Alayna #18

Our last sweet baby turned 18.  Ugh....

It's so cliche, but it literally feels like yesterday we brought home our Mousey, and now she's a grown adult....

Alayna was our bonus baby.  I had always wanted 3 kids and we did try one more time for baby #3 about a year and a half after we had Emma, to no avail. 

We felt it was God's will to have our two girls and decided to be done.  

2 weeks after breaking ground on building a new house, I realized I was one day late.  Brad actually questioned it first but I thought there was no way I could be pregnant.  I know my body so well.  I waited a day and decided to test and wouldn't you know it, it was POSITIVE!  I was ELATED!  

I just felt we were meant to have 3, and this was the BEST surprise of my life!

I say it every year, but we could not imagine our lives without Mousey.

She is full of spunk, sass, sarcasm and is so damn funny.

Nowadays the below pic is what I get for her 18th birthday, haha!

Her hair "was a mess" and she was wearing her glasses and I had strict instructions of not posting a pic anywhere, so here we are.

Happy 18th Mousey!!

Alayna Senior Prom

Alayna 's very last prom, I can't belive this is our last...

Her friend Kaitlin had the girls over to her house to get ready, I LOVED how her hair turned out!

Her dress was my absolute favorite and fit her like a glove!

Such beautiful girls!

She went with her guy friend Carson Welle who is actually my brother-in-laws nephew so they know each other well.  They are two peas in a pod!

Where oh where did our baby mousey go??

Such a fun night!

Half Marathon 2023

While I have always enjoyed working out, I have been consistently working on incorporating workouts with weights, cardio and also running.  About a month ago I started getting nostalgic reading about my half marathon back in 2014 (recap here).  I've been running about 4-5 miles/week, so nothing major, but started thinking about doing my own version of the half marathon.

Today is the Fargo Marathon, which was the one I did and I decided I wanted to run along with them, but virtually.

The cool thing nowadays, is that you can literally look up and watch anything on YouTube, so I searched for races to watch while I ran and found the 2022 Brooklyn Marathon.  It was actully so cool to watch and feel like you're a part of the race, but I'm just truckin along on my trusty treadmill!

I started this morning like normal, got up early, read my Bible/devotions, had coffee and played fetch with Josie for about a half hour outside.  Mom and I had our normal Saturday morning chat (MY FAVE!) and at 7:30 I started getting ready.  Obviously my goal was the run the entire 13.1 miles, but I also realize that I have not fully trained (running-wise) for this, so I was going to listen to my body.

The first 4 miles SUCKED and I figured I'd be happy running 5 miles.  Once I hit the 5 mile mark, I felt like I found my groove.  Then I just kept thinking, I'll keep running until things start hurting and then I'll quit, I didn't want any big injuries.  I had bought a packet of salted caramel GU from Scheeles and ate that at mile 6.

Funny thing happened on mile 7.  I was really into my music and didn't realize how close I had been running to the front of the treadmill, and I tripped and fell.  Have you ever biffed it on a treadmill??  The tread burn is no joke, haha!  I sprained my finger somehow and have lots of road rash, but I honestly think that helped me!  My adrenaline was high because I was so pissed that I fell!  Miles 8-10 I couldn't believe how good I felt!  I was just in a good rhythm. Once I hit 10 miles, I knew I'd finish all 13.1.  I'd gone way too far to quit now!

Mile 11 things started to hurt.  I was getting arch cramps in my left foot and my left knee was starting to throb.  I just kept telling myself I can make it 2 more miles!  Those last 2 miles took FOREVER.  It was really tough, everything hurt.  But I was on track to beat my old time, so I kept at it.  I was running at a 4.5 MPH pace (never said I was a fast runner...) and when I was feeling good, would bump up my speed to 5.0.  That last mile was awful.  Everything hurt but I was still on track to beat my old time, which I did by 7 minutes!!! 

I ran 13.1 miles in 2 hours and 30 minutes.  I couldn't believe I had ran the entire thing!  Now, I did stop to pee (about 5 times, seriously...) and when I biffed it, but other than that I did not walk at all!

I don't need a pretty medal, it's my pride that I'll proudly wear!  For me, I'm just so proud that at 48, I have taken good care of my body and can still run a race!  

Now, will I be able to walk tomorrow?  Time will tell....

Alayna Confirmation

We celebrated Alayna's confirmation on Sunday and what a perfect day it was!

We started out having a brunch at Rick and Tonia's with the grandparents and sponsors of Will and Alayna.  Confirmation was at 2:00 at St. John's Abbey which is an absolute beautiful church!

Alayna had her Aunt Diane as her sponsor (which we didn't get a pic with).   After mass the grandparents came over in the afternoon for dessert, it was a beautiful day!

Emma had to work and couldn't be there. :(

Alayna Junior Prom

Mousey's first prom was a success!  She went with a good friend of hers and they had a blast!

I LOVED her dress, she tried on several, but as soon as she tried this one, we all knew it was "the one".

We had a friend of Emma's come to our house to do the girls' hair. I made some muffins and the (older and of age) sisters had mimosas. :)

One of the parents hosted a get together at her work-they have a meeting area with bean bags and food and cocktails for the parents, so fun!

Can't believe our baby is old enough to go to prom!

Easter 2023

We had another amazing Easter at our house!

It was a beautiful winter day and we had around 25 for lunch and then stragglers coming and going throughout the day.

Our menu doesn't change-at all haha! We had ham, chicken, mashed potatoes, dressing, corn, salads and strawberry pretzel dessert (which is the best part of Easter lunch!)

Saturday we went to church at 4, then the kids decorated Easter eggs.

Sunday morning we still hide their Easter baskets and have an egg hunt.  Back when they were younger, we used to have the egg hunts outside.  I would put tea lights in the eggs and hide them in the snow!

Now we just do it in the house and it's hilarious to watch them...

Emma White Coat Ceremony

We celebrated Emma's "white coat" ceremony, which has been changed to the Nursing Oath Ceremony.  This is basically an induction into the nursing program.  Unfortunately Rachel didn't get one because of covid, so were we so happy Emma was able to have hers!

This evening is when they get their official nursing jackets.  Way back when, the coats were white, hence the name of the ceremony.  SCSU has black coats, so I'm guessing that's why the name change.

We are just SO proud of Emma Jo and can't wait to see where this career takes her!