A Creative Soul

Who needs a bed when you have a suitcase?


Who needs a chair when you have a table tray?


Who needs a hat when you have a shoebox?

We did it!

Today Ray and I ran our first 10k race. I was pretty excited for it until we pulled up to the park and there were so many runners there, and they looked like real runners. I was hoping for more people like me...people who try to run but still suck at it. Everyone else looked so intense and fit. Once the race started I quickly fell to the back of the pack but Ray stayed right up towards the front/middle with the rest of the real runners. Ray finished with a great time and he really enjoyed the race. I know I am slow so my goal was to just finish the race before they take down the clock. I did that with a few minutes to spare so I was happy! I'm not going to lie, I am pretty proud of myself. For me, 6.4 miles is pretty amazing! It is something I never thought I could do.
Ray is going to run the half marathon is September but it looks like I will not be able to run with him. I am going to take the next month or so off from running so my shins can completely heal from shin splints. I am excited for Ray though and hopefully I will be able to run it with him next year!
Do you want to know what the best part of the race was today? I had about a half mile left in the race and I see Ray walking towards me. He came to help me run the last stretch. I love that guy! Then when I got close to the finish line there was a group of my friends there yelling my name and cheering me on. What a great finish to the race!

Geesh Geen

One of the most popular names in our house these days is Geesh Geen. Zach LOVES Lightning McQueen but hasn't quite figured out how to say his name. So what come out of his mouth when trying to say Lightning McQueen? Geesh Geen! Oh that kid, it is so fun listening to him talk!
A couple weeks ago Grandma bought Zach a Lighting McQueen pillow pet. She hadn't planned on buying it when we went to the store but when we couldn't get it out of Zach's hands to put it back on the shelf she so graciously offered to buy it for him. What a wonderful Grandma! Zach loves his Geesh Geen! Seriously, he absolutely loves it. It goes everywhere with him, well, everywhere mom will allow him to take it. He sleeps with it every night and carries it around with him all day. The other night I took him into his bedroom to put him down for the night and I forgot to grab Lightning McQueen from the couch. As soon as we got into his bedroom he randomly started crying, with real tears, and said Ggeesh Geen". He loves that pillow! So here are some pictures of Zachy and his favorite Geesh Geen.




You can't forget Panda!

Blueberry Festival

The Saturday before the 4th of July we went with my parents to the Blueberry Festival. You don't know what the Blueberry Festival is? Well neither did we. Here are some pictures to show you just what a blueberry festival is.

U-pick blueberries






Petting Zoo









Hayride


Treehouse/Playground






Fresh Blueberry Doughnuts- Ray said these doughnuts might have been the best doughnuts he has ever had


There was also a craft/antique fair that I didn't have any pictures of.

We all had such a great time at the Blueberry Festival that we can't wait for the Fall Festival and the Christmas Festival!

I'm Back!

I know it has been forever since I have blogged but I am finally back. I have lots to blog about and lots of pictures to post but I thought I would first just give a little family update. Here is what is going on with us:

Ray- This is the busy season at work for Ray so life is pretty hectic and stressful for him. He was able to get some time off for the 4thof July so my dad and Ray did "man stuff", they shot guns and played golf. Ray recently decided that he really enjoys playing golf. He doesn't have the chance to go very often but when he does he really enjoys it. Ray has also recently started running. If you remember, Ray ran like a crazy man last year and lost tons of weight. He took the winter off but has started up again. Most importantly, Ray is the best dad. Zach and Ray have so much fun together and Zach just loves hanging out with Daddy. Back in the day Zach always wanted him mommy, well not anymore. He always wants to be with his daddy. They are best buds, which makes me so happy!

Ginger- Life has kind of been exciting for me recently. I am sure most of you are sick of hearing about this but I have also started running this summer. Okay, it's not really running, it's more jogging and walking, but it sounds cooler when I say running. Before this year the farthest I had ever run was 2 miles and it was during softball fitness in high school and I HATED it. I would have never done it if I wasn't forced to. I have always hated running. I remember quitting sports because there was too much running. So believe me when I say, I HATED running. Well I have a friend who started running last year and has always tried to get me to run with her. I ran with her every now and then but she was training for half marathons and marathons and I was not interested in going further than a couple miles. For some crazy reason, I decided I would train for a half marathon. I started training last month and things were going great. I signed up to run a 10k with Ray next weekend and I was so excited for it. But...I will be lucky if I can even run the 10k. I have had shin splints for the last few months and I have just been running through the pain. Well a couple days ago it got worse, a lot worse. I tried running through the pain but it is just too painful. So, I am going to try to run the 10k but after that I am going to have to take at least few weeks off to let my shins heal. Which means, no half marathon for me this year. Surprisingly, I am really bummed about it. I have learned to really enjoy running and was really looking forward to the rest of my training and running the half marathon. So that's my story!

Zach- There is so much I could say about Zach but I will try to keep it short. Right now is one of the best stages he has ever been in. I feel like I say that about every stage but he just keeps getting cuter and more fun. He is a smart little guy. That's why this stage is so fun, he is learning so much so quickly. He know so many words and is starting to make sentences. He almost knows the entire alphabet, not the song, just the letters. We are working on counting but he doesn't quite have it down. He always starts with four and then six. It's pretty cute. Some of his favorite things are playing outside, coloring, Lighting McQueen, his friend Mia, his toy lawn mower, his binkies, his grandpa, and his daddy. I have so much more I could say about Zachy but I will do more post on just him.

M-O-O-N

You know how parents have to spell words so kids don't know what they are talking about? Well Ray and I have had our first experience with that. Zach has always loved pointing out the moon in all of his books. He thinks anything shaped like a moon is a moon. The nike swoosh on my hat is a moon, the comma in a book is a moon, the banana on the toy monkey is a moon, and many more things are moons to him. Well Ray thought it would be fun to show him the actual moon. So one night right before bed Ray took him outside to show him the moon. Zach LOVED it. He was so excited. He kept pointing to it and laughing. I don't know if I have ever seen him so excited. When Ray brought him in to put him to bed Zach was so upset. He kept begging to go see the moon. He wouldn't even drink his milk, all he wanted was the moon. Finally, after taking him back outside 4 more times, we were able to get him to go to bed. The next morning I went to get him out of bed and the first words out of his mouth were "moon...please".

We have taken him outside almost every night since to see the moon. We quickly learned though that we couldn't say the word moon around him. As soon as he hears moon he will beg and beg to go see it. It has been a few weeks since he first saw the moon and sill the first word out of his mouth every morning is "moon" and his first words eveyrday when dad gets home from work are "dada...moon". He sure loves the moon!!

Here are some pics from his first time seeing the moon:

Zach's Buddy

One of our favorite people to have over is our little buddy Mia-poopa-pia. Her real name is Mia but to us she is Mia-poopa-pia. I absolutely love this little girl and so does Zach. Here they are watching Toy Story 3, which they do together almost every week.



Zach cuddles with pretty much no one but he cuddled with Mia for a good 20 minutes. It was so stinking cute!





I love these two kiddos!