The BIG 4-0

Trey turns the BIG 4-0 today!

Amazing that his gift is 2/3 his height--hmmm, what could it be?

The long awaited "new grill". Our current grill is falling apart;

well, that might be an understatement.

Trey's been eyeing grills since last summer--

shockingly, he hasn't purchased one.

His parents, my parents, my sister

and myself all went in together to purchase

an extra special gift for Trey's 40th!

The boys gave Trey a mesh frying pan;

perfect for grilling veggies on the new grill.

We moved away from the garage for some

Birthday pictures with Dad.

As we know, a birthday isn't complete without cake.

Trey LOVES dark chocolate--good thing since that's the cake flavor!

We hope all of your wishes come true!

Celebrating another milestone with my husband, my best friend!

Happy 40th Birthday Trey!!

Plum Crazy

Ted and Trey road tripped to Canal Fulton, Ohio (Ted's hometown) this past weekend to pick up Ted's recent purchase:

a 1964 Dodge Polara.

Ted's fascination and enthusiasm about cars is almost contagious--he's excited about his new purchase!! Although I think I disappointed him when he told me to look at the carburetor and honestly, I had to ask where it was located... Thanks to my Dad, I recognize car symbols and several makes and models, but that's the extent of my car knowledge. Apparently, the "boys" acted like teenagers when first driving the car and peeled out leaving a long tread mark of which they were both quite proud...guess you're always a "boy at heart"!

I've affectionately nicknamed Ted's new car, "Plum Crazy", the name of the paint color. Below are some pictures Trey took once he and Ted arrived back at our home. The car is currently sitting in Ted's garage--minus the power steering as it leaked over the driveway Saturday--bummer! No worries--Ted can fix "Plum Crazy" and will be peeling out again soon!

"Race for the Cure"

The Columbus, Ohio, Susan G. Komen "Race for the Cure": Saturday, May 16, 2009.

Our small city ranks among the "Top 10" "Race for the Cure" events in the world!

Yesterday, Columbus set another record with 46,00o+ participants!!

Members of "Heather's Team" wore bright pink wigs to honor Heather Pick's memory. Heather was a local TV anchor person who openly shared her breast cancer story with the Columbus viewing area. She bravely fought her second recurrence of breast cancer,

but sadly, lost her battle last November at the age of 38.

At the last moment, Trey joined me to walk, not run, the 5K.

Women, and men, currently undergoing treatment rode in trollies and led the runners and walkers at the start of the 2009 "Race for the Cure". Breast cancer survivors wore pink shirts-- it was amazing to see the number of survivors walking amongst a sea of supporters. Each participant had the opportunity to walk in honor or memory of a loved one who has endured breast cancer. It was overwhelming to read bib after bib of families who have been touched by this disease; including our own.

The following statistics were included in our registration packet. In Ohio, breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer. In Ohio, approximately 6700 women will receive news of their breast cancer diagnosis; more than 1800 women will die. In Ohio, the state ranks 4th in breast cancer mortality and 34th in breast cancer incidence. The numbers are heartbreaking, but with awareness and education, hopefully the numbers will decrease nationwide.

Participants walking the 5K--there were mothers and fathers, daughters and sons, sisters and brothers, aunts and uncles, grandmothers and grandfathers, husband and wives and many friends, with their own stories, united together for a common goal--to help eliminate breast cancer. It was an amazing event and I'm honored that Trey and I were able to participate.

At the finish line, the survivors were honored with a medal and ribbon acknowledging their strength and courage in their personal fight against breast cancer.

"We will walk and we will run until we find a cure"!

"Egg"cellent Experiment

In third grade, each student is required to complete a science fair project. The children work very hard on their scientific process and have a month to complete their projects before presenting them to the class. Noah's purpose was to determine if a raw egg yolk or hard-boiled egg yolk would float in water, salt water or pepper water. I had a great time experimenting with him and we were suprised to learn that a raw egg yolk floats in salt water.

Noah presented his project to the class on Monday. He did a great job standing in front of his classmates and explaining his project. Several students asked questions at the end of his presentation and he answered all of the questions well.

After presenting their projects, the third graders display their science fair
boards in the library for the entire school to enjoy.
"Egg"cellent job on your project!!

Happy Mother's Day!

Sadly, Alexander has outgrown the school made Mother's Day projects, but Noah has not. This morning, once he realized I was awake, he hustled to his backpack and couldn't wait to present me with my Mother's Day gift. He gave me a booklet he completed about his "Marvelous Mom" and the "Top Ten Reasons Why He Loves Me". Oh my goodness, the booklet is adorable and I'll cherish it always!!

Here are a few of my favorite thoughts Noah shared with me in his book:

"If my mom were a super hero, she would be: Super Girl because she is super."--how much does this make your heart melt??

"If my mom were a color, she would be: brown and black because these are her favorite colors."--I guess I might wear black and brown a little too often if Noah thinks these are my favorite colors.

"What are 3 things you like about your mother?"
1. Her kindness
2. Her love
3. And I like that she feeds me

The number 7 reason Noah loves me is: "I love my Mom because she taught me how to: spend money"--oh my goodness that's too cute!!

The number 2 reason Noah loves me is: "I love my Mom because she works so hard at: loving me"--that was a super sweet thing to say!!

In addition to this adorable booklet, Noah gave me coupons for 1) a walk with Sophie 2) to complete favors for me and 3) snuggle with me.

Boys, Trey too, I had a wonderful Mother's Day--thank you! And, to my Mom and Mother-in-law and all my friends that are Moms--I hope you had a WONDERFUL Mother's Day too!!!

Enjoying the day with my boys on Mother's Day 2009

Our Week in Sports

Sports fans--our week typically consists of 4 track practices, two soccer games and at least one track meet. Last week was no exception. Noah's first game was, once again, in the rain. The boys LOVE playing soccer in the rain--mud flies, they're filthy by the end of the game and apparently, it's just fun to play in the rain. Meanwhile, the parents are on the sidelines, umbrellas overhead! Noah absolutely loves soccer, and as I've mentioned before, progresses every week. He's much more aggressive (in a good way) and doesn't fear going after the ball.

Noah had another game Saturday afternoon--thankfully the weather cooperated although there was still mud involved in this game. Following the game, he had mud spatters up the back of his jersey as well as "brown" socks, not black. Papa and Grammy as well as Uncle Chris and Haiden watched his soccer game. Noah's team has really "connected" recently and have enjoyed winning their past 3 games.

Uncle Chris and Noah following Saturday's game.

Papa and Grammy with Noah following Saturday's game.
Alexander's track meet this past week was at Delaware Dempsey--about 1/2 North of our home. Alexander ran 3 events during the meet. Below, he hurdles down the track.

"Bang"--the gun pops and the race begins--notice the smoke swirling.

Alexander is on the far left in this picture.

Alexander's final event was the 4 X 200M relay--his first time participating in a relay.

He did an excellent job with is baton exchange!

We had a great time travelling to the boy's events and look forward to the soccer games and track meets this week! Both boys' seasons will be coming to an end in the next couple of weeks. We'll be on "break" until next fall when Noah resumes soccer and

Alexander begins 8th grade football.

Come Sail Away

We have the pleasure of living about 1/4 mile from Hoover Reservoir. Last Spring and Fall, once the boys were on their way to school, I would occasionally ride over to Hoover Reservoir and back. To me, the ride is so peaceful and calming and just a wonderful way to escape into nature and get lost in my thoughts as I peddle along. Yesterday, I was driving past Hoover Reservoir and noticed the sailing club taking advantage of a beautiful Spring day. The water and freshly emerging leaves created a wonderful backdrop for the sails floating in the breeze. I'm so thankful I took time to pause and admire nature's beauty, to listen to the birds, to enjoy the sails and just relax--if only for a brief moment.