BMX TRAX

 After heading out for a 10-mile run this morning (2 miles of which I ran w/ Jay, his first run in over 6 months!), we made Jean a bacon, egg, and hash brown brunch, then drove around with Uncle Gerald to check out the lot for his new house and the home that Whitney and Ben are purchasing, followed by a late lunch and a trip to Chehaw for the kids to ride their bikes at the awesome BMX track. It was warmer than the previous couple of days had been and the kids BADLY needed to get some energy out. It made Uncle Gerald's day to be out there watching the kids and helping rescue them from falls, and Jean was happy to cheer them on and laugh at their antics. It was a good, relaxing day following a very stressful few days.

100 DAYS

Is this a "thing" anywhere outside the Deep South? Kids here celebrate their 100th day of school by either adhering 100 random objects to a shirt or dressing as though they are 100-years-old. Since our warning for this activity was 5 hours (notices were sent home from school yesterday afternoon, approximately 5 hours before James' bedtime), we opted to grab his vest out of his closet (sorry Grambot, don't be offended - cute little old men wear sweater vests) and pilfer the Halloween costume box for a gray wig. Done.

James was NOT impressed with the wig. He cried about it. Seriously. All the way to school he fussed and complained, even though Jay was the one wearing it in the car (trying to get him on board with the costume). He wanted to dress as someone else (Batman, in particular) and not an old person. He wasn't even impressed when Cora put it on and danced around. It wasn't until after his teacher snapped this photo of the kids who participated (that's only7 out of 14 kids in the class who dressed up... note to teachers, give us parents a little more warning and you'll get better than 50% participation!) and all the girls started fawning over James that he decided the wig was cool. Just another day in the life of a preschooler...

TINY DANCER

And... we have a dancer! Cora loved her class and wants to go back right away (too bad it's only once/week)! We got her dressed, attempted to get her baby fine hairs into a bun of sorts, and she marched right on back to class all on her own (parents aren't allowed in the dance studio - too much distraction). It's a pretty big class (8-10 girls), but from the peeking I did through the blinds, Cora had no trouble staying focused. After class her teacher popped out to let me know that she did great and was really impressed with our girl! In fact, I'm a bit jealous that she listened so well to her instructor when she doesn't show her daddy or I the same courtesy... She's already talking about her fancy dress for the recital in May (it will be a Dr. Seuss theme, so the dresses will be WILD) and how she made new friends. We didn't know if or when we'd ever be dance parents, but the day has come and I think it's going to go well for all of us!

Before class, showing me how she can stand on her tip-toes

What James did during class

Peeking through the blinds at our little dancer

Showing off her dance studio on the way out

3-DAY WEEKEND PLAY

After a quick doctor visit (turns out Cora's accidents, probably over the entire past year, are due to MAJOR compaction, so meds and a diet change are in motion to get "other" things in motion...), we took the kids over the river (had to cash in our winning $3 Lotto ticket and $5 scratch-off win!) then down to Riverfront Park for a couple hours of bike riding, playground romping, and sand playing (in the volleyball court). Three day weekends are the best...

It's been a busy weekend (lots of fun, and also some good productivity around the house - hey, we even took our Christmas tree down finally!) and we're not ready to go back to work/school, but I suppose that's how these long weekends go. The good news is that James' class is splitting up... 4-year-olds on one side of the partitioned room and 5-year-olds on the other. We have our fingers crossed that this will help James with his focus during seatwork, since he told me unprompted last Friday on the way to school "Mommy, I don't like doing my homework at school. The other kids are too loud!"

BOOK BABES

Post-shower storytime

BALLERINA BABIES

Just playing dress-up and practicing for tomorrow's class!

MARIE'S BIRTHDAY PARTY

The kids went to Marie's birthday party this afternoon (she's ONE already!) and the only photo I took is of them joy-riding on one of Mason's electric cars (the John Deere Jeep). Cora almost ran into parked cars and the house a few times, so James took over and drove her around instead. She obviously trusts him a lot to be riding around like she's on a roller coaster, hands in the air...

RIDGELAND TRAILS

We took the kids to a new-to-us mountain bike park this morning (one of Sophie's finds) so that they could play and I could run some trails (gotta start prepping for that trail 50K...)

The kids had a great time on the pump track, with the big boys alternating between their Striders and pedal bikes. Cora and Will were just as awesome, and even little Leo went round and round and round! There was also some dirt digging with trucks, of course. After a while, the guys took the big kids out on the real trail (while us girls were running) and they were equally as successful.

We did the 5.5-mile trail, taking it easy and just enjoying the ability to run like kids in the woods, watching our foot falls and not worrying about form. It was a much better recovery run than my slog around the track on Wednesday! We spotted a skull on a post at one of the intersections, so I kissed it of course. Our family loves stoneheads.

We also spotted "caves" along the trail. Too bad it's so far out there, I bet the kids would love to explore them!

So, since video upload seems to be working for me tonight, here are a couple of the kids at the pump track. Don't be too concerned about Cora in that second video. They were playing a game where Jay was the monster, attacking the kids and tackling them to the ground off their bikes. Cora and James loved this and couldn't get enough. Will, on the other hand, high-tailed it off the track and told Jay "I don't like you". Totally cracked me up - all kids are honest, but I swear Will is the most honest of them all!

UPGRADE!

Jay used his birthday and Christmas money this year to get a pair of picnic kegs, an old freezer (to use as a kegerator), a giant brew pot, a fancy burner for outside, a cooler to convert into a mashtun, and various other brewing items that I know nothing about. What this means for me is that 1) my kitchen now remains clean on brew days (a very big deal indeed!) and 2) we can store many more varieties of beer in the fridge at a time for our drinking enjoyment. Hooray!

BIG BOY BIKER

James learned how to ride his bike this week, doing it solo for the first time yesterday afternoon while I was at Chill in the Hills registration. At bedtime I talked to him about it and he told me that Manu taught him how to do it, by using his big bike just like his Strider, walking it with his feet (OK, his tip-toes), then pushing off and grabbing the pedals to get moving. I think it's awesome that a little help from Jay and I on Sunday, then Sophie at the track on Wednesday, and Manu at the park on Friday, and he's got it. I asked him if he would show me how he does it and he proudly said "Yes!" (We've been careful to encourage him, and stand firm about not putting the training wheels back on, but to also not push him, stop whenever he'd had enough, and just let him take his own time to learn. Turns out a week was all he needed!) So after a lovely nap (I convinced both kids to lay with me, to ensure that they actually went to sleep so I could - I'm still catching up on sleep from last Friday, and I think my body is craving extra rest after the race), we suited up and went outside to ride. I grabbed my phone and set it to record video, and James just grabbed his bike and took off. I was so excited that I screamed and squealed and clapped my hands all while cheering and dancing. The look on his face was priceless - he was not only proud of himself, but thrilled that his mama was so dang happy about it! Though I'll admit, as awesome as it is that he is now a big boy riding a real bike all by himself, he's a BIG BOY RIDING A REAL BIKE ALL BY HIMSELF. When did he grow up?...

CHILL IN THE HILLS 2014

Jay and I ran Chill in the Hills last year, but since he's just now getting back into running (today, with the 1-mile fun run!) and I ran the marathon last weekend, I decided to volunteer instead at this year's event. It was a great experience to give back after running so many races last year, and really fun to meet so many locals and then subsequently know their names as I cheered for them from the sidelines! 

Eric, 44:55

Francine, 54:03

Mack, 54:48 (you guys, that is over 3 minutes faster than I ran this event last year, and he is 69 - don't think I won't be using Mack as my mantra during speedwork this spring as motivation, and now you know why I train with the RWOP group - they're fast!)

Terry, 55:44

JP and Lee, 1:02:14 and 59:58

Sophie (who also volunteered rather than race) and Beth (who is the high school's cross country and track coach and a Boston Qualifying marathoner, but who was injured for today's race) taking care of Michelle's (Tom's wife, the fast Brit who organized ERDC's Turkey Trot this year and placed 5th overall at The Blues!) girls while she raced

Kristy coming in to the finish (I missed getting her photo earlier in the race), 44:14 for the overall female win!

 The kids both wanted to do the Fun Run, so I registered them last night at the last minute. Cora told me we were to wear our "racing skirts", of course.

 It was truly a "chill" in the hills this year (unlike last year), so we were all bundled up. Especially the kids.

 James ran with his daddy, but kept coming back to wait on Cora and I. And to play on the side of the road. And to dance around and talk to strangers. We had to explain to him later, when he was upset not to have won an award, that there are lots of fast kids and that if he wants to place in his age group, he has to try his best and not goof off. He had fun, but was definitely bummed not to get a chili bowl.

 Cora held my hand and ran for the first half, then I piggy-back carried her for a quarter mile (not good for my sore legs!), then she ran the last quarter mile between Lee and I. And then switched to holding her daddy's hand for the final sprint. Pretty sure we won't sign her up for the next Fun Run, but we'll see. She needs to understand that to pay for a race registration, you have to complete the race on your own two feet. She's fast, but I think a mile is still just too long for her.

Regardless, both kids were thrilled that everyone got a medal at the end of the fun run. James said "Ooh, Daddy look at my mile! I won!"

14:10 and 14:11 for their miles, respectively (you all know James can go faster than that, since his Over the River Run mile was 11:40 - he was definitely not in race mode today, and that's OK)

 Post race tree-climbing while watching the awards ceremony.

 Cora with her award (a giant chili bowl). She won first in her age group, because she was the only girl in her age group! Hey, a win is a win :-)

 And perhaps my favorite photo of the morning? Me cheering on the running bacon (the second running bacon I've seen this week, since there was one at The Blues as well).

P.S. That bacon was fast! She ran the 10K in just under 49:00 in that getup! Maybe I need a bacon suit for my next race...