Running as a Family + Discount for the Sparkle Me Wild Color Run for My NC Peeps

Thank you to USFamilyGuide.com and Sparkle Me Wild Color Run for sponsoring this post. I was not financially compensated for this post. Free registration to the Sparkle Me Wild Color Run was provided in exchange. I genuinely love running so all opinions are definitely my own!

Ever since Jason and I ran the Color Me Rad 5k, we have been wanting to participate in more running events. My goal at the beginning of 2014 was to participate in at least 2-3 runs this year. Quite honestly, I would participate in more if my budget and time would allow it, and we have definitely been checking out all of the 5k events in our area, trying to decide which ones we would like to do.

Up until I actually started doing a little research, I had no idea just how often events like this take place.  For my NC peeps, the website for Endurance Magazine has a list of upcoming running events. I am pretty excited about the Bull City Race Fest and Food Truck Rodeo this October. It's a 1/2 marathon, 5 mile fun, and 1 miler, so there is definitely something for everyone.

Jason and I also want to share our love for fitness and running with our children, so we were excited to hear about the local Sparkle Me Wild Color Run. Although, we just participated in the Color Me Rad, a similar event, Jason and I enjoyed it so much, we knew this would be a perfect event for all of us to do as a family. We are so excited to get out there and have a blast!

Sparkle Me Wild Color Run will be held at the Wake Med Soccer Park in Raleigh, NC on May 10. Sparkle Me Wild is all about freedom, family, fun, being healthy, and most importantly, a beautiful life. Every once in a while we all need to let our inhibitions run free and get wild! Each step along the 5k will lead to color stations, sparkling glitter stations, and bright bling at the finish.

That's right,  everyone who crosses the finish line will receive a medal! How awesome is that?

Big, small, short, tall, all are encouraged to be a part of the sparkle parade! You can walk, skip, cart-wheel, jog (and yes, run!) or dance or way through the course and at the end, you will not be awarded on time, but rather your sparkling, carefree self as you cross the finish line!

And guess what?

All Six Cherries on Top readers get 30% off Adult Registration and Kids 10 and under are FREE! Simply use the code SPARKLE when you register!


REGISTER NOW!

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Be sure to visit this month's featured sponsor.

Christmas 2013

Since my parents are divorced, I celebrate Christmas with my Dad and Step-Mom on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with my Mom and her side of the family. One day there will come a time when we finally live in a house big enough and we can be the hosts of our own Christmas get together, but until then we do it like this.

My favorite gift this Christmas? My Kitchen Aid Food Processor! I got a Kitchen Aid Mixer last Christmas and have really used the heck out of it in the past year, so I wanted the food processor to match it. I am already looking forward to growing our yearly garden and making salsa all summer long in it this year! I think we hit the nail on the head when it came to gift giving ourselves this year too. My Step-Mom stays home so TV and movies are important to her. We gave her a Roku and Netflix subscription for life and she couldn't have been happier! My Dad has even been enjoying it because of all the documentaries. He loves that kind of stuff!

It's not a trip to Grandma Darlin's and Poppy's without going outside to play in the yard. Even if it is freezing out there!

It's always a little more relaxed at my Dad's house, so I am able to actually pull out the camera and snap a few photos when I am there. I didn't have any recent photos of us together so I wanted to make sure that I got a few before we left...even if I decided at the last minute that I wanted to wear more comfortable clothes, and my hair looked a mess!


What was your favorite gift this year? What is a gift you gave that you were most proud of?


                    

Personal & Family Goals for 2014

The last couple of days, I have shared my Life Resolutions and Two Words for 2014. They are both ways I will refer to as I guide myself and my family through the next year. Upon creating the basis for how I hope to live, I also came up with some personal and family goals that I hope to be successful at this year as well. I will continue to share my weekly and monthly goals as well through my Weekly Wishes and break down these broader goals into easier, more obtainable, goals along the way.


Personal Goals:

• Read: 25 books in 2014. I made the goal small since, if I am being honest, I probably read about 5 books in 2013.
• Write letters: Write 52 letters to friends and family. One letter a week for 52 weeks.
• Grow my blog: I would love to take this blog further this year. I took a break last year, but really want to get back to things this year.
• Improve my photography: Practice, practice, practice! Participate in Scavenger Hunt Sunday at least once a month.
• Clean eating: Educate myself more about clean eating and prepare more meals that are clean.
• Workout: Running is my favorite! I would love to participate in The Color Run.
• Me time: More alone time, and doing things just for me, to refresh and refocus.  

 

Family Goals:

• More time for Jason and I: More date nights and day dates for the love of my life and I.
• Spend less: Always finding free and inexpensive activities that we can do together as a family.
• Outside time: Try to get outside more often. Even in the winter when it is cold. It's always important to get outside for some fresh air and Vitamin D. 
• Encourage it forward: We worked hard toward the end of the year to make sure we took the time to encourage others with random acts of kindness. I would like to keep that going because it is a wonderful way to teach children to give back. 

 Inspire me by sharing some of your personal and family goals in the comments.

                    

family is more than blood

these two are like peas in a pod. they might not be blood, but they are definitely family. until i met jason, mackenzie's closest sibling in age was phoenix who is 7 years younger than her. although mackenzie loves phoenix and tyler, i know she has enjoyed having siblings closer to her age like she has with ryan and jacob.

recently, a family incident occurred (that i will continue to be vague about) that caused mackenzie to turn to ugly words to show her anger toward ryan about the incident. but, even when they "say" they are mad at each other, i know they can't wait for it all to be over so they can get back to their silly ways as brother and sister. we are a family with strong family values, so i know it is killing mackenzie to see her brother make bad life choices and represent himself in such a disrespectful way. she only wants the best for him.

don't worry, ryan is fine, he is just being a typical teenager! jason and i have a much easier time understanding what he is going through than mackenzie does. i promise this whole situation is nothing more than a case of teenage selfishness. and mackenzie is certainly not innocent of that either!

i love this photo because it was taken on a day that they were really getting along, and being cooperative for photos. that never happens with these two anymore. and, it reminds us all that family is more than blood. it is an unconditional love, as well as the bond you hold with them in your heart.

linking up with the paper mama photo challenge. this month's theme is family.

   

joni - sixcherriesontop (at) gmail (dot) com | twitter | facebook | pinterest | instagram: sixcherries

two teenagers, a step-sister and a step-brother

 

 

i love the brother/sister relationship they have. 

linking up with the paper mama, angry julie monday, and sarah halstead for wordless wednesday.

joni - sixcherriesontop (at) gmail (dot) com | twitter | facebook | pinterest | instagram: sixcherries

family week with emeals

september 24-28 is family week and emeals is celebrating! helping families come together is an important mission for emeals, and according to statistics,  meal times are the best times for families to spend more time together. research has proven that children who share their meals with family are less likely to smoke, drink, or do drugs than those who don't. 

during the week, emeals has created a list of activities with an accompanying recipe that encourages families to come together during dinner. whether you already sit down and eat with your family or you are a family who is always on the go, make some extra time in your schedule to have fun and enjoy these activities and meals with your children. 

go HERE to read more about this wonderful event and check out all of the awesome partners who stand behind emeals and bringing families together. While you are there, be sure to download the emeals activity plan and recipes too, then head over to facebook and enter to win some fabulous prizes.

right now emeals is also offering a 15% discount on any of their regular emeals plans. just use the code FAMILY at checkout.

MAKE FAMILY COUNT.

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joni - sixcherriesontop (at) gmail (dot) com | twitter | facebook | pinterest | instagram: sixcherries

i'm over at a sorta fairytale today

one of my favorite bloggers, mandy over at a sorta fairytale, so kindly invited me over today to share a typical day with six cherries on top. 

come say "hi" and  and check out what goes on throughout a busy day with the moore family!

joni - sixcherriesontop (at) gmail (dot) com | twitter | facebook | pinterest | instagram: mamacherry

friends forever

friend: a person attached to another by feelings of affection or personal regard.

______________________________________________________________________________________

so, these guys might be brothers and they might not always get along, but they truly are the best of friends.

 

 they would never admit it now, but we all see it!

joni - sixcherriesontop (at) gmail (dot) com | twitter | facebook | pinterest | instagram: mamacherry

the last two weeks & some phone photos

sorry i missed yesterday's big family, small budget series. i have been a little absent from the blog lately simply because life has gotten busy.

i would just like to ask you all to keep jason's dad in your thoughts and prayers. last week, david, jason's dad, had a massive heart attack and we are 100% sure the Lord was there by his side through the entire event. jason's dad was given a second chance at life that day after what was considered by doctors as one of the worst heart attack cases they had ever seen where the patient had lived.

we are so grateful to God, as well as the first responders, paramedics, doctors, and nurses for all they have done to help such a wonderful man. had it not been for each of these people and the dedication they have put into their work, we may not have him here today. he has a long road to recovery ahead but look forward to a day when we can look back on this event as a test to our faith in the Lord and a time that brought our family closer together. GOD CERTAINLY IS GOOD!

 wanna know how i put together this quick collage of my instagram photos? go here to find out!

this thursday, school started back for 5 of my six littles. getting back into the rountine has been a challenge for us all. we definitely should have started practicing a bit soon, but we were literally trying to squeeze everything we could into what was left of our summer. this was a big year for two of my sweets. ryan started middle school and tyler started kindergarten. 

on top of all that, pretty much everyone knows about the east coast earthquake this week as well. do you ever stop to wonder what you were doing two minutes before a big event. all too often i do. i think about waking up that morning and what i did leading up to the event. sometimes i even look for signs that something was a bit off. i don't recall anything. however, ten minutes prior phoenix lost her first baby tooth. we were in the bathroom rinsing her mouth out and talking about the tooth fairy.

so what was i doing the exact moment it happened? i was sitting on the toilet. yep, that's right, i was taking care of business. my first thought was actually "earthquake", but when i called mackenzie who was in the next room and she felt absolutely nothing, i shrugged it off and thought my washing machine had taken a turn for the worse. only when jason called and mentioned it, did i put two and two together.

and lastly, as i write this, hurricane irene in beating down our coastal cities and towns with all her might. my oldest boys live right along irene's path and i pray that they all stay safe.

what a roller coaster of events. we have hardly been able to catch our breath. 

big family, small budget will continue this coming thursday but if you would like to contact me or keep up with me and what i have been doing, you can follow me in any of these places:

joni - sixcherriesontop (at) gmail (dot) com | twitter | facebook | pinterest | instagram: mamacherry

just like winning the lottery

we all know what the odds of winning the lottery are. 

well, those same odds apply to the likely hood that these four would all-on-their-own cuddle up on the couch together and actually get along. 

 

i just hit the jackpot! 

 only this is way better than anything money could buy.

 

joni - sixcherriesontop (at) gmail (dot) com  twitter | facebook | pinterest

happy mother's day!

we love our moms!

unfortunately, we do not have enough photos of our parents in recent years. most of my photos of my parents are actual photos that i have in an album and would rather suffer a million paper cuts than try to get them scanned and put onto my computer.

so, these photos will have to do!

we hope that every mom out there has an enjoyable day!

2003 - my mom, deborah with me.  i look like a giant kindergartener in those awful overalls.

2003 - my step-mom, brenda with my neice, leah.

2010 - jason's mom, wanda with his dad, david.

these three women are truly amazing not just because they are our moms but because they all have lived inspiring lives. perhaps someday soon i will share their stories.

happy mother's day!

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