Falling into Fall!

The kids went back to school one week ago. Its hard to believe they are really this big and that I'm actually their mom, wow how time flies by! I'm very excited for school this year as Evan has started 3rd grade which means he will start getting report cards with "real" grades in all the main subjects... no more S or E grades like the little kids. He will be starting fall baseball very soon in addition to having dance 4 days a week.

Maddie is in for a busy Freshman year! She is taking Honors Biology I, Honors Algebra II, Honors English I, Spanish I, AP Human Geography (which she can earn college credit for) and Research. In addition to her course load, she has ROTC as an elective and is joining the drill team. For the fall season, she made the JV Volleyball team and plans on doing track in the spring! She just put in her request to run for Student Government Class Historian too. What an ambitious teenager!

Run, Run, Run!

Wow, its been 6 weeks since my last race post and I have done several since then! I'm still sticking with it...would like to say that I'm making amazing progress, but that would be a lie. I'm making slow but steady progress, with a few hard days. Going on the Bahama's cruise messed me up and then add in the fact that it has rained so much since hurricane season started, it has really hindered having any type of normal running schedule! On a good note, my Nike iPod level just turned green today which is a testiment of the miles I'm gradually accumilating.

Only 5 days until my first 10k event, the Turtle Trot (cant wait to get this shirt)...I've been watching the countdown clock on my blog for so long, cannot believe it is finally almost here. Am I ready to run 6.2 miles? I hope so!

The Lotto Run 5k where we met our new friend Bryan Rohlin.

Helene Neville and I...what an amazing woman! She ran across the nation in less than 90 days!

Me at the Vestcor Bridges run, still my personal best 5k race time at 33:34 and I even went over 2 bridges, crazy!

Leslie, Sarah and I at the Tour de Pain 5k!

I did it! I earned my shirt and the medal...3 races in less than 24 hours!

The gang at the Carrabba's Beaches Summer 5 mile run last night! Thats our new friend, Travis aka Flashy Pants, in the middle!

Bahama's Cruise

19 years ago Liz and I took a cruise the Bahama's when we were 14 years old...this August we continued to tradition! Maddie was able to bring a friend just like Liz did all those years ago and she chose Tori! We visited Nassau and Coco Cay on our 4 day trip. We even saw the ship we had sailed on all those years ago, the Carnival Fantasy, in port right next to our ship. It rained out a lot of the fun we could have had, but we still had a great time.

We welcomed Aunt Liz at the Melbourne, FL airport!

Liz and I got our drink on right away!

Maddie and I before dinner.

Our room attendant left us little towel creations each day in our cabin.

Toast to the Bahamas!

Liz and I in front of our boat in Nassau.

We let the girls go to Senor Frogs...they begged us to take them there!

The girls laying out on the pool deck!

Liz and I in front of our boat from 19 years ago, how crazy is that!

The girls with Nassau Staw Market and port in the background.

The water in Coco Cay was soooo clear!

Taking shelter from the rain in Coco Cay at the Island Bar.

Me on the deck before dinner the last night.

Busy, Busy, Busy!

Wow, Ive been so busy that I have really slacked off on my blog. My goal is to get it all caught up by the end of the week. :)

On Saturday I went down to the oldest city in the nation, St. Augustine, where I ran my first 5k event over a bridge!

My official time 34:48.

In front of the Castillo de San Marcos Fort with my running buddy, Sarah.

We watched the sunrise before the race started, beautiful!

The Bridge of Lions is behind me, we ran over the Intercoastal Waterway on our course.

4th of July weekend in Naples, FL!

Here are some pics from last weekend. We went down to Naples, FL to visit Kimmy and her family for 4th of July. The weather was less than cooperative and it rained or looked miserable for most of the trip...but we made the best of it and had a great time!

Ethan and Evan at Lowdermilk Park Beach

Me watching a pod of dolphins playing in front of us!

This storm rolled in and ruined our beach fun.

Sparkler fun time!

Me and my bestie!

Family photo in our Old Navy Flag t-shirts!

Opted for bowling instead of miniature golf at Congo River due to the weather.

Our yummy cake we made for the occasion!

The kids...Maddie, Evan, Owen and Ethan! Poor Owen, he broke his arm a week prior and had to miss out on the water fun at the pool and at the beach.

Moe's Firecracker 5k!

Vacation cant even stop me from running! Ran in the Moe's Firecracker 5k on the 4th of July while visiting Kimmy and her family in Naples, FL this weekend.

It drizzled the entire race (that's water on the camera lense)

Finished 604th out of 835 with a time of 34:29...my fastest race time so far!

Kimmy and Maddie made the Naples newspaper! http://www.naplesnews.com/photos/galleries/2010/jul/04/photo_gallery_1278267567300/121276/#section_header