sneaky

i went to go turn off the lamps in ellis and beckett's rooms last night around 10.  someone was missing from his bed...

 i found him sleeping at the foot of ellis' bed...

so sweet :)

happy birthday emery catherine!!!

the half that almost killed me :)

i am in this awesome bootcamp with about 10 other girls...super fun...love, love, love it.  we meet 3 mornings  a week @ 5:15...EARLY!  but no choice...we have to be back home before the hubbies leave for work :)   i love having my workout finished by the time the kids wake up.  anyways.  around mid-january, one of the girls in bootcamp suggested we do a 5K together as a group.  fun, right?  i had never run that far in my whole life i am pretty sure.  but i did it and really liked it.  we then decided we would sign up for a 10K (6-ish miles) as a group.  but that never happened.  instead, in early february, the same girl sent an email that said "how about we do a half marathon?".  WHAT?!?!??!  she found one that was being held in clear lake on march 27th.  sh*t.  i had emery's party that day!  invites were already printed.  that is how close we were to the event!!! yikes.  but i am not one to say no :)  

so to sum up, the five of us that decided to do it had 6 weeks to get ready.  we met on sunday mornings for our long runs.  we had perfect weather for every training run....50 degrees...low humidity.  the runs were so easy.  but mother nature threw us a huge curve ball.  race day temp was like 80 degrees and 150% humidity.  for realz.  it. was. brutal.  to say the least.  

but we did it :)  never stopped.  kept our pace.  almost died doing it.  we finished right at 2:06.  we were really happy with our time given the circumstances.  3 of us came in right together...cursing the whole way to the finish!  i was #21/134 in my age group.  not bad for my first one, huh?  i will be doing another one in the fall.  and then...dare i even say...i will attempt a marathon.  eeeek!!!!!

oh- and that marathon will be during the WINTER and in DALLAS!!!!!!!!!

3 of us crossing the finish line!

my baby is almost one?!?!?

how can she already be one year old?!?  have 12 whole months REALLY gone by???  sad!!!  i want her to stay a baby forever...i really do.  she is the sweetest, squishiest little thing...oh how i love her so...

a BIG HUGE thank you to emily and jill.  emily for making the cake :)  amazing.  little does she know that every party i have from now on will be centered around the cake- ha!!  and jill for snapping some pics.  i am actually in a few pictures which NEVER happens.  i am forever grateful to you both!!!  

and to bebe for taking beckett OUT of the house for a couple of hours.  i ran 13.1 miles that morning, downed a few mimosas at brunch to celebrate, and then had approximately not a lot of time to get things ready.  but it somehow happened :)

these pics are totally out of order...running out of time before my 10 p.m. bedtime!!

 adorbs...

 jill- i LOVE this one :)

now my sh*thole pictures start :)

 the cake boss :)

what is this???  3 smiles and all looking at the camera?!?  holla!

i would like to dedicate an entire post to this cake

seriously?  my sister-in-law (almost) made this cake!!!  AND it was her first attempt at making one like this...what?!?!?  and not only was it perfectly lovely, it was probably the best cake i have ever tasted.  insanity.  she asked if she could make the cake...i happily agreed.  i had no idea.  how lucky am i that i get to call her family very soon!?!?  i could stare at it all day.....

brandy's half-crazy

or maybe completely crazy!  i decided to run my first ever half marathon on the same day as emery's birthday party!?!?  crazy, huh?  the run was called angie's half crazy :)  i ran it with 4 friends.  it was so much fun but the heat and humidity were BRUTAL.  we were used to running in the cool weather... mother nature was not on our side this morning.  oh well!  we did it and and we are so proud of ourselves!!  

saturday night we had a pasta and poster painting party for the kids.  11 kiddos there cheering us on!!! 

and my almost one year old...thursday is the real day but we celebrated today.  the invites were already printed when i decided to do the half marathon :)  isn't she a doll?!?!  2 pictures is all i have in me tonight.  slightly tired.  i will post more pictures from both events...wait until you see the cake that my future sister in law made.  you. will.  love. 

i just want to smooch her :)

an art showcase

when i dropped ellis off at school the other day, the teachers called me into the classroom and said i HAD to see something.  "please look @ your daughters cowgirl hat", they said.  hilarious :)  the kids were supposed to glue an "H" on the hat and stamp it with more "H"'s.  ellis wasn't a fan of that plan.  she thought that would make the hat "not pretty".  hers is slightly different from the others (in the center)...but lovely, no?

and a close up...it appears she went for extra credit and added beads??  fancy :)

and these are the best.  the kids were supposed to draw self-portraits.  i cut off the names to protect the innocent :)  and i am only laughing @ these because i know this type of artwork is in beckett's future!!!

2 boys in her class...scary scribbles...

 and here is miss ellis.  blue sky, green grass, yellow sun, purple clothes, blonde curly hair, green eyes, eyelashes (clearly with mascara on them!)...

 and speaking of mascara...did you know animals have eyelashes too??  tiger

 fish

love this girl.  the teachers ALWAYS have a story for me :)

"bevo texas party at austin"

that was his request and that was what he got :)  it was a perfect party weekend!  gorgeous weather...great friends & family...crawfish & beer.  beckett just smiled the whole day...which is actually what he does most of the time anyways...

emery somehow knew it was party time :)

 crawfish killer.  we gave him one to "play" with and he killed it and ate it.

 pinata #1

pinata #2 and my very own pinata stuffer :)

 3 years old!

 hook 'em!  he was so beat up @ the party...eczema on the side of his face and a treadmill injury above his lip...

 thank you andrea!!!  they are so cute and perfect....

 longhorn cupcakes

 cupcake ready :)

 even em hung w/ her friends...

 cutest almost 5 year old ever...

 getting geared up for a ride on his new scooter from susu and nish...

 yum!

 later mom...

 so big time

 nish and beckett.  a police officer actually stopped and gave beckett a "safety badge" for having the helmet, knee pads, and elbow pads on.  hilarious.  especially after 6 beers :)

 ellis and her new bff, simone.  do you love her side pony tail that she requests EVERY DAY?

 so damn excited...

 emery is eyeing those cupcakes!

 pinata time!

 we let lawton kill it :)

 this girl loves a bounce house...

 aunt emily brought him a bevo!

cutest invite ever!  for a bevo party anyways :)

a big thank you to our family for making the trip!!!  and thank you to my austin friends for bringing your kiddos on over so beckett didn't have to eat cupcakes alone!!  andrea- again...the cookies were perfection!!1