Tim's First 5K

We did a 5K this weekend! It was Tim's first one EVER (hence the title). Here's the BEFORE:

If you've never done a 5K before (3.1 miles), a Color Run is a great way to start because it's not timed and the ENTIRE thing is about distraction. It's impossible to think about the fact that you're exercising - a Zumba warm-up, people throwing colored corn starch all over you, a karaoke break if you want it, Magic Bubble-blowing Man, a super excited DJ narrating the whole thing, and a fun after-party with more music and more color!

The AFTER proves how much fun we had!

 After the party, was the after-party: Sarah's Dad made the runners brunch.

Sarah's mom and sister wore out the girls who went home and took great naps! Felicity yawned in her sleep right before this picture. Wiped out.

And Tim agreed to sign up for another 5K in two weeks!!! Miracles are for real.

"Easter Is About Candy"

At least that's what Miriam explained to her parents on Easter morning like they were completely out of touch. (We're probably going to get that attitude for many more years, huh?)

Looks like we have some more teaching to do in our domestic church. (HOWEVER, when our house ends up with ten boxes of Peeps - not to mention the four chocolate bunnies and other assorted sugars - it's not hard to see why Miriam was so sure Easter was created to worship sweets.)

In any case. Do you like Easter? Do you like pictures? Do you like pictures with loads of glare? Great! You've stopped by at just the right moment for an Easter Photo Bomb.

This Easter was completely different for us because we spent Holy Saturday and Easter Morning at Purdue. Sarah's sister, Bridget --->her fiance, Ryan--->he joined the Church at the Easter Vigil and Tim was his sponsor. (Did you follow that? Impressive.) While Ryan and Tim did a final pre-being-Catholic retreat, Mommy took the girls to the local children's museum in Lafayette. Aunt Bridget, Aunt Maria, Uncle John, Grandma, and Grandpa came, too. Party.

As always the girls loved their time running around in a building designed just for their entertainment. AND, as you can see in the pictures above, their older relatives really got into it, too!

 

Holy Saturday was also Aunt Maria's Sweet Sixteen! She wanted Mexican for lunch...feliz cumpleaños, hermana.

After lunch we went to Ryan's parents house for egg decorating, games, a cookout, and of course, more birthday celebrating.

See Joe's nervous/uncomfortable/wild smile below? Three seconds before taking the picture, Mommy said, "Awww! Now this is going to be you guys in the future with your own little baby!"

Finally the Main Event! Easter Vigil!! It really is the most amazing, beautiful liturgy of the whole year. Bonus: we left the girls asleep in the hotel room with a sitter so we could actually pay attention! Those priests realllllly got into the baptisms! Find the joy in your vocation, right?!?! They did.

 Ryan was already baptized, but he received his confirmation

and first communion.

The next morning we got up and took the girls to Mass, ate out with Ryan's family, and went back to their house for an Easter egg hunt with literally 100+ eggs! Then it was off to Carmel to celebrate with Tim's family and have second egg hunt. Miriam and Vivian didn't leave their sweet Lydia's side.

Finally back home into our own beds for a hard night's sleep. In the morning, the girls woke up to more treats from the Easter Bunny and a FINAL egg hunt. WHEW.

Have an Easter Season full of His blessings and peace!

11 months + 12 months + Birthday Girl

Weeeelllll we never quite got up the 11 month update about the little Felicity. So let's get you something to encompass the last 2+ months of our baby/toddler. Get your speed reading ready.

As of today: 

• walking fast
• saying Mama (but still only when she whines), Dada, and Up
• CLIMBING up furniture
• falling off furniture and down steps way more often than Mom likes
• loves to sit with a book and "read"
• wants to be where ever her sisters are
• adores the outdoors
• has six teeth and four more ready to break through on top
• cries when she hears the word NO
• takes two solid naps each day and sleeps from about 8 PM until 6:30 or 7 AM
• likes blackberries and strawberries but LOOOOOVES pasta
• will go to the bathroom in the toilet if we sit her on it
• bath time is her favorite time of the day
• bops and dances when she hears music

So there's Felicity in a nutshell. She's sensitive and mostly just wants her Mommy more than anything else. She's still sucking her thumb, especially when she is tired or nervous about something new. 

We've been singing "You are My Sunshine" to her since she was a few days old which gave us our theme for her birthday party. (And by theme...Mommy made outfits and cupcakes...Pinterest would be ashamed.)

 

Doesn't Miriam look suddenly grown up?? And to keep Vivian busy during the party prep, we had her washing dishes. She had the best time! Win-win.

Back to Felicity being a bit sensitive. When it was time to blow out candles, she did not appreciate the singing and everyone looking at her.

Her sisters blew out her candle, then she refused to eat the cupcake anywhere but on her Mommy's lap.

Gift opening went better. Again with the sisterly help.

She received several books - always a good choice in this house, clothes, and (drumroll PLEASE)

the movie Frozen! Felicity didn't care too much about it, but her sisters thought they died and went to HEAVEN.

From this...

to this...

What a difference a year can make.

Weekend to Remember

This past weekend was a treat for Mommy and Daddy. Mommy got to attend a women-only retreat with a group of ladies from church. Daddy spent the whole weekend with his little girls. Since Daddy is often working, he cherished his time with Miriam, Vivian, and Felicity. And he spoiled them to high heaven.

Between a trip to the donut shop in their PJs,

driving in the van with the windows down,

and a tour of just about every park in a ten mile radius, they could not have been happier.

And Mommy had a pretty great time, too! The retreat was amazing. Lots of prayer time and opportunities to connect with other women...

But also, there was the kayaking,

the giant swing,

the wall climbing,

the massage (40 minutes, by a PROFESSIONAL), the hiking, the crafts, the peace...it was fabulous. (Don't get too excited, the sleeping accommodations made up for the luxury of everything else.)

And she got to come come home to this:

Dance Along: The Wonder Of You

Doing the wedding song dance along. Which is especially appropriate because two of Sarah's sisters and one of Tim's cousins are planning their weddings. Love is in the air this spring. When we were planning our wedding, that first dance song was so difficult for us to choose. We wanted a nice, little love song that wasn't overplayed. Also, Tim doesn't like country music and Sarah just isn't very musical.

The search was on. And can we just say that now that we're clearly WAY past choosing this song there are so many lovely choices on the radio today! The new John Legend song? Or "Unconditionally" by Katy Perry? Or Sara Bareilles' "I Choose You"? All dreamy.

Speaking of tangents, let's go on another one. LOVE the Bruno Mars song "Marry You". Great for dancing BUT it is NOT a wedding song. And it's sorta funny when people get engaged to that song. Have they listened to the words??

Tangents over; back to our first dance. After some searching, Tim came across "The Wonder of You" by Elvis. Elvis is forever and always a classic, yet this song is a secret, sweet gem. Bonus: it's relatively SHORT. We wanted to keep our first dance to a minimum. Just the two of us swaying on the dance floor with everyone watching is the kind of thing that makes Sarah break out in a cold sweat. It's also a very boring five minutes for all the wedding guests. Short, meaningful, classic. We had a winner.

After the formalities were over, we could get the real party started. In Sarah's family, this means dancing in crazy group circles and square dancing. For hours. Friends and Tim's family weren't afraid of the Wellman Wildness and jumped right in. It was party perfection.

Have any first dance suggestions for the married-couples-to-be?