Jumping Rope

She was so scared it was going to hit her head every time she flippd it up! Hence this look on her face!

Here I go Mommy, are you ready??

Oliva was so determined today to jump rope, that she tried and tried until she finally did something that at least resembled jumping rope. So sweet and so determined to get it right. If course, she didn't want any help from anyone!! "I can do it all by myself Mommy!"

After our bath...

One of Mommy's favorite things is when Olivia gets out of the bath tub and smells so good. I could just squeeze her all night...even better when she lets me take a picture and actually looks adorable too! :-)

Mowing with Daddy

Let's get started Daddy!

Watch me Daddy, this is how you're supposed to do it!

This was too cute, and Olivia thought she was something else when she was helping Daddy mow the grass. She followed him for a while, and then went her separate way! Such a big helper!

The aftermath....

so, as great as well felt the night of the race, the next morning was a completely different story! We could barely move the next morning, and our entire bodies were sore! What a difference a night's sleep makes! We were told that we would be sore, but this was nothing like we expected. What was even tougher was knowing we would have to be in a car for the seven hour drive home, and were not able to stretch much at all along the way. When we did have to stop for gas, we just laughed at ourselves cause we must have looked pathetic getting out of the car. It was terrible, and although I couldn't say it until the next day, it was worth it! We were still beaming with pride and couldn't wait to get home to share the news!!! When we did get home, I walked in the door and had the follow signs greet me!! It was so sweet and they couldn't have been more proud as well. It would have been nice to have them there cheering on the sidelines, but it was also nice to have that kind of welcome when we got home!!!

Dave Matthews Band

Getting ready for the concert after a great race!

I think this was on the way home from the concert! Looks like they had a great time!

So, if running a half marathon wasn't enough to do today, we had tickets to go see the Dave Matthews Band later that same night! We were all feeling so great, and knew we would be sore the next day, but were taking advantage of feeling good tonight! So, off we went! It was nice that Mike took us to the concert so we didn't have to find parking, which only meant they had to pick us up later too! Too nice!! So, we made it to the concert and had a wonderful time. We were on our feet the entire concert, amazingly enough, and had so much fun. Shell and Tara see Dave every year, but this was my first time seeing him in concert and I was glad I went. It was a perfect evening to a wonderful day! We had a few drinks, so it was nice that we were picked up. We got home and stayed up talking with Mike and Jeff for a while before heading back to the hotel. Great day!!!

After the race....

Aunt Shell enjoying the relaxation after the race!

Tara and Jeff looking great afterwards too!

I cannot tell you how excited we were to be done with the race, and be on our way back to Mike's to relax! We were so proud of ourselves and were amazed we had done it, but were also glad it was over! We can now say we did it, rather than we are going to do it! So after the race, we went to Mike's to celebrate and ordered pizza! We sat on the back deck and just reminisced about the day...it was wonderful! We all felt great and couldn't stop talking about it! What an accomplishment!

Race Day!!

So, you will have to bear with me as I try to put down the events of the day as well as the thoughts we were having throughout the race itself!! First of all, I will start with it was an amazing experience and such a huge accomplishment!!!!! We got up that morning at 4:30 in the morning and were ready to go. Of course, we knew what we would be wearing that day, so we were rady fairly quick that morning and were just a bundle of nerves. We couldn't wait to get there and just get started. The waiting and anticipation was almost too much to handle. We met at Mike's at 5:45 and he was very generous in that he drove us right to the corral in which we would be starting the race. Because he knew his way around town, he dropped us off right at the gate and the parked the car and met up with us. Based on the times we had entered at the time of registration, we started in a particular corral, which meant that the first corral would begin and then a few seconds later, they would release the next corral. So, we weren't all starting at the same time, but we were wearing a marker on our shoes that would provide our start and end time. Again, it was very well organized for that many people. Speaking of people, what an amazing sight!! To look in front of you and see miles of people and then to look behind you and see the same, it was awesome! I couldn't believe we were a part of this, and it was so neat!!!

Before we all got started, we did have a few minor mishaps. Tara and Jeff needed to use the restroom, so they left the corral to go stand in line. Well, long story short, we lost them and didn't think we would find them before the race got started. But, to our surprise, the blue shirts we all had in common came to the rescue. We spotted them in line and they were able to join us before we got started! But, as I was searching for them, I jumped up onto a cement wall and busted my shin...even before the race started. So, it was throbbing for the first few miles, but after a while, I did forget about it. Lastly, Jeff and Tara have both had to wear their headphones while they run, and unfortunately, Jeff broke his right off the bat and didn't have them the entire race, so we were hoping that wouldn't trip him up at all. We knew he would do great either way, and he did!!

So, off we went. We got off to a great start and were running at a good pace. Tara stopped to get a drink at one of the water stations and we thought about it for a while, but then knew we might not be able to tay together the whole time anyway, so we kept going. We felt bad for leaving, but we also talked about it prior to the race that it would be okay if we separated. Shell and I on the other hand, ran side by side the entire time, which was a huge help along the way. When one of us slowed down or needed a break, we were right there for each other every step of the way...literally!! Throughout the race, we did have trouble with the blazing sun and the various hills along the way. We found out later that it was about 20 degrees warmer than it usually was that time of year, and they changed the course this year, which did cause more hills throughout the course. And when I say hills, I guess I should say slight inclines, but even still, any change in ground level was that much more exhausting! Nevertheless, we kept pushing on and as I mentioned previously, the t-shirts were a huge hit. It truly was great motivation to keep us going. Just when we were feeling down, someone would make another comment and it would push us even more. It was so funny to hear all the comments, and we knew then, they were a success and worth the time it took to do it!!

Another huge motivation was the people that were standing along the sidelines. There was not a stretch in the road that didn't have people standing, cheering, motivating and keeping you going. It was amazing the amount of support that was there to help keep you motivated. We didn't know any of these people, but they cheered you on like they were members of your family. It was great!!!! In addition to the people, there were bands along the way as well playing music to help pump you up! Although a little distracting cause we just wanted to stop and dance, it was fun to hear the country music playing every step of the way! About halfway through the race, we did see Terry and Sandy (Tara's parents) on the sidelines, which was really fun! They were taking pictures and tried to get video, although we didn't want to stop just to get filmed! :-) We were on a mission to keep moving as much as we could, although we did have to walk some of the time too! However, it felt great cause we knew we weren't the only ones. People were walking every step of the way.

We had good miles and we had bad miles. We started off strong, and were great for quite a while, and we remember miles 7-9 felt really great too. But, once we hit miles 9-12, it was starting to get pretty painful. We had a hard time staying in sync with each other and when Shell needed to rest, I needed to keep moving and vice versa. However, we stuck it out and wanted to finish strong. So, we did start to slow down until the end of mile 12 and we picked it back up again. We knew we were close to the finish line and wanted to finish strong. The course was layed out so that you wouldn't see the finish line until right at the very end, so when we turned around that last corner, it was within our sights and what a fabulous feeling! We were so close and couldn't wipe the smiles off our faces!! We ran the last stretch and actually grabbed each others hands as we crossed the finish line!!! We did it!! We gave each other a huge hug after we crossed and just couldn't believe it!! Throughout the entire race, there were participants that fell down and couldn't get up, and the paramedics were all over the place helping people, yet we did it all on our own! We started training in January and completed a half marathon on April! We were so glad to be done, but we made it!!!

We saw Sandy immediately after crossing the finish line, so that was really neat. She was able to take our picture right after we finished, which was fantastic! Then, we all filtered through to receive our medals, get out pictures taken, and then get some food at the food tables. You name it, they had it. It was great to get through there and then get some food and water to help keep us hydrated. It was a very long walk to get to the family reunion area, and I was starting to feel a little weak. So, as we were waiting to meet up with everyone else, I did end up having to sit down for a minute. The funny thing was, they handed out salt packets for that very reason. So, I downed a few salt packets and felt better right away. So, that was a great tip and one that helped tremendously. Once everyone got back together, we celebrated for a little while before heading back to the car!!! It was a very long walk, but we were done and it felt great!!! The pictures from the race day are listed below.

Pictures from the Race!

This is the after picture with the banner! Great job team!!!
Since our parents weren't able to go, Terry and Sandy filled in for the day!

The infamous shirts...

Tara and Jeff's shirts.

Our last supper....

What a great surprise!!!

After the expo, we went to lunch at the Sportman's Grill and tried to eat what we knew would go easy on our stomachs that evening and tomorrow. So, we took it easy a little just to prepare. We had a great lunch and then Jeff's parents surprised us with a banner they had made for the big event! It was so nice of them to be ther first of all, but then to show such support was fantastic!! Since our families couldn't go, it was great to have our foster parents there!!! After lunch we went back to Mike's to relax, get last minute advice and then it was back to the hotel to get some sleep!

Health Expo

Our favorite picture of the day, with Blain and Dane from The Biggest Loser!!!

Lots of opportunities at the expo for good photos!

I cannot believe we were doing this in front of everyone, but we each took our turn!!

I think we wanted to make it official, so people actually believed we were there!

We left no stone unturned!!! :-)

The gang coming down the escalator....thanks Mike for the enthusiasm!

On the Friday before the race, we had to attend the Health Expo to pick up our race packets and our numbers for the big day. So, we met at Mike's and then headed downtown. With over 30,000 participants and what they expected to be over 100,000 people there total, they were extremely organized. They had several stations where you would pick up your packets, numbers, t-shirts and whatever else was needed. In addition, they had several health and fitness booths set up and also country music marathon items to buy. So, Shell and I each bought a visor and just had a great time being a part of such a big event. We were like kids in a candy store....and then we heard the announcement!!! Blain and Dane from The Biggest Loser were there at the Expo and were taking pictures. They were participating in the full marathon, so were at the event, and of course we searched them down to get a picture!!!! That must have been the highlight of the expo for us!!! It was awesome to see them since we were such big fans of the show. As you can see in the picture, they were a lot taller than they appeared on TV. Regardless, we had a great day and were getting closer and closer to the big day!!

Heading to Nashville!!!

So, today was the big day. We were heading to Nashville for the Country Music Half Marathon!!! Our nerves were getting the best of us, and we know that in two days we would be finished, but for now, we were so anxious to just get there and get it over with. The ride down was extremely fun. Shell, Tara and I drove together, which was awesome. We had the best girl time and basically laughed the entire way, with the exception of when Tara fell asleep in the back seat (I will refrain from posting that picture, so you will have to thank me later for that one Tara)! During the drive down there, we stopped at a gas station to fill up and get road sodies and we couldn't believe it, we saw two cut outs of Superman and Wonder Woman, so of course, we had to get the cameras out. We must have took about a dozen pictures with all three cameras and several combinations! We were dying laughing and gave the people at the gas station a good laugh as well. Too funny, and just the perfect memory for our trip down there!!

Slogan Contest!

So, as we were driving down to Nashville, we had a little slogan contest. We had talked about all six of us that would be running, should wear the same color shirt and put a little motivational slogan on the back. Tara had talked about all the unique gear they had seen last year, so we thought it was a great idea! So, we had seven hours on the way to come up with what we wanted! I actually lost the entire list that we created, however do have the winning slogans for the six of us:

Quit Passing Me

In it to Win It

I Smell Bacon

Did I Win?

I Smell Feet

Wouldn't you know it, we have well over 50+ comments on those shirts. Shell and I ran together the entire race, and I am not kidding, we had people telling us that we had the best shirts they have seen. It was hilarious, and we must have laughed for the better part of the race because of all the comments. So, what we thought was hilarious as an inside joke between us, turned out to be a pretty funny thing for others too! So, that made it even more fun!!

The calm before the storm...

Mommy, Tara and Aunt Shell

Mike and Tara

So, once we arrived in Nashville, we headed straight to Mike's house (Tara's brother) who was also running in the race. We went there and actually headed to the park to get another run in for the day. Then, we came back to his house to relax and work on the T-shirts, which again made us laugh uncontrollably! Afterwards, we went to Cozymel's for dinner, which was wonderful Mexican food. It was such a nice time, but we knew it wouldn't be long and we would actually have to run the race. It would have been a nice visit just to be there and watch, but we would actually be participating, so again didn't know what to expect and were just anticipating the day!!!

A Sad Farewell!

Well, it is never easy to leave them, but we had to say goodbye to Scott and the family. Amy had to leave a day early, and then Scott and Jake left on Tuesday! We had such a great time while they were here, and hope to see them again sooner than later!!! Or, we'll have to schedule another trip to sunny California to see them too! After they left, it was just the three kidlets again!!!

Another family gathering!

Stickers...always a good thing to occupy the kids for a while!

Olivia loves her Uncle Tim. He may have been feeling a little left out while Uncle Scott was in town, so she was making sure he got some love too!

Mommy and Aunt Amy

We had scheduled a dinner for the St.Clair side of the family at Fairview Farms while Scott and them were in town. It had been a long time since they had seen any of them, so it was really nice that everyone was able to make it. This place was fantastic, and they served fried chicken and all the fixins, family style. It was wonderful and exactly what we all needed!!

Eureka 5K Race!

Well, we tried it again! We ran the Eureka race this morning, bright and early! Shell had several of her friends from school join us at the race, and of course we ran with Tara and Jeff again! Jeff ended up winning a medal during this event, so that was pretty exciting. No one else won anything, but the big accomplishment was finishing the race itself!!! Nashville, here we come!!!

Amy made it!!

Uncle Scott and Aunt Amy

Mommy and Aunt Amy

Jake and Aunt Amy

It's been a while since we've posed for a picture, so here you go!

The Boys

The kids and their popsicles!

Parker and Olivia...still buddies, even with all the other kids around!

These two were pretty inseparable the entire week!

Finally, we were able to see Amy today!!! She was only able to get off for the weekend, so again we took advantage and scheduled a cookout for some of the gang at Aunt Shell and Uncle Tim's. Of course the kids had fun playing together and it was nice to relax and spend the time with the family and friends. Although, today was the day Tamara had to get on a plane and head to South Carolina to see her Dad. So, she didn't get to go to the cookout, but boy was it great to see her!!!

Davis Family Fish Fry

Bright red popsicle tongues....very cute girls!

Tamara and her sidekick for the week, walking to the playground!

Too cute, thanks for posing for the camera!

Grandpa, Uncle Scott and Great Gpa

Grandpa and Linda

It looks like Uncle Scott is getting dizzy, but Olivia is having a great time!

Whoa, slow down Uncle Scott!

All the kids were patiently waiting their turn to blow the bubbles!

Break time!

We had planned a Fish Fry at Gma and Gpa Davis's with that side of the family, knowing this would be the first time all of the family was together, including Amy. However, we then got the news that her flight was delayed, so she wouldn't get there until later that night. However, we still had a great time and the weather was beautiful! The kids played outside the entire time and Uncle Scott even took them down to the playground at the grade school. They were having a ball, and even though it wore out Uncle Scott, he had fun too!!!