Soaring Wings Half Marathon

Me and Mom before walking the Soaring Wings Half Marathon in Conway, AR
Saturday, October 27, 2012

On Saturday, Mom and I walked 13.1 miles together. It took us over 3 hours, but we did it! Last year was my first year to run the half marathon and I really enjoyed training for and participating in the race. I decided I wanted to be a part of the race again this year, but knowing I would be 27 weeks into my third pregnancy on race day, I opted to walk. I asked Mom to train and walk with me and she agreed! She was my cheerleader last year, so I'm glad she decided to actually join in this year. There is a Soaring Wings half marathon training group at our church and I think we started out with over 100 people this year. I always looked forward to the Saturday morning run/walks with the entire group. I think we're the second largest training group in the state for this particular race. It was a beautiful day on Saturday and it was great to help support such a unique ministry as the Soaring Wings Ranch.

Our training group from First Baptist Church-and that's not even all of them!

A Day at the Pumpkin Patch

A couple weeks ago we made our way to Schaefers and Collins Pumpkin Patch and Farm in Mayflower with Auntie Ams, Elsy Kate, Mrs. Becky, Bethany, Carson, Brant, Mrs. Kristen, Melissa, Beckett and Cooper. The kids had a blast playing on the (many) playgrounds, petting the animals, going on a hayride and picking pumpkins right off the vines! It's one of my favorite family Fall traditions and I love that they actually grow their own pumpkins at the farm. So fun!

Owen found the perfect pumpkin

Elsy and Olivia

Owen and Olivia admiring the animals.

The kids making their way through the pumpkin patch

Elsy Kate

Cooper, Owen, Beckett and Carson

Olivia enjoying the swing

Happy 5th Birthday, Owen!

We celebrated Owen's 5th birthday with a family picnic at the park on Sunday afternoon. All the grandparents, Uncle Cade, Cha Cha Joe Joe, Auntie Ams, Elsy Kate and Carson were there to help us celebrate with our sweet boy. We had fun eating, relaxing and watching all the cousins play together. Owen received many gifts (mainly Legos-he was thrilled!) and showed off his bike riding skills on his new set of wheels. He's into dinosaurs these days, as you can see from his bike and helmet which he very specifically picked out. Family, pizza, cake, a playground, Legos and dinosaurs...I'm not sure a 5th birthday party gets much better than that!

Owen Thomas Hill-you are our favorite boy!

We love you!

Chef Olivia

My Cuties!

Tom Bagby flew in from South Carolina to take pictures at Mother's Day Out this year. I'm not sure how long he's been the official photographer for MDO, but apparently long enough to keep the tradition despite the distance! I was nervous about my kiddos getting their picture made together. I honestly don't think I have any photos of them together looking at the camera and smiling at the same time-they are too wild and wiggly! Tom worked his magic and I LOVE the way this one turned out!

Happy 2nd Birthday, Olivia Tonette!

Our sweet baby girl is two years old today...and not so much of a baby anymore! Olivia truly keeps us smiling and laughing, so we celebrated with a little family gathering tonight. Our theme was "You Are My Sunshine" because she is definitely a little ray of sun brightening our days. We had a lot of fun; she LOVED all the attention and requested we sing her "Happy Birthday" multiple times (which, of course, we did). She happily ate only the icing off her cupcake that Meme had made for her-a preference clearly passed down from that same Meme :) Olivia received new clothes, a high chair for her baby dolls, money and a new play table. She loved everything and did a little happy dance when she saw Mama and Deeda carrying her table inside. It really was a fun party which was the exclamation point on an all-around good day for our little sunshine birthday girl!

Mommy Day

Owen needed a mommy day yesterday instead of going to Mother's Day Out. I happily agreed, so after we dropped off Olivia, who always loves the chance to play and interact with kiddos, we set out on our adventure for the day. We went to Wal-Mart and bought seeds for planting: pumpkins, watermelons, green beans, tomatoes, sunflowers and marigolds. It was a random assortment to be sure, but it's what Owen wanted and who am I to argue with such a colorful selection? Owen has a Winnie the Pooh book his Nana gave him that is all about gardening, so he's been wanting to try his hand since the dead of winter. We took the first step today, but we'll see how it goes since my mother seems to be hoarding all the green thumbs in the family.

We ate a quick lunch with Dee-da and as we were leaving Chick-Fil-A, Owen noticed a bunch of tiny, white flower petals covering the pavement. He said, "Maybe it's snowing, Momma." I told him I didn't think it was snow because it was too warm outside for snow. He promptly replied, "God can do miracles." I agreed-it was a sweet moment of our day.

We rounded out the afternoon with plenty of running and playing at the park. What a beautiful March day with my favorite little boy!