Thank you Grandma Rankin!

The kids loved having more gifts to open after Christmas Day! Thanks Grandma.
Princess Palooza is a new favorite bedtime story for Isabel.

Thanksgiving Holiday

Grandma & Grandpa Rankin (my Mom & stepdad) visited us for the Thanksgiving holiday this year! We had a wonderful visit full of many adventures.

We took our annual trip to the Trains at Northpark. Jack was in heaven!



We walked around SMU in hopes of seeing the Christmas lights.


We started Thanksgiving Day with the 8 mile Turkey Trot. It was a cold day but a fantastic run! The kids stayed home and played with their grandparents and we started cooking around noon.

Both Mom & Gary were put to work! :)

Our turkey!!

Ready to eat...





And of course we had to eat at In-N-Out since Mom & Gary miss having one near their house. We were all stuffed.

Jack & Grandma built a gingerbread house. A little crooked but everyone had fun decorating it - even Izzy! They did manage to eat several of the decorations too.

Silly!!

DRC Half 2011

Finished! My 8th half-marathon but definitely not my best. We did finish under 2 hours. The warm, muggy weather certainly didn't help. So glad John could run it this year...and he loved the course. We went around almost all of White Rock Lake and through some pretty areas of Lakewood. Thankful we could have another morning run "date" together!!

Final Soccer Game

Jack's last soccer game was today. The Bulls won 6-3!
We had a pizza party afterwards to celebrate the season. The boys loved their trophies!


Group photo with Coach Hooke


Soccer cupcakes I made for the party. Yes...these took forever! :)

A is for Ant!

Isabel learned about the letter A this week. They studied apples, ants & alligators. She walked out of school wearing her antennas!

Go Bulls!

Jack's soccer team for this season. They wear green & gold - Armstrong Elementary colors. Jack picked number 45 for his jersey - his two favorite numbers right now.

First Day of School...Days Ago

Better late than never!

Jack started PK4 at St. Thomas Aquinas on August 24th. He goes to school every day from 8am-noon. And he loves that they wear uniforms this year!



Isabel started school on September 6th at Skillman CDC. She goes T/Th from 9am-2pm. I am so proud of her! She is the only child in her class that walks right in without any tears. She shed a few the first day (me too!) but has since decided she is a BIG girl.

Brew at the Zoo

Our good friends Lee & Haley joined us for a fun night out at the Dallas Zoo this past weekend. The event was sold out and super crowded but we still managed to have a great time. There were tons of beer & cider vendors for us to sample and live music. The pinktastic drink pictured below was a favorite.

Like Father Like Son

Jack LOVES his Army ACUs from Grandma Hagan! He makes John get into uniform so they can run around and play Army. He even low-crawled in the front yard to "hide" from the babysitter.

Happy 4th of July!!

We had a wonderful holiday weekend!! Started the 4th of July off with the Firecracker 5K Fun Run through University Park. Jack was thrilled we were the 1st stroller across the finish line! Afterwards, we found the perfect spot for the parade. We now have enough candy to last us until Halloween.

Beantown Birthday Bash!

We celebrated John's 33rd birthday in Boston with our bff's the Panniers! Best part? This was a total surprise to John! I wish I could have captured the look on John's face when we walked into our hotel lobby and saw Lee & Haley!
We headed straight to Newbury Street for lunch at Joe's Bar & Grill. Our hilarious waiter accurately coined our situation - day drunk! Awesome drinks.




Then over to Sweet to sing Happy Birthday to John and enjoy some tasty treats. Lee & I loved the frosting shots!!



A little stroll through Boston Common before we raced back to the hotel to get ready for the game.

The boys were in heaven when we got to Fenway Park for some baseball. The Red Sox hosted the Chicago Cubs - something that hasn't occurred since 1918! It was packed! The weather, the seats and the game were perfect! The Sox won 15-5. Haley and I made frequent beer runs for the guys (Guinness on tap) and enjoyed some yummy clam chowder to stay warm.







Day 2 started with a 6 mile run along the Charles River - past MIT and along the back bay. We discovered the Earth Day Festival where we scored plenty of food for a picnic in the Boston Common park.




And then of course we walked the Freedom Trail! We made a pit stop at the oldest pub in America, The Bell in Hand. Our last stops were Paul Revere's House and the Old North Church where he lit the signals to warn that the British were coming.





Sadly, no pictures of the obscene amount of cannolis we bought at Mike's Pastry shop in the North End. Oreo, peanut butter, amaretto, chocolate hazelnut and chocolate creme. And yes...we ate them all! We hit the North End for some Italian food and drinks.


Our last day started with a 5 mile run to Harvard University and around Cambridge. It was cold the last day but still a great way to see the city. We ate some great seafood, walked through the park again and then took the T back to the airport.
Another fantastic trip with our wonderful friends! Thanks Lee & Haley for everything!!