Well, I definitely fell off the blogging wagon and now I am trying to catch up with a LOT of stuff that has happened! But most importantly, the BIG race, as Matthew and I call it (as we also call EVERY race) must be mentioned. Matthew loves to talk about "the big race" before I'm going to run anything and how he will cheer for me at the end and say, "Go Mommy!" and that will give me that last ounce of strength I need to pass somebody at the very last second and win! (Is it possible we've had stories about this very thing?) He especially liked trash talking Uncle Mike before this last race and telling him how his mommy was going to beat him!
A big thanks to Mike and Brandi for letting us stay with them and for Mom and Dad for driving up to watch us all. Also to Woodson for taking off work to support me and not make me sleep somewhere strange with the kids all by myself! :) It was definitely lots of fun. . . and a little bit painful! But mostly fun even though I think we all decided we would NEVER do this race again! Good job to Mike for getting us all to do it! It would never have happened without the CHALLENGE! I won't even mention how you lost to a pregnant lady!
While Matthew, of course, loved this whole thing, Nicole was less than enthusiastic about hanging out in the cold for however long they were there after the donut run with Grandma and Grandpa!
Julie, Aimee, me, and Mike: the fearless four! Next year, Joe and Paul, next year. . . the whole fam! That is, of course, unless you're afraid. . . !
Running poses before the race. . .Aimee's gonna take down the pack! We looked much different after the race but fortunately I have no pictures of that!
Here's us taking off . . .about 3 minutes after the starting gun! We all had to go to the bathroom so bad and the porta-potty lines were so long we couldn't make it in time for the gun! Plus we had to get a few pictures before we started. . . etc etc etc! Luckily the race was chip timed!
Here's me just about to the finish line. Way to get the action shot, babe! And, even though I couldn't hear Matthew say, "Go Mommy!" I must have known he would be saying it because I think I passed this guy! Although by that point I WAS almost delirious so I could have imagined that!
Needless to say, Matthew LOVED LOVED LOVED his cake! Too bad he was pretty much the only one to eat it and I had to foist it off on single siblings who I convinced could get their roommates to eat it! (It didn't taste bad, just not as good as the other options that were available for adults at the time thanks to the fact that it was a joint birthday party with Grandma Dean!) Here's Matthew with Grandma Dean at the party. Grandma Dean wouldn't let us put candles in for her. Hmmmm.
As tradition dictates on birthdays (translation: as I force everyone to do), here is Matthew's breakfast in bed. Ya, I went all out as you can see. Notice the tootsie roll in between the spoon and the bowl. . . I'm an AWESOME mom!
Matthew woke up sooooooooo happy that day and we had such a great day! He is definitely turning into a big boy. He is such a big helper with Nicole and loves to help me clean the bathrooms and sweep the floor! He especially enjoys cleaning the toilet! I love it! His smile just makes me happy. He asked me the other day how he is going to know what to do when he grows up. He was really worried about this too and just wanted to express his worry that he wouldn't know what to do when he is a dad! It was so cute! Especially his relief when I told him he could always look in the scriptures and pray - it was like I just solved his life's problems! That's so typical of Matthew - always thinking of things I would never expect and making connections I always hoped he wouldn't! We sure love our big boy! Happy Birthday Matthew!
