~~ MOVE ~~

I first discovered Third Day back in December 2008 when I won a radio contest and received a few of their cds, along with a few cds of some other wonderful Christian artists!

They are AMAZING!!!

I have wanted to go see them every since the first time I listened to that cd. I couldn't make the show when they were here late last year and I was totally bummed thinking they wouldn't be back for a long, long time. Imagine my excitement when I found out they were going to be in San Antonio on February 20th. One of my best friends gave me their new cd, MOVE, for my birthday. It was just as amazing and that just sealed the deal--I knew I would be at that concert! And who better to take with me, than 3 of my best friends?

These ladies are pretty AMAZING too!!!

Now, there were some potential conflicts that almost kept all 4 of us from committing to making this road trip down to the concert, but finally it worked out. The tickets were purchased, it was written in permanent marker on the calendar and I began memorizing their new cd, cause you know I planned on singing every song right along with them!

Concert day finally arrived and we met up and headed out of town so we could be there when the doors opened at 3:30. Good thing because a *few* other people had the same idea.





It really looks worse than it was. It didn't seem that long of a wait either, mostly because, well, Liz began to hand out the tickets--here is yours, and yours and yours and then.....WHAT THE HECK?!?!?


That's Liz kicking herself for only ordering 3 tickets! Um, yeah, the concert is sold out and we only had 3 tickets for 4 people. Oops! We all remained calm and after the initial shock wore off, we came up with a plan. I found an usher, explained the situation and asked if he had any suggestions about how we could sneak one extra person into a sold out event. He, unfortunately, could not help. I thanked him and head back to the girls and our spot in line.

Then, out of nowhere this girl walks up to me, she overheard me talking to the usher, and asks me if we need tickets. I told her we only needed ONE. She had 2, since her friends got sick and couldn't make it. PERFECT! I swear she was an angel. I should have taken her picture, not really sure why I didn't. Her and her nephew stood in line with us and once we got inside she got her tickets from will call and gave, GAVE, her ticket to Liz. An angel I tell ya! Melissa hugged her, of course ;-), and we never saw her again, although I looked.

Once we got inside the building we had to wait for what seemed like FOREVER before they would let us in the arena/seating area. It was a test of my patience for sure, mainly because it was so hot and we were squished like sardines. They finally opened the doors and off I went, Amy kept me in her sights as I found us 4 seats and then found us 4 more seats 2 rows closer. It was general admission and we scored some awesome seats on the 9th row! ~Aaa-mazing!~

Trevor Morgan is an up and coming artist that opened the show. He rocked it! He played a few songs and they were awesome. His new album will be out soon!

See? We were THAT close! We were on our feet the entire time and I sang EVERY song (I'm sure Amy and the girl on the other side of me loved that.) Love, love, love these guys!

Love these girls too!

It was an AMAZING night! I'm so glad we made the trip down to the concert. Time on the road gave me a chance to catch up with friends. The show, well, that was a chance to see one of my favorite bands, hear some amazing Christian music and sing praise to the Lord!

Of course, since we were in San Antonio, and we hadn't eaten all day, we had to stop for some Mexican food and drinks after the show.

~~ AMAZING ~~
(word of the day)

~~ Party for Two ~~

To celebrate Jesse & Michael's birthdays this year we decided to try something different--one party for both boys. They both wanted to have a party at the pool, so I needed to figure out how to make that happen. After some smooth talking and negotiating I had a plan, so I headed on down to the Y.....

The pool actually closes a week before Jesse's birthday, so I knew that in order to make that happen for him, his party would have to be early. After checking the availability of the pool for the Saturday nights in September we decided on the 11th at 6pm. It worked out beautifully. Michael had to wait a few weeks after his actual birthday for his party and Jesse got lucky and had his a couple of weeks early.

Normally I buy all the theme cake, plates, cups, napkins, tablecloth, etc., but I thought since it was a pool party and it was for both of them that would just be too much. Michael wanted Iron Man and Jesse wanted Toy Story 3.

I talked them into making all the decorations blue and green and get themed candles. They agreed. This also took care of my need for two different themed cakes. I suggested blue and green cupcakes. They agreed. It was cool and it worked out beautifully.

It was an amazing party. The weather was perfect (we tried a pool party last year for Michael and it got rained out). My boys were so happy and had a fabulous time. I overheard several friends say what a great party it was and what an awesome pool it was. Yes, success!

Another first for me this year was not opening their presents at the party. I have considered this before, but this was the first time we actually took them home to open them. I'm glad we did. We only had the pool for 2 hours and the kids were having so much fun swimming. Also, because it was a party for both, there were double the presents and that just would have taken too long.

I would totally do this again next year if the boys let me, I mean, want to.

*I was worried that I might actually miss their party today because after running club I came home and was so sick. It was a tough workout today and it was so hot, I'm thinking maybe I was dehydrated.!?!.

~~ Transformation ~~

This is me and my most favorite personal trainer, Lonnie. I love her. I've been working out with her since January 2009. From the very beginning she has always been encouraging and passionate about exercise and being healthy. At times, especially in the beginning, she had more confidence in my strength and ability than I did. She will not cut me any slack and expects me to give her 100%. I'm very fortunate that my schedule has allowed me to be able to spend several days a week with her at the Y. At the end of June there was a contest, a transformation contest, and well, I love competition!

I had 10 weeks to make become a new, healthier, stronger me. Above are my before and after pictures, and as you can see, I did it! Here are the details:

Pounds Lost: 17

% Body Fat Lost: 5.9

Inches Lost--

waist: 2

leg: 2

hips: 1.25

arm: 1

Push ups & Sit ups: doubled

Couldn't have done it without Lonnie and a few other workout buddies! Came in 2nd place and won 6 more personal training sessions, which means I get to spend more time with my favorite PT!

~~ L squared & A Big Green Ball ~~

Today's workout was legs and lower abs. It was an hour and 16 minutes and 822 cals burned. I hate, hate, hate the stairmill, but man, Lonnie had me on it not once, but twice today and it showed in my cals burned! OH YEA!


I have been promising the boys we would get in some last minute fun stuff before school starts and one of the things on my list was to take them bowling. So, this afternoon we headed on over to.....

We've been there once or twice for birthday parties and it has always been crazy busy with people, but we always had fun. I knew today was going to be different when I pulled into the parking lot and there were maybe 8 cars. It was pretty much like a ghost town-I wasn't even 100% sure it was open, even though it was 11:30. They were open and it was pretty much empty and it was so nice having the place to ourselves. Liz and the girls joined us and I am so glad they did. The girls had never been bowling before and they did AWESOME! It was great to be able to share such a fun first with them. We got our lane, our shoes, and our balls and we were ready to roll.....



First: Jesse





Second: Kami





Third: Michael





Last up: Nani





We took a break around the 6th frame for pizza and drinks, then we finished up. Here are a few more pictures of the kiddos having a ball.....

The mamas smiling, enjoying the last day of summer with our babies-in the a/c!

~~ 2nd Saturday ~~

Workout: Running club

This morning we did negative splits, which means your lap/run time gets progressively faster. Not a lot faster, but the opposite of how you normally run. Normally you start strong and fast and taper off, so today we tried to do the opposite. We ran 4 laps, 1/2 mile each and I was pleased with my times.

1st lap 6:05

2nd lap 5:15
3rd lap 5:20

4th lap 4:52

A total of 2 miles in 21:32. Not too bad for a couple of reasons.

1) I accomplished the goal-each lap got faster (except 3)

2) I've never run more than a mile at once. So YAY-2 miles!

*Just a weird bit of info that I wanted to remember-I have the worst bruises on both my arms, I tried to take pictures, but they didn't turn out so well. I have no idea how I got them-intense arm workouts the last few days maybe? Don't know.

I had two special treats this afternoon.

My mom called and offered to keep the boys if I wanted to go get a pedicure and of course, I just could not pass that up! I need to take a picture of my pretty pink toes. It was a heavenly treat! Thanks MOM!

Then I got to spend a couple of hours hanging out with this pretty lady! It was nice to relax, have a drink, snack on some chips and queso and just talk and talk and talk. Wonderful way to end my day! Thanks LIZ, I really needed that!

~~ NoNo's Pool Party ~~

Tonight we celebrated Nolan's 6th birthday!

lighting the candles.....

thinking about what he is going to wish for.....

giving it all he's got!

He's an August baby, born on the 4th, and well, it is HOT in August. So what better way to keep all the kiddos cool, and wear them out, while celebrating than have a pool party?

I can't believe he is already 6, man these kiddos are growing up SO fast! The kids had a blast jump in and out of the water and they were just all over the place, they would not sit still for pictures, but here is one of the birthday boy and his pretty mama!

*It was a great party and that part about wearing the kids out.....it didn't work for mine! It is almost 10 and they are wide awake. Also, ya see that big red balloon in the 2nd picture? Miss Amy gave the boys that balloon to share. When we got home we let it go. I thought that was what they both decided to do with it, but once it was long, long gone-barely a dot-Michael's eyes fill with tears and he says, "I wanted to keep it." His feelings were hurt and it really broke my heart. I promised him I would get him another one and he could keep it forever!

~~ Packed Full of Fun ~~

It was a super busy day packed with lots of fun.



My sweet hubby let me sleep in, until 8 o'clock, and it was wonderful! I never turn down a chance to sleep in, but as soon as my feet hit the floor I was off and running.

Jesse started a Lego robotics today at the Y. He was so excited. Since Christmas he has been really excited about just about any and all things Lego. This is the robot car they built and programmed today. He was so proud of it and he couldn't wait to show me how it worked. There are 5 more weeks of this class, and I can't wait to see what he builds next.

While Jesse was busy, Michael played at the indoor playground and I hit the treadmill. I really took it easy because I was sick all week, but boy did it feel good to get back in the gym.

On the way home we stopped at the barber shop so the boys could get haircuts. Michael has been needing one for a couple of weeks now, his hair was getting really long. After seeing all the hair on the floor, I realized Jesse's was actually very long too.

Then we headed home to get ready for our special lunch guests--Tita and Andrea! We haven't seen these special ladies since August, and that is just TOO long!! We laughed and talked and caught up on just about everything. The boys were SO excited to see them and have the chance to show off everything they have been learning and doing over the last several months!




Tita and Andrea have such a heart for Jesus and kids and they are both so special to us. Miss Andrea has a job interview this next week and Tita is considering becoming an advocate for abused and neglected children. We love you both and we are praying for you!


Saturday afternoon would not be complete without a birthday party, so we headed to the park for Jesse's friends birthday celebration! It was overcast and cool, but these boys were so full of energy it did not take long for them to lose the jackets. They ran around and climbed like there was no tomorrow!

I did manage to get them to slow down long enough to snap a few pictures, but not many.

At 5 o'clock Michael and I headed home. Jesse went home with the birthday boy to play with all the Legos that he scored for his birthday, including the one we got him.

Phillip was under the weather all day and quarantined to the bedroom, so when Jesse got home the boys and I ate a little dinner-nothing fancy, just corn dogs-then we spread out the blankets in the livingroom and settled in for movie night. We just finished watching Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

It was a good day. A long, busy day and we are all worn out, actually I tucked the boys in their beds less than 30 minutes ago and well, they are sound asleep. I'm not far behind.

~~ Lunch ~~

It has been a couple of weeks now and well, still no calls for sub jobs. No biggie really, because I got to have lunch with my sweet friend Rachel at one of our favorite restaurants-Chili's. Chili's changed up their menu, so I thought I'd try something new. These mini tacos were delicious!




Thanks for lunching with me Rach, it was a blast as always!

~~ Cheese ~~

Can I get a LITTLE wine with that Cheese?

~~ 10 Years Too Long ~~

Once every 10 years or so circumstances allow me the chance to visit with my old friend, Jena. I really don't remember the last time we saw each other, we tried to figure it out at breakfast, but it was early and I wasn't doing the math right. My guess was mid-1998. I know she came to visit, here, when Sierra was a baby (97?)and I made a quick weekend trip (another, long story) to Nashville to visit her (98?). I know that it was before Feb 1999 when Alyssa was born.

Point is, it had been way too long since we have seen each other. We had breakfast before we headed home. Email is great, but there is nothing better than sitting down, having a cup of coffee or soda and talking with one another. I love that after so many years we can sit down and talk like no time has passed.

Thank you Jena for getting up early and meeting me for breakfast. I had a super time catching up and laughing!!

~~ 4th of July ~~

What a day full of fun and friends!

We started by heading down to the neighborhood park to watch the bicycle parade. We weren't real sure about the parade details, but next year the boys will decorate and ride their bikes and be in the parade. Uncle Tony came too! We spent some time at the park enjoying music, games, and a train ride.

After a short nap, we headed over to P-ville to celebrate with some old neighbors. First we stopped by Brian & Kady's. They had a little crawfish boil and OH, BOY! They also have the most beautiful and one of the biggest backyards I've ever seen. The boys loved playing a little t-ball, swimming in the hot tub and running through the sprinkler.

Next stop, the Moore house--more great food and great friends. The kids enjoyed splashing around, laughing and playing.

It was a busy day, but oh my goodness, it was fabulous!