We did it!

Chris finished his first 5K in 34:52 (pretty impressive!!) and I finished (and ran every bit of :) my first ever half-marathon in 2:07:51, this morning during the QC Marathon. We're pretty proud of ourselves!!

The weather was perfect for today's events and we had a great time.

The half marathon course was great. We started out running from Moline, IL over the I 74 bridge over the Mississippi River and into Bettendorf, IA, down the Mississippi River into Davenport, IA and then onto Arsenal Island (military) and across back into Moline. So 3 cities and 13.1 miles in 2:07:51, not too bad!

Here we are happy to be done!!




Make sure you scroll down for another post! You won't want to miss this one! :)

Training our Future Hawkeyes!

We took the kids up to Iowa City yesterday for the Hawkeye game and despite a disappointing (and ridiculous!) loss we had a great time! We met my brother Alan, sister in law Sara, and my adorable niece Ava and nephew Conner at the Hawkeye Express, a train that takes you into Iowa City to Kinnick stadium. The kids of course loved the adventure and everyone on the train thought that they were cuties in all of their Hawk gear. We had 1 future cheerleader and 3 future football players!

Once we got down by the stadium we got to see the marching band (kind of) and we walked around the tailgating areas and let the kiddos see what being a Hawkeye is really all about and enjoy the atmosphere of tailgating on Hawkeye game days. I'm sure they'll have many years of tailgating Hawkeye style ahead of them, so it is fun to start them early. We did this last year too, so we are making it an annual tradition.

The guys (Chris and Alan) ended up scalping tickets so they went to the game while Sara and I walked the kids around the stadium. Let me tell you though, Carver was NOT a happy camper when he realized that daddy and Uncle Alan went to the game without him. Everytime we passed an entry gate he tried to go in and as we were watching the game on the big screen from outside the stadium someone walked by asking if anyone needed tickets and Carver turned right around and said "Yeah!"

Sara and I eventually took the kids back to their house for naps and playtime until the guys got back. Then we enjoyed some more time hanging out and having some great food.

The cousins all play together so well and really have a great time when they're together, we were sad to have to leave, but what a great day! We are so blessed to have them live so close by.

Mommies and our little Hawkeyes waiting for the train!!

Ava, Kayden, and Carver waiting so patiently for the much anticipated Hawkeye Express.

Carver and Kayden looking for the train.

All of our little Hawkeyes on the Hawkeye Express. Aren't they just the most adorable little Hawkeye's that you've ever seen?

Ava and Carver looking into Kinnick Stadium and wishing they were there!

Chris with all of the kiddos. Isn't he a great Daddy/Uncle?!?!

Kayden enjoying smores by the bonfire.

Uncle Alan, Carver, and Ava

Aunt Sara, Carver, and Ava


Great time had by all, now if we can just start playing well and get a few wins under our belt we'll be very happy Hawkeye fans!

Disney Vacation

So I have finally made it through all of the pictures. We had such a great time and got some great pictures to show for it. Here are just some of my favorites.

Kayden's 1st flight. Both of the boys did a great job traveling.


The boys waiting to get on the airplane. Can you tell how excited they were?

K-Man playing at Disney



Carver meeting the Mad Hatter. He thought that he was pretty funny.


Riding the Tea Cups. This was one of Carver's favorites. Kayden really liked it too.


Carver's face is priceless in this picture. He and Daddy had just finished riding the Matterhorn. I was so surprised that he actually went on this one. He says he didn't like it but he did it!


Probably Carver's all time favorite ride. Astro Blaster's with Buzz Lightyear!

This is what happens after a long day at Disney with no nap. Kayden thought it was pretty funny that Carver fell asleep in the stroller since he had taken a nap during the day and was well rested for the walk back to the hotel. He kept telling everyone that we passed, Nigh Nigh and pointing at Carver.



Carver in his Mickey ears.


Meeting Tigger!


The boys in front of the castle.


Carver was soooo excited to meet Goofy!


Riding the rockets, another family favorite, I can't even tell you how many times we rode this one!




More pictures below. I'll be posting a couple more posts with pictures so make sure to scroll down for more!!

Disney Vacation: Take 2

More pictures. More fun!!!

The boys watching a movie and hanging out at the hotel. K-Man really felt like one of the big guys on this trip!





Mommy and Carver at Disneyland.



Riding the Circus Train. You can't really tell but the caged car we were riding in said "Wild Animals" pretty fitting for our family don't you think? :)



Meeting Pluto. Carver was thrilled to meet all of the characters but Kayden wanted to say hi but wasn't too sure about getting too close to them the first day.



Carver meeting Mickey Mouse!

Yep, you read it right that is Carver under the Space Mountain exit sign. He rode it twice!!





Carver was sooo excited to meet Cinderella. He was talking about her all week.



K-Man surfing. Doesn't he look like a natural?



Carver meeting Mr. Incredible.



Carver is really into the letter C right now since he has learned his letters and knows that his name starts with a C so he was thrilled to see this enormous C outside of California Adventure.


Daddy and his boys at ESPN Zone in Downtown Disney watching the Hawkeye game.



Mommy and Kayden.



Meeting Minnie. Kayden was starting to warm up to the characters and he kept touching Minnie's face and wanted to give her a kiss on her nose.



Meeting Mickey again. See how Kayden is even holding his hand. This one is pretty funny though. Carver was trying to get the characters to talk to him all week. He couldn't figure out why they wouldn't just talk to him!! So, after meeting Mickey on the night of our last day at Disneyland I said, "Carver, tell Mickey thank you and how much fun you have had." His response, with a little attitude, "He doesn't talk anyway mom!" Mickey thought that was pretty funny.




A few more pictures below, keep scrolling down!

More Pictures!

San Diego fun!

Mommy and the boys on the beach in Carlsbad. This was our last morning in California and we just weren't ready to leave so we took in the beach one more time. The boys loved the beach so much that we ended up going to 3 different beaches while we were in San Diego. My little beach babies, I love it!



Daddy and Carver taking it all in.


The boys chasing the seagulls. They were enamored by them.


Mommy and Kayden on the beach in Coronado.


Mommy and K-Man at the San Diego Zoo.

Kayden enjoying the sand and the surf.





Momy and the boys at the beach.





We go all the way to the World Famous San Diego Zoo and he is excited to see the ducks. Gotta love how simple little ones are!

Carver visiting his favorite animals, the camels. Don't aske I have no idea why!


Daddy and Carver playing in the waves.







Well, if you have made it this far I hope you enjoyed the pictures. We had a great time and I'm so glad that we went. Hopefully we'll be going back again soon. My beach boys can't be away from the California sun for too long now that they have discovered all that it has to offer!

768

Can you guess what that number means? Well, if you know me at all you probably guessed, that's the number of pictures I took on our 6 day vacation. Yes, 768 pictures! What can I say, with boys as cute as mine it's hard to resist! So, it's late and I'm exhausted from our long week so here are just a few shots to give you a peek at how much fun we had. I'll post more tomorrow night. Enjoy this sneak peek.......