Party Time!!!

Hope decided on a Minnie Mouse theme for her birthday party. We made Minnie cupcakes, had a Minnie bouncer, and even tried to play a Minnie game.

I have decided that I love little kid birthday parties because they involve a lot of playing and very little planning! The plan was that her friends would come over, they would jump and play, we'd eat some cupcakes, and open gifts...simple and easy and just perfect for a 3 year old girl!

Hope's favorite friends came: Caleb, Collin, and Ryan and we got to invite a new friend, Autumn, from our church. The kids all had fun playing together and I think Hope was thrilled to have each one of them there, along with their parents!


Both sets of Hope's Grandparents came and even Great Grandma was there!

Hope somehow convinced her Grandpa to jump with her in the bouncer and it was so fun to watch them play! I am so thankful for the relationship Hope has with her Grandparents!

She almost convince Great Grandma to jump...but Great Grandma won that discussion!

Happy 3rd Birthday Hope!

Our birthday celebrations began at home when Hope woke up. We put up her Minnie decorations all over the house and had her presents wrapped and waiting for when she woke up. She was a happy girl to wake up to everything!
We spent the day at Disneyland, just the 3 of us. This is quickly becoming one of my favorite traditions! Hope's to-do list for the day included:

1. The Circus Train
2. Riding the big train all the way around
3. Minnie's house
4. Goofy's Kitchen
5. Finding a special treat
6. Story-boat Ride

Reunited!

In August our dear friends moved to Arizona and boy have we missed them! Violet was Hope's only girl-friend and Violet's Mommy ended up becoming one of my closest friends as well. We have been fortunate enough to see them every few months, but this visit was my favorite! We had a play date at our house on morning before I headed to work and it was so fun to watch the girls play together. For the first time they actually played TOGETHER, sat TOGETHER, talked TOGETHER, and just had a whole lot of fun! At that playdate I also go the honor of snuggling with their newest addition, sweet Evie! There is nothing better than snuggling a sweet baby!

We spent Wednesday at Disneyland together and we had a blast! Since Jaye wasn't working at that time he got to join us so it was a really great family day for all of us! Rather than buy more toys for the girls for their birthdays, we opted for matching shirts and bows...they looked so cute!

I got yet another opportunity to hold sweet Evie while her parents took Violet on a ride. Loved it!

Several people asked us if the girls were twins...nope, just matchy and super cute! Catharina took most of the pictures that day, but I snuck in a few! Couldn't let the day go by without some pictures of these two!

As wonderful as the visit was, we all said "goodbye" and left missing the others more than ever before! It's not every day you meet another family that clicks so well with your own and with whom you feel so free to be yourself. Conversation comes naturally, laughter flows freely, and fun is had by all! I am so thankful for the time we all got to spent together those few days!

Coaster Run 2012

Look out world, I am becoming a runner!

At the end of March my brother, my friend Amie, and I all ran the Coaster Race 2012 10k (6.2 miles). I wasn't sure how I would do as the farthest I had run up til then was almost 5 miles. I have discovered that I am not yet to the point where I can or want to run the whole race, but I have figured out a really good rhythm of running/walking. I didn't really have a goal time going into the race, I just wanted to finish well. We started off the race all together, even though I gave my brother (who is fast and way more in shape than I) permission to run ahead, and ended it fairly close to one another as well. My brother was a good guy and stayed with me during the race and I was grateful for his company. Towards the end he made comment that I walked fast...made me feel good! He was winded at the end as well so I didn't feel so bad! (o:

We finished our 6.4 miles (according to my GPS/running app) in 1:11:15 (1 hour, 11 minutes), which put us at a 11:15 pace...not too bad. I felt pretty good for most of the race, with the exception of a really dumb back alley we had to run at mile 4-5. The race was not scenic or pretty in the least bit and really had nothing to do with Knott's Berry Farm, other than the fact that Snoopy was on the shirts and medals and we started from their parking lot. The picture above is post-race...I think we look pretty good for having just run 6.4 miles!

This is the 2nd race Amie and I have run together and I am so grateful for a running buddy! We both started this process of learning to run together and its so nice to have someone at the same phase as me...we're already looking for the next race we can run together!

Not only did Aaron and I run our 1st race together, Hope got to run a race too! I had seen online that they had a Snoopy Kids Race and I thought it'd be fun for Hope to feel like she was a part of my new hobby as well! I didn't get back in time to "run" with her, but Jaye took her and he said she ran most of it, holding on to his finger for dear-life the whole time! (o:

When asked about her race she said she had fun, but when I asked her if she would run another race with me, she replied, "no Mom, that's enough." We shall see!