Aunty Arleen

I just have to take a moment to express my gratitude for having an amazing woman like Auntie Arleen in my life.  I was lucky enough to find a beautiful home just down the street from my brother Adrian's family.  His wife, my sister-in-law, has been a godsend.
To the girls, she is Auntie Arleen.  She loves those girls so much and they love her right back.
I discovered something called a Boot Camp fitness class at the local gym.  I signed up about a year or so ago in an effort to keep fit and to help me train for some races I wanted to participate in over the summer.  Mostly I was looking for a way to improve myself and maintain a more positive attitude, since the divorce had made me lose a ton of weight and left me with a gaping hole in my heart.  Boot camp was actually one of the most life-changing things I could've done.  Not only did I accomplish my goals and become more fit, but I made new, genuine friends who shared my love for an active lifestyle.  The positive morale there was just what I needed at the start of each day to get me through the roughness of life.  This was very much a life saver for me.
The boot camp I signed up for could not have been possible for me to do without the help of Arleen.  The boot camp took place every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 6:30 am.  Arleen would get up extra early to come over to the house and watch the girls so that I could attend.  She helped get them breakfast (often making them her special chocolate chip pancakes), and helped them get ready on the mornings she came over.  I am so happy she was able to help out, and am forever grateful for that service she did for our family.  She is an angel.
One morning she took a bunch of goofy pictures with her phone, with McKel.  They are just so stinkin' adorable I had to post them all:

McKel always seems to have some kind of owie.  I don't even recall what the one on her nose here was from.  She is a very active girl, and not afraid to take a tumble.

Haha, so cute!

Duck face

Surprise face!

Silly face

more cuteness...

More duck face

Smiley girl!  :)

Such a cheese for the camera!