Show & Tell: M

M is for mermaid...Little Mermaid that is!!!

Hopefully Ems get to meet Ariel at Disneyland in a couple of days!!!

20 Questions with Emmeline Quinio (4 year old)

Here's Emmie 20 Questions interview for this year. I got the idea from Jessica to record it and it worked out great! She was super excited about doing her interview and watching it afterwards. It was so cute when we were watching it and she could shout out the answer to the questions she was thinking about during the actual interview.

I couldn't figure out how to do put the video directly into the blog, but wanted to get this out before we leave for our big Cali trip to celebrate both their birthdays.



Emmie's 20 Questions - 4 YO

Show & Tell: K

Today Emmie will be sharing all things "Kitty" with her class. Even though she brings her Hello Kitty everyday to school, she wanted to bring her other Kitty, Kitty purse and wear her Kitty dress to school (you can't see it because she's covered it up, but its there). Earlier in the week she had decided to bring a kazoo to school, but then changed her mind yesterday!

This picture was taken on Monday night on the way home from dinner. She was doing a practice run for what she was going to bring to school. The picture wasn't good, so we were going to take another one when we got home...she passed out on the way home, so we're stuck with this one!

Show & Tell: I or J

Today Emmie's bringing jewelry to Show and Tell. I was at a loss on options for her to bring, and kept trying to sell her on bringing the toy ice cream cone (she was not feeling it). Then last night Baba suggested jewelry and I wondered why I wasn't smart enough to think of that. After Baba's brilliant suggestion, Emmie went to round up her jewelry. Here's the bling she'll be sporting for her classmates!

That's 6 rings, 2 bracelets (one you can't see in the picture) and 1 necklace!

Running! Running! Just as fast as we can!

Welcome to the first non-kidcentric post.

On January 16th, 2011, Dennis completed his first half-marathon (13.1 miles) and I completed my very first official 5K (3.1 miles). It was cold, wet and windy but we managed to finish!

The race was slated to start at 7:00 am for the half-marathon and 7:15 am for the 5K and we were told to be there at 5 am to be get situated for the race. We decided to catch a ride with Janette and Khiem. Khiem was also running in the half, but this was just a walk in the park for him because he had just run 20 miles the previous week (Side Note: he was prepping for the Houston Full Marathon 2 weeks after, which he finished and now is working towards doing some tri's). We didn't up getting to the start line until about 6:45 am but it didn't matter because the race was delayed until 7:45 am due to the rain. That gave us plenty of time to wait in line to use the Porty-potties before the run. Janette went to park the car about 1.5 miles away from the start line, so she got to stay cozy warm in the car!

Dennis and Khiem lined up to start the race and they were off. If you look real close you can see Dennis getting ready to take off.

Shortly after they started, the 5Ker's were told to line up. I put myself towards the back because I didn't want to mowed over by faster runners! I tried pacing myself with a girl that looked like she was my level, she ended up leaving me in her dust after the first 1.5 miles. I just took it slow and steady. When I looped around heading towards where we had started, I hoped with all my heart that 5Ker's were suppose to make the left turn towards the start line (knowing if that were the case, then I'd be done soon). When I saw people starting to veer off to the left, I knew that I was going to make it to the end and I did. After doing the Couch to 5K program (a 9 week running program) for 5.5 months, I finally ran a full 5K. I was pysched! My goals for this 5K were:

• Run the full 5K - DONE
• Don't let any half marathoner beat me to the finish line - DONE
• Don't be the last one to finish the 5K - 108 out of 238

Janette hadn't made her way to the finish line yet (since I was so fast), so she didn't capture my stellar finish (37 minutes and 1 second). She got this shot of me after I finished, filled up on after race goodies and found a discarded poncho to cover me from the non-stop drizzle (which also kept me surprisingly warm).

We spent some time in the after race goodies area, mainly to take cover from the wind and rain under a tent. After about 2 hours from when the race started, we made our way to the finish line to cheer for our soon to be finished hubbies.

While we watched, we decided this would be the worst ever full marathon to run in. Not only was it a 2 loop course, but if you were running the full marathon you ran towards the finish line then about 20 feet before you would cross the finish line you u-turned and ran the same 13.1 mile loop you just finished. Horrendous if you ask me!

As expected, Khiem came crossing the finish line strong and fast. He collected his medal and got some yummy food. It was obviously a walk in the park for him.

Then we waited, waited and waited for Dennis to cross the finish line (chilled to the bone and just willing Dennis to show up). Finally we saw him coming down the stretch! I was so proud of him for finishing! He finished in 2 hours and 26 minutes, and placed 509 out of 1,240. He wasn't too happy with his finish since he began a run/walk regime at mile 11. Next time there will be no walking he says.

I'm just proud of us for doing and finishing what we set out to do. Way to go us!!!

After race update

Since the race, I've only run the 3 miles once, trying to get there on the treadmill is just harder. Dennis has not run one step but once he signs himself up for a marathon he vows to train better than he did for this one.

Show and Tell (Catch Up)

In January Emmie started learning the Alphabet. One letter every day and on Tuesdays they're suppose to bring in something starting with one of the letters they learned about the previous week for Show and Tell. Since I wasn't diligent about my blogging, I didn't capture any of January's things, but am committed to making at least one entry per week going forward related to her Show and Tell. So here's the catch up blog for January!

As you can see in the picture, I'm not too far behind. I got Emmie to pose with all the things she's brought to school to date! She was totally into it, of course, so it didn't take too much effort. So the point of Show and Tell is for her to present what she brought to her class, and we practice at home after she's decided what she wants to bring. But every time I ask her if she told her friends what she brought she gives me this side way glance, smiles and says "No. I'm shy!"

January 11th - Between the letters A & B, she chose to bring her Barbie. Yes, the Barbie in the picture is naked (it was the only one I could find at the time), but she really brought her Mulan Barbie to school fully dressed.

January 18th - Between the letters C & D, she chose to bring her Dog. When she first said she wanted to bring a dog, I thought she was talking about her $50 Walk and Go Dog she had to have so Lola got it for her for Christmas, but this little guy was who she was talking about.

January 25th - Between the letters E, F & G, she chose to bring her Flower necklace (aka lei). Honestly I can't remember if E was an option this week, but for sure it was F & G this week because she was choosing between Flowers, Frog, or Giraffe.

February 1st - This week it was just the letter H. So I'm not crazy I think there was a mix up with E. Emmie decided on bringing Hair Clips. She didn't wear them as demonstrated in the picture, but I thought it would make for a fun picture! Maddy and Paige got her these awesome Princess hair clips for Christmas. Pictured are only 3 of the 4 Princesses because Princess Jasmin did not survive the spin cycle like the others.

Now you're all caught up and I'll be better at blogging!