Weekend Wrap-Up

Happy Sunday!

We had a busy weekend...starting with MY RACE on Saturday morning!  It. Was. Hot.

My last long run (8 miles, last Friday) happened in 30 degrees and snow.  Yesterday was like 70s.

But it went pretty well.  I started out too fast and then got too slow by the end.  But I finished pretty close to my goal: 1 hour 32 minutes.  It was right under a 10 minute mile pace average.  So I gotta work on speed for the rest of my half marathon training.

Anyway.  The race was called the Hot Chocolate 15K.

It was right downtown, so I had a good crew there to cheer me on: Boom, Chris, Callie, Maya, Auntie Yoda, and Uncle Craigles.

At the end of the race, I got a hot chocolate (that was promptly poured into the garbage with lots of other hot chocolates because SO HOT) and fondue-style chocolate with various dippers.  Callie helped me eat it all.

Later on, I desperately needed a nap.  Chris took the girls over to G-ma and Pa's house and they worked with G-ma outside.

That night my mom and I were going to go to a concert, but opted to get ice cream and walk around downtown instead.

We walked long enough to see the moon glow through a big tree with a huge eagle's nest in it.

After running a 9.3 mile race, and then a 45 minute walk home, and then an hour long walk that evening, I logged SO MANY STEPS.

Today Chris and I had a little time to ourselves, because Auntie Cat watched the girls.  We took advantage of it by eating lunch at a new place near our house.  Delicious.

Then we were responsible adults and did yard work.  We clearly had a big stick problem that is now contained in one area of our yard instead of many.  There were some sunrays off an on, too.

We spent some time with Auntie Cat, G-ma and Pa, and then took the girls to the park.  It was just too nice out.

We ended the weekend on our bed with lots of giggles. Can't beat that.

A Picture Update

Happy Friday-

It is mid-April.  Not sure how that happened.

But thankfully it has been lovely outside the past couple of days, which makes life more pleasant all around.

That's all I got for you tonight, besides pictures.  Here we go.

I had Monday off, and got to spend it with this LOONY TOON.
Seriously, this girl has some spunk.

She got to hang out with Boom on Tuesday and Friday.  On Tuesday she was in a jacket and hat.
Today it was a t-shirt.  Hooray for spring!

She hung out with G-ma on Wednesday.

We went to the park on Wednesday evening...Callie was even in a tank top and shorts!

On Thursday evening we went to the driving range.  Chris is working on getting the girls onto the LPGA tour someday.

Tonight we went out to dinner and this one was  TOTAL nightmare.
Her cute little smile is deceiving.
From jumping on the booth to screaming if we didn't bow to her every command...
Chris and I vowed to not go out to eat again with the children for a long long time.

Here I am with my Vanilla Shake- my pre-race ritual.

My 15K race is tomorrow morning.  It is 9.3 miles and I really believe I'm ready.  I have been diligent about my training- waking up at 5:15am a few days a week to run on the treadmill or do cross training, and doing long runs on the weekends.

In fact, I feel so ready that I did something kind of silly.  I signed up for another half marathon- one that is happening in a month and a half.  So the training will continue, and I'll be ready for 13.1 on June 5th.  I'm sure come Monday morning, when I will have to wake up to do 5 miles on the treadmill, I will be kicking myself.  But it seemed like a good idea a few days ago...

Anyway, send positive vibes my way tomorrow morning from about 9am-10:30am if you think of it!

Timehop Tuesday

Holy moly I'm tired after day 1 back from break! Here are the Timehops.

Weekend Wrap-Up: The 65th Anniversary Edition!

Happy Sunday!

I'm going to do my wrap-up backwards, starting with today, because almost all of the Gosselin clan (except for my husband, one great-grandchild and a few cousin-in-laws) got together to celebrate Nana and Papa's 65th wedding anniversary!  It was quite the celebration...including 12 little great-grandkids!  There was a great photo slideshow going, so I got a quick picture of one of Nana and Papa's wedding photos, and had to put it side-by-side with their picture from today.

And then we took pictures of all of the different groups, starting with the littlest ones- their GREAT- GRAND CHILDREN (12 out of 13, with Eliana being represented on Carlos' phone in the back!).

And then their GRAND CHILDREN (with Chris being represented by a seal in the back left corner).

And last, but not least, their four CHILDREN.

A fun time was had by all, including our girls, who hung on Uncle Dan and played outside with all the other kids!

Congrats Nana and Papa!

As for the rest of the weekend...on Saturday while I took Callie to dance, Maya went with Boom, Auntie Mari and Auntie Yoda to visit Elliott.  She "hunted" Elliott, as the kitty kept hiding from her, mostly.

It sounds like she was pretty bossy.


IMG_4315 from Baby Goose on Vimeo.

Our exciting entertainment for the afternoon was an ANNIE PARTY!  Callie's dance recital dance is "Hard Knock Life" from the musical "Annie," so we decided it would be fun to have a Gosselin/Henderson girls watch party at the condo.  And it WAS fun (though "Annie" really is a strange movie...).  Callie even requested that her hair be curled for the occasion.

Hmm...not much else to report for the rest of the weekend.  I got some Maya cuddles last night before bedtime.

And Chris got home this afternoon (hooray!) so I was able to do a little cross training...like hill sprints.  I pushed myself going up the hill, but got to look at this view each time I walked down the hill.

I actually have one more day of spring break, and then it is back to work on Tuesday.  It has been a fast 10 days, but I know that summer will be here before we know it.

A Picture Update: The Spring Break Edition!

Hi there!  How is it already Friday?!?!?  This has been a pretty fast week of break.

We didn't do anything super exciting (well, I should say the girls and I didn't do anything super exciting...Chris did some skiing in Colorado!), but it was lovely to be home and relax and spend more quality time with two crazy girls who equally drive me crazy and make my heart melt.

I mean, seriously, the drove me a little crazy.  Especially around 5:00.  Daily. Callie had school this week, but came home just HYPED UP every afternoon.  And then she and Maya would inevitably get into it and then there was yelling and hitting and crying and then laughing and running and jumping and rolling and flopping and tackling and everything in between.  Here's some photographic evidence:

Yes, Maya is usually the instigator.  She's a brave and tough little cookie.

Anyway, lots more to get to.

On Monday, Maya and my mom and I went to visit Chris at his new office.  It was pretty sweet, and Maya enjoyed some of their perks...like getting to ride a scooter.

On Tuesday, Maya and I went to get her a haircut (finally!).  Bye bye shaggy head, hello cute little bob!

Then we went to the indoor play place and Maya was a HAM!  She had a blast.

After nap time, Maya was CRACKING ME UP while "reading" to herself.  I got a series of videos, but this one is by far my favorite.  The way she tries to describe how to look like Sylvester McMonkey McBean is just priceless.

IMG_4177 from Baby Goose on Vimeo.

Daddy got in the fray that evening, and had fun wrestling and playing with the girls before leaving the next day for his fun vacation.  Callie showed that her energy level is unbeatable.

IMG_4185 from Baby Goose on Vimeo.

G-ma took Maya to Bible Class on Wednesday morning, as usual.  During my "me" time, I ran 5 miles and then organized my side of the closet.  Then G-ma and Maya met me and Boom for lunch.

All week Callie worked on her first research project about the Canada Lynx.

She spent some time practicing for her presentation on Thursday, and I was probably too overbearing while she was practicing.

IMG_4121 from Baby Goose on Vimeo.

And then Maya wanted a turn too.

IMG_4189 from Baby Goose on Vimeo.

Thursday arrived, and I dropped Callie off at school with her hot pink posterboard.  Her teacher sent me some pictures of her giving her presentation to the class, and said she did a great job!  When I picked Cal up at the end of the day and asked her how it went, she said "I wish I could have done it TWICE!"  She had so much fun with the whole process.  It was fun to see.

Meanwhile, Maya, Pa and I went to morning story time at the library.  Maya was a total weirdo and did not pay attention to anything at story time and was a weird cling-on to me the whole time.  Sometimes she is so much like her big sister, it is creepy.

She also had her first successful pee in the potty!  I'm totally avoiding potty training at this point, but if she asks to sit on the potty, we oblige.  She usually stays on there for about 2 seconds and wants to get off, but yesterday I gave her the ipad to keep her on there longer, and it worked!

My plan is to hold off on actual potty training until the beginning of summer, but it never hurts to plant the seed...

Last night we met Boom, Auntie Mari and Auntie Cat for an impromptu dinner.

Maya hung out with Boom all day today.

I spent my other "me" time running again...8 miles.  I ran in my old neighborhood (including running past the house I grew up in), and the weather was crazy.  There was some serious snow at times, and some sunshine at times.  But I made it, and was relieved to find that 8 miles felt pretty easy.

Then I napped. And then I went to the cemetery.

I picked up both girls and swung by Caribou because...so tired. I proceeded to vie for some parenting awards, clearly.

After dinner the sun was out, so despite the 30 degree weather we went on a wagon ride.

Let's see...I guess one of the things I'm thankful for about this week is the one-on-one time I got to spend with Maya.  I don't get that a lot during a normal crazy workweek.  I loved it.

And Callie's spring school picture turned out adorable.

I'll leave you with some pretty mountains that Chris is enjoying in CO.

Timehop Tuesday

Happy Tuesday!

First up: sweet Callie on Easter.

Then: sweet Maya's face.

Then: sweet Callie's face.

Next: sweet Maya eating.

Last: A different set of sisters.