I PASSED!!!!

Ok so after four excruciating weeks of waiting, I finally found out yesterday that I passed all of my tests and am officially CERTIFIED to teach TaeBo!! All four ladies in my group got certified, so that means when it comes time to re-certify in February 2009, we'll all get to go together. We had such a great time last month, and these are some amazing ladies I look forward to being with a whole lot more in the future. Cheers!!!!

TaeBo Boot Camp!

Ok, so I don't have any pictures to add with this post, but STAY WITH ME HERE! (I did have my picture taken with Billy but can't post it on a public site so if you REALLY want to see it, let me know and I'll email it to ya). I want to just tell you how unbelievable it was to work with Billy Blanks for an entire weekend! He pushed me (and the other 24 poeple in my group) to my absolute limit, and then pushed even further. We worked out for 20 hours in 3 days of camp, but spent several more hours at the gym for lecture and test-taking. After childbirth, this was the most difficult thing I've ever had to endure in my life, but it was so incredibly worth every minute. So you might be wondering why I would put myself through all of this.... I decided a few months ago to become a TaeBo instructor at the gym I go to, and in order to instruct, you have to get certified by Billy and his team. He wants only the best out there sharing his vision of TaeBo, which is really great because it really enforces the integrity of the sport. I don't find out for a couple more weeks whether or not I passed all of the grueling tests, but even if I didn't, I still learned so much and it changed my life forever! Now I KNOW without a doubt that there's nothing I can't do!

She Speaks!!

This weekend, while I was away in Los Angeles for the TaeBo Boot Camp (more on that in a future post), Brynlee said her first deliberate words! When I called to check in on how everyone was doing, she said "Ma Ma"! And then, the evening I returned, we were getting ready for bed and reading books. When the book was done, I had to take it away from her, which made her upset. I tried to redirect her attention by asking, "Where is your turtle?" (referring to a large stuffed turtle in her crib given to her by her Uncle Ryan). She got a huge smile on her face, turned toward her crib and said, "Tuh tuh, tuh tuh!!" I got teary eyes right then. Since those words, she's saying bye bye, puppy ("puh puh"), and Da Da. I think the words will start flowing now!

Bathing Beauties

We started putting both kids to bed at the same time (as opposed to Brynlee going an hour earlier), so it made sense to start bathing them together as well. They enjoy eachother's company in the cramped quarters as they splash Mommy and Daddy. This will be a photo for someone's yearbook down the road!!

Uncle Trent

Trent has been in town for the past week on Spring Break from his college in Boston. We ate at a Mexican restaurant before he took the red eye flight back to Bean Town. We always make Trent's last meal Mexican because you can't find good Mexican in Boston and he needs his last fix before being without for several weeks/months. We'll be going to Boston over Mother's Day weekend this year to witness Trent's graduation from Berklee.

Boat Park

When I was a little kid, we used to visit this park all the time, only when we went, it was a wooden boat! My brothers later dubbed it "S.S. Splinter". I guess that's why the Parks & Rec people decided to replace the wooden version with a cement structure. Here we are, enjoying some unseasonably warm weather at "the Boat Park".

Easter

We had a wonderful day on Sunday! It started out with a delicious brunch buffet at Sweet Tomatoes with Gammy and our friends Christine and Jesse. Later in the day, we went up to Darren's sister Michelle's house for a perfectly-prepared dinner of turkey and other awesome fixin's. Zoie hid eggs for Tevin, who had a delightful time trying to find them. Brynlee was shy most of the time but eventually warmed up and started chattering away and showing off.