forward to the next. Until next time....ENJOY!

Where oh where have we been!

Wow - Can't believe it's been a whoppin' 23 days since we last met. Way to long, but a lotta fun goin on.

Hmmmm, let's see...we left with Robb's birthday!

We spent Spring Break in the lovely state of Colorado. Visited with Friends and Family and did a lot of firsts. We played tourists for a couple days, played golf a couple of days, took in some skiing for a couple of days (our first time ever with the exception of Robb) and then did a bit of retail therapy. Loved skiing and can't wait to go again and next time I am going to try snow boarding. Great Spring Break was had by all.

Got home just in time for Easter. We were dying eggs at 10:00 PM Easter Eve. Everyone was wired from our long trip home, so we had some fun. Easter day was a quite one for us this year, unpacking, laundry, cleaning, and preparing to get back on track, but we made a nice family dinner and enjoyed each other's company. Oh yea, the Easter Bunny did find us at our new house.

Somewhere along the line, I turned the big 4-0! I went kickin and screamin'. We were in Colorado on the actual day. It was some great fun, surrounded by family and lots and lots of yummy food. I got lots of cards and phone calls from friends back home. Then last weekend went out on date night to celebrate again with lots of friends and their hubbies.....all I can say is.....GREATEST TIME EVER - OMG - We laughed so hard, drank way, way, too much (probably been 10 years since I have seen a room spin), danced anywhere our feet would take us, a little karaoke with our thumbs, and stayed out way, way, too late. Fun times - and can't wait to do it again. With friends like you all, I would do it again in a minute and am looking forward to the next 40 years. Not to bad being 40 - seriously, I have done some great things in 2009 and it's going to be a great year. What's next, maybe a tattoo, a piercing, how about blue hair? Who knows!

Been makin' a lot of changes and doing a lot of firsts in our house and it's been fantastic. Everyone is happier, enjoying life, and even getting some relaxing done. Not takin' things so serious. It's all good.

Jacob is on his first baseball team. He is doing so well and loves it. We went to the batting cages last week for some practice and he did so well. WOW! Where did that little boy go.

Isabella is on a soccer team and can't wait to go. She calls it her baseball practice. We have (2) rain out days, so she doesn't really understand it all as of yet....but she is excited.

Robb is busy working hard at work. He plays on the weekend with his lawn, in his garage, and now his boat. Yep, I said it....BOAT. It's a small family touring boat that his grandfather made in the 80's. New hobby and everyone can't be more excited.

As I mentioned above, I am doing well. Busy, busy, busy, makes me happy, happy, happy.

Stay tuned for all our adventures and firsts coming up.....cool stuff, birthday to celebrate, baseball games, soccer games, and more.

My old man is gettting old....

Nooooo - Just joking Robb! This past weekend we spent the weekend celebrating Robb's birthday. It was a great weekend.

Started on Friday with a date night and having two other couples joining us for what could possibly be the best dinner I have had in years. Seriously, it was a great restaurant, wonderful company, and great time had by all.

Robb wanted to spend the day Saturday with the family, so the kids made him breakfast of his choice - Egg's Benedict. Then we played the entire day. The kids made him his cake of choice - Chocolate Mayo cake with cream cheese frosting from scratch. Great little bakers they are. We ended the night with making Sushi night. It was a lot fun, yummy, and the kids ate great.

Oh yea, forgot to mention the snow and ice storm that occured on Saturday.

Then we ended the weekend off with a BBQ with friends and family at the house. The snow melted, Robb smoked some Pork Loin, and we had a fantastic time.

Great weekend!

Karate Tournament and more....

Hmmmm, been a busy time here. Looks like it might actually be spring, so we are enjoying some wonderful time outside. We even unpacked a box or two, hung a couple more pictures, sorted the garage AGAIN, started baseball season, and attended our first karate tournament.

Jacob participated in his first karate tournament today. He participated in the strongest punch, strongest kick, fastest kick, fasted punch, and a stanger danger drill. He did fantastic. He got one silver medal and 4 golds. He was so excited. You couldn't wipe the smile off his sweet face. Then Isabella was our resident cheerleader. She kept yelling 'go Jacob, go Jacob' amongst the 200 kids.

Great times and great fun.

Top of the O' Day to ya!

Happy St. Patricks Day!

We woke up this morning to what we can only assume was a pesky little Leprechaun. He ransacked the place and turned our milk green (the entire gallon). It's crazy!

Jacob thinks that he came in the middle of the night to look for gold. Since there isn't any here, he got mad and turned our milk green and the place upside down.

Isabella thinks he went next door after our house.

Then Jacob discovered the green chocolate muffins that were left behind, therefore, they both enjoyed having that little pesky guy visit our house while they were sleeping.

Enjoy!

Missed you....

Opps! It's been awhile, sorry! Robb has spent the better part of the last several weeks out of town, so I think maybe we just went into autopilot.

Hmmmm - what have we been doing? So busy, no unpacking has happened but can't think of what we actually have been doing with our time. I think maybe it's denial -lack of willingness to work anymore on the unpacking. Did you know a box could be a desk, a table, holds lamps, books, and even a toy bin.

Well - let's see, Chinese New Year came and went. Valentines was busy. Both kids had parties at school and came home with more candy than anyone needed. But had fun. We spent the day as a family and made pizza's at home. Then the next weekend, Robb and I went on a real date. Dinner and a movie. It was fun and yummy. The kids have had a few birthday parties to attend, we hosted a family brunch, had some girlfriends over for Margarita's, a few kiddo play dates, went to a wonderful musical, saw a few movies on day off from school days, attended parent teacher conference, and we can't forget our weekly activities we are involved in. I think we are just just busy pluggin' away at our routine. Meanwhile, waitin' for Spring.


Our dining room chairs came in and while Jacob and I were away at a birthday party, Isabella helped dad be a 'worker guy'.


This is what our front yard looked like just this past Friday....yep, geese eating and having fun in the nice warm weather.


Then we woke up Saturday morning to snow and watched it snow most of the day. This is Isabella's first time sledding. She loved it. I kept hearing her scream with laughter.


Jacob didn't want to come in - EVER!


I think Robb said we got 6 inches. So, of course we had to play outside. The kids had the greatest time.

End of Chinese New Year...

We mark the end of the Chinese New Year Celebrations....we have attended a party with friends, ate Chinese food several times, had a dumplin' makin' party, visited our local art gallery viewing thier Chinese celebrations of crafts, lion dances, music, Chinese costume show, had the privledge of watching Isabella's dance teacher perform an entire show, and the cherry on top....Isabella got to perform for an audiance group two dances that she has been practicing with her friends in her Chinese dance class since last October. It was so much fun. The girls worked so hard and looked so beautiful. They had so much fun and really enjoyed every minute of it. I think maybe a star has been born.

Gung Hay Fat Choy (may you prosper)2009, year of the Ox!

I Believe...

A friend sent this to me today and thought I would just share it with whom ever reads this blog. Happy believing...

I Believe...
That just because two people argue,
It doesn't mean they don't love each other.
And just because they don't argue,
It doesn't mean they do love each other..
I Believe....
That we don't have to change friends if
We understand that friends change.
I Believe...
That no matter how good a friend is,
They're going to hurt you every once in a while
And you must forgive them for that.
I Believe...
That true friendship continues to grow,
Even over the longest distance.
Same goes for true love..
I Believe...
That you can do something in an instant
That will give you heartache for life.
I Believe...
That it's taking me a long time
To become the person I want to be.
I Believe...
That you should always leave loved ones with
Loving words. It may be the last time you see them.
I Believe...
That you can keep going long after you think you can't.
I Believe...
That we are responsible for what
We do, no matter how we feel.
I Believe....
That either you control your attitude or it controls you.
I Believe...
That heroes are the people who do what has to be done when it needs to be
done, regardless of the consequences.
I Believe...
That money is a lousy way of keeping score.
I Believe...
That my best friend and I, can do anything, or nothing and have the best
time.
I Believe...
That sometimes the people you expect to kick you When you're down, will be
the ones to help you get back up.
I Believe...
That sometimes when I'm angry
I have the right to be angry,
But that doesn't give me the right to be cruel.
I Believe.
That maturity has more to do with
What types of experiences you've had
And what you've learned from them
And less to do with
How many birthdays you've celebrated.
I Believe....
That it isn't always enough,
To be forgiven by others.
Sometimes, you have to learn to forgive yourself.
I Believe...
That no matter how bad your heart is broken
The world doesn't stop for your grief.
I Believe...
That our background and circumstances
May have influenced who we are,
But, we are responsible for who we become.
I Believe......
That you shouldn't be so eager to find
Out a secret. It could change your life Forever.
I Believe...
Two people can look at the exact same
Thing and see something totally different.
I Believe...
That your life can be changed in a matter of
Hours by people who don't even know you.
I Believe....
That even when you think you have no more to give,
When
A friend cries out to you -
You will find the strength to help.
I Believe...
That credentials on the wall
Do not make you a decent human being.
I Believe...
That the people you care about most in life
Are taken from you too soon.

Food for thought...

"You create your own reality, and if you believe you are destined to fail, chances are you will. However, if you believe you're worth it, you can achieve almost anything you want."

Have a good day.

Dumplin' of Fun!

Havin' some fun bringing in the Chinese New Year. Had a dumplin' makin' dinner party last night. Filled with tons of dough, stuffing, and lot's and lot's of giggles.

This was the kids idea. So, they sat the table and wanted to have a party. So, we decided to make dumplings, since it's a traditional Chinese New Year food. We had a few friends over and everyone sat around counter making our dinner - Chinese Pork Dumplings. It was fun to see the funny shapes and sizes that everyone made. After the making of the dumplings, we loaded our plates full of chinese food and had some fantastic converstation around the dinner table. Jacob was so excited and had so much fun throughout the day, he fell asleep at the table in the middle of dessert.

Happy New Year!