Catching up...

Okay, so it's been a while...I apologize. At the end of the day I just didn't seem to find the time to update but I am planning to return to my blog on a regular basis for those of you who don't follow facebook.

Here's a summary of the last 6 months:

Reese:

turned 2 years old

gave up her pacifier

sleeps in a sort of toddler bed

talks A LOT now

loves the color blue

can count some

says kisses are gross

still does everything her brother does

refuses to call Mason by his name, only "Bubba"

wears her frog boots everywhere and thinks she can jump higher in them

Mason:

is making huge strides in his speech

is trying to talk to adults more (and kids too)

learned to swim and loves going underwater

won't let me give him kisses anymore

loves to ride his bike and we even had to adjust it for height

likes to watch scary movies (as scary as an almost 5 year old can handle)

managed to increase his infatuation with trash trucks

colors in the lines

can write his alphabet

Gary:

is finishing up his fellowship program which has been 5 years in the making

got a new bar-b-que smoker and likes to experiment on the weekends

learned a really cool therapeutic technique called dry-needling that he uses a lot now on me

and his patients

Lyn:

just found that getting up early makes for a less stressful day

made some changes with work so that I could be there more for the kids when school starts in the fall

is venturing out and training for a figure competition in September (yikes!)

The kids and I went to the beach for the first time with a long road trip to Galveston to visit some friends. We also took a mini family vacation to Maryland and Washington D.C. to visit family and friends...boy was that hot!

The next few months have a lot in store for the entire family so I will definitely do a better job of keeping everyone posted.

Raindeer boots

Sorry it's been a while since the last update. We have been busy, yet lazy at times, so I have a lot to catch you up on. We were able to go to my parents for an early Christmas weekend and were met with a lot of rain. Mom had warned us about the previous amount of rainfall and suggested we bring some rain boots. I had so much fun just shopping for Reese some rain boots. Mom picked some up for Mason, boys are so easy. Mason was a bit confused though and kept calling them "rain deer" boots.

So, if you give kids rain boots, they must use them to their maximum potential. My mom was thrilled to be able to get these city kids dirty, not just dirty, but wet and dirty. Love ya mom!

I did it!

I did it! I walked my half-marathon over the Thanksgiving break. It was awesome! You wouldn't think that one would need to train for "just walking" 13.1 miles, but let me be the first to say it wasn't as easy as one would think. Miles 7 and 12 were the hardest, by far. My mom did the majority of it with me with a combination of running and walking (thanks mom!). She also acted as my gopher, refilling my water bottle and bringing me a phone every once in a while. Extremely helpful! Gary and the kids came for the last 2 miles or so to help encourage me. Mason ran the last 1/2 mile or so and kept telling me to slow down and walk. I would have to keep telling him I already WAS walking. It was hilarious when he first started running with me and said...while laughimg and sounding surprised, 'Mommy, I didn't know you could run!?!?"

I walked all 13.1 miles on a really nice wooded, hard sand packed 1 mile track near my hometown. It's one of those little jewels that you take for granted until you move away and realize how lucky you were to have it.

My goal was to finish in 3:30, but instead I finished in 3:13 averaging 14:44 minute miles. I know I may look funny walking fast sometimes, but I am just thankful that I can.

So, thanks to everyone that helped along the way and to Gary and my mom for watching the kids and keeping me going the day of the race.

My next adventure will be in March walking the half at the Dallas Rock-n-Roll half-marathon. I'd love to have some company!

A little laugh for your morning

Mason has cracked me up lately with some of his sayings...

Whenever we playfully get onto the kids we sometimes say their full names in addition to adding "burger" to the end of Kearns. Grandpa started it. So we'll say "Mason Kearnsburger!" and they think it's funny. Well recently I have heard Mason get mad at Reese and would yell "Reese Kearnsburger" at her, which cracked me up because he was so serious. Apparently yesterday he was really mad at me and looked me straight in the face and yelled "Mommy Kearnsburger!". I know I was supposed to get onto him for yelling at me but I couldn't stop laughing instead. I will probably pay for that mistake later.

We put the Christmas tree up last night with just the lights for the kids. This morning Mason kept turning the lights off on the tree and I asked him why...he said he didn't want to waste power, in the most "duh" kind of tone. He did say his w's correctly though :)

Have a Blessed day!

Update a little late

So it seems that I have fallen behind on updating the goings on around here. We went to the Heard Museum a few weeks back and as usual Mason loved it. Reese wasn't too sure about it and preferred to be held as we walked throughout the exhibit. Makes for a long walk, but I didn't mind the extra cuddling.Despite having been sick a couple of weeks in October and not having much of an appetite during that time, this little girl has managed to gain 8 ounces and grow 1.25 inches taller. That puts her in the 3rd percentile for weight and the 50th for height. That's right...the 50th! Her pants have turned into capris almost overnight it seems.
This week we decided to take a mini-vacation and go to the Great Wolf Lodge in Grapevine. The kids absolutely loved it. Mason probably went up and down the slides at least 50-60 times in the less than 24 hours that we were there. Reese enjoyed it too but she was shivering most of the time and a little scared of some of the water features, but when we tried to take her life jacket off and go back to the room she would throw a fit. The best part of the trip for me was seeing them sleep in the bunk beds in the kid den suite. Reese slept all night on the bottom bunk and she looked so tiny. I kept sneaking in just to watch her sleep because she looked so adorable. Mason loved the top bunk and was very proud of himself for being a big enough boy to climb up himself. Gary was absolutely exhausted and was asleep before 9. We will definitely be going back but maybe when Mason is tall enough to ride the big rides. My other favorite part of our stay was when the boys were at the water park and Reese and I were getting ready for bed. She loves all things girly related and wanted to blow dry her own hair. How cute is she???

Have a Blessed day!

Ladybugs and spiders

This year was Reese's first trick-or-treating experience, which was helped by having a professional standing by in Mason. I have to say that Reese made the cutest little ladybug ever.

Mason and his little friends, Caden, Cohen and Zander.
Mason leading the way showing Reese how it's done.
What cracks me up is that Mason is usually very shy even around people he knows. But, if there is candy involved, he apparently knows no strangers. He was out ahead of everyone, the first at each door, the first to ring the doorbell and the usually the first to say "happy halloween!". He even went another hour after our group was finished trick-or-treating and he and Gary walked the majority of our neighborhood. Reese threw a fit when I took her ladybug outfit off. Poor little girl was tired after all that walking. Can't wait for next year!

My favorite walk

I look forward to my long walks on the weekend because I usually follow the same route. Today was no exception as I did my 8 mile trek. A little more than a mile into the course (and again at mile 7.5 today), I round this one particular curve in the path and come across this...and every time I think what a beautiful place for pictures and I would imagine the kids running around under the canopy of the trees on the incredible green grass. Well, today I had Gary meet me with the kids at the end of my walk and we did just that.
And if I do say so myself, today's photos didn't disappoint. They turned out exactly like I pictured in my mind.
They didn't stay still for very long at all, but it was long enough to get this picture, which happens to be one of my new favorites.

Mason took the time to teach Reese how to blow on a dandelion, but doesn't quite understand about the making a wish part first.
So now when I walk past this particular spot I won't have to imagine the kids running around under the trees anymore.

It was such a beautiful day!