And Around and Around We Go!!!

Who doesn't love a good carnival? Rides, games, lemonade shake-ups and funnel cakes!!! Saturday night was absolutely perfect for the carnival. We spent two hours just riding and riding and riding, before all three of the kids were exhausted and hungry. The girls LOVED the swings, the jump house and the slide. Eli loved the cars and the train. Thanks to the B-ville picnic committee for all their hard work to put on so many fun events for the community!

Megan thought Eli would like this kid-sized roller coaster. 

He did NOT love it!!!!

The cars were much more his speed!

Running in Blandinsville

Saturday was hot. And humid. By 7 a.m. But races must go on! So in 80 degrees and breath-sucking humidity, Matthew ran 4 miles and, despite his disappointing time on his watch, crossed the finish line before the crowd. 

Way to go, Matthew!!

The girls also had a good 1-mile race. We are looking forward to a few more 1-mile races, and I am trying to convince them to try a 5k. I know they have it in them because they run 1 mile with ease. But I want them to be self-motivated and WANT to run a 5k, not just do it for me!

Kudos to this high school cross country runner who finished after Matthew! He ran hard even though it was  H O T !

Way to go, Brent! See you at the 12:1 Run!

As much as Ronni does NOT like the heat, she had a great race, and a great finish!

Emily Goes to College

This week Emily attended Kid University at WIU. She took two classes: Chocoloholics and Culinary. She met new friends and worked to develop her culinary skills! I am looking forward to her help in the kitchen. Emily is already looking forward to attending next year, and Megan is planning to join her!

This is Emily, with one of her instructors, whose name is also Emily!

And, Happy Father's Day!

The girls did these for Matthew LAST year for Father's Day. I am anxious to have them do another one this year because their answers are so cute! I love that Megan thinks Matthew is 12 feet tall and weighs 47 pounds!!!

Happy Mother's Day!!

I know, Mother's Day is long gone, but I wanted to share these sweet papers that the girls gave me. The first one is from Megan, and the second one is from Emily. I love their sweet, innocent answers, and I realize that I must work too much, and not play enough! 

Monsters Invasion

The girls love to watch the Pixar movie, Monsters, Incorporated. So, Eli has seen it several times. I don't think he "gets" the movie. He just likes all the monsters, and will walk around the house saying, "Monsters coming. Monsters coming." I wish I could get a glimpse of what his imagination is dreaming up.

Anyway, I thought this would be a fun cake for Eli's second party. 

We got together with Matthew's side of the family at the park and ate pizza and strawberries. The kids all enjoyed playing on the slides and swings. 

No party is complete without kids swinging baseball bats and a mass collection of candy!

The pinata takes a beating!

Rhett made contact!

And, Emily steps up to the plate!!! Batter, batter,  S-W-I-N-G!!!

Jered takes a swing!

Garrett demolished the remains of our bull pinata!

One very happy birthday boy!

Doing the Strut!!

The Strawberry Strut has become a tradition in our family. With the exception of a few years (once for my brother's Indiana wedding, and once for the arrival of our sweet baby boy) Matthew has run it religiously. They offer a 1-mile Fun Run, and a 5-mile (not-so-fun) run. 

This year, we were excited to have a few extra runners in our group. Two of the girls' cousins ran the Fun Run with us. Everyone ran really well. Matthew was the only one really trained and prepared for the run, and his efforts paid off with a PR and a 4th place overall finish. Grant won the 1-mile race, and Emily and Rachel got 2nd place in their age divisions. Megan got 1st place for 7-year old girls.  

S-T-R-E-T-C-H!!!!

I know, it looks really cool when we go through out stretching exercises. The truth is -- we were just killing time at the start line!

What a great accomplishment!

The leaderboard!

Cooling down.

We took home 5 awards! Way to go!