Ramsey Runs!

Back in January, Ramsey's school began a chapter of a wonderful program called Girls on the Run. Since Ramsey's teacher got the ball rolling on this, Ramsey was very interested in participating. Aside from the daily running they do in phys ed class, the girls of Girls on the Run have been staying after school two days a week for this program which included quite a bit of running, of course! During the past two months, they've trained to participate in a 5K which was held yesterday. Six of the 20 girls from Ramsey's school plus Ramsey's teacher and a few other teachers registered to run the race. There were also quite a lot of Girls on the Run runners from various local schools there to participate, and it was a pleasure for the girls to chat with one another.

I can't even describe in words how proud and excited I was about watching my girl do this! I am posting a few pictures in an attempt to tell the story.

Here's our Ramsey bright and early at 7:30 on a gorgeous and slightly chilly morning preparing for her run.



With her adorable teacher Mrs. Whitaker in the crowd of runners at the starting lineup...



My tiny girl is in this crowd somewhere.



And this is when it hits a mommy that her little girl is growing up into this strong and independent girl, as I watch my little Rams taking off to run over three miles... at her own pace and without a parent tagging along beside her every step of that way.



Before I knew it runners began running in one by one, and it was really fun for me to cheer them all on and wonder when I'd see my little pig-tailed girl round that last corner and make her way back to me. I never expected her to come running in as soon as she did, and my heart swelled with pride (while my eyes filled with tears) when I saw her coming, mixed in with other runners neither she nor myself knew at all. Just Ramsey doing her own thing and still running with all her might!



Two seconds before officially crossing the finish line



Done!!!





Ramsey crossed about 6 1/2 minutes after her teacher, and here's a cute pic of them both still pink in the face and so happy!




Group shot of the girls and teachers from our school



And one with all the Girls on the Run groups there




My little Ramsey... I'm so proud of her and inspired by her every single day.

Cutie Curran Sings the Alphabet

Another Leslie Patricelli Book--Quiet LOUD

Easter Fun at the Park

Saturday I took the kids to a nearby park for a community Easter egg hunt and lots of other fun activities.

"Santa Claus is Not a Big, Huge Bunny Rabbit!"

At this park where we hunted eggs and did lots of fun things, there was an Easter Bunny, of course. There was also an Easter Chicken! I cannot say that I blame Alaire and Curran for being terrified of the Easter Chicken because it was a pretty scary-looking character. Curran clung to me as tight as possible and buried his face in my shoulder any time that chicken was anywhere near us. Since he was so freaked out by that, it is understandable that he was also very skeptical of sitting on or near the Easter Bunny. Alaire wasn't all that brave either, but the lollipops won her over in the end.

Later when I asked Curran about the Big Chicken and the Easter Bunny, he recalled to me that he did not like those guys, and they were scary.

I asked "You didn't want to touch that chicken, I know, but didn't you want to even sit on the Easter Bunny for a lollipop... or at least pet him?"

He said "Noooo."

I said "Well, what about Santa Claus? You sat on Santa Claus and he was very nice and he gave you a candy cane."

And Curran, without missing a beat, said "Santa Claus is not a big, huge bunny rabbit!"

Smart boy. I couldn't refute that. :)

Easter Morning

Our early risers were Ramsey and Maren who popped into our bedroom at 6:59 am and said they couldn't lie still another minute because they were too excited! Shortly after they began going through their baskets, Alaire joined in the fun. After looking through their baskets, Aaron and I sent them on the scavenger hunt we'd put together last night in order for them to discover a mystery package from Cook and Pop! So much fun! After a lot of the excitement had died down, Curran woke up and got to go through his things taking his own sweet time. It was a very fun morning for all the little cuties. Then we got all dressed up and went to mass, and everyone was pretty darn well-behaved (not to mention, cute as can be).

Our Family

Happy Spring!

We're so glad spring's here. We hope you are too!

TODAY IS MONDAY IN LOUISIANA by Johnette Downing

Bedtime for the Birthday Boy

Curran's 2nd Birthday!

Our sweet St. Patrick's Day baby is already two years old! I can hardly believe it. He is such a sweetheart of a boy, and I am so very thankful for the fun way he's rounded out our family.

Getting Messy

Presents!

Hard to keep him focused on the task of opening gifts. Once he opened the ball (which was the first gift) he'd pretty much decided that was enough. :)

Silly Ramsey with the soccer ball box on her head, but I think it's such a pretty picture of her.

Easter Eggs

One of the things I will always associate with my Granny Joy is her love of dyeing Easter eggs and her enthusiasm for organizing Easter egg hunts for all her dozens of grandchildren and great-grandchildren year after year after year. Since we had the pleasure of having my parents and my grandmother visiting this weekend for Curran's birthday, and with it being only a short week before Easter, I asked Granny if she would like to dye eggs with the kids. She gladly accepted the challenge. Everyone had a really fun time, and I think it will be a memory they will have of Granny Joy forever! I would have been severely outnumbered attempting this alone with the four, so I was thrilled to have Granny Joy and Mary Maw leading them through this adventure!