Congrats, Erik!!

Erik is going to Boston!!
Erik ran the Athens Marathon yesterday morning in 3:04:58, which qualifies him to run in the Boston Marathon! He finished 11th overall and 3rd in his age group (Males 25-29). We are so proud of him for accomplishing this goal and can't wait to make the trip to see him in Boston on April 19, 2010 - just 2 days after he celebrates his 30th birthday! Go Erik!!

Crazy Weather

We had a beautiful day today - sunny and 76 degrees. We knew it was supposed to rain this evening, but shortly after the rain began we heard a strange noise and looked outside to see this:

Malachi had been on a Gator ride earlier with GranMols (luckily she brought him home in the car) and he was very excited about the ice balls that were falling from the sky! He kept asking to play with ice the rest of the night!

Still Celebrating!

Malachi was just told that his birthday was almost over (since bedtime is getting close) and his response was, "but we can still celebrate!" So here are a few more memories from our day today.

He had a lot of fun opening presents! A few new (noisy) trucks from GranMols and Papaw.

Working on opening a present from Aunt Jessica, Uncle Mike, Austin and Whitney. Thank you for the cool markers and coloring books!

More cake tonight after his favorite dinner of chicken, rice and broccoli. After devouring a good part of his cake, he finally got full and stopped eating!

Happy Birthday, Malachi!

My, how time flies! Today is Malachi's third birthday. We are so blessed to have him around - he makes us laugh all the time, and anyone who knows him can imagine why! Just look at how he's changed over the past three years...

From the day we brought him home from the hospital to this past Saturday when we had his party!

We had a "Three-historic" party this year since Malachi has taken an interest in dinosaurs lately. The cake was my best attempt at a dinosaur, even though it looks a little like a dragon.

We had a coloring contest at the party. I think I caught Corinne and Lance right before they colored my floor!

The presents were a hit. Thank you to all our friends and family who helped us celebrate and gave Malachi more gifts than any child needs! We love you all!

Yay, Spring!

Yesterday we had some friends over to celebrate Malachi's birthday and the weather was beautiful so, of course, we headed outside! The sun was shining, it was warm and everyone had a great time!

Getting a decent picture of all six kids was a feat, but I think this one is pretty cute.

The swing set was a popular place...especially the slide!

The kites were also pretty popular, even though there wasn't much wind. We had to keep running around in order to keep them in the air!

Another Trip to TN

After getting home Sunday night from Nashville, we woke up Monday morning and hit the road to Knoxville for Erik's grandmother's funeral. Although it wasn't a fun reason to head south, we did enjoy the wonderful, sunny weather and the unexpected chance to spend time with family. Thank you, Bruce and Sigi (Erik's uncle and aunt), for being such great hosts!

Aunt Jessica and Malachi checking out some of Uncle Bruce's treasures.

Malachi really wanted to go on a hike with 'Buelo. He settled for throwing rocks in the creek.

When we got home I said something about Bruce being a doctor. Malachi got a little upset and insisted, "My Brucie is a soccer player!!"

Bruce and Sigi have built a zipline in their backyard. Erik couldn't resist trying it out...even though he had to wade through freezing cold water to get back afterward!

Okay, I know...nobody likes seeing the "man-thigh", but this was too funny and I couldn't resist! Thank goodness short shorts are NOT in style for guys!!

Spring Retreat

Erik and I, along with 5 other adults, travelled to Nashville last weekend with 31 middle/high schoolers for their Spring Retreat. We spent Saturday visiting the Grand Ol' Opry Museum, the Opryland Hotel, playing laser tag, eating BBQ, and hanging out at the hotel and in the pool. Everyone had a great time, although we are still trying to recover from lack of sleep...my girls stayed up talking until 3:00 AM!

The whole group in front of the Grand Ol' Opry.

Erik and me, and Heather and me in the Opryland Hotel. It was beautiful!

Some of the students in the Opryland Hotel.

The Days and the Allsops, and some of the students at dinner. Our waitress complimented the group on how polite the students were!

One of our boys, Brandon, saw a world champion power lifter and decided he may be able to beat him in an arm wrestling match. The guy was a great sport and at least gave him a shot before taking him down!

Although Andrew didn't win the "Biggest Splash" contest, his form looked great!

Me, Taylor, Lauren and Katie...the best girls' room ever!