WOOOHOOO....I did it!!

I really did it! I finished the Gate River Run! 9.3 miles in 1 hour and 49 minutes! I can't even put into words how happy I am about this!! I made it my goal last fall to run in this race...I trained for 14 weeks...and I was easily able to finish the race! I will definitely be running in it again next year. My next goal is going to be a half marathon (13.1 miles). I can't find any until October so I have plenty of time to get prepared! I also plan to work on my speed so i can start closer to the front in next year's River Run. I was so far back this year that it took me 8 minutes to cross the starting line, and then I had to weave in and out of people who were going a little slower. I was a bit sad once the race was over since I had been building it up in my head for so long!! Now at least I have some new goals to work towards, and I need to get signed up for a new race so I have something to look forward to!

Me and Dad before the race

I DID IT!!!!!!

Chase was so excited!My sweet boys!

Dad and Lisa stayed in town to come and watch!!

So happy!

Chase had to have some of the post-race snacks!

Beautiful flowers from Dad and Lisa and an ugly shirt from the run! I'll still wear it proudly no matter what it looks like!

Chase's first trip to the Race Track

Dad and Lisa took Chase down to Gainesville on Friday for the Gator Nationals. They had been planning this for weeks, and we were able to keep it a secret from Chase until they arrived on Thursday night. His face lit up when they walked into the house and Pop Pop asked him if he wanted to go see the dragsters!! Unfortunately, it ended up raining on Friday so they didn't get to see any cars race! He did get to see them "getting built" as he has been telling everyone. He had a great time even though he never saw any cars go down the track! Once they got back to Jacksonville, they watched some races on the computer, and Chase loved that. He came home to tell us that one day he was going to be a dragster driver! I am not so sure about that...especially after watching the event on tv on Sunday night and seeing the speeds of 320 mph!!!!

Chase's first sleepover

Chase's friend Aidan came to stay with us the Saturday before last. Chase was so excited to have a friend coming over. Nick took the boys to the park for a nature walk that afternoon. They all had a blast, and the boys were so tired that they fell asleep on the way home! We had dinner and then they played a little around the house and outside. Then we gave them a bath and they were ready to lay down and watch CARS. They were hilarious b/c they kept sneaking out of the room and spying on us in the living room! They must still have been worn out b/c they were both asleep by 9pm!! They both did really well and didn't even fight! I am glad his first sleepover was uneventful!

Cole thought he should be able to sleep w/ the big boys!

They of course thought this was hilarious!

I did not, so Cole went off to bed in his crib! He would have been out of control if I let him stay in there!

Playing in the back yard

I know that most all of my readers will laugh when I say it's been a long winter, but it really has! By Florida standards, it has been COLD! I know it's nothing compared to what most of you were dealing with, but we've been here for 6 years now and our blood has definitely thinned out! Anyway, it's finally getting nice enough to go out and play again in the evenings. It's even better this week due to the time change! Being couped up in the house was beginning to drive us all crazy. One night last week, Cole started climbing up the swingset by himself and going down the slide! He's such a big kid. Here are a couple of pics from that night. I have a video, but it is really dark. I've been able to lighten it up on my computer, but can't save it for some reason. So, you might try adjusting your settings so you can see it better!

What's going on in Cole's world

I know it's been a while since I have blogged, so here I go trying to get everyone up to date!! It's been a crazy past couple of weeks for Cole. It started with the big news from Mamma Faye that she was retiring at the end of February. We were really sad about her decision, but definitely understood. She's been so good to us these past 4 years, and we were very fortunate to have her care for both of our kids for as long as she did. She will be missed by all of us. Cole has even been saying "Faye, Bobby, Tommy Toe" (that's her, her husband and their cat) every once in a while! Here's a picture of Cole with Mamma Faye on his last day (It's not very good, but it's the best that I have...he had busted his lip the night before so it was a little swollen).

Cole started at a new daycare on March 1. The lady caring for him now is named Debbie and she has a ton of kids (including our niece and nephew...Mady and Braden). Ashley had told us lots of good things about Debbie, so we went to meet her and immediately knew that we wanted Cole to go there. He's been doing really well, except for a little fussing when Nick drops him off in the morning. I think he's just upset that Daddy and Chase are leaving him though! Debbie says that he is a very good, smart boy and she just loves him! We are on week 3 now of our new routine and everyone seems to be adjusting well.

Cole is certainly growing up fast and following right in his big brother's footsteps. He thinks he is just as big as Chase and can do all of things that Chase can do! He's talking up a storm now and saying new words every day. His favorites are Daddy, Milk, More, Chase and Rocksie (or as he calls her, Wocky)!!

Here are a couple recent pics of him. I just love this outfit on him so I had to snap a few of him in it!

Here he is trying to open the fridge to get his milk out. He pulls on the doors while screaming "MILK" and then he gets mad when he can't get it opened!!