Running Update!

Last night was our first meeting of Moms on the Run.  It was freezing!  It felt like December instead of April, ugh!  Here's a pic of our group!  We meet every Tuesday night to run together!  The best news is I had my best run EVER last night despite the cold! 

Moms on the Run Group

AND in even bigger news.....I GOT IN to the Nike Womens Half Marathon in San Francisco in October.  Here's the e-mail I received:

Dear Keia Holgrimson,




By throwing your name into the random drawing for the 2011 Nike Women’s Marathon, you let us know you were serious.



You are up to the challenge of running 13.1 miles.

You can’t wait to hit the streets of San Francisco.

You are fiercely motivated by the thought of 20,000 women doing this together.

You want that Tiffany’s finisher’s necklace so bad you can taste it.



Well it’s time to put your legs where your clicking finger was, because the Goddess of Victory has spoken.



You’re IN, baby!


**************************************************************************

My heart started racing and a wave of panic came over me but now that I'm in...I must get running and running and running :)  I'll keep you posted on my progress!!!

Easter 2011!

We went to Eldora for the weekend.  We spent a low-key weekend with family and I loved spending time with Grandma Allyn!  Here's a few pics we took over the weekend. 

Marissa's School Conferences

Tony & I went to Marissa's school conferences today.  She got raving reviews from her teachers!  I'm SUPER excited that she gets the same teachers next year as they are super fabulous!  Here's what was written on her report card.

"We have so enjoyed having Marissa this year.  She has such a calming spirit.  She loves to tell us stories or share at group time.  It's been fun to watch her blossom in that area-becoming more confident in who she is.  She always wants to please us and is a "rule follower."  I'm so glad I get Marissa back next year!  Thanks for sharing her with us."

I'm SO proud of her!  I hope every conference is like this!  She has 3 weeks left of school and then let the summer begin!

Running...Friend or Foe?

Ok, so I've taken up running....don't ask me why but I have.  I'm not very good at it yet but I'm at least trying.  I am SO.NOT.A.RUNNER....but I like how I feel when I'm done.  I feel like I've accomplished something.

So, now that we have finished our first 5K we are now looking forward to the next.  My friend, Betsy convinced me to sign up for a half marathon (aka 13.2 miles) in October.  YIKES!  I still feel scared about that!  So that means we need to keep going strong all summer long. 

I joined "Moms on the Run" who meets on Tuesday nights to run together starting this next week.  I hope the weather turns nicer if we are going to start running outside.  I signed up for the next 5K on June 5th and then I'll do a 10K on July 23rd to try to ramp up for that half marathon in October.  Then another 5K in August and maybe I'll try to find another 10K in September.  This is sounding way too ambitious for someone who doesn't love to run :)

Next step is get a good heart rate monitor watch and a good pair of shoes!  Yes, shopping is in my near future!  At least there is one perk to running...SHOPPING!

Brody's 9 month stats!

I took Brody in for his 9 month check-up yesterday!  Here are his stats!


Weight:  22 pounds 10 oz (80th percentile)
Height:  29 inches  (60th percentile)
Head cir:  45 cm ( 35th percentile)

He got shots, a blood draw for a hemoglobin check and another antibiotic for his ear infection.  Oh and I looked yesterday and his 5th tooth just came through the gum! 

Marissa also has an ear infection so she got meds too!  This is very FIRST time having an ear infection and I know it's from all the swimming we did last week!  HA! 

Brody has learned how to kiss and it's the cutest, slobbery kiss EVER!

Our Jamaica Family Trip!

We arrived home last night from Jamaica.  We left 85 degree, beautiful sunny weather to come home to COLD, 35 degree windy, snow on the ground Minnesota.  There was seriously a collective groan from all passengers on the airplane when the moment the plane decended beneath the clouds and all we could see is snow on the ground.  Here we were in shorts, tank tops and flip flops....I seriously thought we would come home and it would be spring and 65 degrees out.  I. WAS. WRONG.  We step off the airplane and it was freezing and I was immediately depressed. 

Our trip to Jamaica was one we will not forget....lots of firsts happened....Brody's first airplane ride, his first trip to the ocean, his first sandcastle, his two top teeth coming in and the list goes on.  Our trip started at 3:30AM on Saturday morning.  The kids were woke up and we were on our way to the airport.  They were both in great moods and did wonderful considering they should still be sleeping for many more hours.  We arrived in Montego Bay around 10:00 AM and we were off to the resort.  The bus ride was about 1 hour and 45 minutes.  The kids were champs and we got checked into our room and we out by the pool by 1:00 PM. 

We spent lots of time by the pool and at the beach.  Both kids loved the ocean and the sand.  Marissa and I spent lots of time on the floaties in the ocean.  It was super fun!  We got dressed up for dinner every night which Marissa loved.  She is such a girly girl in that way.  She picked out her dress every night and sandals to match and then picked our her hair accessory for the evening :)  She loves the Sesame Street stage shows every night.  We did the character breakfast with the characters.  She baked cookies with Cookie Monster.  Did exploring for treasures with Grover, Storytime with Elmo, Did a Rubber Ducky hunt with Bert & Ernie and had her very own dance party with Zoe. 

Brody loved all the characters and the stage shows as well.  He clapped and started dancing every time.  It was hilarious to watch! 

Both kids did a wonderful job and many, many memories were made!  I am so thankful for such a fantastic family trip! 

Here are some pics to highlight our vacation!

I took 964 pictures....:)

Brody's 9 months old!

Brody turned 9 months while we were on vacation so I didn't get this post written until now!  He goes tomorrow afternoon for his check-up & shots at the doc!  He has struggled with ear infections for a couple of months so I'm hopeful that we will get a good report! 

Here's the Mommy 9 month report!

**He wears 9 or 12 month clothes!


**He has 4 teeth!  Two on the bottom and last week he got his two front teeth on the top!

**He still doesn't sleep well at night but naps during the day from 9-11 and 2-3:30.

**He is working hard on crawling.  He can get around the room but it's not always by forward crawling!

**He loves it when his big sister plays with his toys with him!

**He loves pasta, macaroni and cheese, toddler puffs, baby yogurts, bananas, and applesauce.
**He is working on figuring out the sippy cup!  LOVES water!

**He says Dada and Mama ALL THE TIME!

**He shakes his head NO to everything!

**He does SO BIG and it's SO CUTE!

**He gives "five"!

**He waves bye bye!

**He pulls himself up A LOT!  I think walking isn't that far off in his future!

5K Race

Tony & I set out to run a 5K race back in October and Saturday was the day we had been training for nearly 6 months.  We enjoyed participating in the race and are looking forward to running a race each month this summer!  Here's a pic after we were done!