Fun in the Sun!

I received water park pictures today from my uncle Dirk. They are fantastic! You can see how deathly afraid I was on the newer water slide they have. This is the one that I kept saying "We're going to die!!" It's always good fun to scare the bajeebies out of yourself isn't it?

We got to spend the entire day with Dad, Aunt Janise, Uncle Dirk, Tehrene, Karlissa, Rikki, Matt, Raelinn and Zachary. We rode slides, lounged on the lazy river, rode the waves in the wave pool, ate some dippin' dots and more! I think everyone had a really good time. I know I did. It's always so much fun to spend time with them!! I don't think I could have asked for a better day.

I haven't been running. What is my deal!? I can't pull myself out of bed in the morning, and that is about the only time I have been able to commit to getting out there. I do have one wimpy excuse - that I have been fighting off being sick. I just don't think that is a good one though. I will get back on track soon.

We are going to Backbone State Park this weekend and staying through Wednesday. I am hoping for nice weather, not too hot, not too cold. Sunday my niece Raelinn is in the play "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory". She is playing an Oompa Loompa and has a solo!! I am very excited to see her!

I will post more pictures when I have time!

Take Care!

Take Me Out to the Ball Game........

Take me out to the crowd! Gage's team (The Dragons) had a spine-tingling game last night. The game start time was at 8pm which was a little late for us and a lot late for Ella. But I tell you what, as daylight faded away and the lights came on, it sure added to the ambiance. And what a game they played!! It is astounding to me how much some of these kids have developed since the beginning of the season. I'm sure coach Wade can give himself a pat on the back for that!!
Observing the magic of baseball at any age level is immensely enjoyable to me, but watching my own son do so extremely well - that is something all in it's own.
I kept waiting for the hot dog and peanuts guy to come around - but fruit snacks and 'nilla wafers would just have to suffice.

Tomorrow is Ella's birthday. We are going to have a little get together so she can play some games with her wee friends. I'm sure it will be a lot of fun for her.

Until next time!

ORN: 7/19, 2.2 miles/23 min outside
7/20, 2.0 miles/21 min outside

PS: I was talking to someone today about the route I ran this morning. And this person said to me - "Were you actually running, or where you just jogging?" Guess what - to me it was a run - maybe to someone else (who runs faster) it would have been a jog - but to me it was a run. I have nothing against jogging, but seriously - what does it matter? Oh, I invited her to come on a "jog" with me so she could determine for herself, and she declined. Tee Hee

One Step at a Time

Yesterday was a rest day, so no run for me. I walked, but that was about it. Today I ran 2 miles and it was pretty good. I found a decent route that takes me right to the nature trail. I had to go past the never ending construction of Hiawatha's new City Hall - that wasn't all that pleasant or easy as they had the sidewalks torn up - but it worked and it was good. I am NOT a morning person, but had planned to get up around 5:30 and complete my run before my day started. I didn't actually head out until 7, but I did it and that is all that matters.

I just finished re-reading Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and it was just as good as it was the first read. I should be getting my new book in the mail this Saturday. I pre-ordered from Amazon - I am super excited, but also feeling a little meloncholy because this is the last book of the series. Ahhhh....All good things must come to an end.

This Saturday is Ella's birthday. She will be 3. I can hardly believe it! This is an age that I can remember back to. Maybe just a few memories, but they are there. Now that she has reached this age, I really have to look at her as a "big girl". No longer my baby, but always my baby. I am a little glum about this as well. I am so happy she is healthy - so happy that both the kids are! Gage is molding into this great baseball player. I may be a little bias because he is my child, but wow!! He is better now, at age 7 than I ever was. I think if he chooses to, he can go a long way with sports. It just somehow comes naturally to him. Must be from his dad!

I am indebted to something of a higher power than me for my children. I am grateful for the life I have been given, though not always perfect and absolutely not always easy. My kids, my family and my friends - all of you - have given me this. I have recently determined that my regularly said phrase "It could be worse", although undeniably true in most circumstances, should now be changed to "I am so thankful for what I have".

ORN: 2 miles/19:30 (outside)

The Starting Line

Have you ever been walking and felt the urge to break out into a run? This is an urge I get a lot. I don't think I was born an athlete or a runner, so this running thing, it does not come easy to me. Be that as it may, I know I can do it. If I really believe in myself, I know I can.

I have been running off an on (more off than on) for a few years now. I was forced into running when in the Army, and was pretty darn good at it for a non-athlete. My personal best 2 mile run was a 15:30. We ran every other day, 2 miles or more never exceeding 5 miles. While preggers with Gage, I stopped running when I was about 3 1/2 months along and didn't pick up running again until he was almost two! That is a seriously long lapse in time to not have run or been active in any way really. When I finally decided enough was enough, I could barely run 1/2 mile. I worked my way slowly up to running just one mile, and it nearly killed me. So what did I do? I threw in the towel again. I didn't remember it being so hard before. Well about year or so ago, I got that feeling back again. I just felt like something lingering in my mind was telling me to try again, not to give up on myself so easily. So I started to run again. I took it a little slower this time starting with my 1/2 mile run. Every so often I would add on 1/10 of a mile, or 2/10 or a mile until I reached a mile. By this time, the run was fun. I really started to enjoy running again. For the longest time, I did my two mile run and was done. The other day, something hit me. I don't know what it was, but I decided I wanted to run a marathon. It seems crazy! REALLY CRAZY! But something that I really want to do. Why, you might want to ask, would a person who could barely squeak out a 2 mile run, want or think she could run a marathon. My answer is - I just know I can do it. If I really believe in myself, I know I can.

So this is my starting line - Right here -
I am the only one who controls the outcome here. Just me - controlling how far I can push myself. I want to discover just what it is I am made of. I want to prove to myself that this is a goal I can reach and strengthen my spirit along the way.
I am going to start this journey by running a few local 5K (3.2 miles) runs and work my way up from there. The first race I have signed up for is the Marion Swamp Fox 5k run/walk. It is on Saturday, September 8Th. There are a few others, I will post when I get signed up for in the coming months. These are my short term goals. By next August, I am hoping to have made myself ready enough to run a half marathon. The one I have chosen is The LaSalle Bank Chicago Distance Classic. The owner if this race is John Bingham. He is an extremely inspiring writer and will I'm sure give me the silver lining I need every now and again.
My first attempt at running 3 miles took place yesterday.

ORN: 3 miles, 31 minutes (treadmill run)

(ORN means "Obligatory Running Note", from the original Dead Runners Society list that required every post to have some running content - and which I stole from John Bignham's blog.)
It's not plagiarism if you give the author credit is it? I think posting my runs will help me stay motivated - We will all see - won't we?

"It's knowing that you are in control of your body and, for a few minutes every day, your life."
John Bingham



Soooo...........Just get MOVIN"!!

Catch!

I have a lot of catching up to do! Between Gage's baseball practice and games and Wade's softball games and Ella's swim lessons and every other thing we are up to this summer it's hard to keep up with this.

For my birthday, my good friend Jaime and her boyfriend Rob came to Cedar Rapids and we went out to eat. It was nice to visit and catch up with them. Jaime has been a friend of mine for about 17 years now. WOW! She is another of my few "forever friends".
Love her!!

Every year Cedar Rapids has a huge celebration around the 4th of July. It lasts more than a week with lots of fun events. We didn't take part in much of it this year, but we did take the kids to Usher's Ferry one Saturday. It was a lot of fun. I wasn't sure how the kid's would like it, but they absolutely loved it! It was like stepping back in time. We got to go through all of the houses and old shops, there was even a hotel. It was really interesting. And the best part was there were no ropes keeping you out of things or off of things. You could sit on the furniture, touch the dishes, lay on the beds (we opted out of that). We took a mini train ride around the village and the kids loved that too! Gage thought the outhouses were really neat. There were a few houses that actually had running water and bathrooms - they must have been well off! The first house we went in, the woman who "lived" there told us a few stories and offered us fresh baked biscuits that she baked in this ancient wood fed oven. I think that really set the tone for the rest of the visit. I will post some of the pictures so you can see a few of the houses we got to see.

On the 4th of July, we decided to have a picnic and a hike. We went to Palo and had our picnic lunch near the lake. It was such a nice day outside. After lunch we went on the only nature trail they had. We didn't know that before we went, but it was a nice 2 mile trail. We saw a couple of snakes near the marsh area, heard a chorus of bull frogs, saw lots of animal tracks and spiders and Gage pointed out a few bugs he recognized from his bug books. There was a lot to see if you really looked, and the kids love to look! Ella walked almost the entire 2 miles. I was really proud of her! Wade took the kids downtown to see the fireworks that night. I stayed home for a little while, then went to the gym. It was a good day. :)

Last Friday, Gage and I went with a couple of his friends and their mom's to Adventureland. It was a blast! We did all the water rides and the kids got soaked. I managed to stay pretty dry somehow. The kids had so much fun, and the moms did too!

Saturday we went and got the kid's pictures taken at Smiley Face Productions. It was a lot of fun. They had an hour long photo shoot - and the owner and photographer Terilyn was awesome! We will get those back in about 2 more weeks. Yipee!

Ella went to my mom's last night, she is going to stay until Saturday morning until we pick her up to go to the Lost Island water park. I'm sure she will be good and spoiled the next time I see her. hehe

This is always for some reason a busy month for us, but we are busy having fun, so it is good!

I will post more pictures soon!

Although I appreciate the kind comments from my last post - about patience - I have to disagree. I don't find that I have a ton of patience. I lack more than I contain. My only super power is reflection. (as in reflecting on what I did wrong and wishing I could go back and change it, then feeling guilty for the rest of my life because you can't change the past)
Though I won't name any here, I can think of countless times where I have behaved ridiculously due to lack of patience. I have seriously lost sleep over these moments because I have surely hurt feelings!
I think I am going to start writing letters to people who I feel I have wronged to ease my guilt. Call it a self therapy prescription. I am a person who dwells on things for years to be honest. Why do I do this? Who knows but I know I am not the only one out there. Am I?

If you get a letter from me, please do not feel obligated to respond. If you do respond, please don't expect me to acknowledge in person that I wrote or sent a letter - of any kind. HeHe Kidding, just kidding!! Only about the responding to the response though. Can a person be more confusing and out of her mind?!

Sheesh.