We're Off to See the Wizard

For those of you who didn't know, Olivia is OBSESSED with The Wizard of Oz. In the fall, Gigi invited all of the grandkids to her house to watch the movie for the first time- and that's when the obsession began. Since that time, we have recorded the movie on our Tivo and we watch it five or six times a week (I'm not kidding). Olivia knows almost every line of the movie. In addition to this, Gigi bought Olivia a pair of "ruby slippers" that she insists on wearing to church every Sunday. She has even declared that she is going to be Dorothy for Halloween (so I guess we have this year's theme). Because there is so much "Wizard of Oz" at our house, Owen has even gotten into it. Might as well, he certainly can't avoid it. Because of the popularity of this movie, I couldn't help but take the kids to see a live performance of the Wizard at the local children's theater.


We went on opening night, and the small theater was packed. Luckily, we had arrived early and got seats on the front row. Olivia loved the production and she sang most of the songs along with the actors. The script for the play came directly from the movie, so Olivia was able to follow along with it easily. At one point, she leaned over to tell me that the Wicked Witch had missed one of her lines. Yep, we've seen the movie that many times. Owen also enjoyed the show. I almost didn't take him because he does not have a good track record of sitting still. I'm glad I did, though, because he got into it. After the show, we had a chance to meet the characters. Olivia walked up the Dorothy, pointed at her (Olivia's) shoes, and said, "look, I've got ruby slippers too". Olivia then proceeded to hug EVERYONE- including the wicked witch. Owen didn't really hug anyone, but he did walk up really close to them. That's progress as he tends to avoid all people in costumes (Santa included).

Sidney Lanier Bridge Run 2011

This morning I participated in the Sidney Lanier Bridge Run. I really like this run because it is very challenging and because the view from the top is second-to-none. This race has certainly evolved since I first ran it in 2004. The first time I ran, there were just a handful of people, no timing chips, and no formal start other than a guy standing there saying "ready, set, go". Now, however, it is a major event with bands, runners starting in waves, and cash prizes for the winners. This year, there were 2,000 runners. That's not counting the hoards of walkers who were in attendance. According to the newspaper, there were runners present from 17 states and 3 countries. I ran the race in 28:08. That's not bad considering that only 300 yards of the entire race is on a flat surface. My finish time this year was a new personal best for this race. Since I was an individual runner, I was in the first wave of contestants to begin. Once my race was over, I decided to grab my camera and walk back up with the fifth wave of contestants (the walkers). I wanted to get some pictures of the approach to the top of the bridge. As I was walking up, my friend Krystial and her sister Corrina were coming back down (they were with the third wave- team runners), so I was able to get some good pictures of them actually running on the bridge. This was a great morning with beautiful weather. I only hope that all of my upcoming races will be as nice.

On Your Mark...

It's that time of the year again, and all of my favorite races are coming up soon. I had such a great time running last year, that I have decided to up my game a bit this year. I will actually be running in a scheduled event every weekend between now and April (so prepare yourselves for numerous running posts). I began my running streak this morning at the SRMC Run for Your Heart 5K. The course was hilly (for south Georgia anyway) and it was cold, but I stuck with it and finished with a time of 27:17. That put me second in my age group and 21st overall (of about 100 registered runners). I like that they gave us chairs in lieu of medals. This is one prize that I may actually get to keep (Olivia is not interested in the chair).

Father / Daughter Valentine's Dance

Brian and Olivia attended the Father/Daughter Valentine's Dance last night. This is a very popular community event that provides wonderful memories for Dads and their daughters. Olivia was so excited that she was finally deemed "old enough" to get to go this year. She woke up early on Saturday morning and wanted to put her dress on immediately. She was a little disappointed to learn that she had to wait until the afternoon, but she held on. When it came time to get ready for the dance, she got so excited. We curled her hair with a curling iron (although you can't really tell it in the pictures) and put a tiny bit of make-up on. She looked and felt like a little lady. Brian brought some flowers for Olivia, and she was excited about those, too. After snapping a dozen pictures, the pair set off to eat at Captain Joe's and then go to the dance. Moms are not allowed into the dance, so all dance details come from Brian. He said that Olivia, Ava, and Claire all danced the night away. The girls even knew the lyrics to some of the songs that were played and sang along with the music.

Owen and I were not about to sit at home and let Daddy and Olivia have all of the fun, so we joined up with my family for supper at Ruby Tuesday's. The restaurant was packed with dads and daughters who were on their way to or just returning from the dance. It was so cute to see all of the little girls so dressed up. Seeing everyone so excited really made me wish that I could have just peeked in at the dance. I bet it was adorable.