There is Always a Way

It could be day 3, depending on how you are looking at it.  But, I am not including Saturday because 80% of the day ended up being traveling time and the rest of the day was spent trying not to die from all the traveling.

So, on Monday we had a pretty laid back day.  We started out the day with pigs in a blanket. 
I had to work from 9-5, so Mark and the kids left the house to go run around and I stayed home.  I set up shop on the front porch and I sipped my coffee and caught up on work related stuff.  It was a good temperature and it was nice to just sit and relax with the laptop.

Mark and the kids came back a little after lunch.  They had hit some stores and had a picnic at the playground.  They needed to settle down and try and relax and/or nap, so I headed out and took my laptop down to the pool.  Nate had made sure I had power before I got down there and he had a extension cord all set up for me.  He is so good to me;) 

The weather was beautiful.  I was able to soak up some rays and get work done at the same time. 
I love laying out in the sun.  I love getting a tan.  It is like watching a nice loaf of bread brown in the oven.  It is satisfying, I guess.  I don’t know…that is the best analogy that I could come up with.  I just enjoy the whole tanning thing I guess. 

Anyway, after a little while, Mark and the kids came down and joined me at the pool.  The kids did great.  They aren’t the best swimmers and we don’t go swimming often enough to work with them a lot.  Grammie had got them each a new pair of arm floaties, so they each put those on.  All three of them did really good and each had some time actually swimming/floating in the pool without any help.  They all three had trouble and got quite the mouth fulls of water, but there was definitely progress made. 

Pride in your kids is such a great thing.  Mark and I were so proud of how they behaved in the 26 hour car ride down here.  And yesterday we were so proud of how they worked hard to swim on their own.  It reminded us of the times when Nate was younger and had trouble swimming on his own.  Of course…he does not have trouble now, lol.  And we are so proud that they have been behaving very well so far this week.  I guess we should figure out a reward for them sometime this week:)

By the time we had swam for a while, it was getting dinner time.  We went back to the house and cooked up some spaghetti and ate it on the front porch.  Then we watched a movie on netflix - Rainbow Tribe.  Cute movie. 

Aydan was asleep in my lap before the movie was over.  All three of the little kids are sleeping in the same bed.  The first night did not go well.  Peyten is used to her crib and not being able to get out.  There was crying, etc.  Sunday night was better.  And last night was even better, although there was still a lot of getting out of bed.  Maybe tonight will be even easier.  We shall see.  At least once they are asleep, they sleep through the night.  Knock on wood. 

After the kids went to bed, Nate and I hopped in the car and went to find a redbox.  Turns out there was one a half mile down the road.  We got Footloose and Ides of March.  Both were good movies.

Yesterday was a day of relaxing.  It is nice to just have family time and not do too much running around.  I think tomorrow is going to be a beach day.  We shall see.  Tonight, Gramps and El are coming for a visit.  It will be nice to see them.  They have a house not too far from ours and were here for a couple months. 

Edit:  I wrote this post earlier today and almost forgot to post it.  So, a few things are now past tense instead of future tense..but whatever…I don’t feel like changing it now.  Plus, the pictures that I was going to add, won’t add, so I’m going to bed!  Goodnight all.

While I was driving this morning, (jamming out to Fat Bottomed Girls) I saw quite a few people running along the road.

I was jealous. 

It is amazing how your time gets filled up so quickly when you are on vacation.  Well, it is a working vacation for me, but still. 

Yesterday was lovely.  We picked up Nate early in the day and then went to get some lunch.
And then we went to Showcase of Fruits.  It is a fruit stand…well, more than a fruit stand that Nate and his mom work at.  We let the kids play on the playground.  And Aydan overcame some fears and made it to the top of the plaything.  The ladder rungs were a bit far apart and skinny for his liking.  But, he made it!

Getting down was another story…because the slide was “too hot” lol

Then we went on the tour of the orchards, etc.  They take you on this huge…well, it is basically a bus, painted striped, the top chopped off, a canopy put on, and then gigantic tires are put on.  So, monster bus? 

Sure, that sounds about right.  Anyway, the kids loved it.  You had to climb a ladder to get on to the thing and it bounced all around as it drives down the paths. 
And at one point it stops and the kids got to chuck oranges out and all the cows came up and ate them.  The oranges…not the kids.  But yeah, they had fun with that. 
We picked up some fresh fruit - oranges, grapefruit, tangerines before heading out.  Oh, and some marmalade.

Then we went to WalMart to pick up some provisions.  Food, sandals, bathing suit, t-shirts.  Sandals for Nate, shirts for Mark, and me a bathing suit.  The suit I bought last year was a tad too small for me.  Yeah, what a problem, right?!  So, I found one that would work for 12 bucks.  I can deal with that.  And I actually like it.  It is so hard for me to find suits that I like.  Either because of the style or the crazy patterns they come up with now a days.  I am a simple girl. 

By the time we got home from all of that it was nearly …wait, what time was it?  I think it was 6 or so.  We popped a pizza in the oven and relaxed.

We eat most of our meals on the screened in front porch.  Wouldn’t you?

And then we watched a movie with the kids before putting them to bed. 

I caught up on some work and then crawled in to bed.  I got some good rest.  I don’t think I woke up once before the kids came in the room and said “It’s morning time!!”  With big smiles on their faces…
I think I have finally recouped from the 26 hour car ride…lol

Anyway, yesterday was great.  We hung out, we relaxed, we laughed.  It is always nice when we can have all four kids together again.  And the kids missed Nathan so much.  Can you tell?

Charly, snuggling with her big brother on the monster bus :)

Well, I doubt I will get much running in this week.  When given the choice between family time and running time, well I will choose family every time.  So, we shall see. Maybe I can squeeze a run in at some point, but I am not going to beat myself up about it.  Training will resume back in Michigan.

For now, I am getting some work done and relaxing by the pool.  It is about 85 degrees right now and the sun is shining.  My skin is loving it.

I am going to make this a quick post…or try.  I really need to go to bed.  The road trip is over and we are soooo glad.

We had a 30 pack of Kudos, we were ready for the road trip.  I mean, what else do you need?  right?

We set the garmin and we left at 6pm Friday night.  The garmin told us that our arrival time would be 12:30pm the next day.  That is what we figured and what it has been in the past.  About 18+ hours. 

Well, our first traffic jam occurred about 2am and it lasted a little over 3 hours.  In those three hours, we went 12 miles.  There were many many cars and semis parked on the side of the road because they knew they weren’t going anywhere. 
This traffic jam was caused by 2 miles of one lane traffic at the end of the 12 miles.  

This happened after quite a big thunderstorm where traffic was moving, but would slow down at times.  The lightening was huge and beautiful though. 

After about 5am, we were chugging along.  Until we got past Atlanta.  More traffic back ups and more traffic back ups.  We would get backed up so many times, we lost count.  I think we went about 100 miles in 4 hours.  Not sure though. 

We just watched the garmin give us a later arrival time and a later one and a later one. 

We pulled in to the house tonight at 10 to 8.  The drive took us 7-1/2 more hours than expected.  Insane.

To say we are exhausted is a huge understatement.  My body is not liking me right now at all. 

I can say one good thing though.  Our kids are awesome.  They handled the long car ride with minimal amount of complaining and break downs.  That is great for a 5, 4, and 2 year old. 

The kids are finally asleep and I think I am going to go pass out…pass out is definitely the term to be used. Good night!

Today…yesterday….whatever.

Thursday…we will just say Thursday.  On Thursday, I woke up and worked and worked.  It was a busy day with work, but not insane like it has been.  Just nice and steady, so that was good.  Charly only had a half day of school, so her and Mark got to hang out while the other two napped in the afternoon.  They all stayed pretty quiet. 
In the evening, Mark and I went to visit a dear friend/cousin in the hospital.  He has been in the hospital for a little while now and it was good to just go and see his face and chat.  We didn’t stay too long, as he was getting tired and we needed to get back to Hartford. 
At 7, we had conferences for Charly.  She is doing well.  She has a few attitude type things to work on, but nothing new.  She is a bit bossy, she interrupts, and she doesn’t mind her own business.  Yep, sounds like when she is at home.  But, she is doing good with her counting, helping others, and she is getting better at her reading.  And, oh there was more, I can’t recall.  My brain is a bit mushy about now.  All in all, she is adjusting well and progressing. 
When we got home, we put the kids to bed and then I fell on to the couch and zoned out for about five minutes.  I was tired. 
Then I popped up.  Cuz you can’t just get up…you have to pop up!  I started some laundry.  I went downstairs and did some picking up.  I didn’t get all deep clean on the basement, but at least things are straight, toys aren’t scattered around, etc.  You can actually see most of the floor. 
Then I got a phone call from my dad and stepmom.  I chatted with them for a bit and cleaned my desk at the same time.  See how I multi-task like that?  Yeah, sweet. 
But, the time was flying by and I needed to get up to the church to get some cleaning done.  I swung in to McD’s and got a latte…I needed some caffeine at this point.  Kari was getting sleepy. 
I didn’t get up to the church until 9:45 and so I worked until about 12:15.  When I got home, I went in to the bathroom to see if I had some comfy pants in the dryer and walked in to ….well, what was left of a mess…of projectile vomiting.  It appears that someone had quite the issue and attempted to clean most of it up, but it was still everywhere.  Lovely.  Just what I needed.  I still don’t know who did it, because everyone is asleep.  I guess I will find out in the morning.  Hopefully, whoever it was is feeling better by the morning!  Aye.  As much as I hated to clean up the mess, I feel sorry for whoever did the messing. 
And dear Lord, please don’t let it follow us down to Florida…that could make for one difficult car ride!!
So, now it is almost 1:30 am and I am a bit wired.  I figured I would write this post and then hopefully go to bed after this.  I am wired, but I think when my head hits the pillow, sleep won’t be too far away.  I have a lot of stuff going on in this mind, but it is just going to have to shut off for a couple of hours.

Running?  Oh yeah…that didn’t happen.  Wednesday was a rest day and I was supposed to get in 6 miles on Thursday.  That just wasn’t possible and I highly doubt that I will have time Friday.  It will be work from 9-5 and then we head out on the road trip.  Hopefully I can get some miles in Saturday, but we shall see.  Because on vacation, family time always comes first. 

I love packing.  I love the challenge.  Trying to fit a week’s worth of supplies, two adults, and three little kids in a Jeep Commander.  Well, it can be difficult, but I think I have it under control.  We are taking the bare minimum.

The great part about traveling somewhere warm, you can pack light.  Shorts, tank tops, sandals.  Little stuff. 

We really don’t want to have all three kids in the back seat.  Pretty sure they will drive each other nuts….and us.  So, we are going to have half the third row up, with one kid back there.  And we will put the luggage in the other half of the trunk.  The only thing that I think that I will have to put back there is a large suitcase with all our clothes.  And a large plastic tub which will have swimming, gear, shoes, and some other odds and ends.  And our laptops will probably hide back there too. 

By the kids feet, will be diaper bag, toy bag, snack bag, and small cooler.  That should be enough stuff for the trip down.  And we are going to attempt to strap our Jeep stroller to the top of the car.  If that doesn’t work, we will take a smaller stroller inside the car. 

I already have a lot of stuff packed.  I did grocery shopping last night for everything we need while we are gone and for the road trip.  I caught up on all the kids laundry.  I will probably have one or two more loads to do before we leave on Friday.  I am planning one more run before then, so I want to wash those clothes before we leave.  Don’t really want sweaty clothes to sit for a week…

Oh, and if possible, I would like to vacuum out the Jeep before we go.  It is just much nicer that way.  And clean the house …basement, kids room, family room. 

So, I think I have a good handle on all of the above.  I am really ready to get out of dodge for a bit and see Nathan!! 

6.68 miles

1 hour 5 minutes 6 seconds

9:44 pace

This was not one of those runs where I was hopping up and down and could not wait to get out the door.  I definitely DID NOT want to run tonight.  But, I have a plan and I am going to do my best to stick with it.  And as we all know, the hardest part is getting out the door.  After that, it usually falls in to place. 

I kept the music mellow and I kept the pace easy.  I tried to concentrate on form.  I ran 3+ miles to the school and then did my Aerobic Intervals.  3 x 2:00, 2:30 minutes.  It totaled a mile and a half around the track. 

Then I made the mistake of stopping for about 30 seconds to stretch and take a drink of water.  Mr. Knee did not like that.

It took me about a mile to get to where I wasn’t running with a limp again.  Argh!  Such is life though.  I did my best to not let it slow me down. 

So, about 2 or so miles more and I was home. 

Now I am icing said knee and will shower and head out to do some grocery shopping.  Late night Meijer run = Kari time :) 

P.S.  I’m starving!  I know I ate dinner…I guess 6+ miles makes those calories disappear!

christwalk:

* Be true to yourself.
* Make each day your masterpiece.
* Help others.
* Drink deeply from good books, especially the Bible.
* Make friendship a fine art.
* Build a shelter against a rainy day.
* Pray for guidance and give thanks for your blessings every day.

Pretty much sums it up!

Week 3 done.  6 more weeks to go.

Tonight I got 5.89 miles in.  9:12 pace. The miles were lovely.  My knee ached during the run.  And it hurt like hell when I stopped running.  But, during the run, it wasn’t bad at all.  I was able to enjoy a smooth pace and the temperature was just perfect.  I don’t know the actual temp, I think it was around 50-55.  Chilly starting out, but a half mile in, it was just right. 

This week, I actually got my “prescribed” miles in.  I am proud of that.  17 was on the schedule and I did 18.38.  Although, the mileage only goes up from here, so we will see how this goes.  I will shoot for a lot and hope for the best.  And Spring Break week…not sure how that is going to go at all! 

Friday’s lesson:  If you decide to go ahead and grill outside because it is only sprinkling a little, it DOES NOT mean that it will stay sprinkling just a little while you grill.

Friday, Mark was headed out with some friends for a weekend at this place.  I decided to throw some burgers on the grill before they left.  I also had some asparagus to grill up.  I was debating doing everything in the house, but it was only sprinkling a little.  Yeah.  Well, I got the asparagus going.  The rain started to pick up.  I got the burgers on.  The rain started to pick up some more.  It was almost comical that every couple minutes, the rain was just coming down more and more.  The rain would splash on the grill, and lots of smoke would arise.  By the time I was done with all the food, I was soaked.  Water was dripping off the brim of my hat and my shirt and pants were drenched.  And this is with me only going out to flip.  I was running back and forth from the house.  I definitely had to change before dinner! 
Ah, good times though.

Saturday’s lesson(s):  If you give me the choice between cleaning the house or taking the kids to Bounceland.  Bounceland will probably win each time.  And I can not run a 25 minute 5k on a treadmill.

Mark was gone at his retreat, so it was just me and the kids for the day.  We mosied around in the morning.  And then a friend of mine, Jill, asked if we wanted to go to Bounceland today.  Well, I had planned on cleaning…ok, twist my arm!  The kids were excited.  I made sure Peyten got at least a little quiet time in her crib before we left.  I knew she wouldn’t actually nap, it was too early. 
We got to Bounceland and it didn’t take the kids long to get the lay of the land.  We spent 4 hours there.  I was surprised we were able to be there so long.  Jill and I sat at a table and chatted and the kids visited the table often needing one thing or another.  Peyten was all over the place and enjoyed the pre-school area.  And Aydan was in his own little world…right where he likes to be.  And Charly and Alissa had fun running around with eachother.  They all had rosy red cheeks after a while.  I was surprised the Aydan and Peyten did so well, without having a nap.  We had a couple cries due to conks on the head, but no melt downs or anything.

Once we got home, Charly went home with Alissa to spend the night.  And Aydan and Peyten laid on the couch and watched TV.  You could tell they were exhausted.  It isn’t often they will sit for any length of time like that unless they are tired.  Bed time wasn’t too far away. 

Once I got the kids in bed, I made sure Cindy could keep an eye out for them in case they got out of bed and I hopped on the treadmill to get a run in.  The schedule called for a “5k race”, but of course I did not have one planned.  So, I decided to try and run 3.1 miles in under 25 minutes on the treadmill.  I hadn’t run on the treadmill in quite some time, so wasn’t sure how my knee would do, etc.  (it did just fine, just a little ache)  Well, I started out at 7mph (8:34 pace) and I held that for a while, but in the second mile, I was getting fatigued and I knew I wouldn’t be able to keep that up.  I ended up doing intervals for a bit.  Walk 30 seconds, bump it up to 7.5-8.  And back down to 6 or walk and then back up and down, etc.  You get the idea.  I ended up finishing the 3.1 in 28:06.  I know I can run a 5k in less than that, but on a treadmill after a long day…nope.  It was a good work out though.  I was sweating a lot, which is always good.  And I felt like I was going to throw up after for at least 20 minutes.  Good?  Maybe. 

Then I hopped in the shower and then went up to the church to get some cleaning done.  Now, I am writing this post…obviously.  The latte that I had while cleaning might have been a bad idea.  Bad caffeine!  Bad caffeine!  Oh, I should be able to go to sleep anyway…yeah.

Tomorrow on the running schedule is 5 miles.  I should be able to squeeze that in, in the evening. 

Tomorrow morning, church.  Tomorrow afternoon, Peter Pan - High School play. 

Gonna be another good day!  

on Saturday.  We have the whole day ahead of us.  What to do?  What to do?  The kids are playing nicely for the moment.  I am sipping my coffee.  It is wet and chilly outside.  We had some toast and eggs (with ham and cheese) this morning. 

I love days off :)

9:46 pace.

I was hoping for some more miles, but I was happy with four. 

A good run was what I needed.  Mentally, physically, emotionally.  I was so tired, but a little R&R with the kiddos before heading out on my run helped as well.

By the time I got dressed, put my shoes on, put my music on, I was excited to go.  It was one of those runs when I started out, I just breathed in the air and felt like putting my hands up to the sky.  The world felt so big and vast and beautiful.  I had plenty of air to breathe in my lungs and it is always amazing that even just a short jog to get my heart rate up, can rejuvenate my soul. 

I had 4 miles on the schedule yesterday, I did not do.

Today is a rest day, but of course I need to make up the 4 miles I didn’t run yesterday.

It is 7pm and I am just now finishing wrapping up loose ends with work.

I am more than exhausted.  I feel like my head is gravitating towards a pillow and it is beyond my control.  My eyes are fuzzy.  And my head hurts.

I am going to go relax with the kiddos before they go to bed.

Then.  Then, I am hoping I magically get hit with a burst of energy and I can go enjoy this crazy warm March weather and get a run in.  I know my mind needs the fresh air.  My body needs the exercise.  And mentally, I need to get my mind away for at least 4 miles, if not more.  It is just a matter of tricking myself in to thinking I am not actually exhausted.

We will see what happens. 

We need to come up with a team name for our Adventure Race.  Any ideas?

Does anyone have some suggestions for us?  Brother and sister duo for a 6 hour adventure race…hmm….???

I think I need to go to bed now.  My mind is racing thinking about all these races…..