A King Thing

More San Fran

2010-09-05T12:17:00.001-07:00

Oops, a sideways Sadie.

The lovely windmill at Golden Gate Park.

Umm, a giant piece of mac and cheese at Fishermans Wharf.

Walking around Fishermans Wharf.

The two-story carousel at the wharf. Fun!

A view of Fisherman's Wharf.

The sea lions take a sun bath.

Becca and Sadie enjoy the sunshine!

The cousins pose at a pretty mermaid fountain at Ghirardelli Square.

Getting our chocolate fix at Ghirardelli Square.

The view of the ocean from Sarah's front yard. Beautiful!

Becca swings!

The kids pose in front of the ocean view in Sarah's neighborhood.

Fin snuggles her cousin Becca.

Bex is surprised by auntie with camera!

San Francisco!!!

2010-08-22T15:29:00.000-07:00

The first wave of photos!

At the California Academy of Sciences museum.

Fin in the garden at Golden Gate Park. Cute!

Finley Turns 6

2010-08-22T15:23:00.000-07:00

How did it happen? How did my baby get to be 6 years old?! As hard as it is for me to believe, here is the photographic evidence that it was, indeed, 6 years ago that she made her appearance... We had her party at an indoor climbing gym/arcade, and it was so fun. Everyone had a blast!

The birthday girl!

Opening presents.

About to blow out the candles on the Harry Potter cake.

"Simpsons" wrapping paper from mommy!

All the birthday party guests smile together!

MORE Professional Photos!

2010-07-13T19:15:00.001-07:00

Well, here they are! As promised, here are the photos our friend Melissa took! They turned out SO CUTE!!!

A little bit of crazy eyes from Fin.

Cute, pensive Finley!

Cute, pensive Maddie!

Sassy Fin.

Cheesy smile Finley!

The girls pose (reluctantly, on Maddie's part) together.

Mads "hates getting her picture taken." Riiiiight.

ALL my thanks and love go to Mel for her great work!!!

Pictures by a Pro

2010-07-01T15:57:00.001-07:00

WAY better than the crappy ones I take! These are just a sneak peek at the photos our friend Melissa took of the girls. CUTE!

More to come soon (I hope!).

Before & After

2010-06-28T10:45:00.000-07:00

The horrendous home-improvement nightmare is finally over! Our lovely friends Mel and Chase came for their visit this weekend, and we got the guest bedroom and bathroom finished just in time... Literally about an hour before they got here! Everything turned out nice, and our guests said the bedroom was perfectly comfortable, so it was a success! We're so glad it's over; no more DIY projects for at least a couple months.

Bedroom BEFORE.

Bedroom BEFORE (Alex painted me a message). :)

Bedroom AFTER.

Bedroom AFTER.

Bathroom BEFORE.

Bathroom BEFORE.

Bathroom AFTER.

Bathroom AFTER.

Bathroom AFTER.

Finley Graduates

2010-06-02T06:54:00.000-07:00

It's official: Finley is a kindergarten graduate! Her school had a lovely ceremony last night to celebrate all the little grads. Each class did a little performance featuring songs and dances from other cultures; Finley's was a hat dance from the Philippines, and it was adorable, of course! Then each graduate walked across the stage, got a diploma and shook hands with their teachers and principal. It ended with all the kids singing "What a Wonderful World" and all the parents crying. :) Here are some photographic highlights...

I gave Finley some roses to congratulate her on her achievement!

Finley and her teacher, Mrs. Gann (who is on her knees; she's not really that short).

Finley waves as she makes her way to the stage.

Fin and her BFF Chloe!

Even Maddie was proud of her little sister! (They had a '50s/'60s day at school that day, which is why she's dressed like someone from "Big Love.")

Fin walks across the stage to get her diploma. Her boyfriend, Liam, is waving in the foreground. It looks like he's flipping off the camera, but he's really just waving. :)

Finley looks a bit nervous as the ceremony kicks off...

It's Cookie Time!

2010-06-01T07:10:00.001-07:00

I decided to make a little present to thank Alex's parents for helping us get our awesome new oven. But what to make?! After much deliberation, I decided on Union Jack cookies! They're the perfect way to thank Alex's lovely British parents - I get to show off how well the oven works, decorate cookies (something I LOVE to do) and give them a bit of patriotic cheer. They turned out pretty good, I think. I could have made the icing a bit cleaner, but I wasn't using my good pastry tips. :)

Mother's Day 2010 Part Two

2010-05-10T07:54:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, Mother's Day proper, the girls and I joined Finley's friend Chloe and her mom Kristin for a trip to the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History. We'd never been (well, Maddie had been on a field trip once), but I've always wanted to go. I was definitely not disappointed! It was so fun, and there was so much for the kids to do. I think we could have stayed another two hours and still not seen everything there! Some photographic highlights...

Finley, Chloe and Madeline pose in an alligator's mouth at the entrance to the children's museum.

Maddie balances!

There was a cute hospital area in the children's museum, and Finley loved it! Maybe she'll be a doctor someday... Here she is taking care of a sick baby. :)

Doctor (and ambulance driver) Finley, with her helper Froggy, zips to the hospital.

Finley in her white coat.

There was an awesome wind tunnel, and the girls learned how to make little flying things out of paper to put in there. The paper flyers zoomed to the top and then floated down. I love the look of total wonder on their faces!

There was even a dino dig, which was so cool. The girls used brushes and shovels to uncover hidden "bones."

Chloe plays foosball.

The girls pose in front of an art installation devoted to recycling and saving the oceans.

Mother's Day Weekend 2010

2010-05-10T07:46:00.000-07:00

We had an action-packed weekend for Mother's Day, and it was fantastic! First, on Saturday, we had fun shopping and then went to the Rangers game in the evening. The kids were NOT impressed (couldn't see much, didn't understand the rules, tired, bored, etc., etc.), but hopefully it is at least an experience they will remember!

The girls pose on the third level of the ballpark. We had a fantastic view of the new Cowboys stadium too.

This adorable little charmer smiling at us is Liam, Finley's "boyfriend." He later came down and sat next to Fin for a while. He is so freaking cute.

Finley and Liam smile while sharing his cotton candy.

An uncomfortable-looking smile in front of the field.

A view of the diamond!

Argh

2010-04-26T07:37:00.000-07:00

Can't get the video to work... Will try it from home.

Dancing Queens

2010-04-26T07:21:00.001-07:00

The girls danced this weekend at the annual Arts and Jazz Fest. Their school does something called "Groove Squad," which is a dance group for each grade. Maddie has done it these last few years, but this was Finley's first time! They both did great! Here are some photos of Fin. I have separate Maddie footage, which I'll also post; also going to attempt to post video...

Finley dances with a smile.

More smiling. :)

Finley gets her groove on.

Finley with a group of friends and her teacher.

Saatchi goes to the dog park

2010-03-21T21:27:00.000-07:00

So, not having had a dog in a VERY long time, I had never had the pleasure of visiting Denton's relatively new dog park. I'd heard about it, but I never had any reason to go myself. At least, not until Saatchi tail-wagged his way into our lives. We decided to treat him to a trip to Wiggly Field (the rather baffling and un-clever name of Denton's dog park) for a little puppy socializing. Mostly this involved getting sniffed by other dogs and then running and hiding in my lap. But I think he was having (some) fun...

This is NOT Saatchi. Or me! Finley ventured out to take some photos of her own.

Finley with Saatch. Awwww...

Fin tries to control crazy little Saatchi.

Mads love to cuddle the puppy.

Another random dog shot by Finley!

On Cloud 9

2010-03-21T21:14:00.001-07:00

Madeline turned 9. Let me say that again: Madeline turned NINE. It is incomprehensible that I started my parental journey nine whole years ago. It really does seem like yesterday that I was having baby dreams and hoping I didn't pop out a little sociopath or drop my newborn on her head (so far so good on both counts). To celebrate my baby's birthday, we had a pool party with her friends from school. It was lots of fun, with plenty of sweets and presents. Here are the photographic highlights!

Finley doing her Popeye impression after giving Maddie her gift (a giraffe Webkinz).

The best kind of friends are friends with presents. :)

Kayla and Stephanie hang out.

Maddie gets ready to make her wish!

Maddie's awesome haul.

Ice Skating = Epic Fail!

2010-01-17T04:57:00.000-08:00

Well, I was supposed to get some pictures of the girls ice skating yesterday, but the whole thing went SO badly, I didn't have a chance! They whined. They cried. They complained that their feet hurt. All before we even got on the ice. I don't think they liked the disorienting feeling that theycould fall down at any time. Anyway, we will not be trying that again, but I will get pictures of something to put up here soon!

Holiday Party Time!

2009-12-08T07:50:00.001-08:00

Finley had her holiday tea party (which was a sort of late birthday party, since we didn't have a party at her birthday) Sunday, and it was a huge hit! I think the kids had a great time. We had an ornament painting station, a cookie decorating station and, of course, plenty of free play time. Here are some pics...

Sassy Finley and her friend Chloe pose.

Fin poses with Julia (left) and Aniyah.

The kids gather around for a game of Pass the Parcel. They really liked it, although none of them had any clue what a "parcel" was... :)

Back to Great Wolf!

2009-12-04T07:26:00.000-08:00

I got super-cheap tickets to the amazing indoor water park at Great Wolf Lodge. This was the same place we went for Alex's birthday last year, but this year we went with the kids! It was SO fun! Maddie got pretty adventurous and went on some of the the scarier slides, but I think she loved the wave pool best. And Fin loved the kids area, which had little slides and fiberglass Jet Skis she could sit on. At the end of the day, we put the girls in some chairs at the bottom of the biggest, scariest, craziest slide there and then Alex and I went for it! We told the girls to wait for us at the bottom, and they dutifully sat there watching the exit tunnel thing, hoping to catch a glimpse of us. Finally we went down and it was SO scary (we had already done this ride when we went for A's birthday, but it was worse than I remembered!). But tons of fun.

We have arrived!

Me, Alex and Fin in front of the wave pool. Maddie had already disappeared at this point.

The girls endure one more photo before getting into their swimsuits and diving in!

Finley hangs onto Alex!

Thanksgiving/Pre-Christmas

2009-12-04T07:21:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving was a blast, as usual! It was just the four of us, and we had tons of fun, cooking, eating and just hanging out. This year I opted to buy a pre-made meal from Target's deli. Best. Decision. Ever. I also made an apple pie, sweet potatoes and roasted carrots.

Reading stories after Thanksgiving dinner. This is probably the last photo of Abigail, too (Alex is kissing her).

The best little Christmas present!

About to eat - yum!

Mojo looking freaky.

Halloween 2009

2009-11-01T13:11:00.001-08:00

Yay for Halloween! The girls looked adorable, and we had a little party...

Finley was a fancy, flamenco-loving senorita! She kept dancing and saying "Ole!"

Finley and Maddie together before trick or treating. Madeline was a scary vampire - she looked great!

I carved these pumpkins Saturday afternoon.

Alex was Pee Wee Herman. He was very convincing ...

I dressed up as Cleopatra. I made my costume out of a satin sheet and some gold ribbon. Then I got a gold sequin headband a glued gold beads to it. And I did the dramatic eye makeup. It turned out OK!

Merry Old England Continued

2009-11-01T12:58:00.000-08:00

Alex's aunt Penny has a bit of wine before the dinner starts.

We sit down for dinner - yum!

Ettie, Roy and Oliver get ready to eat!

The beach was right around the corner.

We ended our trip with a lunch at the local pub, the Jolly Farmer. It was tasty. Then we got in the car and drove to the train station, boarded a train to London, then got on a bus to the tube station, then took a tube to Heathrow. Crazy! We stayed in the Heathrow Hilton, which was really nice, before boarding our plane home the next morning. What a trip!!!

Merry Old England Continued

2009-11-01T12:52:00.000-08:00

The next day, we had fun doing a bit of sight seeing around the coast near Brancaster.

The beach at Brancaster. The tide was out, and we walked all along the sand. It was lovely.

Royston goes for a swim!

Then it was time for the fancy dinner. Alex's mom was in charge, and she did a beautiful job. Here's the beautiful table.

Here's the cake she made - and brought from the States!

Merry Old England Continued

2009-11-01T12:45:00.001-08:00

We pulled up to the beautiful - and huge! - house we were staying in at Brancaster. Alex's grandparents, Ettie and Royston; his aunt Penny and uncle Dave and their kids, Oliver, Hannah and Eleanor; and his aunt Nancy and uncle Mike and their kids, Joe and Ben met up with us later. We were there to celebrate Ettie and Roy's 60th wedding anniversary!

The sitting room.

The weird Aga stove. It is always on. Always. And there are no temperature controls. It's just that the top right compartment is the hottest, and then the other compartments are progressively less hot. And the burners are always on but have covers over them, which you lift up if you want to put a pot on. Very strange.

The house had a pool, which is really weird for England.

The first night, Dave gave everyone an album of photos collected throughout Ettie and Roy's marriage. This is Roy, Ettie and Eleanor.

Merry Old England Continued

2009-11-01T12:37:00.000-08:00

After walking around Bungay a bit, Jean took us to Great Yarmouth, a coastal town nearby. Apparently, it's not only American beach towns that are tack tourist traps. This rule carries over into Europe too! But the beach was very pretty. Cold, but pretty.

One of the mini casinos that line the coast.

A fish-and-chips shop in Great Yarmouth.

After spending the night at Jean's, we went to Norwich, about 20 minutes away. I dragged Alex straight to the cathedral, so I could marvel at more "old stuff."

Here's the front of the cathedral at Norwich. After looking around here, we went to a grocery store, where we were meeting up with Alex's mom, dad and brother, as well as Jean, who had dropped us off to explore on our own. We grocery shopped for the big family dinner in Brancaster before hitting the road...

Merry Old England Continued

2009-11-01T12:28:00.001-08:00

After saying goodbye to London, it was back on the train to go to Norwich, where we were staying with a Taylor family friend, Jean, and her family. Here's Liverpool Street Station, where the train left.

The beautiful view at Jean's house. This is her backyard! Can you imagine waking up to that every morning. Aaaahhh...

Another view of Jean's lovely garden.

A church in Jean's village, Bungay. It's more than 1,000 years old.

The streets of Bungay.

Merry Old England Continued

2009-11-01T12:21:00.001-08:00

The recreated Globe Theatre.

Me in front of Tower Bridge!

Tower Bridge goes up for a boat that's sailing by.

Next it was back to Trafalgar Square to visit the National Portrait Gallery. So many beautiful paintings, including famous works by Picasso and Monet.

Covent Garden. We at at a yummy Danish restaurant called Belgo's. Yum.

Merry Old England Continued

2009-11-01T12:15:00.000-08:00

After Buckingham Palace, it was off to Westminster Abbey. It was beautiful inside, but they didn't allow photos. Boo.

The tube train zooms by.

We went to Harrod's after going to the hotel to change out of our rain-soaked clothes. Harrod's was crazy! We meandered around the food area and ogled all the amazing treats. This was a whole room devoted to candy. Heaven!!

On our last day in London, we went to the Thames. Here's the city of London's crest.

The Tower of London. We didn't go inside; maybe next time!

Merry Old England Continued

2009-11-01T12:10:00.000-08:00

The next day we went to the Saatchi Gallery (modern art). We saw John Waters! This blurry blog on the left is him in the gift shop.

Buckingham Palace.

The gates at Buckingham Palace.

A statue of Queen Victoria outside of Buckingham Palace. It was so rainy that day!

An Apple store!

Merry Old England Continued

2009-11-01T12:05:00.001-08:00

Me with an awesome Lego Hagrid at Hamley's Toy Store in London.

Car zooming through a roundabout near Trafalgar.

London's Chinatown.

The view of Big Ben from Trafalgar Square. Like a postcard!

Trafalgar Square, including Nelson's Column.

Merry Old England Continued

2009-11-01T11:54:00.000-08:00

Next we were off to the Natural History Museum. We immediately noticed something was out of the ordinary. There were loads of guards standing around, and it seemed like every staff member of the entire museum was in the lobby. Soon I overheard one of those staffers saying that Prince William was coming for the opening of the new Charles Darwin exhibit. Our timing was unbelievable! So, we got in line behind the velvet rope. I was really close to the front, which meant he was going to walk right past me. I had the camera ready. After waiting about an hour (and making Alex extremely annoyed because he just wanted to leave and look at the exhibits), we finally saw...

PRINCE WILLIAM!

He was so close - I said hello! He was very polite and chatted up the little boy who was standing in front of me.

Alex at Trafalgar Square.

A pretty pub in London.

Merry Old England Continued

2009-11-01T11:48:00.001-08:00

The Albert Hall.

Me in front of the Albert memorial. Teeny!

We went to the Science Museum next. Here's a cool race car - on the ceiling!

Alex in front of some space stuff at the Science Museum. He loves his space stuff!

Me in front of the iconic red phone box. I went inside one that night to call the girls and ... ummm ... not pretty. Apparently they are toilets for homeless people.

Merry Old England Continued

2009-11-01T11:40:00.001-08:00

After having lots of fun in Oundle, it was time to take on London. So, we hopped on a train at Peterborough and headed to King's Cross, then to Paddington Station. Here's a busy tube stop. Everyone rushes. I mean, RUNS. It's like a constant cattle herd, and you're always afraid of getting squished because it seems like EVERYONE knows where they're going - except you. A bit stressful!

My first view of London after getting off the tube. Thanks a lot, Burger King.

We went to the hotel and dropped off our baggage. Our hotel was near Hyde Park, so we headed out to landmarks near there. Here we're walking, walking, walking through Hyde Park toward Albert Hall.

Hyde Park.

Part of the Albert memorial. There were beautiful statues all around it, with different time periods and cultures represented.

Merry Old England Continued

2009-11-01T11:31:00.001-08:00

After eating lunch at a pub, we left Alex's grandparents and went with his aunt and uncle and cousin to their house in Oundle (maybe 20 minutes away). Here's a pretty building just outside Mike and Nancy's house.

This is Mike and Nancy's old house in Oundle. It used to be a pub over a hundred years ago. It's kind of blurry, but if you can see the steps in the background, that's where people's carriages would pull up, and people could step from the carriage onto the stairs and into the pub!

Mike and Nancy's beautiful house in Oundle.

A lovely street in Oundle. It was such a beautiful town.

Me and Alex in front of a house with a real thatched roof.

Merry Old England Continued

2009-11-01T11:25:00.001-08:00

Beautiful stained-glass windows at Peterborough Cathedral.

Alex at his grandparents' house in Peterborough.

Me and Alex on the site of the former Fotheringhay Castle. There was a moat around the hill we're standing on, but there's nothing really left of the castle.

A cute pub we had lunch in with Alex's grandparents and his aunt and uncle Nancy and Dave and cousin Joe.

Merry Old England Continued

2009-11-01T11:15:00.001-08:00

The grave of Katharine of Aragon, Henry VIII's first wife (divorced and thrown over for old Ann Bolyn).

Inside of Peterborough Cathedral.

Alex checking out the pasty selection. Yum!

Me in the gardens outside Peterborough Cathedral.

A sideways view of the alleyways around the cathedral.

Merry Old England Continued

2009-11-01T11:10:00.001-08:00

Alex looking cute in front of Peterborough Cathedral.

The front of Peterborough Cathedral. The facade was undergoing construction.

The entrance to Peterborough Cathedral.

We rented a paddleboat while we were riding around on bikes in Ferry Meadows park in Peterborough. It was really fun!

Ready for a bike ride around Ferry Meadows.

Merry Old England Part 1

2009-11-01T10:33:00.000-08:00

Our trip to England - Sept. 11-24, 2009!!! It was amazing, the fulfillment of a lifelong goal. Everyone was so nice, especially all of Alex's family members and family friends, some of whom even opened up their homes and let us stay with them. We saw so many amazing things: 1,000-year-old buildings, world-famous landmarks, English beaches and lots more!

And now, some photos...

The very first thing I saw when we got through customs at Heathrow: Starbucks! Just like home! I then proceeded to accidentally cut in front of everyone in line and make a complete ass out of myself.

Very sleepy right after getting off the plane!

Off to the tube!

A sideways shot of busy King's Cross Station.

Having a Harry Potter moment. They have a little luggage trolley lodged halfway through the wall at Platform 9 3/4, like it's going through to the Hogwarts Express. I was not the only person wanting a photo there - there were at least two or three other adults in line waiting for a photo. :)

Back to School!!!

2009-08-25T12:22:00.000-07:00

Today (Aug. 25, 2009) was the first day of school. Madeline is an old pro at this whole school business, but Finley was starting her very first day of kindergarten. It was a very emotional time for both of us - Fin tried her best to keep it together and not cry, and so did I. In the end, we both failed. But at least she looked cute. :) Here are some pics... I'll update when I find out how the first day went!

Just arrived at school; Fin's trying to give Mads bunny ears but can't quite reach.

Now giving the camera bunny ears...

Other kids were present, so Mads did NOT want me taking any more photos...

Finley in her kindergarten classroom. She's trying hard to hold it together. :(

Make Lemonade...

2009-08-25T12:12:00.000-07:00

The girls decided on Sunday afternoon that they wanted to make a lemonade stand. They didn't listen when we tried to tell them that a. it was approximately 200 degrees outside and b. absolutely no one had walked/biked down our street in at least 24 hours. Oh well, they went ahead with it anyway! I bought some lemonade mix and whipped it up for them, and they set up a table/chair outside. Then they sat and waited. Soon Finley had resorted to yelling at passing cars. Alex, Charles and I all came out and bought a cup (Charles and Alex even gave them a tip!). Then Finley spied the guy next door coming out to his driveway to clean out his car: Cha-ching!! She walked over and propositioned him. He, of course, agreed to buy a cup (probably with the change he found in his car...). No one can refuse my cute girls! In the end they made about $3.50, which is a small fortune as far as they're concerned. They didn't even have to work long (Charles asked them what their hours were and Mads said, "Till whenever Mommy makes us go inside!") Here are some pictures ...

Splash!

2009-08-25T12:08:00.001-07:00

Took the girls swimming this weekend - their last weekend before school started. They enjoyed their last little bit of freedom!

Mads does her best "dead man." Notice tongue lolling out...

Finley "dives."

Maddie was smiling, but I don't know what Finley was doing...

Finley Turns 5!!!

2009-08-09T16:04:00.000-07:00

My sweet little Finley turned 5 today. It's a bit of a bittersweet moment, knowing my last baby is growing up. But I am consoling myself by taking pride in the sweet, gentle, funny little person she is becoming. I just love her to death!

In honor of Fin's big day, Grandma and Grandpa visited (yay!), and we had dinner, cake, a movie and presents. Here are some photographic highlights!

Fin blows out the candles!

Of course, Maddie had to get a little something too...

Decked out in ribbons!

Finley strikes her best model pose. She's so pretty! I wish Maddie hadn't done bunny ears, though. :)

Finley LOVES rubber duckies, so I made a ducky cake. It turned out pretty cute!

Maddie's Trip

2009-07-13T07:00:00.001-07:00

Maddie just returned from her whirlwind road trip with her grandparents! They went to Indianapolis (to visit my grandmother); Buffalo, NY (to visit my aunt and uncle and their fam); over to New Hampshire (to visit my sister and fam); then to Cooperstown, NY (baseball museum); through Pennsylvania, Ohio, back to Indy, through Missouri and then back to Oklahoma. It was a two-week extravaganza! Here are some photos...

Maddie went on the Maid of the Mist, that boat that goes along the bottom of Niagara Falls. Really, she did!

Mads at Niagara Falls. Notice the coat...

Maddie with my (second or third?) cousin Mariah, my aunt Diana and my mom at Niagara Falls.

Maddie in Pennsylvania.
Maddie at Dartmouth, where my brother-in-law is an MBA student.

Playing With My New Pasta Maker!

2009-07-05T15:10:00.000-07:00

I got this awesome pasta maker for my birthday. It is so cool! And the pasta we made was delish.

Suri vs. Finley

2009-06-30T10:04:00.001-07:00

So, Us Weekly magazine is having a contest to find kids that look like celebrities' kids. I think Finley could win, as she is a dead ringer for Suri Cruise (cuter, of course, but still...). See what you think...

Fin Swim

2009-06-30T09:59:00.001-07:00

Alex and I took Finley to this really neat fountain/water feature near my office this weekend. It's literally a public fountain (about 2-3 feet deep) that people can swim around in. There's also a cool area with water spouting up from the ground, and kids run around in there and cool off. Needless to say, she loved it!

Race for the Cure: We Came, We Saw, We Kicked Its Ass!!!

2009-06-06T15:26:00.000-07:00

Today (June 6, 2009) was the awesome Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in Plano, and it was completely inspiring! And, surprisingly enough, a lot of fun! I ran in my very first 5K. My hope was to run 2 of the 3.2 miles. But, thanks to my friend Gretchen's encouragement and help with training, I was able to run 2.5 MILES! Everyone who knows how lazy I am can totally appreciate how much effort this took. Here's me with G before the race started...

The weather was absolutely perfect, clear but not hot with a nice breeze (the race started at 8 a.m. before the heat could set in). Gold medalist gymnast Nastia Liukin (she's from nearby Allen, TX) shot a little pink "gun" and we were off! We ran the first mile with little trouble, then walked for a few minutes, then back to running.

I was feeling the pain, but I know it is nothing in comparison to chemo, so I sucked it up. Here we are crossing the finish line!

The race included a really cool little fair with loads of tents giving away cool stuff. (DallasChild was there giving away cookies and magazines!). We loaded up on tons of freebies after the race.

I felt so lucky, because Alex was there to support me every step! The night before, he made a cute T-shirt that said "Team Claudia," and he gave me a sweet good luck card. Then he got up and went with me insanely early this morning and took photos. He was standing right at the finish line, waiting for me and cheering me on. I couldn't ask for a better boyfriend!

All in all, it was a fantastic experience. I was running in honor of my friend Bethany, who was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 27. She is living proof (thank goodness) that this disease can hit anyone at any time, and early detection is key! And this race is proof that a slightly pudgy, 31-year-old mother-of-two frosting addict can go from only being able to run 90 seconds to running 2.5 miles in a few short weeks of training, as long as she has excellent encouragement!

International Night!

2009-05-22T06:56:00.001-07:00

Last night was International Night at Fin's school, and it was so fun! Actually, Finley said it was "the best night of her life." :) The girls got to travel to different "continents" and learn a bit about each one. They even had passports to stamp! Here are some photos...

In Africa, Maddie went Egyptian and got wrapped up like a mummy.

In Finley's classroom, which was dressed up like Brazil.

Searching for koalas in Australia!

Brrr! It's cold at the South Pole!

Now it's Fin's turn to be a mummy!

Thanks, Dad!

2009-05-09T11:39:00.001-07:00

Beautiful flowers from my dad for Mother's Day! Thanks, Dad!

Cousins Unite!

2009-04-13T19:38:00.000-07:00

The girls and I got to hang out with the extended family recently, and we all had so much fun. We hadn't seen the Snow clan since July (when Sadie was only 3 months old), so it was really like meeting her for the first time. Here are a few pics... I have more on my computer at work, which I'll have to upload here ASAP.

Maddie chills with her littlest cousin. She obviously has this "oldest one" act down pat.

The treacherous Sadie attacks...

I absolutely love this picture. Ethan looks like some kind of 1970s pimp. Finley is adorable in her faux wool-trimmed coat. And Maddie looks like a cute, demented little nutter. They're all so perfect.

Maddie Turns 8!!

2009-03-15T19:14:00.001-07:00

Maddie is officially 8 years old. I can't believe it. I really can't. We had a little party at our house this weekend to celebrate. Grandma and Grandpa were here, and we all had a lot of fun! Because of spring break, a lot of Maddie's friends were traveling and couldn't make it to the party. But her friend Akyrah was here, and they had a great time!

Of course Finley had to have a present, too (and a kiss!).

Mads digs in to her haul of presents.

Maddie thinks up a wish...

The cake I made (my first multi-tiered creation)!

Fancy Finley

2009-02-27T18:14:00.000-08:00

Finley got all dolled up yesterday, so I took some photos. When I showed them to her, she said: "I look marble-ous!" She's clearly been listening to Grandma. :)

Maddie gets a haircut

2009-02-27T18:11:00.000-08:00

Here are some shots of Maddie's new haircut. Her hair is wet, so you can't get the clearest idea of what it looks like. But it is very cute, trust me. She's got the flu now, so be thinking of her! We thought it was strep again, but the doc says it's flu. Blah - a fun weekend awaits.

Payback!

2009-02-22T19:17:00.001-08:00

Finally! Alex got a tattoo this weekend to match the one I got SEVEN MONTHS AGO!!!

Museum of Nature and Science

2009-01-31T18:00:00.000-08:00

Today we ventured into Dallas for fun and non-classroom-setting learning at the Museum of Nature and Science. We saw some really cool stuff and spent hours playing in the children's museum, which was right up Maddie and Finley's alley.

Maddie points out a T-Rex!

The girls got to dig for dinosaur bones in a giant sandbox.

The girls hang out with a woolly mammoth.

Finley loved the bubble-making area. Alex, not so much.

Fin looks psychotically happy about milking a fiberglass cow.

Oops!

2009-01-17T16:49:00.000-08:00

Well, Mom, I'm afraid I have some bad news. I accidentally shrunk the short-sleeved turtleneck sweater you gave me for Christmas. Apparently I wasn't supposed to put it in the dryer. D'oh! But there is some good news! It now looks great on...

Boucoup Butterflies

2009-01-11T20:50:00.000-08:00

Alex and I went to the Crow Collection of Asian Art in downtown Dallas this weekend. It was so cool! They had statues, tapestries, paintings and lots of other cool stuff (including these tiny, intricate snuff boxes). We took a couple photos, including this one of me in a hallway surrounded by origami butterflies! We're planning a trip to the "Living in Space" exhibit with the children next weekend, so I'll post photos after!

Christmas!

2008-12-26T10:39:00.001-08:00

We had a great Christmas with Mom and Dad King! Here are the photos...

The tree before the kids got into it.

We made a cool gingerbread house (OK, so it was from a kit...).

Fin got the teddy bear she wanted!

Maddie treats us to a concert on Rock Band 2!

Fin and Grandma smile for us.

Mojo the Christmas Kitten.

ICE! Storm

2008-12-21T16:25:00.000-08:00

On Saturday, Alex and I took the kids to the ICE! Exhibit at the Gaylord Texan in Grapevine (by DFW Airport). It features 2 million pounds of ice carved into elaborate sculptures. They keep it at 9 degrees in the exhibit, so they give you these huge parkas to keep you warm (that's why we all look like blue doughboys in all the photos). It was SO cool! Here are the pix...

Christmas Kiddos

2008-11-22T09:21:00.000-08:00

Maddie and Finley got some cool new Christmas duds from their Grandma and Grandpa, and they were so thrilled! They also got new Christmas ornaments from me, which were slightly less thrilling but still cute. Here are some photos...

Alex's birthday ... one month later

2008-11-01T12:39:00.000-07:00

Alex's birthday was a month ago, and I took him to this awesome hotel with an indoor waterpark. It was so freaking fun! We went on all the slides, including this crazy one that was like being flushed down a gigantic toilet. Woo. Here are some pictures...

Above is the outside of the hotel, where the giant toilet slide is...

Alex in the crazy whirlpool tub

Halloweenies!

2008-11-01T12:27:00.000-07:00

We went trick-or-treating last night, and it was a huge success! The girls got so much candy, it will take until next Halloween to eat it all (unless I help … which I will). Here are some pictures of Princess Leia and Luke Skywalker's kitten...