Boy howdy, these legs were tired on Sunday and Monday. Plum worn out to the bone. Worked hard and feeling it. I could go on but I think you get the picture.
Melinda and I had planned way far in advance to schedule our husbands to take over the boys (we have 5 of them) and for our little tired legs (and the rest of our bodies) to hang out in OKC after the race. We got a hotel room in Bricktown and decided we deserved some R and R after our Marathon completion.
The night was filled with coffee, laughter, a short 45 minute nap, finally an awesome shower, a hot tub soak for those sore legs, dinner at Toby Keith's, and an extremely funny girl movie called "The Other Woman".
We went to bed late (after being up for 20 hours) and slept in late the next morning. That felt amazing! Breakfast was at IHOP where we continued to stuff in the calories we had burned off the day before.
I am so thankful for our husbands who willingly allowed us 24 hours away to recoup. I am even more thankful for an amazing woman like Melinda who trained and ran with me (even when she originally didn't want to). She beat me in time for the race and I TOTALLY fine with that because I really feel like I did the best race for me that I could possibly do.
Thanks Melinda for an awesome Sunday/Monday. I hope to do it again but this time maybe I will just be standing on the sidelines cheering for you. You gotta get that 1:59 right??!!!
Race day finally arrived. April 27th. I had been training for this day, this one race, for quite some time. I got friends to run and train with me, family to help with 
my boys while I ran, a place to stay for the weekend, and plans for that night with a great friend. I was ready.
Until 4am arrived and then I didn't want to get out of bed. That's REALLLLYYY early. I did it though. I crawled out and sleepily put on my race clothes and shoes. I could see a storm looming in the distance but had been praying about it not hitting OKC. My prayers 
were not answered the way I wanted them to be:(
I drove to the race for the 5:30am vigil for the OKC men, women, and children who lost their lives on April 19, 1995. That got rained out. The rain began pouring. Lightening 
everywhere around us. Golf ball size hail on its way. Great. Just great. Talk about nerves! Mentally checked out? Yes, I was! That's not good when you are about to run 13.1 miles! We sat there, thankfully we found an awesome church that held thousands of us and fed us free 
breakfast. We sat there for 2 HOURS. Kept waiting and praying they wouldn't cancel the race and all this training we had been putting in.
God answered those prayers for me and at 8:30am we began the race with a light rain. Thankfully, it stopped raining pretty quickly, the winds died down, and the storm moved on.
For those people who have ran in a Marathon before (either Full or Half) because it really doesn't matter, you know the absolute joy you feel when you see your friends and family there to support you. I can't tell you what it does for you,
but it gives you something to look forward to and the desire and drive to push onto the finish. My family was waiting for me around mile 7 1/2 and I knew that. I couldn't wait to see them and to hear them cheering for me and grab some kisses from my boys. I am so thankful for all the family and friends that came out for me. I feel so blessed to have awesome people like this in my life.
Will I do another one? I have already been asked this. My answer? Probably not. This was my 2nd Half Marathon and I think I am good now. Yes, I will still do 5k, 10k, and 15k's. Those I can say for sure I will participate in. I am not saying NEVER to another half, but my answer is a very STRONG probably not.
As for my goal of 2 hours? Well, I got close. I finished in 2:07 (which was 9 minutes faster than my first marathon). I was pretty pleased with 2:07 and thankful that I didn't die or get injured. It's the little things right???
We took this picture tonight after Will's game because I wanted to snap a shot with him in front of our pretty landscaping. Little did I realize that when I looked at the picture later in the evening how tall and BIG my oldest is looking. Gone is the baby fat and kissable cheeks. Hello is the 6 pack abs, skinny legs, homework, and over night sleepovers. I looked at this picture and thought, "Geez. He's getting too tall. Give it 2 more years and this boy is almost gonna be my height. 5 years and he might be taller than me. 10 years and I will FOR SURE be the littliest and shortest person in this house." Not liking this. I do, however, like how even when Will loses his first game of the season he handles it like a pro and shows great sportsmanship on and off the field. He's a good boy and it makes my heart happy that he's mine. Too tall or not:)
Besides the tornadoes that grace our state during months of April and May I really do love these two months the best in Oklahoma. Summer is too hot, Winter is too cold and icy, Fall is usually pretty good but can still be too 
hot for my liking, and Spring is wet. Spring (also because it's my birthday) has always been my favorite. Perfect sit outside and not die from heat weather. 
Perfect new life and growth after a cold, dreary, and dead winter. I love all the new sprouts I see, the color on the trees, the buzzing of the bees as they busily pollinate, the green grass, and the bright vibrant flowers of all kinds reemerging. Spring is beautiful and FINALLY spring is here. I couldn't be more happy about it:)
Our second part of Easter was spent over at my Aunt and Uncle's house. It was just my family, my sisters family, my parents, and my aunt and her sons. The 6 kids played outside for virtually the entire day as we all pitched in and bought a huge 
jumper/bouncer thingy for them all to play in. They had a great time and were asleep by 7:45pm that night completely 100% exhausted so I say it was money $$$$ well spent:)
I had a wonderful time with my family and am so thankful that we live close by to celebrate holidays, birthdays, etc with them. I had to get a few pictures with the original Fournier clan. Not too many pictures now are taken with just us 4 or just the sisters anymore so hope you enjoy!
Yesterday was my 35th birthday. I can't say I really enjoyed the number of this one. Saying mid 30's is really just the peak before I start the downhill plunge to 40. Oh well, I feel great. I believe that mentally, spiritually, and physically I am in the best shape of my life so I guess being 35 isn't too bad. Amazingly enough, I didn't have much trouble turning 30 (which I know this 
birthday is hard for a lot of people). At 30, I was pregnant with Owen and having a really great pregnancy. I felt good, hey I was young enough to have a baby right? 30's not bad?!!
I was pregnant with this little guy who is now almost 5. He will turn 5 this summer and still keeps me on my toes each and every day. He makes me laugh more than anyone and has a very special place in his heart for his daddy. Oh, he loves me too. But NO ONE compares to "best friend daddy". I love it, Steven LOVES it and we wouldn't change our O Man for anything!
Something I would have changed for my birthday? Maybe NOT choosing this day to run 12 miles? Yeah, that would've 
been a good idea! It's okay though because next weekend is the OKC Marathon and last night was officially our LAST long run before the race. I will be extremely thankful to have this race behind me and cross that finish line. I am ready to have my weekends back and not have to think of them as "when am I gonna be able to run" weekends.
I am uber thankful for this group of girls that has gotten me t
hrough this set of training. I really enjoy running with others because if I were alone I would be tempted to quit with each additional mile. These girls encourage me, never quit either, show up on time, and give it their all. Last night we had an awesome time of 12 miles in 1 hr 50 minutes. I am pumped to "maybe" be able to reach my goal of a Half Marathon in 2 hours. My first half was completed in 2:14 and honestly for my first half and for it being 12 DEGREES outside I was really happy with that one.
Thank you to everyone, friend and family included, that made my birthday so special and memorable. Thank you, Jesus, for the perfect day you gave me yesterday. Not too many of my birthdays in April are sunny and not rainy so when I do have one I appreciate it even more.
Here's to 35!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Saturday morning finally came. I have been looking forward to this day since October when Melinda and I went to the last VMD in Tulsa. Oh my, this place is amazing. Clothes, furniture, decorations, boutiques, pictures, jewelry, flea market finds, tables, lamps, frames...you name it, it's there and I LOVE IT!
You know what else I love? I love that we got photo bombed! So funny. We took a few more shots to move the bomber but the one with him in the backgroud actually turned out to be my favorite because I thought it was so comical.
I love spending hours upon hours just walking and browsing and shopping. Sometimes I buy, sometimes I just get ideas, but it is ALWAYS fun.
We can't wait for September. It's already on my calendar!!
Oh my goodness! There's just something about seeing your "baby" decked out in his baseball gear for the first time. I could just sop him up with a biscuit he is so cute. I might be a touch bias though:)
#11 did awesome for his first game as a Tiger. Not only could he hit the ball almost further than anyone else...he played pitcher and caught all the balls hit and threw them to first base. He made every throw and was quite the power house with hurling balls towards innocent littles waiting on first base to run. Duck kids. Owen's on the field.
GO TIGERS!!!
This boy is so sweet and busy and keeps me on my toes DAILY if not HOURLY (that's more like it). He is a lover, a peacemaker, a giver, and an encourager. He has the best laugh of any child I have ever heard and one of the biggest and loudest voices I have ever heard too. He's busy to the 100th degree. He entertains himself and plays well alone. Used to (when he was 1 and 2) I would catch him eating things not to be eaten...ie. Qtips, cotton balls, hair balls, dirt bunnies, deoderant...the list could go on and on. As he's aged he's learned not to do those things but still to find something humorous to do while I take a 10 minute shower. As I exited the shower this morning, this is what I found. A hair clippy extravaganza! I think he pulls off the look nicely!
Then, just a few hours later he goes out in our yard and picks all our gorgeous new spring flowers from the ground. He collects them proudly and lines them up just for me. He walks me to the pile to present his find to me. He says to me with big beautiful eyes, "beautiful flowers for my beautiful momma." I couldn't even be upset about my missing flowers anymore. He is a keeper!
I was thinking back to when Will began playing baseball. He was 3 years old. Man oh man, I thought he was so BIG when he was playing. Now, I 
think he was just a baby. A really skinny, little baby. Look at him running. He was so little his batting helmet fell over his eyes.
I know I will look back to him now at over 7 playing and think, "oh my, he's such a baby." But come on, look how cute he was!!!
Spring baseball has begun! Last night kicked off the first of 24 games in 6 weeks for the Kueny family. Will was so excited all day about his 7:30pm game. I mean, he talked about it before school, during school (as his teacher told me), after school, on the way to the game, and as soon as we got 
there he was still so thrilled that I could hardly contain him in the car any longer. This child loves sports. Period. Almost any sport he tries he loves and has some natural talent. He is just like his daddy.
It had rained off and on all day. He was quite the worrier when it came to the weather. He knew that they would play through rain but if lightening happened the game would be cancelled. So, can you guess what he prayed about while praying for our dinner? Yep, no lightening! Boy got his wish and not only were there no storms, there was no rain the whole time we were out there too!
His awesome teacher, Miss Williamson, came to see Will, Gavin, and Camden play. These boys all were in the same class and on the same last year too. I have a Kindergarten picture with another great teacher, Miss Armstrong, that looks very similar to that one above:)
My little ball player has grown quite a bit since he first stepped on a field at 3 years old. The Bulls started the season with a come from behind win at 7-6. Go Bulls!
Yesterday Steven and I decided to take each boy on a date. Even though we only have two kids it is sometimes hard to just do one on 
one things with them with all the hustle and bustle of life. Cue...Captain America. Cue...any super hero for that matter. Owen and Daddy love them all. Owen knows hardly any letters beyond O-W-E-N and W-I-L-L, but ask that child about a superhero? Get ready to hear it ALL. He knows every one, their power, their colors, their enemies. It's crazy. So, my 4 year old took his Daddy to see Captain America and sat through the whole 2 hour and 20 minute movie and then cried when it was over because he wanted to see it again:)
Will was not interested at all in going to see a superhero movie. Yet, ANOTHER way our boys are different. He could care less about them and doesn't enjoy action movies in any form. He wanted to take me to lunch. He choose Chili's because that's where we went last time on a date almost a year ago. He thinks I love it since we went there last time and wanted to make me happy so he picked there again. Such a sweet boy. I could have cared less where we went but it spoke volumes to me about why he picked that place.
Will and I followed lunch up with 2 hours in Barnes and Noble. This child is after my heart. He loves to read and browse and drink coffee. He's only 7 but the love is there and I couldn't be more happy about it;)
We had a great weekend and hope you all did too!
Like most people whom live full lives complete with children, work, and errands I bet your weekends are pretty jam packed. What? No? That's just us? Can't be!
This weekend our pastor talked about having a "Sixth Day" job. Something that can better improve your life financially so you can freely bless others and live the life God wants for you. I have been so thankful over the last year for house flipping. Is it stressful? Yes! Overall 
though I very much enjoy it and find it a great avenue for us to spend extra time doing something that greatly benefits us financially.
Friday we began our weekend with closing on house #3. Completely finished and SOLD and done with. #4 and 5 are still in the "construction" zone and will not be ready for another 4-8 weeks. This house is done and sold and among a few other things, the sale of ONE HOUSE will allow our boys to go to private school for an entire school year. Baby steps folks, but the first year is paid for and we are beyond blessed.
To celebrate on Friday night we went to Cracker Barrel. Yes, we are "that" wild:) Honestly, I just didn't feel like cooking and we had a little extra dough so off to CB we went. The boys had never been and boy were they in Heaven. They loved that place! What's NOT to love in my book? I left there and verbally told anyone who would listen that "I would eat hash brown casserole every day of my life." I seriously mean that.
Good thing I ran today because I pigged out last night. Speaking of running...it is T-22 days until the OKC Marathon. This training has been way easier on me physically, mentally, and stress wise. It's not easy, but nothing this demanding (time and body wise) is easy. I am again thankful for the girls God
has thrown into my life to aid and help me along this journey. I have met many awesome ladies through running and even though I never thought I would do another long race, I am very much looking forward to April 27th. More specifically, April 27th at about 8:30am when we will be completed:) Doesn't that look like a fun bunch of girls to run 10 miles with on a Saturday afternoon? I think so!
Now...I think I deserve some more hash brown casserole. Anyone? Anyone at all.....?
