March MOMMA!

The best part of March, in my humble opinion, is MY BIRTHDAY! And a great one it was!!!

My wifey (for new readers, my BFF) brought donuts and flowers to me in the morning!

And made my favorite cake that we have dubbed "Kari's Birthday Cake". It has taken a few years, and is now PERFECT!! Several of my girls came over and enjoyed cake and wine. It was perfect.

And now onto the other March MOMMA event... the first triathlon of the season. It was March 27. It was freezing!!!!

The best training buddy a girl could ask for, Miss Bethany Sobraske!!!!

We thought we were sooo tough and cute:) Turns out just Bethany was tough... I almost drowned.

Luckily we had great cheerleaders... My Addie Ray and her bestie Anabelle Lee My sweet wifey, who made the great signage!And of course, the best husband and big girl Kailee. They are so great to hang out at these crazy events I drag them along to. I love seeing them at all the transitions! Their cheering always makes me keep going!

After almost drowning, I made up time on the bike and the run. Thank goodness. I really thought the race was done after the swim. My hands were so freezing I couldn't even get out of my wetsuit. Let alone put shoes on. Andddd I finished strong!! Into the arms of my sweet babies!

I even placed... 3rd in my age division!

Guess what I got for my prize??? Not a medal. Not a plaque. OLIVE OIL!!! I have never worked that hard for olive oil in my life.

More of my cheerleaders!!!

Leprachaun revisit!

I know you have all been waiting 9 months for the big reveal about the leprauchaun!! Oh wait... you weren't??? Let me refresh your memory... We set the trap and the next morning we could hear scratching in the box of the trap!! The girls carefully lowered it to the floor so they could see into the trap. They carefully opened the door (not sure what their plan was in the event the leprachaun JUMPED out at them!) and inside was SARAH! Our guinea pig! That tricky leprachaun "kidnapped" Sarah and put her in the trap. The kids thought it was the funniest thing in the world!! Once that excitement was over, the girls realized there were green footprints on their faces, arms and the bathroom sink!! That leprachaun is just crazy!!! Can't wait to see what antics he is up to next year!

I'm BAAAACCKKKK!

Holy cow. It has been a very long time. Ridiculously long. Sorry folks. Lots has happened and I am going to do a brief synopsis of each event so I can get this year's blogs bound and on my coffee table!

Flashback to March....

I had extra marshmellows, so what better use for them then a CHUBBY BUNNY CONTEST!!!


And once the girls faced the challenge, Mike was up for it! It's so funny to show the girls these funny games. The look on their face when we describe the "game" was hysterical enough!

Great verses for decision making/letting God lead you:)

The Lord will work out his plans for my life - for your faithful love, O Lord, endures forever. Don't abandon me, for you made me.
Psalm 138:8

Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.
Proverbs 3:6

We can gather our thoughts, but the Lord gives the right answer.
Proverbs 16:1

It is not that we think we can do anything of lasting value by ourselves. Our only power and success come from God.
2 Corinthians 3:5

In their hearts humans plan their course, but the LORD establishes their steps.
Proverbs 16:9

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.
Proverbs 3:5

Thus says the Lord, Your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the Lord your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you by the way you should go.”
Isaiah 48:17

The Lord will guide you continually …
Isaiah 58:11

And in other news...

Not news, just fun pics...


Sleeping boy. Baby in a bucket! The girls emptied out his toy bucket and put him in it...

Then they piled his toys in. He hates the attention he gets from the girls. Ok, I'm lying. He adores them.

Tip me over and pour me out!

Is he having fun??? Love that little goober.

Josh loves oranges. We had been giving them to him in his teething net thing. Now he has decided that eating the whole thing is way more fun.

He doesn't really eat much of it. Just sucks the juice dry. YUM!

St. Patrick's Day is one of my favorite holidays. Maybe because it was my Grammie's favorite. This year, we are prepared for Leprachaun's!! We built the trap this week in preparation. We started one afternoon when Josh was awake. I thought he would like helping. Turned out he just wanted to eat everything....

So we waited to finish until he was in bed. The girls did such a good job. Hopefully we catch one!!!

Such fun! Love the letter Kailee wrote and the pen holder for him.

On Your Mark!!!! Get Set!!! Go!!!

Saturday was the annual Hares 'N Hounds 5k/kid run. It's a fund raiser for the highschool and as it turned out, a pretty big event for our little town. Kailee has really wanted to do another run since the Turkey Trot and Addie wanted to do one also. So off we went with our beloved McDermott's to run the kiddos. Beth and I sat this one out and let the kids have all the glory (hee hee... sometimes we do that). My kids apparently thought they would be running in snow. The layers soon came off...

Beth made a sign to cheer their little legs along.

Besties! Fist pump woot!

Kailee tells anyone who will listen... "My mom's running buddy's son is MY running buddy."

Yes, the boy does have a mother. Taking a nap in the Ergo while the big sisters race.

And Dawson and Anabelle have a mom too!!

Look at that face! She's working it! She finished her mile in 8:39! I was soooo proud!!!

Yeah Kailee girl!!! They even got a cool medal!

Here comes little Dawsie Bear! Check out his left hand.... on his way he'd picked flowers for his momma!

Yes, she cried. Adorable. I hope Josh was taking notes.

And there is the other team sponsor, Tyson, bringing up the rear. The little girls did so great! I guess a little girl from our neighborhood, who was also running, got a side ache and Addie went and held her hand and told her she'd help her run! How adorable is that girl??

As soon as she got in from the 1 mile run, the 1/2 mile group was getting ready to go. She asked if she could go again... and she did. Here she is on her way in from her 2nd race. Such a track star! She was really mad about her shoelace coming undone at the end. I really thought I had double knotted them. Poor girl. Coach fail. Darn.

I think she forgives me:)

They all had a great time and can't wait for the next one. Kailee even won 4 movie tickets in the raffle at the end! To the NEW theater!!! HOORAY! Hopefully some of her luck will rub off on me... I never win those things:)