1/2 Marathon...Wahoo!!

I am proud to say that Dan and I completed our first 1/2 marathon on Saturday! It was actually really fun and we enjoyed everything about the race. We have been training for it since early November, with good weeks and bad weeks mixed in there. There were points during the last few months where I was ready to hang it up and say forget it, but man, I am so glad that I didn't. Thanks Dan!!
I digress...The race was really well organized and had a record number of participants this year (384, I think). It was here in Starkville and the weather could not have been nicer. The course was long and there was a KILLER hill near the end. But thankfully, the wind was at our backs and the sun was shining, so it was tolerable. And afterwards, there was even a post-party at Rick's! Wow, haven't been there in a while! :)
Nobody in our group won any awards, but I think we all got exactly what we wanted out of the day! It is such a great sense of accomplishment just to finish...regardless of how long it takes or how pretty it is. At the end of the day...we had done it!
And now that we have done it, I am a lot less intimidated at the thought of doing it again...waaaaayyy down the road, that is. :)
Pre-Race

Clay ran the relay portion(the second 6.55 miles) with me and our combined relay time was 1:58. Not too shabby! I am so thankful that Clay was willing to run the relay. It took just enough pressure off and allowed me to actually run the whole thing without freaking out about it! :)


Jabo ran the race with an impressive 2:02 time! He is a machine!! It was sooo much fun training and running this race with him!


And here is Dan's and my finish! We finished around 2:19. Dan is the BEST coach and motivator!! There is absolutely NO WAY I could have done it without him or would have wanted to! And who would have thought Dan would EVER volunteer to run a 1/2 marathon? He must love me a lot! :)


(Sorry for random chick in the foreground...should have done a little more cropping.)

All the runners post-race:

Gigi, Danielle, and Michelle were soooo sweet to stay with the boys during the race and were at the finish line cheering us on!! We had the best cheering group out there!


And because I can't resist posting pictures of my lil cuties, here are some other pictures from the weekend:


Dan and Jabo took Will to Mossy Oak outlet and the Oktibeha County co-op on Friday and came home with these matching jackets for the boys! Will is all about his huntin' jacket, just like Daddy's. I think these boys might fall in love with hunting at an early age. Lord help me! :) (I really do love the jackets, Jabo! Thanks!)

Will's 4th Birthday Party

We had a blast at Will's 4th birthday party! We had it at Jump'n'g's, which was the perfect place for a January birthday. The kids ran around and were fully entertained for 2 hours (as were the adults) and my house is still standing afterwards! :)
We are blessed with the best friends and family around. Nonnie drove in on Thursday night to help me get everything ready on Friday, which was a HUGE help. I can't even describe all the ways my mom helped me throughout the whole weekend. She was truly the wizard behind the curtain! :)
Then, Gigi and Jabo drove in on Friday night as did Kelly, Kate, and Paul. They all traveled great distances to be here for our Will-man and we are so appreciative. Will is a well-loved little boy.




Andrew was never far from Nonnie.

The Birthday friends:

As you can see, the adults had as much fun as the kids!

Will helped Andrew climb the big slide and slide down like a big boy!



In addition to the great party, the weekend was filled with lots of fun meals together, playing with all the new gifts, throwing snowballs, church together Sunday morning, and even a run on Sunday afternoon. I couldn't have asked for anything more! Thanks again, everyone!!

Will's Birthday Surprise

It snowed on Will's birthday!! He was so excited about the snow that he asked us about 10 times before bed on Sunday night if it would still be there when he woke up. And it was! Lots of slushy, cold, icy snow covered the ground. It turned out to be the perfect day because Dan was home from work and so we got an extra day to our weekend! Will, Dan, and Andrew worked hard to build a really cute snowman in the backyard. I ran outside to take a few pictures, but was glad to get back to the warm kitchen to make breakfast.


The ice on the roads melted as the day went on, so we went ahead with our plans to take Will out to dinner for his birthday. We got the staff to sing to him, and he was soooooo embarassed. He slunk down into the booth and turned eight shades of red. He comes by it honestly! After the singers left, he asked "why did they sing to me?" I only wish I would have had my camera out. Oh well, here is a shot of him enjoying his sundae!


It was a really fun 4th birthday! I can't believe my boy is 4. When I think back at all he has learned and how far he has come, it feels like it has been 4 years, but then in so many other ways he still feels like my baby. He is such a smart, sweet, fun little person who I am proud of every day of his life! I love you Will!!

Will's growth stats:
39.6 lbs(75th)
43.25" (90th)

Week 2 of Christmas Vacation

 

After a wonderful Christmas weekend at home, we headed to Hartselle to spend the last week of our vacation. We had a really great week. The weather was crazy! There was snow on the ground when we got into town on Monday and then thunderstorms and 70 degree weather by New Year's eve! But, we had so much fun spending time with family, playing around with the kiddos, and even cheering on the bulldogs to a bowl game victory! WAHOO!!
Thanks to Gigi and Jabo for letting us shack up at their house all week. Y'all are so sweet to open your house to our family, our dog, and all of our "stuff!" :)
I will go ahead and warn you that the pictures are sort of random, but you can at least get a glimpse at some of the fun things we did over the week.

Will did lots of cooking with Gigi:

 

The little ones also got into the cooking action a little bit this year.

Here is a rare shot of all the Whatley guys together. What a good looking group!

 

Patrick gave Will and Andrew a soccer goal and all of the soccer equipment to go with it, so as you can imagine, they spent a lot of time running around outside, being boys.


More randomness from the week:

Will got some "work boots" from Gigi and Jabo, which he was so excited about because they are "just like Daddy's and Jabo's boots!"


And lastly, I wouldn't normally post such a terrible picture of myself(I was a little under the weather, ok?), but I thought it was pretty funny how Will and I are making basically the same face. And I wonder where the boy gets all his crazy looks! :)

 

And on a more serious note, Dan's grandfather (Papa) went into the hospital on New Year's Eve with chest pains. After a long weekend in the hospital, he ended up having open heart surgery on Tuesday morning in Birmingham. The surgery went well, but he has a long road to recovery in front of him, so please keep him, his wife (Nanny), and all of his family in your prayers!