the little things that make me happy

of course it's K, C, B, R, --hey that sounds like a radio station. it doesn't take much to bring a smile to my face, but these recent moments really captured a little piece of heaven in my heart. caden insisting on carrying Pop's briefcase to church Brady hiking up his undies and shakin' his booty for me--yikes the PERFECT ponytail wearer--sorry everyone else family fascination with the stackable spinning tops but really folks, it's all about RayRay's pony.

hooray for 5k, and the kids fun run!!

(look for kendra in the white hat/pink shirt, then soon to follow: me screaming, "here comes caden--he's fast", he's in the yellow shirt--i'm in purple) so at the last minute i heard about the "Heart and Sole" race sponsored by Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital--umm HECK yeah, I HAD to do it. And the 1/2 mile kids run was a must. so i started prepping Kendra and Caden for it and ready . . set . . GO! it was too adorable, i felt very strongly that i wanted Caden to try this, he always has me run races with him around the house so i thought he'd totally dig a real race. WOW, he started out in a full sprint--i couldn't catch him. Kendra was way at the front of the pack as the kids just ran and ran, Kendra turned the corner and was gone, then Caden saw the park up ahead and the distractions took over. He had to slow down for a while, then as we went down the residential street he thought it was funny to stop and hide behind the tree. then it did it with the next tree and the next--there were a lot of trees. needless to say we crossed the finish line at 10 minutes and Kendra and Zoey ran it in 6 minutes. they all got great "REAL" medals, enjoyed a healthy snack and called it a day. they had been there for a while so they could cheer me at the finish line. i ran the 5k (3.1mi) and did ok, a little faster than my first race, but i didn't shave as much off my time as i would've liked. my first mile was a 9 minute mile which was too fast for me and i was hurting for the last bit, but i did enjoy throwing my water cup on the street like a marathoner. all in all it was a blast and i loved this experience with my little racers. 4th of July race here we come!!

mother's day mania

this is what it's all about. the picturesque memories of the adoration and acknowledgement of the sacred honor of motherhood.--where did that come from, feeling too nostalgic i guess. anyway the weekend was filled with love and gifts as jared surprised me (and both our moms) with a bright bouquet of tulips in a nice vase. then it continued with: eggs benedict by jared, nice card & hat from grannie, poetic flower vases from the boys, ceramic handprints by Raylee and Caden (i've always wanted those),and a beautiful handpainted terra cota pot by Kendra and Caden made a cute beaded keychain at his "real preschool". a lovely day at church with a few thoughtful extra touches here and there rounded out this Mother's day. I wish i would've make little gifts for all the influencial women in mine and my children's lives, maybe someday i will but wow the list is long so it might have to wait till retirement. love you all you AWESOME strong women, happy mom's day!

oh yeah, it was my bday too!

32--no big whoop. all i wanted was a nice dinner out, coldstone cupcakes(pure heaven) and for the kids to sing to me. i got all that and more. jared thanks for my stationary bike, girlfriendz thanks for the two nice dinners out (one still to come), my salinas valley gym family: thanks for the embarrassing serenade, and all my facebook homies: thanks for the sweet messages. the early 30's aren't so bad. i've made a goal to run a half marathon (13 miles) when i'm 33-- sounds a bit daunting in written form, maybe i'll progress up to a 10K race first then work my way up, gotta stay young somehow huh?

mr. caden is half a dozen!

that makes him sound old huh? so we took muffins to his class today at church--kinda felt funny taking a 6 yr. old's b-day treats to the nursery but that's where's he happy for now-- and will ditto that at preschool on tuesday. today after church the fam gathered for jared's mexican meatloaf, nachos, and cherry garcia cupcakes w/ cherry garcia ice cream of course. not that any of these were caden's faves but i can't entertain with pizza rolls and wheat thins (his meal of the month). he loved his "birdie birthday hat" and his birthday wish was too precious--as you can view below. his big truck, r/c car, webkin, fishy game, shape building puzzle and lots of fun little things were well received--even the wonderment of autie shannie's crafty gift arrived from washington. we finished up with all the kids painting and stickering cute hats to take home as favors. caden is so well loved and was totally acknowledged and felt very special on his special day. we love ya cader-cade.