Little Gardner

Mason has been so helpful with gardening since he started walking! He loves to be outside and we have spent more time outdoors now that he can walk. Mason has discovered the cherry tomato's that I am growing! He plucks them right off the bush and eats them. He has become much more stable in his walking and even tries to run now! It won't be long and I won't be able to keep up with him! His new words are hello, stick and go. He has been eating a ton so I think he has hit a growth spurt. In the picture above, hew actually fell asleep eating! He plays hard and he wore himself completely out! His favorite activity in the evenings is chasing the dogs and cat around the house. Mason has figured out how to throw the ball for Sydney and that Clemens enjoys playing hide and seek around the couch!

We have had a few thunderstorms lately. Sydney is terrified of thunder and she has run away a few times. Last week she ended up a half a mile down the road. We are not sure what to do about that. Most of the storms just pop-up with little warning.

Rob is doing well and keeping busy with work. I am busy with training for the four miler, finishing my master's degree and I added another day of work two weeks ago. I am three weeks away from completing the last class for my master's degree... yeah! That will be a huge relief!

Running for a Cause

Fourth of July 5K

I have recently returned to running and I am running in support of a good cause. On September 1st, I will be completing the Charloettesville Women's Four Miler with 2,700 other women. The funds raised from t is race will go towards the University of Virginia's Cancer Center Breast Care Center. My sister-in-law, Cathy, completed the race last year and has inspired me to complete it this year. I am also running in honor of my Aunt Susan and several patient's of mine that have battled breast cancer this last year.

I started training in June and every Saturday hundreds of women gather at the UVa track for a training session, support and guidance. It is truly amazing to be running with hundreds of women training for the same cause! Also, some of them are breast cancer survivors!

I unfortunately injured my knee during the 5K race on the Fourth of July. I had to stop training for almost a month but I am back at it again. I was able to complete the training program last Saturday and I ran 3.5 miles! I am hoping to be able to run the whole four miles but if not, I will surely complete it by walking.

I want to thank all of you who have already donated to support me and the Breast Care Center. Donations can be made online http://www.dominiondigital.com/womens4miler/donations.asp

just click on the link and follow the instructions. I will keep you all updated on my progress and wish me luck on the 1st!

Vacation details and Mason updates

Well, last Saturday we made it back from our vacation New York. Before I fill you in on the vacation details, I have to brag a bit about our little boy! It is official... Mason can walk! He has been taking a couple steps every now and then but Monday he really took off! I picked him up from the sitter's house and she said "Mason just walked across the living room!" Sure enough, when we got home he walked across our living room. He is still a bit wobbly but he is improving fast. He also started saying "bye" when he waves! Mason is a bit of a dare devil. His Aunt Cris bought him the bike in the above picture. He can get on and off by himself. He also has discovered that he can stand on the seat, hold on to the handle bars and rock... uh, oh!

Our vacation went well. We stayed with Rob's parents and Mason was able to get some quality grandpa and grandma time. Rob and I were able to go to the races and golf twice without Mason. It was weird being without him but, it was also nice being able to get out and play! I actually tied Rob in golf on the day we played the executive course with Rick, Cathy, Brad, Ben, Ryan and Blake. We also played a difficult 18 hole course with Rick and Cathy and I fared pretty well. Of course Rob always seems to do well too!

We had a huge picnic with family and friends at Rob's parent's house. It was planned on a perfect day before the heat wave came! On one adventure day we took a boat tour in Alexandria Bay around the 1000 islands. The 1000 islands are in US and Canadian waters. There are many mansions built on these islands. It was interesting to see as these houses were huge! We took a tour of Boldt Castle which is on one of the islands. We then headed to Maze Land. The boys had a good time trying to find the clues hidden in a seven foot tall hedge maze. We never found all of the clues after a couple of hours of looking. I think we were being tricked!

Our second adventure day was to the Corning Glass Museum. We saw exhibits with amazing glass detail. We also were able to make our own glass items. The things that we made were ornaments, glass flowers and wind chimes. It was scorching hot in front of the furnace but, we had fun!

The time went by fast and it seems that we couldn't fit everything in that we wanted to do. Mason was a trooper the whole trip. He slept well and was in a great mood the whole week. Aunt Cathy calls him the "angel baby"! Even though we had fun, it is always nice to return home!