Starting the New Year!

What a fun year 2015 was and the winter has been rather mild to say the least!  Here is some updates on what we've been up to.
In 2015 we had out house painted on the outside which made a HUGE difference on the look.  It looks beautiful!! Kristen is busy with redoing the interior of the house as we speak.  We will post some pics as we get to finishing them.  Sophe is doing Gymnastics and Ballet currently.  Nora is doing Gymnastics and Ballet also.  Lastly, regarding an update, we finally became a minivan family.  We got a Honda Odyssey for all the taxi-ing around that we do with the kids and that Kristen does with other Mom's and Kids.
January was a rough month for us as we got hit with the sick bug.  I feel like the entire month of January one of us was sick.  February is just starting off great though so no sickness here.  I have slowed my running down over the winter months.  I plan to start picking it up in February again so i can be in mid-season form by end of March or beginning of April.  I havent picked any races to enter into yet but we will figure that out soon enough. Last year i ran in 2 half marathons and Nora rode in the jogging stroller during of the the halfs.  Kristen finished a full cycle of T25 (2.5-3 months at least 5 times a week) with some of her girlfriends.  They inspired me and a buddy to start T25 as well.  I think that is all for updates for now... Here are some pics of the girls from the winter.  Thanks for stopping by and dont be a stranger!

Which one of you Judges gave me a 9... That was a perfect 10 performance!!

Best Buds!!

This is a recipe that i think you will LOVE!!  They are called "Energy Bites"  Kristen makes them and the girls love them. Click on the link to get the recipe!  

Thanks for stopping by and see you next time!

December 2015

So it's November of 2015... We've taken some time away from the blog but recently i also realized how much I enjoyed capturing photos of the girls and posting them.  I love freezing time to watch them smile.  In this post you'll see some recent pics of the past months.  Here are some quick updates, on where the girls are.
1. Sophia is in 2nd grade and is 8 years old!  She is really growing and becoming a wonderful young lady. She had a great year in swimming this last summer and passed the swim test to allow her to swim in the deep end.  She is still continuing her gymnastics and loves it more than ever and lastly she started to play softball this year and was selected to play in the Allstar game!
2. Nora Jane is in 3K preschool and she is 3 years old!  She has quite the personality and where's her emotion on her sleeve.  You know exactly what's going on with her and what she's feeling.
3. We have become a minivan family we got a minivan about 45 days ago.
We are the brand new owners of a Honda Odyssey...Welcome to our life!!
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ql-N3F1FhW4
4. Kristen is Kristen, and what a woman she is!  Definitely the glue that holds the family together.  She has done so much with our house (inside and outside).  She is doing a great job with nurturing our girls and trying to keep an open dialogue with them about their days and what is going on at school.
5. I ran 2 half marathons this year.  This year will be a record mileage running year for me!!  Between April and October I averaged a little over 100 miles a month.  One of my half marathons this year I was lucky enough that Nora joined while I ran with the stroller.
6.  Lulu our dog is around 11 years old.  She is moving very slow but still gives the squirrels and rabbits a fit that are in our yard.  She's doing great for a senior citizen!

I think that is enough for right now... if i think of anything more you'll see it in the next update.  Here are some random pics.  I'll try to get some pics of some of the things i've mentioned above





This was at 6 flags in the end of summer.  Actually the first face painting for both of them!


                                                       Pumpkin Patch fun

Gymnastics time for Nora Jane!

More pumpkin Patch Pics

September and October Randoms...

So we are we definitely in the fall season!  The average temperature is about 49 degrees (but its a dry 49 degrees) so in these parts that means that sometimes it feels like 48 and sometimes it feels like 50... It's the end of October and we have gone through 2 birthdays this month...Sophia turning 6 and Kristen turning 26 at least that's how old Kristen looks.  We have had a fun month though as you will see in the pictures.  Not a lot of themed pictures here just a lot of us being us and enjoying each other.

So i noticed a critter in my backyard.  There is a hole behind him.... You'll notice that he sees me snapping a pic of him.  He soon after that escaped back in the hole...
He struck First Blood...

Jack Bauer who? I tell ya.... I get no respect!

This picture is foggy because the Chinese Consulate took it from a satellite.

A couple of pics from the Beach!

So i may have neglected to mention that Soph got her first American Girl Doll for her Birthday.  Saige was super excited to come to Milwaukee.  You'll also notice a trip to Chicago where Saige gets a lot of new clothes and she also gets her hair done.  We were even lucky enough to have her join us for lunch.  

The excitement never stops!