I need ya'lls help...

So Amy and I joined a sort of Runner's Club. we are training to finish a 5k in June. Yes, we are rather out of shape, so we have to train to run 3 1/2 miles. Our coaches are through Fleet Feet http://www.fleetfeetstl.com/. It is a 10 week training program with the race at the end. I'm really looking forward to it, but am a little scared. I have a bad habit of starting projects and not seeing them through to the end. I'm gonna need your encouragement!!!

Wanna know about Arizona?

One wardrobe malfunction and two spilled drinks later... we arrived in beautiful Phoenix. We had a great time and although we missed daddy, we didn't really want to come home just yet! Ann had an entire agenda planned for us. First we played a round of mini golf and 398 games of skee-ball. She then cooked for us... she made spaghetti... and we SURVIVED!

On day 2 we decided to explore and old mining ghost town. http://www.goldfieldghosttown.com/

Unfortunately, the garage door had a different plan. We will not be deterred, though!

Thank God for our BEST friend, Tom (tom), who got us to and from our destinations many times.

We then ate at a very cool pizza place. It has a huge organ in the middle and the organ pipes go all the way around the restaurant. The organist does a show every 30 minutes or so and the lights come on and flash to the music. We had a blast!

http://www.organstoppizza.com/

On Thursday we ventured out to the Grand Canyon. It is about a 4 hour drive. Chloe came down with a mysterious tummy bug. She ran a low grade fever and her symptoms came and went on and off the rest of the vacation. Strange, but she is 100% better now. I have to say that pictures do not do the Grand Canyon justice. It is like nothing else you will ever see. Absolutely beautiful. Unfortunately, it was about 34 degrees with 40 mph wind gusts that day. We froze our hineys off!

The next day we drove home and our plans included getting a tattoo. See the top of the post. On the left is big sister, and on the right is little sister. We were going to get it on the top of our foot, but the tattoo place was too busy and asked us to come back in an hour or so. Unfortunately, that didn't fit into our schedule. Maybe next time. Instead, we went to the park...

On Saturday, it was time to go home. Chloe was very upset, so we agreed to look at flights for this summer. Originally, I was not looking at visiting Arizona in the middle of summer when it was hotter than hates. However, this trip made me realize just how much I miss my sister and wish we could spend more time together. We had a layover in Dallas and Grandma came to the airport for a quick visit. One of the (few) perks of working for the airline. We love you Grandma!

So... what did Chuck do while we were gone? I'm sure he enjoyed the quiet. He replaced the kitchen faucet without injury to the kitchen or himself. The house was immaculate and there wasn't a bit of laundry to be done. Thank you, baby!

nothin' new, but it's been a couple weeks

I have nothing exciting to report, but I hadn't updated in a while, so I thought I would check in! Everyone is over their illnesses (for now). Good thing, because we leave for Arizona on Tuesday. I can't wait!!! We are going to see my sister and visit the Grand Canyon. I've never seen it from the ground before. I wish my sister lived closer, I miss her so much!



Thank you to everyone who said a prayer for Chuck's dad. He was in the hospital last week with what sounds like a respiratory infection. He is home again and doing better. STAY WELL, Wendell!



Charlie is saying a couple words. He says "Yea", "More", "MaMa", "DaDa" and his babysitter said she heard "Kitty". I cannot verify this one, though :) He is getting so big. We went to the park yesterday. He loved the slide and he did okay on the swing until Chloe decided he needed to go high. He wasn't too happy with that.



As for Chloe, She got a Nintendo DS for her birthday and hasn't put it down yet. Actually, she had to put it down when it was taken away for running in the house. I had to show her this picture to better explain why we only walk in the house. Poor kid! Ouch!

Chloe's 6th bithday party

The tea party was a big success! Imogene's tea Room in Chesterfield did a fantastic job. Just see below...

The Mommy / Daddy Quiz

Chloe's perspective:

1. What is mommy really good at? Playing games

Daddy? Playing Hide n Seek

2. What is Mommy not very good at? Driving Daddy's truck (true dat)

Daddy? Dancing

3. What is Mommy's favorite Food? Steak

Daddy? hamburgers

4. If mom were a cartoon character, who would she be? Phineas (I'm a boy)

Dad? Blue from Blue's Clues (... and he's a girl?)

5. How are you and Mommy the similar? We both love chocolate

Daddy? We like to watch wrestling

6. How are you and Mommy different? I like to wear high heels

Daddy? I don't like football

7. What does Mom like the most about Dad? That he does stuff like vacuum the stairs

What does Dad like the most about Mom? That she comes right away when he calls her (are we in Saudi Arabia?!?)

8. What is Mom's favorite place? The mall

Dad? Costco

9. What makes Mommy happy? When I do something nice like make her a tea party

What makes Daddy happy? When I give him presents

10. What makes Mommy sad? When I get a 'yellow day'.

What makes Daddy sad? When Charlie is screaming.

11. What was Mommy like as a child? She LOVED Mickey Mouse

What was Daddy like? He played with Lincoln Logs

12. How old is Mommy? 23 (I knew I looked young!)

How old is Daddy? 34 (close)

13. How tall is Mommy? 16 Blocks

How tall is Daddy? 17 blocks

14. What is Mommy's favorite thing to do? Read books to me

What is daddy's favorite thing to do? Watch football

15. What does Mommy do when you are not around? laundry

What does Daddy do? watch movies

Happy Birthday, Sean!

Now Chloe is sick... aargh!

Chloe posing with her Ibuprofen (for fever), Ear Drops (for comfort) and Amoxicillin for Ear infections and Strept Throat. Man, we just cannot stay healthy!

Charlie is sickie :(

Charlie has bronchitis and bilateral ear infections. He is on an oral steroid, antibiotics and the dreaded nebulizer. He sounded horrible when I picked him up from the babysitter Thursday. We went straight to the Urgent Care Center. He was coughing so hard that he couldn't catch his breath and I could hear him wheezing from the front seat. Poor baby, apparently the medicine is pretty yucky and the bottom picture does not accurately reflect the ease of delivering the nebulizer.

Chloe has her ears pierced... again!

Why we no longer have a coffee table

Playin' catch (up)

Nothing super exciting has happened in the last couple weeks. I thought I would just catch everyone up on our boring lives, though.

We had Chloe's parent-teacher conference. No surprises. She is doing fine. No, let me brag for a minute... she is doing great! She is reading at a first grade level and goes to another class for advanced readers. She says she is bored in class, so the teacher let her make out "lesson plans" last weekend. We'll see how much of them she can or will follow. Chloe had some good ideas (and some silly ones). We are very proud of her. I hope we can keep her challenged through her school years. She is very creative and energetic, so she doesn't do well sitting behind a desk listening to a teacher lecture.

The little boy next door turned 5. Happy Birthday, Hunter. He had his party at Incredible Pizza. It was incredibly unorganized, but the kids had an incredibly good time. The food was incredibly mediocre. How many more times can I use the word 'incredible'? We decided we need to get the kids together for an incredible evening of Friday Night RAW! Yea Batista!

Chloe also had her valentine party at school. She goes to school with some really cute kids. Or maybe it is just the age. I really have a good time helping in her classroom, though. They passed out their little valentines, ate pizza and played a few games. My Valentine got me flowers and a bottle of Margaritas! Nothin' better. Thank you, dear!

Chloe got fitted for her dance recital costume. they are really cute. It is pink and sequined and has a removable tutu for the ballet dance. It is frilly and girlie and right up Chloe's ally. She is going to have a blast.

Charlie is walking everywhere now. Getting into everything. We went to see the movie 'Dog Hotel'. Charlie and I didn't see much of it because he insisted on climbing up and down the stairs in the theater. The parts we saw looked pretty cute, though. Chloe enjoyed it. I tried again to take him to a restaurant. I keep thinking "this time will be better". Nah, he just doesn't sit in one place long enough to eat a full meal. I guess I have to wait a few more years to take him out. We went to a Chinese buffet Sunday and the old people behind us made some nasty comments and left. I kinda felt bad, but they were not very nice. Apparently they never had kids. Oh well, I'm over it!

Beautiful Day!

Today was our first nice day in a long time. Our high was 67 and sunny. We spent a lot of time outside. We visited the park and Charlie got to play for the first time. He went to the park last summer, but just got to watch the action from his stroller. He didn't like the swing. He just held on for dear life. He wasn't thrilled with the slide, either. It was so nice to get some fresh air. We all slept with our windows open last night. Now we all have stuffy noses... bummer!

Happy Superdog day!

Happy Superbowl and Groundhog Day!

First, the Superbowl... I am so sorry for the Cardinals and Kurt Warner. He seems like such a genuinely nice person. You know another genuinely nice person? ME! We had a great time with all of our friends.

Next... GROUNDHOGS DAY! (formerly known as my birthday)

Thank you for the beautiful candle! We were just mentioning that it hadn't been seen in years! It has returned! YEA!