Summer, summer, summertime!

Well I can officially say our summer is here! Graham ended school on Thursday June 3rd, and I finished on Friday, June 4th. We have been busy, as usual, with lots going on!

My baby boy is now 8! Happy birthday, Graham! Graham had his birthday party on Friday at the pool. He finished his spring soccer season with CESA in April, and now has started Swim Team with Sugar Creek. He is enjoying that so far, and boy I tell you...those practices wear him out! He has done awesome, and placed very well. He may be able to compete in Classics and Championships...Yay!

Mallory Kate is done with her K2 Class and has been loving her tap and ballet classes! Her recital was Saturday at the Peace Center...adorable is all I can say! See the pictures for yourself!

I have finished another school year with my 3rd graders and am looking forward to the summer! I have still been running regularly and I love it! I have set a goal of running the Kiawah Half-Marathon in December- 13.1 miles! Whoo-hoo! I have some really good friends and my brother joining me in that awesome race! I also will be running/ walking in the Susan G. Komen 3-day in October in Atlanta. We have a team of 4 and will run/ walk a total of 60 miles over 3 days- 20 miles each day! I can't wait. More information to come on that later!

Greg is still looking for a job- so please let me know if you have connections or know of anything! He is enjoying his flag football league and plays regularly.

The dogs are great- Piper is getting HUGE! She is so smart, but annoys the fool out of Cody! But I am proud of Cody for standing up to her...well, sometimes!

My step-dad is doing fantastic! It has almost been a year since his stroke, which is so hard to believe! The wheelchair is gone and he is walking with a cane. He still doesn't have any feeling in his right arm or leg, and still no motion in his arm. But I am so proud of him and my mom for staying strong. He got a new recumbent bicycle and my mom and him have been riding on the Swamp Rabbit Trail several days a week! Keep up the good work, Dad!

We went to pick fresh strawberries on Mother's day in May. They were wonderful and so sweet his year! Enjoy your summer and thanks for checking in!

Long time, no blog...
I had one major goal over spring break, and that was to get our blog updated. And wouldn't you know it, I'm finishing it in the last hours left of my break! It's back to work tomorrow, but it is downhill from here! We are all counting down the days until summer break!

We have been very busy around here lately. I have highlighted some of our happenings from the last few months. Enjoy the pictures!

Easter
We had a great Easter this year with the most perfect weather! We went to church with the kids and came home for a late Easter Lunch with our families. What would Easter be without an Egg Hunt? So of course, we hunted eggs and now have a ton of candy that we need to get out of the house! (My treasure box at school may soon be filled with lots of chocolate candy!)

What did the Easter Bunny bring?

Meet the newest member of the Stowe family...Piper!

On February 13th, the newest member of our family was born. Her name is Piper and she is a Goldendoodle. Her mom in a pure bred Golden Retriever and her dad is a Standard Poodle. Piper will be a large inside dog, about 60 pounds or so. She got to meet her new family last Friday, and has adjusted very well! Cody, our 11 year old shih-tzu, doesn't really pay her much attention. The kids love her already- she is absoltely ADORABLE! Hopefully one day Piper will be my running buddy!

Mallory Kate's 3rd Set of Tubes!

Hopefully the saying "Third time's a charm" hold true for this. On April 1, she had to get another set of ear tubes. She never complains of earaches or has any symptoms of having an ear infection, but every time we go to the doctor for a well-check or for something else, she has an ear infection. So...hopefully this will be the last set! She was a big girl and we are so proud of her for not being scared!

Cooper River Bridge Run 10K- March 27th

This was my first ever 10K (6.2 miles) run. This was the best race ever! I loved every minute of it, with exception of having to wait in the cold until the race started. However, once the race began, I was glad it was cool. I ran this race with Greg, my brother- Daryl, and Laura Leigh. Daryl and I stayed together the whole race, and ran it in 61 minutes. I really wanted to get under an hour, but the first mile was so slow due to the crowd. It was very hard to bob and weave amongst 38,000 people! After the race, we hung out in downtown Charleston. It was a blast, and I can't wait to do this again next year!

Greg and me

Daryl and Laura Leigh

Isle of Palms- Uncle Daryl and Graham

Mallory Kate

Kiawah- at The Ryder Cup Golf Course

Mom's Surprise 60th Birthday!

My mom turned the big 6-0 this year! I wanted to do something fun for her, so I planned a surprise party for her! We had it at Jim and Susan's house and a lot of family and friends came for food, drinks, karaoke, and dance. She was surprised, although she had a feeling something was up when my niece answered my telephone...oops! Oh-well! We all had a great time visiting with one another for such a great occasion! Happy Birthday, Mom!

Check out "The Supremes!"

My brother, Daryl, and I at the party!

Iceskating-

A first time for both Graham and Mallory Kate. Yes, they do make iceskates for Mallory Kate's size! Graham loved it, and Mallory Kate decided it was too much work and way too cold. So Mallory Kate and I ended up doing the jump castles in the next room. Graham had so much fun skating with his good buddy Will!

Snow Fun!
We actually got a few snowfalls this year, and enjoyed playing in it! Graham enjoyed snowball fights, when the snow would form them, and Mallory Kate enjoyed making "Snow Angels", until it made her too cold!