Other Spring Break Fun

Spring break wasn't really a big deal since Tyler is only in preschool, but since John was also out of school for the week, we decided we'd better at least take advantage of the extra spare time.

The boys finished the sand box and made a number of trips to Home Depot for bags of sand. I think everyone is pleased with how it turned out!

We went for a bike ride to Sonic only to discover that both mom and dad had left their wallets at home! We were only slightly disappointed that there were no cherry limeades to quench our thirst. We then decided to extend our bike ride and ride over to another park that we don't get to visit very often. Tyler loves riding on the tag-along with John (he talks John's ear off the entire way), and Robby, well, Robby was lulled to sleep being pulled behind my bike. I'm just glad we all had a good time and no one got a flat tire!

When we asked Tyler what one activity he wanted to do during spring break, he enthusiastically let us know that he wanted to go to Chuck-E-Cheese where a kid can be a kid. Easy enough!

Here he is playing his favorite airplane game. I love that he adds his own sound effects

Robby had a great time too. I loved watching his face when he saw this truck and discovered that he could actually ride in it!

On Friday we headed to the park to play on the playground, collect sticks, kick the soccer ball across the fields, and throw bread at the ducks...um, I mean feed the ducks. John and Tyler also decided to play "get the soccer ball stuck in the drainage pipe." They rolled it back and forth several times until it lost momentum half way through. Ty decided he would craw in and get it. Robby thought that was hilarious...I didn't agree. We decided to throw a tennis ball at it to dislodge it instead.

Fun moments, great weather, happy memories.

Lucky Boys and fun traditions

This past week was spring break. In an attempt to create some fun without actually going anywhere or spending any money, we invited some friends over. My friend Brooke just had baby #5, so we thought three of the older brothers would enjoy a play date at the park.

We packed lunches and spent some time enjoying the beautiful weather. The boys were thrilled to discover that they had the basketball courts and the tennis courts all to themselves! I; however, learned that if you have five boys at the courts, you need five balls (Robby included). Thank heavens we live a 30 second walk from the park, so we headed back home and scrounged around for a few extra balls. Whew!

Tyler had a great time with so many playmates and I was grateful for the free entertainment! As a bonus, it was St. Patrick's Day, so I couldn't resist breaking out some fun things from my teaching days and we celebrated in true leprechaun style! This picture still cracks me up...but maybe not as much as having 25 of these little cuties and parading them up and down the halls of the school!

(as another fun St. Patrick's Day activity, John took Tyler to the store and came home with Lucky Charms for dessert. We thought it was hilarious that even though Robby had never tasted the stuff, he instinctively knew that the sugary, colorful pieces were way better than the brown crunchy pieces. His high chair tray was left with all the cereal pieces and he kept begging for more.)

On a side note, here is another activity from my teaching days that we have incorporated into our family traditions. It's a Valentine's activity. We did this both last year and this year enjoyed it so much we plan to do it every year. When I was teaching, I gave each student a sealed envelope with a letter and a heart that was cut into five pieces. I gave the instructions that the students were not to open the letter and asked the parents to keep the activity secret. I asked them to write something that they love about their child or something that their child does to make them proud on each piece of the heart. During the week of Valentine's Day I would read one of the pieces of the heart for every child and then had them glue it into place. I loved how their faces beamed when I read each of their pieces. It was one of my very favorite activities as a teacher. It seemed only natural to adapt this activity for our family. Each night we would take turns writing something special about each member of our family. By the end of the week we each had a very special valentine.

Cowtown

Saturday I ran the Cowtown half marathon. It was altogether a great day. The weather was glorious (sunny and 45 degrees), the crowds were enthusiastic (20,000 participants), the route was unique (winding through downtown Fort Worth and some neighboring communities), and the goodie bags at the end had doughnuts...does it get any better than that?

Yes. Yes it does. The only thing that could top all of that is running this race with a great friend by my side. This was my third half marathon, but it was the first time I have ever trained and run the race with a friend. I'll never go back to running alone. Running this race with my friend Jen is something I will cherish for a lifetime. I couldn't have done it without you, Lady!!!

My time wasn't impressive, but it was decent. But to be quite honest, it's never been about beating the clock. I love this sport. I love the feel of the wind on my face, the pavement under my feet, the rhythm of my pace- I love it all.

Crossing the finish line was exhilarating, but for a couple of different reasons. Two months ago, the tendinitis in my knee flared up so badly that I couldn't run more than three miles. I was devastated, and was uncertain if I would be able to complete my goal. Lucky for me, my home teacher is an occupational therapist. His visits looked more like PT (physical therapy) than HT (home teaching). He taught me some new stretches and provided me with a few tools to help out. Each run I had a strict regimen of warming up, stretching, and rolling tight muscles both before and after the run. So while I know that running 13.1 miles isn't that big of a deal, I feel like I had to fight for it. So when I crossed that finish line, I felt like I had won the fight.

The other reason why crossing the finish line was so exhilarating was because I was reminded of how blessed I am to have such a dear friend in my life. Training with Jen has been therapeutic. For the last 4 months I got to spend more than a few hours each week talking about anything and everything (literally). At least three times a week, I got to share ideas, vent frustrations, discuss my worries, reveal my aspirations, and laugh, laugh, laugh during each of our runs. Those moments have kept me happy, sane, and thriving.

The last reason why crossing the finish line was a thrill was because I shared this experience with so many people I love. My cute boys were at the finish line the cheer for me. I was so happy to see their sweet, little faces light up when they saw me. Tyler lit up like a light bulb-so cute!

And they even had some awesome signs to hold up for us!I was so proud of how patient they were waiting for us to come across the finish line. Seriously, how cute are these two waiting for their mommas?!?

I'm so proud of several other friends who finished various races that day. We were lucky enough to find Tiffany (who also ran the half marathon and who posted a very impressive time, I might add). I only wish I could have seen a few of you others so that I could give you a big hug and tell you how proud I am of you for reaching your goals! You impress and inspire me.

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And Jen, this last part is for you.

Remember that one time when...

*we told that dude we were going to kick his dog?

*we ran 12 miles in a foot of snow, and spent most of the run trying to figure out how we were going to get 12 miles in without running on sidewalks, major roads, or connecting trails?

*we tried many times (unsuccessfully) to run and laugh at the same time?

*we both almost peed our pants (okay, maybe one of us did a little) when that huge dog tried to attack us from under the fence?

*we wondered what happened to the lights on Shiver (did those people all stop paying their taxes)?

*we were afraid we were going to get passed by the old lady on Heritage wearing hot pink sweat pants?

*we wondered which article of clothing would be easiest to sacrifice if needs be (a glove. For sure a glove)?

*we talked extensively about our favorite Gu flavors as if it was a four course meal?

*we thought you were hilarious at mile 7?

...Yeah, that was awesome!
Thanks for lots of good times and for pushing me to be better.