A Lot to Catch Up On!

A year later and I am still not eating meat...........but that is not all that we have been up to. We have had a very busy year! Here are the highlights since my last post:
We spent last summer hanging out at the baseball field watching both Colton and Carter's teams. We spent weekends hanging out at the lake with family. We took a family trip to St. Louis and Colton got a new look when he started wearing glasses. In August Colton started 4th grade which meant a new building and a locker. Kylie started 1st grade and Carter started kindergarten! I also tackled 15 hours moving to seated classes rather than online courses. Over Labor Day weekend we took the kids on a trip to Chicago, where we tried "real" Chicago style pizza (however we still prefer Monicals). Kyle surprised the kids when he brought them home a puppy, which they named Cooper. Carter also started playing soccer and was able to join Kylie's team. In October Kylie turned 7. In November Kyle ran the Bass Pro Half Marathon in 1hr 50 mins and Carter lost his first tooth. In December Kylie joined Girl Scouts, Carter turned 6 and Colton turned 10 on Christmas Day. We spent New Years visiting the family in Illinois. In January Colton and Carter starting basketball and I started classes again. In February Kylie did the cheer clinic and sold Girl Scout cookies. In March, Carter got the hang of reading. In April , Kyle, Kiley Corban and myself ran the Illinois Half Marathon in Campaign, running through the U of I campus, where Kyle graduated from. Now in May, the kids are getting antsy for summer vacation to start, I am getting ready for finials and baseball is starting back up with Carter moving to coach pitch.

Looking forward we have another busy summer of baseball, Austin and Emery's Wedding and the kids will have another cousin this fall when my sister has her baby!

Meat or no Meat?

Giving vegetarianism a try----giving up meat for a while. The idea of being a vegetarian in nothing new however it is something new that I am pondering. I have always eaten meat and never really thought much about it even when I have (in the few instances) been around vegetarians. However recently the idea has popped up in a few places causing me to wonder why I eat meat? Do I really enjoy it? need it? want it? or it is something I do because I have never really questioned it? So I have decided to give it a try. I will be giving up meat for a period of time to see if I miss it and how I feel without it.

I am a Runner! My New found Confidence

Last year my great friend Becky convinced me to try running. She has always been a runner and I have never been athletic. The goal was for me to train and run a 5K. I completed the training and ran my first 5K in March (2009) Kyle and the kids were at the finish line waiting for me. It was hard but I had a great time. We then continued to run a 5K each month for the next several months. Some of the runs Kyle and Bryson (Becky's husband) would join us and other times we ran alone. Either way we always have a great time!

Thanks to Becky for showing me the starting line and to Kyle for always waiting at the finish line

Toothless

This is the site I saw the other day when I picked Kylie up from School.

Happy Valentines Day!

Here are the boys Valentines boxes they made this year. (Kylie's was a store bought pink mailbox)
Colton made a snowman (an idea given to me by my extremely creative friend Becky) and Carter decided he wanted to make a beetle. Kyle and Carter made his box in the last few minutes before they had to go to school on the morning of the party.

Our Little Cheerleader

Kylie was able to preform as a cheerleader at a recent Clever High school basketball game. She participated in the cheer clinic, which meant staying after school all week to learn and practice cheers with the high school cheerleaders. The whole group then preformed in "Little Cheer Night". She had the BEST time. She really enjoyed practicing with the "big" girls and was excited to preform in front of the crowd. I am sure we will see more cheering from her in the future.

Our Superstar

Carter was the class Superstar for his preschool class. The Superstar gets to sit in a special chair all week and have their Mom come visit and read their favorite book to the class. Carter had me read Willy's Raiders (a book Kyle got when he was 6). They also get to be second in line everywhere the class goes. Carter had a great time filling out the poster that hung in the classroom all week.