Love + Two

Our little family of four had several fun accomplishments in 2013.  First the kiddos: * Celebrated birthday #3 and #5 with friends, family, and Batman! * First flag football game, first tap/ballet dance recital. * First day of Kindergarten and trip on a big bus to/from school (last year I walked Tyler to/from pre-K...what a beautiful time we shared). For Myself: * First & second full marathon * Countless half marathons, ten milers, duathlon, 5ks and fun mud races with friends! * First Triathlon with the hubby * Moved back onto Andrews AFB and rented our Waldorf home to reduce commute time & gain family time * Promoted to Team Lead at work * Completed 3 full time masters semesters Areas of my life I hope to grow/accomplish in 2014: * Find a church closer to home (although we love New Life, surely we can find a church family closer to home). * Let go of things that will never be (ugh….sooo hard but a continued work in progress). * Forgive hurtf...

It's nearly Christmas time, which seems to bring out the gift of humor in my kiddos.  Here are a few quick examples: __________________________________ Me: Tyler, you sure were chatty with Santa.  What did you ask for? Tyler: The Despicable Me 2 movie and a fartblaster, of course! Me: <sigh> __________________________________ After a few minutes of Avery gabbing about everything: Tyler: Avery, you are like a wife Avery: I am NOT a wife.  I am a WOMAN. Me: <sigh> _____________________________________________________________ The morning after Avery's dance recital...Overheard while I was folding laundry: Avery: Daddy, you spilled that water. Daddy: I didn't spill any water. Avery:  Yes, you did spill Daddy.  I know stuff, I'm a dancer. ______________________________________________________________ Chatting with Tyler over dinner Tyler: Aunt Angie is Jewish. Me: How do you know that? Tyler: You said everyone with a menorah is ...

Here's the game..every day in November list something you are thankful for. The concept is big on Facebook.  I'm transferring my daily list to this blog purely to protect my friends & family news feed from having to read something really intended for my reference/reminder. I hope that placing this list on my blog will give me a lasting memory of 2013. 1Nov: I'm thankful for each day I see the sunshine. Today was 71degrees outside when the kids and I went to the park after work/school. How amazing does the warm sunshine feel on your skin?  For me, good enough to act calm as a cucumber while Avery was being a grumpy-bumpkin immediately after this picture.  2Nov: I'm thankful for organized sports. Watching these kids smile with positive reinforcement and get encouraged for hard work is awesome.  3Nov:  I'm thankful for Gods beautiful creations. The little things like songs that inspire, random strangers that spread a smile, and mother...

These two hams are my pride and joy.  I spend my days at work only to have my sunshine arrive the moment I pick them up.  Bob and I seem to work opposite shifts more than we both work day shifts, so usually its just the kids and I on the weekdays.  I caught up with a former colleague this afternoon, and she was grumbling over being a "single-mom" a couple days a week.  I have to admit, it doesn't bother me at all.  Not that I'm superwoman, I just enjoy having the one-on-one time with Tyler and Avery Paige.  I really should be catching up on homework, so I'll make this short and sweet.... funnies: Me: Tyler, what does your new teacher look like? Tyler: Well, Ms. Montero has busted teeth like me.  She has skin like our family.  She has black eyes and ton hair. Me: Ton?? Do you mean tan?? Tyler:  Um....yes, tan...ugh... geez Mom, you knew what I meant. Me: Avery, what do you love about Mommy? Avery:  When you kiss me goodbye. Me...

Who knew Airman Leadership School would connect me with a friend for life. I consider myself blessed to have Amanda in my life. Between work & family life she still makes time to show her friends love & support. As always, the Army Ten Miler was a great race filled with veterans like Amanda & I and active duty members. I ran on the DIA team which made this race even more special.  I pushed myself pretty hard but missed my personal record (PR) by 2 minutes. I'm trying not to be too upset about that...it was the first time my time didn't speed-up. My defense, the course was really crowded and I started in the last wave. It took a lot of extra time to weave thru the crowd. (My lame excuse ;) Our Director, Lieutenant  General Flynn gave us a coin for running. I'm not a big "show-me" kinda gal, so the coin is tucked away in a drawer. I did request our team leader CW4 Merriman to receive an award. She really did a great job pulling every together w...

Molly was great at taking these "us" pics Well, I have to say this weekend was fun filled and my bubble was burst a tad this morning.  In the grand scheme of things, personally I'm incredibly blessed each and every day, furlough or no furlough.  At this current hour of 10pm, we don't have a resolve or Continued Resolution Authority (CRA) to fund our government employees.  I'm worried about employees with a sole income.  I'm worried about the single parents.  I'm worried about all the "missed" items in the event of a furlough. I consider myself blessed to support the warfighter everyday.  All the people I work with are passionate and honored to be a Civil Servant.  As government employees, we all raised our right hand and accepted the oath to serve the President of the United States and his appointees.  With that said, my family and I will just keep praying for those in need and decision makers during this time of fiscal uncertainty. L...

What did I so with my time before after school activities?  Flag football, ballet, & tap practice make afternoons all the more fun. I'm pretty sure the only time we sit down is to eat dinner & sleep. I have to say, seeing Avery tap her way across the room or doing a ballet twirl...right after watching Tyler catch a football in the crisp cool sunshine, makes fall feel like, well...fall!

What happens when your mommy and daddy are training for a tri??? You get lots of pool & bike time and you invent your own races.  After watching the Warrior Dash in Mechanicsville, MD, she invented her own duathlon with mud. In all honesty, with the recent explosion of mud/obstacle courses, she has a great idea that would bring in new followers (the duathlon/triathlon crowd). Here's Dads new tri outfit.  Here's Tyler and Avery Paige kicking off fall with a little swimming practice. These kiddos make my world sunny. 

A million reasons why I love this picture... to name a few; lunch with my sweetie, her fashion sense, she steals my salad, and she makes up words like "meatballdeetdoll!"

Gorgeous weather, fantastic friends, amazingly beautiful course, and great cause = fantastic Saturday half marathon. My marathon training actually had me run 16 miles, so I added a few miles at the end of the course (keep reading).  Usually I do a mile by mile recap, but this race wasn't like any others, for several reasons (again, keep reading).  First, I ran without headphones. This allowed me to stay in touch with my surroundings and chat with other people. I pushed myself to keep a pace between 8:30 and 9:30. It was a peaceful and well supported course.  At mile 9, I met a gal (Jennifer) who needed help finishing. She was running her first half marathon. Her motivation was a crappy ex boyfriend who told her she couldn't do it. This year alone, she ran her first 4 miler, hiked Mt Kilamajaro, and was running her first half. She's also training for the Marine Corp Marathon (MCM).  I told her the ex was wrong and good guys exist that will support every dream she has ...

Yes, I can now tell you....take 95N into PA and it's near a little town called Langhorne, PA.  We absolutely love Sesame Place.  This year the kiddos enjoyed the water park too.  My favorite part was listening to Avery giggle as we sped thru the water slide on a double tube.  I'm not sure if she'll remember the ride, but I'll never forget her innocent laughter.  Tyler also rode the water rides with his friend Ben Wilkerson.  Jake, Ben and Tyler loved the big splash pad with multiple slides.  Avery stuck to my side like glue, mostly because she's still afraid of anything dressed in a costume.  Except Abby and Zoe....she really wanted to give those gals a high five.  Hanging out with 4 cute kiddos and 4 awesome parents really made for a relaxing & fun day on Sesame Street.  We are so blessed to receive the tickets complimentary via the Waves of Honor program.  The Waves of Honor Program grants one complimentary visit per year ...