Days with the Dorans

 I admit it... I'm a bit weird when it comes to my animals. I joined a "Bearded Dragon Support Group" (as I call it) on facebook and learned Norbert needed a bigger space. He's (or maybe he's a she- no idea) grown a lot since we first got him (those crickets must be fattening!). I think he likes his new space!! I'm hoping to use his old crib for Room 119 (but I'll have to check in with the support group to see if that's OK). I do think the kids will love him and he loves to hang (on you).

I can't believe this girl is TEN!!!! I remember WHEN SHE WAS BORN like it was yesterday!!! (click HERE to read that post). After our race in the D, we got to head over to the Drapals. It's so nice when birthdays fall on days when we can see one another! Maddy had the cutest cake! Her Grandma made it and she has a gift! She had a tiger wearing tap shoes and holding a bat on top of it! I wish I had gotten a better picture of it!! Who am I kidding? I didn't take these pictures~ I stole them from Nana! I did get this awesome hug of the Madster and Al hugging! Love how close they are despite the age difference! Cousins have a special bond for sure (as Nicole and I could tell you!). Happy Birthday, Maddy! You are so loved!!

I somehow talked Joey (and the Goose) into "Running the D" with me (which was the name of this race). I liked the hoodie that you got so signed up for it~ and the course is the shape of a "D" which I thought was neat.  It was a cold start and we waited a while for our wave. They weren't pace based but I didn't have too much trouble getting around others. Joe ran ahead (but not super fast), next was me and finally was Papa, Goose and Z's friend, Matthew. Zach was feeling kind of out of shape so he walked a bit. Papa was kind of bummed about that but still took first in his age group which was pretty cool! There were 46 people in his age group (70-99 which made us laugh). I felt good and ran pretty well (26:23). Not a PR, but I did get 12th of 670 runners aged 40-44 (so I was on the older end). I ran with my headphones but could still hear some of the buzz from the runners which was cool. I love those headphones. The route was flat too which was...

So~ I was awarded the "Teacher of the Year" award back when I was 25 (a couple years ago...) and they take your picture and put it up on the wall. The picture stays on the wall for say- 10 years or so and hangs by our gym. There was a running joke between Kevin (PE teacher) and I because (sadly) MORE than a few times, students would be lined up waiting and say to me (in ear-shot of Kevin), "Mrs. Doran, you are SO much prettier in your picture!!" and other comments to that affect. It was almost comical how often it would happen and when it came down, Kevin would say things like, "Remember when there was that REALLY pretty girl on the wall?" and of course we'd laugh at the memory. When the picture came down, I was given it (who needs an 8x10 picture of herself?). I gave it to Danny as a gift and then when he got Teacher of the Year (read about that HERE ), he gave it back to me. Crazy enough, I can't find it to show you the pretty picture bu...

So FINALLY got Joe some spikes- kind of crazy he did so well running in trainers all XC season. Loved the store we went to and even got some new kicks for me! Joe only ran a few months (once he decided to run) but he did pretty well! His PR for the mile was 5:15 and his PR for the 800 was 2:22. Can't wait to see what next year brings. Hopefully he'll keep running year round (a running mom can dream). Proud of you, kid!

After church, breakfast, and the Drapals~ we got in the car and headed north to celebrate Easter with the Dorans! We started at Grandma's house! At Grandma's, it's game on and you don't just get your color egg, but any eggs you can find. It was kind of funny watching them go nuts trying to get those eggs! Once they got the eggs, they were back in Grandma's and checking out all the cool stuff they got! Later, we headed to Uncle Jim and Tia's for more celebration! We got to see Baby Zeke (who isn't such a baby though I feel like we'll always call him that since he has the same name as his dad). We also got to see his new brother, Maverick and of course the Doran cousins. Grandma always comes up with fun games and treats! She made a big cellophane ball full of even more treats and the kids had to play a dice game to get the loot.  Sean finally figured out how to roll dice! Z got some fun girly stuff! Thankfully his sis was cool wit...

 Happy Easter!!! This old picture of the six of us popped up in my "memories" from when we took a trip to Orlando for Easter. Crazy how things have changed!! I can hardly remember these cute little people! One thing that didn't change was that the bunny came! The kids got some candy and a few fun toys to play with.  They went on a search for eggs, played a bit, and then we went to church. It was nice to be back at St. Matt's but there was a guest pastor and... well... I missed our pastor. After church, we went back to the Drapals for breakfast and an egg hunt. At Nana and Papa's, the kids have to get eggs that are ONLY their color. It's so fun to watch them search and help each other along the day. It was a wonderful morning. Christ is Risen! He is Risen, Indeed!!!

 With Papa and Z's birthdays falling during the week, we had everyone over on the weekend (after we colored eggs) to celebrate with food and cake! Z was a bit more animated when opening his presents and of course Marty was into eating the paper. I think Papa liked his presents too! After dinner we had cake, but I had no candles... WHOOPS! So we sang Sto Lat and the boys pretending to blow out their 74 and 12 candles!

So I LOVE hard boiled eggs!!! I actually got this little thing that cooks hard boiled eggs easily so I cooked up a lot! I mean- I did 30 eggs!!!! Each kid got 6 eggs to dye and it was fun! They started with drawing on their eggs and just chatting and cracking jokes. I love sitting back and just listening to them. They're so fun! We really are lucky to have kids that get along so well!  They of course started out with their own colors (Joey-blue, Ali-pink, Zach-yellow, Seany-green) but I'm happy to say they did branch out a bit and do other colors!  I found dyes from previous years which was awesome and easy and one of the kits came with these little wraps! So fun! You just put them on your egg, put it in hot water, and is just sucks it up! So cool! I'd say the eggs turned out pretty cool! We're ready for the bunny!