Snow!

We had snow on Feb 23rd!! Colt's first memorable snow experience!

He had SO much fun playing in our backyard, making snowballs, throwing them at the house, running around making crunching noises in the snow.

And of course EAT the snow

Levi, on the other hand, was unsure about the cold.

Eventually he meandered onto the porch.

Only to break down crying out of sheer misery

and quickly return to the warmth and dryness of the house.

Molly loved the snow probably more than anyone. She kept running around the yard at super speed, then jumping onto the porch trying to push the snow in piles. Pretty funny.

For a few days afterwards, Colt kept asking "Where'd the snow go?"

Hopefully it'll come back next year!

I'm an old woman.

My 30th birthday recently came and went. It was a great day with lots of well-wishes, thanks to Facebook, and calls from the family. Ty woke up early and made me a breakfast of scrambled eggs and chocolate chip pancakes. The boys and I went to a lunch playdate later in the morning. My friend, Andrea, made me a delicious cookie cake that looks totally professional, but yes, she made it completely herself. Makes me sick that I'm not talented like that ;) Such sweet friends to celebrate my 30th! We ate Texas Land and Cattle for dinner, but really went out to celebrate the next weekend with 8 friends at NXNW. I love extending the birthday celebration :)

They actually put 30 candles on the cake. YIKES! The first blow I blew out 27, so had to go back for the last 3. Look at that vein popping out of my neck... I was trying SO hard :) I love the look on Colt's face. He's so serious and a bit mad that I was blowing out the candles. He wanted to help I think. Anyway, entering into the 30s hasn't been so hard. I feel good, have accomplished what I've wanted to accomplish at this point, love my family, feel confident since the Lord is walking by my side and look forward to the future!

Levi's 1st Birthday

It's hard to believe

this adorable

happy-go-lucky boy

is already ONE!

Colt recently started making this cheesy, posed smile for the camera.

Dad and the boys

Uncle Cody and Aunt Chez came over for Levi's 1st birthday party. Although, Levi got so tired we actually put him to bed before the dinner and cake, but after he opened his present.

Chez and Cody are known for their unique, thoughtful gifts. This year, they got the boys these fun plates where you can arrange your food over the face to make hair, mustache, beards, etc. Thanks guys!

News Flash: Siggies win Sing Song

Just in case you don't keep up with ACU happenings, this year's Sing Song was quite a production. We made the drive to Abilene to watch my stepsister, Ashley, who was in charge of the Siggie's kick-butt props. We were excited to take Colt to see his first Sing Song, but unfortunately he got sick (and proceeded to share his stomach illness with the rest of us - Sorry Dad and Abbey!). Our friend, Sara, was a Sing Song judge this year and it was fun to hang out with her and Luke after the show, though hard to find a coffee shop open that late in Abilene :)

We went to the zoo with Grandad and met my friend Beth and her son there.

Jennifer decided to throw a 1st birthday party for Levi. And good thing too, because I totally dropped the ball back home and failed to throw him a big party.

Levi loved the frosting!

Thanks to everyone for helping us celebrate the 1st year of Levi's life!

A bit of catching up

I've been away for way too long. We've had lots going on, and honestly, I've been feeling a bit overwhelmed with life in general, so have put blogging on the back burner. Ty came up with the idea that he begin contributing to the blog on a bi-monthly basis. He's a great writer and pretty funny, as you all know, so keep your eyes peeled for his first post!

I noticed that I haven't yet posted any pictures from Christmas. Shame on me. Since it was Levi's first Christmas, I feel it's important to backtrack in order to document this time in his life.

Colt and Levi in front of Nana's tree in their pjs from Aunt Chez and Uncle Cody.

Baseball is always a big hit in the Dishman household.

Dusty and Lindsey with our 3 kids. I guess Molly wanted in on the fun :)

The men and their table talk.

I took some pictures of Levi in front of our tree. A friend gave us the outfit and I thought it was too cute with the little bow tie.

Publish Post

Baking crackers and running marathons

Lots to update on. No pictures...boo.

Last week was my first week participating in the Nourished Kitchen challenge. I cleaned out my pantry with all processed foods. Well, mostly. I kept some stuff until I learn what to replace it with. I had my marathon coming up, so wanted to hang on to some pasta so I could carb-load. Colt and I did venture into making some crackers, which turned out pretty good! Next time I'll roll them a bit thinner, which should help them to be even more crunchy and delicious.

(Ok, just kidding. I forgot I'd taken some pictures of our cracker-making process.)

Also, we started a sourdough starter. Can yall see me as someone who makes my own bread from scratch? Yeah, I didn't think so. I just mix some flour and water into my "starter" everyday and let the good bacteria grow, then add a few more ingredients and bake it. Stay tuned to how it turns out!

Today was the day I've been waiting for since I started training in September. My 1st Marathon!! I did finish in a decent time (thanks to my dad hopping in the race to spur me on), but let's just say this may also be my LAST marathon. I'm not quite sure my body likes running that distance. Plus, it takes entirely too much time to train for that distance, especially with such young kids to care for. Don't worry - I'm not done running. I just will stick to shorter distances for a while. Actually, I'll probably do some triathlons later this year. Should be fun!

And just for those who want to know, my time was 4:05:24. Yeah, you try running for 4 hours and see how you feel :) Maybe I should have just run faster and got it over with in 3 hours!

Well, I guess that's enough updating for one night. I'm pretty tired from this morning's festivities, so I guess I'll call it quits. Good night!

Sick on the 1st

Yesterday Colt was sick as a dog. It was really quite sad. He just laid around with his blanket, bunny, and pacifier ALL day. Quite a change from his normally high-energy self. No jumping off the couch, climbing in the plant window, running around outside or chasing the dog. For me, the day proved to be very productive.

Not having to play, entertain or even feed Colt (he did have a bowl of applesauce at one point), left me with much time to get things done around the house. I got my external hard drive organized since our friend Shiva recently transferred all the data from my old computer to it. I created a recipe book from a binder and tabs to store all the recipes that I tear out of magazines, since they were staking up on me!

I also cleaned out our pantry and reorganized it. I'm doing the 28-day Real Food Challenge on the blog Nourished Kitchen, and day one called for cleaning out all of the processed foods from my pantry/fridge. So, I took the plunge. To our potential guests: Never fear, I did hang on to the few processed foods that we have, to use for when you visit or for when I make items for church potlucks, or just to do art projects with! Anyway, the day was a productive one, despite Colt being sick. And don't worry, I took a lot of time to just cuddle up with my little boy by the fire. Can't let those moments get away!