You always hear the saying, "You won't understand how much your parents love you until you become a parent." I never really understood that to be true until I BECAME A PARENT. The slogan, "You would die for your children" becomes an absolute truth the moment you hold your babies in your arms. Fathers are the best and a total necessity in our home. There are just things that Steven does better, quicker, and easier. Could I do them if I had to? Of course, but I don't want to. See, I'm a mom. Mom's do mom things and dad's do dad things. To all those single mom's or dad's out there who have to fulfill both roles I salute you. MAJORLY salute you!
My mom raised all girls. My sister is raising all girls. I birthed boys. I never saw myself as a "boy mom" because all I had ever been around was girls. My sister, my friends, all my cousins....Then I had boys. Boys are so much easier in many ways but do have their challenges and differences. You have to be okay with dirt, noise, nudity, sports, injuries, more nudity, and more loudness. My boys love me with a fierceness that can only be described as pure love (and I am totally fine with that). They protect me when I get hurt, they love on me when I'm sad, they encourage me when I'm down, and they compliment me when they are feeling extra sweet. I know they learn a lot of this from Steven because he sets such a great example for them.
This Mother's Day I got to the spend the whole day with my boys and with my parents. I invited my mom over for some good ole' boy fun complete with mud, water, messes, basketball, and nudity (all outside). In a matter of 5 hours we had done trampoline jumping and all of those above things I had mentioned. I believe my boys went through 2-3 changes of clothing while my parents were here. It's rained INCHES in the last week, mixed with mud and sand...you get the picture! My hubby grilled out NY Strip steaks, we made corn on the cob, salad, and potatoes and ate till we couldn't eat anymore. My mom and Will made her world famous (not really but almost) rice crispy treats. Those things were 90% gone before dinner was even ready. I enjoyed my time tremendously with my wonderful boys, hubby, and parents. I pray that each of you mother's were blessed this Sunday by your families and praised and adored for the awesome Mother that you are!
As much as Owen loves super hero's and animals is as much as Will adores sports. It's pretty much any sport but his favorites are: football, basketball, baseball, and golf. Sound like anyone you know? That's right...Steven Kueny! Will reminds me so much of his dad when he plays sports. He's pretty good at most every sport he tries (just like Steven), he works VERY hard at it and practices the sport in season in all his free time (just like Steven), his hard work pays off on the field, on the court, on the course (just like Steven).
Our only stipulation when it comes to sports is that he also keeps his grades up the whole time. If the grades begin to fall because of practice time, game time, and sports time than he must quit. Will has never (and I don't believe ever will) let his grades get so slow that he must quit sports. That would be like asking him to cut off and arm or leg.
Currently he is playing baseball for Lincoln. They have a 6-1-1 record as of today. Last night he helped his team to an 11-5 victory and earned the game ball for 6 outs playing first base and a few catches of pop fly balls for outs. I am super proud of this child. This is his first year to play 1st base (a position he's always wanted to try) and his practice and determination are paying off each time he takes the field. Great work Will and amazing teamwork Lincoln Bulldogs. This Momma fan is super proud of all of you!
This weekend Owen got to do a few things that were extra special for him: 1. He got to stay up waaayyy too late to watch the Mayweather/Pacquaio fight. I think it was around 11:30 pm that he finally crawled up on my lap and said "I'm not sleepy" and within 2 minutes I heard him snoring:)
The next morning he got to wake up and head to the new Avenger movie with his Daddy, Pappy, and "Uncle" Chris. This child has been waiting for this day. He was beyond ready to go. The Iron Man costume was worn today from 11am to bedtime. It only came off so the stinky boy could have a bath. This child loves Superhero's to the extreme. I love that about him!
Another fun thing we got to do this weekend was watch Steven's basketball team win the championship! The boys love to go to his games every Sunday afternoon. His team was really good this year (obviously) and only lost 1 game. That 1 game they lost they only had 1/2 their team show up and not one player got a rest. They still didn't lose that by much, but that was their one loss of the season. Tonight, they won the championship game and no two kids cheered for their dad louder than Will and Owen. So sweet to see them happy and routing for him to do well!
This week starts the countdown to summer. 15 more days of school and our freedom of the hot weather and pool days begin. I am so ready! Bring on sun, sand, and pools!
You've seen one cavern, you've seen them all right? Yes, that's pretty much right. We were running out of things to do in West Virginia since it was so wet, cold, and rainy. It was sweatshirt weather for sure and only 42 degrees. We had heard about the Lost World Caverns in Lewisburg WV so we headed there. Hey, 52 degrees is warmer than it was outside and no matter the temperature on the outside world, the caverns stay the same temp.
Caverns really do look all alike. You got your brown stalagmites, your white long ones, your short brown ones, your wet ones, your dry ones, tall, and short and scrunchy. I guess if I had the occupation of Ross Geller (from Friends) I would enjoy it more (even though I realize he was mainly into dinosaurs).
No trip to a cavern is complete without a cavern selfie. Steven wouldn't agree to one so Chris and I showed him how to do it!
We dropped our change into the deep dark pit (along with hundreds of dollars of other coins) and made our way out of the caverns. Not much more to say about this place. Just not much more......
My personal best 15k was this last October when I ran in the Tulsa Run. My finish time was 1:30. That was a challenge for me and I was super pumped to have that time after eating right, working out, and losing 20 pounds. I knew I could beat that time this year. I knew I had it in me but just didn't know exactly what that time would be. My goal was just to beat 1:30 minutes. Well....I DID IT! 1 hour 21 minutes was my final time. I ran an 8:39 pace for almost 10 miles. Man, that felt good to accomplish that!
I love running with my girls. Kristi, Melinda, and I have done more runs that I can even remember together. I would have a hard time crossing finish lines without these girls. I know there are people out there who like to run alone...I am NOT one of those people. I just love having someone beside you to talk to when you want to (I can't talk the whole time because it messes up my breathing). I love to have that person there to encourage and on the flip side to gain strength from her when I am faltering.
Melinda was that person for me during this race. We hung together for the first 6 1/2 miles or so. After that, she took off and finished with an even better time than me and I had to stop a few times and stretch out my hips that were getting super tight. I know I was tired and all, but that last 3 miles without her just seemed so much harder. I give props to those people who can run alone and not have a buddy with them. It takes all kinds to do this sport of running.
Get out there and beat one of your goals this week. You'll be glad you did!
Owen loves 3 things in life:
1. Animals
2. Nature/camping
3. Superhero's
Those are in no specific order but that pretty much describes our son to a tee. So, yesterday was a day of wonder for this almost 6 year old. While big brother was having baseball practice I took him to some ponds and trails that are on our church campus. He never even knew they were there and I knew about them from running (it's a 1 mile trail all the way around). I love Spring time as I have said in the past. With spring comes babies and we were able to see about 12 little duckling babies with their parents. It was so sweet and Owen just loves babies. He's always so gentle with babies and/or little cute things. It's pretty funny because this child isn't gentle with most anything else.
We were walking and exploring and Owen found some pretty purple plants that the bees were busy pollinating. He loved them so much and declared, "This is Nini's favorite color. Let's take a picture of them and send it to her!" So, that's exactly what we did. He actually took this picture of the purple bush. Steven wasn't with us so I couldn't tell you the name of it without the aid of Google.
On our nature walk Owen and I ran into many a duck, even MORE duck poop, lots of bees and flying insects, and even a turtle. Yep, Owen found and carried the whole rest of the way (and brought home) to be his "2nd pet" a baby turtle. I asked him where his mom and dad were and Owen said, "they are probably on a trip so we need to take him home with us." Okaaayyyy....
So, without further ado I will introduce you to our newest Kueny family member...Reef Kueny. Yes, Owen created that name all himself. Does anyone know how long Reef will live? I have a feeling it's not gonna be super long but who knows? I've also heard turtles can live forever so I'm stumped as to how long Reef will actually be in our family. He is currently hanging out in a large Tupperware bowl with some water and grass.
And just so you can see first hand Owen's love of Super hero's (as if you doubted me)...this was Owen on Wednesday when we had to run to Lowe's. Yep. Sometimes it's just easier to let him wear his costumes than finding his clothes again and making him change. You're only a kid once right? He got lots of smiles that night at the store and one little boy of about 7 walks right up to him, taps him on the shoulder, and says "Hey, cool costume man!" Owen got a huge grin across that Iron Man face of his;)
This Sunday Owen, his daddy, and his Pappy are off to see the new Avenger movie. He has informed me he WILL be going as an Avenger and just hasn't made up his mind yet if it is going to be Iron Man or
Hulk.
Stay tuned!!!
I love state signs! I can go back many many years in my life to find me standing by state signs. I can flash back to the age of 7 wearing a homemade dress sewn by my mom and standing in front of Mississippi, Alabama, or Florida. That's probably when my love of Florida began.
This trip was no different. On this trip we crossed into the state lines of North Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia. Steven normally rolls his eyes and sometimes will NOT even step foot in front of the sign for me. Thankfully, this trip he made me happy and snapped my picture willingly and Chris even got out for some signs too.
Our journey started in Raleigh NC, then we went to Roanoke VA, and then onto Lewisburg WV. Our furthest drive was from WV back to NC. Even then that was only about 4 hours. That's totally doable!
The "Virginia is For Lovers" sign cracked me up. I am talking about tears running down my face for minutes after I looked at Chris and Steven. Even now, days later, when I look at their picture it makes me smile. I think Steven and I's take of "lovers" is much more cute and accurate:)
I'm super thankful we were able to get away and spend some time together reconnecting during this insanely busy spring season. For those of you who don't know....the months of March, April, and May are the 3 busiest months of the entire year. Even though we are slammed I think it is important to get away (even for just a few days) and take a breather. We were actually working quite a bit on this trip from our phones so we weren't totally off but it was still considered a "break" in our books. Thank you so much for my awesome mother in law who drove to Tulsa to stay with the boys the whole time so they didn't have to miss school. They had a great time, we had a great time, and I believe she had a great time. So, that leads me all to ask...when is my next trip?!
I have now officially visited 40 of the 50 states in this great country. I am currently trying to plan another trip around North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin and Michigan. That will get me to number 44 and oh SO CLOSE to my goal of 50. I can't wait!
My mom raised all girls. My sister is raising all girls. I birthed boys. I never saw myself as a "boy mom" because all I had ever been around was girls. My sister, my friends, all my cousins....Then I had boys. Boys are so much easier in many ways but do have their challenges and differences. You have to be okay with dirt, noise, nudity, sports, injuries, more nudity, and more loudness. My boys love me with a fierceness that can only be described as pure love (and I am totally fine with that). They protect me when I get hurt, they love on me when I'm sad, they encourage me when I'm down, and they compliment me when they are feeling extra sweet. I know they learn a lot of this from Steven because he sets such a great example for them. 
This Mother's Day I got to the spend the whole day with my boys and with my parents. I invited my mom over for some good ole' boy fun complete with mud, water, messes, basketball, and nudity (all outside). In a matter of 5 hours we had done trampoline jumping and all of those above things I had mentioned. I believe my boys went through 2-3 changes of clothing while my parents were here. It's rained INCHES in the last week, mixed with mud and sand...you get the picture! My hubby grilled out NY Strip steaks, we made corn on the cob, salad, and potatoes and ate till we couldn't eat anymore. My mom and Will made her world famous (not really but almost) rice crispy treats. Those things were 90% gone before dinner was even ready. I enjoyed my time tremendously with my wonderful boys, hubby, and parents. I pray that each of you mother's were blessed this Sunday by your families and praised and adored for the awesome Mother that you are!
