Dash for Dad

Last year I heard about a really cool race...a couple of weeks after the race occurred.  The race was called Dash for Dad, and it was sponsored by the Conrad Pearson Clinic, which is my dad's urologist group.  How perfect is a race that benefits prostate cancer research?  So I was sure to sign up for this year's race insanely early, like six months early, which was right around mom's birthday.  For mom's birthday she received a pair of running pants and an email confirmation that she had registered for a 5K race.  I'm sure she was really hoping for a normal gift like a gift card, but she did not raise me to be normal.
Mom and I planned to train (not together) and run (again, not together) the 5K race in April.  The course started and ended at the Botanic Gardens, which means it is a beautiful race route.  Except the only time the Botanic Gardens isn't beautiful is when it is 40 degrees in April and flooding so the ground has turned into mud.  Being the professional athletes that we are, we were not deterred by the weather conditions.  We showed up; we ran; we even had a cheering section of two (Popsey and Lindsey) who passed their time during the run eating donuts at the after-race tent.
Prostate cancer is a bully in my family and has claimed too many victims. I'm glad mom and I were able to run a race to prove we are out to beat this heinous disease.

School's out for summer

Tonight our house has someone who has completed preschool, someone who has completed first grade, and someone who has completed six years of teaching.  Lindsey finished first grade with all A's and was the second-place Accelerated Reader for the entire first grade.  She learned so much this year and will probably pass my knowledge of anything except reading and grammar next year. 
Benton finished preschool and exceeded our expectations;  we simply hoped he would not move his owl every day for behavior.  Not only did he only move his owl a handful of times all year (and who doesn't have a few off days?) but also he learned to spell his name and count to 100.  We are proud of all he accomplished in preschool.
I completed year six of teaching and still love my job (almost) every day.  The first four years were great, but the past two years of teaching gifted and Advanced Placement students have been a blessing.  The juniors I had this year were my sophomores last year, so I was able to form relationships with the students and get to know them well.  The same goes for my sophomores this year; I had some of them as freshmen and will have all of them next year as juniors in AP.  Here's what I learned:  they are great kids.  I truly felt loved and respected by my students and consider it an honor that God called me to this profession. 
Now I'm looking forward to ten weeks of being a mom.  For the first summer since Benton was born, I will not be a student at any point this summer.  And, unless someone suckers me into something else, I will not be a trainer either.  I have ten weeks ahead of me full of vacation, swimming lessons, art camp, tennis camp, cheer camp, sleeping in, play dates, staying up past bedtime--and am looking forward to holding the titles of wife and mom with no strings attached.

Our accelerated reader!

A milestone we hit this spring--Lindsey learned to ride her bike with no training wheels!  I thought she would keep those on forever--she was not shamed by all the younger kids on two wheels--but she and Abby Grace decided to learn together.  Now we can not keep up with her!

Benton is content with his training wheels for now.

Have I mentioned which child is not like the others?  This daredevil put on B's helmet, climbed on his bike, and took off.

and a five year old!

May comes at us on little cat feet (stole that from Carl Sandburg since I am no poet) then we spend the month trying to herd cats.  Basically that convoluted analogy means that May is always a busy month for us with tball starting and school ending.  Smack dab in the middle of May is Benton's birthday.  I remember when Dr. Carney scheduled my induction for May 15, 2008, and I thought how perfect the timing was in the last week of school and 12 weeks before the next school year started.  At that point I never thought about planning a birthday party in the midst of end-of-school programs and final exams (and let me not forget the infringement on Mother's Day).  Nonetheless, I love this little boy fiercely and would move Heaven and earth--or at least plan a party during a stressful time of year--to make him happy.
This was the first time Benton was in school on his birthday, so we sent cupcakes (with Star Wars toppers) to school and David came to the cafeteria at lunchtime bearing a Happy Meal.  He also requested Pepper's for supper that night.  Laid-back kid.  I like it.
We had his Star Wars-themed birthday party at Jump.  This was a brilliant decision since I literally showed up with a cake and juiceboxes and the Jump people handled the rest.  Benton and his friends had a blast. 
Benton will forever be the boy in the middle of two emotional (Lindsey) and sassy (Kate) girls, and he will forever be my favorite little boy.  We love this five year old so and are so grateful for that snaggle-toothed smile and constant happiness he brings.

It's fun to have a cousin who is your best friend!  Benton and Tripp love spending time together, and at this age they stay out of trouble.

Couldn't be any cuter.

Benton requested a cake with Darth Vader and Yoda.  The amazing cake lady delivered.  Around the bottom layer it said "Have a happy birthday, you must."

Kate and Sophie.  Hmmm, wonder what kind of trouble we can get into next?  They are so much alike and both bad to the bone.

In the two and a half years that we have been a family of five, this is probably only the second time that we achieved a picture with all five looking at the camera and smiling.  If we weren't in the crotch of a blown-up Batman, I would save it for the Christmas card.

The only Pinterest-inspired part of the party--light sabers made from pretzels.

This little girl loves her Popsey.

We have a seven year old!

We made the (wrong) decision to have Lindsey's birthday party two weeks after her actual birthday, so we had a lot of celebrating in this house. 
We had an Easter/birthday celebration with my parents the weekend before the big day, so there was a huge lunch and cupcakes and singing and such. 
The night before Lindsey's birthday David and I had a dinner to attend, so Nani and Cappy came down and had cake with the kids.  More sweets, more presents. 
Then on her actual birthday, Lindsey requested waffles with whipped cream and sprinkles for breakfast.  She could not wait to open her present because it was a surprise.  She originally said she wanted a new American Girl doll with long hair, but David said we were standing by our rule of only one AG doll.  However, we had to admit that Lindsey treats Kit as a member of the family, and all of the gifts Lindsey gets for birthdays and Christmas revolve around that doll.  On the way to school one day, I asked Lindsey what she wanted for her birthday and she said some books.  When I asked about the Caroline doll, she said she was going to wait to ask Santa for it because she knew it was too expensive and dad said no.  Naturally, I ordered the doll that day.  Lindsey was shocked when she opened Caroline on her birthday, and we were so happy to be able to surprise her.  She truly is a smart, caring girl who is mature beyond her years.  She makes us proud daily with the way she takes care of Benton and Kate.  If the girl wants a doll, we are getting her a doll. 
I went to school to eat lunch with Lindsey, and she requested McDonalds (why doesn't my child love something like Subway?) and more cupcakes.  I could tell Lindsey was so proud to have me there with her eating on her birthday.  That night we took Madilyn with us to Newk's then finished her birthday at church.
A week and a half later, we had Lindsey's birthday party.  The plan was to keep it low key--she wanted a slumber party, so we had 12 girls over from 5-7 for supper, cake, and crafts, then 3 girls from the neighborhood spent the night.  Twelve girls doing crafts--plus Benton wanting to do crafts and Kate wanting to eat everything in sight--became a bit overwhelming, but Lindsey had a blast.  Once we were down to four I popped in a movie and put them all in sleeping bags.  Lindsey enjoyed it, and that makes it a success.
We are so thankful for our seven-year-old Lindsey and the constant joy she brings to our life!  She loves reading, writing poems, making up cheers, playing with her American Girl dolls, and most of all, being a big sister.  She is a blessing to the four of us!  (I did a terrible job taking pictures.  I was busy with the crafts and food.  During the party I realized I am really not to the point that I can successfully throw a party without my mom's help.)

The cake looked like a bed.  It was cute and I hate I didn't get a better picture. 

I love Kate's face here.  She wants Lindsey to hurry up and blow out the candles so she can eat.  I also think it's priceless how much those two girls look alike.

Benton missed the beginning of the party because he was at another party, but as soon as he got home he wanted to make a Star Wars pillowcase. 

Lindsey and her school friend Anna Kate decorating pillowcases.

The next morning.  Lindsey, Lily, Madilyn, and Abby Grace look tired, so I'm sure I did too.

Maggie, Anna Kate, and Chesney eating pancakes with Lindsey.

Here comes Peter Cottontail...hopping down the muddy trail...

Easter was early this year, so the weather did not cooperate with those who love outdoor egg hunts and spring dresses.  Regardless, we were able to celebrate the true meaning of Easter--up from the grave He arose!  I think the cold, rainy weather was a blessing because it made us stay home and enjoy time with family this year. 
We had a rainy neighborhood egg hunt, but the kids had fun (and racked up loot) despite the weather.  The Easter bunny even made an appearance.  It was the shortest egg hunt I've ever attended, but it was still fun.  Later that day we had a Sunday school egg hunt at our house, but again, due to the weather, we had to change plans and hunt eggs in the playroom.  It was a bit chaotic but the kids had fun. 
Sunday morning we went to church then went to the Ruffs' for lunch.  The kids and I were off Friday and Monday, so we enjoyed taking it easy with art projects and library books. 

Kate and her friend Will

I know that cute clothing has nothing to do with the meaning of Easter, but I do think these kids look adorable!

Lily and Lindsey at the rainy egg hunt

Neighborhood kids lined up to hunt.  The bunny had to stand behind the kids or else they ran off screaming.

Great Amazing Race

Lindsey has been asking to run a race since she found out kids her age ran the 5K Habitat for Humanity race that I ran last fall.  When Matt mentioned a parent-child team race, David and Lindsey were on board.  She has been training for this one-mile run for weeks.  She usually trained with me, because David has a bad habit of getting distracted and running off in front of Lindsey.  That man makes everything a competition!
Today was the big race.  We came home from church and got everyone dressed for a spring day--the temperature was 65, so perfect for a day outside.  However, the closer we got to Millington, the lower the temperature dropped.  By the time we reached the race course, it was 48 degrees.  Poor Lindsey was freezing!  However, she was a trooper and still wanted to run.  David was certainly a trooper because he was missing Ole Miss playing in the SEC championship game for basketball.  While he was at the starting line listening to instructions, Cappy yelled from the parking lot "HOTTY TODDY!" so we knew Ole Miss had clinched and SEC championship. 

Lindsey and David did great in the race!  We think they placed second overall in their age group (age based on the youngest runner) but most importantly they had fun.

Ready for the race to start

I thought this was a cute shot of their feet, but David said I clearly just wanted a picture of his bottom.

Trying to keep the little runner warm

Madilyn and Lindsey warming up

One of the six obstacles they had to complete while racing

They make a great team

This picture is blurry but I wanted to include it because they look so cute running together

Little Trouble had to get in on the action--she had Cappy help her with one of the obstacles

Spring Break 2013

David took off work Friday to join us at the zoo.  The weather was beautiful and this was Kate's first time to truly understand the concept.  For the first time, we let the big kids (and David) ride a camel.  David complained about the waste of money, but I reminded him that this is probably a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to ride a camel.  Kate squealed at all the big cats and laughed hysterically at the monkeys, but the funniest thing she did was run up to a blonde woman screaming "MOMMMMMYYY!!!!" The woman was younger than me and looked very much childless, so she seemed a bit overwhelmed by a toddler running towards her in a full-hug position.  Benton wanted to know when we would get to see the elephant go poop again--one time, two years ago, and that is still his fondest zoo memory.