i am a runner...

wishing i could get back out there now! hopefully only one more day of this stupid crap from being sick!!

why i've been such a slacker

the blog has been sadly neglected due to forces beyond my control.  well, i guess some of it has been in my control, but whatever.  here are a few fun projects i've been working on for the past few weeks.  (along with some others i don't have pics of)

my first hat.  didn't turn out too badly.  

the vultures were out to snag it, but dad was the happy recipient.  it will com in handy on those 2 cold days here in florida!

 and the piece de resistance (please say in a french accent.)  a fantabulous gryffindor scarf! 

so warm and cozy!  for all the issues i had with this scarf, it was a pretty fun one to knit.

 but, that could have had something to do with the cute recipient.  sarah's friend janae finally received her ever so belated birthday present.  (that's what happens when sarah asks me to knit it 2 days before the party.)  and judging by the drool dripping off of sarah's other friends' chins, i better get started on theirs as well. 

hAppY tHanKsgiVinG!!

(cute little turkey provided by gracie's awesome primary teacher, sister smith.)

hAppY haLLoWeEn!

photo courtesy of marci smith.

it's great to be eight!

well, our baby is eight today! it's hard to believe that the last one will be baptized in a few weeks.  she is definitely an irreplaceable part of our family.  we love her for so many reasons but we will give you our top eight.

1. she is a little zany.

2. she is laid back, on most occasions. 

 3. she's still just a little girl. 

 4. she is a good sharer.

 5. she knows how to have fun!

 6. she has her own sense of style.

7. she loves her big sisters immensely.

8. she truly adds a unique dimension to our family unit.

you are a beautiful part of our family little one and we hope your birthday is everything and more!

we love you & happy birthday!

remembering...

after grace and i ran our races(will post pics later) on 9-10-11 we stopped by the patriot memorial.  part of it has a piece of steel from the world trade center on display.  grace was really impressed by how large the piece was, but also how small it was in comparison to the entire building from which it came.  

  because of the way the steel was marked during construction of the WTC they were able to document where this particular piece came from.  

on the other side of the steel is a fountain with an eternal flame that was lit today.  (we stopped by after church to show the big girls that didn't go to the race. i didn't have my camera on me.)  behind the fountain are glass panels with the names of all the victims from each location listed on them.  also, a timeline of the events of that day are at the bottom of each panel.  it was a good way to help grace try to understand what happened on 9-11.  i was impressed with her knowledge of  what happened that day and her curiosity to learn even more. 

 today we spent some time watching various shows about what happened on that fateful day.  my girls asked me how old they were and what my memories of that day were.  sarah was only 3, savannah 9 months and gracie wasn't even thought of yet.  because my kids were not in school yet and we had been up late the night before celebrating my father-in-laws birthday i slept through most of the events.  mauricio called and woke me up to tell me what was going on.  i remember the first thing that came out of my mouth was "no way. i don't believe you."  but once i turned on the t.v. it was confirmed.  shortly after that, my neighbor, originally from new york, came over with her daughter.  we sat there in shock for several hours in awe that something like this was actually happening.  it was nice to have another person to be with while such a horrific tragedy unfurled.  

i still cannot believe it has been 10 years since that day.  i pray we don't take one day for granted and may we never forget.

another race for your viewing pleasure

 this summer wasn't filled with as many races as last year since m is training for another ironman towards the end of the year. (which is coming up before we know it!) here are a few pics from the race in melbourne, known as the space coast race.  wondering if the shutting down of the space shuttle program will have any effect upon the name next year...

this part of the race is always so exciting with all the athletes prepping their gear.  the girl in the photo took first place in the women's race.

i love this picture.  worked out perfectly of just m standing in front of the ocean pondering the race.

this is why i love the start of the races.  brutal to get up at 4:30 am, but so worth it.

getting ready...

and they're off!

he ended up finishing 1st in his age group.  what a champ!

we noticed how tall these dudes were because they are as tall as m is even though he is on the highest block. especially the guy on the right.  he's a giant!

only the people who placed got these bad boys.

getting some good grub after the race.

onion ring eyeballs

is that neil armstrong at the running store? is he going to do the tri in that suit?

always sleeping on the ride home.