Great Strides 2009

We have something at Lee every year in March, it's the Great Strides Walk/Run to benefit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. We always try to go and support and this year, our whole fam went out for the event. It was raining, almost the entire time but not storming so we were able to do the whole event. Here's the boys on the way over to Lee prepared to walk/run in the rain.

I called them the hat boys that morning b/c everyone of them wanted to wear a hat like dad. So cute.




When we got over to Lee, we had some time before our event, which was the 1 mile Fun Run. So, we ate bagels and bananas while we waited for our turn. Everyone was excited about participating. We debated taking them all over there b/c we didn't know how hard it would be raining.






Here we are in the rain, doing our 1 mile Fun Run. Funny thing happened, somehow we missed the shot gun start of our part. So, Tommy and Sarah with us and our kids did our own "fun run" in the rain. But, it was great, we laughed and got wet and just went on our merry way.














And also, at this event, my camera got on a different setting and so lots of the photos are blurry. I didn't notice it until I got home but I ran with my camera on my back so it must've switched settings. You'll be able to see the blurriness soon.












This is Amber and blurry Brett and blurry Jenna in the background. Really? How could I let that happen to my settings. It's really annoying.









This is Stephanie. I work with her and we had 100% participation from our office that morning. Cole was there too but I didn't get his picture. Of course Dr. Conn was there and his entire family.

Upstairs in the PCSU (b/c of the rain) there were games and prizes and lots of goodies for the kids. We spent about an hour up there probably. The kids enjoyed it though.





More fun in the kids area with some Hammond friends.

Charleston Rocks!

So we decided to take a trip with some friends. We decided on Charleston, that was an easy choice, it's a great place to vacation and hang out. Our friends Eric & Missy went with us and they were super fun. We left Cleveland on a Friday at noon and headed toward the coast. We made a few stops on the way there (thank you for letting me stop at Target). I needed to pick up a few things including a memory card for my NEW CAMERA. And I got a really cool khaki long coat since it was going to be chilly in Chaz-town.
These pics were taken when we got there and got settled into our room. We stayed at Lodge Alley which is the best place to stay when you go there. It's a Bluegreen Resort and it's right in the middle of everything you can imagine to do in Charleston.


Our first dinner there, we ate at Tommy Condon's which is a famous Charleston spot and a good one for seafood and other stuff. I had angel hair pasta with seafood in it. Everyone else got something having to do with seafood too. We even got dessert. We also ate outside on the patio area but they had these cool plastic curtain type things because it was chilly.



(Sorry mom, the kids aren't in any of the Chaz-town pics, so you'll have to just deal with it.)







After dinner we walked around for awhile. There's a great place out by the water where they have these huge unbelievable cool porch swings. You can just sit and talk forever swinging in the dark by the water. It's one of my favorite places to frequent while in Charleston. This is Will and I on a swing, acting goofy....as usual.





This is E&M trying to "have a moment" I guess but that doesn't happen on a trip with friends. Ha! No really they were cutting up as we were...as usual.










After we did the swings and the water, we found a spot to watch some hoops becuase it was the beginning of March Madness and we were all (ha, anyone that knows me well...knows I wasn't that anxious about scores of b-ball games!)anxious to know scores and results.








This is gorgeous Lodge Alley. This is right outside our room. Our door to our room is the second one you see on the left. It really is a great place to stay, we had a fireplace in our room, flat screen TV and lots of other added luxuries.







On Saturday, we just had muffins and coffee for b-fast and then ate at this tiny little cafe close to the market. It had all of about 7 tables in it. Very good food and some very saweeeeeeeet tea.










Body art anyone?

Okay, so I wasn't going to make this huge announcement on my blog but I can't help but tell what we did and post the pics to go along with it. Will and I, at 33 years old, both got tattoos in Chaz-town. It was not an impulse decision, it's one we've been discussing for years. So before we went, I had been through tons and tons of designs and contemplated on what to get and where to get it. In the office for our most recent dinner, we used a very cute four leaf clover on our invitations etc. I really wanted something that signifies that I have 4 wonderful children that I love so very much. So, it was decided, I was getting a brown dainty but very sweet four leaf clover on the inside of my right ankle right above where my shoe hits.






I was a NERVOUS WRECK!! I had no idea how bad the pain would be and I was so afraid of the unknown.










Okay below is a progression of pics. My artist was Chris Seattle and he was great, we liked him a lot. E&M went for moral support and they were troopers!!


Only took 15 minutes or less under the needle to get my little brown clover on my skin. He was fast!!

Finished product and so very proud of it. I know, I know, mid life crisis? Probably not at 33 but it's something I've wanted to do for a long time and I finally had the guts to do it. Is it professional? Probably not but I'll try to be very discreet about it at work.

So, then Will's was a different story. It took 1 hour and 45 minutes. Will and Chris (the artist) worked together to come up with a very cool design. It's a cross and above it, Psalms and below it 127:4. The verse says, Sons born to a man when he is young are like arrows in the hand of a warrior. His turned out perfect and we love it as well.

This is in process. Below is finished product. His hurt worse than mine. By the way, mine didn't hurt hardly at all. His was way more red and tender looking than mine.



Okay. Now that we got that out of the way, on to the rest of the trip. We spent a lot of time in a vintage shop one day and let me say, we had a blast.

For dinner that night we went to Hymans Seafood. Its another Charleston fave and is known for its oysters, which I hate.
We waited over an hour for a table but it was worth it. By the time we got our food, we were pretty much starving.



That night, I was so tired. We went dancing for a little while at Club Light. Yes, we were the oldest folks in the place but it was a blast!!

So we were watching hoops when we got back in and I just pooped out right there on the couch and they took a pic to make fun of me. Classic!






Another day by the water on the swings. Great place to hang out.


























Okay, last pics to post are of the 4 of us walking in an alley in Charleston. They have the coolest alleys there and I thought it'd be fun to take pics of us walking down an alley. So here they are. I'll finish out with a picture of the four of us. We didn't get many shots of the 4 of us so I'm posting the best one we got.

What a fun trip!!!

New and better pics are on the way!!

Just wanted to say really quick that I got a new camera today! I ordered it and it came in just in time for our weekend get-away to Charleston, SC. So, stay tuned...more pics and better pics are certainly on the way.


Good news, so excited!!!

The anticipated trip with "the girls"

Please excuse the blurriness of this pic, I still love it! Obviously I was taking it. Does it hurt your eyes? Yeah, mine too. :)


This past weekend was spent with my dearest and nearest friends. There are four of us that have been close friends for oh about 14 years. If you read all of our blogs then you will be probably get 4 different versions of this trip but just bear with us. We left on Thurs. night (later than we wanted to, sorry Naomi) and arrived at our cabin in Pigeon Forge about 11:30 PM. Rachel came the next morning due to several other scheduling difficulties. We really did have a good time. Sometimes it seemed like we were 90 but we had a wonderful time, relaxing, catching up, eating out without children, shopping and whatever else we could find to do. Of course my pics aren't that good since they are taken with my phone. So, I'm sure the other 3 blogs of this trip will have better pics. But I'll post what I have.
Friday, mostly, was spent shopping at the outlets in PF. I love those outlets. We hung out in our PJ's until about 11ish until we were hungry for lunch and waited on Rach to get there. Once we left the cabin, we headed for Olive Garden. Wow, I forgot how much I like that place. Sometimes its good, sometimes its not. Merica and I split a seafood fettuccine dish with shrimp and scallops and man, it rocked! Besides that, their salad and bread sticks are awesome.
Shopping then took over until later on in the day when we were, yes, hungry again. This time we opted for TGI Fridays. Haven't been there in so long!



We laughed at this meal more than we've laughed in a long time and you know what entertained us the most? We were taking pics with our cameras/phones and sorting out which ones were terrible and which ones were decent or if we looked 900 pounds or things might be flying thru the air over our heads. Anyhow, laughing with those girls was so much fun. It's the most I've laughed in a long time!














These girls know me. And we know each other well enough to be brutally honest with one another, sometimes maybe even when it hurts. I cherish the fact that I have these close life-long friends that I know I can count on to see me through the struggles of life.






We all turn 33 this year and it seems like yesterday when we were 19, 20 and getting married. We've come a long way and been through some stuff but we've stuck together like glue. We also have 11 children, and one on the way between us.





After our shopping day on Friday, that night for dessert, Rachel brought her fondue pot. How fun! I only have one shot of this and it's pretty dark but here it is.


Then, for Saturday, we planned to see a movie and that's what we did. We ended up seeing one I had already seen but it was fine to see it again with those cats. Did I mention the weather? Terrible. Drizzly and yucky the entire time we were there and cold. It did not stop us from having a great time though. Saturday night we chose Outback and we did that early, like 5. We did some appetizer sharing and laughed some more and discussed life.







My friends are notorious for dressing up in heels and jeans when we go out together. I went against the grain this time and sported tennis shoes and a sweatshirt one day. I told them, I dress up every other day of my life for work so when on vacation, I'm dressing down. Got it?










So, all in all, we had a super good time and it was time well spent catching up on the ups and downs of life with lots of children. I can't wait until we do it again. This time we have to wait for Rach to have her fourth and final baby and get that one nursed and ready to go. But it won't be long before that happens. Baby Jones Hicks will be here before we know it.





Here's my most recent favorite pic of us from Sarah's wedding last May. I didn't get a good group shot from this weekend. Again, please refer to the other 3 blogs when they get this post up there.



One more thing, thanks to my wonderful husband, this trip was possible. He was a rock-star and kept up with our children for 2.5 days! Way to go honey. Kudos to all of the husbands for allowing us to get together as often as we can.