Frost Yer Fanny Duathlon

This weekend I did my very first EVER race... and I finished! I did the Frost Yer Fanny Duathlon Sprint with 3 of my friends. It was a 2 mile run, 11 mile bike, and another 2 mile run (so a total run of 4 miles). I am NOT a runner so this was a big accomplishment for me. Did I mention that I really don't like to run? AND it was pretty cold for Texas...38 degrees outside.

Michelle, Halli, Laurie, & Heather

Halli & Laurie

Warming up in the car before the race...

Halli, Michelle, Heather, and Laurie


Let the games begin...Laurie and I at the beginning of the race...


TORTURE! :)

Halli.................Laurie

Biking... (I Like this part!)

Back to the run...I'm only smiling because I was almost finished!!!!

Taylor and Lauren ran across the finish line with me...

Immediately after the race...WHEW!

Laurie, Halli, & Taylor

Taylor, Halli, & Lauren

I did it! It was actually alot of fun.

Silly Girlies...

Dave made these lights for the kids out of LED lights, batteries, magnets, and duct tape. They have had more fun with these. They are magnetic and will stick to anything metal. They've been put on the refrigerator, light poles, lamps, screens, Maggie's dog crate, you name it. A red one was even placed on the "Deer Crossing" sign in the neighborhood...on the nose of the deer! They stay lit for about 3 weeks at which time you just have to replace the battery.

Lauren and her friend Caitlin...

Happy Birthday Nathan!

Our nephew, Nathan, turned 11 today. He's Dave's sister's little boy. They live in Killeen, TX which is about an hour from us. We went to their house on Saturday for his party then today, they came to Austin and we all went to the movie, Hotel for Dogs, and then to Chilli's for dinner. It's fun to have them so close!

Nathan blowing out his candles...cheered on by brothers Matthew and Seth.

Nathan & Carter

Taylor climbed the tree in their back yard...she LOVES to climb trees!

Matthew, Nathan, & Taylor...playing the Nintendo DS

Lauren held, carried, and played with their cats the entire party (about 3 hours straight!) I'm sure the cats (they have two) were glad to see her go! :)

Five Times the Fun!!!

On Wednesday, my friend Rachelle, her mom, and I took her quintuplets to lunch at Chili's. Believe it or not, they were really good! We used to take them quite a bit before they were mobile and before our lunch buddy up and moved to Colorado. (Yes, Liz, I'm talking about you!)

Rachelle, Ryder, & Rustin

Halli, Kaydence, Kyndall, Rachelle's Mom, & Kassidy

Kyndall, Halli, & Kassidy

I go over to Rachelle's every Thursday and watch the babies so she can run errands. I've done it since they were 2 months old. I love these babies, almost as much as my own! :)

Unexpected Loss...

My Uncle Alex passed away unexpectedly on Sunday, January 4th. He is my dad's brother. It was a very sad day for our family. His funeral was yesterday in Houston, Texas so we loaded up the kids and went to Houston. It was a very nice service and we were able to see many family members whom we haven't seen in years. Both of my brothers were there so that was nice as well. I just wish it had been under different circumstances. He was a great son, husband, father, grandpa, brother, uncle, friend, teacher, and coach. He will be missed by many.

Dave, Taylor, Carter, Dad, Mom, Lauren, Halli, John, Chad

Happy Birthday David!

Yesterday was Dave's Birthday...he's a whopping 37! Here's some things you may not know about him....

His full name is David Lyle Matheny. He was born in Corvallis, Oregon on January 6, 1972 weighing in at 8 lbs. 5 oz. He was the cutest baby! Take a peek...

He is the oldest of four kids (and they are all 19 months apart)...

David with baby brother, Sam.

Andy, Katrina, Sam, & David

His dad was in the military so they moved a lot. He's lived in 8 states and 3 countries throughout his life. He tells people he's from Green Ridge Missouri as they lived there the longest (6 years) and it is where he graduated high school.

He got his Eagle Scout when he was 16 years old.

He was voted Most Likely To Succeed in High School and he has always been tall. He's 6'6"!

He graduated from high school in 1990. There were 32 kids in his graduating class. Their class was one of the largest in the school. Kindergarten through 12th grade all attended the same school and there were 350 kids total.

He served a 2 year mission for our church at the age of 19 in Honduras and Guatemala. David in the MTC (Missionary Training Center in Provo, UT)

David & his first companion (it's not a great picture but notice the size difference).

He's always had a big appetite.

Honduras is considered a third world country. You can see why...

This was their "toilet".

This was a bug in their "apartment" on a full size (8.5 x 11) sheet of paper.

Dave worked at a meat packing plant before his mission and a lumber mill after to save money for college. He attended Ricks College in Rexburg, Idaho where he met the love of his life...
He got married at the age of 22...it was the best decision he's ever made! :)

He became a Dad at 24...

I was in labor for a long time with Taylor and she looked pretty rough. Dave was holding her and my friend, Tonia, who had been at her birth said, "I think she's cute." Then the conversation went like this: Dave: "I don't know." Tonia: "Well if she were 16..."
Dave: "If she were 16, she'd be in special-ed whether she needed it or not."
He has gotten much more tactful through the years though still just as honest!

He graduated from college in August of 1998 with a computer science degree.

He is a very fun dad. He's just fun in general and keeps us all laughing!

He's VERY handy around the house.

He's likes to fish, camp, shoot, play computer games, read, exercise, watch movies, and buy his wife nice things :). Brandon Smith & Dave

He's recently started to shoot competitively and is in a Filipino Knife Fighting Martial Arts Class that he goes to 3 times/week .

He's a great husband and father...but you already knew that!

Happy Birthday Dave! We love you!