Charleston '10

On Sunday Kingston and I returned from a trip to Isle of Palms, SC with my college friends and their families. We had the best time!

On Wednesday after work, Kingston and I headed to Raleigh to spend the night with Mere and her family before heading down to IOP on Thursday. The kids had the best time playing together. Sam and Kingston wore the matching PJ's that I bought them a while ago. They were really close to being too small for both of them, but they squeezed into them one more time for photo's sake!

The three blondies.

The trip down was so much more enjoyable with Mere, Sam and Ella along for the ride. We took our time but made great time, only stopping once for lunch at Cracker Barrel (Yum. I'm sorry as I can be but I do like that place.) and a rest area pit stop. Once we sorted out the fact that our rental agent had double booked our house and we had to go to a different one than originally booked, we anxiously awaited the arrival of all of our friends.

Eleven adults and 8 children. Good times. Four boys and 4 girls. Good odds. Somehow, Kingston ended up playing with the stroller and baby doll quite a bit.




But then Grant showed him a much more manly thing to do with the doll stroller! They looped and looped around the living room, giggling all the way. Boys!

The beach was gorgeous and we spent a bit of time down there. I guess it is sort of old news to Kingston, however, because he preferred to swim in the pool. And I do mean swim. He fully puts his head in the water, kicks and paddles, and can swim to me from the steps. I was amazed. He did so great.

But photo ops were best at the beach because I wasn't having to fish Kingston up from the bottom of the pool. You see, he can get from one place to another, but he still can't quite get his head back above the water! Baby steps. . .

Sam, Kingston and Grant had a great time playing in the sand.

Amazingly, we got all of the kids sitting in one spot at the same time (minus Ella who hadn't arrived yet as she was spending QT with her daddy) and no one was crying. A miracle.

On Saturday night, Kers' sister-in-law and brother-in-law who live nearby came over after all of the kids went to bed to stay with them so that we could go out to dinner. What a great success!! We went to Taco Boy in Charleston proper and had a great mango margarita (or maybe that was just me) a great meal (and really bad service) and so much fun. It was wonderful to get out and be adults! We were home by 10:45 and Lynn and Michael reported that there was not a peep heard from any of the children all night. Amazing.

And here we are in all our cuteness:

Front left to right-Ryan (childhood friend of Lars and Kers), Mere (Core 4), Mindi (Kers' college roommate)

Back left to right-Lars (Core 4), Kers (Core 4 + Kers), Lor

On Sunday morning before we headed out (a day early-we missed Da-da and home) Kers had Kingston, McLain and Grant's undivided attention as she let them play games on her computer. Oh, Auntie Kers. You are the best. And you are so brave. Kers and Joe are the only couple in the house without children and they still hung out with us and are willing to do it again!

There is nothing in the world quite like hanging with your real, true girlfriends. I love these girls with all my heart and love seeing the families that they have created. We all have wonderful children who got along amazingly well and were very well behaved. And the husbands are good ones, too.

I'm already looking forward to IOP next year. I think our realtor owes us big next year. Real big!

The Wright Kind of Sunday

"Hey there, hot stuff! So let me tell you a little story about my Sunday with my family."

"We rode our bikes to the Wright Brothers Monument. Well, technically, I did most of the riding while Mom and Dad did the pedaling. But I digress. We got to the airport just in time to see a plane take off, then we parked our bikes and headed up the monument."

"Whew! What a journey! I stopped for a moment to check out a bug on the sidewalk,

then finally made it to the top. I found a nice seat and enjoyed the scenery for a bit."

"We posed for a family portrait."

"Dad and I did some exploring."

"Check out the really neat sky."

"Mom talked me into going and knocking on the big door. No one answered. Then she tried to convince me that she knew there wasn't anyone there. Sometimes I wonder about her humor. . ."

"After the monument we went for a slice of pizza, played at the park, then pedaled (or rode, in my case) home for naps. We had a great day, just the 3 of us."

A Run Down Memory Lane

Tuesday I spent the early morning hours running through Manteo. I had to go to the courthouse by 9:15 in order to get my expired registration ticket dismissed (what a pain!) and I also had to do 5 miles. Solo. Tuesdays are the days when I run by myself and 5 is going to be the most I have to do on a Tuesday. It was the first time doing 5 solo so I thought I would try to make it a little more interesting.

So here's what I did. I called my Aunt Freda, who conveniently lives in Manteo, and asked her if I could take a post-run shower at her house before having to be in court. (I like say, "having to be in court" as if it was for something scandalous, or as if I was a lawyer or something! No, I just serve barbeque for a living, thankyouverymuch.) Of course she obliged, and the plan was made. I left home around 6 and got to her house just as the sun was coming up, orange and huge. I ran along the docks on the Manteo waterfront and had the most beautiful view. The sun was coming up, fish were jumping, geese and ducks were floating, and the docked boats were still in the water. Awesome. I ran through Festival Park and along the boardwalk there. I saw a rabbit and a few ballsy squirrels.

Then I channelled my inner Manteo High School Cross Country runner and ran along some of the training routes we used to do daily. I ran behind the Manteo Cemetary (where people are just dying to get in (hahahahahahahahah)) and up the road leading to Manteo High. I smiled as I passed "Cancer Corner" where all of the teenage smokers used to hang out and smoke, one step off of school grounds, and entered the Manteo High campus. I was overcome with memories of high school!

I ran one lap around the track, remembering exactly where my dad was standing, by the away team bleachers, when during an 800m race he told me to "turn it on and pass her!" when I was not far behind a Senior teammate who I never knew I could beat until he told me I could. And I did. I had to hold myself back as I got to the middle of the last turn in the track before heading into the final 100m where I should have been giving it all I had on the way to the finish line. I held back this Tuesday because I still had 3 miles to go! I remembered the part of the fence where my mom always stood, near the finish line, with all of the other parents, at every single track and cross country meet. Bless her giant heart!

And then it was on to Mother Vineyard. Try as we might, in high school we could never find a cut-through to shorten that loop, which my Garmin told me was a good 2 miles. I didn't need or want to cheat this time, and loved the easy, pretty neighborhood loop, writing my blog post in my head as I travelled. After the Mother Vineyard loop I headed back to Aunt Freda's house, a mere 5.1 miles later. It was a great run! I will be running in Manteo again soon, for sure.

And I even got to watch a few minutes of the Today Show and read a little of my book while sipping a cafe au lait in a cute little coffee shop before my big court appearance. I had a great morning. All by myself.

Sometimes that is much needed. A little time to run solo.

Let the Fun Begin

Half-marathon training officially starts tomorrow. It is pretty sad how excited I am about this! There have been times in the not-so-distant past that I would have thought running 1 mile would kill me, and I'm about to go on a journey that will take me 14 miles on one run in a matter of weeks. Crazy! But so exciting!

Tomorrow I will strap on my new Garmin Forerunner 305 (thanks, Mom!) and go for my first "official" training run. At 5:15 a.m.. Wow. Wonders never cease.

And on a totally different note, I made the really bad decision to not fight Kingston about taking a nap this afternoon and instead let him lay in my bed and watch a movie in hopes that he would doze off. What actually happened was I laid down with him and fell asleep for about 15 minutes but he never once shut his eyes. And I paid for it later, that's for sure! My boy still needs his afternoon nap. So much so that I put him in bed at the record early time of 7:15 and he was quiet (and asleep, I assume) by 7:30. Lesson learned. Crisis averted.

So tomorrow, I hope 2 things: 1. I hope my first training run is wonderful with my new watch! 2. I hope Kingston doesn't wake up at 6:00 since he went to bed so early!!!

Kingston's Bestie

I got an early morning text from Ms. Cindy saying that daycare was closed today. Not a big deal for us because Kingston doesn't go on Wednesday. A big deal for Ms. Cindy because the reason she was closed today was because her daughter is sick with Mono. And I figured it was a big deal for other moms and dads that didn't want to have to miss work. So I texted Ms. Cindy back that I could watch Kingston's buddy, Liam, if his mom wanted me to. She gave me her phone number and next thing I know, I have 2 little blonde boys hanging out with me today!

We went to a playdate this morning with about 6 other kids. It went great! Those two boys played so well together and with the other kids. After playdate we went on an adventure to McDonald's and had lunch. I wasn't sure if Liam was used to eating McDonald's, but I figured we were OK when we passed Dunkin' Donuts and he said, "Look, Kingston! Dunkin' Donuts!" And then we pulled in the parking lot and he said, "McDonald's!!!"



Two cheeseburgers and fries later (and an attempt to get Kingston off the floor-eeew!) we ventured to Wal-mart. Kingston and Liam were good shopping buddies. Or at least Liam was. Kingston notsomuch when it came time to leave the choo-choo train aisle without a choo-choo train.


So now it is naptime and I am still waiting for the silence to come. First attempt was for them to share Kingston's bed. No go. Next, I tried Kingston in his bed and Liam on the floor. Uh-uh. Now Kingston is in his bed and Liam is in my bed and I think we finally have quiet. Or at least one of the two is down for the count. Hopefully they get a good nap in. And hopefully Liam isn't a drooler in his sleep. He is sleeping on my pillow!

I have had the best time watching these two play together. The chemistry is just there, and they really enjoy each other. I could listen to them giggle and talk to each other all day. And, well, I pretty much have!

Race Time and a Mouse in the House

On Friday afternoon Kingston headed to Nana and Wo-wo's house and Nigel and I headed to Virginia Beach to spend the night before my big race on Saturday morning. We stopped for a quick bathroom break for Nige and a quick self portrait for me.



We spent the night on the Virginia Beach Oceanfront only a few blocks from the starting line of the race. The people-watching in VB is beyond compare. It takes all kinds, and they were all at the boardwalk on Friday night! So entertaining.

I got up early on Saturday morning, got my stuff together, texted my friend Dallas to tell her I was heading out and took the short walk to the race check-in. Dallas and I met up, lamented the fact that we had to wear the scratchy timing chip velcroed to our ankles (and, yes, I have the blisters/raw spots to show why it was a valid lament), and moved into position for the race. It all came back to me! I hadn't run a race since high school but it was like riding a bike! I had to fight the urge to sprint out of the starting line and start picking people off at a rapid pace. It was a lot of fun, and brought back a lot of great memories.

I had set a few specific goals for myself and I ended up meeting 2 of the 3. My first main goal was to finish and not walk-done with ease. Another goal was to run the 3.1 miles in under 30 minutes. I didn't quite meet that one and I'm slightly bummed about it. My official chip time was 30:46. Close but no cigar. If I would have just. . . Regardless, I am satisfied with my race.



Here I am posing in front of the finish line. It was hot. Damn hot.

And meet Dallas, my partner in crime and the head OBX Running Mama. The race was her idea and it marked her 1 year "runniversary". I'm so glad she suggested the race because it was so fun!

On the homefront, Kingston had a bit of a sickness this weekend. Nana and Wo-wo took such good care of my little boy. His fever was gone today, although his appetite is still not great. For example:

Here is my little mouse sitting on his perch-

And here are the crackers that used to be whole and used to have melted cheese on top. I made them for his afternoon snack after he turned down everything else I offered to him.

He ate all of the cheese off the top of the crackers and took one little bite off of each of them. Silly little mouse!

Tomorrow it's back to early morning running, Ms. Cindy's house and work.

Happy July!

So far July has been busy and filled with fun. We went to some friends' house the day before the 4th (which would be the 3rd for you people who are good with dates) for a pot luck and fireworks. The party was so much fun! There were tons of people there and the number of kids under about the age of 10 was staggering! Kingston enjoyed playing and wandering around and getting jumped on in the bouncy house. We had a great time. Until. . .

We geared up for the fireworks. We had our chairs out, our juice (or beer, as the case may be) cups, and our flag.



Kingston marched to the patriotic music and kept asking when the big-loud fireworks would start. He was pumped!


The fireworks were a big hit. Actually the first 2 were pretty cool. After that, and after the noise got really rapid-fire and loud, the ash and cardboard started to rain from the sky, and people started running for cover, Kingston was not having any more of it. He fa-reaked. Screaming, "I wanna go hoooome!" I picked him up. "My juice cup!" I grabbed it. "Mommy juice cup!" I grabbed it. "Chaaaairs!" Nigel gathered them up. "Backpaaaaack!" Snatched it up. Headed to the car. We tried to convince him to watch them from the car but he was having none of it. He kept repeating that he wanted to go home. He has told the story over and over and over since then.

Fireworks. Maybe next year. Notsomuch this year.

On the actual 4th of July we spent the afternoon and evening at Jerm and Cole's house. They have a party every year and this year was possibly the best yet. Kingston loved swimming in the pool and even played a lot in the water without his swimmies on. He kept asking to jump off my leg and sink and then try to come to the surface. He can almost get himself back up to the top! So cute and so brave!

Nigel and our friend, Granger enjoyed a few PBR's by the pool.



Uncle Bill helped Kingston and Da-da build a "big, big choo-choo track."

Kingston enjoyed some coooold watermelon.

The 4th was great-especially since we didn't see a single firework. Kingston was happy about that.


On Tuesday we went with my friend Michelle and her 2 kids to a special showing of Sesame Street at Festival Park. It was totally lame! Well, Kingston was fairly entertained but I was not a fan. The costumes were pretty bad and the characters voices were not even close to the real thing. The only character who sounded fairly close was Grover. And Kingston got to hug him after the show.

The best part of the morning was having a picnic on the lawn with a bunch of friends.

We've been spending a lot of time at the beach, and Kingston is really starting to have a great vocabulary and appreciation of language. He is starting to pick out rhyming words and really cracks up when I say things like, "You ate a peach at the beach!"

I can't wait to see what the rest of the summer brings! So far so good.

And on the running front, my knee is feeling great and I actually ran 4 days in a row this week. Granted, I never did more than 2.8 miles, but at least I was out there. Tomorrow I am going to do a mock 5K and see if I can get some faster splits. I may be running a 5K race next weekend. More on that if it really goes down!