Kite Flying Weather!

What a perfect day to fly a kite! Notice I sprung for the $1.00 kite, but it works just fine for a toddler :) Wow, this Spring weather is fabulous! Dinner on the patio, lots of outside play...life is good!!

The Village

What a great night we had celebrating Katie Clark's birthday last night at The Village in Shreveport! It was a much better end to a week that started off pretty horribly for me. I am sorry if you have heard this story already, but for those of you who haven't let me share. (It's therapeutic) I was in a hurry Tuesday morning, and did not WAIT for the garage door to completely OPEN before I gunned it in reverse. CRASH! I hit door so hard that my car was stuck in the garage for most of the day until someone from Overhead Door could come get me out. The WHOLE DOOR has to be replaced, and I also did about $750 dollars damage to the back of my car. SHOOT! I felt so badly at first and really still do but Jeff and I have already been able to laugh about it because he has informed me the next time he does something like that, and let's face it accidents happen, that I can not say a WORD :)

Well, back to last night. It was a fabulous meal with great friends and a REAL treat! If you ever want a special occasion meal you should definitely check out The Village. (Hope that doesn't sound know-it-all but I love to get restaurant reviews.) Anyway, we had a blast and I was so glad we were there. Katie is such a special person and I am blessed to call her friend.

Happy WEEKEND!

PS--Don't you love our "prom pic?" CLASSIC.

Overexposure?

I guess most of you did not get the email that I got last Thursday inviting TECH fans to Joe Aillet at 4:30 last Friday. My sister got it, but Jeff did not so I thought that was strange. But, you know I don't miss a photo opportunity (at least I can admit it, HA!) so I put Preston's jersey on and headed out. It was a GORGEOUS afternoon and he had a blast running around the field, tossing around the football, clowning with Champ and of course jumping on the jumpy. I titled this post overexposure because, well, you all may be seeing a LOT of Preston in the football media campaign this fall. You see, it was us, the John Denny family, and the Vessels...and that's about it. I guess we will see if they use any of the footage, they may not, but it was a fun Friday afternoon!

Hope you are all enjoying this pretty weather. We had Nana, Pop, K-K and Kevin over for dinner last night and we wiped the winter off the patio furniture and dined al fresco and had a great time.....more later....

Mardi Gras Half-Marathon

I don't know what it is about a road race-the anticipation, the comraderie with other runners or the celebration at the finish line-but I LOVE IT! Now, I am never in the running to "win" one of these events, but when I reach my personal goal the feeling really is pretty amazing!

My goal was to run this half-marathon faster than the last time I ran it. I gave myself a VERY reachable goal and I did it! Shaved off 5 minutes so my new PR for a half-marathon is 1:52:28. Of course, I am already plotting how I ram gonna run it 5 minutes faster next time.....

Had a GREAT time running with Mollie Robbins! I don't think she reads my blog but I just have to say I am SO PROUD of her. It really wouldn't have been the same without her so I must say, "THANKS MOLLIE!"

We went through Natchez Saturday and Jeff gave me 15 minutes at the Kelly's Kids Sale!! I was snatching and grabbing in all that craziness and I came away with some cute things...sorry no pics...but I got clothes for this summer, and next fall, and the next summer....I can't pass up a DEAL :)

Sadly, K-K did not get to have the fun weekend with Preston she had planned :( He threw up twice Saturday and it was really hard on K-K. She did such a GREAT job at cleaning up and keeping everything as normal as possible and I am SO GRATEFUL to her. Also, thanks to Nana for the trip to Jonesboro and thanks to Kevin for meeting her to get the phenergan gel to him. And especially thanks for letting me run my race before telling me--you know I would have turn around and come home if I had known so I appreciate getting to have the experience so much! Gotta go get ready for work-have a great day everyone!

Build-a-Bear

Jeff and I are leaving in the morning for New Orleans, so I thought Preston needed a fun day just for him! Of course, I got a LITTLE shopping in, but for the most part the time was spent doing what he wanted to do in Monroe :) We took our first trip to Build-a-Bear and although he was a little overwhelmed at first he did a really good job. I am grateful that he didn't try to pick out many "accessories" because I think we got out of there pretty cheap :) The last picture is where he is giving his new puppy, named "Puppy", some love. Afterward, we rode the carousel, had Chick-fil-A and of COURSE a giant cookie. Our only bad patch was on the way home when he was exhausted and needing a nap--he was whining incessantly and I told him to stop. His reply, "Ok, I'll cry then." (then pronounced DEN) Oh my--he is getting a little too clever....

Wish me luck Sunday. My right arch is KILLING me but I guess I'll just have to run through the pain. I would like to say good luck to all the other Ruston Runners headed south for the race..we should be well represented :)

Guacamole!!!

Nana made a special request today I take a picture of the shortest I have ever had Preston's hair, so I decided to document his newfound LOVE of Guacamole! P loved the stuff when he was a baby but because he is 2 he has not touched it lately. I let him sit on the counter while I did the dishes tonight, and he decided to help himself :) It MUST be his idea....

Isn't his haircut cute? He looks to big---but I do love it!

"Fair"well Fresno 2011

Wow-what PERFECT timing! The weather cooperated and warmed up just in time for Tech's "FAIR"well to Fresno State festivities tonight! The Parkers started off the evening with some delicious Pizza Inn (Jeff loves it when I am running distance and will go eat pizza buffet, HA!) then headed over to the TAC. There was a pretty big crowd and lots of fun things for the kiddos to do. Preston only got to "ride" three rides, as the lines weren't moving very quickly, but he had a GREAT time! I was really proud of how he did in the swings....SUCH a big, independent boy :) We were ready to go into the game at 7:00 and enjoyed K-K and Kevin sitting with us. I just put a tired little boy down around 9:00 and the Techsters won the game!!

On a sad note, please say a prayer for Mrs. Edith Price as she lost her husband, Larry, last night to a very long and painful bout with pulmonary fibrosis. Thanks.

***pic where Preston is looking up in amazement is when he is checking out the ferris wheel. Thought the look on his face was priceless!

Breckenridge 2011:Three GREAT days of skiing!

It is totally not like me not to have many pictures when I get home from a trip but I really didn't take many these last few days as Jeff and I travelled to Breckenridge, CO with our good friends Nancy and Trotter Hunt. We left EARLY Friday morning for a flight out of Dallas, and were on the lift when it opened Saturday morning. We had two LONG days of skiing, with PERFECT weather, that were really the most fun I have ever had skiing. Now, I was definitely the weakest skier of the bunch, but I could definitely hang in there. We did not go all the way up to the "bowls" at the VERY top of the mountain but we did most all of the blacks at the top. I think I had the most falls-four total I think-but nothing serious. Sunday night, after a fun date night in town, I woke up in the night with matted up eyes and THE PINK EYE! I am so grateful to Dr. Luffey for calling me in meds because Jeff went with me to get my meds and we were on the lift by 9:45....and it was MUCH colder....and it was snowing....and snowing...and it was COLD! We lasted until about 3:00 and decided to stop when we couldn't see each other. It is EASY to get separated skiing with four people, especially when Trotter and Jeff fly down the mountain at mach speed :) Anyway, we called it quits and Jeff decided he wanted a massage so we decided to end our time with a little treat! We cooked at the condo Monday night to get ready for our early morning trip to the airport...
Boy were we in a hurry for nothing! Because of the weather in Dallas, our 10:40 flight was cancelled, we could not all get on the 2:40 flight, so we were bumped to the 5:20...which boarded at 6:15....which sat on the runway until 7:45...mountain! We decided to drive home at midnight in the ice and it was pretty bad until we got to Terrell then we made good time and got home about 3:30 this morning. It was a long day but we made it!
Thanks again to Gran-Gran, Grandfather, Nana and Pops for keeping Preston! We will definitely be taking him on our next ski trip!