Halfway There!!

Five months into the year, and I am halfway to my goal of running 1000 miles. I start marathon training in a couple of weeks, so that should really pile on the miles here shortly. In some ways, I can't believe I'm even thinking of doing another marathon. I remember very clearly thinking around mile 20 of the last one that I will NEVER, EVER, EVER do this again...but here I am, preparing for the Baltimore Marathon less than two years after the last one. I think in some ways, running marathons is like childbirth. When you're in the moment, you swear you will NEVER do it again, but as time passes and the memories fade, you find yourself thinking "Ahhhh now, that wasn't so bad!" And the rewards are surely worth every ounce of pain and sweat involved. (Not trying to compare babies to running too much, but you get the idea!) So here we go, 500 miles down...a whole lot more to go!!

American Idol

I know, "American Idol" has been over for a while, but I just couldn't resist posting these pictures. We actually only saw the last few episodes (we were too caught up in "The Biggest Loser" to follow it much before then)...but we did all watch the finale together. This was what our house was like that night...

I guess both kids got bit by the singing bug a bit. Abby has a real talent for picking up songs quickly and singing them in the right pitch. About 80% of her day is spent singing (mostly Primary songs, but a few Disney ones as well) and it's pretty fun to listen to her. Landon was mostly just interested in how the microphone tasted, but who knows, maybe he'll be a singing prodigy like his big sister someday!

Kickoff to Summer

I have always loved Memorial Day because it always symbolizes the start of my most favorite season of all....SUMMER!! (Summer was my least favorite season during our time in Texas, but now that we're in a more temperate climate, it has moved back into the top spot again!) We spent the day "stimulating the economy!!!" We got some good deals on some big outdoor purchases that we have been eyeing for a while so we took the plunge and bought a new gas grill...And a new firepit...
We spent the evening cooking hot dogs and chicken on the grill and making s'mores with the firepit. We all had fun enjoying the beatiful day and weather!!

And in honor of the true reason why we celebrate Memorial Day, here is Abby singing a tribute to her Grandpa Don (the Marine Corp anthem!!)...

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Hershey's Chocolate Factory....I'm Drooling!!

Last week we had some more visitors to our neck of the woods! Jason's uncle and aunt (Bryan & Lynda) were visiting their children/grandchild (Brad, Kerri and little Kaci) in Virginia and they were all able to come and spend a few nights with us. We joined them on a little excursion up to Hershey, Pennsylvania on Friday and the kids had a ball (the adults had a pretty good time too!)

We started off in "Chocolate World" where we took some fun pictures of the different candy charicatures...

We then met up with the rest of the gang to take our "Chocolate Tour." This was such a fun tour that was very engaging for kids. We all sat in roller-coaster like chairs and it wheeled us around for about 15 minutes, explaining the different steps that go into creating the wide variety of Hershey chocolate candies. Then at the end you got a little sample of some yummy Hershey's chocolate. We had so much fun that we did the tour twice (after much pleading by both Abby and Aunt Lynda!!)

After the tour, Abby and Kaci tried their hand at making their own little box of Hershey's kisses. Don't they make adorable little factory workers??? (I especially love the ring of chocolate around Kaci's mouth....hmmm, I think the workers were trying a little bit too much of their product!!!)

Of course Mr. Landon was busy playing the role of foreman...

We could have done a lot more while we were there (trolley rides, children's garden, animal park, taste testing, and of course there' s "Hershey Park" itself which is a huge amusement park similar to Six Flags), but we decided to just do the "free" stuff that day. After doing everything we could without spending a dime (including leaving within two hours so that we didn't even have to pay for parking), we headed back to Hagerstown and enjoyed some Subway sandwiches at City Park. We had a great time and it was so much fun to get caught up with family again!!

Brad, Kerri and Kaci went back to Virginia that night while Bryan and Lynda stayed the night with us again so that they would be closer to the airport for flying out the next day. Abby fell in love with Bryan and Lynda during their visit and she soon started calling them "Grandma and Grandpa." We tried a few times to explain that they were really her Great Uncle and Aunt, but she insisted that they were another set of Grandparents for her to play with and show off all of her neat "tricks" she likes doing around the house...I guess you can never have enough "grandmas and grandpas" in your life!!

Mom's Day

I had a wonderful Mother's Day yesterday. I woke up to a wonderful breakfast made by my wonderful husband and three gifts and cards from the "loves of my life"...

I got a "Nathan" water bottle from Mr. Landon...

Some running socks from Miss Abigail...

And some flowers and running shoes from Jason!!!
I had been hinting at the running shoes for a while, but the flowers, water bottle and socks were a nice surprise. I also got dinner made for me that night and lots of hugs and kisses throughout the day. It was a wonderful day and I feel very blessed to be a mother.

I also got another gift yesterday...a new calling! I was sustained and set apart as the new Primary President in our ward. This calling was a bit surprising to me since Jason is the Elders Quorum president (and our ward is HUGE...plenty of people to spread the callings around.) I thought I had a "free-ride" for a while, but I guess I was mistaken. We have already had several people volunteer to watch the kids for us when we both have to go to the same meetings which is really nice. I love the ward we're in right now, the primary is a good size with great kids, I have WONDERFUL counselors and a superb support staff already in place. I know this calling will be a bit overwhelming and challenging at times, but I'm excited for all the things that I will be learning. Wish us luck!!

Gymnastics Gal

Abby started taking gymnastics classes last week and absolutely LOVES them. We enrolled her for two reasons...1. Because she loves to flip, jump, twirl, bounce, run, hop, skip, whatever...she is an extremely active little thing, and 2. Because we thought it would be good for her to get to know other little girls her age. All of her friends in the ward and playgroup are boys! During her first class last week she was the only one in her class which was nice for her to get so much one-on-one attention, but kind of defeated the #2 reason why we had enrolled her in the first place. Last night though, there were two other little girls in her class and she had a blast!! She likes to come home and show us what she learned in class. So far this has included sommersaults and jumping...yes, I know what you're all thinking....we must have a future olympic gymnast on our hands, right? But she's having a great time and we are having fun watching her grow!!

Here are a couple of pictures of one of her many "boyfriends" in the ward. I hope those odds continue for Abby as she gets older. She will have a huge pool of great husbands to choose from someday!!