My Little Running Buddies

If you are wondering why I am posting all of these in one day it is because I'm home with a sick kiddo and I'm home with a corneal abrasion on my left eye.  I'm trying to use my time wisely and get caught up on this blog for the girls.  I need to get the books ordered for their upcoming birthdays.  The glare from the computer is too much for my eyes, so picture me sitting here typing away wearing sunglasses!  If you have ever had a corneal abrasion then you know how painful they are and how very light sensitive you become until it heals!  Even after one day of antibiotic ointment it is slightly better, but still red, watery and painful.  Now back to the blog!

 

I don't run often with the girls, but I've started taking them more than I used to.  I think it is good for them to get outside and to be active and to see the same in their parents.  Lily is always asking to ride her bike, and there isn't a good spot on our street for her to ride. I took Lily and Avery to Lake Zorinsky last weekend so Lily could ride her bike there.  I thought it would be good for her to just be able to GO!  I pushed Avery in the jogging stroller while Lily rode.  She needs a new bike (probably will get one for her upcoming birthday). Her poor knees were all bruised from the tops of her legs hitting the handle bars.  She did well for the first mile, and then she kinda crapped out.  It was busy with lots of cyclists, and if you have ever been at Zorinsky they ZOOM by!  It scared her each time someone zipped by her.  She would just freeze, and it was hard to manage Avery in the stroller and then grab Lily on her bike to get her out of the way.  She eventually just rode into the grass and stopped with each passing cyclist. 

 

Cute story...Lily was coming up behind a few people walking, and I was slowly jogging behind her.  I heard her yell, "On your left!"  Ha!  I asked her where she heard that and she said, "that's what they yell at me when they pass me."  It was so funny, but she was correct in saying that.  It is biking courtesy to announce your presence when you come up behind someone.

 

Anyway, we did the 3.1 mile loop of the lake and it shouldn't have taken us nearly as long as it did.  At one point, Lily sat down on a bench and said, "this was the worst idea ever mom!"  I think 3.1 miles was too far for her first time, but I'm proud of her for finishing it.  Her little sister cheered her on from the stroller!  I took Avery out in the jogger on Monday night.  We did 8 miles, and I think it was too long for her to be outside...she told me she had a headache when we got home and puked twice shortly after that.  She woke up the next morning with a fever??  Who knows if it was related to being outside too long or not??  I could understand the headache and maybe throwing up from being too hot, but not the fever.

 

She has had ENOUGH she says!

Celebrating 6 Years of Marriage

On Sunday, August 11th, Jason and I celebrated 6 years of marriage and my mom and dad celebrated 41 years!  6 years ago I thought it would be neat to get married on my parent's 35th anniversary.  I didn't have kids then, and I couldn't appreciate the value of a free babysitter!  It is fun to share an anniversary with your mom and dad, but now we never have a babysitter (a free one) to go out and celebrate! 

I put a post on Facebook asking where we should go out to eat.  Lots of people responded with a lot of great sounding restaurants, but when the day was drawing to an end we decided to spend it with the girls.  Jason spent the day organizing the girls clothes (a task that I did NOT want to do), and I cleaned the bathrooms.  I'm pretty sure I got the better deal! Everyone was ready to get out of the house, so we went and played putt putt golf.  We hadn't played in a long time, and the girls had never played.  Everyone picked a colored ball and picked out their club and we were on our way to the course!  Lily was up first, and would you believe she hit a HOLE IN ONE on her very first try?!  She almost got one on her second hole too...what the heck?!  I told Jason the story about my first time golfing on a par 3 course in Clear Lake, Iowa.  I hit the ball and we couldn't find it.  My dad, brother and I looked everywhere...except in the hole.  YUP...I hit a hole in one on my first par 3 hole!  I said Lily takes after her mom!  Avery wasn't as interested in the golfing.  We turned our heads to find her jumping in the bounce cage...she snuck right in...didn't pay.  Oh well...she was happy. 

 

I was really impressed with Lily and how she did.  She was excited about it and she did really well.  She didn't throw any fits (her little sister threw enough for the both of them).  I think we'd take Lily again, but not so sure about the little one.  Jason did okay, but mom needs to brush up on her skills for sure!  It was a fun little family outing...something different.  I think it was better than paying a babysitter plus paying for a meal!?  Jason may disagree??

Big smiles after her HOLE IN ONE!

 Her second shot!

Little One and her daddy playing some putt putt

The Girl's New Room

I could have kept Avery in a crib a lot longer, but we decided it was time for her to get a big girl bed.  We knew that Lily and Avery would share a room in the future, so we got bunk beds and they share a room NOW (and NO, there is NOT another one on the way)!  My parents were kind enough to let us store Lily's twin bed in their basement, so I didn't have to get rid of it. 

 

We took the girls to Nebraska Furniture Mart last week to help pick out their new bed.  You would have thought we took them to World's of Fun by the way they acted.  They were jumping on all of the beds...I could have beat their little bottoms!  We picked out bunk beds and a new mattress for Avery.  Jason spent his Saturday night putting the beds together, and I spent time rearranging the "decor".  We still have a little work to do in the room, but it is coming together nicely.  Lily sleeps on the top bunk and little Avers sleeps like a big girl on the bottom bunk.

 

I waited up on the couch after the girls went to sleep the first night.  Avery came down several times before falling asleep.  The first time she had to tell me, "ummmm, I love you Mommy."  The next time she wanted some milk.  The third time she said, "will you way wiff me Mommy?"  I laid with her for a few minutes and she was out.  Nap time hasn't been terrible, but they talk and tell each other stories before finally falling asleep.  It's pretty cute listening to them talk at night.  The two of them are very different.  They fight non-stop, but they are best buddies too...love them both!

 

 

ACI Day at the Zoo

Jason's company hosted a picnic for their employee's and their families at the Zoo a few weekends back.  I was off that day, so we thought it would be fun to take the girls.  We bought a zoo pass this year, and we haven't really used it much.  We need to get a few more trips in this fall when it is cooler outside. 

 

This picnic included free rides on the train, carousel, Skyfari, and a movie in the IMaxx Theater.  We did all of this except the train because the line was too long.  We thought we'd do the stuff we don't normally get to do at the Zoo...we always see the animals!  This was a first for all of us on the Skyfari.  Lily rode with Jason and Avery rode with me.  We were landing over the Rhino's and Avery yells, "Mommy, look...rhino poop!"  Gotta love the innocence of a child!
 

 

Wayne Chicken Days!

The only get away we had this summer was to Wayne America for their annual Chicken Days!  We left on a Friday evening, and spent our first night in the KD Inn.  Its not your typical hotel/motel, but it worked just fine for our family.  We checked in and then headed downtown to get some dinner at The Max.  We met up with Jason's friend, Brett Kramer, and his family.  They have a little girl who is one year older than Lily, a little boy who is the same age as Avery, and another baby boy. 

 

After dinner we walked up and down main street.  They had all sorts of booths and food stands, and the girls had a blast playing in the bounce houses!  Let me rephrase that...Lily had a blast, and Avery only did if there were no big kids in as the same time she was.  The big kids bounced her around like a rag doll.

 

Lily and Haley

We walked around and let the kiddos play for a while, and then we headed over to Hank Overin Baseball Field for the firework show.  Brett had saved us a fantastic spot!  I was surprised at how good of a show this was for Wayne.  It lasted for 30 minutes and it was AWESOME!  The girls sat in the back of Brett's truck and we sat in our lawn chairs.  It was a late night and everyone slept well at the good ole KD Inn!  We pulled out the futon for the girls and they thought it was pretty cool to have a slumber party in the hotel room!

 Clapping for the fireworks...Lily, Haley, Avery and Mason

Slumber party on the futon

 

I got up bright and early the next morning to run in the Chicken Days 5K run.  I left the hotel at 6:15 and did a warm up run through campus.  I stopped at my old dorm (Morey Hall) and I ran down by the softball complex.  I can't believe how much campus has changed!  The run started and ended at Providence Medical Center.  There were only 150 runners (the smallest race I've run), and would you believe I WON my age group?!  I placed 2nd female overall and 1st in my age group.  This is the first 5K I have ever run...I always joke and say that I'd never pay to only run 3.1 miles.  Now I know I really haven't run one before because they suck!  I felt worse after running 3.1 miles than after running a half marathon!  It is a short distance, but you are running hard and fast the whole time.  I think I prefer slow and steady!  My official time was 23:19 which is a 7:30 average pace.  My prize was $20 cash (which paid for my entry into the race) and some bright yellow chicken feathers!  After the race I jogged back to the hotel...the girls thought it was pretty cool that mom WON!  I joked with Jason weeks before the race saying that I was going to win it.  He said to me, "You can't run fast, you just run forever."  It was fun telling him that I really did win!  He was happy with the $20 prize.

Start of the race

 All of the age group winners

 The prize!

 1116 Pearl Street...my old house...where I first kissed Jason!

Morey Hall

 

We packed up and walked up to Main Street for the parade.  The girls got all sorts of candy.  After the parade we drove around town to show the girls where mommy and daddy met.  It was fun reminiscing about the past, and seeing where we used to live and hang out.  Next, we went to Bressler Park.  They had all sorts of vendors and bounce houses and the hit of the Chicken Show...the Cluck Off.  Years ago, the winner of the Cluck Off got to go to the Johnny Carson Show.  Its a pretty big deal in Wayne America!  It was hot out, so we grabbed some lunch and checked into our other hotel.  We got a room at the Cobblestone Inn for Saturday night.  This is the new hotel in Wayne, and it has a pool.  We spent some time at the pool with the girls, and then we all took a nap!

 Not as big of a fan of the water as her big sister is

 Catch me daddy!

 "I'm going to jump this high!"

 

Saturday night, we had dinner at a new little Mexican restaurant in Downtown Wayne.  The Kramer's had a babysitter who was kind enough to watch our girls so the adults could go out for some drinks.  We didn't stay out too late, but it was fun to have a little adult time!  We picked up two sleeping girls from  the babysitter and crashed back at the hotel. 

 

Date night in Wayne!

 

We headed home on Sunday morning because I had to work Sunday night, but we did have a fun little weekend in Wayne America!  It's always nice to get away, no matter where you go!