Vacation Pictures

Yep, I promised them last week, but I suck.  No, I'm adulting.  And adulting is hard.  I'm exhausted.  I have a hard time finding time to do my workouts let alone blog about them and the rest of my life.  But today we cancelled our cable which means I'm gonna have lots of time (I'm kind of addicted to tv).  I'm gonna try harder.  I swear.  I SWEAR!!!

Two weeks ago we went down to Florida for our annual spring break with my parents.  My parents, now retired, are staying down there for a little over a month so we went and visited and stayed with them.  Here's a few pictures (mostly of Anderson) from our trip.  (And if you're my Instagram friend, you've seen most of these.)

The day we flew down to Florida was Anderson's 4th birthday.  We had gotten up at 4:00am and the little dude did not take a nap all day.  He was nearly asleep as we lit up his cupcake.

Looks like he still enjoyed his cupcake, though.

Our family friend who lives in the area got Anderson a kite for his birthday.  He loved it!

This is probably my favorite pictures from the trip.  I made this my lock screen on my phone. 

My boys. 

Sunset at the beach.

Oh yeah.  I was on this trip too.

Weirdos. 

Immediately after he got to the park he tripped over the root and landed on his face.  Hence, the dirt on his face. 

These are out of order.  On the way home, the captain invited Anderson into the cockpit, let him sit in his seat, and even wear his hat.  Um, I was jealous. 

It wasn't all beach (although it mostly was).  One morning Anderson enjoyed running through the fountains in the middle of Venice.

My sister is down there this week and my parents come home in a few weeks.  I have done this trip every year for as long as I can remember.  It's fun, although with a toddler now, it is a lot of work.  There's no more taking a nap on the beach.  Next year we will probably not get to go since we will be going to Boston for the marathon.  It's time for a change, though.  Maybe the break's not such a bad thing.  Either way, anything has got to be better than winter in Ohio.  Happy spring!!!

Oh, what a night!!!

We took a family vacation next week (pictures to come!!) and arrived home very late Sunday night/Monday morning.  Our flight got home after midnight, which after getting out of the plane, getting our luggage, riding the shuttle to our car, and driving home, we got home around 1:00am.

Because our dog now has special needs, we needed to hire a pet sitter to come to our house several times a day and empty her bladder, etc. instead of just kenneling her like we normally do.  The company was very thorough and even took out the trash, checked our mail, brought in the newspaper, and whatnot.  When we got home we tried to get inside and the back doors were locked, something that is not normally done as we don't have keys to those doors.  Our garage is locked and it is connected to the back doors so there you go.  Anyway, I told Dave, hey, just go unlock the front door?!  As he walked out of the garage he quickly came back - the pet sitter had his key and my key was hanging in the kitchen.  Awesome.  My parents have a spare key.  I called them and of course, it was on their key ring and it was in Florida.  So, we spent the night (can we really call it a night if we only slept 3 hours??) at my parents' house.  I finally fell asleep sometime after 2:00 and woke up several times throughout the night. 

The alarm went off bright and early at 6:30 as we had to hurry to Anderson's 4 year old well check at 7:30.  We were wearing the same clothes as yesterday and at least I felt, icky.  The doctor went well, we dropped Anderson off at preschool, and Dave and I drove clear across town to get the key from the dog sitter.  We finally got into our house just before 10am Monday, 9 hours after we got in from vacation.

We opened the door and OMG!  The house smelled like we had 17 dogs.  They did do a good job, but being that our dog now pees on pads instead of outside, I would have liked to have seen them empty the trash or put the pee pads in the outdoor trash can.  We emptied the trash and mopped the floor, and I sprayed air freshener all over the place.  Sloopy also got a bath and now it smells much better.

With only a few hours of sleep, we got showers and went off to work. 

But wait, there's more!!!

I am a very punctual person.  Being on time is being late; being early is being on time!!!  Having a toddler means we get to places barely in time no matter how much time we allow.  So when we left for Florida we were running later than we wanted to be, which meant when our gas light came on in the car we just continued to drive to the airport.  When we returned a week later we sort of forgot we had no gas in the car.  At 1:00am we didn't exactly want to stop for gas, but were nervous about the gauge being correct and time constraints in the morning, etc., that we decided to stop by the gas station a mere spitting distance from our house.  We were one of three cars - a car parked at the store portion of the gas station with a gentleman outside smoking on the hood and a police car with the officer inside the store. While Dave was pumping gas, the officer came out talking on his walkie and taking his goods to his car.  He put the bags inside the door and then went back into the store, entering from the far left door.  As he went in, a woman scurried out of the right-hand door.  She had a small coat wrapped around her and it sort of looked like she was stealing something.  The cop stopped her and made it her come back in the store.  That's when it got interesting.  See, she was wearing thigh-high stockings and high heels and when she turned around we noticed she was wearing nothing else.  NOTHING!  I got to see a "full moon", if you will.  Now I don't know if she was "working" or if she was just up to no good but I really don't like seeing that near my neighborhood nor do I like having to explain to my son that, "maybe she wasn't wearing pants because she had an accident."

Back with some vacation pictures hopefully this week.

Foto Friday

I have not been a very good blogger.  I've got a computer that barely works, an icloud that is full, and a winter of discontent that have really dragged me down.  But I've got a new computer, a marathon on the horizon, a return to multisport training soon, and a vacation upcoming so it seems like a good time to get back into a routine.

So I'm starting now with some cute pictures of the kid.  I've kind of started a new series on my instagram that I'm calling Life in Black and White or for the younger generation, #lifeinblackandwhite.

Life Update

It's winter.  It's dark outside.  I'm working all day and surviving the evenings.  And I'm running lots of miles.  There's really not a whole lot to say.  But I swear there's a few of you reading this that would probably like an update. 

Let's start with the dog since I left you hanging last week.

Sloopy
We brought Sloopy home from the hospital one week ago today.  The first two days were rough.  We cried a lot.  We didn't sleep much.  I worried we had made the right choice in doing the surgery.  I worry about her quality of life.  I worry about our quality of life.  But after several days we have settled in and seen improvements that give us hope.  Honestly, the bathroom thing is not that bad.  She's easy to squeeze the pee out of her (most of the time) and when she has to go #2, she does.  She doesn't leak and I've only been peed on twice.  It's kind of like having a baby all over again, except I can put the dog in her crate and she will sleep all night.  The first couple of days were rough in getting her to eat and especially with taking her medicine.  Now she eats her own food and we're down to one medicine a day which she easily eats with a chunk of cooked chicken.  She still has no use of her back legs but we have seen improvement.  She now wags her tail, which, from what we read, is voluntary and a good sign that signals are moving down her spinal cord.  She also stiffens her legs when picked up and can hold herself up for a blink because she's still not stable.  She has started licking in hindquarters which may mean that she has regained some feeling and is trying to get the pins and needles she's feeling.  We have even seen her move her legs a few times.  She does not respond to pain, however, she doesn't respond to pain even on places she can feel.  She's never been a dog that yelps when she gets hurt.  Her staples come out next week and we have a follow-up in a few weeks.  From what we have learned and read, this is a VERY long process.  We are trying to be patient and still holding out hope that we have made the right decision.

Running
My marathon is coming up fast.  It's only about 6 weeks away.  My training has been okay, at best.  I was on a roll until I got sick the entire month of December and then I basically had to start over again.  Two weeks ago I did an 18 miler that felt like death.  When I got home I had to have Dave take off my shoes and pants and help me into the bathtub.  This past weekend, though, I did a 20 miler that was great.  I hit all the paces and it didn't seem so bad.  I wasn't that sore and have been able to return to working out quickly.  This week is another big week of training ~45 miles for the week, and I will conclude with yet another 20 miler.  I, finally, get to race next week and am hoping for something good.

Back to Work
I've now been back to work two months and things are starting to fall into place.  Those first couple of weeks were really rough.  Anderson and I both battled some serious illness.  We both had sinus infections.  We both had pink eye.  We had a cough that wouldn't quit.  We both visited the doctor twice.  And then one day we were better.  Now every time I see a kid with snot all over his face at daycare I get nervous, but Anderson has been in preschool and child watch programs for years so hopefully we are over the initial sickness shock to our system.

Just a few weeks after I started at my job they informed us that we were moving offices to a different suburb.  I was PISSED!  I specifically chose this job over a different, probably, better option because it was walking distance from my house and I could keep the little one in his preschool.  I was so upset that I even thought about calling the other company and seeing if I could continue with the interviews.  But, I have decided to stay put.  Yes, I will have to pull Anderson out of his preschool and put him in his daycare all day (which is one of the best preschools around, but not a Christian preschool like he is currently in) and yes, I will have to drive to my job now, but I have to give this a chance.  It's good for me to get back in the game, refine my skills, and then decide what I will do in a few years once Anderson starts school.

In addition to the full-time job, I have continued to fill in time-to-time at the Y.  It's kind of a pain in the butt, but I like it there, I'm comfortable there, I adore my manager there, and I also get to keep my reduced family membership.  I have no plans on leaving and they have no plans on getting rid of me, so I'm sticking with it.

God's Watching Over Us
Probably the most stressful thing for the last several years has been finances.  It's hard to be on one income and my part-time job paid for nothing.  We thought me returning to work would allow us to live a little more comfortably and be able to do the things we wanted to do.  But our dog getting sick really threw us for a loop.  I have been scared out of my mind.  Would I be able to do my marathon in March (it's out of town)?  Would our vacations we planned this year be put on hold?  Should we cut back on some of our expenses like TV, etc. (things you don't need but would struggle to live without)?  But God's been watching over us.  We did our taxes which is going to help out tremendously.  And Dave got bumped from a flight this week that gave us big money in airline vouchers.  So this month is still going to be a challenge as we pay off our credit card debt but barring any other craziness, life should return to normal soon.

- - - - - - - - - - -

So that's what new.  Life has been busy.  Life has been uncomfortable.  We're managing.  We're going to get through all of this and see the sunlight again.  And I swear I will revive this blog with rainbows and puppies sometime soon.

How to Wash Your Running Clothes

After much trial and error I have finally figured out how to wash my running clothes and get the stink out of them.  Silly, I know, but they get stinky and good running clothes are expensive so you've got to make them last.  I have tried every detergent known to man, including those fancy ones for workout clothes (made me break out), but finally Google gave me the answer.

First I soak the clothes in cold water with some cleaning vinegar.  I usually do this for about 30 minutes unless I forget about setting a timer and forget I'm doing laundry (pretty typical) and then they may be in there for who knows how long.  Then, after draining the washing machine, I wash them in warm water using Arm & Hammer baking soda detergent.  Although the embedded yucky smell may not come fully out it's sooooo much better than it was. 

And because a blog post without pictures is just plain boring I give you this...

My kid is sick for the third time in 7 weeks.  Again!  Daycare is kicking our ass.  We just cannot keep him (or us) healthy.

2017 Plans

Yeah, yeah.  It's the 10th of January and I'm just now blogging about my 2017 plans.  I've got some goals, some big goals, but I'm going to keep those private for now.  I'll let you know if I achieve them.

So, here are my plans athletically.

• A couple of half marathons.  I was thinking one next month, but I'm frozen to the bone.  Winter running is stupid.  I'll keep thinking.
• Early spring marathon.  I would really like to qualify for Boston again.  In 2018 it falls on my 40th birthday and I thought it would be a fun way to celebrate such a big milestone (who the hell would say that running a marathon for their birthday is fun?!?!)  I have yet to sign up for the marathon, but I'm planning on the Shamrock Marathon in Virginia Beach on March 19th.  I haven't done a race yet in Virginia so this also checks that off.
• Aquathlons, aquathlons, aquathlons!  Surprisingly there are three or four aquathlons in Ohio that are eligible towards USAT ranking points.  I'm going to do as many as I can to help my ranking and to give me experience towards....Aquathlon Nationals.  I've got some BIG BIG goals for this race.  Nationals will be October 1st in Austin.
• Also some fun stuff like run 2000 miles (that'll never happen but I'll at least try for it), swim 200K yards, do pilates once a week, stop skipping strength workouts, continue to eat healthy foods, etc.

Let's talk about personal stuff.  I love the new year.  I love new goals and resolutions and all that jazz.  Here are some thoughts I have personally.

• Read more than 12 books.  I know this is the same goal every year, but my Kindle is awesome and I read much faster with it.  Now if I could just get the ebooks faster from the library.
• Take more pictures.  I swear this is a goal I set every year for myself.  I was making a Shutterfly calendar this week and struggled to find enough pictures from last year to put it together.  Unfortunately, the memory is full on my phone right now and my laptop is on it's last breath and I really can't afford a new one so I'm not sure how I'm going to accomplish this.
• Be more present.  Honestly, I am still really struggling with having put my kid in daycare to go back to work.  It's been 6 weeks now and he still cried and throws a fit every time we go (although he does the same at the end of the day because he doesn't want to leave).  When we come home I want to pay attention to him.  I don't want to be on the treadmill leaving him to play by himself.  I don't want to be on my phone reading Facebook.  I want it to be family time.  Truly, this has been hard.  Aren't we all addicted to our phones and Facebook and Instagram (and for me, the TV)?  As the weather gets warmer and the days get longer I think family time is going to become even more special.

I thought 2016 was a great year.  2017 is going to be even better.  I'm back to work.  I've got money again.  I can make improvements to the house.  I can camp with the family now.  The kiddo is a fantastic age - he's so fun.  I'm really looking forward to what lies ahead.

What are your thoughts on 2017?

#ParentoftheYear

The little one was in daycare one whole week before he caught his first cold.  I'm not really surprised as one day I picked him up and the boy playing next to him had snot just running out of his nose.  Anderson's cold was so bad that on Monday he stayed home from school and daycare.  When I came home from work he curled up in my lap and fell asleep (heart explosion!!).  Then he crawled in bed around 7:00 and went to sleep without any dinner.  The next day I noticed his sinuses were so backed up that it was leaking out of his eyes.  I know that can happen to kids so I thought nothing of it and took him to daycare.  Wednesday morning he woke up and his eyes were glued shut with goop.  Lovely.  It took a warm washcloth and some prying but we got them open.  He seemed to not be feeling as well as he did on Tuesday but nonetheless he went to school and daycare.  But I was getting concerned about his eyes.  When I picked him up from school to take him to daycare, his eyes were very goopy and he just looked bad.  While at work I searched the internet.  WebMD told me he was going to go blind and his eyes would fall out.  Everywhere else told me he probably had bacterial conjunctivitis.  I called the doctor and got him in right away.  And you know what?  Yep, he had conjunctivitis.  I had sent him to school and daycare for two days with a very contagious eye condition.  Lovely.  So, Thursday he stayed home, we started him on prescription eye drops and by Friday he was good as new.

#ParentoftheYear

Foto Friday

Obviously, a very serious conversation going on about swings and physics.

 Just like that, the first year of preschool is done.  And if we don't get potty trained this summer, there won't be a second year of preschool!

I'm Losing My Shizz

Y'all, I've had a rough couple of weeks.  Last week I said f-you to my running shoes and swimsuit and sat on my couch eating myself into a tizzy.  I told my coach I hated "fucking" multisport.  I worked a gazillion hours, ripped out all of my landscaping, and slept more hours than I care to admit.  I was a mess.

And yesterday I flipped my lid in public.

I have gotten my haircut by the same girl for more than 6 years.  She works at one of those uppity salons where everyone has to wear black, has made up names so no one has the same name as someone else, serves champagne or whatever, and charges and arm and a leg for a stupid haircut.  She doesn't really fit the mold there though.  I've never seen her wear a skirt or dress.  She's never pushed me to buy any products (and has even told me she hates that part of her job) or get my hair dyed for the sake of making more money or tried to sell me on any other services.  I like her.  She does a good job.  She always changes the price for me so I'm paying for just my haircut and no other up-charges.  I almost wish she didn't work there.  I wish I knew her real name so I could seek her out outside of the salon.

Anyway, yesterday I made an appointment to just get the back of my hair trimmed.  I'm still growing out the stupid pixie cut and the mullet grows daggone fast.  This was going to be a 5 minute haircut that was going to cost me all of $13.  I made the appointment as late as I could, 3:15, hoping that my mom would be able to watch Anderson.  Unfortunately, my mom wasn't going to be able to (should have checked with her first) and I had to take Anderson.

Here's the rub...this salon has a no child policy.  Yep, you read that right.  If you're child is under 10 and does not have an appointment, he/she must be attended to at all times. 

I took Anderson with me.  He had a monster truck in his hand and I had my iPad in mine.  They have free wifi there and it was my intent to have him watch Mighty Machines on Netflix ON MY LAP while she cut the back of my hair.  Therefore, he would not be unattended and I would be following their stupid policies.  We walked in and I tried to check in.  The stupid greeter was not happy to see my three year old and reminded me of the policy.  I quoted, verbatim, to her the policy and told her he would not be unattended.  She told me I'd have to talk to a manager.  That's when I lost my shizz.

I told her, "YOU'RE POLICY IS BULLSHIT!"  I told her she could pay for my child care and my haircut, that she was bullshit, and that I was leaving.  We went out to the car and I cried.  Cried and cried and cried.  Who treats you like that in front of a child?!  And my child, in all his lovingness, says "why won't they let us in there?"  God, that hurt.  I was livid.  I was angry.  I was mad at them.  I was mad at me and my stupidity and my inability to control my shizz. 

Today I'm still angry but a little embarrassed.  The thing is, I still need a haircut.  And I don't know what to do now.  I don't really want to go back there with my tail between my legs and give them and their stupid policies my business.  But, I don't know anyone who will cut my hair or who has hair like mine that can give me a recommendation. 

I think it's about time to talk to my therapist again.  I'm, obviously, a mess.

Being a Parent is Hard

I came home from work yesterday and Dave was giving me the look that I give him nearly every day when he returns from work -- Take the kid. I need a break!

We easily broke Anderson of the pacifier last week but we've struggled with naps ever since.  And by struggled I mean, he hasn't taken one in a week.  It's not really a big deal except that he's not sleeping longer at night and therefore, he's pretty grouchy and cranky by the end of the day.

Last night he threw a fit about something.  I don't know what it was, but it really upset him.  So much so, that he cried so hard that he vomited on himself.  I stripped him naked, threw the clothes in the wash, cleaned up the floor, and put him in the shower with me.  By the time we finished it was after 7:00pm so I wanted to put him in his pajamas and settle down for bed.  The boy did not like that idea one bit and fought me.  Finally we settled on just a diaper and he went out to the couch to watch some TV.

Dave had locked himself in a room by himself (not kidding, and I've done it myself when I need a break).  I laid in bed to just settle down.  A few minutes later Anderson comes running into my room, no diaper on, and yells, "I pooped!"  What?  Where?  And that's when I saw the poop on his leg.  Oh my god.  "On the carpet," he said.  "Come with me."  I went out into the living room and there I saw it.  A big chunk of poop on the floor along with pee sprayed all over a pillow.  I picked him up, gave him to Dave, told him to clean him off, and then I cleaned up the mess in the living room.  After that we put him straight into bed.

This morning I cleaned up another mess of apple juice and water both spilled on the floor within a few minutes of each other.  And then I had to deal with a total meltdown over three, freakin', M&Ms that he wanted to bring into the Y with him.  Oh my god!  I could have pulled my hair out. 

I texted Dave and told him that if he didn't get a vasectomy this year that I might leave him.

Big Boy

The baby turned three on Sunday and everything has changed.  Yesterday started with a visit to the dentist for Anderson's first cleaning.  It went okay.  He didn't love how the twirly tooth brush tickled his lips.  But he did love the sucky thing.  I held it and kept putting it in his mouth, getting it stuck to his tongue. 

He has been a pacifier kid since day 1 and the dentist let us know that it was ruining his bite.  Instead of weeing him off of it and keep it around through our vacation coming up, we decided to go cold turkey and throw the dentist under the bus for the reason why he couldn't have it anymore.  It's been a little rough, mostly at bedtimes.  He cries and cries, "my pafier, MY PAFIER!!!"  He hasn't taken a nap since taking it away either.  Oy.

This morning we had our three year check up at the doctor's.  He weighed 31 pounds and was 37-1/2 inches tall.  He did well answering questions.  The doctor let us know that potty training was coming soon.  Please.  PLEASE!!!!

Now all we need to do is get him (a) potty trained and (b) into his bed.  He still loves to sleep in his crib and asks to sleep in it.  He's so big.

Whirlwind of a Weekend

You know how on HGTV the people looking for a house or those remodeling the house always say, "we love to entertain?"  Yeah, I'm not one of those people.  You'll never hear me saying that.  Inside I would love to be social and would love to have people over all the time, but the truth of the matter is that I'm socially awkward and that having people come to my house gives me anxiety.

So this weekend was just hell for me.  Friday we hosted a small birthday party for Anderson.  Family came over and we had pizza and cake.  Anderson opened a few small presents, mostly trucks and cars, and we surprised him with a new playground for home.  It won't be here for a few weeks.  He's going to love it.

Just last week my mom reminded me that I agreed to host Easter.  I did what?!?!  With my parents retiring next year, my mom has decided that my sister and I need to step up and starting hosting some holidays.  My sister loves to entertain; me not so much.  What fool decided to have a birthday and Easter in the same weekend?  Oh yeah, me.

Anyway, my family pitched in and brought over their cooking specialties while Dave and I prepared a ham and some other stuff.  We also hid hundreds (not kidding) of plastic eggs in the yard that contained money or candy.  The kids went to town and did very well.  I swear, Anderson has more candy from the egg hunt than from Halloween.  That is not good for my waistline.

I was so glad when the weekend was over.  Going back to work never felt so good.

Do you like to entertain?
What did you do for Easter?

Anderson and Mommy Adventures

{Peers out the window at the snow falling}

It really hasn't been a bad winter.  It's not been all that cold; it hasn't snowed a lot; the roads haven't been terrible.  And yet, I feel like this has been the longest winter of my life.  Dragging the kiddo around and wrestling him into his winter coat (which he hates) has caused me to be a recluse.  The problem with being a recluse with a nearly three year old boy is that all I play is trains and trucks and watch hours and hours of Thomas.  Ugh!

A few weeks ago I implemented "Anderson and Mommy Adventures" which would help us get out of the house and do something different.  So far, we've gone on two adventures.  The first was toddler time at a local roller rink.  Each Tuesday you can bring your toddler for free and let him/her skate, play, and run around for an hour and a half.  We put on skates for all of about three minutes, and then he decided he would rather play with the toys and run around.

Today we went and played at a local community center where they have an awesome pool play area.  I had done my research and knew the price and yet I screwed up and didn't look to see if there were specific times available at the pool.  So when we got there we only had a half hour left of play time.  What was nice, though, is that they prorated my fee and we still got to play for a little bit.  Anderson had a great time pulling the levers and cranking the wheels and of course, splashing me.  I, of course, fell down the stairs and hurt myself.  Typical.

I don't know what next week will bring.  Maybe one of those trampoline parks?  Maybe ice skating (brr)?  Where do you like to adventure with your little ones?

This Kid.

Thanks For Giving 4 Miler 2015

I had no business doing this race.  I have been battling a terrible cold for the better part of a week and was still quite congested with a bad cough yesterday morning.  I was already signed up, though, and I thought it would be okay.

Hail, Hail, the gang's all here!  Dave, me, Anderson, my sister, two of my nieces, a nephew, my mom and dad, and some of my sister's friends and their kids.

The day started with the Drumstick Dash, a kids race, where my youngest niece and nephew and Anderson ran.  I should say, we carried Anderson for most of the race until the crowd was out of the way and then he decided he wanted to run over the finish line all by himself.  He got a medal with a turkey on it.  He's way cool.

Our race was a four miler that wound through the neighborhoods, had many turns, and did some of the race on the bike paths.  It was definitely not a PR course but I did get to see part of New Albany that I've never seen before.  Of course, you've seen one Georgian house, you've seen them all.  (Google New Albany, OH and you'll know what I'm talking about.)

The first mile I went out at a pace I thought I might be able to sustain for the race, even being sick.  But I quickly realized that I was still way sick and should not be running this hard or even running at all.  By the second mile I was toast and needed to stop and cough.  At this point, Dave passed me, asking me if I was okay.  I got running again and stayed right behind him.  I was on the cusp of passing him at mile 3 when I needed to cough again.  This time I thought I might lose a lung.  Seriously.  The last mile was another coughing mess.  I finished the race in 32:05, just a few seconds behind Dave and a few second faster than my oldest niece.  Even with what I consider a poor performance, I finished fourth in my age group just narrowly missing getting a full-sized pumpkin pie.  (That's alright.  I don't like pumpkin pie anyway.)

So here's what so cool about this race.  This race started a few years ago when a few neighbors got together to enjoy a run before Thanksgiving.  Then they started doing it in conjunction with donating money towards services that would provide meals for others.  This year was the first "official" year of the race and it was 100% donation/charity.  You could pay a little; you could pay a lot.  You could pay nothing.  ALL money raised was given to charity.  The shirts and other goodies were donated by local businesses.  Now, I'm not one who runs charity races for the cause (I like to race to race), but this is a good cause and model I support and will do again.

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.

I went all the way to Colorado and didn't run a race?!

A couple of weeks ago we took a vacation to Colorado.  The first part of the week was spent near Boulder with family and the second part of the week was just the three of us touring all over the place.  Here was some of the highlights (with lots and lots of pictures).

Rocky Mountain National Park
The day after we arrived, we headed to Rocky Mountain National Park.  We did a lot of driving and little bit of hiking and just enjoyed the scenery.  It doesn't look like this in Ohio.

Air Force Academy
They say it is sunny 300 days of the year in Colorado and wouldn't you know three of the days we were there it rained?!  Our whirlwind trip to Colorado Springs was done in the cold rain.  First we stopped at the Air Force Academy and did a little sightseeing.  The chapel was super cool.  Anderson picked himself up a souvenir.   He still plays with it a lot.  Guess we chose well.

Garden of the Gods
I'm sure Garden of the Gods is super cool and beautiful, but it was 40 degrees and raining and I'm not going to lie, I was a bit miserable.  We did a small hike and took some pictures.  Someday I want to see this again when it's nicer out.

Olympic Training Center
I'm not going to lie, I had high hopes and was super excited to see the Olympic Training Center.  And it was sweet, expect you really weren't allowed to see anything.  We were given a tour which basically only showed us a little bit of the buildings.  The weight room and pool were awesome, but I wanted to see what the living situations looked like and also see the dining hall.  I was also hoping to catch a glimpse of some badass athlete.  I did win a quiz, picked up a prize, and bought myself a training journal for 2016.

Great Sand Dunes National Park
Great Sand Dunes National Park was my favorite thing we did on this trip.  We drove about three hours from Colorado Springs to the middle of freakin' nowhere and out of the ground were these GIANT sand dunes.  We layered on our clothing, strapped on the hiking backpack, and headed up to the tallest dune.  It was so magnificent.  Because of the time of year it was, there were very few people at the park.  We were the only people on the dune and it was so silent.  It was an amazing experience and I'm so glad I got to experience it with my boys.

Pikes Peak
The last full day of our trip we stayed in Colorado Springs and were blessed with good weather in the morning.  The sky was clear and I finally got to see Pikes Peak.  We took the cog train to the top where the weather was a brisk 21 degrees with lots of snow.  This was the highest I had ever been (we had been over 13,000 feet when we went to Switzerland several years ago) but I didn't feel the elevation so much.  Guess I'm in better shape than I thought!  We only got about 20 minutes at the top of the mountain.  We, unfortunately, did not get any of the famous donuts as they ran out, but Anderson did get to play in the snow.  We wore the boy out too.  He slept the entire trip down the mountain.

Manitou Incline
Finally, after Pikes Peak, we had fully intended to climb the Manitou Incline to the top.  However, it was now raining and it was a whole lot steeper than I thought it would be.  I had plans of putting Anderson in the Ergobaby but we were worried about how we were going to manage and didn't want to spend hours out in the rain, so we climbed up a little, took a picture, and headed back down.  Picture or it didn't happen!

Right now, there are plans to return in August 2016 for an epic race Dave is planning...

Happy Halloween

He said he wanted to be a rocket ship.  And Dave made him one out of posterboard and duct tape.  So creative.

Manly Things

I came home from work yesterday to see the kiddo, the husband, and the neighbor all out in the yard chatting.  Or at least, I thought that's what they were doing.  As I approached, however, I noticed there were tools.  Big tools.  Sharp tools.  Then it started.  The two of them were chopping wood.  We've had to cut down a lot of dead trees this summer and we've been using the wood in our firepit (and soon enough, the inside fireplaces).  Then another neighbor came home and he came over with a chainsaw.  It was a 'manly' party at my house. 

There was also this:

Oh yes.  Chopping wood with his plastic hammer.

I asked Dave how he convinced the neighbor to come over and help him.  He said he just did.  And after the third neighbor came over with his chainsaw I knew this was true.  Men doing manly things.  Testosterone, I guess.

My little boy is now a big boy who goes to preschool

My little guy started preschool last week.  He goes one day a week for two hours.  He's supposed to learn about counting and letters and spelling and singing and all the stuff he already knows.  He did great - no crying - and talked about playing on the playground and playing with the trucks in the room.  I don't know if he learned anything but at least he likes it.  And Dave and I enjoyed a lovely breakfast out just the two of us.

Foto Friday

Here we go!

Day #61 - A video!  I mean, how cute is this?

 Day #62 - Anderson actually asked to get his picture taken today.  This is what we got.

 #63 - Little buns doing my physical therapy Steamboats.

 Day #64 - Anderson kept asking to play soccer out in the yard.  How does he even know about soccer?  We never talk about soccer!

Day #65 - Riding bikes with the neighbor girl.  Where's your helmet, son?!

 Day #66 - Excavator + Wendy's = One Happy Boy!

 Day #67 - Grilled cheese and gang signs?