We have had a ton of snow lately and our pile at the end of the driveway got to be really big. So D decided to make a snow fort for katy and this is what the first one looked like....
D has been up to a lot this past year...he has coached middle school track again this past spring. He also under took coaching High school Girls and boys this year at FHC. So the amount of the kids doubled. He also hired an assistant coach to help him out and it has been wonderful! This summer D tried to get some odds and ends done with yard work and staining our back deck. One thing that wasn't planned was having his appendix removed. We had just had a big BBQ in our back yard and then decided he wasn't feeling so well and the next day decided to go to the hospital and had surgery that afternoon. D has also taken on some consultant work with a physical therapy office working with runners. He meets with them and helps them improve their form and running habits. He seems to enjoy that as well....right now he has about 6-8 clients. He has definitely kept busy with the girls over the past year.
K has had a great year. She turned 3 this past Feb...had a big birthday bash with her sister this summer...started to get more comfortable in the pool with her floaties. She is really growing a lot. It is hard to believe that she is going to be 4 in a couple of months. She has been asking if she can go to school and we finally said ok. She started preschool this past fall and attends 2 days a week. She is having an absolute blast. We have things that she has to do in order to get ready for school...it's kind of crazy to think that she has "homework"... For the first few weeks, she had to wear certain color of clothes as they were learning their colors and every week she has to bring in something that begins with the letter that they are learning that week. Sometimes she surprises me by really knowing what letter something starts with. For example....a couple of weeks ago the letter was Ii.....we were looking and I was trying to give her some ideas and having her sound things out...all of a sudden, she said, " Mom, I can take an Indian..that starts with the letter Ii." I had was surprised that she had known that...but I always knew she was a smart girl! The latest thing that she is doing is taking ballet classes at the local YMCA. She is having great fun...we went and got her a leotard and ballet shoes. K had decided that she didn't want long hair anymore and got it cut just like mom's. She donated her hair to locks of love. She has been a great joy to be around.
E...what a joy to be around. She turned 1 this past July....She is our laid back girl. She has no desire to walk much. We have tried and she will walk between D and I but not much on her own. Why should she when she has a sister that will bring her anything that she wants. E is a very happy go lucky little girl...she has a smile and a kiss for everyone that she sees. She will go to anyone that wants to hold her. She was even used in a sermon at our church....the guest speaker didn't want to give her up after he was done using her as an object lesson. E loves to follow her sister around and play with her in their room. Just recently she has decided that she really wants to stay with K when we drop her off at school. I had been setting her down on the floor while I helped K take her jacket and boots off and I turned around and E was gone....I panicked for a second until I heard E laughing in K's classroom....she had crawled in there and was sitting next to one of K's classmates on the floor playing with her. E is very popular at the YMCA Kid's Zone...she goes there almost every morning while I workout....the worker's just love her and they all "fight" over who gets to take her and play with her...it's so nice to know that she is well cared for. E is definitely my climber and explorer...I have to keep a close watch on her because if I turn my back too much she is either climbing up K's ladder on her bed or she has climbed up on something and can't get back down. She is fun to laugh and play with.
So...I have been fairly busy keeping up with a couple of little girls. It has been a lot of fun being at home with the girls...although I am not sure that I am really home much. This past spring, I watched another little boy that was around K's age so that his mom could get some stuff done but this fall...he went to preschool as well. I have also decided to start a home business selling Usborne books that are children's educational books. They are great books and have made a little bit of money. It's been fun going to people's houses to talk about the books. D has been wonderful and supportive of me doing this. This past spring...I decided to run a 5K race, the first in many years. The first race that I did...I came in 3rd place!!! ok so maybe I should disclose that there were only 3 people total but still...The next race was a really big race with about 7,000 plus people running in it. I felt good and I plan to run it again come spring. I have ran a couple of races over the summer. I convinced D to run a Thanksgiving 5K with me and we had a lot of fun running together...although I am convinced that he could have run circles around me. I am still busy with playgroup, small group, taking K to school, and hanging out with other friends.
We finally took a family vacation with just the 4 of us this past summer and had a blast. We went to the beach at K's request. It was a little chilly but she had fun. We also went to a big family reunion on my mom's side in WV over the 4th of July. Some of my high school friends got together with their families in OH...it was fun to see them again. I feel like there is so much more that we did but don't want to bore you too much. You can check out previous entries to see more pictures and other things that have happened. We hope that you are having a wonderful holiday.
K decided that she was tired of wearing her hair in a pony tail all the time (since that is the easiest to manage) that she wanted to get her hair cut like mom's. She donated 11 inches to Lock's of Love. She decided that she wanted to grow her hair again so she can give it to another little girl. She did have one request if she donated it....the little girl that received her hair has to give it away when she is done with it...isn't that such a giving little girl?!
