Thursday, June 23, 2011

What we've been up to

Just a lot of little random things from the past 2 weeks...

Lucas' very first Lincoln Log house he built ALL by himself:
Jumping off the diving board and swimming to the ladder... He starts swim lessons in 2 weeks...
Chillin' at Mike & Brenda's pool and getting to see baby Summer:
Our gross new habit... Very lady-like, don't ya think?
Crafts:
Hanging around outside:
Backyard neighbor's pool broke and flooded our yard:
Playing in the rain:
My last day of teaching for this year... Pic taken by Lucas. And in case you haven't heard, I will be the new World Language Department Chair next year!
Lottie a little under the weather... That's the only way she'd EVER nod off on the sofa...
Lucas went to a Vacation Bible School this week from 9-12 each day. Ms. Dineyli was one of his teachers! Notice I had to do an iron-on decal on his shirt... It was NOT very successful!
Lookin' cute:
Sleepin' over:
Ahhh... dare I say that I'm finally caught up with the blogging for the first time in months??? Now that it's summer, hopefully I can post a bit more regularly about ALL the super fun things we'll be up to!!! ;)

Father's Day

So, last Sunday was Father's Day... Kept it pretty low-key. Tony was sore from the run (sorry I just can't resist... when someone doesn't train and then beats me like it's nothing, I gotta hold onto every little victory I can...). We went across the street for breakfast... We only go to this place about 2-3 times per year, and at least once they screw up Tony's order. He's American cheese phobic, so he always gets cheddar. Well, although he ordered cheddar, he still got American... What a way to start your special day, huh? At least they re-made it really fast and the kids were fine with the extra time at the table!
Then we headed to the park, where we played on the playground, threw a few holes of disc golf, and pet the animals.
After a brief stop home, we headed to Nan and Poppy's pool. Almost all the rest of the family was up there. The pool was much chillier than we're used to, so not much time was spent there. But, it was nice to spend some time with my Dad too :)
After naps, we chilled and did a little bead work!
Hope all you dads out there had a great day! I'm certainly grateful for all the wonderful dads in my life!

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Baltimore 10-miler

Yesterday, Tony and I ran the Baltimore 10-miler for the 1st time. We haven't done an organized race since October 2005 when we did the Baltimore half marathon (13.1 miles). It was such a horrific experience for me that I shunned organized races for almost 6 years! In short, I had been running, Tony hadn't. The night before the race, I got sick and felt terrible on race day. With no training, Tony ran the entire thing. I ran half and walked half. I spent the rest of the day barfing and neither one of use could hardly walk for 3 days...

Fast forward to now. Tony does do physical activity, but does not ever run. The last time he ran was in November for 30 minutes. I run 5 times each week or more. We signed up for this 10 miles race in March. Tony didn't do anything to get ready. I trained and practiced and even did an effortless 8.4 miles the week of the race. But, I'm a headcase about it. What to wear, what time to leave, what to eat, how much to sleep, if I should take a few days off before race day, and OH MY GOD I'm at the starting line but forgot to bring gum (superstitious much?!?)...

Anyway, it was supposed to be a 91 degree day. The morning went perfectly and we got to the Baltimore Zoo where it started with the perfect amount of time to pee, stretch, get into position, and wait about 5 minutes before we started.

The first 2 miles were hard and seemed slow, because there were soooo many people to dodge or get around. From then, the people thinned out but even though the race began at 7:30 am, it was sunny and getting warm fast. And OH THE HILLS!!! I was prepared mentally for that though. They don't call 'em the "dreaded druid hills" for nothing. The race was a hilly out and back course from the Zoo to Lake Montebello and back. I couldn't believe how well Tony did (how is that possible???!!!???). I was holding him back for sure. Around mile 8.5, he pulled ahead and I caught up with him after crossing the finish line. My time was a little slower than I thought it'd be, but I met my goal - no walking and to RUN the whole way. And I did! Next year, I'll try to beat the time by a few minutes :)

As irritating as it was to know Tony could beat me at the race with no training, it was all well worth it today when his every move hurts like heck, and I don't even have a single sore muscle.
Happy Father's Day, have an aspirin! Oh, and Mommom and Pop kept the kids overnight Friday night. Thanks guys! We went downtown with Matt and Beth and carb loaded at a BYOB thai place and then we could get up and get out of here fast in the morning. But it figures, the first time we leave them over night in what seems like forever, they both end up with fevers :(

First sleepover

A few weeks ago, Lucas had Lily over on a Saturday night for their first sleepover! Lily was such a big girl and didn't cry for Mommy or Daddy at all. She and Lucas had a great time, and it was the first time we ever noticed Lottie trying to be a big girl too so that she'd fit in.

The kids had dinner (well, played at the table more than they ate), played outside, did smores over the fire, watched part of a tv show, then begged to go to bed. Once there, they went almost right to sleep!

More playing and pancakes in the morning... Then, we went to Lily's house for dinner and more playtime for the cousins!

Pool party

2 weeks ago we drove up to Carroll County to celebrate Becca's 4th and Abby's 2nd birthdays! Just like us, their birthdays are close together so their Mommy and Daddy only need to plan one party... There was a huge kiddie pool, where the depth went from 8-18 inches. Perfect for us little people!
They're moving to Seattle next month, so we won't get too many more chances to hang out with them.

Play house

There was a play house in the very back of Mommom and Pop's backyard that we hardly ever played in... It was full of spiderwebs and the possibility of ticks. But, Daddy built us our very own little deck out back and we moved it to our yard... After we scrubbed it out really good of course!