9 weeks

WOW! We are going on our 10th week of this. It really is hard to believe .

9 weeks down, 43 to go. 

Something to think about:

If you haven't heard of this story... check it out. 

https://www.facebook.com/BringingHomeTheBrowns

Things to remember:

1. A busy fun weekend for all of us. Not only did the boys get to spend some time with my " sole sister" and their Aunt Milania who was visiting Wisconsin, I got to spend a day in Flagstaff with some amazing friends for NAU homecoming. What a blast. No town is more special or close to my heart. 

2. 7 days with NO timeout! CAN YOU BELIEVE it?Mr. Pants who has probably spent more of the past year in timeout than not, has lasted an entire week with awesome behavior. I am SO proud of that little guy.

3. Put together the boys' halloween costumes! So excited to get them dressed up next week. Not only are they adorable, I am so proud to have spent 15$ all together... half the price of ONE average store bought costume. The best part are the adorable hats Grandma Fran stitched up for them :) 

4. I seriously ran for 20 miles... AND broke my half marathon record UNDER 2:00!!!!! . Like all things in life, prayer prayer prayer is what got me through. There were definitely a few miles in there ( like mile 4, and 15) where I thought there was no way I was going to make it. Throughout this training I have been turning to God more than ever. He has carried me further than I ever thought possible. With my furthest training run behind me, my distances become shorter as I rest my body for the big 26.2 on November 10. Feeling ready and extremely excited. 

5. COOL WEATHER! In Arizona this means highs below 90. Never thought it would happen. I know we came back to Arizona in June but it has literally been an oven since we got here. Cooler temperatures seem to be here to stay and we are SO happy to be able to play at the park, go on runs, and put on clothing that does not consist of shorts and tank tops FINALLY.

Things to forget: 

1. Homesickness. Yes we are at home, yes I have my boys and the beagles here, but without him it just isn't home. He misses his boys so much it's heartbreaking. Aching for the time in 10 months when we can just all be together again, at "home" wherever that may be.

2. Trying to get a Halloween picture of the boys together- WHAT A JOKE! I think I give up and will just stick to the candids :)

3.NEED something to occupy my lonely time. I am between book series'/ TV shows and needing something to get wrapped into during those rare few hours of downtime I have. HELPPP!! 

4.  At home toddler haircuts. Ok, doing it myself not only saves money but it also saves time and the inconvenience of going to a hair salon. It would really be fine if I could figure out how to get him to sit still. Thomas on the Ipad? Check. Lollipop? Check. The second he sees the scissors in the mirror panic sets in as he screams OWWW and wiggles uncontrollably. Scissors and holding down an energetic 2 year old just don't mix. It doesn't  turn out too awful but what a chore! 

5. The great flood of 2012. Not sure which category this better fits into but we'll put it here. Mr. Pants was out of the bath, in his pjs, brushing his teeth ( or so I thought) while I got Kaners out of his room I heard some splashing and thought nothing of it. We walk into the bathroom to what looks like a major flood covering the bathroom and hallway. Standing at the tub with a bucket was a smug little two year old with the most sorrowful eyes I have ever seen. Yep he dumped all of the bath water onto the floor, soaking all of the towels, himself, and ALMOST drowning my phone. One of those moments as a parent you want to laugh INCREDIBLY hard but you force a straight face to play " bad cop" knowing that this behavior can not be repeated... as funny as it is. He shuffled his little butt into his room just sitting, in soaked pjs, not moving an inch. This could possibly be the first time I have seen him actually feel bad for his actions and realize what he did was wrong. It was adorable, hilarious, and a pain in the A to clean up all at the same time. The joy of toddlerhood! 

"hanging out" with Aunt Milania

NAU homecoming 2012

This was so funny.. we were posing with the cheerleader mural and this kid comes by and backtuck photobombs us! 

Downtown Flagstaff! The best <3

Love that Dome 

Pretty proud of these Race Stats

Attempting some Halloween pics...

Daddy shooting Gunnery this week 

Steven and Abby feeding the ducks, or becoming duck food not sure ;)

Hope Everyone has a great Halloween weekend and eats entirely too much pumpkin flavored everything while it lasts!!!! =D

week 8

SERIOUSLY?  A week has gone by ? If nothing else, Time is seriously flying. This one will be short and sweet for my... well.. lack of time.

8 weeks down, 44 to go!

Things to Forget:

1. Weekends that I'm not facing a new long distance run, seem to be the weekends that meltdowns are much more prevelant around here.  Note to self: keep challenging yourself

2. Two year old sleep regression? Is this real? According to all my google doctors it is. We will go a few days in a row and completely skip naps. Luckily it only lasts a couple days each time but EACH TIME I want to pull every hair out of my head. Naptime is Mom time. Sacred.

3. Being entirely too hot at the pumpkin patch. I LOVE a good fall festival. Last year we enjoyed a beautiful sunflower field with some friends and brought home pumpkins, sunflowers, and local produce. This year it was SWEATY hot at 9 am, dusty, and quite frankly just not very fall like. What do you expect from a " pumpkin patch" in Scottsdale though.

4. Simply OVER the treadmill. Weekday short runs are all done on that thing and it's getting REALLY really old. The only thing motivating me is watching the worst/best teen vampire show that I have become embarrassingly addicted to. All I can say though is that Damon Salvatore could keep ANYONE on a treadmill for an hour a night.

5. I really don't think there is a 5. Good news!

Things to Remember:

1. Going to the pumpkin patch ( as hot and miserable as it was for ME) and seeing Steven ride a horse for the first time and play with the petting zoo animals. He has a real love for all animals but he really seems to have a connection with horses. We always joke about owning our own farm one day but times like that make me really wish that we could.

2. The most amazing sermon on Sunday. For anyone that doesn't know there is a teenage girl from our town in Arizona who was diagnosed a year ago with stage 4 cancer. I have been following their story on FB for the past year and they are truly an AMAZING amazing family. Well this 16 year old girl, Katie, gave her testimony and told her story in front of our church on Sunday. A year ago they told her that basically it was going to be impossible to beat, and today she is cancer free. She is still finishing up treatments but through the power of prayer she has overcome many obstacles over the past year. If you want to check out their FB page it is

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Wagner-Family-Support/265643106808060

and the website is    www.WeLoveKatie.com

3. Mr. Kaners is SO close to crawling. He seems to be following in his brothers footsteps, or should I say lack of ;) by being a little late bloomer which is TOTALLY fine by me. The last thing I need is another mobile Trumbull boy to chase around. But he is moving and scooting, crawling is right around the corner.

4. PANTS PEED ON THE TOILET! No I am not starting potty training quite yet. Not until after Christmas. It is just one thing I do not want to force , when he is ready we will start. However he hops on the potty every night after bath and proclaims he has to " POOOOOP" but nothing ever happens. This week two nights in a row now he has peed on the toilet after bath time. SMALL steps but a pretty exciting milestone.

5. How easy a " short" 10 mile run has become. A year ago this would have been one of my furthest runs before race day. I would work so hard to get to that distance, where this week it was a piece of cake . It is amazing what our bodies can do for us when we just TRY and train a little :)

Riding bikes with Grandpa

Trying out Mom's Camel bak

TONS of ducks at the park on Monday

Taught Mr. How to run suicides on the basketball court.

 His favorite little goat

 Riding " Mr. Jones"

 Picking out pumpkins with his cousin

 Grandma and her 3 Grandkids

Mr. Kaners , everyones favorite pumpkin! 

He ABSOLUTELY loved the horses! 

Bring on week # 9! Happy weekend friends :) 

week 7

If 6 is the unholy number, and 7 is God's number... the last two weeks make perfect sense. Comparing week 6 and week 7 are like night and day! 

WHAT an amazing week. I knew my trip was coming up but like all things that are left in the hands of the Army, you never can really count on much. Up until the second I left for Colorado I had it in the back of my head that something COULD come up, a change in schedule COULD happen. BUT it didn't, and once again the power of prayer became bigger than us. 

Not only did we get to spend 2 days together, but two days KID Free which we have never done since the birth of Mr. Pants, and two days in BEAUTIFUL Colorado springs. Really we couldn't have asked for more. It was nothing short of amazing and definitely provided a much needed re-charge. 

7 weeks down only 45 to go

Things to forget: 

1. Spending all Day last Friday at Children's hospital. After a long week of testing and some scary test results, everything was solved and the proper medication was given in the end. 

2. my second to last long run before Race day- 19 miles. I really do want to forget it though because HOLY cow was that exhausting. I didn't stop and managed to keep a 9:30 pace but it still is getting WAY beyond my comfort zone. 

3. Leaving Colorado and my husband. Goodbyes are never easy but saying goodbye to a beautiful city and a beautiful husband was pretty devastating. 

4. Two days without my babies. I love those two so much, they are literally my entire world and being without them just doesn't seem right anymore. The heartache that their Dad goes through every day not getting to hug/kiss/tackle them is something I will never  understand. He is much stronger than I.

5. OF course my favorite 2 year old greeted me with one of his infamous anti sleep campaigns. Two days waking up far too early and cutting naps entirely too short. We are good now but that is just never fun for anyone.

Things to Remember:

1. Um. Colorado.  Delicious food, breathtaking scenery, gorgeous weather, beautiful Ft Carson,  awesome run, but of course most importantly enjoying every second with the best husband in the world.

2. Hugging and kissing my husband, NOT through an ipad screen <3

3. Grandpa Trumbull and Grandma Dana coming up to visit from Queen creek- the boys had a fun time riding the train and hanging out on Saturday.

4. The fact that I never had to worry about the boys during my trip. No one could have done a better job taking care of them than Grandma Mush and Grandpa, I'm sure they had a blast the whole time. 

5. How brave my little Mr. was last week. Getting shuffled from Xrays to EKGs and put on way too many medications- he really took it all so well and am EXTREMELY proud of the little Man.

Things to look forward to:

1. Aunt Milania coming to town Thursday !!

2. NAU homecoming

3. only ONE super long run left- 20 miles. WOO HOO I'm almost there

4. Halloween

5. Before we know it , it will be thanksgiving and DADDY will be here for a week <3<3

Hanging out at Phoenix Chilren's

Finally leaving after a long day- " TRACTOR!"

Riding the Train with Grandma and Grandpa

LOVE HIM

Checking out Ft. Carson

Beautiful Pike's peak

Playing with the Panorama on the the IOS update 

We made it! 

'

pretty leaves

Date night

 First time on the swings

I came out from getting Kane and found this. Apparently Grandma gave him her broken glasses. He was DEAD serious about them too.

6 weeks

6 down only 46 to go...

Just realizing the number significance of this week, quite the unholy number . Well fitting for the week behind us.

IT always seems like when we have the most to say, we are given the least amount of time to share/write/journal. Totally one of those times . Let's just say 4 going on 5 days spent in doctors offices/ hospitals isn't the best way to spend the week. 

Things to forget-

1. Nebulizer treatments - and ultimately losing the battle against my too strong 2 year old. 

2. Still not having an answer to what is going on with our little Mr. Pants. Ear infections-Asthma- Xrays. Tomorrow we see a cardiologist at Phoenix Childrens' hospital in hopes to find out more. 

3. Kaners getting his first cold :( Hearing that sweet baby cry is cry provoking in itself. 

4. Running a half marathon ( not race just distance)  Saturday morning followed by a 5k pushing the boys with my mom. Not the smartest sometimes.

5. The early wakeups and too short of naps since Monday

Things to remember-

1. FINALLY getting a new battery for my camera- 3 weeks of no pictures was devestating

2. PUMPKIN CREAMER!

3.A tear free sunday school for BOTH boys again! Followed by Sunday family dinner at the Colaicovo house.

4. MY NEW PURPLE FIVES YAYYY!! 

5. Mr. being obsessed with his brother walking. He holds his hand ( with me supporting of course) and pulls him around the house yelling WALK WALK! They are too precious for words sometimes.

Things to look forward to-

1. MONDAY! MONDAY! MONDAY!

2. 19 miles this weekend. 

3. The boys spending 2 days with Grandma- longest time away from both parents EVER. Nervous but they will have a blast.

4.  NAU Homecoming RIGHT around the corner.

5. Aunt Milania coming in less than two weeks :)

Keep our little Mr. pants in your prayers please. Tomorrow we will hopefully get some answers as to what really is going on with him.

Here is to a JOYOUS and HEALING week 7! 

                                      

Handome-est Mr.

Family Dinner

Most precious angel ever

Heaven on earth...

hmmmm 

Brothers playing cars, the usual

 If you are going to wear ugly running shoes for performance- at least they can be -purple :)