Inside the Father/Daughter Valentine's Dance

"Is it time to get ready ready yet?" I bet I heard that question fifty times on Saturday morning. The annual Father/Daughter Valentine's Dance was Saturday night, and this was a really big deal for Olivia. She had already chosen her dress (which ended up being the same as Claire's) and had decided that she wanted her hair "straight with curls on the bottom". She even went so far as to lay her dress out on Friday night, and she wanted to put it on the moment she got up on Saturday. To say that she was excited would be an understatement. When it finally came time for her to get dressed, I only had to give the word once. She ran back to her room and had changed into her dress immediately. As soon as she was totally ready, we heard a knock on the door. There stood a very handsome-looking Brian with a bouquet of roses for Olivia. After snapping a few pictures, Brian and Olivia were off to eat at Captain Joe's and then to the dance.



Since this is a father/daughter dance, the moms don't get to be part of the fun. I did convince Brian to take the camera to the dance so that I could "spy" on all of the fun that everyone was having. He took a several pictures and a few short video clips (two of which are posted below). I have watched the videos and all I can say is that the moms are missing out. This event looks like a ton of fun. What a special time for daughters to spend with their fathers! Olivia is so lucky to have such a GREAT dad, and I'm glad that they get to do this together each year. She is glad, too, and is already counting down til next year's dance.

Super Dolphin Day 2012

How does it happen that I am late to at least one race each year? It turns out that my "late" race this year was this morning's Super Dolphin Day Race. I had pre-registered for the 5K (which began at 10am), but I woke up early and decided to go on over to St. Simon's Island and do the 10K as well. The 10K began at 7:30, but I left in plenty of time to get over there and register before the race. I don't know if I just drove slow or if I drove through a hole in the space-time continuum or what, but the end result was that I pulled up to the race site 10 minutes before the race began- and they had already closed registration. Oh no! I begged the lady at the table to let me run. She stated that I could but could not guarantee that she would be able to get my name into the computer to have an "official" time. I didn't care, I filled out the form as fast as I could, pinned my number on, and ran to the starting line. I did really well on the 10K and finished with a time of 51:22- a new PR. Here's some more good news- the lady was able to get my name into the computer...but... I had been in such a hurry to fill out the registration form that I did not list my age (meaning I was not eligible for any of the awards). This stunk because I would have gotten second place in my age group. Oh, well.


After the 10K was over, I waited for the start of the 5K. (Thankfully, I had pre-registered for this and I was there on time.) Quincy and her friend Maura were coming to run the 5K, so I met up with them at the starting line. I did pretty well in the 5K and finished with a time of 25:13. Quincy and Maura also had good times. Those girls keep getting faster and faster with every race that they do.

Sidney Lanier Bridge Run 2012

This morning I went to Brunswick with my sister Quincy and my cousins Hunter and Thomas to run the Sidney Lanier Bridge 5K, the "toughest 5K in the southeast". This race gets bigger and bigger each year. This was Hunter's first 5K, and he really liked it. My cousins, sister, and I all did really well and met our individual goals. I ran the race in 25:51- which kills my previous time of 28.08 on this race. After the race, I met up with my friend Krystial and we walked back up to the top with third wave of runners (the walkers) so that we could take some pictures. It was a fun morning, full of great exercise and fantastic views.