Now that Charley has first grade under her belt she was rearing for the next big challange…losing the training wheels. 

Oh yeah, check out our little brave one in action.

By the way, I should mention that this video was taken after Mike…and his patience of steel… spent a few hours teaching Charley how to ride. 

All credit goes to my wonderful, calm and patient husband.

Here is Char on the first day of 1st grade:

and now the last day…

Think she looks older???

Before selling our house and moving so Mike can fulfill his dream of becoming a farming CPA,

we’ve decided to try our luck in the backyard first with a small organic garden.

First  Mike, with the help of Grandpa Duane, built a 4 ft X 8ft raised bed garden.  

Next we started sprouting seeds!  I think we  started sprouting a bit early because the majority of them petered out before we were ready to plant.   

We ended up buying seedlings from a  really neat place called Lilly of the Valley. 

Mike even built us a makeshift compost bin out of old wooden pallets! 

I’m sure our neighbors think we’re crazy at this point, but I’m hoping to win them over with a few baskets of our summer harvest.

 If all goes well…and we don’t kill everything….our harvest will include green and red peppers, broccoli, red lettuce, spinach, green beans,

Roma and cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, basil and jalapenos.  

If you have any garden advice or pesticide free pest control tips PLEASE post them. 

We are all ears!

Her teachers had the class vote on how to spend the last day and apparently the results were a tie.

Pajama & Pancakes and Movie & Popcorn Day was how they described it. 

Here is Ella on the last with her amazing teachers, Miss Nicki and Miss Kim. 

I sure am glad we get to see these ladies at church because Ella misses them already.

Make that one full year of Preschool behind us and one more to go before Kindergarten!    

-Emil Zatopek

Having a victory rest on the curb after 4 hours and 15 minutes of straight running!

My new badge of honor! 

I thought you all might be wondering what it feels like the day after you run a marathon…

well, this video pretty much sums it up!

Here’s the before:

Now Toothless:

She looks so adorable without her tooth; I want to remember her this way forever! 

 Since the Cleveland Marathon is less than 48 hours away I thought I would psych myself up by introducing you to my awesome running partners. 

(Please keep in mind the following photos were taken at 5am!) 

First up…Amy! 

A.K.A: The Dark Horse 

Don’t underestimate this girl!

You might think your inline with her stride, but about five miles out from

the finish all you see is dust… and her cute curly hair bouncing in the wind. 

 Next…meet Marcy!

A.K.A: The Machine  

On less than four hours of sleep this girl can run 10 miles, clean her house, mow-the-lawn,

walk her dog, and probably squeeze in a second workout….all before you and I sit down for lunch.

   Last…Me!

A.K.A: Slow and Steady (unless I’m running to the bathroom, then I’m libel to set a new PR) 

Over the course of 18 weeks of training we have run 424 miles. 

We’ve gone up hills, down hills, done intervals and tempos. We’ve been chased by Rin Tin Tin… on a day we didn’t have dog mace;

we’ve dogged angry drivers and huge mud puddles. 

We’ve ran in snow storms, wind storms, rain storms and freezing temperatures. 

We’ve had blisters, chaffing burns, sore legs and feet and even a few emergency bathroom breaks (thanks to me!).

Honestly, at this point, there is only two things left to do: 

Pray that God is watching over us on Sunday morning 

and 

Run like the Wind! 

26.2 Here we come. 

This is the best shot I could get! 

Ella and her friend Ava huddling together in their soccer jersey and winter coat trying to stay warm on the sideline.

High winds couldn’t hold our Buckeye’s back though, they still scored more goals that day then the opposing four & five-year olds.  We have a star player on our team that apparently knows what he’s doing. YEA!!!

Just to give you an idea of how windy it was….our giant trampoline blew over and started rolling through our backyard about five minutes after we got home!  I think Mike got more of a workout chasing it than Ella did chasing the soccer ball.

Yep….that’s right, all MOMs were treated to a two-hour pampering session by our four-year-olds.

Nothing like a few Chocolate-covered Strawberries and Oreo Truffles  to get you in the mood to relax.

Next it was time for a little (or a lot of) lotion foot massage…..

followed by a mani and a pedi!

Nice hair on my toes…Eeewww!  I’ll have to tackle that hobbit foot later.

Last, but definitely not least, was a trip to the hair station.

Isn’t it GREAT to be a MOM?

You betcha!

Happy Mother’s Day 2010…(early).

 I must admit, it is nice to know that so many of you miss being able to check in on us Foxes.

With that being said…. here are some Fox  highlights from the last six weeks:

We spent Easter outdoors this year with a special picnic and hike at a beautiful place in Hudson, OH.

With Grandpa Duane’s help we put together a bouncing death trap for our backyard…

No accidents or child launchings to report of yet, thank goodness!

Ella and I joined some fellow preschoolers for a special concert at the library courtesy of the Canton Symphony Orchestra

It’s just like the El Bell to make herself right at home… even on the floor of the library.

We celebrated Charley’s 7th birthday!!!!

Where in the heck did seven years go???  Guess I must have blinked

Ella started soccer…. we can now relate to all the other crazy parents on Saturday mornings at Diamond Park with their lawn chairs.

Her first game is May 8!  Looks like we’re going to get you Michiganders to root for a Ohio team afterall.

Go Buckeyes!!!

Just a little update from us Ohio Foxes.  Thanks for putting up with my shoe picture for so long…and for not sending me hate mail about it!

 I can’t wait to fill you in on some fun stuff we have coming up…. especially Ella’s first soccer game. 

XOXOXOX

Introducing my new partner for the Cleveland Marathon on May 16th!