Memorial Day Picnic Part Deux

Last year, the kids and I went to Laura Walker Park for a picnic on Memorial Day. Since then, Olivia has asked (a trillion times) to go back to the park and have another picnic. So, we decided to spend this Memorial Day like we did the last one- by having a picnic in the park. The kids had a blast. We had lunch at a picnic table, and then they played on the playground equipment for about an hour or so. We also went down one of the hiking trails for about a sixth of a mile. The kids didn't like being in the woods, so we turned around and went back to the car pretty quickly. I wasn't too sad about this decision. Although I put on a brave face while we were walking down the trail, I must admit that I kept having visions of bears and gators hopping out of the brush and coming after us. Altogether, we spent about two hours at the park.

Olivia's Dance Performance

Olivia has been taking a dance class since August. The class is officially called "movement", but it teaches the fundamentals of tap and ballet. Olivia has really enjoyed the class and I feel that she has learned a lot. Last Saturday, the studio had a performance so that the students could show off some of the things that they have learned during the year. Olivia's class did a ballet and a tap number. The performances went well. Of course, they were nothing fancy because the girls are three and four years old, but they were cute. We discovered that Olivia is neither shy nor nervous about being on stage. She was pretty much a ham during the performances. We sat on the first row, and she kept waving at us and blowing us kisses. I don't have many pictures of the performance because I used video instead. I am going to give a link to YouTube where I've posted the dance numbers if you want to check them out. My sweet niece Ava also participated in the performance on Saturday. She was doing a gymnastics demonstration, and she rocked it. I have a video of that, too, but I have a feeling that Hannah will be posting one soon. Enjoy!

Link to Ballet Routine - this video is a little over 2 minutes long.

Link to Tap Routine- this video is about a minute and a half long.

Imagination Movers

I am going to take a moment here to RAVE about the Imagination Movers! These guys are fan-tas-tic. The kids and I were so lucky to get to see them in concert this past week. Here's how it went down: on Monday I found out that I had won a drawing for four tickets to see this band. The kids love watching the Imagination Movers show on the Disney Channel, so I was pretty excited about taking them to see the band live. Brian was not able to go at such short notice, so Aunt Quincy went with us instead. I left work early to get the kids and drive to Jacksonville for the show. I had to pick up my tickets from the will call booth, and I did not have high expectations for the seat location (they were free, after all). Imagine my surprise when the usher led us to the twelth row, center aisle. Other than those in the VIP section, we had the best seats in the house. During the show, various members of the band would come off the stage, walk down the center aisle and interact with the kids who were dancing there. My kids got to meet two of the Movers (Rich and Dave), Nina, and Genevieve from Choo Choo Soul (Choo Choo Soul was the warm-up band). We would not have been able to do this had our seats not been front-and-center. We all had so much fun. Olivia was like a little Imagnation Mover groupie. The minute she saw someone coming off stage, she made her way to that person and would follow them up the aisle. I must confess that I also had a great time and found myself up on my feet for much of the concert. I am stating this now- If the Movers come to Jacksonville next year, we WILL go again. It was GREAT! Now that I am done raving, here are some pictures and a video from the concert. The lighting in the video isn't the best, but it's my favorite of all the videos I took because it shows the kids really getting down.

Brian's New Ride

About two weeks ago, a deer ran out in front of Brian's car while he was driving to work. Brian wasn't hurt, but his car was totaled. The old Civic being totaled was sad news because it has been the best car ever. Brian bought it 13 years ago, and the only work he's ever had to do on it (other than oil change, tires, etc) was to replace an ignition coil. That old car never broke down- and it had tons of miles on it. So when the time came to pick a new car, Brian chose another Civic. Here is a picture of Brian pulling the new car into the driveway for the first time. I guess we'll be riding in style now. I only hope that the new Civic holds up as well as the old one did.

Spring Flowers

The flowers are blooming in the field down from our house. Here are a few of this year's pictures.

April Running: Spring Showers and Late Nights

This is my third year of running consistently. The problem that I have had for the past two years is that when summer gets here, it gets hot, I quit running, and then I have to start over from square one when the the weather cools off. I have come to the conclusion that if I want to take my running to the next level (and I do), then I'm going to have to suck it up and run during the hot summer months. I'm not looking forward to this, but I think that it will pay off in the end. So, for the first time ever, I entered not one but two races during the month of April. The first one was the Southeast Christian Academy 5K. That was a disaster. The morning was hot and humid, and it began to rain during the run. It was miserable, and my time of 28.05 reflected the misery of the morning. Even with this time, I was still the second female to finish. The first female was eight years old. She passed me in the last tenth of a mile (hangs head in shame). On the bright side, I did win my age group and received a nifty water bottle for my effort.









The second race that I ran in April had to be one of the most fun that I've ever done. It was the 2nd Annual Midnight Glow Run sponsored by the YMCA. I ran it last year, but it was held in July then and it was 100 degrees at midnight (so it was miserable). This year the race was moved to April, and the weather was just perfect. The 5K began at the stroke of midnight, and runners wore glowing necklaces and bracelets as they ran. Well, some runners did. Sometimes at races like these there is some crazy person (usually a guy) who comes and races in a silly get-up (like a mask or a banana suit). When I got to the midnight run this year, it did not take me long to spot and recognize the "crazy guy". It was my brother, Sam. He was wearing an 80s rock-star wig, a headband, and some of the shortest, tightest shorts that I've ever seen. It was hilarious. I had to ask where he got the shorts. Turns out they were a pair of Quincy's cheerleading shorts from high school. He had random people coming up to him all night wanting to have their picture made with him. Even with the crazy get up, he ran awesome. He was the fourth person to finish the race and got second in his age group. I also ran well. I posted a new personal best time of 25.27 and finished first in my age group. The glowing, late-night atmosphere was loads of fun. This race is a definite keeper.

Ford Family Reunion

A few weekends ago, we went to Hilton Head Island to spend time with Brian's mom, aunts, and the entire Ford family. This time together was truly a blessing, and it meant so much to us. About a week after the trip, Brian's Aunt Sherrie lost her battle with cancer. Aunt Sherrie was a fantastic, accomplished lady and she will most certainly be missed. Below are some pictures that I took of our time with the Fords. Notice that the chocolate fountain made a re-appearance (to everyone's delight).