Joey's 4th Birthday Party

I'm a little behind on posting pics from Joey's birthday but it's been a crazy month...

We had Joey's birthday party at TNT Fitness Academy this year and the kids had a blast! During the first hour of the party, one of the coaches guided the kids through several different stations. The first station was a giant parachute and the kids enjoyed flipping it up and running under it. Next they ran through an obstacle course. They did forward rolls, jumped on the trampoline, jumped over sticks and walked on the balance beam. Last but not least, they had some free time in the foam pit which is always a favorite. The last half hour, we ate cupcakes and Joey opened his gifts. It was short but sweet and just the right amount of time for a group of 4 year olds. Needless to say, the kids slept very well that night.

Joey wanted a sports themed party so his cupcakes had footballs, soccerballs, basketballs and baseballs on them.

Joey opened presents from us that evening and was excited about the Packer uniform and Panda PillowPet. More pics of the Packer uniform to come... whenever I get around to my Halloween post...

Thank you to all of our family and friends who came to help us celebrate Joey's big day. It meant so much to him!! Can you believe he's 4? I sure can't!

PhotoMama Workshop

This weekend I attended a photography workshop called PhotoMama here in town. It's put on by a photographer by the name of Rialee (there's a link to her blog under "My Favorite Blogs"). I have been following her blog for quite awhile now and love, love, love her style of photography. She mainly photographs babies and children but just recently added dogs to her list of specialties. She uses all natural light and her photos are absolutely amazing. Please check out her site if you have not seen it before.

I've always thought about taking her workshop but I didn't have the right type of camera and thought the material would be way over my head. But when my friend, Sharella, said she signed up for the workshop, I decided to take the plunge and sign up... and buy a new camera. Friday night, we met from 6:30-9:00 and basically went over all of the technical stuff. Then on Saturday, we did a little of the same in the morning and then had fun practicing everything we'd learned. In the afternoon, we got to do a mini photoshoot in Ria's studio with 3 different models. I had so much fun and learned so much! Now I'm hoping I can go back to reading my Digital SLR Photography for Dummies book... and not feel like a dummy!

Here's a photo of Ria (we were practicing some different settings outside)...

Here's her studio... it's AWESOME!! Tons of great lighting and perfectly decorated.

This is her prop room... lots of cute little hats!

This little girl was our first model. She's 18 months old and absolutely adorable. I was curious to see what tricks Ria had up her sleeve to get an 18 month old to sit still. Her secret? SMARTIES! I'm totally going to try that with Sam. My camera settings were a little off but I still think these two turned out good.

This little girl and her sister were our next set of models. They came dressed in their Halloween costumes. They were a bit harder to photograph because there were so many of us trying to take their pictures and I think they got a little bored. Here is one of the older sister.

This little cutie is 10 months old and I had the most fun with her. Do you think her outfit could get any cuter? She had striped leg warmers, a onesie with ruffles on the butt and that cute knit hat. At first, she was a little shy... who could blame her though with 15 people pointing their cameras at her but it didn't take long for her to warm up.

This is probably my favorite photo of the day... I love her pouty lip!

No worries... she's happy again!

10K

This weekend I completed my first race! Josh and I ran the 10k (6.2 miles) together. After watching Josh train and complete the marathon last spring, I was motivated to give it a try... on a slightly smaller scale. About 2 months ago, I started training 3 times a week and to my surprise, I actually enjoy running. I was a little disappointed with my time because I know I could've pushed myself a little harder but now I know what to expect so hopefully I can keep improving. Josh ran with me the whole time, which I appreciated so much. He kept pushing me... without being pushy! I know he could've finished with a much better time but he insisted on sticking by me which is one of the many things I love about him.

The race itself was so much fun. I am always so motivated to see so many people of all shapes, sizes and ages who are out there giving it their all. During my training, I mostly ran on a treadmill so I wasn't prepared for the hills (yes, we do have hills here)... so it was much harder than I thought it would be but it felt so good to cross that finish line!