Gwyn turned 4!

Gwyn turned 4 on April 3. She had a several parties - two with family and one with friends. (It was a bit overkill, but it was all for scheduling purposes.) Her friends party was at the zoo, just like her brothers'. She had been excited about it, and kept reminding us that her "birthday party is going to be at the zoo with trains."

Kevin made her cake (again) and this year is was a crown. And since her favorite colors are "pink, purple, white and green" we added the colors that we could make with icing and sprinkles. She loved her cake!

We got her a big Barbie house (I know, it does not seem like me, but she loves dolls.) so her brothers got her Ken dolls. This way, according to them, "when we play with her we can still be boys." I hadn't said anything about playing with her. They are so sweet.

At her party at our house, she is wearing a green dress. This is a hand-me-down from my cousins Rachel and Emily. Gwyn wore it every time it was clean for weeks, including both of her parties that I have pictures of. Just a cute thing I want to remember.

Anyway, here are some pictures.

Zoo Run 2015

I think this is our 5th year running the zoo race. It is a zoo right next to the zoo, and we run the event with the Nordgaarden's. This year Kevin raced, I ran with Gail, and then the kids ran. (Shaun was recovering from surgery.) Kevin placed 1st in his age group! (He usually medals.) Chase got 2nd in his age group.

The boys both ran the 1/2 mile, and they were the 5th and 6th to finish! (That is why Colin is holding up a "6.") It was great! And Gwyn ran her first race, which was 1/4 mile. She attempted it last year, but I think spent most of the time on Kevin's shoulders. This year she was ready to quit and looked like she was getting ready to cry until she heard all of us cheering for her. Then she smiled and ran! She was SO PROUD of her "medal."

Let's Catch Up

It is obvious that many things have happened in the 6 months that I last blogged. I really do get sick of it, and I wish it was more user-friendly, but I know I will miss the posts if I stop them.

So I will do my best to update events that have happened. I know I will miss some. I know they will be out of order. But at least they will be posted.

So let's start with family news. We didn't really know if Kevin, Colin and Gwyn were going to have cousins for a while. And then, wham, they get two within a few months of each other! My sister Cathy and her husband Dave welcomed Ruby Helen on February 5. This little girl is a.ma.zing. I am a bit crazy when she is around, but I have learned to share her with other people. (Inside I am still screaming for her.) She stayed overnight with us a few weeks ago, and naturally she loved the Baby Whisperer (Kevin). We also discovered Baby Whisperer 2 with another Kevin.

BUT THERE IS MORE! Aunt Kelly and her husband Kev (Yes, another one.) are expecting a baby at the end of July! This baby will be part Aussie, and we will have to survive on pictures only for a time, but the kids are still excited. Especially BW2 (Baby Whisperer 2 AKA Kevin). And Gwyn loves babies. Colin is more "Meh" about everyone's babies.

More updates:
This picture was found on the camera. Someone knows how to take selfies.

Update on me:
I had a very busy spring. I ran two half-marathons! I started training in November, and I really didn't tell many people. (I think Cathy told more on accident than I told on purpose.) My first one was the Go! St. Louis half marathon. I kept thinking about my friends who have run and how they all said they started out too fast. And I was also told by people that I will be happy to just finish. So I ran it sooooo sssslllloooowwww. I am not a great runner, but I really felt like I just wasted my time out there. I was not happy just to finish. So I cried for a day and then registered for the Via Christie Illinios half marathon the next weekend. Kevin was going to stay home with the kids (I had to drive to Champaigne-Urbana for the run.) and I was going with my mom. But Kevin wanted to be there, so thankfully his parents took the kids. I know that he was very happy to be there, and I was happy he was there as well. So thank you to them! As for the run, I finished 24 minutes faster, and I am pretty confident that I could have finished 5 minutes faster had I planned it differently. Kevin met me 3 miles from the end and finished with me. He said the entire time no one passed me! Much better than last time. And my mom was in the stadium at the finish line to cheer me on! The photo company somehow has ZERO pictures of me at the finish line, and I am a bit mad about that. I do have a photo from the start line, but I can't find it in my email. I will upload it later. The best part? I trained once and got two shirts!

Kevin ran Read Right And Run! It was in Forest Park the day before my half marathon, so it was a big weekend for us! He did GREAT! He was one of the first in his school to finish! He had trained at school, and running around the neighborhood. And he got his own medal!

Colin looking pretty cool. Gwyn is just happy to have a sign and get to yell at people.

He actually lost his shirt and bib, so he borrowed a bib from his daddy. ;)

Colin is playing baseball! His team is the Sharks. This is the only face he would make for me. He is having fun, and it is adorable to watch him play!

An attempt to get a picture of all 3 of them.

That is all for now. But tune on for more! Until I decide to stop again.

I am back!!! And my first post is: Zoo Wild Lights 2014

 I started this post in December, so I will post it "as is."

Last month we went to the annual Wild Lights event at the St. Louis Zoo. We meet at the zoo for dinner, walk around and look at the lights, get desserts, listen to carolers, and drink hot chocolate. The kids really enjoy it, and the boys remember past Wild Lights. (Here are the links to our past visits: 2012, 2011.)

Two more cakes!

The kids were downtown this weekend, so we got the only cake within walking distance that we hadn't already gotten - the Old Post Office. Afterward we went to the Missouri side of the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi rivers, with the cake at the Columbia Bottoms preservation area. I wanted to see the actual confluence, (the cake was at the welcome center), but it was more of a drive than I thought. We will go back again, hopefully with bikes!

I love the goofiness of this picture!

Gwyn didn't want to get out of the car. (It was nap time. I can't blame her.)

Gwyn's First Dentist Visit

All 3 kids went to the dentist today.  It was Gwyn's first time, and she did great. She "didn't need to hold anyone's hand when they took the pictures." (X-rays) She did hold daddy's hand during the cleaning. She is most excited about her new toothbrush. (The boys are also excited about their new Transformers toothbrushes.)

Here she is showing off her sticker and candy cane pencil.

Now with a smile.

Bonus picture - this is what she does when she is under the mistletoe. She is hiding from the kisses.

Cakes #119 - 131

This catches us up (sadly) to all of our cakes. We only have a few weeks left, and shopping and holiday events are taking up my weekends. I have told my husband that I would love one awesome day of cake hunting for Christmas, but I am sure that 1) we won't have time or 2) there will be complaining most of the time. It has been such a fun memory for me to do this with my family. Not only have Gwyn, Colin and Kevin been included, but Kevin, my mom, his mom, my sister Cathy, my cousins Emily and Rachel, and my brother Tony have gone with us. It is bittersweet as the year ends, and I am honestly getting sad about it. The kids are staying downtown this weekend, so maybe I can get a few more then, but who knows. But on to the cakes we do have!

This post starts out with a cake hunt on a rainy Saturday. It was almost a bust. I spent some time getting the maps printed off, and then I left them at home. And this hunt was in an area in St. Louis I rarely go to, so even though I knew where the cakes were, I didn't know how to get to the locations. I was furious with myself. I had a teachable moment about staying calm, (after needing to remind myself that this is what it could be) and went to a McDonald's to use the wifi to just look it up on my ipod and capture the maps so I could have them in my photos. And then the site kept shutting down. I am not kidding. I was there for almost 20 minutes waiting for the site to load and then stop and then load and then stop and then load a bit more and then stop. It was really a lesson for the kids to see how close I could get to throwing my ipod without actually doing it. But the kids were sweet and I knew I would get it. So we got the screen shots, asked a family where the cake was that we couldn't find (a 1/2 black away and inside) and went on our way. From what I rememeber, Colin's pants were so wet by the end that the bottoms were wet up the shin, and Gwyn's pants were so big that they fell down every few steps. Which would have been cute if her underwear didn't go down as well. At first I was giggling until she bent over. Then I wasn't even sure she had underwear on! She laughed though, so who can get mad. But she tells you now when she gets dressed that THOSE pants are for next year.

The College School - Gwyn said she was okay - her frisbee was also her umbrella.

Serendipity Homemade Ice Cream - This was difficult to find as it was inside! It was also closed, so no ice cream... yet. Kevin had his umbrella keeping the cake dry. Colin's Spiderman umbrella was climbing the cake.

Loretto-Hilton Theatre / The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis - Colin did not want to get muddy. I was lucky he was in the picture at all!

Webster University - I don't know why the cake was near a parking garage and the public safety office, but I do know that the people in the office waved and smiled at us! They must get a lot of people taking pictures. Kevin wanted me to have the picture look like his umbrella was covering the cake.

Opera Theatre Saint Louis - This was maximum level warning for Gwyn's pants. I think the bottoms were wet and extra heavy. Colin was tired of the rain. Kevin is again keeping the cake dry!

Shrewsbury MetroLink Station - I wanted to ride the Metrolink here, but nopes.

Kenrick-Glennon Seminary - This was when the kids realized how chilly and wet they were. But I had a plan....

Ted Drewes! - Even though it was lunch time, we stopped for frozen custard! That cheered them up! And we got there at 10:50, and it opened at 11. I am pretty awesome sometimes. Gwyn is playing with the water on the cake.

This next set of pictures is from a different hunt, a week or so later. This was just us out running errands, and I was determined to get cakes beforehand! We were done within an hour! It was great, and even though it looks rainy, it was less rainy, and more frosty. (The cakes had frost on them.) Woo hoo! Win-win.

Frank Lloyd Wright House - This cake was stolen last month and it was in the news. Then, a week later, the cake reappeared. Colin is convinced that the person replaced the cake with a replica so they could keep the original.

Barretts Elementary School - I think the reason this school has a cake is because the district is huge and they got all the families to vote on the cake. (This is a vote-winner, and was not chosen.) But we got the cake anyway. Colin is acting like the mascot, which is a bulldog.

Museum of Transportation - This was one of the stops where I regret that we didn't have more time. The kids LOVED just walking around. The boys remember going a few years ago, but last time we went I was pregnant with Gwyn. There is a not a train to ride, and more exhibits. We will need to return. Maybe with the Kerr's?

Edward Jones South Campus - Colin is acting like a businessman here. I don't know what that means. Kevin is being burned by the flame. Gwyn is at least in the picture.

The Lodge at Des Peres - Possibly the best picture of them all. I don't even know what is going on.

 Here is hoping we get more!