and she's off

Ali ran in her first race this weekend!! She did awesome. She started running last summer a little bit and we noticed that she has such natural running ability. From the very beginning she had perfect form and was able to go..go..go! The first run we did together she did about a mile no problem...no stopping!!! And since then she has become my running partner.

We didn't do much over the winter but the first time we got out this spring we did 2.5 miles and she was at least a half a block ahead of me the entire time. She only needed a break when she got cramps at one point. (she only stopped for a minute and was off again)...

Brandon signed up to run the Cleveland half marathon again this year and found out there was a kids run the day before so he signed her up..................

** Saturday....race day finally came and she was excited and ready to go!!! She ran a quarter of a mile and did awesome!!!! She came in 2nd place for the girls and about 5th overall!!!

No stopping....no cramps!!! Keep it up girlie, girl!!!!!

Ali and Riley before the race
Riley ran too!! (the son of our friends the Atkins and one of the kids I watch)

Ali and I before the race

race warm-ups

waiting

their off

go Ali

almost to the finish line

She finished!!! Yeah

Girls Night Out!!

On Saturday night, thanks to Nick who gave me tickets for my birthday and Zach & Shally who gave Ali and I tickets for Christmas, we got to go to the High school Musical Ice Tour! It was so much fun to watch Ali get so excited and to listen to her sing along with all the songs. She loved it especially when the pink golf cart was being driven around on the ice!!! What a great way to spend time together. I love this kind of stuff!!! Thanks Zach,Shally & Nick!!!!!

Saturday morning breakfast

What you might not know about Brandon is that he does a lot of the cooking around here! I'm not quite sure what happened because up until we moved from Bellevue(WA) to Bonney Lake(WA) I was the sole cook but something somehow changed and now Brandon does a lot of the cooking or we do it together.

Last night we were hanging out at the Young's and a few of the neighborhood girls Ali included spent the night there. Brandon decided to invite the kids over for breakfast. They finally showed up around 10:30 and were ready to start helping B cook.


They cooked up a bunch of panckes,sausage,hashbrowns,eggs & OJ. They must have been hungry because Ali and Isabel each ate 3 pancakes and Katie ate 7 yes 7!!

Oh, you ask "where was Mitch"?


Mitch and Isaac we being typical boys playing x-box while everyone else was slaving away in the kitchen.

Yummy!!!

look who lost a tooth!

A new gymnast in the family!

Ali started tumbling lessons this week and she was so EXCITED! Now, she has never had any kind of gymnastics or tumbling lessons other than things that Kimmy has taught her at home. A few weeks ago we went and did a test to see what level class she would be in and she was and advanced beginner.
After her first lesson last night, her teacher pulled me aside and said she wants her to move up the the next level.
Apparently, I should have been listening to Kim for the last 5 years and put Ali in Gymnastics sooner because she seems to be a natural, she was the only one in the class that could do a back walk-over with no help!!!
Looks like after her tumbling session is over we my be getting into the real gymnastics!!!!


Way to go ALI!!!!

PIANO GIRL!!

Ali finally started piano lessons this week & she loved her first lesson!!!!! Brandon has been worried for the last 2 years about her being to young to take lessons and I kept telling him she was at the perfect age..

I was right, she caught on so fast and her teacher was very impressed at how well she did for never having had a lesson. She is loving it so far and has been practicing non-stop. I tried getting a video of her the other night after her lesson because she was playing and singing at the top of her lungs,but I was too late and she was done by the time I got the camera ready. Next time!!!

A DAY AT THE FARM.

Ali's class had their first field trip today and I wasn't going to go because they already had too many mom's going but, at the last minute her teacher told me they could use my help so I went.

We went to Hale Farm which is an area where the Hale family setteled and built their little community. They showed the kids how the pioneers back in 1832 lived.

It was pretty neat and some of the kids even said they would have liked to live like the pioneers did.

I thought the school house and the church were fun so I took some pictures..

Sports Weekend

A few pictures of Mitch playing football and Ali playing soccer. I had a hard time getting any good pictures of Mitch. Maybe next week.

Ali's getting too big!!!!!

This morning as we were getting ready for church, I asked the kids what they wanted for breakfast. Mitch asked if i could make him a waffel (frozen of course) and Ali said "I will get mine". She took two pieces of bread and two eggs out of the fridge. As the four of us were sitting in the kitchen Brandon and Mitch already eating and me watching Ali trying to figure out what she is going to make herself.
She asked me to get her a bowl since she couldn't reach them and proceeded to crack the eggs and scramble them up. She grabbed a frying pan and sprayed it with cooking spray turned on the stove asked what temperature to set it to and made herself a very good breakfast of French toast all by herself. (and I really mean by herself, i did not do anything but get the bowl out of the cupboard).

Tonight she said mom what can I do. I told her why don't you help me make dinner. I walked into the office to see what Brandon was doing and when I came out I walked into the kitchen and Ali was there again peeling and cutting up baby cucumbers. She put them in a bowl added a little oil and vinegar dressing mixed it up put it in the fridge and we can't wait to eat them up!!!!!!!!

Twin Day!!!

Everytime Ali's school class reads a new story they get to celebrate by dressing up like whatever the theme of the story was. Last week they had baseball day and they all wore baseball clothes. This week they read Ruby the Copycat and yesterday they had twin day. Ali and her friend Isabel decided to dress alike they chose their outfit without having any help from the moms!!!
Do you think they look like twins!!!!!!!

SHU-SHI

Brandon and Ali decided that they were going to have a "special night" and one of their favorite things to do is make homemade sushi. YUK!!! They make california and rainbow rolls with crab and they also make another roll that they top with raw salmon. Ali loves to eat pieces of raw salmon while they are putting the rolls together. Just a couple of pics of the two of them with their SHU-SHI (as Ali calls it).