Marine Corps Marathon

We decided to celebrate our fifth year of marriage by running the Marine Corps Marathon! Last Sunday we ran the 34th MCM in Washington DC. There were about 22,000 runners and it was pretty packed the whole 26.2 miles.

We finished in 4 hours and 21 minutes.
Our little champion!

John got to check off one more thing on his bucket list.

Many Firsts in Dallas

Eli took his first plane ride this month when we flew to Texas for Sarah's cousin's wedding in Texas. He was a very good boy (for the most part).

John got the privilege of taking pics for the wedding. It was a lot of fun seeing and celebrating with family.

Congratulations Chris and Lara!

After the festivities we took Eli to the zoo for the first time! He loved looking at the animals especially the elephants, and big cats.

It started raining and we got drenched!

It was still rainy the next day so we took Eli downtown for his first trip to an aquarium.

Hanging out with the Las Colinas statues.

We also finally turned his car seat around and he loves looking out and watching all the cars.

Giant Acorn International Triathlon

Last Sunday we did our first Olympic distance triathlon (1 mile swim, 24 mile bike and 6 mile run) in the heated waters of Lake Anna. The water in the part of the lake that we swam is used to cool a power plant (nuclear?) so it always stays 6-10 degrees hotter than the rest of the lake. So when people come out of the lake with a glow about them its not just because they are happy to have finally finished what felt like a never ending swim. It was an early morning as we woke up at 5:45am packed up our gear and drove two hours to Lake Anna to run one of the last tri's of the season. This is our 3rd time doing the Giant Acorn, but the first time doing the Olympic distance, since we have been doing sprints (half the Olympic distances). The weather was great. Sarah had a great race, though she might have finished last in the swim... but she now knows which part to really work on. She actually got yelled at by the guys in the canoes to stick closer to the buoys instead of heading out to sea. She finished in 3 hours and 26 minutes. I had a good swim, good bike but a miserable run since I cramped up 2 miles in and forgot to put my goo in my back pocket for replenishment. I had to stop and stretch and the rest of the run was managing pain. I finished in 2 hours and 50 minutes. We had a great time and look forward to doing more tri's. Next time I'm going to carry Eli across the finish line.

Other adventures

It was a beautiful day yesterday, so we took Eli to Great Falls, MD to hike around a bit. He loved running up the path through the woods, throwing pebbles in the canal, and climbing up rocks. We had a fabulous time. Then wrapped up the day with a delicious dinner at Bonefish Grill.

Happy One Year! (and other adventures)

Eli turned one back on August 20th. We had a great time celebrating with family and friends. He enjoyed his chocolate cake!! He received a radio flyer wagon from his great grandparents and loves pulling (and pushing) it around the neighborhood during his morning walks.

Eli's first steps

Our cruise vacation

We had a fabulous time on our Cruise vacation. We cruised to Burmuda and back. Eli really enjoyed the beach and would crawl straight into the ocean. No Fear. Babies were not allowed in the pool on deck so we brought a little pool for him to play with.











We went on a cruise to celebrate John and Nicole's marriage. Congrats guys!













Babies were not allowed in the pool so we bought a little pool for him to play in.

MOBILE ELI BOY

Eli is on the go. He is actually training to be the youngest IRONMAN. Here he is doing some hardcore training to prepare for this event.

In order to be an IRONBABY you have to get in a lot calories for energy:


you have to visualize Swimming to the horizon:

think safety first during Biking:

go endless miles of running:



and at the end of the day.. you're pooped..

This crazy blog post is dedicated to our friend Jeff!
Can't wait till you get back home. We miss ya!

Sophia loves playing with Eli

Updates:)

We finally finished our deck and it is gorgeous! The guys did a wonderful job. Thank you to everyone who helped us finish. Especially Sarah's dad who put in a lot of long hours.


















Elijah has started to crawl! It's amazing what he finds to put in his mouth! He loves to pull up on his crib and play with mirrors. It's is so fun to watch him grow and change everyday. It happens so fast!

On mother's day we dedicated him. Those of you who aren't familiar with this, it's not a baptism (as we believe that's a choice he will hopefully make in the future for himself), but it is when we say to God, "Thank you for giving us Eli and we dedicate him to you and will do our best to raise him in a way that is right and encourage him to grow to know you." As always, we appreciate your prayers and support as we aim to do this.

Spring Break at the Bella Vista

We are spending the week in Montross, VA where the Potomac meets the Cheasapeake Bay. We are vacationing with the Stones spending our days walking on the beach looking for shark teeth, playing tennis, biking on country roads, sitting in the hot tub and just chilling out.
We are staying at the beautiful "Bella Vista" which has scenic water views and bald eagles soaring by. What a great place to relax. Also this week Eli has discovered GRAVITY. He now likes to drop his toys, and spoons just to watch them fall. YAY!

Cherry Blossoms

So last Saturday we went with our friends to join the massive amounts of people out on D.C's tidal basin to see the Cherry Blossoms. The peak was from April 1-4. The metro ride in and out was pretty crazy. Eli had a poop on the way home which added to the fun of riding back on the metro.
The blossoms were beautiful. Eli loved being outside and seeing all the people and the blossoms. He got really smiley and giggly as we walked around.

7 Months

He claps now when he is happy!

He is so anxious to crawl. He swim likes crazy and gets frustrated that he can't get where he wants to go.

He is constantly talking. His favorite things to say right now are "da-da-da-da" and some long noise where he rolls his tongue!

He's getting so big!!

Elijah is now almost 7 months old! He's beginning to ask for more with his hands when we give him cheerios. He enjoys the swing and is always talking to himself.



























In two weeks John and I celebrate 5 years of marriage. It has gone by so fast and God has been so good to us! In five years we've been able to travel around the world and enjoy our time as a couple. Then have our first child!