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.

The Run 5

2012: New races, new challenges, new opportunities. I mentioned in December that I was excitedly planning my 2012 running calendar. The first race on my list was The Run 5 to Keep Kids Alive. My friend, Anna, was adamant that we run this race because all of the proceeds go to benefit the Wolfson Children's Hospital. This hospital is a top-notch facility in Jacksonville that treats all kids- regardless of a family's ability to pay. Because of this, it relies heavily on donations to sustain itself. Anna works for Babies Can't Wait and is a HUGE advocate for children with special needs, so running this race was a must.

Anna, Krystial, and I met up with Tiffany and her friend Kailee to run this race. This was my first 5-miler, so no matter what I knew I was going to PR. The course was spread out along the banks of the St. John's River and it was beautiful. It was also very tough with lots of ups and downs- two bridges, an overpass, and a ramp. Even though it was a difficult run, I ran pretty well. I finished with a chip time of 42:49 and placed 4th in my age group (out of 85 runners). The other girls also ran really well, and we earned our delicious Italian lunch. This was a great start to the running year. I am excited about all of the events that I have planned for this year. I apologize in advance for the number of upcoming running posts. There will probably be a lot of them. ***And as a sidenote: If anyone wants to join in on the running fun, let me know. It's lots of fun***

Day 7: Montmartre

On our last full day in Paris, we slept late and then took the metro to Montmartre to see the Basilica of the Sacre Couer. Brian had come here earlier in the week with his mom, but he liked it enough to come back with us. I had taken several doses of medicine and was feeling much better. We went inside the Sacre Couer, and it was just beautiful. Outside, there were lots of street preformers, so we spent some time watching them. There was one guy in particular who did amazing things with a soccer ball. After wondering around the basilica area, we headed "down the hill' through the streets of Montmartre. We stopped and got some souvenirs and headed back to the hotel.

There was one thing that I still wanted to do before I left Paris- and that was visit the Centre Georges Pompidou (museum of modern art). The kids were tired, so Brian watched them at the hotel while I went to the Pompidou Center. I enjoyed wandering around the museum without having to worry about what the kids were getting into. There were lots of interesting works here by artists such as Picasso, Kandinsky, Dalí, Matisse, and Pollock.

Since our last night in Paris was also New Year's Eve, we enjoyed a nice meal at the Pizzeria across the road from the hotel with Brian's cousin Brandon and his family. Later, Brian left with some of his cousins to go ring in the New Year at the Eiffel Tower. I was tired, though, so I stayed at the hotel with the kids.

This will be my last Paris post, so I want to take a moment to make some general reflections. First of all, I want to say that the city of Paris deserves every good word that is ever said about it. A lot of my trip report has noted where we went and what we did, but our experience was more than that. There is a different type of "mood" about Paris, and I enjoyed that so much. There are just so many little things- like the way that people dress or how people rent bikes to get around- that all add up to make Paris an interesting place. I was also so delighted to get to spend time with Brian's family. There were some in the group that I had not had the opportunity to spend much time with before, and I was so happy to get to know them. I sincerely hope that we are able to see more of Brian's family in the future.

Day 6: Disneyland Paris

On day six of our vacation to Paris, we took a short train ride to Disneyland Paris. I had started feeling sick the day before, but I felt a little better on this morning. Since I didn't want to miss the Disney day (and since I had already shelled out the money for our tickets) I decided to go ahead and go to Disneyland with everyone else. Disneyland Paris was nice- but in my opinion, it cannot touch Walt Disney World. Not even close. Still, the kids were thrilled to be at Disney. We rode some of our favorite rides like Pirates of the Caribbean, Small World, and the Haunted Mansion. Although theses rides were similar to the rides in Orlando, there were some differences, and it was neat to pick up on those. We also rode Thunder Mountain. Owen was tall enough to ride the coaster this time. He was so excited not to have to sit out, and he loved the ride. We also went on some rides that we do not have in Orlando. I didn't see as many characters as I would have liked, but we did see Mickey. It's not a trip to Disney without a picture with Mickey. The whole park was beautiful and was decorated for the Christmas season. It was a pleasant trip, and I probably would have liked it better if I hadn't lost my voice and started feeling like complete crap halfway through the day. We left the park arond 3pm and made our way back to Paris, where I (no surprise) climbed right back into bed because my fever had come back. Brian was so sweet and went to the pharmacy for me. He told the pharacist what was wrong, and she went and got some kind of medicine from the back. Through research I have learned that the active ingredient in the stuff that she gave me is a mild opiate that is commonly used in our country to help heroin addicts overcome their addiction. Apparently, it also makes a pretty good cough suppressant. Anyway, you can't get this stuff over the counter in the U.S.- cause I've looked. I will say that this medicine was the bomb, and it made me so much better- fast.

Day 5: Versailles

When I was in high school I saw a picture of the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles, and I have wanted to go there ever since. So, on our fifth day in France, we took a train to the outskirts of Paris to visit this palace. You may notice from the pictures that Brian and his mom did not go with us- they stayed behind in Paris and ended up going to Montmartre instead. For the rest of us, though, the trip to Versailles was quite memorable. The palace was stunning. I could not get over how elaborate the decor was. One thing is for sure- if I were a starving French person during the time of the revolution and I saw the nobles living it up in that palace- I would revolt, too. It was over-the-top! There was a designated tour path at the palace. We followed it and were able to see the King's and Queen's chambers, the Hall of Battles, the little Chapel, and (drumroll) The Hall of Mirrors. That was my favorite room. And, yes, I took a picture of my reflection in the mirror in the hall of mirrors. Apparently the grounds at Versailles are also awesome to see, but we didn't walk around in those because it was so... cold outside. It had been quite cold all week, and I actually got sick while we were in Paris. Our day trip to Versailles was the turning point for my health. I realized on the train ride back from Versailles that I was sick, and the kids and I had to forfeit our plans for the rest of the day. I went back to the hotel room and stayed in bed with a fever. This little bug turned into a pretty bad cold. Here it is a week later, and I still have a cough and runny nose- but, I feel so much better than I did.