Happy 4th of July!!

I've always wanted to run the Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta...it's the world's largest 10k (6.2 mile) road race in the United States with 60,000 runners...which also makes it one of the most difficult races to get into! You can apply to get in through a lottery system in March (which I did but was unsuccessful at) and if you don't get in...scour Craigslist. While I was bummed I didn't get in through the lottery, I also thought it was okay since 6 miles is a long way to run! I changed my mind on July 3rd when one of my girl friends (who is also a mom to 2 year old twin boys) said that she wanted to run. Soooo...some Craigslist searching and an hour later we had race numbers in our hands for the big race. Here we are lined up before the race began...

Run!

After the race...

It really was the most fun race that I have ever run in! There were bands every 1/4 mile and HUGE crowds watching and cheering you on...it was definitely hot towards the end but a GREAT way to start the 4th and one that I hope to do every year! Last night we also decided to bring the boys to fireworks for the first time. They LOVED staying up late...they were like wild men..W.I.L.D men and said "whoa" as the fireworks went off and would tell us what color each one was. This lasted all of 3 maybe 4 minutes before they were done with the fireworks and wanted to run around...two two year olds can be tough to keep up with...especially after running 6 miles! Here are some attempts at pictures!

Fish!!

Since we were pretty much kicked out of our house last Monday for Mega Dens we decided to take a family trip to the Atlanta Aquarium. We bought a season pass, so you may see some more pictures of us there at various times throughout the year. The boys L-O-V-E-D it!! They loved pointing to all of the fish and talking about their colors, saying "whoa!", and just the overall atmosphere was something they were really into. Here are some pictures of the munchkins enjoying the fish...

Coleman even found a girlfriend! This cute little thing reached over and just grabbed his hand...such the ladies man!

And...this has to be my all time favorite! While the boys were looking at the fish, Carter reached over and put his arm around Coleman...I could seriously eat these two up, so precious!

Our Mega Den!!!

A few months ago I saw a casting for a show on the DIY network called Mega Dens. They were looking for families in the Atlanta area with small kiddos that wanted to dramatically change their den. Now, to give you a bit of background on why this intrigued me...Jared and I had been talking for MONTHS, I mean MONTHS about how great it would be to open up the wall between the living room (aka the boys playroom) and the den and to lay hardwood floors since our carpet just continued to be in constant need of cleaning with two small friends. Okay, now back to the casting call...so, I sent in an email answering their questions and didn't think too much about it when a month or so had passed and I hadn't heard anything back. Well, while we were at the beach with my family they emailed me back and set up a phone interview, and then an in home visit, and after a pitch to the network and an approval our date was set for our home makeover!! Mega Dens is a crazy show because you basically surrender your house over to the design team and you are pretty much kicked out for the week while they transform your space...being my normal planner and OCD self, this was a little challenging for me but I had watched the show previously and knew that we were leaving it in good hands. Okay, so now I'll stop talking and show you the pictures since that's all you probably want to see anyway! Our Den Before:

Our Living Room/Playroom Before:

Our New Mega Den!!!

Coleman and Carter's artwork! They made this secretly with the hosts of the show one day and I LOVE it!

Probably my all time favorite piece in the rooms...they did such an awesome job of matching our style with the makeover. Jared's, of course, is the new 3D tv.

It's safe to say that the boys are pretty much in love with the firetruck. The red light on top lights up, as do the headlights and Coleman and Carter control all of this from inside of the truck, so of course they think they are top dog. Carter woke up an hour early this morning saying "firetruck firetruck firetruck"...poor little guy must've been dreaming about it all night long!

And of course they love that they can still watch Thomas the Train in their new den..

Here are some action shots during the week...Jared and I painted the fireplace (and I wanted to kinda freak out), sanded and drilled the custom built-ins...although we didn't know what they were at the time.

And here are the boys with the hosts of the show who were seriously amazing!!

Best Buddies