Our First "Annual Stringham Family Reunion" at Seaside

*** For those of you who are family,I appologize, I know you have seen a lot of these pictures on my other siblings blog already... but since I keep this as a family journal, I am putting these pictures on again!!! So have fun reliving our reunion again***

This summer we had the oppurtunity to have our First annual Stringham Family Reunion at my Uncles beachouse at Seaside OR. My brother Jason and his family flew up from Pennsylvania and we were all together. The kids (and the adults) had such a great time. We roasted marshmallows, boogie boarded, played in the ocean, played in the sand, flew kites, played games, ate yummy food, and much more. It was so much fun!!!! Here are some of my favorite pictures.

(I have even more pictures but my hardrive is full and I have no more room to download all my pictures so I guess I will be buying an external hardrive for all my photos.)








Eric and Brody chasing the birds... Brody took this very seriously!!



WE had soooo much fun all day long, sometimes we had to lay down right there on the beach and take a snooze!


Brody and Blake enjoying a wagon ride on the beach. Have you ever pulled a wagon in the sand. What a joke. We only did that once. Best workout of my life.



Rebecca- our family photographer!



Jen and My mom by the camfire.



Uncle Jason, Blake and Jennible- wetsuits on.. quick pose for the camera, that off to the beach!



Jenn and Jennible posing for the camera.



Tommy and Ethan brought there laser tag guns to the beach. This was a hit, even for adults. Or kids at heart!!



And he is dead!!



This is serious business!!



Brody enjoying the beach. The hardest part was keeping sand out of his mouth!! He also learned to crawl on this trip.



Working together to build a sandcastle.


Blake and Davie's sand tunnel hideout!!



Maria Loves Eric!!



Blake Burried in the sand.




Tommy flying his star wars kite at Cannon Beach.



Booggie boarding is fun stuff.



Except when you do it on the sand. You don't go very far... or fast.



riding some serious waves.


Having a blast. This is before the coast guards called everyone in because of a Gray White Shark.



Blake and Davie taking turns with the boogie board.



Jason Stringham , Eric and Jason Kidd... What studs!!




Playing in the sand with Grandma.



The campfire.





The 3 Stringham Brothers.

We had a great time. I can't wait until we have another Stringham Family Reuion!!!

Thanks for the memories.

Family Pictures at Seaside

Our family just got back from a family Reunion at My Uncle's beachouse in Seaside, OR. This was our first offical "Stringham Family Reunion" and it was a blast. I have a lot more pictures to share with you, but until I go through them all I thought I would send you our family picture that my sister took. I think they turned out cute. I can't wait to print them and frame them. I like them so much it could be my Christmas card, so act surprised when you get it in December :)

An Answer to Someone's Prayers...

This morning, my friend Annalisa and I had an awesome experience on our run morning run. We were running and talking when my friend Annalisa looked down and noticed a $100.00 bill on the road. So many things go through your mind when you find that much money. I will have to admit, we did think of all the things we could do with it, since both of us are paycheck to paycheck families. We considered a double date at the melting pot, wouldn't that be fun. Something we both don't have the money to treat ourselves to. But my stomach also felt sick. I know that if Eric and I lost a $100 it would be devastating to us. I couldn't help but think of who lost it. Both Annalisa and I wished we could find who lost the money.In my heart I kept praying that there was someway that we could return this money to whoever lost it. That either they would be inspired or we would be inspired to find them. I knew if it was meant to be that Heavenly Father could help find a way to make it happen. It was 6 am in the morning and no one was around. What do you do?? We were not far from the circle K so later that morning Annalisa went to the circle K and told them that she had found some money. If anyone came looking for some money, and could tell her how much it was to please give them her phone number. The people at Circle K kind of laughed at her. Thought she was silly for even reporting it and trying to find out who it belonged to. It seemed like such a long shot. She continued running ( oh yeah, she runs farther than I do, because she is training for a full marathon and my knee is killing me these days.) and saw an older Russian lady walking up and down the strip where we had found the money. The lady looked really sad. Annalisa wondered if she could be the one who lost the money. She could tell she was Russian and was afraid she would not be able to communicate with her, but she decided to ask her anyone. She went up to the lady and asked her if everything was OK? The lady told Annalisa that she had "lost ALL of her money." Annalisa asked her how much she lost, and the lady told her $100.00. Annalisa was so excited to tell her that she had found it. The lady wrapped her arms around Annalisa and thanked her so much over and over. She told her it was all the money she had and didn't know what she was going to do. I am so thankful that Heavenly Father answered our prayers and we were able to find out who the money belonged to. It was such a great way to start my day.

My First 1/2 Marathon

Today at 7:30am I ran my first 1/2 Marathon. It was awesome. I ran the first 10 miles with ease. Even the killer hill wasn't nearly as bad as I anticipated. My prayers were answered ad I did not have to run in killer heat. In fact the first little bit it was totally foggy and breezy. I loved it. The last 3 miles I really started to struggle. My legs started feeling heavier and heavier and it was starting to get HOT! (The heat made it really hard for me to get a good breath. ) I perked up when I saw the finish line. And started booking it even more when I heard Eric whistle. I heard him whistle before I could see him. I couldn't wait to see him and the kids at the finish line.

My friends Misty and Shauna showed up at the finish line to support me. They are so awesome. And then they took me to lunch for my birthday and celebrate. I had so much fun getting out and spending time with the girls.

Here are some pics from the event:


Just around the bend from the finish line. At this point I could here Eric's whistle and started to book it.





Trying to make it in less than 2 1/2 hours!! Look at that serious face!!!




A couple of Marathon Maniacs. That is what the sign says behind us at the finsh line!!




My good friends Misty and Shauna- there to support me!! What awesome friends. And then they treated me to a wonderful lunch afterwards for my birthday.




Giving Eric a smooche at the finish line. I couldn't wait to see him. It made me feel so special having him there supporting me. He has been my biggest support through all of this.



A picture of me and the boys. I heard Blake say at the finish line. "My mom wins!!"
I loved having them there.



The crew. Both Annalisa and my families there to support us. Aren't families wonderful!! It is kind of like life. This life is a tesst. It may be hard and trying, but in the end we do our best so that we can be with our families forever. Knowing my family was there at the end, cheering me on is what kept me going.