Washington DC Trip

Okay, so I don't really have the energy or the ambition to sit here and narrate the play-by-play of our trip, nor do I really think you want to hear it, so I'm just going to slap some pictures up with a little bit of commentary. Maybe someday I'll be able to come back and get specific.

In a nutshell, we saw: the Lincoln Memorial, Jefferson Memorial, Arlington Cemetery, Marine Memorial/Iwa Jima, the Capitol, Washington Monument, Washington National's game, Dupont Circle, the White House (outside only - *insert sarcasm* thanks to Chet Edwards), Library of Congress, Trader Joe's (HA!), the Vietnam Memorial, the Korean War Memorial, the WWII Memorial, Union Station, National History Smithsonian, American History Smithsonian, the Reagan Center, Marine One land on the White House lawn, the Old Post Office tower, the Metro (many times), Watergate, the Kennedy Center, the mall, and what am I leaving out? Hmmm...anyway, here are some quick shots of our trip - not such the photographer this trip. But enjoy!

Arlington National Cemetery






National's Park


Capitol at dusk


If you even know me one bit...you know what this is all about.


Vietnam memorial


WWII Memorial at dusk


Science and Natural History Smithsonian. For Megan...Daddy and a dinosaur fossil - two of her favorite things!


Marine Memorial - notice all of the middle school kids? UGH. I could really go on and on about having to be surrounded by middle school kids for 4 days, but I won't.


View of DC from the Netherlands hill


Marine One landing on the White House lawn. Blurry but thrilling.


We had such a wonderful time together. No exaggeration, we hit the pavement - either running or sight-seeing - early every morning and didn't go to bed until after 11:30 p.m. every night. We missed the kids, but were so glad we didn't have to drag them through the Metro and historical sites. Thanks, Gran and Papa, for taking care of the kids and letting us have a wonderful vacation together.

Zoo Run

Okay, I can say now, without a doubt, that I'm addicted to running. Eh, there are worse things to be addicted to, right?

We participated in the Zoo run on Saturday. We got up when it was still dark on a Saturday morning to run. Silly. Daddy ran the 10K, and I ran the 5K.

Megan wanted a sign for Daddy, so I sneakily made one the night before the race. She held it up and cheered as he ran by. She was so proud of herself.



My friends Kez and Elizabeth came with us to push the strollers for the 5K so I could run. Thank you, girls!



It rained the day and night before, as well as off and on that morning. That wouldn't have been too bad had the whole race area NOT been on a big, grassy field - which turned into a big muddy mess. The kids had mud everywhere and the stroller wheels were an inch or two thick with mud. Fun stuff to clean up afterward! Anyway, we had a great time. I didn't run as well as I did last week, but I couldn't get past the bottleneck of people lolly-gagging through the zoo. Hello, people...RUN! Look at the cute little gorilla later or at least quit standing in the middle of the path.

We're not signed up for another run until the end of May. It'll be my first 10K, so I have plenty of work to do between now and then.

REAL Texans

Real Texans have pictures in the bluebonnets every year, right? Thank you for all of the emails, messages, and calls! I found some bluebonnets.

Do I even have to say anything about these?















And just for good measure, his real attitude towards being out in the bluebonnets:

America's Run 2010!

The most popular question of the week: "How was your race?" Well, I'll finally tell you.

In a nutshell, it was great! I couldn't have picked a better race for my "first" race. Mind you, I used to run these things with my dad when I was younger...as in like 15-20 years ago, so it's not technically my first race, but it's the first time in a long time that I've paid to run.

It was a cool, overcast morning at Cowboys Stadium. The weather perfect for running. The kids stayed with grandparents, and we met our running buddies out at the stadium. We ran with Kati, Ryan, Doug (neighbor), and Justin (neighbor). We had all levels of runners...experts to beginners.

The 'hood runners


My goal was not to win the race but to run without having to stop, no matter what my pace. Just finish without stopping. And...drumroll...I did it! Not only did I achieve my goal, but I beat myself! I ran my fastest 5K and fastest mile ever. When I share my stats here in a minute, please reflect on the previous post about how I'm not an athlete. Then you won't be so shocked by the "fastest" stats. Usually, I run a 10:10-10:30 mile. You know, just a nice leisurely run. Well, my average pace for the race was a 9:35 mile with my last mile being a 9:16 mile. Not too shabby for just starting 2 months ago, eh? I'm happy with it.

Let me just say that this was one fun run. As it turned out, I ended up running most of the route by myself. I was worried about that at first, because then I had to rely on myself to push myself, but I got comfortable and it didn't even bother me. And myself was a good motivator! I thumped along to my ipod running playlist (will share below) and got into a groove. My favorite memory of the race, that I will never forget, is: I came across the bridge, stadium in sight. My audio cue warned me that I had just run 3.0 miles at a 9:16 pace. Brilliant. Big smile. Last chorus of one song. Oh crap...a hill. Seriously? I've just run 3 miles and I have to go up a steep hill? *insert not-so-lady-like cuss word* Oh wait, the Cowboys Stadium tunnel to the field? Last notes of the previous song ends. Pause between songs. And just as my foot crossed the threshold of the Cowboys tunnel..."Eye of the Tiger" blasts through my earbuds. It was so awesome to cross the finish line to "Eye of the Tiger". I didn't even make it to my normal last song of a 5K run, "Hurts so Good". HA!

Anyhow, enough jibberish for now. These are the only pics we have of the race because well, it's frowned upon to whip out your Nikon while running. (Hey, you know I thought about it...)

Almost to the finish line (I'm the 2nd blur on the right) on the BIG screen.


JUST crossed the finish line and just slightly proud of myself.


Me and some members of my running support team...they both ran much faster than I did and do they look the least bit winded? I think not. Boo. :) I'll look like that someday, right???




Just for fun, here's my running play list (alpha order...I have it in a separate order for specific run times or I just shuffle). Some songs have special meaning (*), others just have a motivational message/beat/tune. If you have any suggestions, please let me know!

The Anthem - Good Charlotte
Beautiful Day - U2
*Better Man - Pearl Jam
Birdhouse In Your Soul - They Might Be Giants
*Bitch - Meredith Brooks
Born to Run - Bruce Springsteen
Can I Get A... - Jay-Z
Chariot - Gavin DeGraw
Come on Eileen - Dexy's Midnight Runners
Comfort Eagle - Cake
The Distance - Cake
Don't Stop Believin' - Journey
Elevation - U2
Eye of the Tiger - Survivor
Float On - Modest Mouse
Go West - Pet Shot Boys
Hangin' Around - Counting Crows
Harder to Breathe - Maroon 5
Here Comes the Sun - The Beatles
Hurts So Good - John Mellencamp
I'll Be That Girl - Bare Naked Ladies
Laid - Matt Nathanson
Last Nite - The Strokes
Mr. E's Beautiful Blues - Eels
*Mr. Jones - Counting Crows
Streetcorner Symphany - Rob Thomas
Take Me Out - Franz Ferdinand
Wake Up Call - Maroon 5
Yeah! - Usher
You Can't Count On Me - Counting Crows

Mainstay Day

We went to cousin Gage's birthday party at Mainstay Farms on Saturday. It was a beautiful day! The kids had a blast on the hay ride, ginormous slide, the playground, the maze, and of course they had fun posing for me. HA!

Okay, can't tell from these pictures, but this slide goes down a pretty steep hill. All of the kids loved it!






Connor and Daddy wandering through the maze.


Couldn't resist...


...twice...




Isn't this just the cutest cake???


Happy birthday, Gage! And thanks for inviting us!

Family sports day

I really couldn't think of anything else to name this post, other than the obvious, so just enjoy my cheesy little title.

We had to pick up our race packets today, so we got to go IN Cowboy's Stadium. That was a very big thrill for Megan and me because we haven't actually been INSIDE before (Connor really couldn't care less). Meg was bummed that there wasn't a game and was very willing to "spend all her money to get to go out on that field...please, oh please, Daddy?" Both kids were very well behaved, and it was smooth sailing for me to pick up the packets.



Daddy came part-way through the process to help, and oh, that really was a big help. We also managed to get family picture (totally spontaneous, so be forgiving). A very nice, anonymous lady offered to take our picture - she said she had the same camera as me, and she knew what she was doing (most people start freaking out when I say they have to look through the eye hole thingy).





After a rather long afternoon, and only short naps, we went to the Rangers game with Papa (thank you!) for Daddy's birthday. At first, Connor was a little rambunctious and would not sit still. After about 30 minutes of his up-down, flip-floppin-ness, I looked at Daddy and said, "Uh, maybe this wasn't such a good idea..." Con-man must've heard me because he settled down right after that. He snuggled down on me and just watched the game. He cheered and clapped too but not always at the most appropriate times. Both kids stayed awake through the entire game AND fireworks show. Megan even stayed up all the way home, too.

160, baby!

Way to go, Daddy! 160, yep, that's a pretty great number in this house. I know you're just dying to know what that means, so I'll tell ya.

Many moons ago, Daddy had a cholesterol test. It came back in the "scary" range - a.k.a the danger zone, as in over 240. It bothered me enough to revamp our whole "menu", since I'm the family cook, taking special care to try to help out as much as possible. We started eating very healthy, organic, blah, blah but then we had a few set-backs: when I was pregnant with Connor, I ate CRAP (sodium and fattening foods), so that's what I fed the family too; and when we were eating healthily, Daddy would kinda cheat when I wasn't around...there's a very tempting What-a-burger in the parking lot of his work. Shocker, right?

LONG story short, Daddy went to the doctor 2 months ago for a physical. His cholesterol was 226. The doctor wrote him a prescription for cholesterol meds and told him that he needed to make some changes. Since then, we've eaten very healthily (no cheating) and he started running with me - and even more than me. Last week, Daddy went back for a follow-up appointment. Drumroll...after only 2 months, his cholesterol went down to 160! His doctor is very impressed and took back the prescription that he wrote. The doctor's even trying to talk Daddy into training for a triathlon. Whoa...

I'm proud of him! This whole running, eating better, feeling better thing is fun. It's a challenge for both of us but a welcomed challenge. More updates to follow...we're running our first race on Sunday!

Trail Dust

We went to Trail Dust tonight for cousin Gage's birthday dinner. Needless to say, we all had a blast. Megan and Connor LOVED the slide. Megan became one with the dance floor.





(I would suggest you watch the entire thing to get the full experience...)

Easter

Actually, I really want to title this one "Sugared Up" because that's really what it was this Easter morning.

The kids hunted plastic Easter eggs in the living room. Megan was really quite good about letting Connor "find" some...as in she walked over there and pointed it out until he picked it up. Since the Easter Bunny is SO smart and knows we try not to eat a ton of candy around here, he brought the kids a few pieces of candy and also money in the eggs. Megan opened one to find "paper money". Later, she told her friend (while on the phone) that she got "ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS!!!". HA!





CHOCOLATE!


Connor helped finish off the 2 carrots the Easter Bunny was too full to eat last night.


Grandpa came over this afternoon. Boy, Megan wore him out! They hunted dyed Easter eggs outside, flew kites, went for a walk, played on the play set, had root beer floats, played Barbies, and various other activities. I bet he sleeps well tonight!

Dying eggs and children, too!

Nice, clean, happy children before dying Easter eggs.


Megan in deep concentration and several different shades of color.


Megan coloring...Connor squealing because he doesn't have an egg to crunch on...


Notice there are plenty of aquamarine ones?


Does this collage of pictures really need an explanation? I think not.


(Yeah, yeah, yeah...my pics aren't edited, and they are all different shades/exposures, etc. But try to shoot pics of 2 rambunctious kids grabbing at everything in sight. They are what they are.)

Egg Hunt

We went to Gran and Papa's annual neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt. It used to be in one of the neighbor's yards, but they moved it to the elementary school this year. Both of our kids had a blast!

Megan stood with the Easter Bunny, but she wanted it understood that she knew it was a costume because she "saw the neck hanging out the back". Dang humans.


Connor wouldn't have anything to do with the Easter Bunny, but he agreed to a picture with me.


The cousins entertaining themselves and planning a strategy before the hunt.


Megan and Mandy were so happy to see each other. They played all day together.


Connor's age group went first. We weren't sure he'd know what to do or catch on very quickly. He is a quick learner! Daddy showed him what to do with the first piece of candy, and he did it all by himself for the other 8.




Connor's first sucker. My, oh my, that was a huge mess.


Daddy and Connor


Megan's turn! She was fast and furious!




After the hunt, we went to Gran and Papa's for food and play time. This is one sturdy swingset!