Another race

I must be crazy or at least half crazy because I just signed up for another half marathon. Running has really become something I love to do and not having a goal or a race to train for was really throwing me off. So, I began researching races.

I am not the kind of person to just sign up for any race. First, I checked to see if there were any races local. I did find one and considered it for a minute, but it wasn't appealing to me. Then I found The Miracle Match Marathon. The race is in Waco, TX home of Baylor University were my husband attended college and where both my brother-in-law and sister-in-law work.

The race runs through part of the park, downtown and the university. More importantly the local Fire Department partners with Scott & White to raise money for patients waiting for bone marrow transplants. I love running for a cause!

Race Day is January 27th, which means only about 10 weeks out. That should be plenty of time to train, but the only downside is the winter weather. I'm not a fan of the cold. Give me heat and humidity any day and I'm a happy girl. In my opinion the only thing cold weather is good for is all the fabulous fall fashion trends. I will have to suck it up and deal with the weather.

I think I talked my other sister-in-law into running the race with me and maybe one of my friends. Even if we don't all run at the same pace, which I'm positive we don't, it will still be a fun experience to be a part of this race together.

First Camping Trip

Growing up, my family spent a lot of time camping all around the Texas State Parks. Due to our hot sticky summers, Fall through Memorial Day have proven to be the best times of the year to go camping. We made the mistake going over the 4th of July once and that was the worst camping trip ever!

The kids have been begging to go camping for some time now. My Dad came across a great camping spot that we had never been to before and decided to make reservations for everyone this past weekend. Mason had an early dismissal, so we headed out early Friday afternoon.

We drove an hour and 15 minutes outside of Katy to Fayetville, Tx and stayed at Oak Thicket Park, which is part of the Colorado River Authority. While my kids are used to long road trips, it was nice to be close to home and not have to drive so far to camp.

We unloaded everything and set up our tents before it started to get dark outside. My parents and brother shared their tent, which is the same one we had when I was a little girl. Adam's Dad had given us a tent and I was worried at first if it would fit all five of us, but it worked out perfectly.

Since my parents are experienced campers, we had all the gear and meals planned out in advance. My mom brought buckets along for Mason and Taylor to play with. Those two loved spooning dirt into them and I can't tell you the amount of times I cleaned their faces, hands, arms and legs. Taylor was the messiest of the two, which is funny considering that she is my girly girl.

I was very nervous going into this trip about Peyton. She isn't walking yet, so I wasn't exactly sure if this would be easy or hard. I brought her walker with us, and if she wasn't in the walker, she was in her stroller or walking with us holding her hands. She loved camping and my fears were quickly gone when I realized how much she enjoyed being outside.

Each night we roasted marshmallows and told spooky stories. My kids scare easily, but we didn't water down the spooky stories. My dad always got them to jump and scream. It was hard not to laugh as we watched their faces each time.

Saturday, Adam and Mason had to head back to Katy for a short bit to attend Mason's end of the season football party. My dad took Taylor fishing for the very first time and even though they didn't  catch anything, memories were made.We headed back home Sunday morning and took baths and showers as soon as we got home. We can't wait to go camping again. Our family loved every minute of it and the kids haven't stopped talking about it.

Mason and Taylor as we were pulling into the park.

 

 Peyton had nothing to do with shoes before the camping trip. Now she is obsessed. I love this picture of her sitting in Granddad's chair. She felt like a queen.

 Look at those legs.

 Our tent that slept all five of us. We brought Peyton's pack-in-play and still had room for the rest of us. Eventually we will need a larger tent, but this will due for a couple more years.

 Taylor getting her first fishing lesson from Granddad.

 

 She enjoyed the one-on-one time with her Granddad.

 

Mom, please stop taking pictures.

Weekend happenings

One of the many things that excited me about being back in Katy, was attending the church I grew up in and getting meeting new friends. Instantly we fell in love with our ABF (Adult Bible Fellowship aka Sunday School) Insula. There were so many young couples that were our age and had children around the same age. Every month, we have a ladies night out and a guys night out. This past weekend it was the ladies turn.

For dinner, we went to one of my favorite local Italian restaurants, Hasta La Pasta. The food is always so delicious, but the company was better. I loved getting dressed up, although I was probably the most dressed up wearing a tunic with leggings and a heels.

After dinner, we went to Bethany's house for dessert and games. We seriously had the best desserts and Courtney made a snickers dip from Pinterest that was to die for. We played a game that incorporated pictionary and telephone into one. I haven't laughed that hard in a very long time. I had tears rolling down my face and will definitely be playing that game again.

This is Nichole and I. Nichole moved to Texas almost a year ago in December and she is from California. Her family lived about an hour and a half from Bakerfsield, so we are very familiar with the city she is from. Our kids adore each other and we have become fast friends.

This is Bethany explaining the sequence of the cards to everyone else. If you ever come to my house for a game night, we will be playing this. Be prepared to laugh!

 

 

Saturday morning, our family has made it a tradition to have breakfast at The Bagel Cafe. Everyone in my family loves this place. I'm so glad to be back in Katy so that I can frequent my favorite eatery more often. Peyton decided to try some of Taylor's bagel and you can tell by her face how much she enjoyed every bite.

The rest of Saturday was spent at the Train Park in Old Katy and watching college football. We discovered how much Peyton loves to swing. This is probably our kids favorite park. We missed Baylor's Homecoming this year, but we were happy to see the Baylor Bears win.

 

 

Sunday was National Orphan and Adoption Day. Our church has an adoption ministry called Tapestry. This year to bring awareness to this special day, the Tapestry ministry asked all families that have been affected by adoption to join them on stage wearing these special shirts.

 

They played Third Day's Children of God song and during the bridge, we walked with our families on stage and sang the song. It was so cool to see all of the families who have been touched by adoption in some way on stage. It was hard not to tear up. I'm so thankful for my family and that I've been adopted into God's family.

Happy Halloween

This Halloween, we went up to our church Fall Festival. Mason decided last minute that he didn't want to be Bumblebee the Transformer anymore and instead wanted to go as Spiderman again. Not a big deal, except I wasn't sure which box our old costumes were packed in. Adam & I searched all of the boxes we are storing in the garage and came up with nothing. I decided to check a couple of boxes we had in his closet and it was in the very last box. I'm just thankful we found it, otherwise we would have had an upset little boy.

Taylor picked out the costumes for her and Peyton. She wanted them to be Kitty Cats. Super easy costume, so I was game. Unfortunately, every time I tried to dress Peyton in her costume, she through a fit. She is in a stage where she doesn't like anything on her head or in her hair. So we quickly improvised and I pulled out some leg warmers and voila...an 80's Aerobic Instructor.