Fireworks Fun

Oh the hilarity of showing up to the fireworks in the same tank as your sister.

It's 'Who wore it best' time?

It pretty much rained for a solid hour before the fireworks started so we spend the time holed up in our cars waiting it out. My kids wanted in with their Aunt Randi and Devontae and at one point I look over to see them all taking selfies. 

These two are becoming quite the pals. Dane is loving a boy to play with.

Ok. This is completely random but I LOVE this stuff.

I'm a water drinker all the way but when i'm not drinking water or coffee it's most definitely iced tea. Not sweet tea. Definitely not sweet tea. That stuff is nasty.  Anyway I just love this mint & honey flavored green tea from 'Sweet Leaf'. It's Organic and all natural. You can pronounce all ingredients. It's refreshing and delicious and a special treat I allow myself. Like today while the kids are napping I'm sitting outside enjoying the fresh air and rewarding myself for not killing them in the grocery store today. (They weren't that bad, but they weren't that good either)

A Bridal Shower!

We hosted a shower for Kelsey today. We're all excited to have her join the family. The wedding is getting close! Only 7 weeks left I think. 

Baby kisses from my girl. 

Uncle Morgan kept Dane entertained while the shower was going on. They went fishing. Dane had a blast!

Pool Time!

Olive waits patiently for her turn at swim lessons. When her turn did finally come she did great but true to her nature she decided the next night that she wasn't going to do it. At all. You just never know what your going to get with her. 

Cousins. It's a Longshore takeover. 

I got off work early yesterday and no one was here yet so I took full advantage and chilled out by the pool enjoying the sun and quiet time.

Not Much And Alot

This was a busy weekend and not nearly long enough. But good news. I work 4 days this werk and then I'm off work for a whole week! I can't wait. 

So, Friday after work I made some food for my nephews grad party. Saturday I did our recycling, signed Dane up for soccer, dropped the food off with my sister, came home and did some random house chores, left with the family to do alittle shopping, and then went to said graduation party.

Today (Sunday) I woke up early at 6am. Had my coffee and 2 PB banana muffins and was at the park to run by 6:55am. Awesome. I was dying to try my new shoes out. Everything was great till mile 5.5 when my knee started to hurt so I stopped at a church to stretch out that pesky IT band. It didn't really help so I finished up my run at 6.62 miles and then limped my way through town back to my car. I need to be better about foam rolling all the time and not just when I'm injured.

After the run I came home, showered and then did the grocery shopping. 

Most importantly after the kids went down for a nap I escaped to see my best friend (+baby) who are here visiting family this week. It's ALWAYS good to see them! 

Do mice like beer?

Apparently YES but Ewwwww. Dane found this little beer soaked baby mouse in the beer bottle which was in our recycling bin. Weird.

Anywho. Swimming lessons start this week so you know where to find me every night after work. 

Peace out.

Father's Day

On Father's Day I got up and started getting the house all cleaned up while Brad headed to the grocery to pick up a few things for the party. Yes, my husband went grocery shopping on Father's day. He's a keeper ;) 

After everything was good to go we loaded up the fourwheelers and headed to The Summit to play. 

I decided it was the perfect opportunity to try trail running. I actually really enjoyed it. It was definitely hard and you definitely don't work on speed. I chose not to run with music so i could hear nature and the sound of Brad's fourwheeler in the distance incase i somehow got turned around in there the noise could lead me to my people. 

It was pretty neglected back there. Trees were down blocking the path and the weeds were as tall as me in places. How i managed to only get 1 bug bite and 0 ticks on me is a miracle! 

Only 2 miles but It was tough and considering I'd done a 5K the night before I was happy with that.

The kids took naps when we got home and i got to cookin for the party.

My dad with all 5 kids. These people rock and I love them.

A little Baseball practice in the front yard after dinner.

It was a great day! 

 Today I got up and took the kids to the Zoo. I'd been dying to see the new 'Heart of Africa' exhibit that opened 3 weeks ago but i wanted to give it time to die down alittle. Plus, there was a chance of rain today and i knew that would scare some people away.

It was great and we loved it. I forgot my phone in the car so i only took camera pictures. Therefore you may never see how much fun we had. (Unless i magically figure out why i can't upload pictures from it)

P.S. Brad ordered me to buy new running shoes because he was tired of hearing me bitch about my feet hurting. Sympathetic of him huh? So anyway, after walking around the zoo i got tired of my sore feet and came right home and ordered new shoes. I can't wait to try them out!

Marysville Glo Run 5k Recap

First off, Happy Father's Day to my dad and my husband. I couldn't be who I am without you and I love you both to the moon and back.

We're having a cookout here later today to celebrate. Hopefully i can rally the troops and get a dad photo.

In the mean time. Enjoy my recap of last nights Marysville Glo Run 5k. 

The best news I had ZERO pain in my right knee (IT band). 

I'd been foam rolling it and yesterday I even took my rolling pin to it. Also, I practiced a few yoga poses that stretch that band. I really think that helped and I should continue it.

This picture cracks me up! Post race. I'm so stoked and these 2 guys look like they might die. Haha. This is Marna's boyfriend and his son. They ran with me since she's still recovering.

Close up :)

Anyway. Results. Chip time of 27:17. 8:53 pace. 

61 out of 183 total participants

5th out of 33 in my age category.

Not a PR for me but I'm happy anyway.

Baseball Nights

We're about to wrap this season up. 1 practice left and 2 tournament games. Dane really enjoyed it so I think we'll definitely do it again.

Dane looks so handsome in his uniform. Much thanks to friend Stephanie who's been the team photographer this season.

High five for the coach.

This one is my favorite. Look how happy and excited he is!

Olive has enjoyed this season too. 

Playing with Sami and eating candy tops the list!

Brad has helped the team alot by umping 3 or 4 games and on the field. He takes this very seriously.... (not really) but check out that expression. Haha

Two Things

Two things I'm loving this week.

My birthday present. My new 'Best In State' tank from 7thirty8. I love it. It's super comfy and a racer back style which I love.

These Kale chips. Yum. If i see these again I'm trying the garlic flavor. It definitely helps satisfy that crunchy craving. Like eating potato chips but healthier.

Paddys Pig 10k Race Recap

I left this race pretty disappointed in myself. As previously posted I was anticipating a 56 min finish. That did not happen. I started out too fast with the first 2 miles at an 8:45 pace and i just couldn't keep it. I physically felt great with no hip or knee pain which is great but  that just means i lost the mental battle. I let my head win not my heart. 

This was a small race. There were only 29 people in the 10k portion. The other 100+ people were in the 5k. Everything was well executed EXCEPT water stations. They had 1station before you even reached 1mile. In hind sight i should've grabbed some then but i figured they'd have some sooner then they did. This may have affected my time some. The next 3 miles were in the direct sun. I was so hot and thirsty and as it turned out the next water stop was at mile 4.  I stopped a few times to walk and my finish time I'm not super proud of. I should have been able to come in at under an hour and i didn't. My official time was 1:03:24. (6.3miles). A 10min pace. 

I placed 19th overall. 3rd in my age category. Sounds more impressive than it was. Remember there was only 29 people.

So, anyway. I finished my first 10k and that's what counts. I've already decided that I'm coming back to this race next year and I'm going to redeam myself!  I will conquer the Paddys Pig. I will make this race mine. 

*Things to work on.

 Running in heat.

Starting slower. 

And.....He's a 1st grader now.

It's official. Dane will be a first grader next year. How can that be!? 

1st day of Kindergarten. 

 Last day of Kindergarten. Thanks for the pic dad!

If you zoom in a little you can definitely see how he's looking older. More mature in his face.

 We got his baseball pictures back. It's a picture of a picture so this might be a bit blurry

On another note. I picked up a barfing Olive yesterday after work. Not a good surprise. She threw up 7x last night but seems to be ok this morning. She kept her breakfast down anyway so fingers crossed.

I was pretty excited (and nervous)  to last minute sign up for my 1st 10k this weekend. It's in the morning. So when i picked up a sick child it was like my bubble burst. I felt so bad for her but also one of my first thought was "Oh no! What are the odds I don't get sick!" 

Not to mention I also had just hired our babysitter for Sat night so Brad and I could go out on a date. So of course I'd come home to a sick baby. Ugg. However, like I mentioned she  she seems to be ok now (so far) so maybe everything will be ok.

So this is where I'll be in the morning. I'm pretty nervous. I've ran this distance several times before but lately my runs have been lack luster and I've felt the need to stop and walk. Wish me luck. I'll recap it for you on Sunday. I'm anticipating a finish time of around 56 minutes.

A Confession and A Few Random Goodness

I'm not gonna lie. In the last year I've thought about quitting this blogging business no short of 100x. I mean who am I even talking to!? Then I get all sappy and nostalgic looking back at my posts in the last 5 years and think me, that's who I'm talking to.  It's nice looking back at where we've come from and who we live for. I guess when I do something I go into it 100%. I feel guilty when I don't post something so I do and then it appears no one is reading. So anyhow, for now I'm ok with talking to myself. 

And in the meantime here are a few gems I'd forgotten to include in previous posts.

My nephew and nieces before Prom. Seriously gorgeous people inside and out and I love them to pieces. I can't believe how old they are getting. This is my nephews senior year and therefore the last prom they are all together.

And a few from Dane's Spring Program at school.

I thought this one was particularly cute because Olive actually smiled instead of making a goofy face.

From Easter. The Peterson's with the grand babies.

Sneaks-N-Things

 A post strictly about running stuff.

These are my shoes. My husband surprised me by taking me to a running shoes where they fit me for shoes based upon my feet and running style. A neutral shoes worked best for me After trying several pairs I chose the Brooks Glycerin 11's. I love them! 

So far I have ran 485 miles in them! I'm trying to squeek as many miles out of them as I can because running shoes are expensive. I have however noticed my feet hurting lately and I

it may be time to retire them soon. After all, running shoes are only designed to handle 300-500 miles before the interior cushion starts to break down.

Lucky for me Brooks is releasing the Glycerin 12's in June. 

I'm loving the new color too!

I'm pretty interested in having a GPS running watch too. Like this one. 

This is the new Garmin 15.

I currently use my phone which works fine but it would be simpler to see and stop and start it quickly during water or fuel stops.  It's on my wish list.

Now that it's getting warm outside and my mileage is increasing I've been thinking more about getting one of these. At first i thought about a hand held type but i already have my mace in my hand so i think this waist belt might work best. Esp during my longer runs. 

As of now i have been stashing my bottle and fuel at a halfway point but what happens when i get thisty before that or after......i suffer through. This also has a pouch to hold things, keys, fuel. Etc. 

Also, i actually really need to get one of these now that its all warm and sunny. Even my husband commented on my freckly face after a run.

 about fuel. I'm really not too interested in fueling my body with artificial junk BUT I have considered a few things. Like adding Nuun to my water to replace electrolytes.

I hear the watermelon flavor is YUM! 

So far, for fuel I've only used Dates. I like that it's a whole food. It's gentle on the stomach and its a quick release of glycogen for the muscles. It's only something I do if i am planning to run more than 7 miles. I would be open to trying other things as well. I hear good things about Honey Stinger products. Like these....

They also make a GU type or a gummy type. Some people just use Honey or almond butter packets like this....

Anyhow, just some food for thought ;)