Summertime

We've been having a lovely summer so far this year. Little Sam (who has figured out how to walk) and I love getting outside to take in the warm weather, sun, and fun. We've had fun visiting with Jeremy and Jessica and their 3 little ladies.

Here are two of the cuties hanging at my house.



We've also enjoyed seeing, Aunt Joanna, Dad, Judy, Jed, Jeff and Mom! We've done a lot of fun things, but alas, I was often so occupied tending my busy boy, that very few pictures were taken. We went with Dad and the kids to D.C. for the day where we took in the zoo, and made a quick dash to see a few monuments on the mall. We also spent a lot of time playing frisbee, volleyball, and took some time to swim over at the LaRock's. We also had a lovely cookout and used our old bushes for firewood. (More on that project in my next post.) We also took a hike to Raven's Rock, and I did manage to take some pictures!!






Joanna and I had some time together before everyone got here, and we had fun doing some shopping, running to photo shoots, and just hanging out.

Mom headed down the NC with J and J Cole, and then came back up here to see me, Sam and Peter. I picked her up in Alexandria at the train station, and then we went and took in Mount Vernon. Sadly, I forgot my camera! We did have fun looking around the lovely estate, and Sam managed to be a good boy...mostly.

This morning, after a rough night with our kiddo, I walked downstairs, (after not hearing Sam noises for awhile) to find this. Poor kid needs to learn the value of a good night's sleep. Pete and I would love him to learn this lesson sooner rather than later!:-)



The following pictures are just some fun ones of Samster. Enjoy!





And, the lovely flowers my hubby brought me!

My precious family, Mother's Day 2010

half-marathon!

I did it!! I ran 13.1 miles!

My friend Jessica, my sister-in-law, Laura and I ran a half-maraton together this last Sunday. Jess and I started training for it in January. I have always disliked running, but amazingly found it growing on me as we would add another mile each week.

About 3 weeks ago my left knee started giving my a lot of trouble. I had experienced no knee pain up to this point, and I was running 5 days per week. I had it looked at by my chiropractor and he seemed to think that it was an alignment issue, (because the pain would also shoot to my hip and my ankle.) I had tried for my long run several times, but each time the pain would stop me. Before race day I had only made it 8.5 miles. I was pretty sure that I wouldn't be able to run the whole race because of the pain, and I was considering not doing it at all, but the Lord saw fit to allow me this small victory! I borrowed a strong knee brace from a friend on race day, and prayed that my knee would hang in there.

This race is a huge festival in Frederick, MD. There were I think between 5000 and 6000 runners. We had a hard time parking and barely had time to potty let alone stretch before it was time to go at 6:30am. We were toward the back of the mass of runners, and so didn't cross the start line for about 7 minutes after the race started.

The first 4 or 5 miles were so fun:-) The three of us slowly moved our way forward in the crowd. Folks were cheering, some had their hoses out and sprayed anybody who wanted some water. It was muggy hot! When we started into mile 6 I started to worry because my knee typically started to get bad in mile 7, and by mile 8 I would have to stop. But, mile 8 came and went, and I still felt pretty good, so I just kept going. I did get water and powerade at every stop I could because it was so hot and the powerade gave me a much-needed energy boost. The last three miles were really hard. There were several rough hills, and then we ran along this lonely country road with nobody but stinky farm animals to cheer us!:-)
I finally rounded the corner for the final leg, and saw Peter and Sam cheering up this nasty hill at the end. It was sooo cool! The best part for me was running across the finish line while the crowd in the stadium cheered us all on. Such an amazing feeling!

Here are some pictures of us after the race!

One year ago today....

Our little man was born! It's so hard to believe that he's one already. Life certainly changed forever when he was born, but we sure wouldn't trade it.




We had a little party for him on Sunday, and he loved the cupcake:-)

And, in other fun news, his little cousin, Addy, was born today to Jeremy and Jessica Cole, so they get the share a Birthday. I'm thinking that maybe they'll be pals as they grow up.

Enjoy these pictures of our little son. More to come soon along with some video of him.

bathing and sleeping...

Here are some fun pictures of Samster. I had worked on a nice, long post about our trip to Illinois, but blogger glitched and lost everything:( So, that'll be coming. We also have pictures from our trip to Maine, and of Sam's first Easter! For now, though, enjoy these!



Sleepyhead


Cutie!


"Yay for bathtime!"


Bubbles! He likes to eat them!


And, he likes to give himself a beard with them.

pics of most of the Illinois Coles...

The lovely Joanna


The kooky Judy


Mom, Dad, and Jeff


Dad and Jeff

Joanna and Sam


Mom, Jeanette, and Janessa


Jed and Judy


Sisters!


Good lookin'dish crew


Jane and her sweet baby, Teddy


Lovely mom!


Lovely Jeanette!


Janessa and Jed guessin' who

More pictures of the train trip and hopefully some words about our trip coming soon!

Cutie