Fun Run Funnies

Jaiden's school recently held a fundraiser that included a "fun run." She was so excited about raising money and winning little trinkets and prizes. She called and spoke to several people (neighbors and family, really) about sponsoring her... Then she ran 31 laps and raised about $225!
I thought I'd include a few pictures, just 'cause they are funny. The kids are doing all sorts of things: making faces, talking to each other, running, walking, giving high fives.... Well, I'll just let these shots speak for themselves!
(NOTE: Jaiden has on purple pants... makes her easier to spot in the blur of colors!)

Following in Mommy's... basketball shoes!

You have no idea how thrilled I am that my little girl is playing basketball! This is her very first time to play the game, so it's been a very... uh, interesting experience thus far! Not only has she had to learn all the rules -- from scratch -- she is the only girl on her team (and one of the few girls in the whole league)! But she gets to play with our neighbor, Colt. And she's having a great time. And she's really good! If only she would toughen up a bit and go after the ball! While she excels at home and does quite well in practice, she gets a bit distracted on the court. Of course, so do most of the kids! They're only 4-, 5- and 6-year-olds, after all! But I guarantee that my little Jaiden is the only one out there swinging her ponytail from side to side and doing ballerina twirls between throwing those hands up on defense and hustling down the court! And so far, she's the only one who's run out to Mommy to give her a hug... during the middle of a game! :)
Go, Number 22!

(For the record, I did play basketball as #22 for a bit, but, ultimately, I ended up with #44. So, Jaiden is about half of me right now!)

Goodbye, Bama....

Sean's grandmother passed away last week, and we held a small memorial service for her on Saturday. It was a bitter-sweet time for family and friends to say a final farewell to "Bama" (or "Grammar School") as she was called by her grand kids.
I did not know her well, but I know the stories -- from Sean and Corinne and from my mother-in-law. She was indeed a funny lady. And feisty, too. And, boy, did she love animals! I bet God will give her a special job, caring for the "least of His kingdom." And if there weren't any animals in Heaven before.... well, I bet there are now! And Marian Bogs is watching after them all....

We can't get enough of this place!

Once again, the Reochs, Alcazar 1 (A1) and Alcazar 2 (A2) enjoyed a week away at the happiest place on Earth! A few days after Christmas, the nine of us packed up two cars and headed down to Disney World for some amazing fun, food and fellowship! A1 tackled every park, while the Reochs and A2 enjoyed some of our favorites at Magic Kingdom and EPCOT. We also all enjoyed a fabulous dinner at Ohana. And as always, we had SO much fun.... which leads me to ask: How much longer until the next trip?!?
(More pictures and details to follow in a future post!)

HAPPY NUMBER 2!

I could go on and on (and on) about how much I love my husband, how lucky I am to have him, how wonderful he is, how much I admire him, how much fun we have together and how happy I am that he is in my life.... but since that would get very mushy (and since only he really cares to hear all that stuff, anyway), I will just say HAPPY 2nd ANNIVERSARY, SEAN! and leave it at that! ;)

Oh, hater of doggie t-shirts....

I just had to post this picture. It's too pathetic... our little Rowdy HATES wearing doggie t-shirts. Teddy, on the other hand, does not seem to notice t-shirts. At all. Like there's nothing different about wearing one or NOT wearing one. But Rowdy knows. And he will pout, with a terribly forlorn little look in his eyes, stone still in the exact spot where the dreaded fabric abomination was put on him. Poor baby! He stood sulking in this spot for more than 20 minutes!

Hi... I'm Cupcake, and I'll be your hostess...

Just for fun, I thought I'd post about my neighbor (the creative, cake-decorating expert) and I (the impatient icing globber) giving some tricky little Christmas "snowglobe cupcakes" a whirl!
She and I drooled over these intricately decorated cupcakes in a cupcake-decorating book, and we decided that we needed to make a few for some upcoming Christmas parties. Well, a few was quite enough! We followed the "directions" for the tree, the snowman and the house, and then we totally made up the rest of the designs on a whim -- or a joke! (The reindeer came to be after playing around with a tootsie roll! Oh, yeah... and the cupcake on the far left is a Christmas present. We were a bit cross-eyed and delirious by the time we worked on that one, so no poking fun!)
I think they turned out pretty darn cute. Of course, we never got to try them. So, who knows if they tasted as good as they looked?!?