Running for the fun of it...

Just got home from running in a 5K race this morning. This was my second race, the last one was about 5 years ago. Since I run several times a week as my workout I thought I had a good chance to place 1st in my age bracket - 45 and older. We had 60 some runners and I came in 2 second over all female and 9th over all runner. I was thrilled with that. Our oldest daughter Makayla got up early with me this morning to keep my company and cheer me on. At the end of the race I was dieing but really wanted to keep the 2nd place female spot. I won a medal and 50.00 - wooo hooo. Im thinking about getting a Spa pedicure with my winnings or flower money. Either way Im glad I ran and thrilled with the out come.

Our weekend at the Kate Shepard B and B

Lar and I spent a romantic weekend together in Mobile Alabama. The kids were at Camp Failla so this was our chance to be together -alone. We stayed our first night at the Kate Shepard House B and B in the historic district of Mobile. It was beautiful and we enjoyed visting with the hostess, Wendy, and hearing about the history of the house and Shepard family. Sat. morning we headed out the door about 7am to go for a walk and look at all the historic homes in the area. The Kate Shepard house was built in 1897. There were many "painted ladies" and cottage homes on our walk. I loved all the beautiful Antebellum homes as we walked down Government St. Then it was back to the B and B for breakfast at 9. We had time to get cleaned up and were sitting in the dining room enjoying our fresh Strawberry's and Orange juice when Wendy came in with her world famous Pecan Praline french toast. It is listed as one of the top 100 hundred things to eat in Alabama before you die. They were heavenly and reminded me of my Grandma Sylvia's Cinnamon rolls with the same Pecan topping. Heaven on earth. After touring the B and B and vi sting we headed out for a day of shopping at near by Fairhope. A quaint little town on Mobile Bay that has a fun down town area filled with shops and restaurants. The whole weekend was so enjoyable and we came home with alot of little sayings and reminders from our weekend together.

Dreaming of Camp Failla 09

The kids had an awesome time this weekend at what Im calling Camp Failla 09. Our good friends the Failla family hosted a weekend birthday bash camp out. The Co-Camp directors Cindy and David Failla out did themselves. The jr. campers raved about the great food, the shaving cream fights, airsoft wars, swimming in the lake and the girls even painted a few of the guys toe nails hot pink while they slept. They came home with matching tie die t-shirts that they made and every one signed. They had a Blast -- Thanks Cindy and David - we will save a weekend next Sept for Camp Failla 2010.

Camp Failla 09

More pictures from Camp Failla 09 -- Im so glad Cindy Failla, the camp director, took so many pictures and sent the kids home with over 700 pictures to enjoy on 5 disc. I love that lady.

Alli's 12th Birthday Bash

Our little girl is growing up - our baby is 12 now. We wanted her to have a special day to really celebrate her. The idea was born to turn our car into a limo by removing the middle row of seats. I mentioned the idea and Alli thought that sounded great. Makayla and I went to work that week planning and getting all the supplies. We bought sparkling cider, gourmet cookies and treats for Alli and her BFF, Morgan, to munch on as we drove them down to the mall in Slidell. We had gifts for her to open along the way, our gift to her was a new purse and wallet with spending money for her trip to the mall. I was the limo driver and Makayla was Alli and Morgans personal assistant, Miss Potts. The girls would run into each store squealing at all the things they liked. Once they decided on a purchase it was turned over to Miss Potts to handle the money and carry the bags. We dined on chinese food, ice cream and all things good. We all had a wonderful time celebrating Allison - who she was - good memories and who she is now - so sweet and smiley, and who she will be - a fun loving Godly woman with a great smile. Happy Birthday sweet Alli girl.

Family time

The idea of our family all meeting and staying in a Beach house on the Oregon
coast seemed like a great idea - I just wasn't sure it was going to work out.
Im sure glad it did - because we had the best time knocking around Lincoln city and Newport beach together. I don't get to see my family very often so spending this time with them was a real treat. We ate at some of our favorite restaurants, revisited some of our favorite spots along the coast and shared lots of laughs together.

The Explorers

The weather was so great and the scenery so beautiful at the Oregon coast that we spent as much time outside as possible. I didn't want to forget so soon how the starfish looked on the rocks, or how the sea enemies felt when I touched them. I wanted to remember all the sights on my morning walks along the gorgeous beach front homes. I wanted to remember how it felt on those cool mornings praising God and thanking Him for His awesome creation.