Valentine's Day...

Our Valentine's Day...

Table is set for breakfast...

Couldn't find the kind of cinnamon rolls I wanted so I had to make these work...not my favorite hearts.

Anna Lauren was so proud of the big card they got me and the present she wrapped all by herself.

My boys...Cooper is in the "cheese" phase...have to catch him off guard to get his sweet smile.

My card and chocolate from Matt and the kids...

LOVED the inside of my card...

This is a big deal and it for sure made me smile...Anna Lauren does not say nice stuff like this EVER!

Our cruise is fast approaching...so...Cooper got a new swimsuit and flip flops.  Yes, he will be the cutest little boy on the ship!  Anna Lauren got a gift certificate to go shopping for her own swimsuit...that is more fun to her!

Matt rolled his eyes when he opened his present, and Anna Lauren and I got our feelings hurt because we were excited about his "organizer".  He thought I was trying to "organize" his life...but really, he handles all our travel stuff...from planning, to paperwork, to directions, etc.  So...I found him this cool folder with 8 pockets so he can organize all our cruise stuff rather than carrying 10 manilla folders (what he normally does).  He then decided he liked his present.

Our candy bowl is full and treats from school have not even made it to the bowl...oh my!  And check out these super cute monkeys Nanna sent...I loved them!

Cooper showing off his love bug shirt his teacher made for everyone in his class.

Anna Lauren's treats from school...

Cooper's treats from school...

Matt and I were so excited about our family date night...on the way, the kids got quite...yep...sound asleep!  We were like...really?

Love the rare moments we catch them loving each other!

So...here we are...family date night at Waffle House, one of our favorites!  You could make reservations for this fine dining experience, which came complete with pink waffles!

So excited her waffle was pink!

This child...so full of life!  Love her to pieces, but I will never say she is not difficult...she challenges us every single day!

So so thankful for the "loves" God has blessed me with...and on Valentine's Day and every other day, I'm glad they are mine!

Of course Anna Lauren wouldn't cooperate...she called herself being funny when she messed up every single picture.  But...I love Cooper's sweet smile!

Fun Valentine's Day...and now we are on to our next thing.  Hosting a baby shower this week and back on the road to cheer some more! Let's just say we are in a SUPER busy season of life right now...I'll be ok when things SLOW down!

Valentine's Day Treats...

Anna Lauren likes to do something other than the traditional Valentine's Day cards you exchange with your friends.  So...I look on pinterest and narrow it down to five or six things I'm willing to do and she picks what she wants for her friends and teachers.  And Cooper...well, I just pick for him.  And then there is my sweet friend Leah who always designs anything I ask of her.  Anna Lauren has even learned to say...will you ask Ms. Leah to make this for me?

This year we did hot chocolate for their teachers and Cooper gave his friends goldfish...

I was so so excited when Anna Lauren said she would us her same box from last year for her Valentine's Day cards...we have been extremely busy so it was nice to not have to make another one.

And really...how cute is the box anyway?  Why would you not use it again?

Anna Lauren picked pixy stixs for her friends...

And we couldn't forget her cheer squad...

And just for fun her cheer coach...

I blog all this so one day I can look back and say...what was I thinking?  The traditional cards were not good enough?  Looking at my blog I should know why I never had a free minute to just "sit" and do "nothing".

Our Heart Cake...

From a blog that I read often, I got the idea to make a heart cake the week of Valentine's.  So...while Anna Lauren was at cheer Thursday night I baked the cakes and had them ready for her to decorate when she got home.  I'm not always the best at being "hands off" so I had prepared myself to be "hands off" and let her and Cooper do the cake the way they wanted.  We were just making it for fun so it didn't matter what the cake looked like...just a fun activity.  My mistake...Thursday night after cheer...she is exhausted and is ILL, which took the fun away quick...real quick!

You start with a round and square cake...we did a red velvet heart because that is what kind of mix I already had in the cabinet...notice when I turned my back, Cooper got a bite of cake while it was cooling.

Turn the square cake to be a diamond and cut the circle cake in half...

Obviously my cakes are not all the same height...but...that is what icing is for, right?

After a few tears, some fussing, and a big mess, we have a heart cake iced by Anna Lauren and Cooper!  

This pretty much sums up the heart cake activity...Anna Lauren being ILL and Cooper just being his normal happy little self!

Oh wait...there may be happies when I wake up in the morning? Maybe I should be nice the rest of the night.  Bless her heart...it really was my fault...I should know Thursday night not a good time. Maybe next year we'll try again on a weekend...

Cheer Competition #5...

I am going to start this post by saying...whew...we did it!  We made it through 5 big weekends in a row and all but one of them on the road traveling.  I could not be any more excited about being home next weekend!

Yesterday we loaded up the van to max capacity (8 of us) and headed to Biloxi for the day for cheer competition #5.  It was a fun but LONG day...well worth it to not pack four suitcases though.

Anna Lauren's squad was actually the only one in their division so they got an automatic first place.  I think because the girls knew they already had first place they were not as focused and did somewhat of a sloppy performance. Hopefully they will work hard at practice the next two weeks and be ready for New Orleans, which is a big two day competition.

Anna Lauren and Eliam...she is ALWAYS with Ava and Sydney so it is fun to watch her make some new friends too. She has talked about Eliam a lot lately.

Headed to warm-up...

MeMe and Cooper waiting to watch Anna Lauren...

Anna Lauren on her head...and yes, she appears to be a count or two ahead of the others...

Not sure why Anna Lauren's (far right stunt group) head like this..but hey, Sydney is up so I guess that is all that matters!

This picture makes me laugh...Sydney should be on Makena's shoulders (far right) but something went wrong...I think it is funny they are still discussing it...bless their hearts!

Since we were in Biloxi, MeMe came to watch...

Oh how I love these two kiddos and being a part of all their many activities...

This little dude is something else and ALWAYS such a good sport! We laughed yesterday because he was so well behaved the 6 hours we were in the car...probably better behaved than the 3 big girls.

After she performed, she sat just like this for 2 hours and watched the other squads...for now, she LOVES everything about cheer. It is fun to be a part of something when they really LOVE every minute of what they are doing.

This is what Cooper thought of the awards.  Think Matt had worn him out because after the girls performed, he took him to play on the beach for a lil while...Matt said he ran and ran and ran some more.  Was loving the opportunity to be outside since we've been stuck inside so long.  Ready for some better weather!

Cooper's turn is coming though...a friend of ours is coaching a 3/4 year old soccer team so they twisted our arms, and we are going to let Cooper play this Spring rather than waiting to Fall.  Cooper is SUPER excited!

New Orleans Rock and Roll Marathon...

This past Sunday I ran the New Orleans Rock and Roll Marathon, which was my second full marathon.  For years, I had done half marathons and never thought I would do a full...well, I got the fever and did one last March and then again last weekend.  And I must admit...I really like them!

I did my first marathon with my friend, Kelley, from work, but I ran this one with a different group of friends.  Melanie (my left) and I did the full, but we did lots of training runs with Alicia and Amy.  I formed the sweetest friendship with these girls and look forward to continuing to run with them...

Ready for our FULL marathon...my 2nd and Melanie's 1st...

Melanie, Alicia, Amy, and me...

This guy...best cheerleader EVER!  I could NOT do a marathon without him.  And when you see all my smiling pictures throughout the course it is because I saw this guy at the start, mile 3, mile 6, mile 10, mile 13, mile 20, mile 24, and the finish.  See what I'm saying...best cheerleader EVER!

At the start line ready to go...

Let the fun begin...just 26.2 miles to go!

Mile 3...the rest of our crew was running the half marathon. Melanie and I knew we had to maintain our pace so we didn't stay with them...but...we saw them several times throughout the half and would run with them until they got too fast for us.

Mile 6...

Mile 10...

Mile 13...Kelley, friend from work, was also running the full marathon so she ran with us some.

Mile 20...this is like a breath of fresh air to me...13 to 20 can be a little mental but once you hit 20, you know you are on the home stretch.  And 6 more miles is nothing at this point. 

Mile 24...

We had a "secret" goal of 5 hours, but we actually finished in 5 hours and 28 minutes.  At mile 20, we were still on track for 5 hours...but...poor Melanie started feeling sick.  She was dizzy and nauseous...she was awesome and never quit...we just had to do a little more walking than we had planned the last 6 miles.  But you know what, who really cares about time?  

The finish line is in sight, and I'll be honest...I was fighting back a few tears at this point.  Just something about realizing you just ran 26.2 miles...makes you just a little bit proud to say the least!

And we did it!  This was such a fun journey for me...from the training, to the friendships, to the race day!

Sweet Alicia, her husband Will, and Melanie's husband Adam all waited for us to finish even though they finished the half 3 hours before we finished the full.

So proud that Matt is my husband...and yes, everyone was jealous of him because like I said, he is the best cheerleader EVER!  And really...he cheered for many of our friends not just me...I had to sort through 400 plus pictures to find a few of my favorites to blog.

And last but not least...our home away from home.  Sweet Tim and Beth have been so kind to us...we've stayed at their house for cheer competition, the marathon, and now we are going back for another cheer competition (all within a month).  We really love to stay with them because they are the best hostesses and there house is just right off Canal so the perfect location.  We loved seeing it for the marathon all decorated for Mardi Gras...so festive and inviting!