Miss me? ...and the merging of the blogs.

So it's been forever since I have posted. Want to know what I have been up to? Click here. If you read my "about me", you should have guessed by now that I am pretty stinken busy and can't keep up two blogs. So...that being said, consider my blogs merged. I will now only post here.

Here is a quick catch up. Brooke is 3 and in pre-school. Carlie is in 11th grade and has her license and a car. Josh is in 8th grade and has braces. Mark is still bike riding and training for another race. I am still running, kinda, and training for a half marathon in February. There...you are caught up.

Mark mentally prepares for next year's Traverse Bike Race

This past Saturday was the Traverse Bike Race. It is a 45 mile mide with about 8,500feet of elevation gain. Marks friend and my dad's co-worker, Caffrey, did the race on his single speed. Mark didn't feel he was quite ready to do the whole ride, so he went on his own and met Caffrey at the top. The place where the pictures were taken was only about 8 miles in. Caffrey still had about another 37 miles to go. YUK...and NO THANKS!! Mark is pretty sure he is going to be entering this race next year. Caffrey ended up finishing first in his age group and he was also the first Single Speed rider to cross the finish line. Next year....Mark will give him a run for his money and my dad will REALLY have something to bet on!!

Mother's Day

Mark and the kids made my Mother's Day PERFECT! I couldn't have asked for a nicer day. It started off with Mark getting me and the kids Starbucks and bagels. Brooke slept in until about 8:00am. She woke up and I fed her and spent about another half hour just laying in bed together. She was in the best mood. Mark got back and we woke up Carlie and Josh and all sat down and enjoyed our breakfast. I got 3 beautiful cards, a starbucks gift card and a little note saying I was getting a bracelet from Tiffany's. YIPPEE!!! Then, we all migrated to the couch and relaxed. Mark, Josh and Brooke, took the Man Van to the car wash and got it detailed (another one of my gifts). Carlie and I remained on the couch...in our pajamas. About 2pm and 4 showers later, we all headed to Ken and JoAnn's for our Mothers Day luncheon. The whole family, including my parents and sister were there, so it was really nice spending time with everyone. When we arrived...the homemade guacamole was out and the Margarita Machines were goin. We had a great lunch and yummy homemade ice cream. We also exchanged gifts. I unfortunately didn't take many pics, but here are the ones I took:

Too funny....had to post!!!

Last night Brooke spent a good 15 minutes entertaining us. It was one of the funniest things I have seen her do so far. Take a look:

The most awkward sleeping position ever!

Brooke has been doing really good and rolling over from belly to back - back to belly. She will also get on all four's and rock back and forth as well as go from her belly to a sitting position. The one thing she hasn't nailed, other than crawling is going from a sitting position to a laying down position...unless of course she sees something she wants and just goes for it, with out caring if there is a fall in the process. Her newest thing is sitting up in her crib. Well, the poor baby doesn't know how to lay back down, so we found her, folded in half, sleeping on her lap and then this:

Yes...she is sleeping!!!

Donate Life Walk

On Saturday morning, my work participated in the Donate Life Walk. Last year, I volunteered at the registration booth because I was too pregnant to do the walk/run, however, this year, Mark and I did the run. It was a 5l (3.2 miles). I pushed Brooke in the jog stroller and she loved it....she actually fell asleep for the last mile. Mark ran it in 30 minutes, Brooke and I did it in 42 minutes. :-) It was very hard to see all the pictures of the people that lost their lives, yet, it was somewhat comforting to know that their organs were donated to help someone else survive. All of the families that lost loved ones had their loved ones pictures on the back of their shirts.....some where even babies. :( My work was the primary sponsor of this event, so we got some great advertising. Stacie, Alex and the kids also participated in the 5k. :)

Big Bang Friday

Friday afternoon, as the office was emptying out for the day (around 4ish) Roger, my managing partner, came by and asked if I wanted Angel tickets. I was like....HECK YES I DO! He told me it was firework night. So...I got even more excited because #1, Brooke has never been to a game #2, Brooke has never seen fireworks and #3 I had Carlie and Josh that night, so this would make a fun family night. Well, he handed me the tickets and WHOA....they were our firm seats, which is front row behind home plate! $150 a piece! WITH DIAMOND PARKING! So, after work, we went home, ate some Mc Donalds and headed off to the game. We got there in the second inning. We figured if we got there later, Brooke would last later....I really, really wanted her to see the fireworks. :-) The game wasn't that great....Angels lost....BIG TIME. But it was a great experience. Here are the pics...

NEWS FLASH - "Father vomits on daughter"

WHAT? Was this father drinking? NO!! Did this father eat some bad food? NO!!! Did this father change his daughters diaper and in the process get covered in poop as well as get it all over the baby and the changing table, which, in turn, caused him to vomit, literally, on his daughter? BINGO!!! Who is this father you ask? Well, ladies and gentlemen...that would be our very own, Mark. Sorry....since I was told after the fact, I have no pictures. I am sure this won't be the last time though.

Mark's Mistress

Some women have their husbands receptionist to be jealous of....I, on the other hand, get to deal with something more materialistic. Just take a look below....dare you ask how many times Mark has asked ME to stand by the fence of our home so he could take pictures of me? That would be a big fat ZERO. WHATEVER!