On March 25th, my first born celebrated her 13th birthday. We celebrated in a "BIG" way this past Saturday night. She invited her entire 7th grade class to attend the birthday bash. We had invited everyone to help us "Rock" her 13th birthday. With the operative word being "rock". Don't you just love this cake? Melissa from Baby Cakes made it for us. Not only did it look absolutely incredible but it tasted good too. You need a cake for a special occasion, she's your girl

Instead of goody bags for the guests, we copied an idea from a

friends wedding and had a candy bar. Not only did I copy her idea but also borrowed her jars and recycled the chinese food boxes and just covered her labels with one for our party. (Thanks Katey)

Remember I said the operative word was "rock". Here is why: #1W wanted to have the Rock climbing wall for she and her friends
to climb. Most of the guests did attempt to climb and many even

made it to the top. Here is Calli

and Sarah
and Anna

The birthday girl also requested the Gladiator Joust. It may have been the hit of the party. However, jousting was not the preferred us for this large inflatable pit. By the end of the night, this inventive group of tweens had created their own game and were diving, flipping, hurdling and any other creative movement they could muster as a means of getting into the pit. It was quite entertaining!

On her actual birthday, I took an ice cream cake to school for

her to share with her friends during lunch. It was fun.

She was completely mortified when
they sang "Happy Birthday" to her
in the cafeteria.

All in all, I think the 13th birthday celebrations were enjoyed by all and will be remembered by the birthday girl for years to come. After all the guests had left and the cleaning up was finished, she came up behind me and hugged me and said "Thank you, Momma" Those three little words made the hard work, time and money spent all worth it. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, PRISS!!!!!

WE LOVE YOU!!!

Setting Goals.......and Accomplishing Them!

I have always been a goal oriented person. I thrive on setting a goal or having a project and working to see the finished product. When I started running a little over 3 years ago, that's exactly how I got started. I went to the internet and printed a training plan (How to run a 5K when you have never run before.) It gave me daily directions from choosing the race, when and how to register and what types of exercise I needed to do every day so that I would be successful in finishing the race. On Saturday, February, 6, 2010, myself, Cher, Rebecca (from Rebecca's Ramblings) and Cher's husband, Dr. D along with about 1500 others accomplished a serious goal. WE RAN THE CRITZ TYBEE HALF MARATHON!!! That's 13.1 miles my friend!! Rebecca presented me with the idea back in October. Cher and I had been running for a few months, so I asked her about it and she in turn talked with Dr. D. We were a little nervous about such an undertaking but decided to hit the ground running, literally. We took different approaches in reaching the goal yet each of us were successful in completing it. Below is a photo history of our accomplishment......



Dr. D, Cher and I getting ready to head to the starting line. It is so funny to me that we look so happy!! Don't know if you can see the bumps in my pocket, but they are peanut m&m's. Cher read somewhere about runners eating a peanut m&m after each mile they finished in a marathon (a sweet treat to reward yourself with each mile closer to the finish line) I bought some and we put them in our pockets, however, we only ate them through the first 6 miles.




Here are Cher, Me and Rebecca. Check out Rebecca's Bib Number. When she got on the elevator the morning of the race, she had a gentleman say to her, "Wow, your number 5, you must be really fast. Rebecca just laughed and told him the Bib's were numbered by your last name"




Headed to the start line. Cher is really excited. Me, just nervous. I think I must have fixed my hat and pony tail 100 times before the race started.

And we're off!! Me in the red hat, Cher in the blue jacket, Dr. D beside her in the black jacket and Rebecca to his left.

Check out those smiles !!!!!

Here we are coming back by the hotel, we have just finished 7 miles. Our cheering section was able to see us at this point in the race. Cher passed off her jacket and we exchanged a couple high fives. It was a little emotional for me to have my children there cheering for me, but I had looked forward to seeing them at the half way point. I knew just seeing them would inspire me to keep going.

We have run more miles than we have left to run at this point. It seems like that would be a comforting thought and it is but the next 6 will be the toughest.

Here come Dr. D and Rebecca at the halfway point.

Check out Kermit. He ran the whole race riding on this gentleman's back. Never had a chance to speak with him but I wondered what he was trying to accomplish with his green partner.

Here we come toward the finish line.


We have caught sight of our cheering section!

At this point, I was crying so hard. I can't believe we are about to finish!
We have been working to accomplish this goal for the past 12 weeks. We have run in the rain, in the dark, in freezing temperatures and with injuries. We have learned how fragile our bodies are and how important what we eat and how much we drink is to our well being. I have pushed myself beyond anything I ever imagined.

Notice the clock. Our goal was to finish in 2 hours and 30 minutes. We hoped we could do it in 2 hours and 20 minutes. We crossed the finish line in 2 hours, 11 minutes and 13 seconds. However, that was the Race Clock Time. Our Chip Time, which is based on the chip we wear on our shoe, and starts your race time the minute you step on the mat at the start and stops when you step on the mat at the finish line, was 2 hours, 9 minutes and 59 seconds.

Triumphant Finishers!!!!!!!!!!!

Here is Rebecca on her way to the finish line!!!

Dr. D experienced a knee injury during the race but finished in spite of it. Here he is with Cher making his way to the finish line

Official finishers of the Critz Tyee Half Marathon, medals and all!

What a Goal.......What an Accomplishment.....

My Favorite Hornet

Here she is, my favorite Hornet. #5 , a guard for the Green and Gold.

We have really enjoyed watching her play basketball this year.

Here she is getting ready to guard a player from Covenant. I wonder if there could have been a taller player for her to guard? :)

Bringing In the Ball! Don't be scared, you go Girl!!!

Oh, yeah, here's one that's taller:). I love that look of sheer concentration. I figure she's thinking, "Your not gonna get that ball girl, not while I'm out here"

The Westfield Hornets 7th Grade team were 6 and 2 in the 2009-2010 regular season play. They made it to the semi-final round and were beat out by a nasty opponent. We were so proud of our Lady Hornets. They played with all their heart and soul.

This last picture is my personal favorite and sent to me by a fellow Lady Hornet mom.

wonder what's on her mind........