Savage Race

I may have turned a bit crazy after I realized how exhilarating finishing a full marathon was. I wanted to do something much different than "just" running for miles, so I convinced Matt to sign up for the Savage Race with me. We had other friends who signed up to do it too, and we had the best team to conquer this muddy obstacle race! 

Thankful for other crazy girlfriends who joined in! 

I knew I wouldn't be able to finish the race without this stud beside me. He is my biggest supporter, and although he was not too thrilled about participating in this race, he did it for me, and that meant the world! He actually rocked this thing! 

The first obstacle was by FAR the worst obstacle for me! I was thankful it was the first and we got it over with. It was the ice bath. Matt and I held hands and jumped into this giant tub full of ice and water. You then had to swim under a plank of wood and then get out on the other side. I was not expecting to lose feeling all over my body! There was a quick second I wasn't sure I was going to be able to get out! Thankfully I did, and ran off the numbness! 

All of the other obstacles were definitely challenging! There was A LOT of mud, walking and swimming in murky water, balancing on beams, crazy monkey bars, crawling through tight tunnels, barbed wire, and more! It was thrilling and fun and I loved doing it with these awesome people! 

Unfortunately our race was cut short at the last half mile due to a pretty severe lightning storm! We missed the giant obstacle at the end where you climb up a huge ramp using a rope and then slide down a big slide into a pool of water. We did get to finish running the race though! I'm a Savage finisher! I can't WAIT to do it again! 

Strawberry Picking!

The boys LOVE strawberries! We took them to pick their own at Oak Haven Strawberry Farm on Sunday afternoon. We had so much fun! 

They really got the hang of how to pick the strawberries and picked some really big ripe ones! 

The weather was perfect and Matt and I thoroughly enjoyed being out there with the boys and having fun. 

Look at all of those yummy strawberries! 

Strawberry shortcake after all of that picking! 

Oak Haven has a fun area for kids. The boys loved the zipline! 

Super fun family day!

Proud

It's really hard to believe it's been 1 full year since God led Matt to his new job. Matt and I often think about the crazy but awesome story that unfolded a year ago, and we can honestly say it was completely God leading us. It's been an amazing year of change for our family and the only word that sticks out the strongest in my mind to describe our journey is proud! I'm so proud of Matt for his faith, guidance for our family, and dedication to growing himself and the company he works for and loves so much.

The boys love to visit Daddy on his jobsites. We have learned more about cars and their wheels than I ever thought I would in the past year! We can't drive by a super cool car without checking out the wheels, and the boys ask Matt about the cars he works on almost every night! We laugh at Tanner because he will make up a number of wheels he completed in a day and report to Matt when he gets home! 

Their favorite thing to do when they visit Daddy is get sprayed by the air hose! Think they are having fun? All 3 of them are! 

Matt and his boss Mike have been a great team this year. They recently went to Atlanta for a conference to learn new things that are only growing their business even more. They just hired a 3rd person and are climbing their way up. Matt has thrived in his new work setting this year and we're just so thankful! We celebrated his 1 year anniversary date with a picnic lunch on a beautiful day! We love you Matt and are so proud of you! 

Seeing Lily!

The boys have been asking and asking to see baby Lily! We are planning a visit soon, but want her to get a little bigger before we bring the kids around. We are so thankful for technology! We FaceTimed Aunt Brooke and Uncle Jacob the other night for an up close look at our sweet baby Lily! The boys were in awe of their cousin!

Tanner just laid there and stared at her! 

And Carson was giddy with excitement! Later Carson prayed "Thank you God that we got to see baby Lily, help her to sleep well tonight." Melts my heart! 

Hooray for technology!!! Baby Lily is just the sweetest! 

Cardinals vs. Braves Baseball Game

We jumped at the chance to get tickets when we heard the Cardinals were playing the Braves at Disney's Wide World of Sports! Since Carson has become quite the Cardinals fan thanks to his Daddy, we thought it would be a fun family day! 

We got stuck in traffic and had to walk quite a way to the field, but the boys were troopers!! We had seats on the 3rd base lawn and it couldn't have been better for us! The boys were able to see, walk around and not be confined to a seat, and we were right in the line for foul balls! 

The sun was a bit bright, but we still had so much fun cheering on our team! 

The BEST part was that our seats were next to the Cardinals bull pen, so every time a ball was hit in the outfield, one of the players would toss the ball over the fence to a fan! 

And look what little fan got one of those lucky balls!!! 

Everyone surrounding our blanket was so excited that Carson got a ball and a sweet lady let Carson borrow her sharpie marker to get his ball signed by one of the pitchers. Carson took his marker and stood by the fence waiting for a pitcher to walk by between innings. Right before the next inning began, Lee Stoppelman, a rookie pitcher for the Cardinals, walked right by Carson and Carson asked so politely if he would sign his ball! And he did! 

Then another Cardinals player tossed Tanner a ball over the fence too! As you can see, TT was a little excited! What sweet players!  

Carson and his signed ball... 

We had a blast sitting on the field and chowing down some good ole' ballpark food! 

And our spunky TT danced to every song played! (He gets it from his Mama!) 

It was really hot (the reason why the boys have no shoes on!) but we had such a fun time and made awesome memories! We are so glad we got to see the "real" Cardinals play, and even better, they beat the Braves!  

Baseball buddies! 

5 1/2 years old!

Our tradition of celebrating "half-birthdays" in our house is continuing! We love celebrating our boys every chance we get, and today was Carson's 5 1/2 birthday! He immediately knew when he woke up that he'd get to eat his favorite breakfast, Daddy's homemade pancakes (with sprinkles) on the "It's Your Special Day" plate! We sang him the "Happy Half Birthday" song and he ate half a stack of sprinkle pancakes! Carson is a responsible, compassionate, and smart little boy! He has a love for people, and the questions he asks will sometimes stump you! His favorite book is the Encyclopedia. He has several! He loves school and loves to learn! He is reading books and loves math! Carson is a grateful little guy, he says thank you for even the little things and makes his Daddy and I so proud! We surprised him with tickets to the Cardinals vs. Braves game for a fun half birthday treat! 

ICS Family Interview

I can't believe it's almost time for our baby boy to start Kindergarten! Matt and I attended an informational meeting in January 2013 at ICS to explore our options for schools for Carson. We felt led to put Carson in this Christian private school, but prayed about it for several months, and attended another informational meeting in January 2014 just to make sure this was the right fit. We immediately felt that this was the school for our family and filled out all of the paperwork. The next step in the enrollment process is to have a family interview.

Carson loved walking the halls and seeing the playground, basketball court, and garden. He did awesome during our family interview and even answered some questions alone with an ICS teacher. We have heard amazing things about this school from several friends and family and are really excited for his first year of Kindergarten in August! 

We celebrated with Jeremiah's ice cream afterwards! 

Welcome Baby Lily!!

We have been waiting with excitement for my little brother and his wife's first baby girl to arrive! Brooke was a week overdue, and would be induced on Friday March 7th. We arranged for the other 4 cousins to be cared for and we all headed to Jacksonville for Lily's debut! 

Ready to be a Daddy...

2 of 5 caffeinated drinks that day!  

Lily Adalyn made her grand entrance at 11:38pm! She was 8lbs 3oz and 20 1/2 inches long. Beautiful and healthy baby girl! 

Proud parents!

Brooke was a rockstar! She was glowing! Such a proud Mommy!

We got to hold baby Lily shortly after she was born. She never cried, just looked around at everyone, it was precious!!!

Proud auntie's...

We spent the night in Jacksonville at Jacob and Brooke's house and got up early to take them breakfast (really we wanted to be the FIRST one's at the hospital to hold Lily!) We got some quality time with our sweet niece. 

She was so snuggly and sweet! Love her!

Jamie and I had some cute things embroidered for baby Lily in Jacksonville. While Brooke was in labor, we were shopping (sorry Brooke!) We gave Lily her presents the next morning.

Lily and Brooke were doing so well, they got to come home on Sunday! Here's my sweet little niece ready for her first car ride!

We are sad that we don't live in the same city, but are grateful for technology so we can get sweet pictures everyday and FaceTime too! Here's a cute one we got recently! Isn't she a doll?! Welcome to the world Lily Adalyn! We love you so much!