Born to be a big brother

Aaron enjoys Jacob so much each day it makes my heart smile. Aaron will pick up Jacaob and take him on little tours of the house. "C'mon Jakee, come check this out." And he will swing him gently or put him in front of a mirror which sends Jacob into fits of laughter because he is thrilled to be hanging in mid air.

This is Jacob's favorite move "the backwards belly slide" where Aaron pulls Jakers by the feet.

Sweet hugs

(Please don't call child services on me but...) Jacob loved being Aaron's wheelbarrow.

Jacob in his church clothes.

Easter Weekend

Easter weekend was perfect. The easter bunny came on Saturday morning, we went to the beach with Justin's family in the afternoon, Chris tried surfing for the first time, and we enjoyed a peaceful Easter Sunday together at home.

Boston Marathon

The Boston Marathon was amazing. It actually blew my socks off from start to finish. The wheelchair division was treated like royalty, I got to rub elbows with Elite wheelers, Heartbreak hill did not disapoint, and best part was - I took my gloves off at the end and my knuckles had doubled in size. That is what you pay the big bucks for.

Here is a video of me at the bottom of "Heartbreak Hill" Mile 21 of this course and the longest/steepest hill. Thanks to Challenged Athletes Foundation for approving my grant request and paying for my Boston expenses. CAF - you changed my life.

To read more about the boston experience, I posted more on my website about racing.

Alex's First Walk-a-Thon

Alex did his first walk a thon! And thanks to some amazing friends and family, he raised $210 for his school. The best thing about it all was that Alex happily jogged/walked 3 miles today knowing he was helping his school. And can you beat that look on his face? priceless.

BTW, yes that is a faux-hawk. It gave him a little skip in his step.

I bought my first box of hair color...

...but I haven't used it yet. A couple weeks ago I was in a bit of a panic because it seemed like I got like 1000 gray hairs in the last month. I lost a lot of hair when I was pregnant, so all that hair is coming back in (yay) but it is all WHITE. (no yay)

Okay, I did overreact by rushing to the store to purchase hair color, but Chris said "its not that noticable...it just looks like highlights." And when a husband says something far fetched to make you feel better - you know it's bad.

Actually now that I look at the pictures I realize I was being silly (and probably a bit menstrual) but I feel good knowing I can take control of my hair destiny by simply opening a box.

Aaron's learning how to ride his bike

A couple days ago Aaron's training wheel fell off mid ride. After he fell (onto grass) he had this perplexed look on his face, like "what am I going to do now?". He looked at me and I said "well it looks like a good time to learn to ride without training wheels, huh?"

The people we will miss...

This pictures were taken the last couple days we lived in Michigan. Its funny, I have put so much effort into settling in here in California, I haven't taken the time to post about our amazing friends who we will never forget.

Our neighbors, the Bates, hosted a goodbye party. And thank goodness the food was amazing, because that was the least fun I have ever had at a party. It was really really hard for me to say goodbye to my best friends. While in Michigan I have been blessed to have:

women who have changed my life...

taught me so much...

loved my children...

have been classmates...

have been soulmates...

have bonded over Primary...

have opened their homes to us...

(I think this one is about to chuck an inocent baby...)

have been more like sisters than friends...

have been role models for us...

have earned the title of "grandma"...

We love you and hope to cross paths again. Maybe conference... you always see old friends at conference.