It's my birthday gift to me!

Last year for my birthday run I simply woke up and decided that I could run 28 miles. Well, after only running 18 of those 28 miles (and walking the rest), I decided to train a bit this year to make sure that I could finish the whole thing in a more dignified manner. Since February, I've been running between 13-20 miles almost every Saturday to get in some longer distances. Most of them felt pretty good, except for the 46-degree 19-miler that rained on me the entire time and I ended up stopping at some guy's house to borrow his cell phone and call Amy to come pick me up because I was freezing and had no more energy to run the last 5 miles home.

For my birthday run, Amy helped out by giving me drinks and some apple slices around mile 16 and 24. They were much needed and much appreciated breaks. She also took a couple pictures from the car.


But my favorite was my 31-miler. I left around noon and told Amy I'd be home in 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Well, 4 1/2 hours later, I finally made it back home. Silly Amy was starting to wonder what happened to me and if I was going to be coming home. But I felt great and ran the entire time (except for a 5 minute potty/drink break an hour and a half into it).

My birthday run wasn't as nice as my 31-miler the previous week. Some friends said that it was because I had just run 31 miles and then turned around a week later and tried 29. I just thought that it was because I ran the first 18 miles at 8 minute pace instead of 8:30 pace (which makes a big difference).

Nursery

Amy got the nursery all put back together. It is all finished. Now we are just waiting on him to arrive.

Camping fun

Matt was out of school for Good Friday so Thursday night we went camping with some friends. On Friday we went to the park to play.

Zack and Maddie enjoying the swings. Zack still needs to learn that when he is done he needs to tell you instead of just letting go.
This is what happens when you let go while still swinging. He ate some dirt long with it. It looked a lot worse yesterday when it happened.

Hair cut

Zack was getting a little shabby on top and he kept waking up with bed head. So Amy asked him if he wanted his hair cut. He said yes and held still for the most part. He loves to eat the comb and hair clips while it is getting done.

Done painting

We finally got the nursery painted. The easy part was the painting. We painted the light blue color. It then took Amy 8 hours to tape the room so we could paint the darker blue stripes. We like it and think it turned out really cute. But Amy said we are not doing vertical stripes anytime soon, at least not in such a large room.

Daddy's shoes

Matt and I were getting ready to go to Les Miserables. So Zack decided that he should wear Matt's shoes instead of his own.

He's a little crazy

We were going to one of Matt's coworker's wedding. Zack decided that he needed to wear Mr. Potato Head's glasses.
This is how he sometimes likes to watch movies.
Zack uses Amy as a jungle gym. As you can see, he loves it.
Zack is the biggest helper. He pushes the car out of the garage so Amy can go to work.
Zack trying a new fashion statement. He is wearing Amy's head bands as a belt and a necklace.

Finger painting fun

This was Zack's first time finger painting. He did pretty good for a boy that does not like to have his hands dirty.

Cool dude

Zack wearing his daddy's hat. Then he thinks he needs to see the camera and either look at the pictures or take a few himself.
Wearing his sun glasses. He has never really liked to wear them the way they are intended. Oh well. He has fun with them.

More rodeo fun

We got to have fun on the farm. They give you a basket and you get to pretend to do farm chores. You feed chickens and gather eggs. Then you plant veggies and get to harvest them. You also get to milk a cow and sheer a sheep. After you are done with all your chores you sell all your stuff for money. At the end you can buy a snack at the store. Zack bought a box of raisins. It was a lot of fun.

Baby pot-bellied pig
Wallabies
Deer

Fun at the Rodeo

We went to the rodeo this year. We thought that Zack would really like it. He loved seeing all the animals. He was a little hesitant at first in the petting zoo. After about 5-10 minutes, he was just fine and walked around petting everything.

Family nap time

Zack fell asleep on the couch with Amy and then decided that he needed more room. So he moved to the floor. Matt was on the other couch asleep also.

This is another Sunday that Zack fell asleep on the couch with Amy.

Box

I do not think ice cream can be too good for turtles, but Box decided to give it a try. Matt puts down a spoon full or two for Kit and Tornado. This time Box decided he needed some too.
"Help I have fallen and cannot get up." Box loves to drink out of the kitty water dishes. He must have fallen off.

Crazy cats

Chunky enjoying a nap.
They love when you open the windows and let in the fresh air. Really, they just want to go outside. You can see Oreo outside in the flower bed.

They take over the bed during the day.