Pizza Topping Snatcher!

When we make homemade pizzas we have a little stinker that steals the toppings off the pizza before it can make it into the oven.

Mother's Day at the KC Zoo!

This year for Mother's Day we went to the KC Zoo. I was hesitant about going to the zoo on Mother's Day because they host an event where Moms get in free. Which registered in my mind as crowded chaos with a 1 1/2 year old. Hmmm... but my mom said lets just do it. If it gets to crowded and Easton can't see anything then we will just go. Not big deal. So Sunday morning we packed all our food and snacks up and headed to my parents for breakfast and gifts. We made it to the zoo by 9:45 am. It wasn't until after lunch when the zoo began getting pretty crowded, but by then we rode most modes of transportations and seen half of the exhibits. My assumption is church got out and people headed to the zoo. My mom and I decided it would be fun to do a picnic lunch instead eat at the zoo (also much more cost effective). So around lunch time we headed to the car, pulled out a big blanket, sat under a tree, and enjoyed a picnic lunch.

Another thing I was concerned about was Easton not having her afternoon nap.  I really thought around 2:00 pm she would have a meltdown. Never happened! Josh and I couldn't have been prouder of our Easton bug. She was a champ that day and really enjoyed the zoo, especially the Elephants playing in the mud and the Polar Bear swimming in the water.

Polar Bear

Uncle Marky explain the Sky Safari Ride.

Daddy and Easton looking at the Africa animals (this made me so nervous... she could slip out so easily)

Monkey!



Add caption



Helping Daddy push

So... just how did we go from our Jeep stroller to the KC Zoo double stroller? On our way out of the zoo to go eat lunch our tire blew. It seriously sounded like a gunshot! My ear rang for a good 5 minutes after it happened. Josh jumped 20 feet and Easton didn't even blink. It was so loud that my Dad and brother, who had went ahead to the benches at the peacock exhibit, said the peacocks went crazy. In fact when we got up to them there were people asking us if that was us! Thus after lunch we spend $9 on a double stroller courtesy of the KC Zoo.  

My Momma!

Easton loved this cave. She would scream and her voice would echo.

Now to brag on my amazing awesome husband. Daddy really came through on Mother's Day. Do you see that pinkish painting in the background in the picture below? That is an Easton masterpiece and was made just for me for Mother's Day.  A while back ago I sent him a text of a watch I really wanted for my birthday or Christmas. Well him and Easton got it for me for Mother's Day. Hello Garmin Forerunner 110! You are my new love! I was so excited to go take it out for a run that I totally spaced out and forgot my IPod. It was a long 3.1 miles listening to myself breathe heavy.

Road to 13.1: Running with the Cows 5K

Running with the cows. Hmm… more like cow running! At least that is what I felt like. My friend, Sexy Lexie, the one who got the ball rolling on The Road to 13.1, kicked booty. She rocked this race. I on the other hand was over it before it started. I woke up at 5 that morning feeling unrested (could be the fact that my daughter work up 3 times between the hours of 2:30 am and 5 am). So I dragged my tired ass out of bed and hit the road to pick up Lex. This race was pretty far south… like 247^th Street off 69 Highway. As we are making our way to park (in a sod farm) it was a total Field of Dreams moment.

Can you see the cars back up on 69 hwy!



Sod Farm Parking Lot!

I woke up that morning not feeling this race. If I could have bailed on Lexie without her wrath of running anger coming down on me I would have. But I didn't and so began a crappy race run.  The race started late due to the overwhelming number of people participating. The half-marathoners started 30 mins. late which pushed the 5k start time back 30 mins. There were still people starting the half 15 mins after the gun sounded. The event was just not prepared for the huge turnout and parking took fooooreeevver! Alright so finally the 5k started and Lexie and I started off at the same pace and stayed that way pretty much the first mile. But then things went to shit for me (literally). I had to poop and I couldn't get rid of a damn side cramp. Ugh... Lex pulled ahead and I sluggishly made my way through the remaining 2.1 miles without pooping my britches. I couldn’t have been happier with that. Trust me the outcome could have been a lot worse!

The course was pretty disappointing. I hate course where you run up the road and make a U-turn and run right back down. Which is what you did with this race. I just saw these fields and barns the first half of the race. Why the hell do I want to see it again the second half? It was a flat course with very few rolling hills. Pretty easy and I should have done much better than I did, but I didn’t so moving on.

By far the best part of this race was the food spread. If you need some inspiration to run this race... look towards the food! It was amazing! Jack Stack baked beans, Papa Murphy’s Pizza, hamburgers, an endless array of desserts, and of course the healthy stuff too, chocolate milk, oranges, and bananas. Lexie and I were both amazed by the abundance of food. Like Lex and I say  “We run so we can eat!”

Oh, and the t-shirts for this race are cute! By far the best one we have received since starting this journey!



Post Race Picture with Cow Bells!

Time: 30:09

Pace: 9:42

Simple Joys... Water

My house needs to be dusted, probably could use a good vacuum, bathrooms can always use a scrubbing, dinner is waiting to be cooked, there is always laundry waiting to be folded. But all that will be there for the rest of my life.

This moment, age, and innocence will not. 





Last week, while I was watering the garden, Easton discovered the joy of the water hose. The magic of water showering her little hands and face as she ran in out of the water was pure happiness. 

Her face says it all... JOY!

 And then she got dirty...



 Grass on her hands...

and her legs!

" Yukey! Gass! Here Momma!"

Papaw and Memaw's Farm

At 5:00 am Wednesday (4/25) Easton and I began our road trip to Arkansas to visit Memaw and Papa. We swung by my parent's house to pick them up and were on the road by 6:00 am.  In order to keep Easton entertained for 7+ hours in the car I bought several new toys for Easton (so did Nana) for the road trip. The plan was to bring each item out when needed. Like when she got bored and restless.  This worked great. I went back and forth with buying a portable DVD player, but in the end opted not to. Easton really doesn't watch that much TV so I figured it would be a waste of money. And since there would always be someone riding in the back with her, she would be entertained.

My mom and I decided to pack picnic-like lunches for the drive down. This worked out wonderfully for many reasons:

1. Saved Money- We didn't spend money at a fast food chain.
2. Saved Time- We didn't have to take the time to stop for lunch
3. Healthier Options- Instead of a greasy cheeseburger, we had tuna salad, strawberries, and pringles.
4. It gave us the option to stop at a park to do lunch. Also allowing time for Easton to burn some energy.

I also ended up making oatmeal bars for breakfast instead of us stopping for breakfast sandwiches or donuts. We did make quite of few stops along the way. In fact we hit a Wal-Mart in every state. Some states multiple WMs. Why WM? Their bathrooms are usually pretty clean, they always have a changing table, and Easton can run and burn off energy in the aisle. Yes, I am that Mom who lets their toddler run crazy in WM.

I really worried that I would get zero sleep while on vacation. But Easton slept like a champ in her pack n play. She even took 2 hour naps the entire time we were down there. I think she was just so damn exhausted from being outside all day long.

The ride home was an eventful one. We were about half-way home and Easton just starts crying. A hard cry. I look back (I am in the front seat, my dad is driving and my mom is next to Easton's car seat) and ask her whats wrong. She says nothing, but just cries. Next thing I know she is gagging and white vomit is coming up. "Dad pull over now!" Easton now crying harder and freaked by what just came out of her mouth. My mom is reaching for wipes and I jump out of the car to get Easton. I am thinking what the hell just happened. While my mom cleans up he car seat. My dad and I work on changing Easton's clothes. Of course her suitcase is at the very back buried. Ugh... so I do what any mom would do and rummaged through her dirty clothes bag. We did the best we could with what we had a the time. It at least got us off the side of the road and down to the next WM where we could clean the car seat up better and get to Easton's suitcase. What made the whole thing horrible is that I had just gave Easton her milk not 30 minutes before. So the car ride home reeked of soured milk. What I think happened was that Easton got chocked on a chip which made her vomit. And several days later she is still talking about the chip and being sick. Pretty much every time we get in her car seat in the morning.

I now bring you just a few of the MANY pictures I took in Arkansas:

One of our MANY Wal-Mart stops on the way down there.

 


Easton found one of her Road Trip toys



Sticker time! She loved playing with these stickers.



Milk with Papaw

 Easton really enjoyed fishing. I think it helped that she caught a fish as soon as she put the line in the water.



Fishing with Papa



Proudly holding her fish

She was not afraid of it all! But get a little dirt on her feet or hands and she has a melt down.

This is my dad and papaw working on my new project.... Lets just say I took a large chunk of Arkansas home with me. Details to come later!

Bathing her Barbie

Flying a kite

Feeding the fishies

Waiting to ride the mule with Memaw.

Eating my aunt Rita's homemade strawberry ice cream!