Our Racing Boys

Well, I promised to chip away at some updates on here so here goes nothing. These pictures take us back to January. Dustin entered Donovan in his very first race. He and I ran the Legoland Kid's Marathon Mile together. 

 It was such a fun little course that took us through the entrance to the park, all around the inside of the park and then it ended at the park's exit. 

 Oma and Grampie woke up extra early to come cheer our mini-marathoner on. Emmerson doesn't look too pleased with the early wake up call. :) 

 And he was off with Mommy trying to keep up close behind. 

 He made sure to give Grampie his famous wink as he ran by his cheering squad. 

 And we did it! I wasn't sure if we'd be running or walking the mile but Donovan kept telling me the whole time that he wanted to be as fast as his Daddy so he couldn't stop even if he felt tired. 

 Daddy was very proud.

 And I loved sharing that special memory with my handsome little guy.

 The very next day we were off to Carlsbad again to watch Daddy run in his third full marathon. He did an amazing job and PR'd again! We were so excited when we saw him jog by right before crossing the finish line. 

Dustin continues to amaze me with all of the running goals he accomplishes. Way to go boys!

Silver Strand Half Marathon 3.0

For the third year in a row Dustin ran the Silver Strand Half Marathon in Coronado. As always, the weather was gorgeous and it was a perfect day for a run. Grampie drove Donovan and I down there and my mom stayed home with Emmerson. We made it just in time to the finish line, literally seconds before Dustin crossed. Thanks Grampie for the great pictures! 

                 

My favorite boys 3 years in a row at the IB pier. 

So proud of you Dustin. xo

Daddy's Marathon!

Last weekend we ventured up to Long Beach to cheer Daddy on in his first FULL marathon. We drove up on Saturday and met Grammie at the Hilton. 

Donovan took his nap for the day on the drive up with his doggie, of course. 

The kids were great in the hotel. Aside from Donovan letting himself out of the hotel room and sprinting up and down the hall before we realized he wasn't actually in the room, (parent fail) I'd say we were pretty successful. Grammie had packed a bunch of little toys and coloring books which kept our mini-man entertained. He slept in Grammie's room for the night and Dustin, Emmerson, and I had our own room. It was a good thing too, because Dustin was up by 3 in the morning getting ready for the race on Sunday. Donovan didn't sleep much past 5:00 in Grammie's room and Emmerson and I thankfully woke up at 7:00 when Grammie texted us. (Those black out shades are dangerous, I tell you... I may need to invest in some for our kids' rooms. Ha!) 

 After we ate breakfast, we ventured through the crowds to find a spot to cheer Daddy on at the finish line. The music was SO loud, not to mention all of the people screaming. By 10:00 Donovan had had enough. 

 And when I knew Dustin was just minutes away from finishing, Donovan had a full on melt down. The kind where spectators were actually asking me if my child was okay with very concerned looks on their faces. I think I may have been sweating as much as the marathon runners at that point. 

 But thankfully, he held in there (sort of) just long enough to see his Daddy cross the finish line. I was super emotional watching him come through. TWENTY-SIX MILES!!! I was sooo proud of him!

 He looked amazing after crossing and other than needing a few minutes to veg out, he recovered phenomenally well. Donovan obviously wanted to help him out with the resting part. 

 A few shots of the family with our awesome runner.

And my uncooperative son decided, he'd had enough once again. 

                                         

When we made our way back to the hotel, Grammie ordered us room service fit for royalty. Honestly, I've never seen a bigger spread. It was SO yummy! We laid around the hotel room for a few hours and some of us napped a bit. And then it was time to pack up our things and head out once again. 

                                                                                                                                                                                 
                    

Thank you Grammie, for sharing in the special weekend with us. We loved celebrating it with you! 

And Dustin... you inspire all of us. I am so, so proud of you each and every day. 

Daddy's Girl

One of the things that makes me most excited to have a daughter is the anticipation of the relationship she will build with Dustin. My mom and I are best friends and not a day goes by that I don't call her to chat on the phone or try to make plans to meet up with her. We have so much in common and I have always been grateful for the closeness that we share. But there is something so special about a little girl's relationship with her Dad. I have always idolized my dad. There is no one in the whole world that I look up to quite like I do him. I have always held him on some kind of untouchable pedestal. And so when I found out that we were going to be blessed with a baby girl of our own, it immediately filled my heart with overwhelming joy knowing that she would feel the same way about Dustin. 

She's been here for one week now and I can already tell that she's Daddy's girl and I don't think he minds one bit. I love seeing the way Dustin's eyes light up when he looks at her, or how peacefully she sleeps in his great big arms. 

 This picture says it all. 

 She has spent most of her first week cuddling on everyone's shoulders... but I think she's partial to her Daddy's. 

My Dad's cousin Trish emailed me this morning and she wrote, "In all the photos of Dustin, I have never seen him glow as much as he does on being with his daughter."  I agree, Trish.

So many good things to come in their future together. I can hardly wait. 

He did it again!

One year ago Dustin ran his first half-marathon with the goal of running one a month for the next year. Today was the day he completed his goal! Dustin was up at 3:30 this morning and out the door an hour later. Donovan and I slept in a bit and then headed down to Coronado with Grampie to catch Dustin in action. 

 Here's little man waiting to cheer on his Daddy.

Grampie snapped some pictures of us waiting for Daddy to pass by around mile 8. 

We found him in the crowd! I love this picture of him saying hi to Donovan. I don't know if I'd be quite  as smiley if it were me on my 8th mile. Ha!

And he made it in just under 2 hours. Incredible!!! We were able to see him just as he crossed the finish line. 

Then Donovan helped him to stretch out. 

And a few pictures on the IB pier. 

We are so proud of this huge accomplishment. 

His goal has been reached but something tells me we'll be back again next year. 

Thanks for the pics Grampie. We loved having you there to cheer with us. 

Thank Goodness for Dads!

It's been a season of celebrating the women in my life the past few weeks. First Oma's 90th birthday, then my Mother-in-law's 70th birthday, followed up by my Mom's 60th birthday last weekend. A whirlwind of birthday love up in here. 

But I thought I would take just a moment to give some love to the fellas tonight. First and foremost for my own Dad. I've called him every afternoon on my way home from work this week and he always has some great Dad wisdom for me. Starting with a chat about my last blog post, to which he told me, "The time you're spending venting about, not having enough hours in the day is time you could have been using productively." And he is so right. Isn't he always? 

I've taken this to heart and made a conscious decision not to let myself get overwhelmed this week. I have a new plan. I get to work EARLY... I leave when my boys leave which means I arrive at work around 6:30. This is crazy for me. But it is quiet and the school is empty and I'm getting lots accomplished so that I can leave work at 4. Today I even beat my boys home! And it gets better... I finished my wreath, I've cooked dinner for 3 nights in a row and have even been going on evening walks with my family. 

Speaking of my family... please look at this picture. 

Do you see the shoes that are on Dustin's feet? Ya... those are 4 inch wedges that Donovan likes to grab from my closet on a daily basis and force people to put on. Today's shoe victim was Daddy. What a great sport! This picture is priceless. My boys reading a book together and Daddy in high heels. Strange, yet so sweet. Dustin has been a champ ever since my weekend melt down. He even sat down with one of my recipe books to try to map out a meal plan for the week. You have no idea what that means to me. This guy's fanciest dinner would be PB&J or maybe scrambled eggs on a good night. The fact that he would take it upon himself to step in for me fills my heart joy. 

So thanks fellas for turning my frown upside down. God is so good all of the time and I seem to find him most when I'm feeling on the down and out.

 It's been a great start to our week. I hope yours has been too. 

busy, busy, busy...

If I keep putting off a blog update until I find the time, Donovan will be 2 by the time I finally post! So sorry to friends and family that are wondering where we've been. I assure you that we are still here... just swamped with life. (And it doesn't seem to be letting up any time soon.) 

We are officially in our 3rd week of school. It's been an up and down roller coaster for me so far. I have 30 students this year which feels like an awful lot of 7 year olds for one teacher. Hard to believe that I only had 18 when I started teaching a few years ago.  It's pretty exhausting and I find myself spending waaaay too much time disciplining (in a 2nd grade friendly way) and not nearly enough time getting any of the important stuff done. I also have a lot of students with emotional issues this year and that always wears on my heart. It's been a rough start to say the least. 

Thankfully our church just happens to be doing a series called Fast Track Your Career. This past weekend was all about our attitude in the work place and how to look at things with a Godly perspective. It was so refreshing and exactly what I needed to hear. 

(Playing with home made play dough which kept his interest for about 20 seconds) 

So even though school's been a bit of a challenge for me, the boys in the Hein house seem to be doing just fine. Donovan is LOVING being back with Miss Cindy. All of the sudden he's coming home with new words and phrases each day. Dustin and I can't believe our eyes and ears. He is such a big boy now! He loves to mumble along to little songs that we sing, and he pretends to count and say his ABCs although he only gets to D. He repeats EVERYTHING we say now, which makes me realize that I need to be extra careful with EVERYTHING he hears. :) 

One thing that is not so lovely is his newfound go to word for all things... "NO!" Not only does he say no, but he also turns his head aways from you. This has become especially evident when it's time to brush his teeth. He'll run and hide in his closet saying. "Noooo!" 

Our little mister had his first allergic reaction this weekend to shrimp. I had made shrimp tacos for dinner and his reaction was almost instantaneous. He broke out with a rash on his arms and face and couldn't stop itching. I completely freaked out and was ready to rush him to the ER but thankfully a little children's Benadryl and a chat with the advice nurse was all he needed. No more shell fish for this sweet boy. 

What else? Life has just been so busy. This past weekend was Dustin's first weekend home since the 4th of July!!! It was great to be together. We snapped right back into our Saturday morning beach walk routine. The waves were crazy and there were so many people out watching. It felt heavenly to be back at the beach again. Oh, how I miss summer already!

 (The Hein boys checking out the surf)

The rest of our weekend was spent in the yard. On the 15th we are hosting Oma's 90th birthday! We're so happy to be able to host our friends and family for the occasion... but also totally crazy realizing how many things there are to do before the day gets here. This coming weekend Dustin and I will be up north for one of his best friends' weddings. So this was our last weekend to get it all done. But don't worry, we also found time to play too. 

 (Playing football in front yard. Notice the beast of an RV parked permanently in our next door neighbor's front yard. RRRRR. We are now realizing that there are some benefits to having an HOA.)

 (Molls looking in on the action)

(Donovan rocking some crazy get up and checking out the hugest worm known to man)

I am sure there is lots more to share... but I'm off to squeeze in a few minutes of tv time with the Mr. before shut eye. 

Have a wonderful week!

proud

The handsome fella on the left received his Triple Crown medal this morning! I am so proud of his dedication and commitment to run all of these races this year. He truly is so inspiring to me. It's such a cool feeling waiting for him to cross the finish line. (Although I hardly ever see him amongst the crowds of people until after he's actually come through) Oh well, it's the thought that counts. 

Added bonus today of running into some of our besties in the crowd and having a little impromptu play date/picnic. 

I hope you all had a great weekend too!

a day for the dads

So proud to be celebrating Donovan's Daddy, Grampie, and Poppa today! 

Happy Father's Day everyone!

Lazy afternoons

There is something so sweet about waking up this boy from his afternoon naps. Last week, after nap time We went outside to watch Daddy mow the lawn and I couldn't resist snapping a few pictures of his sleepy face. 

 sweaty bed head

 and big yawns

 followed by more yawns

and a kiss from Daddy

Love my boys!