First Flight

This weekend was a big one for the Sanders family. Brian's brother, Gary, tied the knot with his long-time girlfriend, Katie. This was truly a happy and long-anticipated occasion. The wedding took place in Dover, Delaware, and both Brian and Olivia were members of the wedding party. Since the rehearsal was taking place Friday afternoon, we flew out of Jacksonville early Friday morning. The flight was kind of a big deal for Owen and Olivia because it was their first trip on a plane. Actually, flying is kind of a big deal for Brian and I too because we don't do it that often. The kids saw a few planes taking off and landing as we approached the airport, and they started to get excited because they knew that they were soon going to be on a plane themselves. Well, Olivia got excited. I don't think that Owen really knew what was going on. When we reached our departure gate, we could see the plane through the window. The excitement continued to build. Finally, we boarded the plane and found our seats. The flight went off without a hitch. The kids were well behaved on the plane, and the time really "flew" by. Both kids got the opportunity to look out of the window, but Olivia was the one who really understood what she was seeing. She was amazed by the view and had lots of fun looking for rivers, forrests, fields, and houses. I was happy with the flight because two hours in a plane beats a 13 hour drive anyday. Maybe we should do this more often.

Olivia's Princess Party

My little princess is turning 4 next week, and this evening we celebrated her birthday with a small party at her Aunt Hannah's house. The theme of the party was "princesses". Of course this had to be the theme becasue Olivia is obsessed with the Disney Princesses. She talks about them constantly and has even told me that when she grows up, SHE is going to be a princess.

Anyway, Olivia could not have been more excited about her party. She has been talking about it all week long, so she was absolutely ecstatic that it was finally here. Since it was a "princess" party, she let me know that she wanted to wear a pretty dress and crown so that she could look like a princess. She even went through her closet herself to find the perfect dress.





















I thought that the party turned out great. I was a little bit worried about how the cake was going to look because I ordered it from Walmart. Well, I was pleasantly surprised. Not only did it look nice and taste good, but it was also relatively inexpensive. Olivia definitely liked it, and when we sang "Happy Birthday" to her she had a look of pure joy on her face that I will never forget.


















Olivia received so many nice gifts from everyone. The "big gifts" that her daddy and I got for her were two "Princess and Me" dolls. Brian says that these are going to be hot items this Christmas season.



















Even though the party is over, the actual birthday is next week. So, we are probably still going to have another day of celebration as the acutal birthday arrives. Until then, Olivia will continue to sleep on her "Happy Birthday" pillow case that her Aunt Connie sent her and dream sweet princess dreams in her pink princess room. (Have I mentioned that Olivia loves princesses?)

Bear Down 5K and 1 Mile Fun Run

Okay, I'm going to have to brag a bit on Olivia. She did such a great job at the Bear Down fun run this morning. This is only the third 1-miler that she has done, and she just keeps on impressing me. As you can probably see in this first picture- she was the youngest (by far) to enter the race. She didn't push her way to the starting line, and when the horn sounded, she didn't take off at break-neck speed. I just knew that she was going to finish last...







..but she didn't. She actually finished 24th (of about 40 entrants). These are not little kids we're talking about either. As she was coming down the home stretch, she was running ahead of two older kids and an adult (Not counting Brian- who was running backwards to give her some last minute encouragment). She ran the entire distance herself. Brian said that she doesn't run fast, but she keeps an even pace and keeps going when others give out. Officially, Olivia was competing in the 10 and under age division, so she didn't really have a chance to receive an award. I think that she was a little bummed not to get a medal, but I ended up getting one in the 5K and gave mine to her.

Olivia wasn't the only one who ran today. I finally talked Quincy into running a 5K with me. She ran well and finished second in her age division. I ended up being the only competitor in my age group, so I got first. My time was 28.48, which is slower than I ran two weeks ago. I'm not upset, though, because it was a lot hotter this morning than it has been.

Summer Running

I don't run much during the summers because it is too hot. Actually, there aren't many races to enter because nobody wants to run in the sweltering heat. I do try to hit the treadmill at the Y a couple of times a week during the summer, but I can only run about two miles. I don't want to hog the treadmill for long periods of time while there are other people wanting to get on it. To be honest, I haven't been in top form since the Swamp Run last March. Lately, though, I've been feeling the need to go ahead and start conditioning because there are a lot of awesome races that I want to run in this year. So, I have participated in two 5Ks in these last days of summer. The first one was a brand new race called "Ready, Set, Glow". It took place on July 31st and began at midnight. It was really dark, but they gave you glow bracelets to wear so that you could be seen. I really didn't do that well. My time was 29:10. At least I made it in under 30 minutes. Although the race was hot and tough, it was a lot of fun. I've never run that late at night before, but it was pretty awesome. The race was sponsored by the Y, so my brother Sam and my friend Krystial ran in it (because they work there). My dad also showed up (at midnight) to watch the race. If he's there, then you know that that's the place to be. The pictures from the Glow Run turned out pretty good because we took pictures before the race. My running buddies and I decided that we were going to start doing this because we looked like death in all of our pictures last year....

...And just as soon as I say this, I totally forget to take pictures before running my second race of the summer. Therefore, I look terrible in the picture from the Harvest Run 5K. Although I look bad, I actually ran well (26:58) and placed second in my age division. I was awarded a trophy that- like all of my other running trophies- was immediately confiscated by Olivia. This is not a bad start to the new running season, and I am looking forward to cooler weather and more races.

Olivia's First Trip to the Dentist

...and she had a cavity! I couldn't believe it. We have been brushing her teeth (apparently not well enough). I was so disappointed! Even though things didn't turn out well at her check-up, I do have to brag on Olivia's behavior. She was a real pro. She hopped right up in that chair and did everything that she was asked to do. After leaving the dentist office, we drove straight to CVS and purchased all sorts of kid dental products. We are now on a strict dental regimen around our house- Owen too. Oliva goes back on Thursday to get her cavity filled. I don't know how that's going to go. Hopefully, it will go well and this will be the last time that I have to report bad news from the dentist.

Driftwood Beach

One major problem that Jekyll Island has is erosion. Go to a beach on the northern side of Jekyll and you'll find large stones- placed to slow the erosion process. You'll also find lots of driftwood washed up on its namesake beach. We were staying near Driftwood Beach, so we decided to walk down and check it out before going back home. On the way to the beach, we saw a sign that declared Driftwood Beach to be the "5th most romantic in the world". I don't know if I really agree with this title. The stones that were placed to slow erosion appeared to be breeding grounds for all kinds of critters (bugs?). Also, the water would wash up some yucky black substance. You can actually see this stuff in the picture of the kids walking on the beach below. Of course Owen and Olivia wanted nothing more than to go play in the water, but that was a big negative. I'm not trying to be too hard on the beach, though. It was definitely unique and kind of pretty in its own way. It was just not a good place for getting in the water. After a short trip to see this beach, we walked back to the car and headed home. We had a great time on our trip to Jekyll, and we are looking forward to getting together again with Brian's family soon.

Dinner by the Dock

There are no shortage of great places to eat in the Brunswick / Golden Isles area, and it really is a shame that we don't eat at them more often- especially since we only live about an hour away. We did get to try out two new places while we were on Jekyll last weekend, though. On Friday night we ate at a restaurant called Blackbeard's. It was right on the water, and the food was pretty good. However, the restaurant that Brian and I enjoyed the most was called SeaJays. SeaJays is by the marina, and according to Brian they had the "second best shrimp dish that I'd ever eaten". After the meal, we took the kids down to the marina to look at the boats. It was right around sunset, so it was really nice outside. I'm posting three pictures taken during our evening at SeaJays. The first two were taken down by the water and the third is evidence of what happens when a kid falls asleep at the dinner table. Poor Emory- I have a feeling that this picture will turn up again and again throughout his life.