Pinewood Derby

Today was the anxiously anticipated Pinewood Derby for the Boys' and Girls' Clubs at church. Paul and Preston have spent quite a bit of time getting the car ready for the event and Pres was pretty excited about it! The girls got to go along and enjoy some yummy treats before the races started. Preston placed 3rd in all of his heats, which he was very satisfied with, especially since he came home with a medal!

enjoying some cookies and juice before the action


the competition


the kids gather to watch the races


Preston displays his car and medal!

Boys' camping trip

Yesterday evening, Paul, Preston, Trey and Bryce camped-out and fished at Todd and Sarah's pond. The weather wasn't the greatest at about 52 degrees when they left, but luckily there was no wind or rain. They had a great time, catching several 2-pound bass. The boys really enjoyed roasting hot dogs and marshmallows, listening to their dads tell scary stories, and sleeping in the tents. The girls and I got to visit Gram and Grandad and sleep in our nice, warm beds, so we had a great night as well!! (Paul forgot the camera, but he got some decent pics with his camera phone - enjoy!)

a nice big bass!


Preston and his catch


Trey and Bryce hooked a big one


the "campground"

Our "baby" is 3 years old!!!

Breckyn had her 3rd birthday on March 22nd. We held her party at home that evening with lots of friends and family to help us celebrate! We started the Easter-themed party with fried chicken and baked beans, then (of course!) broke a pinata, opened presents, and finished with cake and ice cream. Breck had a great time and was thrilled with all her awesome gifts! I just can't believe my little baby girl is a walking, (back)talking, dramatic little preschooler!! Okay, I'm gonna go cry now. . .

where did the time go. . .

taking her cuts

a beautiful princess dress!

ready, set, blow!

say cheeeeeeeeese!!

Easter Sun Run - I finished this year!!

The annual Easter Sun Run 10k that my church helps out with was held Saturday morning. This year I ran with my friends Sarah and Chas and we all finished! I haven't had much luck with the Sun Run in the 2 previous years I trained for it - the first year I got dehydrated, passed out just past the 9k mark, choked on my gum and almost died (a looooong story!), and last year I got sick the day before the race and couldn't go. This year I almost didn't run because Friday I tripped running up some concrete steps and banged my knee and shoulder (a rather ridiculous and humiliating incident)! Fortunately, I didn't do any real damage so I sucked it up, ran the race, got across the finish line in just over an hour, and felt great!!! I guess the third time was the charm! ;)

Sarah, Chas, and I getting ready to run


waving (goofily) at Paul and the kids

Easter Party!

Last Tuesday afternoon, we went to the neighborhood kids' Easter Party. Preston wasn't feeling well, so he stayed home with Paul, but the girls and I had a great time hunting eggs and enjoying a BBQ!

Kellyn hunts eggs


Breckyn has her basket loaded!


the girls examine an egg


all the kids with their Easter baskets

chowing down on hot dogs

1st day of Spring Break. . .

. . . and it's raining!! :(

we are here

but we'd rather be here

or here

or here

or here

or here

or here

or here

or here

or here

or here

or here

or here

or here

or especially here!!!

can you say SPRING FEVER?!?!?!?!
(okay, we've got a little Summer Fever, too!)

Preston's first "bullet gun"!!

It's been awhile, huh?! Busy, busy, busy. . .

A couple weeks ago, Papa came down from Alaska for a week and we had a great time with him (unfortunately I completely forgot to take pictures while he was here)! He took Paul and the kids out to breakfast one morning while I was at a conference listening to Gracia Burnham speak (WOW, by the way!!). Afterwards they went to the sporting goods store and Papa bought Preston a new .22 rifle, which he was THRILLED about. As soon as I got home, he came running, saying "Papa bought me a bullet gun, Papa bought me a bullet gun!!" This past weekend, we went to our friends Todd and Sarah's house in the country and the boys had a little target practice to get the scope sighted. Todd and Peyton did a little shooting, too. Preston has some growing to do before he's big enough to hold the rifle properly, but he did a pretty good job - the milk carton had several holes when he was done!

Preston, Paul, Peyton, and Todd

Look who's riding on 2 wheels!

Wow! She barely turned 5 and already Kellyn has learned how to ride a bike without training wheels! Yesterday was a pretty nice day, so we went outside for some fresh air when Daddy got home from work. In the garage, Kellyn found the little bike that Preston learned how to ride on and decided she was ready to give it a go. Paul held onto the seat until she told him to let go and she just took off - she had it down immediately! She even learned to get herself going after a few tries and soon decided she was ready to have the training wheels taken off her own bike. She did even better on that one! She's a natural - must get it from Daddy! :)

Happy 34th Birthday Paul!

On February 18th, Paul turned 34 years young! Happy Birthday to my wonderful husband and our kids' fantastic father!!!

Just so you know how great he is, when these pics were taken he was baking a cake with Kellyn using her new EasyBake oven! And I was sick in bed all day on his birthday, so he cleaned the house, did laundry, and took the kids to McD's and the Zoo!! What a great man!!!

who needs cake when you've got PB swirl brownies!
(if you cross your eyes, you can see the secret numbers!)


Mitch presents the birthday brownies to Paul


look at all that smoke! ;)

Kellyn is 5 years old!!!

On Saturday the 16th we celebrated Kellyn's 5th birthday!! We kicked off the Disney Princesses themed party with pizza, then the pinata, opening presents, and finally cake and ice cream! Our friends Mitch and Christal and their son Triston came up from Tulsa to spend the weekend with us, and Kellyn was thrilled that they were here for her party. She had also gotten to bring home Theodore Bear, her preschool class mascot, so she had several special guests at the festivities!

Kellyn visits the "little girl" lunch table


Kellyn takes a swing


scrambling for the goodies


WOW! presents!

our family

Disney Princess cake - MMM!

blowing out the big 5 candle

cake and ice cream for everyone!