Kiawah Island Half Marathon

We signed up for the Kiawah Island Half Marathon in early August and began training a few weeks later! We have been spending much of our free time training... and it all paid off! The race was on Dec 12th and we had a GREAT time! The weather forecast was calling for cold rain... but fortunately, the rain held off until that afternoon. We added layers of old clothes to discard after we began running. James' goal was 2 hrs or less and his time was 2:00:00!!! My goal was 2:30 or less and my time was 2:19:10!!! It was a great weekend away... thanks Mom & Jim for keeping the kiddos!!!

Troy, Me, & James before the race!

Leslie, Trey, James, Me, Kyle, Angie, & Troy after the race!
The girls... we have been running together for a year now... thank you both for keeping me motivated and always reminding me that I can go one more mile!

We did it!!

Catching Up!

We have been busy this fall and I have gotten behind on the blog... here are a few pictures to catch up!

Raymond: We love having Raymond! The kids enjoy playing with him and he lets them do anything to him. His favorite place to lay down is on the kids' picnic table?? He is a great dog!

Tooth Fairy Visit: Jaycie had her first visit from the tooth fairy!!! She left her a $2 bill and buttons to add to her collection. We are expecting another visit any day!

Halloween: This year for Halloween, Jessica was Hermoine Granger (Harry Potter), Jaycie was Peter Pan, Jamie was Tinkerbell, and Jacob was Spider Man. Jamie refused to go Trick-Or-Treating... she enjoyed handing out all of the candy! Dad & Ann came to visit for Halloween!

We did many pumpkins this year... including a vegetable pumpkin Jessica did with her book club, a horse, a cat, and my favorite... Baron, our boxer. Jessica & James worked for hours on our Baron pumpkin... Baron passed away in October. He was 13 years old and we still miss him a lot.

The "J" crew with Papa & Memommy (my dad & stepmom).

The ZOO: We took the kids to the zoo on a teacher workday... perfect weather and NO crowds. It was a perfect day at the zoo... we loved feeding the giraffes and the lorakeets!

Papa is Jacob's best friend... and Jacob is Papa's shadow!

Thanksgiving: We had a VERY busy Thanksgiving... but we are thankful that we were able to see so much family! Jessica played Huate again in her school's Thanksgiving Drama... all of the kids did such a wonderful job! They set up a Pilgrim village and a Native American village to re-enact the first Thanksgiving. Jamie & Jacob were turkeys in their preschool's Thanksgiving celebration... they did a great job (no surprise... they act like turkeys all the time at home - ha!) For Thanksgiving, we headed to NC to spend time with James' family, my grandparents, and friends and family in Raleigh for the NCSU vs. UNC football game (way to go Wolfpack!). At the end of the trip, we were exhausted!

Happy Birthday, Sage! (my niece)
Jaycie & my Grandmom
The kids & Seth (my cousin)
Jessica & Sydney (my niece)

My grandparents with some of the great grandkids!

Girl Scouts: Our Girl Scout troop award ceremony! The girls received badges and Jessica officially became a Junior and Jaycie officially became a Brownie! They really enjoy Girl Scouts... this year I am their Assistant Leader... I have really enjoyed getting to know all of the girls!

Getting ready for Christmas: The kids went to a Polar Express Party at Colin & Anderson's house to get everyone ready for Christmas!!! We had a blast! Geri also came for a quick visit to get a little bit of shopping done and to help us make our Gingerbread Ornaments!