March Update

March has been filled with lots of activities, lots of working, lots of school, and lots of pretty weather (until today) - it is YUCKY out there! Alec finished all of his "official" school requirements on Thursday evening and Kirsten will be done with all of hers today. So that is ONE big accomplishment for us. We will take a week off and then start on some extra school things that will supplement our school year. One thing I want us to focus on is penmanship and writing. I am not a creative writer, but I hope that with a little encouragement that the children can learn to be better than I am.

Another thing that is keeping us busy is Cross-Country practice. We started meeting once a week this month and will continue until sometime in May. The kids are supposed to run at least three days a week and also have a cross-training day. They are enjoying it and I am staying active along with them. I am running two to three days a week, myself, and walking many of the other days.

Last Saturday, we drove to Pontotoc so the kids could run a race that they have run several times before. It is a challenging course, but one that they enjoy.

Alec, Brandon, Claire, and Kirsten act silly before the start of the race. The girls were trying to have their "game" faces on and the boys were just being goofy.

The race was a little smaller this year, but the kids were raring to go.

Preston stood on the fire truck while we were waiting for the kids to finish.

Brandon ran a flying fast race and finished in 22:47 and won 3rd place in the male 10-14 division. He just turned 10 and entered a new level of competition - a tougher one!

Alec ran a very good race and finished with a time of 26:56. He was disappointed that he didn't medal, but it was a very good time for him.

Kirsten sprinted up hill to finish with a time of 30:30 and was so excited -- she also placed 3rd in the 10-14 female division.

Claire was more focused on encouraging the other runners than running a fast race. Several people told her after the race that they were happy with the sweet way she encouraged them. She finished with a respectable time of 31:42 and was very happy with her time.

Alec won this camo hat as a door prize.

Kirsten is so happy with her medal.

Brandon is also happy with his medal.

That evening, our family drove to Tupelo to eat at Chili's to celebrate Alec's birthday and our anniversary. Both of these were on Sunday, but we decided to celebrate the night before.

18 YEARS!!! Hard to believe!

YUM!!

DOUBLE YUM!!

Alec was so excited about his birthday that he woke up at 4:15 and finally got me to crawl out of bed by 5:30. He said he couldn't wait any longer.

This LEGO set was what he requested and he couldn't wait to put it together.

On Sunday afternoon, we had a small gathering for cake and ice cream and 4-square. A girl from our church is 1 hour older than Alec and I invited her family over to play and eat cake. Alec also asked two other boys to come after church, so a small party turned into a bigger one. We had a great time and are looking forward to Alec's party in April. He has asked to have a NERF war party with a bunch of boys from cross-country. More pictures will come from that day, but maybe that catches everyone up on our family for now.