5k pics

Of course as luck would have it- I left my camera at home for my first 5k!  Ugh!  But, luckily Karen had hers.  Chris took lots of pictures and here are a few of them!

A before and in a sense an after shot.  This is the picture of my the day of my first 5k and the day I had lost 50 pounds!! 

Me and my 5k running/loving sister-in-law Karen.  We did not run together.  She runs her 5ks in like 20 minutes.

Run Forrest!  Run!!

Still Going.  This was actually the first during pic.  See, there are still people near me. 

This is more like it.  No one ran near me.  I am too slow!  :0)

I was smiling so much becuase right below the camera was the best cheering section ever!  Caleb and Carter were yelling "Mommy!" everytime they saw me.  Carter would jump up and down and look so excited.  It made all this work the last several months feel sooo worth all the effort. 

Finishing in the race.  :0)  I didn't walk once.  When I passed the starting clock it said 00:14.  When I passed the finish clock it said 35:56. 

I did it!!

What a day!

This morning I weighed in with an official 50 pound weight loss!!  After that I went to my 5k, ran the entire thing in about 36 minutes!   Both huge goals met!  I am not really sure what my goals will be next.  This day was such a long time coming, I never thought it would actually ever be here.

After the 5k we went back to the house and I got ready for the parade. I walked with Kids Club in the parade, then came home to feed all the kids and people at my house waiting to go to Mud Volleyball.  On the way up to the courts Caleb and I went and signed him up for the Pedal Tractor Pull.  He enjoyed doing it.  It only lasted about 10 seconds.  He pulled it about 17 feet 5 inches. 

After that we went to sit at the Mud Volleball courts and root on the Mud Mafia!  :0)  They did extremely well winning 2nd place!  Within the 7 hours of Mud Volleyball we walked around looking at craft booths, getting food, going on rides, playing with water...  Carter managed to take a nap in the umbrella stroller of all places! 

We got home about 7:00 and everyone showered and ate pizza.  Carter got to bed a little before 9:00.  Caleb really wanted to stay up for fireworks even though he was extremely tired... Well, he laid down on the couch and ended up crashing hard!  The fireworks just started and Chris attempted to wake him up, but he was so out cold he didn't even budge! 

Now that I have updated everyone I am going to take my very tired butt to bed! 

Preschool

Caleb started preschool this week.  I dropped him off on Monday, but since I had a meeting that morning I had to leave Carter, too.  So it didn't really feel any different than any other day.  But, Tuesday when Carter and I left Caleb at daycare it did feel a little different walking home with only Carter.  Carter kept asking "Where Cayub?"  Tuesday Carter and I filled our morning walking to the library and the grocery store (which is new in town).  Then we came home ate lunch, then went and picked up Caleb.  Today we filled our morning with BABIES!!  My friend Jessica who I worked with at Collins-Maxwell just had triplets!!  Amazing!  She was able to carry them for 35 weeks!!  They were born on 8/9/10.  :0)  They were all awesome- Gavin had to stay in the NICU for a short time, but they are all already close to 5 pounds or more.  I got to hold Gracyn the most, then I held Gage, too.  Carter did pretty well while we were there.  He was pretty interested in the babies, but more interested in the new toys and the puppy that was on the other side of the sliding glass door.  I got to hold Carter and Gracyn for a picture and all 3 babies for a picture.  I made sure I brought lots of diapers and a big lasagna.  :o)  Tomorrow we are going to meet a friend and her to kids to walk at Ada Hayden in Ames. 

2 days left

I ran 3.35 miles tonight to prepare for my 5k on Saturday.  My time is pretty slow, but I did it- so there.  It has been so nice out the last couple days.  I was wishing yesterday that the bugs weren't so bad and last night they sprayed and I think it actually helped!  Finally! 

Floods

We have had a lot of flooding around here lately.  A couple weeks ago most of Ames was completely under water.  Wal Mart was CLOSED!!  That is how bad it was!  lol  Anyway, it hit several homes in our community as well.  Our neighbors had water in their basements and lost some of their things.  We are fortunate enough that the last 2 times our street flooded, we didn't have any moisture downstairs.  Our house is on a slight enough hill and is a split level so we didn't get water.  (knock on wood)

Well, the point of this post is that one of my Kids Club families had extensive flooding and damage to their home and belongings.  katidisaster.blogspot.com  She is a single mother with 4 boys and they lost just about everything.  Reading her blog just put so many things into perspective for me.  I complain about not having "enough money", not having my kitchen or bathroom remodeled, etc, etc...  but, for her to have to deal with this disaster on top of trying to scrounge enough money together just so they could move...  ugh.  I want to try and help this family anyway I can.  I think I am going to go through goodwill and look for books and toys for the boys.  Check out the clearance for winter clothes...  I just wish I could do more.  I am not super close to this family, but it really breaks my heart to hear about all the strife she is going through right now. 

Shopping- the opposite. :0)

We did the opposite of shopping yesterday.  :0)  We actually cleaned out our closets and dressers.  We got rid of so many clothes!  3 big garbage bags to be exact.  I wish we had someone to give them to... We ended up giving them to Salvation Army.  There were actually some really decent clothes that we were able to donate. 

Just shows me how much I have to go shopping for winter.  At least this time when I buy clothes they will fit for awhile (hopefully?)...   I need jeans, dress pants, sweaters, nice tops...  tops for Hawaii...  ugh. 

Shopping, yes I think that is every other post!

Well, I had some Kohl's dollars to spend before Wednesday so Sunday we ran to Kohl's to look for jeans.  Chris didn't find any he liked, so I looked for jeans.  I think no matter what size you are- shopping for jeans sucks!  They would fit and look really good, but they were 5 inches too long.  They would be the right size and look okay, but the gap in the back would stick out like crazy!  Frustrating!  I don't know why jeans can't be easy like capri pants?! 

Long story short- I didn't buy any jeans yet.  But I found a cute pair of brown dress shoes and after my Kohl's dollars and other coupons I got them for $9!  Sweet! 

I also had 2 $10 coupons for JCPenney's so we were able to get 3 pairs of jeans for Chris for $25!  We were doing pretty good with coupons and deals! 

I am surprised at how well Caleb and Carter do shopping.  Caleb stays pretty entertained because I allow him to play the Nintendo DS while he is in the cart or stroller.  Carter gets bored sometimes, but if you allow him his paci or give him some snacks, he's not too bad.

~~Our State Fair is a GREAT State Fair~~

And a BUSY one!!! Chris got free tickets to the State Fair again this year, so we decided to go this morning.  It was actually pretty nice out this morning- not too hot.  But, I think the nice weather brought out LOTS of extra people.  By 1:00 I was ready to leave. It was sooo crowded.  Everyone was walking soo slow and was in everyone else's way.  We had to stand to eat our lunch because we couldn't find an empty table or bench.  After lunch the boys had about enough as well.  So, we decided to hit the baby animal building quick on the way out and we left for home.  We weren't even out of the parking lot and Carter was already crashed!  We didn't do anything too spectacular or out of the ordinary.  We hit the petting zoo, watched a horse show (boring) and then looked through the horse barn and the sheep barn.  We got to watch them shear the sheep.  Carter gets a little nervous around the animals, but likes them for the most part.  Espacially the baby ducks and chicks we got to see.  We got our traditional foot long corn dog again- normally this is just Chris' and my tradition, but the boys actually eat corn dogs now, so they got the corn dog.  Chris and I got tenderloins.  I really wanted some cheese curds, but we were starved and needed real food- and for $5.50 I could live without them.  I didn't have any crazy foods on a stick.  They are difficult to find. It is so busy to walk slow and get to all the food carts I couldn't find any "fun" foods.  But, at least we didn't eat pizza!

Dentist

Caleb and Carter both had dentist appointments yesterday.  I had been prepping Caleb so he wouldn't be nervous.  The last several times he has gone they just use a toothbrush and the dentist counts and labels his teeth.  This time though, they threw me for a loop and decided they would polish his teeth, too.  I didn't prep him for that so he was a little nervous, but did great. 

Carter on the other hand was not having any of it!  He had the strongest death-grip on me!  Though, when he screamed we were able to get a good look at his teeth!  :)  I found out that his crooked tooth in the front is actually an extra tooth.  It should come out when his permanent tooth comes in and most likely won't come in as a permanent tooth.  She said that it is genetic and if someone has extra teeth or missing teeth in the family that is the link.  I guess me not having all my wisdom teeth is the link to the extra tooth.  hmm.  Learn something new everyday! 

HOT!

I can't believe how hot it is!  I really wanted to run the last couple days- but it is too darn hot!!  It is hard on the boys, too since they can't play outside as much as they would like.  We have been trying to keep them entertained inside, but there is only so much indoor play the boys can handle.  We went on a super long walk last night.  Caleb was definitely tuckered out when we got home! 

Nothing else is really going on right now.  My busy summer season is winding down quickly- school starts next Thursday.  There are a lot of changes going on right now.  I am losing all of my staff, a lady that works at the school that I had become friends with moved, a lot of my kids are growing up and either won't be at Kids Club or going to drop-in basis.  It is hard.  I am trying to keep my mond focused on my changes versus the changes going on around me. 

Caleb was wearing a pair of jammies this morning that he has worn since he was 3 and they were like 2 inches shorter than the last time I noticed him wearing them!  This kids is sprouting up like a weed!!  Makes me sad- he will be in preschool this Fall.  So every morning he will be at daycare from 8:15-11:45 while Carter and I are at home.  I am excited to have the one-on-one time with Carter, but sad to see my original baby grow up.  Next year at this time I will be sad because he will be starting Kindergarten!!!  These last few years have flown!! 

Carter is getting to be such a big boy!  He put his shoes on all by himself last night!  He has the best manners saying thank you, please and sorry when needed.  He is definitely a mimicker of Caleb.  Whatever Caleb does Carter does, too!  Good or bad.  He is growing up so fast!! 

I did it!

I attempted a long run last Sunday, but at about 1.75 miles I started to walk. I blame it on a lot of things, but the most important was my mental strength. I ran from the softball field around the block back to Timberlane, then over to Larson and back down to 4th to the hwy. When I was on Larson I stopped for a quick second at a families house I know so I wouldn't be rude. Then I had to stop again to wait for a car, then again at the hwy. I feel this helped to hinder my running "abilities". Among other things.

But, I made up for it tonight and finally have ran 2.5 miles! 2 more times and I will advance to 2.75! 3 more weeks until Prairifest!

I CAN do this!!  :o)