Rain Rain Go Away

It's hard to be frustrated with 3 straight days of rain when we are in such a drought, but man enough already!  The rain started Friday morning and it has rained non stop since then.  Thankfully we didn't have plans on Friday, but Saturday the wet weather really made our outdoor plans icky . . . but it wasn't raining hard enough to cancel anything so we were just wet for what felt like all day. :(

We still found a few smiles after 11 miles!

Bright (actually dark) and early Saturday morning at 6:30 I headed out with my running buddy Melissa for our long run.  We really can't skip a run this close to our half and couldn't think about running 11 miles on a treadmill so off we went.  It was just nasty and misty for most of the run, but there were times throughout our 1 hour and 46 minutes running that it was truly raining.  Never the less, we finished and were soaked to the bone when we got home.  A warm shower sure felt good!

It's a goal, the first of FOUR today!!

 I just knew soccer would be cancelled, but after getting home from my run the kids were excited to let me know that it was NOT cancelled and we were going to be headed back out in the nasty rain for another hour.  It turned out to be an exciting game as our team scored over 20 goals against a team that they knew a lot of players on . . . and our little guy was thrilled to score 4 goals, 3 of them in a row!

I was pretty sore from my run, but had promised Savannah a girls day out since the boys had plans to go to a King and Country concert.  She chose to go to the mall and "window shop" so that's just what we did. :)  I bribed her with a treat of her choice as long as we could sit down and eat it.  (I needed to rest my achy body!!)  She chose a frosted lemonade from Chick fil A and we shared the yumminess before heading home to get dinner served up.  It was so cold that we switched up our meal plan for the weekend and opted for crock pot chili!

Loving one on one time with Savannah

 Preston couldn't wait for his time with daddy.  I gave Dave the option of taking Preston to the King and Country concert instead of me . . and I think it was more fun for both of them.  "Jammin' out to King and Country" has become their special thing to do when the girls are away so this was a perfect way for them to spend the afternoon.

Jammin' at the King and Country concert

The weather report is for an entire week of rain to come . . . I'm not sure I can take that many more days of this yuckiness or the thought of another long run in the rain.  Please Lord let the sun come out soon!!!

Catch Up Week

WOW!  I never imagined how busy life could be even with two kids in school for the entire day!  I have not stopped once to sit and just watch TV or relax . . . well unless you count the hours I spent tagging clothes for consignment and had the TV on for background noise. :)  But this week has been the official catch up week.  I've deliberately said NO to a lot of things so that I could spend more time at home and try to tackle my ever growing "pile in the office chair".  Now with one hour to go before the kids get off the bus I'm feeling much better.  The work isn't done, but I've made huge progress this week.  Here's a recap on all I've done just this week:

• caught up on pictures inserted and labeled in the albums
• finished laundry and dishes
• successfully handled several of my Aunt Kathy's estate issues
• cooked and delivered a meal to a friend
• sorted through the consignment pile of stuff that didn't sell 
• ebayed over 20 items
• caught on on blog posts
• took care of several Isagenix orders
• had the house cleaned
• bought and wrapped a few upcoming birthday presents
• started Christmas shopping
• had a play date at the park on Wednesday when the kids were out of school
• caught up on and attended Bible study (I'm LOVING my new study and small group)
• volunteered at PSE for a few hours
• rounded up volunteers for several PSE needs
• completed 2 mystery shops
• permanently staffed my 8 Sunday school rooms and sent out updated calendar
• sorted through my pile of coupons that needed to be clipped and filed
• balanced all of our accounts and Kathy's accounts
• and finally sorted through a massive pile of mail that had accumulated over the past few weeks

Now I'm ready for the weekend!  I feel so much better with a lot of this off of my plate.  Now if I can savor enough energy for my 11 mile run tomorrow . . . then Savannah and I are looking forward to a much needed girls day!!!  And then the fun starts again on Sunday with super double madness at Harris Teeter for 3 days only.  

Sunday Fun with Friends

So today after an insanely crazy week . . . um, who ever said that I'd be bored with two kids in school was NUTS . . . we decided to do a kid swap with our friends the Marions.  They took our kids this afternoon from 1-4 so Dave and I could get a few things checked off our lists and enjoy a quiet house.  Next week, we'll take their kiddos to return the favor.  As any mama of little ones knows, it's much easier when your kids have friends to entertain them! :)

Anyway, Kristin sent me this picture tonight.  She said according to Preston it was "the best day ever".  Funny what some Popsicles in the back of a pick up will do!  So thankful for friends to do life with!

Saturday Event Craziness

This morning started bright and early with the Brixx 10k uptown.  It was actually a breather in my training for a half marathon, but still took a lot of energy!  Dave and the kids decided to come early with me so that they could cheer me through the finish line. What a fun morning with perfect running weather.

Run mommy run!

I did well and set a new PR for a 10k.  I finished in 52:40, 8th in my age group!  We all enjoyed the pre and post race festivities, including the kiddos.

Kai, Eli, Savannah and Preston there to cheer their mommies on!

Melissa, my running buddy, and me post race

It was a family fun event because I also registered the kids for a 1-mile fun run.  They did awesome too!  I'm pretty sure Preston was the first kid to finish and Savannah did great as well. 

After the post race fun settled down we loaded up and headed straight to soccer. Well, that was after a car wash mystery shop that was on the way home. ;)  Thankfully there was plenty of food at the race (pizza, pasta, bread, granola bars, bagels, bananas, etc) so no one was hungry until after Preston's first soccer game of the season.  They had a great time and he is already enjoying Monday night practice and game time on Saturdays.

We practically sprinted home so Dave could watch the 12:30 Clemson gave.  Whew!  What an exhausting day!!  Now I just have to get to work on my consignment tags . . ugh!

Happy Birthday Dave!!

Today we celebrated my favorite person on the planet!  Happy happy birthday to the man who truly balances our family and keeps me sane.  I couldn't be more thankful to have such a generous, humble, hard-working, dedicated, loving and faithful husband.  Here's to many more years together!

Loving Labor Day Weekend

We have enjoyed a super-fun extended weekend!  On Saturday morning I went for my normal long run and Savannah had running club, but then we enjoyed a wonderful afternoon at home.  Sunday after church we decided to venture to Carowinds thinking it might not be crowded at night . . . boy were we wrong!  Even at 8pm the sinking carousel had a very long wait!

Carowinds family "fun"

Monday we opted for another family adventure and decided to get in some family exercise time.  We went to the Greenway . . . and guess what?  It was super crowded too.  Thankfully we were able to manage a decently long run with Dave and I running and the kids biking.

post exercise picture

It's always exciting when Daddy is home on a weekday! And Dave and I LOVE being able to spend afternoons with the kids just playing in the backyard and nothing else big planned . . .  well I did have one early birthday surprise for Daddy planned

WOW!  We managed to keep this a secret for weeks and he was very surprised!

For his birthday we bought Dave a custom Clemson corn hole set!  I'm not sure who loved it more, Dave or the kids, never-the-less they spend a few hours playing Monday afternoon.  What a great, fun way to wrap up our long holiday weekend. :)