Gold Swagger

The Pacers made it to the playoffs!  They won round 1 and moved on to round 2.  Guess who has two thumbs and was in the crowd last Thursday?  This chica right here!  My friend, Beth, called Wednesday to see if I could find a babysitter and go to the game with them.  I didn't know anybody so she helped out with her niece (who Lola is still talking about)!  I was so happy she asked me to go!  Where else would I rather be?

The game was AMAZING!!!!  I took a picture of the massive crowd going into the arena (see photo somewhere below).  They handed out Gold Swagger shirts so the crowd looked pretty sweet!  We were in a sea of gold!  I loved it!  I've never been to a playoff game and the atmosphere was....dare I say, magical?  I think I do!

I guess I should mention that the Pacers won!  Not only did they win....but they kicked some tail.  I have never been happier.  The Heat is pretty much my least favorite team of any team that ever existed.  So I was beyond ecstatic to be a part of that crowd!  A big, big thank you to the Mowrey family for inviting me!  It was definitely a memory made that I will always cherish!  Go PACERS!

Caroline gets soooo into the game!  I love it!

Me saying hi to Billy since he couldn't come!

George Hill (my guy) and the MASSIVE crowd to get into the building!

I was taking a picture of the jumbotron and this cool guy happened to be on it!  Wish I knew who he was!

I took this for my dad! :)

Classroom Plays!

Blake's class had their plays last week!  Each student is placed in a group with about 4 or 5 other students!  Blake's play was called The Homework Lesson.  He played a student named Ryan.  I think he did a fantastic job!  Of course I'm a little biased!  Lola was a little (a lot) crazy!  She didn't want to sit still at all!  But she didn't have a choice.  She lasted the whole hour and fifteen minutes and then we were able to make our great escape!  I love being able to go to Blake's school to watch things like that!  Fun times!

White River Classic!

It's that time of year again!  Blake's soccer tournaments have begun!  The first one was last weekend.  Blake's team came in second place.  WOO HOO!  My little star managed to score 7 goals in 4 games.  I will give him another WOO HOO for that!  He never ceases to amaze me!  Honestly?  I wasn't expecting much the last two games.  The poor kid had food poisoning the night before and was visiting the bathroom until around 3 AM.  He informed me he wasn't playing in the games the next day (which I already assumed).  I set my alarm early so I could call the team manager to let her know.  Of course when I woke Blake up, he was determined to play.  He was fine.  So I said yes.  And then he scored five goals.  Well played, Blake.  Well played!

After his game Saturday, we were able to go out on a mother/son date!  It was a lot of fun....even if it contributed to his violent fits of vomiting that night.  We saw a movie and he ingested a whole lot of popcorn.  Then we went out for some fro yo (pretty much my favorite thing on earth right now).

So here are some pictures of Blake playing.  There are also a couple of Lola kicking the ball around.  And of course there is one with Blake and his gigantic tub of popcorn (YUM...thinking about it makes me hungry at this very moment)!

This is a shot of Blake scoring his goal!  I know it's a BIG picture but at least you can see him in action...with the ball in the back of the net! :)

Field Trip!

I was finally able to chaperone one of Blake's field trips again.  It's been a while (since 1st grade).  I now remember why I don't always make Billy take a couple days off work so I can tag along.  Why?  Well, about five minutes on a bus with a gaggle of 3rd graders will quickly remind you!  I'm not gonna lie.  I kinda wanted to jump out an exit door or window.  Alas, I survived.  My big ten gallon hat is tipped to all bus drivers (AND TEACHERS)!  I'm not sure how you do it!

Aside from all the noise said students can make, it really was a fun trip!  Of course since I volunteered, it was a sporting event!  We got to attend an Indianapolis Indians vs. Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs.  Yes.  You read that right.  The Iron Pigs was the mascot.  We all laughed and laughed (and laughed and laughed....until I was ready to scream)!

Blake was pretty crazy because that's how he gets around his friends!  But again, it was nice to be able to spend time with him.  I like seeing him with his friends (in all his lunacy)!  I enjoyed talking with his teacher.  And I enjoyed a little break from sitting around the house all day long!

Mini Marathon and Me (and Billy...)!

The day finally arrived!  I suffered through bajillions of injuries but I still felt ready to tackle the Kentucky Derby Mini Marathon.  I knew going in that there was NO way I could run the whole thing.  My poor left leg wouldn't let me.  I was right.  And my apologies go out to Billy who stayed with me the whole way!  I know he could have run it all but he stuck with me!  We ran 8 miles.  Then we walked most of the rest....with little spurts of jogging here and there.

I'm not gonna lie.  About ten miles in, I was sure I was going to have to flag a medical team.  I was really in pain.  My old knee injury (from a couple years ago) returned.  My hip injury that is still plaguing me today was present in full force on race day.  I was hungry.  I believe I could have drank an entire river and that wouldn't have quenched my thirst.  I didn't know if I could make it another THREE miles.  Then our friend, Adam (who is suffering from his own injuries) met up with us from the sidelines!  I'm not kidding when I say that he really motivated us!  I'm not sure I could've crossed the finish line without him walking a couple miles with us!  THANK YOU, ADAM!!!!

Here are a few of my favorites and least favorites from the event that can now be crossed off my bucket list (the bucket list that only exists inside my head)!

Favorites:

-Keeping a really good running pace for the first 8 miles we ran!
-Running with Billy....and not using an iPod or any music playing device!
-Being able to run through my favorite city!  It was a great way to discover new things!
-Running through Churchill Downs and seeing the horses (and wishing I could catch a ride on one of them)!
-Seeing friends cheering us on from the side of the road (Liz and Tiff)!
-Drum lines from high schools.  Holy cow I loved listening to them!
-Water stations....Oh how I LOVED the water stations!
-The crazy people...like the Elvis guys and the Colonel Sanders guy.  They made me chuckle!
-The medal.  I LOVE the medal.
-The fact that Billy and I smiled and broke into a sprint each and every time we saw a camera.  Yeah, we were those people.
-The food at the end of the race.
-Getting into my car.  I could barely move by the time I finished the race AND walked to the parked car.  I've never been happier to sit down in my entire life.  Ever.

Least favorites:

-INJURIES.  Have I stressed that enough???
-Not eating enough before the race and suffering from serious HUNGER issues!
-Not being able to run the whole 13 miles.
-Having to drive immediately back to Indy after the race!  BLAH!
-I don't really have anything else to complain about!  I really loved it....so much that I signed up for another mini in October.  This is in my least favorite category because I was on a runner's high when I signed up for my next mini.  I'm still injured so I don't know how I will do.  Also, I signed up so quickly that I didn't do enough research.  I have since learned that it is a HARD run with many, many, many hills.  This gal only runs flat courses.  So seriously, if you guys never hear from me after October 20th, I'm in the woods of Indianapolis somewhere.  Hills in Indiana?  Guess so.  Hmmm.....

Anyway, we had a blast and I'd love to run the Derby Mini again!  I would love to run with a group of people!  Any takers????  :)

Egg Hunt in the Ville!

I know Easter was AGES ago!  But we had the egg hunt at my parent's the same weekend everyone was in town!  So on April 22nd, all the cousins got together to find some more candy!  There are many, many pictures so that's all I'm gonna do (because I can) in this post!  So enjoy the egg hunt through all the photos...especially the group shots at the end!  It took a lot of tries (and this is only a few of the pics from my camera) to get some decent ones of all the kiddos!  Good times were had by all! :)