First Day!!!

I cannot believe that it is already the first day of school!!

Jacob was super excited to start 3rd grade. He was nervous because none of his buddies were in his class, but he clicked with a new kid in his class. I have to hand it to him.....he is always drawn to the "new kid". His favorite part of the day was they got an extended recess.

I have been so worried about Brady starting Kindergarten. He is my baby. We all struggled through preschool and I have constantly worried about him. We walked him into school yesterday and it was so obvious he was completely overwhelmed. Yesterday was such a long day for me. Waiting to see how he did. When the school bus stopped.........Brady had a little smile on his face that told Tod and I that he had the best day ever! Whew!

We are all ready for a great year!!

Letter to a Friend

Dear Tracy,

Thank you for being my friend. The funny thing about our friendship is that we are so different. We do not share the same beliefs religiously, politically, or even parentally. We come from such different backgrounds. Your roots are in the upper Midwest and mine are in the deep south. You are always of the "my cup runneth over" mindset and my cup is half full (and yes, half empty at times). You don't gossip and, well, I tend to "pass on" the unimportant chit chat of the day. You are a working Mom and I stay at home.

Tracy, thank you for being the person that you are. You never judge me when I go off on my tangents. You always come up with solid solutions to my crazy problems. I want to see the world with your compassion. I love that you pray each night with your family. I love that you are a believer in all things that are good. I love that you strive to be the best mom, wife, and friend. I am learning from you every day.

My wish is for every person to have a Tracy. You are a breath of fresh air, a secret keeper, a truth seeker, and my very best friend.

I love you and hope that I can be half the friend that you are.

Your forever friend,
Kathryn

Streaking

About six weeks ago I read an article in the New York Times about a growing trend in streaking. No, not the "running naked through campus" streaking, but a goal oriented type of streaking. This group was from the United States Running Streak Association ( www.runeveryday.com ) and their goal is very basic.... run every day. Yep that is it. Run every day.

It does sound pretty simple. Running is very simple. All you need is a good pair of shoes. Well, I decided to take this on as a personal challenge. Yep..I'm running every day. I used to run about 3 days a week for about 2.5 - 3 miles. The USRSA requires you to run at least one mile each day. About every 3 days I only run one mile, but most other days I run 2-2.5 miles.

I started running on May 23, 2011. I have a couple of routes in my neighborhood that I take. I've gone to the Y to run on rainy days. I even ran every day on vacation. I ran when I didn't feel like running. I ran through a terrible hangover. I ran in 95 degree heat. I ran and ran and ran.

Today marked my 1st goal of running every day for an entire month. Today I woke up with a double ear infection, a sinus infection, a respiratory infection, and an incredible headache. Today I had to run. I had to meet my goal. I woke up at 615am and slowly put on my running gear. I carefully stepped outside with the sun coming up and barely made it to the end of the driveway with my head spinning and throbbing. I had to pace back and forth for a few minutes to muster up the strength to run one mile. I kept telling myself, "Once this is over you will feel so much better! Once this is over you will feel so much better!" Once it was over I felt like I was going to die. I crawled up the steps then laid myself out on the living room floor. I stayed very still. Tod came in and nudged me to see if I was still alive. Barely. But....I did it. I ran every day for an entire month. It may not seem like much, but for a non-runner like myself this is quite an accomplishment.

Ask me what I will be doing tomorrow at 615am. Running.

Hooray! Hooray!

I remember my Mom reading the Berenstain Bears books to me as a little girl. My absolute favorite book has always been The Bears' Vacation by Jan and Stan Berenstain. It is a story about the Bear family going on their summer vacation and Papa Bear is showing Small Bear how to stay safe while on their trip. Whenever my family took a trip as we pulled out of the driveway someone from the front seat always quoted the very first lines of the book...

Hooray! Hooray!

We are on our way!

Our summer vacation

starts today!

I know this may seem like a silly memory, but it has always created that excitement of a family vacation. It always felt like we were starting off on the right foot. Usually my sister and I would roll our eyes as Mom and Dad would quote the book, but deep down we were reciting it ourselves.

Well, I am totally outing myself here...

After we had kids....I now quote The Bears' Vacation book as we pull out of the driveway. And yes, there are three sets of eyes rolling! It doesn't bother me at all. I know that the spirit of a fun family vacation is in front of us. I know that we may have a long car ride, but that is all part of the adventure.

We are headed to my parents tonight in North Carolina to cut off some of the travel time tomorrow. Then on Friday we head to the Bluegrass State!!

We will have a big O'Donnell Family wedding on Saturday and lots of family fun the rest of the week.

The boys and I will then fly to Louisiana to see my Grandmother. She is 90 years old and cannot wait for us to get there. I am sure I will gain 10 pounds in crawfish while there! Yum!


I almost cannot contain my excitement that we are starting off our summer with two fun family vacations. I might as well start now.....

Hooray! Hooray!

We are on our way!

Our Summer vacation

starts today!!!!!

Two Weekends A World Apart

The past two weekends I have been out of town with both sides of my family. The first weekend we went to the Smokey Mountains with Tod's family. All of the O'Donnell's in one cabin is always an adventure worth telling. The second weekend my Mom, sister and I spent in New York City. This is our 2nd annual trip to NYC and such a wonderful experience.


The first weekend was spent in a gorgeous cabin overlooking the Great Smokey Mountains. Twenty-five O'Donnells (including 3 friends) spent an obnoxiously fun weekend all in one cabin! Yep..all of us together. We had plenty of room and it truly didn't ever seem crowded. (well, except at meal time!!) The first day we went down into Gatlinburg, TN and walked the strip. All we bought was some saltwater taffy for the boys. We watched a fisherman catch several fish in the creek, saw lots of baby ducks, drank frozen daiquiri's while waiting for the rain to stop, played mini-golf, and rode go-karts. Loads of fun.


The next day was all about hiking. We hiked to the top of Laurel Falls. This is the only time I had may camera on me. Here are the boys at the start of the hike.

Posing for me.

A great reward...playing in the waterfall!

My second weekend was a girls trip to New York City. We started doing a "girls" trip last year and I hope this continues because we have so much fun together.

The first night we went to the New York City Ballet. Yes, I have been cultured! My sister-in-law, Jane's sister-in-law's sister (it's complicated..I know!) is a principal dancer in the NYC Ballet and we were able to see one of her performances. To be honest I wasn't looking forward to the ballet, but looking forward to some time with Jane and my family. We had a very quick bite to eat then off to Lincoln Center. I was so wrong about ballets. It was so modern and amazing. It was funny and sexy. It was such an incredible experience.

After the ballet Jane got us backstage to see Maria and congratulate her on such an amazing performance. She was beautifully strong, quirky, and graceful. I was in awe of her sculptured body and muscular legs. After watching her effortless performance I was surprised to see her sweaty, out of breath, and still strikingly beautiful. Being a ballerina is not all tutus and tiaras. It is very hard work! Afterwords we headed to Rosa's for freshly made guacamole, salsa, and a pitcher of sangria. Yum!

The next day it rained and rained and rained so we went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. A special exhibit of Alexander McQueen gowns was on display. We had to wait in line for an hour to see these dresses. It was such an avant garde experience. I'm more of a t-shirt and jeans kind of girl, but somewhere inside I still appreciate someone who can create such strange beauty.

That evening we had reservations at the River Cafe. Here's my sister Ellen and I in front of the restaurant.

The River Cafe is a fancy schmancy restaurant in Brooklyn under the bridge. We were able to watch the sun go down over the city. Priceless.

My sister and my Mom.

Our dinner lasted about 3 hours. We all sat with a view of the city. The view changed constantly as the sun went down and the lights came on over the city.

Our last day in NYC we mastered the Subway system and headed to Battery Park then on to Ellis Island. This was something Mom really wanted us to see. Our trip over was beautiful. Here is a view of the city behind us as we head to the Statue of Liberty.

I took so many pictures of the Statue of Liberty. She was breathtaking.

Ellen and I on Miss Liberty.

Ellis Island was an interesting experience. I only have one branch of my family tree that immigrated during that time. The other branches were already here...came over prior to the American Revolution. I learned that my great-great-grandmother and her family came through Ellis Island. We learned about the conditions these immigrants left in their home countries and about their hopes and dreams that were awaiting them in America. My great-great-grandmother traveled with a dozen silver spoons sewn into the hem of her dress. She wore that dress for weeks. Her treasure was safe. Her spoons made it to America and my Grandmother and Mother still have these spoons.

On our way back we stumbled on the Public Library of New York. If our library looked like this, I would be there every day!

The beautiful lion that is proudly protecting the books in the library.

The past two weekends have been so much fun. I have enjoyed the obnoxious fun of the mountains and the elegant fun of the city. I loved watching the people and the ever changing scenery both places offered. I am so blessed to have this family and love them dearly.

A Baby, A Princess, And A Wedding

Growing up I always heard how I NEVER slept as a baby. My Mom and Grandmother reminded me of this when both of my boys were born. I know they secretly giggled behind my back knowing paybacks were being carried out.

My Mom would also tell me (jokingly) that she was probably the only American watching Princess Anne get married because she was up with me. On November 14, 1973, I was six weeks old, and at 4am my Mom was up with me watching a very rare royal wedding - live. Princess Anne married Mark Phillips, a commoner, and the two of us sat in our living room in Albany, Georgia watching.

Today another royal wedding took place. I don't have a baby to sit with me and watch. My boys (husband included) could care less about weddings, royals, or ceremony. I wasn't sure if I was even going to watch myself. Then, late last night I decided to DVR the wedding. After getting Jacob off to school I sat and watched. I watched with amazement. The amount of people lining the streets. The hats. Oh, the hats. The ever so beautiful Prince Harry. (He's my favorite!) I was totally sucked in to this modern day fairy tale wedding.

I was so glad I recorded this event. Eventhough I didn't watch it "live" I feel like I was still part of something. I don't remember the wedding of Princess Anne, but I know my Mom will always remember her tired self watching. I think that is why I felt like I needed to watch. It isn't the fascination of becoming a royal or a princess. It is knowing that my Mom's sacrifice of sleep allowed her to be part of a royal wedding. I just wanted to be part of this one too.

Arrrrgggg!

This is by far my most favorite picture of the boys. It speaks volumes on their personalities.