Maura's Preschool Graduation

Maura graduated from Preschool this last week. They sang a lot of their songs that they learned this year. It was so cute! She even had a speaking part. She made her dad and mom proud. We are so happy she learned so much this year from such great teachers. We are excited for her to continue on to Kindergarten!

Jada was in the audience and had to get a picture with her "Best Fwend."

Race for the Cure

This past Saturday I had the privilege to run in the Susan G. Komen race for breast cancer. One of my friends in my ward who is a breast cancer survivor ask if I would run on her team. What made it even more fun was running it with my sister. It was a neat atmosphere and it was even more neat to see all of the ladies wearing survivor shirts. I thought it was a good cause to be a part of and I am grateful for the experience (even though it was sooo hot and humid and I almost threw up after it :) )

Go Team Hulse!

The family enjoying a fruit tray from McDonalds.

Me and Cass in our cute Team Hulse headbands.

Team Hulse

Bike Rodeo

Timmy and Maura's school has a bike rodeo every year. The kids have a score sheet and they move to different stations to practice biking skills. They learn hand signals, control, speed, and turning skills. They were so excited and they really enjoyed themselves.

Waiting his turn

Turning corners

Figure eights

Cool Dude

Maura's class

Showing the principal thier bikes

Maura's turn

Speed demon!

Buffalo Half Marathon 2010

After running a 5 mile race in November last year, my friend Camille talked me into training for a half marathon. She had already run 2 prior and was convinced we could do it, so I agreed. We started training in March and stuck to a pretty strict schedule. We ran 3 times a week...two short runs and 1 long one on Saturday. I'm not going to lie...it was really hard. We had lots of aching knees, backs, sides, and hips. There were so many times I didn't think I would make it. It was so nice to have a running buddy to keep me motivated and keep me going. I couldn't have done it without her. T.J. was really supportive as well. He was so good to watch the kids for me every time I ran. I couldn't have done it without him either.

The night before the race Cassie made us a delicious spaghetti and meatball dinner to load us up on carbs. The next morning I was so nervous that I was shaking all the way up until the gun went off. We positioned ourselves in the back with the slow runners and we kept a steady pace. T.J., Drew, Cass, and the kids didn't make it to the starting line, but caught us at mile 5. It was so exciting to see them and they were all dressed in red and gray "I Heart NY" tee shirts (coordinated by Cass and Dal). I saw them a few more times during the race, which really picked up my spirits, especially after mile 11. By that time I felt like I could barely pick up my feet but we never stopped.

As the finish line came into view, I couldn't help but get a little emotional because all my hard work had pain off. Just as we were about to cross the finish line Cass lifted Maura over the fence and she grabbed my hand and crossed the finish line with us. It was a cool moment. I had to hug my running buddy cause I couldn't have done it without her. I would have never thought in a million years that I would be able to run 13 miles. It felt so good to accomplish a goal that I worked so hard for.

Camille and I in our awesome marathon shirts the night before the race.

Getting to the race

Topher waiting to see mom

The kiddos

Our cheering section

13 miles baby!

Pre K Picnic and Garden Party

The school year is winding down and both Timmy and Maura had activities on the same day. In Timmy's class they did a little program about plants/trees. They sang songs and read their reports. At the end was a little slide show with baby pictures of his classmates. It was really sweet.

He still loves his mom!

Timmy and Mrs. Christensen

Maura had a Pre K picnic with all the classes in the district. There were a lot of kids there. We didn't get to stay long because I needed to get to Timmy's program, but we had just enough time to do a little swinging and eating.

Dad, Mom, Lyss, and Kody

Our last visitors were my parents and brother and sister. We had a really good time with them too. My dad took the kids to a movie, we went to a kid's run, the zoo, went ice skating, played outside, and had some good visits. We kept busy and really enjoyed each other (even though our house ended up getting broken into on Sunday afternoon after our walk). We are so thankful for all of our family who love us and took the time out to come and see us. We love visitors from home.Grandpa and the kids

Timmy reading his report to Grandma

Getting ready for the run

Sorry...my computer is not letting me rotate

Brothers

The winners!

Timmy and Maura ran pretty much the whole 2 miles. They tried so hard and were so proud of themselves. So was I.

Little Cutie

X Drew, Cass, and Jada

Lyssa

Me and Maura

Sisters

Dallyn

Our next visitor was T.J. sister Dallyn. She had just graduated high school two days before so when she got here we threw her a little graduation party. It was really fun to have her here. She split her time evenly between both our house and Drew's and Cassie's house. Dallyn, Cass, and I got together a few times after the kids went to bed to watch chick flicks, we baked, and shopped more than I have shopped since I've been here. The kids loved having her around and so did we!

Dallyn and her Congrats sign

Siblings messing around with fireworks (sshhhh!)

Me and Dal

Being silly (sorry Dal...I had to!)

Dal and the kids

Kam, Sarah, and Bentley

In the last three weeks we have had 3 sets of visitors. Our first visitors were my brother Kam, his wife Sarah, and their daughter Bentley. They did most of their sight seeing with Drew and Cassie since my kids were still in school, but we still had a blast. We just seemed to be able to pick up where we left off seeing them last. It almost seems like time hadn't passed since we saw them last. On one of the nights they stayed with us we had fondue (a family favorite). Not only did we cook chicken, beef, and veggies, we also dipped fruit, pretzels, and marshmallows in chocolate. It was fabulous! Everyone enjoyed it...especially the kids (notice their messy faces). We are so glad they came to see us. We hope they had a good time!

Fondue Faces

Maura and Bentley playing (they loved each other)

Cassie, Kam, Sarah, Timmy, and Drew

Gardening

I had a lot of help planting our little garden this year. Each of the kids got to pick one flower plant they wanted to plant and help grow. We also decided to try strawberries, jalapenos, cucumbers and squash. The kids have been really excited to water it so far, let's hope that zeal continues.

Fishin'

T.J. invited the kids and I to go fishing with him last week. T.J. is a pretty serious fisherman so he must have been feeling nice to invite us all to come. Within the first 5 minutes Maura had caught a little Blue Gill and within about 10 minutes, Timmy had one too. Topher and I just sat on the rock and had a snack. We only stayed for an hour cause it got a little chaotic, but it was nice to see the kids go fishin'.