4th of July Running

This year, we celebrated the 4th of July by doing the typical stuff, plus something new.  Since the 4th was on a Monday, our town had their fireworks celebration on Saturday the 2nd.  The festival was sorta lame and seemed very.....country, to put it nicely.  But we live in a small town in southeast GA so what can you expect?  Cambria LOVED the fireworks, and I just enjoyed watching her watch them.  Ever since that night she'll randomly say "fire-works BOOOOOOOM!!!" It's precious. 

trying to convince Cam to get her face painted...did not work

we love that boy.  yes, I'll say it 1000x

me and my man

they're big because they're the CUTEST COUPLE EVER

watching the fireworks

little sisters

Kyle's skills

On Sunday we headed up to Atlanta for a short visit with Ashley and Phillip.  We made the trip because Kyle, Ashley and myself participated in the 2011 Peachtree Road Race this year.  It's the world's largest 10k that Atlanta hosts each year on the 4th of July.  We ran through downtown Atlanta on Peachtree St.  It was an awesome run and there were so many people.   

Phillip's grandpa Grigory, the sweetest man

mama with her {3} babies

My stats according to my Nike+. Time 57'52" Pace 8'44" Distance 6.62mi.  I think the difference in distance has to do with where on the road I actually ran.

proud to be DONE

GRRRRR.  Btw, Ashley is about 18 weeks pregnant, GO HER!

the finish line. the people just didn't stop coming!

creeeeeeeeper in the background

The race was a total blast and I was so pumped up before and after.  I get such a "runners high" when I run in a race like that.  We hope to make it our new tradition every 4th!  My parent's came up and watched Ezra and Cambria and I was so thankful they did that for us.  Thanks mom and dad!! :) 

***Over 55,000 people participated in the race this year.  I came in at #9506! See here.****

Pool & Yoga

Today we went to the pool. 

I love this boy so much.

Cam Jam trying to escape.

Daddy and daughter.

Happy Girl

Just a floatin'

Ezra in his swimming trunks.  So cute!

And yesterday we did baby yoga with Casey. 

arms up high, touch the sky

side to side

baby back-bend

I love motherhood. It makes me feel alive.

Creations

A few things I {and others} have created recently.

Katelyn's birthday gift.

Mother's Day card and envelope for my mom

Mother's Day card for my big sissy 

My dad's birthday card
{ignore the chocolate smudges on the front :)}

I framed our vows for Kyle as a 1 year anniversary gift.
It will be a part of the "frame wall" I'm in the process of creating.

Kyle's herbs, waiting to be moved into a larger herb garden.

Dad's Father's Day card. 
{can't find the tutorial I used, but there are TONS of them out there}

this was hard to photograph because of the glare..

Father's Day gift for Kyle's desk.

{Ezra's hand print was impossible to get, so I used his foot}

 
And Kyle's Father's Day and Anniversary card.

 Hair clip for Cambria. Inspired by these.

 Flowers from the garden for Kyle's Mema.

Adorable onsie and shirt sent from Ezra's friend Seeley. 
The first one says "home grown" LOVE it!!

 Beautiful crocheted blankets created by my Aunt Cindy.
The white one is a wedding gift and the colorful ones are for Cambria and Ezra.
I was SO thankful for these handmade, one-of a kind blankets. 

 Found this old shutter at that huge antique store in NY.. now it will hang on our wall and hold our cards and notes!
{can't decide if I want to keep the original, authentic color or paint it..}

 

Creating things brings me such joy!

"The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance."

-Aristotle

23 Years

June 28th, 2009  My 21st birthday, 8 months pregnant

June 28th, 2010  My 22nd birthday, 1 month pregnant

Today, My 23rd birthday, not pregnant.

Birthdays really help to put things in perspective.  It's crazy to think how different my life happenings are in each of those pictures.  I'm happy to have lived 23 years so far! I'm thankful for this and every birthday because we're never really promised tomorrow.  I've made a list of a few things I want to do during this next year. 

*Finish Cambria's quilt and make Ezra one too.  

*Create beautiful rooms for both my children.  

*Continue the never-ending process of decorating my house.

*As much as I hate the phrase, I want to have "date night" with Kyle every month.  I think it will be good for us, our marriage, and our children. 

*Run a marathon. 

*Create healthy and delicious food for my family. 

*Make a conscious effort to find meaning and value in everything that I do, even in relaxing, which often makes me feel guilty.  

*(Hopefully!!!!!) Attend my first birth, aside from my own and my children's. 

*Finish Cambria's 1st year scrapbook and begin and finish Ezra's. 

*Make/buy thoughtful gifts for my loved ones. 

*Find a program or a cause to volunteer for.

*Spend more time and effort staying in touch with friends.  When you have kids this oftentimes becomes difficult, but it's really important, so I want to try and work on it. 

*Love on my babies as much as possible.  Looking at that picture of Cambria a year ago reminds me that time flies by and every precious phase they go through lasts for what seems like a moment and then passes.  

*Begin and complete a 365 photo a day project starting today and ending June 28th, 2012. 

So that's my list.  Hopefully I can see it through!  

My mom and Amber spent all day preparing an amazing birthday dinner for my family.  It was delicious!

Buffalo potatoes.  A creation thought up by my mother.

Homemade veggies burgers!

Amazing stuffed mushrooms.

Pasta salad packed with veggies.

My birthday angel food fruit cake.

blowing out my candles.

This (along with a balloon) greeted me in the kitchen when I woke up this morning. 

All my favorite junk.

And this was my gift from my parent's and Kyle.  Man oh man am I excited to use this beauty!! I'm so thankful for this totally unexpected gift. 

It's hard to tell in this picture, but it's a vintage yellow.

And Amber got me a gift card for frozen yogurt. Yum yum! 

Today has been a wonderful day because I spent it with {some of} the people I love most in the world.