It's a beautiful morning!!

And I am enjoying every second of it. The little guy is taking his morning nap, so the big guy and I are out in the back. I'm sitting on the deck, sipping coffee, and just enjoying a cool summer breeze...care to join me??

GREAT! Let's chat then. Okay, I'll chat you listen...errr read??

So, this weekend was very nice. Friday we were planning to go to that outdoor theatre to see "A Bee Movie" but a crazy storm ripped through here and pretty much everything that was supposed to take place outdoors was cancelled. BUT our neighbor popped by around 9 to see if we were up for a patio sit complete with marshmallow roasting, so that's what we did. The little one passed out before too long, but our hot shot was going full speed until about 11:30 when we called it a night. We have really great neighbors here, I can already tell that leaving our new found home is going to be VERY hard. In KB it was a bit easier to leave because most of my good friends were already gone, and the ones that were still there would be on their way out soon enough. But here, these people are here to stay, so it's going to be a different story...oh well...such is Navy life. Moving comes with the territory. BUT the good thing is there is always a way to keep in touch, AND you just never know who you might meet at the next place. But enough of that, I still have 2 years here so I am NOT going to think about leaving now!

Saturday was long run day. Soon I am going to have to bump that to Sunday AM so I can run with the group (I'll need the motivation) but for now I'm still fine on my own. I did 8 miles, but did take two short stops. Once I got "lost" and ended up at a little picnic area that was a dead end, so I turned around and walk about 1 min or so back to the loop I was on, then at mile 6 my handheld water bottle was empty so I threw it in my car, took a big ole' swig of my drink, and finished up my last two miles. Overall it was a good run. My Garmin locked up on me as I was running out the door, so I went without it, and felt pretty naked. But after getting over that mental hump I was good. It's crazy how running gets in your head, there is so much to it mentally in addition to the physical part of it. But I am really enjoying my long morning runs, so that is a good sign.

After I got back we spent the time when the boys were napping cleaning house, and getting ready for our friends to come over. I made some bbq pulled pork which turned out AWESOME (thank you sam!) and some to die for Cappuccino Brownies!!! MMMMM they were sooooo good! We had a good time with our friends, and out little guy got to play with their little one (they are about a month apart) so they had fun!

Sunday was our usual day around here. Church, brunch, yard work, I went to the gym, took boys and pups to the park, dinner, relax...great day!!

Today I am just relaxing. The boys and I are getting ready to head out for a bit, but nothing big planned. I hope you all have a great start to your week, and I'll check back soon! love kel

a few Friday thoughts

Hi there! I am really looking forward to the weekend.

Today has NOT gone the way I thought it would at all, but that's okay, I am trying to use it to my advantage. The big kid had his last set of lessons today, and he graduated from his class to Level I, however you have to be 5 to be enrolled in that class, so my only options are to get him private lessons or to sign him up for the same class again...I think I'll just work with him the rest of the summer on my own and then maybe next summer we can do some private lessons.

We were supposed to have a playdate this afternoon here at our house, but my friend called and cancelled this AM while I was at lessons. Too bad I didn't know before I left because I would have saved myself the 7:30am trip to the grocery store to get snacks and just left at 8:30 for lessons. Oh well, the plus side is now we have lots of fresh fruit for the weekend to enjoy and I don't have to go out later.

I have been pretty productive, cleaned the boys room, and the guest room, need to go tackle their bathroom while they are napping. I did most of the downstairs yesterday, so I'm good to go there, and I am also doing laundry. So there you have it, that's what I have been up to.

Tonight at this little outdoor theatre place they are showing "A Bee Movie" so I think we are going to take the kids to that, and then tonight I am going to teach the big kid how to catch fire flies like a pro! I loved to do that as a kid! Tomorrow we are having some friends over for dinner, so that should be a good time. And tomorrow morning is my long run! I am scheduled for 8 and am really excited about it! After my not-so-hot run last week, I have been itching to get out there and try again. I think my diet last week had a lot to do with my bad run. I find when I eat better I run better (duh) so I have really been trying to be good about getting in all my fruits and veggies and staying away from all the processed stuff that's probably not too good for me anyway.

Okay, so I know I promised I would be back with substance, but I have none. What can I say, I am a simple gal. I do have a rather funny story about what happened when we had some friends over two weekends ago for dinner...but I think I'll save that for Monday. Lets just say I hope that this get together goes more smoothly than our first! haha! :)

Hope you all have a fabulous weekend!

love kp

rambling updates

I started this Monday: so just pretend I that I posted it then!

Don't have a whole lot to write about today. Didn't take any pictures of the big kid's lessons, but I did take a few of the yummy dinner I made which I will post. Check this out: I got the recipe off of this website and it was a winner!! It's pan cooked halibut over a variety of veggies. I think next time I'll do spinach instead of the potatoes that the recipe calls for, but it was quite tasty. The first is a close up, the next a picture of the hubs plate to show the full deal.

I think this week I'll be posting a lot about food. I have a few new recipes to try out this week and am also baking a cake as a "test run" for the munchkins birthday! Can you believe he will be one in just a few weeks!! But because I am trying out my new recipes I figure I'll show them off here. I don't cook new stuff often so this is pretty big stuff for me!

Moving on from food...we had a great weekend. It was really laid back and just all around great. Of course part of that was that I totally blew off cleaning this weekend, but that's okay. I've been doing little today and will just clean through out the week. Friday night we went and watched Austin play. The boys had a good time, and Dublin was winning when we left. Here is a pic of my boys watching the game.

Saturday I did my 7 mile run. It was painful. Not physically painful just mentally. Every step was a struggle for the first 2 miles. I finally found a groove around mile 3 and that lasted until 6 then it was a struggle again to finish. But I finished, and my time wasn't too bad, so I am still happy with it, but man oh man, it sure wasn't one of my more enjoyable runs. Oh well, this weekends 8 miler is guaranteed to be better!!

Sunday was church followed by our traditional after church brunch. I love Sundays. I love waking up to the sounds of the hubs playing with the boys and watching cartoons. I love going to church, and then getting brunch after. I love the lazy afternoons that follow, and just enjoying my family that I am so blessed to have. I think if I had to pick a favorite day of the week, Sunday would be it by far. Okay, well now that I have rambled about absolutely nothing and you have probably all jumped ship at this point I am going to wrap this up. I hope you are all having a wonderful weekend and I'll be back again! Hopefully with something of more substance...hehe ;).

swimming and strawberries

Okay so I only have one swimming picture today. This was actually from yesterday, but I didn't take any today because, well they pretty much did all the same stuff, minus the life jackets. Those were just for yesterday to get them secure with jumping in my themselves. Today they jumped in with no jackets! The classes have been great for the big kid, he is enjoying them, although so far he hasn't really "learned" anything. He's been jumping in on his own for a long time and he can pretty much swim on his own, but he's with kids his age, and it's good interaction. So I am happy.

So yesterday after lessons, the boys and I went with the MOPS to pick strawberries! It was a good time, and while we didn't get a whole bunch of berries from the trip, they were wonderful. (Yes I said were as in past tense as in they are already a thing of the past). Here are a few pictures from our outing at the farm!

Ready to pick some berries

Supervising

picking berries

the munchkin sittin' a spell on the porch swing

Today was a busy one. We had lessons, went to a baseball game, met the husband at the gym with the kids, home lunch, naps, dinner, target...you get the idea. It was a busy busy day. Well that's all for tonight. I am calling it a night early. Hope ya'll have a good night!!

Swimming lessons: Day #2

Well today was day two of big kid's swimming lesson adventure. There was kicking, bubble blowing, jumping and floating. It was quite the day!! Here are a few pictures, and after you check those out, I'll be back.

Day 2: Practicing Kicking

Scooping arms

Working on the back float

Jumping in!!

Cute pics no?? The big kid seems to really be enjoying it, so I am happy. After lessons today we went to one of those bounce places, and the big kid had a ball...then the both slept like rocks for a few hours. Okay, well I was going to post more, but the husband and I are watching Wedding Crashers and it's hard to concentrate. So, I'll try to be back with more substance tomorrow.

Pool Time!!

My big kid started "official" swimming lessons this week. I have been working with him a lot, but it's really hard to teach your own children. Give me some body's child and I'll teach them how to swim, but I can't do my own. So, that being said, we signed hot shot up for swim lessons as the local pool. Today was day one - here are a few shots.

Day 1: going over the rules of the pool!

Day 1: Taking the plunge - getting used to the water

A few shots of the baby just because I can't resist

So that was day one. They didn't do a whole lot in the water today because it's important for the little ones to know the rules, where things are, etc. But I'll be taking my camera all week, so I'll be sure to post more pictures as the week goes on. The session is two weeks, and depending on how he does, and how much he likes it, we may sign up for another session later on!

Okay, well really that's it for me...I'll catch ya'll later! love kel

Nebraska 5 Race Report

First off big shout out to sam!! She raced this morning too and did a kick ass job!! Way to go sweetie, as always, I am soooooo proud of you! :)

Well, if the last one was small this one was even smaller. And again, not only was there not a start PAD there were no chips at all. So I started my garmin just before I crossed the start and just after the finish for a time of 48:28 for a 5 mile race! The hubby got a picture of me crossing under the timer and that clock said 48:33 so I figure mine is pretty accurate seeing as how I put myself in the VERY back.

This was a very small race, mostly people from running clubs around the area, and track teams. There were some FAST runners there. The winner crossed in just over 25 min!! It was a beautiful day for a race. We had a good steady breeze but nothing that was too hard to run against, upper 70's and the course went through a park so we had a good bit of tree cover for most of the run. It was an "out and back" course with a turn-around point at 2.5 miles. The first half had few hills going up, the last one being pretty steep but only about .25 mile or so, but the rest were just little inclines, most of which I didn't think much of. Around mile 2 I synced up with a nice lady who was aiming for about the same time as me to finish so we ran together for awhile, she dropped back for a little while but we both finished strong and she met her goal time!! She found me after and gave me a hug for keeping her going strong. She beat her last 5 mile time by a full min and came in under her goal time!! So way to go Amy...wherever you are!

The race was at a nice park, so again the hubby and the boys got to play while I ran and then were there to cheer me on as I came in for my finish. About the last 1/2 mile I was really starting to feel it, but couldn't slow down by then, I had come too far! So that's it, not much of a report I guess, but it will do. I am really happy with my time and my effort. I feel that I did the best I could do, and that is a good feeling. I've posted a few pics of the day below for you to check out. Hope you all have a good weekend. ~ kp

Coming down the final stretch

The big kid joining me for some post-race stretching

And one of the munchkin because he's so darn cute!

so that happened...

What happened you may be asking?? Oh, I'm so glad you did, I'll tell you about it...

The hubby and I decided that Thursdays we would meet up at the gym so we could both get a workout in during the day so we (me) could be home the rest of the night. Our gym here is awesome, it has an indoor track that has a "stroller" lane for people that want to run or walk with joggers and it also has a play area that is set up for older kids (3-5) that is enclosed and there are about a dozen or so various cardio machines around the perimeter so you can work out while your little one plays and you can keep an eye on them. So this works great, hubby can run with the little one, and I can do my workout on the treadmill and watch the big kid. Okay...so that's the background info.

So we take off today to put said plan in action, all is going well. We meet, hubs begins his first lap and I hop on the 'mill for my run. Not even 60 seconds into I hear a scream of pain I know all too well (the big kid). He has run into a piece on the playground and is currently gushing (and I really do mean gushing) blood from his mouth. I run to get him, some nice lady hands me her baby's blanket for me to use to stop the bleeding, and I try to figure out just what he has done. All the teeth are there, so that's good, it's his lip that is the problem. We get water, and get it cleaned up enough to see that he has bitten through his lip!! YUCK!! Lucky for us there was a childrens nurse there, and she helped me get him cleaned up, went to get us ice, and took a look at it to make sure it wasn't anything that would need stitches. Thankfully it's not that bad. But the kid is going to have one FAT lip I can tell you that.

So after he was somewhat cleaned up and calm again we left. The hubby got us out to the car and helped me get everything put back in. I took the kids home, fed them lunch, gave the big one a bath, and now they are sleeping. Caleb and I were both covered in his blood so I am also doing laundry to try and salvage the clothes we were wearing. Ahhhh life with kids...it's always an adventure. Haha. I am just thankful that he's fine, I was really scared when he looked up at me and I saw him bleeding like that. I know head wounds bleed more, and being in his mouth it was also probably mixed with saliva but still, you never want to see your baby like that. Okay...enough with the blood and guts, moving on...

Today has been pretty laid back (minus the event above). I am cleaning and doing laundry as well as making out a grocery list. Tonight after supper I am headed to pick up my race packet for my race on Saturday, then I am going to run, and then a trip to the store. I went yesterday but forgot a few things so I am just going to go tonight I think. I was thinking I might go when the kids woke up, but they are still sleeping so by then it would be after three...I dunno we will see. It's faster if I just go myself.

This next part is all about running, so if that bores you move on:

Running is going great. I went to the gym Tuesday night and realized that I just don't push myself hard enough when I am outside. I've been struggling after having the baby to get back to where I was when I STARTED running. My first race I ran a 5K (3.14) miles in 29:09 (a little under 10 min/mi), and these days I am lucky to break 11min/mile. The baby is almost a year old, which means I have probably been running for the past 8 months with no real improvement...UNTIL this week. My race Sat gave me a little boost I think that I could do better. Tues I set the speed on the treadmill for a 10 min/mile pace, and you know what?? I ran it just fine. I didn't feel like I was working TOO hard and had no pain. So then last night I went for my 2 mile run around the neighborhood and did it in 19:56!! WOOHOOO!! That was at 5 pm when it was over 85 degrees, windy and humid. I think I finally got my groove back!!! ABOUT FREAKING TIME!!!!!!! I know that time isn't anything super speedy, but it's a big improvement from where I was!!

This boost came at a good time too. Over the past month I have been trying to establish a good base with running in preparation for the marathon training, which will start here in about 1.5 weeks. I am doing an 18 week program, so soon my weekly mileage is going to start ramping up. Which means, I may not be writing as often. I love you all, but with running more, my "free" time is going to be less than it already is, and while blogging is fun, my sweet boys and stuff at home comes first! I won't completely fall off the face of the earth, I just probably won't be able to do the every day thing!! I'm looking forward to the training though and I really think this is going to be a neat experience.

Okay, well I hear the baby waking up so it's time for me to get going! Have a great day! love kp

Well it's Wednesday...

Woah!! It's Wednesday?!?! I didn't mean to go this long...I was planning to maybe take Monday off because I posted Saturday and all, but then Monday turned into Tuesday...you get the idea.

Also, truth is, I really don't have anything interesting to write about. I was thinking about it last night during my swim, but just couldn't come up with anything even somewhat exciting to write about.

So I'll leave you with some of the highlights for the week so far, and then be on my way.

- The big kid starts swimming lessons next week. He has a two week session. I decided to go ahead and sign him up for regular classes instead of doing it myself. I will obviously still work with him, but I think he will get a lot out of working with someone other than "mama".

- We went to a birthday party for our neighbor's 5 year old on Monday night, it was a blast for both the adults and the kids. The hubby did a great job when he found us this house! We have a great neighborhood.

- I finished up the Father's Day shopping for the hubs complete with a cute card the boys made for him. It has their little foot prints on it!!

- I have been working on my scrapbooking again. Well...starting at least. I am working on finishing up the little guy's "first year" book so that when we have his party next month all I will have left will be the party pictures!! I can't believe how big he has gotten.

Okay, well I think that's really about it. I told you that I didn't have a whole lot to write about. Okay, hope you all have a great day!! I'll try to think of something more entertaining to write about tomorrow. love kp

Havelock Charity 10K Race Report

*edited with garmin time below*

I don't usually blog on the weekends, but I'll make an exception for race days...here is all the details good, bad and HOT!

We got to the race site around 6:45AM so I could pick up my packet and token t-shirt. When I got out of the car it said it was 75 degrees...BEFORE 7AM!!! And it was a bit humid as well...I checked the weather channel online with my phone and it said it was 60% humidity. So, that was somewhat discouraging but I was very happy that I had brought along my water bottle I use for running to have "just in case".

The race started at 8am. I had my Garmin this time, so I was trying to not start off too fast. When I hit mile 1 I was right at 10 min. Not bad. Mile 1-2 was pretty uneventful, but VERY warm. Miles 2-just over three...ALL UP HILL! Bleah. Got a bit of a break and then more hills to get to mile 4. By this time it was nasty hot and I was really feeling it. There was no shade for the majority of the route leaving you exposed to the hot sun. At 4 and 5 I walked through the water stations to get a nice cold drink (mine was warm by this point and I wanted to save what little I had left).

The last 1.2 miles went pretty easy, I felt good, picked up my pace a bit and had a strong finish. I stopped my Garmin after crossing at it said just over 6.2 miles and my "official" time is 1:07:43. However, I use the term "official" lightly. This was not a big race by any means, and when the gun went off and the race started, you never crossed a pad. So me being toward the back of the group and not running right away, my time was probably a bit faster. I haven't plugged in the garmin yet to see what it says, but I started it when I got to the "start" line so for this race, I am going with what it says. *my garmin said I was 1:07:02 for 6.2 miles. Not much different from the clock, but I'll take it seeing as how I started the moment I started running and stopped just shortly after crossing the finish*

But regardless of time, it was a fun race, and a fun day. The race started and ended at a great park, so the boys and the hubs had fun in the hour they were waiting for me to get back, and it was nice to have LOTS of company for my long run. Oh, and as a little note, I checked the weather when I finished as well, it was 80 but said it "felt like 87". Figures the race would be on the warmest day we've had yet since moving here! There were a few runners "down" as I got to the finish, one just on the ground with a medic next to him, had him hooked to an IV and was pushing fluids while he was passed out...


Here are a few pics, of me coming in to the finish. Notice on the left another dude being put into an ambulance, and then one post race with one of my biggest fans... my little hot shot! Hope you all have a great weekend. I'll be back on Monday!

The weekend is here!!

So, I am pretty happy it's the weekend. Now that the hubbie is on a regular working schedule again weekends are now something to look forward to, instead of just another day like they were when he was off of work. It's been a beautiful day today. A little on the cooler side after the storms that came through last night, which is a nice break seeing as how tomorrow we are supposed to hi 91!

So what do you all have planned for this weekend?? Tomorrow I have my race. I went out an got a bright pink shirt so maybe...JUST MAYBE I'll stand out enough to get a picture or two taken of me!! Although this time I will have the hubbie there with the kiddos so if all else fails he can take some pix.

Tomorrow night I think it is supposed to rain, I really want to have people over but we don't really have people yet... Actually are neighbors are pretty cool but they seem to leave every weekend. I'm still working on that.

In other news...my internet is a pain in the tush! It keeps fritzing out and so all of a sudden I will have no connection, like right now...I don't have internet, so if I were to try and post this right now, I would be SOL. Bleah. Okay, enough about that.

Well I am going to save this, and hopefully I can get it posted sometime tonight. Hope you all have a good weekend! Mwah (that's a kiss incase you're wondering).

changing things up

So...I've changed my template...what do you think?? Really I wanted to make something cool all on my own and make it all cute and fancy, but there is just never enough time for me to sit down and come up with something, so I just picked a new on out of the already made templates...

Also, not that you are all that interested, but I have my training log up, and you can click on it and see what I have been up to. I'm sure you probably don't care all that much, but thought I'd just throw that out there.

This morning the kids and I went to check out the MOM's club for our area. It was great, a lot like the one we were a part of in Kingsland, so I figure we will join up with them and that way will be able to keep our calendar busy. Lots of little guys that were around the elders age, so that is good.

Okay, well it's short and sweet for me today. I went running this AM because we are supposed to get more storms this afternoon so I didn't want to wait and then not be able to go. Running in the AM is great, it's just hard to get out of bed and WAKE up so I can run and be back before the husband has to go to work. Okay, well hope you all have a great afternoon and evening and I'll catch ya tomorrow. (just a quick note...this is ALMOST two weeks that I have posted every day!!)

training and twisters

So...these thunderstorms and tornadoes are really taking a toll on my whole running training program. Tonight I was supposed to go to my running clinic and then to the gym to do some cross training...but as I was leaving the sirens kicked on, so I checked the tv and sure enough we were under a tornado warning...so I stayed home and it was probably a good thing. We have had two different warnings, crazy rain and hail!! It's been pretty busy.

Okay, so that is really all I have to talk about...I'm going to bed now. I am hoping to get up and run in the morning. We are supposed to have more bad storms tomorrow afternoon, so I need to run early so that I am sure to get it in. OKay...that's it...g'night.

Hang on to your seats...pictures two days in a row!!!

Well I don't have a whole lot to write about, but I figured I would give a few updates and then post a few shots from our trip to the zoo last week. Today was pretty easy going. I took the boys to the zoo this morning, we got an annual zoo pass so we are taking advantage of it. It was such a good deal, for 40 bucks we get two adults (myself and one other) and unlimited children (under 21) in to the zoo all year long. Can't beat that!!

Went for a run tonight, still going well. I'm getting a "tiny" bit faster, but not as much as I would like. Still around 10:50/mile for anything over 3 miles. But the miles are coming along. I signed up for a race this weekend, it's a 10K which works out perfect because I was scheduled to do 6 miles anyway. What better way to run than with 1000 other runners!

Okay, well I could go on but I'd just be rambling so I'll leave you with some pictures I took of our trip to the zoo last week. Enjoy :)

The 3 Fs

Family, Friends, and Fitness...that is pretty much how this weekend went down!!

Family: As with most weekends, we had a great time just the four of us (minus my night out Friday). Saturday was a beautiful day here, sunny, warm and fabulous. We decided to go camping. Figuring that the munchkin may not be up for a whole night in a tent, we decided that we would "camp" in the backyard. Our hot shot had a BLAST and is already asking to do it again. The munchkin and I did end up sleeping inside, but the hubs and hot shot "roughed it" through the night! Here are a few pics from Camp P.

Helping Daddy set up the tent and my big boy!!

Munchkin and Hot Shot

No Camp out would be complete without some SMORES...

Hanging in the tent with my big kid, Hubs setting up the camping chairs and "flashlight" tag with The Sammy!

Friends: The weekend started off great because my girl Sam called me and we got to catch up a bit! I talk to her a lot online and stuff, but it was great to hear her voice and set my mood to "happy" for the rest of the weekend! Later that night I went to the Sex and the City Premiere and it was a good time. One of the girls I went with I met at that cookout, but the other one I hadn't met...turns out her hubby and mine were in OCS together...kind of funny. We had a nice time and it was fun to get out and do something a little different.

Fitness: I had a great run on Saturday morning. I'm boosting my miles back up slowly so Saturday I was set for 5 miles. The run was great, I felt strong, energetic and didn't have any pain! I was a little slower than I would have liked to be, but I'm not too worried about that. Right now I just need to focus on having strong runs and no injuries. Then Sunday afternoon while all the boys were napping I went to the gym. Did an easy two miles and than jumped in the pool and swam another mile. Gosh, I really miss swimming. I wish I could do more of it. I just find it so calming and I always feel great when I am done.

Okay, well that about sums up our weekend. I hope you all had a great one and I'll be back again soon! love kp