Days with the Dorans

The last day of March was a highlight for sure! I started it out right by running 5 miles with Papa. It was chilly but a lot warmer than being at home! By the end of our run, I was in a T-Shirt. I crushed 100 miles for March (113 to be exact). When we got back, it was time for the Easter Egg hunt. I didn't even have time to shower! Met the rest of the group at the top of the parking lot just in time for the festivities to start. Steph got these awesome hoodies for everyone! They say DDSB (Drapal Doran Spring Break) and the kids had their birth number order on them. The four youngest did the hunt and got lots of eggs. Sean was going to wear his hoodie backward and collect eggs in his hood but we finally got him to agree to use a bucket. They did a great job! After a shower, we decided to check out Ober Gatlinburg. We only had one day here so could only pick one thing to show the younger Drapals. We wanted to do Cades Cove too but it was too much for one day. While ...

This year our spring break backed up to Easter~ meaning we had an extra day off. While we were bummed to miss Good Friday services, we were excited to have an extended vacation that also meant we got to go to TWO places. We were heading off to start our vacation in Gatlinburg, TN which SHOULD have been an easy drive. It wasn't. For one we had HORRIBLE traffic- I mean the worst. An 8 hour drive turned into a TWELVE HOUR drive. In addition to the traffic- our tire light went on so we headed to the nearest gas station to fill up and see what was up. Well- our tire was soon flat and Jeff was off in a tow truck while the kids and I hung in the gas station subway playing games until he returned. Thankfully, the kids were great and we made the best of our wait. The good news is that it was only about an hour setback and not too much money. The bad news is it was still a setback and money... We finally got there and thankfully Nana and Papa had already made a trip to the s...

With us leaving for spring break, we had to find people to watch our babes! Mortoise went off to stay with the Gordons and the Cosmans saved us some bucks by taking Marty for a few days. I was worried that Marty would drive Violet nuts but was told that he behaved himself. We loved getting the updates and pics too! We are lucky to have such amazing friends to help out! We're going to have to treat them both to dinner when we get back!

It was time for the annual Variety Show at LLE. I always do my class act- which is the same but a good one! All of these amazing kids joined me. I'll blink and they'll be graduated! They had a great time!

Sean had a treat for Reading Month! Zach also was able to be a Mystery Reader in his class! I love that she took these pictures so I could see them. Z said he had a great time and Sean was surprised and excited!

Well, Toys-R-Us stores are closing. I'm not super surprised... I'm an Amazon girl myself but it's sad to see the brick and mortar stores closing. We had some gift cards that we had never used so I figured we may as well get out there and get something... The store was incredibly busy and the shelves seemed picked over. The sale was only 10% at this point but with gift cards we just kind of wanted to get the trip over with. I was surprised at how hard it was for the kids to pick out a toy. Eventually everyone got something (including me...) and then we decided to head out to eat. I have to say I enjoy going out with these kids with our "no screens" rule we actually get to talk and laugh! Mealtimes together are the best! It was a great day but when we got home of course I found ONE more card... That means we'll have to head out there again even if it's just to get candy or junk for my kids at school! So long Toys-R-Us~ I remember being one of y...

My dad asked me if I wanted to run the 5 mile race around WL. It benefits a local family in need so it was kind of a no-brainer. This was my second race but since I've been running regularly I wasn't worried. In fact-the goal is always just to finish~ I'm not worried about times at all! Papa and I started out together and we found Jodie G. too! I ran with them for about a half mile and then they told me to go off on my own. It was a nice day and I really enjoyed running. I also saw one of my current parents which was cool. My lovely watch told me each time I hit a mile which was nice. I felt great and and had a wonderful run. I placed fourth in my age-group!!!! I ran 8:36 minute miles (I run between 9-9:30 usually so this was really good for me though I didn't feel like I was really pushing myself since I don't like to push...). I ran into lots of people after the run including one of my kiddos who ran the 5K. His mom sent me these pics. It was fun to run...

When Joe had the opportunity to go to DC with his school it was a no-brainer for us... he was GOING~ but he was a bit nervous. With the current culture the way it is (shootings- etc) he was nervous, but he had a GREAT time and thanked me later for making him get out of that comfort zone! I had to drop him off at school by 4am (which seemed insane and of course I didn't sleep at all the night before). He was rooming with Dom but had other friends going too. I was so thankful for cell phones so that he could send me pictures and updates on how he was! He roomed with three other guys and it sounded like they had a great time. What an amazing experience he had. He sent me many awesome pics of monuments but since you can see pictures of them online- I chose to post the pics just of him. I couldn't believe they got SNOW (and lots of it!!!). He packed a new hoodie (that he said was warmer than a winter coat), a hat and gloves but no boots. He's not a fan of the perso...