Merry Christmas, Happy Birthday & Bon Voyage!

As you can see from the title of this post we have had all sorts of events going on over the past few months!!!  Christmas came & went with family visiting & lots and lots of new toys!!! Madek sure was a lucky lil boy this year.......I guess despite what he may have said he was on the "good" list this year!  

As soon as Christmas was over it was time to prepare for Madek's 3rd Birthday! I always want to make it very clear that Christmas & his birthday are two very distinct holidays that do not collide into one.  His New Years Eve birthday will always be separate from Christmas festivities!!!!  He had a wonderful day filled with balloons, a snowmobile cake, & chips ;o) Not to mention hours & hours of playing with his new toys!!!

So...now all that is left....OUR VACATION!!!! I could go on & on and give you all the wonderful details  but I would be here all day! Lets just say it was, "AMAZING!!!!"  Brittany & Reed's wedding was a total blast & we couldn't have been more happy to share their special day with them!! The weather was perfect then entire week providing Mark & I with a beautiful golden tan!!  Madek had a wonderful time with my parents downstate but we are all excited to be back home together.

Winter is in full swing up here in the north country!! We haven't had a ton of snow but enough for Mark to get out for one good ride before we left on vacation.  I know he is just itching to get back out there....maybe he will this weekend!! I of course am enjoying the winter weather as well.....there is just something about warm sweaters and snuggling up inside on a cold day that warms my heart!

We hope you are all enjoying your winter 1/2 as much as we are! Just remember...it is going to be what it is and no matter how much you complain about the cold & snow there is simply NOTHING you can do about it!!! So.......just smile and enjoy it now because we all know it will warm up sooner or later!

Much love from us!!!!

Happy Thanksgiving from the Kayser family to yours!!!!!

Just wanted to wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving.  May you all realize what you are thankful for and show much appreciation for all you have!  We have enjoyed our day with a 5k race, a wonderful meal, a horrible Lions game, deer hunting for Mark, and some gym time for Mommy!

 

Where is Old Man Winter???

So it is November and we are still having temps in the 50s!!!! Most people are loving this but our family is asking....Where is the snow????!!!! After the mild winter we had last year with VERY LOW snowfall.....we are more than ready for a winter full of the white stuff!!!



I'm really trying to update this blog more often........so hopefully I can stick to it!  The last post was from the middle of September.  Not a lot has happened since then.  We've  been staying somewhat busy with little things here and there.

In October we headed downstate for me to run in my very first half marathon race which is 13.1 miles.  I was very excited to be running in The Grand Rapids Metro Health Marathon as it was located downstate near my family.  It was a huge race with around 4,000 runners for both the full and half.  The morning was pretty chilly with a temp around 45 degrees.  Good thing our race shirt was a sweet long sleeved one!!!!  Having never done a race like this I wasn't sure how it all worked.  Like how did you start 4,000 runners all at once?? Well I quickly learned that there were pace teams spaced out behind the start line for how fast you thought you were going to finish.  I was hoping to run 10min miles so I put myself in line to finish around 2.5hours.  As we started I found it so hard to get going due to how many people were in the way......I guess I should have moved up a lil in the start line.  However I think it proved to be a good thing as I didn't exert all my energy at the start.  The race was amazing.  I was smiling and loving every single inch of the course.  The crowds of people cheering you on were so encouraging!!!  Up to the race I had never ran more than 9.5 miles at one time.  When I hit mile 10 I was shocked at how much I was enjoying the run and knew I could make it to the end!!! As I neared the finish line I got a huge boost seeing my family there cheering me on!!!! I sprinted (as I always do) to the finish line and got my well deserved MEDAL ;o)  In the end I finished UNDER 2 hours with a time of 1 hour 58 mins....that is a pace of 9mins 3 secs per mile!!!! 32 mins faster than I had planned.....I was happy :o) I deff look forward to running many many more...maybe...even......hmmm we'll see....I said I never would...hahaha

Just a few weeks later I ran my final race of there year back up here at home.  It was the Chase the Pumpkin Race to benefit pediatric diabetes! This was a 10k race (6.2 miles) and I went into it with the mindset I had to get my personal best.  After running 10 races for the year I wanted to end on a high note!  It was a VERY chilly morning...not sure on the temp but it was COLD!  I started out running with a friend who we run the same pace....after mile 2 I didn't feel I was giving it my all and pushed myself a little faster.  Just as I was finishing the last mile my friend and coach Michelle pushed me to the end!! I ended up finishing with a time of 50mins 54 secs with a pace of 8mins 15secs per mile........MY PERSONAL BEST!   I got a 2nd place medal and couldn't have been more pleased!  Uhhhhh I've been paying for it ever since with a sore left Achilles :o(

Halloween!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Madek was very excited this year to go trick or treating and to wear his GORILLA costume!!! My Dad & Monte were in town as well to head out to get some candy!!!!  Madek did very well saying trick or treat and saying thank you!!!  We carried him a lot as it was kind of cold.  Afterwards we headed over to his best friend Maggie's house to visit for a lil while.  The Gorilla was very happy to see his Tinker Bell ;o)

Deer hunting and snowmobiling are right around the corner so you can only guess what Mark is doing!!! Mark is also on call over Thanksgiving so we will be staying home and cooking a meal at our house.  We also have tickets to take Madek to see Sesame Street Live in Green Bay....I'm also hoping we can fit in his first trip to Chuckie Cheese!!!

Christmas is right around the corner and then after that Mark & I will be heading to The Dominican Republic for our friends Brittany & Reed's wedding!!!  We are very excited to be going on vacation and see our Iowa friends we do not get to see enough!! Take care everyone, have a great Thanksgiving & have fun Christmas shopping! We miss & love you all!!! (ok now I got this post typed...time to put in the pictures...;o)

End of Summer, Vacations, & Preschool!!

Fall is starting off to be quite exciting in the Kayser household!!! With vacations & Madek starting preschool....we are having TONS of fun!!!

 In July & August we had tons of company and enjoyed being able to spend quality time with all.  My college roommate who now lives in Denver was home with her husband for a long visit as her family lives near us. We had a great time at her family reunion and then having a BBQ at our house with her entire family.  We are so blessed to have our adopted UP family :o)During that same weekend my Uncle Ronnie came up with my 3 cousins, Kyle, Shelby & Rylie.  Madek sure loved all the extra attention he was getting!!! We had a few days to clean the house and then my Mom and cousins Brooke & Lindsay visited.  Madek was again thrilled to have more people to entertain. Then in August we took a trip downstate.  While downstate I ran a 4 mile race in my hometown of Greenville with my cousin Mitchell and friend Chris from High School.  Despite the rain Mitchell and I were very pleased with our 2nd place finishes in our age groups! And...Chris was thankful to finish strong ;o)Thank you to everyone that came out to support us!

 

 

 

  

 

 

September started out with Madek's preschool orientation! Can you believe he is in preschool?? Yes he is only 2.5 but he is potty trained so I figured why not let him go and have fun 4 hours a week!!!?? He enjoyed the orientation but got upset when he saw me peaking at him in the window and wanted me to get him.  Then on the first day he was upset when I left but quickly adjusted and had a great time.  He was beyond excited when I picked him up to show me the projects he had done!!!! I almost cried happy tears when I saw how excited he was but I managed to stay dry!!! We even filled out his first book order!!!!

Right after preschool orientation I took off across country to visit our friends on the West Coast!! I stayed with our old next door neighbor who now lives in Oregon.  I had a great time shopping and loving all things West Coast!!! Steve & Heather were great hosts!! I took a day trip up to Washington...had lunch with 4 of my old coworkers and then had dinner with our old neighbor Lori & her family! It is weird when you live somewhere and then you move and never go back. It had been 2 years exactly since we moved and it felt great to go  back.  Don't get me wrong I love living the simple life in the UP but man....culture felt GOOD!!! I took advantage of having Starbucks.....2 lattes on the morning I left ;o)  Don't get me wrong I definitely missed my boys!!! I look forward to my next visit. Lindsey is getting married in May...hmmmmm...maybe I'll be back out there soon!!!

While Mom was playing on the WC Dad was also playing in Minnesota.  Mark went with a crew of guys from work to a big snowmobile show in Minnesota!  He didn't give me many details but sounds like he had fun hahaha! Now his snowmobile is torn apart in the garage and he is waiting for his new track to arrive. Geeze....guys and their toys! But I am thankful he has a healthy hobby he enjoys!!!

So.....Mom & Dad were both gone....did you wonder what we did with Madek???? Well don't worry...he was in good hands! Madek spent 6 days with Grandma & Grandpa Kayser!!! Grandpa Dick picked up Madek and took him back to their house in Wisconsin to join Grandma Becky.  I was a basket case leaving Madek for that long but after talking to him on the phone I was at ease knowing he was having a great time!  When talking to Madek on the phone he said, "Mommy fly on space rocket"...it was so darn cute! I reassured him I flew on an airplane and I would be home soon!  Grandpa Dick brought Madek home in time to pick me up at the airport with Daddy.  I was so excited I could hardly stand it waiting to see my boys!! I kissed Madek a hundred times and almost forgot to say hi to Mark...sorry honey!


So...as you see we have been on the go and enjoying every minute of it! The next few months we will be laying low and enjoying fall........THE BEST TIME OF YEAR!! The fall decor will be put out this weekend!!

As always we hope you are all doing well and enjoying your start to fall!