Chicago - October 7-9 2011

Curtis and I flew to Chicago this past weekend for a little getaway!  He ran the Chicago marathon and we thoroughly enjoyed the city!!!

 We stayed at the Congress hotel - it was a super old hotel with great character and charm, plus it was right across the street from the start line of the race:) - here's a pic of our room!

These are the old elevators - I thought they were cool!

We asked the concierge where the best place was to get pizza - he recommended this little pub - so delish!

This was the little pub - must go back!!!

This was the deep dish we had to eat with a fork - oh my it was gooooood!!!

This is a view of the street our hotel was on - the one with the red letters is ours;)

Pic of our hotel

I loved the sculptures and artwork in this city - here's a sculpture of Abe

Buckingham fountain was right in front of our hotel!

Curt and I in front of the fountain

So beautiful!!!

Fountain with our hotel in the background!

Navy Pier was gorgeous with all the sailboats!

All the trees were turning and the geese were out along the Pier - it was so pretty!

I loved people watching as the owners of these boats pulled in, cleaned their boats, and just hung out

After strolling down Navy Pier, we ate at Ralph Lauren's restaurant - I had tomato bisque soup and a arugula chicken salad, and Curtis had the Amish Chicken and Green Beans Almondine - sp?

I had such a wonderful time with my hubs - this was one of our first trips just the two of us since our honeymoon:)

This is the awesome amphitheater

The bean:)  Loved this sculpture;)

Us in front of the bean!

This is the lobby of our hotel!  This hotel boasts that the most presidents have stayed here than any other hotel!

We loved that we were able to see Curt's bro and sis-in-law and their kiddos - this is Emerson and Corbin - too cute!!!

Curt, his bro Kevin, and Corbin at Artiste Cafe - yummy breakfast place!

Emerson and Sarah - so cute!

Here is Curt and Kevin at the expo for the marathon!

Own it baby!!!!

I ran into my good friend Jacob - we grew up together in school and went to A&M together!  It was great to see him!!!

Hal Higdon was there - this is the man who started it all for Curt and I - we were nonrunners when we started his training plan for a half marathon about a year ago!!!  It was cool to meet him and get his autograph - he signed the boys bibs!

This is Dean K.  he just ran 100 miles - he has also done 50 marathons in 50 days!  Whew!  The boys were so pumped to meet him.  Curtis, Kevin and Sarah's friend Wes, Dean, and Kevin

Their names were on the "Wall of Fame" runners wall!

This yummy place is where we had our "pasta party" the night before the race!  Sooo goood!  From l to r:  Curt, Me, Wes, Hillary, Kevin, Sarah

Race day - unfortunately I did not get any pics of Curt or Kevin running - my camera has a huge delay and they ran by so fast it was hard to even see them, much less have time to catch a pic!  So...I just took a pic of all the runners - 45,000 to be exact!

This guy was awesome - what a way to stand out in the crowd - we told our boys to do this next year - ha ha!

All the boys after the race - Kevin shaved his face and cut his hair the night before!  Curtis had already showered here while the other two went to the massage tent, that's why he doesn't still have his running clothes on!

The girls - had so much fun with these two!!!

Such a blast - hope to do it all again next year!!!

My 25

Inspired by my friend Michael's wife's blog here are 25 things about me that come to my mind first thing - without any preparation.

1.  I love my family - to death...I can never love them enough, sometimes I could cry over the fact that I don't think I show it enough.

2.  I still think my hubby is super hot, even after 12 years of marriage - I could just stare at him all day

3.  I secretly want to be a really rich stay at home mom - help at kiddos school, get manicures, work out:)

4.  I love sweet tea and Sonic cherry limeades

5.  I want to be wealthy enough to help people when I see the need but not too wealthy that I become a snob or high maintenance

6.  My guilty pleasures are Keeping up With the Kardashians and Millionaire Matchmaker - so silly and so not me...maybe that's why its my entertainment???

7.  I want everyone I meet to know I'm a Christ follower!

8.  I'm very conscious of negativity - I feel like I complain too much sometimes, and I hate it when I do, I want to be a light not a drain!

9.  I don't think my sisters or parents know how much I truly love them:)

10.  I miss my best friends (my high school friends) and my old stay-at-home mommy friends

11.  I have been told I come off very confident but the truth is I'm not that confident

12.  I love all things art - it gets me excited and pumped up - definitely a passion!

13.  One of my favorite dates is dinner and a movie - so cliche' but so rare!

14.  I'm not that on top of things when it comes to cleaning but clean sheets are a must!

15.  I would go to Maui, Hawaii - particularly Napili Bay every year on vacation if I could

16.  I've had seasons in my life where shopping at dollar tree was the highlight of my week - and those were some of our families happiest days:)

17.  I've always wanted to be whisked away on a surprise vacation - like he (Curt) picks me up from work and we drive straight to the airport - after he asks my sis and mom to help him pack for me of course:)

18.  On the days my hair is pulled up that usually means I didn't wash it that day

19.  My fingernails grow in squared off and it really bugs me

20.  I love to do crafts with my kids

21.  Dinner at the dinner table is a big deal to me - unless there's a good show on;)

22.  Red is my fave color

23.  I remember almost everything - sometimes it scares people

24.  I was raised to believe I can do anything and everything I want to do in life - I pray my kiddos feel the same way!

25.  I used to be a really selfish person until God gave me my kids - thanks Lord!!!

First Day of School 2011

We started school yesterday!  Kaden is in 2nd grade and Kinsley is in 1st grade - time is moving too fast!!! I can't let myself think about it, seriously...I am loving this time in our lives:)

Here's Kaden all set and ready to go!!!

And Kinsley excited about the day!

Precious brother and sister - I love that they are only one year apart in school!

Kaden already hard at work!

Kinsley with two of her besties - her sweet friend Landri (on the left) was in tears because her big sis is now in 5th grade and not at the same school - so...we stopped to give hugs and get a pic.  Landri and Emma (the one on the right) are in the same class this year but Kinsley is in another:(  We will still get together for lots of playdates though!

Here's Kinsley happy go lucky - getting started with her day!

Mom, Jae, and Kai met up with me because Mom wanted to buy Kins a Justin Bieber backpack she had been talking about - it just worked out that they stuck around and were able to see the kiddos after school - so fun!!!

Kaden with his Aunt Jae J. 

Kinsley with Aunt Jae J. - can you tell she likes her Justin Beiber backpack?

All the grandkiddos and Justin with Mom:)  

Kai is growing up so fast too - she talks nonstop and is so cute - she has learned how to smile and squenches up her little nose - it is too precious!!!

What a great first day!

Our Back to School Party 2011

We had our Back to School Party tonight!  It was so much fun thanks to the folks at www.eighteen25.blogspot.com!  I got all these ideas from them and of course put my own little twist on some things;)  I love doing stuff like this! 

Each kiddo received new markers, crayons, and pencils as a little surprise gift!

Here's Kinsley's place setting!  I used yellow scrapbook paper, school themed chalkboard scrapbook paper, white square dishes, and dry-erase nameplates from the dollar bins at Target!

The rice crispie cake inspiration came from www.eighteen25.blogspot.com, actually the whole party inspiration came from them (including all the printable decor).  Their cake was a little more simple - but I wanted to use my huge cake/cookie cutters so I chose the flower shape and the heart shape and just put one on top of the other!

Here's what our buffet table looked like before I propped up the cake - it was sliding down into the cakestand:(

Ahhh, nice and propped with a little M & M decor added!

For other decor I added a little chalkboard sign and a Mason jar with pencils and the Oh, so cute printable from eighteen25 that reads You're So Sharp!

Kinsley didn't like the M & M idea too much so she decided it would look better with big gumballs - I thought this look was just as cute if not cuter!  I think eighteen25 used Captain Crunch Berries, but we didn't have any so we made do!

The plan was to have dinner, dessert, and a fashion show with the kids modeling all their new school clothes...but...they weren't "into" the whole fashion show idea so I just took a pic of the clothes!  We are so blessed to have an Aunt Jae, and a Grammy that spoil us!

Kinsley and Daddy!  We tried to talk with them about what their goals are for the year...but they were in a really silly mood, and had really goofy answers like "learn about barbies", "recess", etc.!  We'll ask again another time:)

Me and Kaden - I love this sweet boy!  Can't believe he's in 2nd grade already!

Here's my place setting with our simple dinner - the kiddos picked tomato basil spaghetti, fresh green beans, and buttered toast!

Kaden's drink in a Mason jar with straw flag - too cute!

This was the kind of mood they were in!  So silly but I'm glad they were having fun!

I love the joy these two have for life!  They are so excited about starting school and can't wait to see all their friends again!  Lord, thanks for the JOY!

Here's another little decoration I had at the entry table leading into the dining room - I am really loving Subway art right now!

Stay tuned for more pics of Meet the Teacher, First Day of School, and Mine and Curt's 12th anniversary - can't believe its been that many years!

Happy Back to School!!!!