Racing for Pinks

This morning was the Racing for Pinks 5K and fun run. I love this local race because it raises money for a good cause (victims of breast cancer) and because there is usually a lot of participation. Speaking of participation, guess who came and did the fun run with Owen and Olivia? Yep, it was my sweet nieces Ava and Claire. Ava rocked it- she ran her mile in 11:11. Claire and Olivia came in shortly thereafter. I ran the fun run with Owen. Well, "run" might be too strong of a word here. I was doing all I could to get him to walk. My good friend Amy was also doing the fun run with her daughter, Molly, so we stuck with them. This actually helped because seeing Molly pass him inspired Owen to pick up the pace a little. Even so, we still finished very close to last place. It was fun, though- and all of the kids received medals for their efforts.

Prior to the fun run, Quincy and I ran the 5K. This is Quincy's second 5K, and she did a really good job. She finished about 10 minutes quicker than her previous race. I also set a new PR with a time of 24:47. This is the first time that I have ever come in under the 25 minute mark, so I was really happy with my run. My time was also good enough to earn first place in my age group. I received a "Racing for Pinks" running towel as a prize. It was a fun morning and a great day to run a 5K.

Historic St. Augustine

Established 42 years before Jamestown, St. Augustine is the oldest town in the U.S. This town has a rich history- from exploration by Ponce de Leon, to the founding of the city by Juan Pedro Menendez de Aviles, to the development of the city as a playground for the rich by Henry Flagler-there is so much to see, do, and learn about in St. Augustine. Likewise, there are no shortage of museums and exhibits here. Brian and I had visited before, so we had already explored many of the sites. Our goal for this trip was to give Owen and Olivia a dose of the history without boring them to tears. I think it worked- before we left, Olivia came to the conclusion that "everything in this city is about it being old". We did visit many "old" sites- the oldest jail, the oldest pharmacy, the oldest schoolhouse, etc... However, the thing that the kids liked the best was the old fort- El Castillo de San Marcos. We visited the fort twice. On the first visit, the kids had a blast checking out the rooms, grounds, and bastions of the Castillo. We returned at the fort the next day to watch a reenactment of a military exercise where the "soldiers" fired a cannon. Owen was really into the cannon firing and he watched the whole production intently. This kind of surprised me because the reenactment was entirely in Spanish (this was a Spanish fort, after all). He really liked when the cannon fired and said that it was "cool". In addition to visiting the fort, we also took a narrated trolley tour and spent some time in the old quarter. As a bonus, we also ate a nice, semi-fancy meal at the Colombia restaurant (Spanish food- yummy). We had a great time on our little trip to St. Augustine. Seeing as how we live a short 2.5 hours away, we will most certainly be back.

Alligator Farm

We have just returned from our fall break mini-trip to St. Augustine, Florida. We stayed two days / one night in this oldest city in the U.S. There are many many many historical attractions in this town, but the first thing that we did had nothing to do with history- it had to do with wildlife. We visited the St. Augustine Alligator Farm. As expected, there were tons of alligators, crocodiles, and other animals at this zoo. As a matter of fact, the zoo has an exhibit for all 23 species of crocodiles in the world- even the endangered gharial. I couldn't help but think of the tv show "Swamp People" as we were walking through the park. I kept waiting for someone to yell "Choot 'em"- and some guy on the boardwalk finally did. In addition to seeing the various species of crocs, we also got to see "Maximo"- the largest croc in the park (15+ feet). We also attended a bird/reptile show where we got to go to the stage and pet an anaconda. Everyone in our family touched the anaconda except Owen- he wasn't having it. Visiting the Alligator Farm was a pleasant way to spend the morning, and was nice kick-off to our St. Augustine trip.

Homecoming Parade

This past week was Homecoming week for the high school football team, and there was a parade on Thursday. The parade route was close to our house, so the kids and I walked down to see it. We ended up in a spot that was right at the beginning of the parade- so we loaded up on candy. I guess that the kids in the parade were really excited about throwing the candy and wanted to unload it all as soon as they could. Owen and Olivia got so much candy that we couldn't even carry it all. We stuffed my pockets and Owen's pockets with candy- and then Olivia began putting candy in her shirt (see picture). I tried to convince her that she had enough, but she kept stuffing. Note to self: Bring a plastic bag to the Christmas parade.

Olivia's 5th Birthday Party

Olivia's 5th birthday party was held at And Bounce. Booking the party there was 100% Brian's doing. He came home one day and said that he had reserved a time at And Bounce, and I almost fell through the floor in shock. I was thrilled to have the party there because it is fun and easy for parents. The party theme was "Strawberry Shortcake". Olivia wore my old Strawberry Shortcake costume from when I was a kid. We also had a strawberry flavored cake in the shape of Strawberry Shortcake's head. The first 75 minutes of the party were dedicated to letting the kids play on the bouncy houses. Everyone had a great time and wore themselves out. After the bouncing, we all moved into the party room for cake, ice cream, and gifts. Olivia received all sorts of wonderful things like clothes, Barbie (and Ken) dolls, and dress-up stuff. Brian and I got her a new bike, which she needed badly. I think that I enjoyed not having to set up / clean up as much as Olivia liked having her party at And Bounce. I will officially say that Brian is a genius for booking the party here.

Jacksonville Marine Corps Half Marathon

I'm not sure if this is going to be awesome or if I've totally lost my mind, but I have decided to participate in the "Tri 2B Tuff" challenge this year. It sounds like a triathlon, but it's not (no swimming for this girl). The "challenge" is that participants complete three half marathons in three months. This morning I participated in the first race of the series- the Jacksonville Marine Corps Half Marathon. This race was great from start to finish. The race began at Jacksonville's Vetran's Memorial Wall and ended at Memorial Park. Before the race, there was an opening ceremony and then a cannon fired to start the runners. The course was beautiful and ran along the St. John's river for several of the miles. I could have done without the two bridges, though. Marines were stationed all along the course and they handed out water, gatorade, and GU to the runners. At the finish line there were tanks and other types of military vehicles. Once runners crossed the finish line, Marines (in dressy uniform) put the finisher medal around our necks. I really enjoyed the race a lot. It was a great course with lots of american spirit (flags everywhere) and military participation. The weather was also just perfect for running, and this may have had something to do with my time. I ran the course in 2:02:13. This time shaves eight minutes off of my previous half marathon time. I think that my decision to run through the summer had something to do with my improved time. I also noticed that I was not nearly as tired this time as I was at the Dover Half in June. My legs weren't even all that sore like they were last time.

The Cutest Beds in Town

This post serves as a big Thank You to my Aunt Connie who is the "craftiest" person that I know. From quilting to stamping to creating a cookbook- she can do it all. Over the last several years, she has so graciously made themed pillowcases for Owen's and Olivia's beds. The kids love these and the pillowcases make their beds look so cute. Aunt Connie has also made "I Spy" quilts for both kids and they LOVE these as well. Owen received his in the mail last month and you would have thought that he had just won the lottery. As we were reading our bedtime story tonight, I noticed that all of the pillows and quilts on the bed were those that Aunt Connie had made. I had to take a picture and share. Thank you, Aunt Connie!!!