Tuesday, May 31, 2011

precious.

I think this pretty much sums up the FUN that we had on Memorial Day weekend! Yes, he fell asleep during dinner! precious.

We swam SO much, went to a super fun pool party with friends(mommy and daddy had a little too much fun!), played outside, played on the slip n slide and in the sprinkler, bbq'd, visited with family, Mommy ran a race with her friend and hit a PR of 32:31! and most of all, we had FUN!

Hope you did too :)

Sunday, May 29, 2011

Skechers ProSpeed GIVEAWAY!!!


Are you looking for a great exercise shoe to try out this summer?

This shoe just might be for YOU!

All I know is that these hot pink and black ones are calling my name...

Skechers created a super lightweight running shoe, $100 value and they can be yours, FREE! If you're interested and would like to WIN, head over to my healthy living blog, Lets Move It Mommas! There are lots of ways to enter, but hurry...GIVEAWAY ENDS, FRIDAY JUNE 3rd at midnight!










































Thursday, May 26, 2011

TBall PARTY and another trophy!

That's right, Tball season 3 has come to an end! My little four year old has three trophies! WOW! He was SO proud last night, that when he came home he ran into his room to add the latest to his collection! I love that they are all different, so he's able to tell them apart!

We are SO proud of Jacob and how far he's come since starting last summer! He LOVES to run the bases, hit the ball and finally-he slides into home! It's PRECIOUS!! Our little tough guy is ready for summer season and it starts next week, so while we enjoy our SHORT break...he's looking forward to yet another season!!


Gooooo TIGERS and our little man, #6!!!!

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

a night out with family...

So, it's no surprise that I come from a huge, Italian family! It's always been a large part of my life. I'm so proud to be Italian AND after 10 years, my hubby still can't believe we're all so close! Last weekend, my mom had a great idea to get all of us together at a local restaurant and we had a pretty good turn out! There was a band playing, we all laughed, danced and told stories...I know my grandma would have been proud that we're all making such an effort to remain close! (Their parents-my grandma were all brothers and sisters)





After a few adult beverages, we hit the dance floor...










What a fun night! Our next family get together will be KARAOKE! Oh yes, if you haven't heard...I love to sing! I mean, I'm no Celine Dion but after I've had a few drinks, I can light up the stage!!! I'll make sure and bring my camera to capture more fun times!!











Monday, May 23, 2011

Alone

I have always liked to think of myself as a good friend, one who listens, who cares and one who is there for a friend when they are in need...

I was talking with my friend about her journey after being diagnosed with cancer. Her struggles, pains, the entire experience because she has a strength like I've never seen. She told me it changed her life, put things into perspective...all of the things she thought were important, really just weren't. Her family was her LIFE. She lived and pushed for THEM. She fought the pains, aches, nausea for THEM. She fought hard and she's still fighting hard...
But the one thing that troubled me in our conversation as I listened to her tell me how she was afraid every day for her life, for her family, to die...the part that impacted me most was that she said she felt so ALONE. I thought to myself, Alone? You have family, friends, people to fight for you, ready to raise money in YOUR honor. How can you be Alone? Well, it's simple she said... Aside from her amazing husband and child, she felt as though people abandoned her. But why? I thought, how sad. How incredibly horrible and sad. When you need people most, you think they'll be there right? That's what family and friends are for...right? I started to question my life. Would my family be there when I needed them most? Friends? The ones you think will be there for you always...would they be there, in your greatest time of need? I felt my heart ache for her...that is NOT how we picture things to be when we are sick and fighting for our life, is it? At least I don't. Anyway, she has inspired my life, touched my life in ways that cannot be descibed. She pushes me without saying a word. I know that I can believe in myself, because I watch what she does and how she lives life each day. Why do we tend to get caught up in material things? Things that DO NOT matter? It's strange to me and she tries to tell me that she needs me? Oh no, it's the other way around. She has opened my eyes and I believe that is one of the greatest gifts a person can give, don't you?

My mom's lifelong best friend lost her sister to cancer years ago and she shared this poem with me and it made the tears flow...so true.

ALONE

Alone…how devastating to be in the valley and all alone.
Where are my friends, where have they all gone?
I find myself all bowed down with care
But someone told me to look up, Jesus was there!
He spoke in His still small voice, “My child, I am more than enough
I’ll meet you in this valley that has proven to be so tough.
Draw close to me and hold my hand
I’ll take you through and lift you out of this sinking sand.
Your walk with me is safe and secure
And you will find a way out, if you only endure.”
I am your strength, your courage. I’ll see you through
For in me, there’s no place to be discouraged, downcast and blue
The night is only for a season, there’s no cause for alarm
For after the darkness, comes the brightness of the morn.
So pick up the pieces, the road you travel is just a bend
You’re never alone, for in Jesus, you’ll always have a friend.

Saturday, May 21, 2011

blog makeover!



My Let's Move It Momma's healthy living blog has recently had a makeover, thanks to my bloggy friend, April at My Fitness World! Looks pretty cute, huh? I love it!


Have you ever run OR walked a 5K? 3.1 miles? If you haven't or maybe you think 3.1 miles is no big thing for you, then why haven't all of my McClellen Memories buddies headed over and signed up for the Independence Virtual 5K Race that I will be hosting July 3rd-9th??! I have lots of sponsors on board to share great giveaway items with all of YOU just for participating! Yep, you sign up by emailing me your name and email address to rissarose80@Yahoo.com yes, it's that EASY!!! Run or Walk the 5K at YOUR location, send me an email with your finishing time(on the honor system, because it doesn't matter your time, only that you DID IT!) Maybe even a picture of you in your festive 4th of July attire for extra entries into my giveaways? April at My Fitness World did a great post promoting my race yesterday, so check it out HERE and what are you waiting for??...SIGN UP NOW!!!! April is also one of my sponsors, so her Shaklee products will be reviewed and an item up for giveaway too!!!


My life has changed SO much over these past several months...I have found a love for running! Maybe it's the feeling of my body being pushing to the next level? Or maybe it's that I see my body changing shape? Or it could even be that through running, I find peace. Control. Balance. It's an amazing feeling and I'm ready to take it up a notch :) and I think I need to take some of you with me...even those that are terrified of RUNNING, yep...I want you too!!! So, come on...make my virtual 5K a starting point!!! Oh and I'd love to hear what ya think of my new facelift to Move It Momma's??!

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Our FIRST Camping Trip!

Jellystone, here we come...
look at that handsome boy doing some fishing!


Mommy even allowed an ice cream sandwich...crazy, I know!





view from our cabin with NO neighbors...it was empty!!


the highlight of the cabin...the loft! Totally cool :)











look at those barefoot brothers! HILARIOUS!!!










My gosh, I should have captured this on video...Daddy loved this huge slide and did it over and over again! He was smiling so big on his way down! Then Mommy decided to try it and I screamed the entire way down...so fast and I flew off the slide!







building a fire...











Since Daddy took vacation for Justin's birthday party, this week we really didn't have big plans and decided to plan a last minute camping trip to Jellystone Park in Waller, Texas!
Our first family camping trip was a SUCCESS! The boys had a blast! We brought NO toys from home, so instead...they played with sticks, rocks and pine cones so NO FIGHTING :) Yay! We walked, swam, did water slides for hours, watched movies on logs at the outdoor theatre, built a fire, roasted s'mores, went fishing, and even played mini golf! This place was SO much fun and we're already preparing to book another trip this summer! We were shocked that it was SO empty, but school isn't out yet so it was the perfect time-totally NOT crowded! Yay! We met some pretty cool families too! We loved watching these boys explore the outdoors. We should have known they'd love it since they pretty much stay outside 24/7 in our backyard, but it was MORE than we ever imagined! The smiles never left their faces, their feet were barefoot and filthy the whole time and they LOVED every second of it! Justin tried to eat pine cones and dirt, and screamed with excitement when he saw Yogi and Boo Boo! SO MUCH FUN!

We love taking the boys to new and exciting places, but with most trips, we are always so tired from going SO fast with resorts, amusement parks, eating, driving that we feel like the time goes by too quickly but with this trip, we were able to do ALL of the things these boys love and things we love too! We were NEVER stressed, pressed for time, rushing around, or even slightly exhausted because it was all so relaxing! The boys played outside from morning until night, and at dark we'd take a walk to the outdoor theatre to watch a movie of the night..SO NEAT and then roast marshmallows, of course! The boys would bathe the dirt off of them, well most of it anyway! And they'd crash...we'd drink adult beverages and then in the morning, I'd drink my coffee on the porch in total silence, only listening to nature...it sounds SO cheesy, but it was totally perfect! I can see why people invest in RV's and trailers! Our kids would LOVE that :)

*Just wanna thank you all for your sweet comments regarding Justin's choo-choo birthday, he sure loved it and we did too! Hopefully he is able to look back when he's older and he'll appreciate us making his birthday memorable and special :)



























Monday, May 16, 2011

Choo Choo...Justin is TWO!













































































































































































































































































































































































































































I don't even know where to begin...his birthday party was SO much fun! We decided that with his LOVE for trains, the Galveston Railroad Museum would be a great venue! The museum was destroyed by Hurricane Ike and has just now re-opened and with the help of thousands of volunteers, a lot of the trains have been restored :) We started the party off with a peak at a steam engine...very cool! Then, once all of the guests arrived, they enjoyed pizza and then it was time to ride the train! The mini-train is SO super cute and the kiddos loved it! The entire ride through The Strand, Justin was yelling..."Mommy, I hear the choo choo going wooo woooo!!" He was SO excited! After TONS of people up and down The Strand yelled, Happy Birthday to Justin, it was time to head inside the dining car for cake and singing! SO FUN! It was getting a little toasty in the dining car, so after some of our guests had to leave early for nap time :( We headed off to tour the museum! SO COOL! Tons of trains, historial information, whistles, telephone booths, ticket booths, postal and dining railcar's from the 1920's! It was all very cool and this was the kids favorite part...they were running up and down, climbing on every train possible and after THREE hours of Railroad Museum fun, we decided to load up and say our goodbye's! It was a memorable party, our little man will NEVER forget and we were so happy that all of his little friends came along for some fun too! Jacob was SO mad that "his" friends weren't there, but he said Justin's party was still pretty cool and he now has a crush on Justin's friends' sister! Ha!! We ended the day by opening all of the gifts at home-he got some pretty cool stuff! and then we TRIED giving him a nap but he was SO excited from his happy day, that we listened on the monitor as he said, "Happy Birthday dear choo choo"...OVER AND OVER AGAIN...I guess he had fun??! So, no nap that day but that's ok!! Birthday's only happen once a year!!!