True Women

Take one novel honoring the brave women of Texas history,

Add a movie starring Angelina Jolie to spice things up a bit,

Stir in restored homesteads and log cabins

where the walls whisper of Comanche Warriors and Yankee soldiers,

Add a dash of family cemeterys where little ones were layed to rest too young

and Texas Rangers buried too soon,

Let it slowly simmer with tales of the small town of Seguin and family legends led by Woody Woods himself,

Fold in a theatrical reading of a chapter by the soon to be 98 year old Virginia Woods, in her sweet southern drawl, as she sits at the very dining room table Mr. Henry was operated on,

Garnish with the most gorgeous bluebonnets and wildflowers this world has ever known,

Serve it up with a side of "true women" of your own

...and that my friends is a finger-lickn' recipe for book club.

turns out the idea for the novel actually came from wanting to complile a family recipe book.

Who knew good food and good stories went are meant to be together?

I swear could live off of good books, good food, and good friends the rest of my life:)

Camping with Little Rascals and a Houdini

We get nearly as excited for spring break here as we do for Christmas.

Its track season so our family is just itching for some quality together time with no distractions.

Thus our obsession with camping:)

This year we got to spend some time with our friends the Sanders as well.

Other than the fact that my 23 monther learned how to not only climb out of the packn'play but also how to unzip the tent to get out (you'd be suprised how many times it took before we out smarted her by zipping the tent higher), it turned out to be a wonderful trip.

Gorgeous weather, great food, and awesome friends.

 These 2 were joined at the hip. So sweet!

 These 2, not so much:) Poor Jett. Naomi was either beating you or kissing you. there there.

 Oh and here is our newest upgrade:)

It fits 3 queen airmattress.

Lets just say sleeping all in one tent is a whole lot safer than what we were doing before:)

haha notice how Jett finally feels safe and Naomi is having "alone time" all caged in the spacious tent? :) That's my wild child.

Muffins with Mom

Can I just say that I love love love Olivia's preschool?

So adorable.

The Thursday before spring break was Muffins with Mom.

Love being able to be there for all the little things for my little ones:)

Olivia, Miss Sarah (her HS buddy), Me, and Naomi.

After seeing this photo I decided to never again be photographed next to a high school girl.

Aging kinda sucks:)

Marathon Weekend in The Woodlands

Its' taken nearly 9 years to come to terms with the fact that

I married into a running family.

Although I have attended serveral events through out the years, I was always just a spectator. This year for better or for worse I got to participate. I ran my first 10k! Well it was a marathon relay so actually 6.5 miles but for some reason 10k sounds cooler? See I'm not a real runner obviously.

I honestly ran perhaps 5 times in the last 3 months (1 of those causing an injury) so if I'm not living proof that anyone could do this I don't know what is:)

My dad reminded me of the parable of the laborer when I told him how slow I am and how fast my husband is. ouch. yet true.

Not certain of my time since it was a relay and my watch quit but that's probs a blessing.

My super human husband however finished

26.2 miles in 2hrs 38 min.

yes. its true.

He placed 4th which qualified him for $250 bucks.

Running for money, now there's a concept I can support. Heehee.

I'm one of those lame-o people that get emotional at races.

Whenever I see Daniel cross the finish I feel so proud, not just because he's freakishly fast but mostly because seeing anyone give it their all is an inspiring sight to behold. Of course we went straight to the medic tent once he was finished but luckly I'm use to that and knew it'd only take a few minutes for Daniel to bounce back. See super human right?

The rest of our fam and friends were equally inspiring. Like I said, its pretty amazing to see people acheiving something they've worked so hard for. I still dont know how they do it!

And now for some visuals...

Friday night we hosted a "Pre-race Pasta at the Park" dinner.

Saturday morning we were up by 4:30am, dropped off kids with Grandma and Aunt Holly and drove up for the race at 6:45am

Here's all the Lawton Runners

 And here's a bunch of our other F.A.R. members.

(The Lawtons started a running club this year hence the jerseys:)

You may visit the website at http://www.fairfieldarearunners.com/

My niece and I missed the shuttle to our relay spot but a sweet volunteer drove us in the back of his pick up truck! Phew! I really didn't wanna have to run 6 miles there and 6 miles back:)

Here's my awesome relay team!

Me, my niece Leilani, my FIL Estes, and my SIL Jeannine

 Me and the hubs. Kinda fun to be "part of your world".

Oh dear I may start singing...

That evening we came back for the awards ceremony.

There was a live band, dancing in the park, and I got to be a groupie for my hubby:)

Daniel's brother, BIL, parents and grandpa came to celebrate.

If you didn't think they were crazy before, we'll be on our way to Boston next month and they're all signed up for another marathon in January. Its a sickness I tell ya:)