Family Fun and Fitness 5K

After the previously mentioned 5K, we walked around to see what else was going on.  Last year, Wesley wanted to take Eli down the slide.  Since he was only two months old, his mommy wasn't comfortable with the idea.  This year was a different story!  Wesley and Eli climbed to the top of the slide and enjoyed several slides down.  Eli smiled and laughed the whole time.  Then Eli and Rebecca slide a couple of times too.

Finally, with his daddy at the top of the slide and his mommy at the bottom, Eli slide all by himself.  Don't worry, they are there to guide and catch him, I just cropped them out.

It was a nice day.

5King it

My first 5K was October 2009.  It was a hot, humid October morning, and I had only been trying to run for about four or five weeks.  Even though I was overweight, I walked a lot and figured I could handle it with no problem.  In the end, I handled it ok and was satisfied with my time, but it was not as fun as I had hoped it would be.  However, I enjoyed the company.  My husband was with me the whole time and encouraged me.  It was also for a good cause, breast cancer awareness.  My coworkers were there and we all cheered for each other.

I kind of thought I would keep up the running and get better, but I didn't.  I let it slide and wasn't very motivated.  Fast forward two years, and I'm trying to give running another try.  When I say I run, I use that term loosely.  I start out walking, do a little running, switch back to walking and then run a little more.  This October, I did another 5K with the Puddin' and the Taff's.  Again, I didn't have a strategy except to run the down hills and walk the up hills.  On one of the up hills, I was passed by a walker.  She was booking it up the hill.  I finally got to the point where I started running again.  I finished second in my age group. (A benefit of having a milestone birthday this year is moving up an age bracket in these events.) When the awards were given out, I felt a tinge of disappointment with myself.  The impressive walker on the hill that passed me was the lady who finished first in our division.

Becca, E and I before the 5K.  Wesley did not get to run it because he volunteered during the event.  Puddin and E were running buddies for the day.

Last weekend, we participated in another 5K with the Taff's.  It was a school system sponsored 5K in their city.  Wesley got to run this week.  He had an impressive time of twenty three minutes.  I can't even imagine running that quickly.  This time, we all received medals for finishing first in our divisions.  
I finished under my goal time, and I didn't get passed at the end by somebody making a move!  I'm not a pro by any means, but I'm starting to understand the runner's high that I've always heard about.

  

Fall 2011

I think Fall has become one of my favorite seasons.  Along with the promise of cooler temperatures, fall brings a season of thankfulness.  This fall, I have enjoyed the company of all my grown children which makes things even sweeter.  Friday night, Puddin' and I had the opportunity to do a little babysitting for our oldest daughter and son in-love while they were at Secret Church.  It was a brief visit, but before we left Saturday, we went walking along the River Walk so Puddin' could take a few pictures.  (Disclaimer: These are not Puddin's pictures. His are more professional.) Anyway, Saturday morning was a beautiful, cool morning with blue, blue skies.  The leaf above is a gift from Eli.  As he was walking along, he picked up this leaf and shared it with Nana.  Be still my heart.

In addition to his many leaves, little man also put his hands in the sand, found sticks and rocks.  He also saw a couple of dogs along the way and enjoyed makes noises at them.

The tree trunk on this tree was so pretty (a sycamore tree, I think).  As you can tell, most of our leaves in the south are still green.  We also took pictures of the dam and the site of an old mill along the river.

Earlier this fall, I got to spend some time with this little pumpkin.  How cute is she?! I miss her so much.

Happy Fall to all and praise God from whom all blessings flow.