Duane's First Marathon

Duane decided several months ago that he wanted to run a marathon and I had no doubt in my mind that he could. He decided to do the Airforce Marathon. So he started going for long runs on Saturday mornings with a group that meets up at a runners supply store called Up and Running. It two minutes from our house. When I say long runs, we're talking 15 plus miles. He's met some great people through the running group. This was in addition to some short run around 6 miles during the week at work. To me 6 miles is a long run! But not to the energizer bunny:) As the day of the run got closer, I felt myself getting more and more nervous. You would have thought that I was running the race! That week the girls and I made a big banner and some signs. Duane and I did our best to figure out a good spot to watch for him. The girls and I along with Aunt Susan who came for a visit piled in the car and headed towards the Nutter Center. A luck would have it, I missed the turn for the Nutter Center parking lot and we ended up finding an awesome place to set up camp. We parked in a near by neighborhood, then made a 5 minute walk at the end of an off ramp where the runners were exciting the highway. I was so worried that we missed him, but I kept my fingers crossed. Sure enough, about 10 minutes later he came in to view. I can not put to word the proud that I felt in my heart for Duane at that moment. I almost burst into tears. At that point he had already run 22 miles and I was so glad that we were there to cheer him on and give him a boost for the last 4 miles. We all yelled and cheered as loud as we could as we waved our signs. What a moment for our family! I'll never forget it! But the moment didn't last because we had our own race to run. While Duane was finishing up his last four mile, we ran back to the car, loaded up, drove to the Air Force Museum, got on a shuttle bus and made it to the finish line, literally with in two minutes of Duane crossing the finish line. I was amazed that we made it were able to see the end of his race. He was clearly exhausted, but was standing on two feet. He finished the run in just over 4 hours. Of course he wished he could have done it under 4 hours. That;s just crazy talk to me! That is outstanding for a first time marathon runner! When he got home we had a finish line waiting for him to cross as he pulled his car into the garage. I guess you can say that lots of people run a marathon. But it's all the more special that Duane was able to train and never sacrifice his time with his family. I'm so proud of him and so glad that we could all be a part of such a special day for him. He continues to be an inspiration to me and such a wonderful example to his daughters.

October Birthday Celebrations!

The week before Mallory's birthday, the swine flu hit our house. Madison had a confirmed case so we had to reschedule Mallory's party for the following weekend. Next Mallory and I ended up getting sick too. Unfortunately she was not feeling great on her birthday. But she hung in there enough to go to dinner at Applebee's and open her gifts and have some ice cream cake. By the following week, everyone was feeling much better and we were able to have a quaint, little tea party for her. Like always we were juggling schedules while in the process of preparing for her party. Madison and Duane were finishing up a soccer tournament while the rest of us were volunteering in the church nursery that morning. When we all got home we went straight into party mode. We were happy to have the Nels girls there along with our girls. Everyone picked out some dress up clothes and got fancied up with special make-up. Then we had ourselves a grand tea party. Afterwards everyone made a princess crown and spent the rest of the time playing. It was the most low stress birthday party I've ever carried out. I really enjoyed planning the party and transforming our dinning room into a tea room with odds and ends I found around the house. It was awesome! Everyone had fun and I could actually relax and enjoy the party myself. Mallory looked like the bell of the ball. It didn't matter to her if there were 5 kids or 50. She knew she was special and that was the most important thing. I can't believe my sweet, baby girl is 3! She's growing up so fast! We celebrated Duane's 37th birthday with a family dinner and carrot cake. It took me a year, but I finally managed to get him the bicycle helmet he has been wanting along with a few good books. Now a days the kids get all the bells and whistles:)

Fall Fun!

Indian summer didn't happen in Ohio this year. It turned cool in mid-September and it stayed that way. More crispy fall days to enjoy and a change in wardrobe just a little sooner than expected. We enjoyed a nice warm day when we went to Popcorn Festival after one of Madison's soccer tournament in Beavercreek. PVN had a "Little Elks" Rally. This was Molly's first official school activity. We had fun playing games and doing crafts. We made a trip to Windmill farm again. The hayride was as crazy as ever not to mention quite smelly! We had gotten a lot of rain and it was very muddy. The girls got to pick their own pumpkins. They picked pumpkins out that matched their size. Small, medium and large. We enjoyed caramel apples, cider and kettle corn after the hayride. We visited Treadway Gardens to pick up some special things to decorate the yard for the fall season. We bought some mums, pumpkins, a corn stalk and a bale of hay. The girls enjoyed decorating the house inside and out. The month of October was unkind to us with illness. No one in the house escaped it. We had two family photo shoots with Jodee, the first at Cox Arboretum and the second in a beautiful spot in Waynesville. Mallory wasn't feeling well at the first shoot, she we had to make a second attempt at a group shot. And we got a great one! Jodee did such an awesome job! It was the perfect time of year for an outdoor picture! Luckily the weather held out and we were able to make it back to Tom's Corn Maze. It was 73 degrees, but windy and cloudy. We started out when it was light and finished in the dark. We used the light from the camera to get us through the last 3 sections of the maze. It was pretty dark and pretty muddy. The girls were a little scared in the dark, but Duane and I thought it was pretty cool. We all did a dance on the victory bridge when we finished. The next day was Halloween. We got the girls all dressed up in their costumes. Mallory was a China doll. She wore the pajamas that Duane brought home from a trip to China. Molly was Super girl. She made the perfect Super girl! Madison was Hermione from Harry Potter. She had a striking resemblance too! We started out with the Oakes family and meet up later with the Winfields and the other Scott family. It was a blast. All three girls had special friends their age to trick-or-treat with. Plus it was great for us to catch up with friends. After trick-or-treat we had the Oakes over for some Halloween "spirits". The kids had a great time playing and we enjoyed visiting with our favorite neighbors. The kids really made the best of the daylight hours. They played outside with the neigbors kids as much as possible. We enjoyed the fall!

The First Broken Bone!

Duane and I both knew that the day would come when one of the kids would end up with a broken bone. When we the last appointment with Dr. Albers, our pediatric orthopedist, when Molly had congenital hip dysplasia when she was a baby, we joked that it probably wouldn't be the last time that we'd be in that office. And we were right. Earlier this week Duane and I divided and conquered as we do so many times. I went to an exercise class and he took the girls to Madison's soccer training. They played at the playground while Madison was at training. This past spring Molly was so proud because she finally mastered the monkey bars. She was showing her skills when she lost her grip and fell. She landed on her arm. She cried a little and complained that it hurt. But she could bend it and it didn't look swollen. She woke up that night in tears. So Duane gave her some ice and some Motrin. That seemed to do the trick. So we sent her to school the next morning, still thinking it was probably just bruised. That evening she was really complaining of pain. So I decided to take her to Children's to have it x-rayed after Duane got home from work. In the mean time Madison and I had a blow up because she forgot her homework and her coat at school for the third time in two weeks, Duane had a flat tire on the way home from work and I discovered that the toilet overflowed "again", only this time it damaged the ceiling in laundry room. I was at the end of my rope and was ready to hang myself with what was left of it! Finally Molly and I headed Children's. I was still convinced that it couldn't be broken, but I had to confirm it. It was a two hour wait and the waiting room was packed with every kind of flu and infection you could think of. We came with a sore wrist and I dreaded what we would leave it. But it's these times that you have to really appreciate the kindness of others. After 30 minutes the x-ray tech came out and took us back for x-rays, bumping us way ahead of all the sick cases. She said she couldn't stand the idea of a healthy kids being exposed to all that sickness. I was so grateful! They took the x-rays and sure enough, it that sweet, little wrist was fractured in 2 places. I couldn't believe it. Of course even though I probably handled it like most mothers would have, I felt terribly guilty for not bringing her sooner. The doctor assured me that I did every thing. I just couldn't believe how tough she was! They splinted her wrist and we made an appointment with the orthopedist for a few days later. She rarely complained of being in pain. It was a challenge keeping it dry during showers but we managed with a little creativity. Plastic wrap and a plastic grocery bag worked nicely:) We decided on a hot pink water proof cast. It was a little extra for the water proof cast, but it was well worth it! The doctor said they were minor fracture and she only needs to keep the cast on for 3 weeks. Even though we wish that Molly wouldn't have gotten hurt, we were very lucky. She should be as good as new in a few weeks. It takes a lot to keep our Molly girl down! This was just a bump in the road for her thank goodness!