I'm trying here....

On Saturday,  Stephen and I headed to Plano for the Fire Fly Run.  This was a nighttime race benefiting Dallas Children's.  WOW!  There were so many people.  It was a good thing I had all of the below!

 Stephen doesn't really enjoy running like I do...so this picture means the world to me.  I LOVE...I mean LOVE it when he runs in races with me.  Now if I can just convince him to do the next 1/2 Marathon with me;)!

Sunday was our 5th Annual Easter Egg Hunt at Gabby's and Poppy's...we always joke that we have to keep "big events" a secret from Addilyn because she ends up sick.  Well Sunday was no different:(...we celebrated my grandmother's birthday at lunch and before lunch was over Addilyn was complaining that her ear was hurting.  Her daddy took her home and after a 4 hour nap...she seemed better.  BUT she missed the Egg Hunt.  Poor Baby!

 Keatyn however, did the hunting for both of them.  She scored big;)!  

She was determined to find that prize egg and that she did.  And I promise you that she did it on her own...well at least I didn't help...I'm not sure I can speak for her Gabby!;)

Seriously behind...I'm horrible at this!

After our 1/2 marathon in November we took a break and I decided it was time to include the whole family in my joy of running.  Stephen and I ran the Turkey Trot together and then went back for the girls about mile 2.  It was so fun to see my whole family participating and actually enjoying themselves!

 I took the girls to see The Nutcracker at TJC.  It was a neat experience, but one that might could have waited a few years.  Keatyn's response to it was that there was no talking...only dancing!  

 Of course December brought many things and one of them was The Lindale Christmas parade.  Addilyn and I rode on the float and waved to our family and friends as we rode by them.  

Stephen's birthday weekend was filled with none other than...A race!  He wasn't 100% thrilled about it but by the end I think he really did have a good time.  We participated in the White Rock Marathon and ran the relay with a team of 5.  It was cold, wet and rainy during most of our race.  We can put that one in the books:)! 

 We took Stephen to Shogun's for his birthday.  It was yummy (as always).  

 Keatyn's school party was a success! 

 We left that Sunday and took the girls to Dallas for a couple of days to celebrate Stephen's birthday some more and our Anniversary.  What a sweet time we had.  We stayed across from the Galleria and enjoyed taking a drive over to the Gaylord for ICE and also enjoyed some good eats:)!

 This was the Christmas Eve service at church.  We always enjoy this service because we get to have our whole family in the service with us.  This year Keatyn really began to understand the meaning and it was very precious to see her holding her candle and singing.  

 And Christmas morning didn't disappoint.  The girls begged for a puppy and Santa gave in.  He's a sweet little guy and has really brought joy and responsibility to the Bills' home.  

 What better way to bring in the New Year than with friends and a little REK.  We had so much fun listening to him at Bass Hall.  We were very impressed!!!!

Well, I know that was fast and furious but that at least catches me up on the high points and brings me into 2012.  We have big things coming...we are counting down 8 days until we take our trip to DISNEY!  We are beyond excited!!!!!

13.1 complete....what's next????

We started in late August training for the DRC Half Marathon.  I was really excited that Kacy and I had some newbies;) joining us.  What a journey!

 The emotional finish...13.1 miles gives you a lot of time to think about where you've come from....

 This group of ladies is truly amazing.  We all had a little something to prove to ourselves...and that we did!

 Our shirts were lifesavers...there is something to hearing your name cheered as you run and run and run!

I am so very proud that we finished this one...and I got to give Katherine her medal! 

We FINISHED!!!!

New Place...NO INTERNET...playing catchup!

We have been super busy with our move...Halloween snuck up on me...I mean nothing a little tulle and hot glue can't conquer but still...where did October go!!!!????

 I had big plans for the girls to be the Lion and the ScareCrow from the Wizard of Oz, but Keatyn had other plans...as you can see, she wanted to be a "Peacock Princess".  Thank you Pinterest and Etsy for your helpful tips!

 We also had 50's day at Keatyn's school and well, we don't do things "sort of";).  My mom whipped out poodle skirts for Keatyn and me and we managed to make Addilyn fit into Keatyn's old skirt!  We had so much fun!:)

And this picture is extra special.  My granddad has been very sick since July and so he was super excited to have bowls full of candy for his great-grandbabies.  We really could have stopped after this stop because they filled their buckets FULL of really good candy!  

Halloween is such a crazy time, but it is fun to see how excited the kids get about...CANDY;)!

First days of school...

So far so good in 1st grade!  Hoping and praying for a fabulous year!

Round 2

This past week I began my training for another 1/2 marathon set for November 6th!  It has been nice to get back into running several days a week.  There is a group of us training and I'm really excited about that.  I had the opportunity to train in a group last year and that really seems to help me stay motivated and also makes the longer runs much easier to endure!  I'm looking forward to what this training has to offer and challenging myself once again!

A Date Night...

This past Saturday night we went out with our friends Brandon and Julie to a fundraising event for the Longview Museum of Fine Arts.  It was fun to get to dress up and go out on a date:)! 

 Besides weddings, we just don't get very many opportunities to "get fancy"!

 Stephen, me and Brandon...these two were a force!:)

We couldn't resist posing with a couple of the centerpieces!

And then the Hubs and me.  We had a blast...the event was quite humorous and we had lots of laughs!

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And so it begins....

Here is Keatyn and one of her sweet friends, Barrett at Meet the Eagles!  She thinks he is the coolest because he has a bow and arrow and her taught her how to use it;)!

We are so excited to start 1st grade.  Meet the Teacher was on Thursday night and we were a little ahead of the game because we've known Wendi Hicks forever...SHE'S Family!  Keatyn could not be more excited to have Mrs. Hicks AND...

 ...to be right across the hallway from KK!  What an exciting year it is going to be?!?  So many new things happening!  Addilyn was very excited about "cheer" season starting!

 Along with a new school year comes Football Season and cheering on the boys!  Maddox and Keatyn performed at Meet the Eagles on the field with the HS Cheerleaders.  They were oh so cute!

Fun times were had by all!!!!  And believe it or not, there was even a breeze:)!

A little Warm-up running...

What better to do before a run on the beach then enjoy a yummy milkshake...just kidding that's a horrible idea!  However, we had these early in the day so as to not see them again later;)!  They were so yummy. Kacy and Kara had found this cute soda shop on the Strand in Galveston and we didn't just visit it once!!!!

 Oh the submarine...I wasn't a huge fan.  It was so HOT in there!  This picture expresses how I truly felt about it!

 And EVERY race needs a pre-race stretch...or an 80s workout video pose!

 WE survived running a 5k on the beach in the dark wearing headlamps!  It was really a lot of fun!

Me and Kacy post-race!  So fun to have a running buddy who keeps me motivated:)!

I was pretty pumped to have placed 6th out of 60 in my age division!

This was a great way to kick off our 1/2 marathon training for the Fall!!!!  Now if we could just have some cooler weather to run in PLEASE!!!!

Sleepovers MIGHT be overrated for mom...sigh...

I'll let the pictures speak first...

The time has arrived in Keatyn's little world for sleepovers...however, I'm not sure if my sanity was quite ready for it.  I admit that I'm neat and tidy on my own time, but the way my children, mainly Keatyn, play drives me BONKERS!!!!!  Girls have lots of fun things to play with...but in that fun there are little dress-up earrings, barbie shoes, dolls, etc!  If I can just teach them to put away before dragging out the next...this will be a fun time!!!!!