LINCOLN PARISH PARK CAMPING

So, the weekend was not JUST about racing. We spent a lot of time hanging around the campsite, going for hikes and bike rides, playing at the playground, and swimming in the lake and building sand castles. It was a very nice weekend, the kids were well behaved (for the vast majority of the weekend anyway...), and the adults once again had a late night campfire chat session (after the race, of course, since those racers needed to get their sleep on Friday night).

(Most of these photos are from our iPhones, since my camera battery was not as well charged as I had thought, and we didn't bring the charger. And once our phone batteries died we just gave up on photos all together.)

We brought a huge box of trucks, and a huge box of sand (or dirt...) toys. Kept those little ones occupied for nice, long stretches at the campsite.

Washers was a big hit on this trip as well (as was Frisbee!), though we need to work on Cora throwing underhand...)

We remembered my hammock this time! Not that I got much time in it since it seemed to be well occupied by Jay or the kids...

 There was a long paved path around the lake (which Sophie circled twice during her race).

Lots of cool swings and climbing structures at the playground!

Back at camp we ate very well on Friday night. Chicken and black bean packets (that looked like giant Hersey's Kisses on the grill), pasta salad, avocado and black bean salad, and watermelon! We had to fuel the racers well!

After the race on Saturday, we hung out with the Vicksburg crew eating and drinking beer (AKA refueling), then grabbed our swim suits and headed over to the beach to cool off.

 Saturday was a long, hot, busy day (up at 6:00am and basically going nonstop until we left the beach at 3:30pm), which resulted in many naps back at the campsite (and in the car...), though not for everyone (James and Manu refused to miss even a minute of camp fun, so Sophie and I didn't snooze either).

(She woke for all of 30 seconds when I took her out of the hot car, then passed right back out on daddy)

Meanwhile, the boys and I played Frisbee, then went for a hike on the section of trail behind our campsites (but I didn't take my camera/phone with me). We saw a pair of mountain bikers, climbed some hills, and hunted for tadpoles in the creeks.

 On Sunday morning I got up and went out for my own run, which was gorgeous. Warm and very humid (I was literally drenched in sweat within the first mile), but the trails were dry and challenging and I had a blast out there by myself, listening to the bird songs, sprinting down the slopes when I was able, walking when I needed a break, and just enjoying a little solitude (rarely do I run solo, since my long runs are always with a buddy or two, and my track workouts always have other YMCA folks circling along with me). I saw tons of squirrels and a box turtle, in addition to all the birds. Right as I hit the 5-mile mark I came upon Jay and Sophie and the kids out for a hike, so I joined them for some exploring before we had to pack up camp. We went down to the lake and saw lots of fish and tadpoles (and we think leeches in the water...), some ducks, and a couple of snakes (a garter snake and we think a black racer, though we're not positive).

I poked the racer with a stick to get him to move, and it was hilarious seeing Sophie's eyes grow huge when it went straight up a tree. Jay then had a great time telling her that she needs to watch the trees above her for falling snakes on trail runs, and not just the ground...

After our walk we quickly picked up camp (it gets easier and faster each trip to get things organized, and the kids get better and more patient with occupying themselves while we clean), then went back to the playground for lunch so the kids could get out every last ounce of energy before the ride home.

It totally worked.

Another awesome family adventure weekend in the books. These really are the days...

HELLS HILLS!

Friday afternoon we headed out for a full weekend of camping, with the main purpose of attending the Hells Hills 5K, 10K, and half marathon races. Jay ran the 10K (along with our fellow Vicksburg YMCA/running friends Amy and her husband Gabe) and Sophie ran the half with fellow 'burgers Kristi, Amy (our spin instructor), and Mack (and a few others from their running group), while Alex and I watched the kids. Our kiddos were up at 6am, so we helped Jay and Sophie get ready, then drove them over to the start pavilion so they could check in and get their race swag. I thought their numbers were hilarious!

After the kids and I parked over by the playground, we walked over to the pavilion so we could snap some pre-race photos of our friends and cheer the start of the race!

Posing with daddy in front of the start/finish line

Hooray daddy!

The Vicksburg crew (minus Jacob): Gabe and Amy, Jay, Lori, (?), Mack, Amy, Tom, Sophie, and Kristi

There's Jacob!

The racers, getting their detailed course directions...

Waiting down field for the race to start (and the kids were getting antsy)

There goes daddy! (We had him wear yellow so we could find him more easily in the crowd)

The parting of the waters (5K/10K to the left, half marathoners to the right)

Uh oh, somebody was NOT happy that daddy ran away from her. No amount of racing explanation appeased her either. Good thing she is easily distracted with food (in this case, breakfast).

After breakfast we went into the playground so the kids could play while daddy raced.

The 5K/10K and half course split right at the start, but all three groups ran past the playground shortly into their races. Kristi was the first to pass us by.

Then we saw daddy going past after his out-and-back.

I didn't get photos of everyone, but I made sure to grab one of Sophie and Mack when they came running by.

 For those interested, here are the courses for Jay and Sophie's races:

 As we neared the hour mark, I hurried the kids over to the finish line so we could cheer daddy in. It was a hot and humid morning (and since it was in the 30s just two weeks ago, these racers were not yet adjusted to running in such conditions), but everyone still came in with great times, despite those hellish hills.

A little muddy (there were a couple of stream crossings, and enough roots in the trails to cause a couple of falls), extremely sweaty, and happy to be done with a homebrew in his hand. Finish time of 1:10.

Mmmm... homebrew! Two IPAs, a Wit, and a Wheat.

The kids were fascinated with the bobble-head trophies!

5K and 10K awards, and raffle time. (The half marathoners were still out on the course at this point.)

Hoping to win a 6-pack of local beer. Or maybe a nice backpack. Or fancy watch. No luck though. James and Cora both highly enjoyed the free Cheetos though, and apparently daddy was unconcerned with Cora's attempts to sample the homebrew... (Just kidding grandparents, she was stealing ice from around the kegs.)

After Kristi finished (she won overall female), I headed over to hang with Alex and the kids so we could cheer in the rest of the Vicksburg crew and Sophie. Amy ended up winning her age group (not the same age group as Kristi, Sophie, and I). Pictured here is Sophie gunning for the finish line with Leo in her arms, and Cora chasing her down...

Tired mama! (I LOVE Manu and Leo's race day shirts!)

And guess who won her age group? Sophie!!

In fact, most of the Vicksburg ladies walked away with awards!

Sophie and Amy won their age groups, Kristi won overall, and Lori placed in her age group.

 Once again, the Forge Racing guys put on a great race with an excellent after party. We will absolutely be attending their future trail races, though Jay and I will have to keep taking turns, since he's now a trail convert - I don't mind at all though, anything to keep us running together until we're old and gray!

"B'ACK SHOES"

Hmmm, this video was cut short to send via email, and I can't seem to edit multiple cuts of the video together right now (my video editing program doesn't like iPhone format, of course), but here is some of yesterday mornings' cuteness, split randomly into two pieces (with the other half of the video still stuck on my phone...)

"ABCD's"

Just because she's cute.

And I'm trying to get video from my iPhone, since my new camera apparently takes video in a format that Blogger doesn't accept, and I don't know how to convert it, and I miss having new videos on the blog. Hopefully this works!

READY FOR THE LAKE

We started pulling camp gear out of the closet last night in anticipation of our first 2-night camping trip of the year, and when the kids found the pile this morning, with their puddle jumpers thrown in, they were ecstatic! They are thrilled that we'll be camping someplace with a lake they can swim in. And so are we - should be nice and refreshing after Jay and Sophie finish their races!

(Cora picked her own outfit today. And I don't mean the puddle jumper, don't worry, I made her take that off before getting in the van. She refused to take off her fancy shoes, and she then requested "a skirt that matches my b'ack shoes and a pink shirt". Her teacher thought she was very fancy...)

"WE HAVE THE SAME SHOES!"

Taking Cinderella Baby for a walk this morning, in their matching shoes. 

And if you think that's cute, you should see the video I took of her walking her doll around the kitchen, helping her move her legs, and talking to her. And going to get her own black mary janes out of her drawer so she could match her baby. She is so dang adorable!

BARLEY'S ANGELS - STOUT

Have I mentioned on the blog yet, that just like Jay, I now have my own monthly beer meeting that I go to? No? Well I do. It's called "Barley's Angels" and it's a group exclusively for women, to promote brewing and beer appreciation among ladies. (Our local chapter is called the MS Sippies.) We've had 4 meetings now (I missed the 2nd one due to sickness though) and they are getting progressively better as we become more organized and decided upon the things that we want to accomplish. Tonight we accomplished stouts. I don't like stouts. Or porters. Well, at least I didn't think that I did. Turns out that pairing them with the correct foods makes all the difference though! (Beer and food pairings have become our main goal as a group, since there are very few books written on the subject, even though there are hundreds of wine and food pairing books out there in the world.) 

So tonight we tried Buffalo Breath Oatmeal Stout, Guinness Draught, Heart of Darkness, and the stout they have on tap (I forget what it was - we meet at one of our favorite local restaurants, Martin's at Midtown, where one of the owners is also one of the leaders of our group). Plus Christy brought her homebrewed stout. And we also sampled some Rogue Double Chocolate Stout and Sam Adams Imperial Stout. That Imperial Stout was STRONG (heavy anise flavor in addition to the hops), but it actually tasted good with sharp cheddar cheese. I decided that I have been wrong, wrong, wrong about Guinness, and I loved it with everything. (Did you know that stouts are lower calorie than many other beers? I never would have guessed, since they just look so heavy to me.) Christy made her stout into a beer float. That may sound crazy, but don't knock it 'til you try it - it was delicious! My chocolate pound cake went with everything, as did the chocolate almond caramel corn. And the smoky stout-infused BBQ-dipped sausage. The only beer that I didn't really care for was the Heart of Darkness by Magic Hat, and I can't put my finger on why exactly, but it just wasn't for me.

Other items that go well with stouts include strong coffee (in fact, many stouts are infused with coffee) and cigars. Last night also happened to be Martin's "Cigars Under the Stars" monthly event, but I didn't stick around for that to test the theory myself (had to get home to my kiddos before bedtime).

Christy, Heather, Lisa (Matin's co-owner), Keating, Jen, Candice, and Amber (Sandy was out at a Lyle Lovett concert, and we missed her terribly this round!)

For record-keeping purposes, last month we did IPAs. I really disliked the Hoplanta (no matter what I ate with it), but surprisingly loved the 2 Shiner varieties that we tried (Wild Hare and Farmhouse), and the Jai Alai was good too (especially baked into lemon bars). We ate some spicy food items with the IPAs, as they are suppose to pair well, and they did. It was the first time I've actually enjoyed drinking an IPA of any brand or variety. I don't know what they did at the 2nd meeting since I missed it, but t\The first meeting I went to compared a variety of beers, and that is when we decided that food pairings would be our main goal with this group. Potluck-style beer and food sampling is definitely high on my list of awesome ladies night out activities!