The Mac Kinnon Family

Last year I decided I would run a marathon this year.  I once said I would never...ever run a marathon but something inside me pushed me to do it.  I picked the Eugene Marathon, it has a great reputation and is mostly flat plus it was a perfect time of year..not too hot!  I started training at the start of the New Year and ran the marathon Sunday.  I convinced a friend to train with me and run the race, she had run 5 marathons before and really didn't want to do another.....but was so gracious and amazing to do it again with me.  After some very, very long runs which were very hard I gained so much more respect for those people who choose to run marathons or do endurance running, it is hard work...harder then I ever imagined.   Race day was a beautiful day, lots of people and great support both from the race and from the crowds.  I took another friends advice and "enjoyed" the day, really embracing the challenge and moment, knowing it would probab...

John was busy this weekend while I was away, one day he took Mac to practice baseball.  Emily wanted to be a baseball player too so Mac shared his clothing from last year with her, she felt pretty special and looked very cute!

Since Mac joined the local swim team a few months ago he's wanted a swim bag like the other kids.  For Easter we got him the bag in time for the swim team to send it off to be embroidered.  Mac was super excited to get it back, he thinks it's "cool"!

Emily took a box yesterday and with Mac's help set the stage for a puppet show!  She's such a little entertainer, she did a great job.

One of my sister's best friends who lives over in Seattle is transferring next month to the east coast, they offered us their chickens.  We've always thought about having them, I love fresh eggs so we thought it would be fun for all of us.  We went and got them today, the kids were so excited.  Once we got home they settled in their new yard nicely, digging up the moss on the ground.  Their names are Harriet, Henrietta and Half Pint, they are about 2 years old.  We will be learning alot about chickens this week, we are excited to have them!

I had won some passes to the Children's Museum in Seattle last year at an auction, they were expiring at the end of this month.  Emily and I journeyed over to the city today and explored the museum.  They had a great arts area which I think she loved the best.  She did great walking the 1 1/2 to the museum too!  We had fun.

Yesterday I noticed one of Emily's hermit crabs was out of it's shell.  This happens sometimes as they grow out of their shell and find a new one.  This morning Emily came downstairs, her bottom lip quivering and said...Belle didn't move all night I thinks she's dead and burst out into tears.  John was still home so he went to "check" and sure enough Belle had gone to hermit crab heaven.  Emily sobbed and sobbed for a good half an hour, finally as we had to leave to get Mac to school she calmed down but it was sure a rough way to start the day.  Her poor heart was broken.   John gets home from work with a card from his office.  He was telling one of his buddies at work who is a little bit of a comedian and he created a card for Emily and had some of John's co-workers sign it.  John handed it to Emily and she says "I had such a fun day I forgot all about Belle".  Let's hope all her heartbreaks pass as quickly....but somehow I don't th...

Mac is working on a science project for class and was doing some research this afternoon.  We found an episode on Mythbusters that talked about what he was doing for his project (dropping mentos in diet coke).  It would jump between two or three different things they were doing.  He sat glued in fascination at the show, I kept saying....we don't do these things at home.  At the end I reminded him one more time not to do anything he just watched....he says "but the smoke bomb was really cool"....oh boy...no more mythbusters!

Emily often asks for a "little" salad when we have one, she seems to enjoy it.  I often make big salads as my dinner and tonight I had prepared chicken which I was serving on a salad for myself but regular for the kids.  Emily asked if she could have a salad like mine for her dinner, I wasn't sure she would eat it but sure enough she almost cleaned her plate, it was a pretty big salad. I'm glad she enjoyed it!  Looking forward to sharing more salads!

Little league had their opening day yesterday, John is coaching Mac's team this year.  He is playing AA ball (which is machine pitch) and is excited to play again this year.  He has several friends on his team which makes it more fun!  They had their first game yesterday and did a great job, tied with 11 runs.  Our games time out at 2 hours so we couldn't break the tie!

Emily went to a birthday party yesterday at our local firehouse.  It was really neat, they got to ride in the fire truck, get into a boat, shoot a fire hose and see the fireman get in all his gear.  All of this on top of snacks and ice cream cake made it a fun time for Emily!

Mac received a character award for integrity at school today.  Each quarter a few students receive awards, it was pretty neat to see the awards given for such a neat variety of attributes and how each teacher ties them into a bible verse as well.  It was pretty neat, Mac was tickled, we are very proud of him!

Emily lined up a bunch of her babies and told me she was " rich in baby dolls"!

I was behind in the blogs and realized I never posted this pictures. Mac and John went fishing Sunday morning, Mac as usually was up at 3:30 before his alarm went off and they were out the door by 4 am.  They had an awesome day and the fishing was plentiful!  This is a great picture of the two of them, it's so awesome they get to share such special time!