My boy is growing up....

Ahh the things boys will do for girls. Today was the cheerleading exhibition and Brenden wanted to go so we went. He had a couple of friends go too and they sat nowhere near me of course. I didn't care about that, I just didn't want to leave them there since it's not a basketball game where they can wander around freely. Brenden's friend Camry is a cheerleader and she asked him to come. That's just so cute! And when it was time for our school to cheer, I could hear Brenden cheering for them. He sat just a few rows up from the girls and I saw Camry come up and talk to him. Of course I was watching (and smiling) from afar. Elementary school crushes...aren't they cute. The boys even commented in the car afterward how our cheerleaders were so much better than the other schools. And they really were. Our girls have it together. And the fact that I've known them all since kindergarten doesn't make me the least bit biased LOL!

First time at the YMCA

Today was my first time ever going to the YMCA. I ran and walked the track with my friend Natalie. We ran/walked 3miles. Both of us have only ever ran a little over 2 miles at one time so we did have to do some walking today. But it was great! The track goes in front of all the people working out though. So I am running past all the people lifting weights in front of the mirrors, walking and running on treadmills, etc. I was a little self conscious about it at first but I got over it pretty quick when I realized they are not watching me, they are there for themselves. So we are running together on Monday and Wednesday every week and after Easter we'll add Friday. So for now on Fridays I'll run around our neighborhood with Cassidy in the barbie car. On warm days we may move our running to the track at the fairgrounds or a local park or something. I'm looking forward to the 5k which is only a month away. I may not be able to run the entire 3 miles by then but I'd like to be able to run the entire 3 miles by the May 15 race. So that's my goal. And since I can run 2 miles now, 3 will hopefully be no problem by May. Wish me luck!

Back to running

I've been super busy lately and wasn't able to focus on my running. Well spring is here and there's no more excuses! Cassidy and I went for a run this morning. Cassidy took one trip on her bike and one trip in her Barbie car. We totaled 1.21 miles going around the block to my friends house and back twice. Her legs were tired by the time we got to Kendra's on the first trip so I was pushing her with one hand a little on the way back to help her out with the pedaling and on the second trip we picked up the Barbie car. I didn't walk any of it which surprised me because I haven't been able to run in the past 3 months much at all. I had a quick 2 min break while we switched from bike to car but that was it. The rest was all running non-stop and I'm proud of myself because my first 5k is April 24th so I've got to get back into the swing of things. i was doing fine until December and then I was working a lot and then came January and training with the new company and February studying for the insurance exams. So now life is feeling a bit back to normal where I have time again to do some things and that will include running. The YMCA here offers its track free of charge to runners through a commit to be fit type of program so I'm going to do that with my friend Natalie who is running the 5k's with me. Yep, the first one is April 24th and the second 5k is May 15. It felt great to be out there running this morning. When the boys come home I may just do another mile.

Birthday Pictures

These first two are Cassidy having fun at Burger King where we held her birthday party.

Blowing out the candles.

Cassidy's new big girl bike! It's the Barbie bike that she said she wanted.

12 kids at her 4th birthday party!

Although this looks like she's getting ready to cry, she's actually saying Aww because she loved it. It's a bath time toy and she asked all day if it was bathtime so she could play with it. She did play with this all day before getting in the tub too.

Mermaid Barbie dress up skirt, which she's had on every day since her birthday.

Easter Dress from Uncle Kent. Uncle Kent always gets the best clothes.

So these are just a few of Cassidy's birthday pictures. She had a great time on Sunday at Burger King. On Monday which is her actual birthday she wanted us to put her #4 candle in the leftover cake so she could blow it out again. And so we did, and we sang too! And of course I taped it the second time too.

Happy 4th Birthday Cassidy!

Cassidy is 4 today! I'm happy and sad. It seems like yesterday that I was in labor and rushing to the hospital at midnight, dropping off the boys at Aunt Pam's and arriving at the hospital already dialated to 4 cm. Yeah, too much information there, sorry about that. Cassidy arrived at 8:44 am on Wednesday March 8, 2006. She was such an easygoing baby and was always happy and content. She started going to her brothers' sporting events at 4 months old, which was football season for Brenden. She walked on April Fools day after spending the entire day at Becky's baby shower crawling and walking with help and then decided to come home and walk on her own rather than show off her new skill just a few hours earlier to everyone. She was wearing dress up heels by 18 months old and loves those shoes so much she still wears them constantly. She's a diva and a sweet princess all in one. She has a mind of her own and isn't afraid to express her opinion. She is also terribly sweet. She melts your heart when she sees the smallest thing and says in her sweet voice "Aw, how beautiful!". She has such an imagination and uses it daily. She can make up stories about anything. She is also very loving. She'll just come up to you randomly and hug and kiss you and tell you she loves you. She loves her brothers. She plays wrestling with her brothers and loves when they don't have to go to school so they can stay home and play with her. She follows them everywhere, even when there is a bunch of 10 year olds here, she's right in there with them and they include her too. I have to admit I'm a bit sad today. It's sad to see another year arrive and feel like the time has gone so fast. Sad because I know she's my baby and I wish there were more than 24 hours in a day sometimes. But I'm happy also because we've raised a great little girl. She's smart, sweet, ornery, and beautiful. I'm so happy to be her mother.


I'll put the pictures from the party on here in a few days and I'll tell about the party then. Right now I'm fighting back tears so I need to wrap this up.

I'm officially an agent

I received my license today in the state of Ohio to sell Life Insurance, Accident and Health Insurance and Variable Annuities. Yay me! Can't wait to get started selling.

A lot is going on here getting ready for Cassidy's birthday, Spencer has pink eye and Brenden has croup again. Hoping everyone will be feeling better for Cassidy's party. We'll have 12 kids there. She's getting excited. 4, geesh, that came faster than I expected. I'll post about her party next week and I'll post pictures too.