Brookfield Zoo 5K

So I realize that I have missed a LOT of family events over the last few months. Here's to hoping I can make the time to still document some of them.


Like the Actress's first official chip-timed 5K race in May.


She rocked it folks. I didn't know what a 5K WAS when I was 9, and yet my darling daughter has already finished two! (The other was an untimed church fun run last summer). This is a great race, especially for a first timer. In fact, this was my first ever race last year. The course winds through the zoo early in the morning when the animals are awake and active. It is super fun course and a well organized event.


This time it was my turn to play spectator and keep the other kids whilst Mr. Bloomers and the Actress took part in the action.


In many ways I think being the runner is easier than keeping the kids. I tried to get them to cheer for other runners, but they mostly just thought I was weird. I'm sure that will only get worse as they get older.


The Actress raised a little money of her own for Travis and Mandy, and finished with a fabulous time of 38:42.


She sure earned those post-race refreshments! (And don't worry, I brought our own snacks for the rest of the crew.)

What a great accomplishment my darling oldest daughter! I am so proud of you.

Big enough?

Someone at our house thinks she's big enough to pour her own cereal...


She's not.

Cruisin'

You had to know that a cross-country trek, plus the start of a new school year, plus visits from both sets of grandparents, a baptism, a half marathon, a new dog, and serious issues in one child's classroom might push me over the edge. Good thing there isn't anything major on the horizon, cause daily life is more than I can take some days.

As I told my mom this past week, it wasn't that I had anything big going on, in addition to the regular dishes/laundry/toys/etc. the next day's agenda just included:

speech therapy,
a baby-sitter for the little kids while I volunteered at the school,
a playdate for the little kids which included my presence,
visiting teaching a friend at my house after school (since her house is on the market) which included three extra little kids,
and watching another friend's little girl for a couple of hours while he coached an older son's football practice.

To make life easier on myself after such a day I ordered pizza.

Max let the dog out the door while I signed for the pizza.

He ran about a half mile away, across a busy street. On the way back across the busy street a car hit the dog. The driver tried to stop and didn't run over Sampson, but he did knock the dog to the ground.

Dumb dog got up and KEPT RUNNING!

So did I. (Of course I'd been chasing him all along.) Finally he stopped and I carried him home. All 22 pounds.

So no, there's nothing big going on around here, but I wish there were...

like a cruise.

Half Marathon Anyone?!?!

So...I've pretty much fallen off the map at dailymile. I've done a bit of running here and there over the last couple of months, but nothing near what I had been doing and I haven't been recording it very well.

The longest run I've done in the last several weeks was a whopping 4 miles.

But I'm "running" the Oak Brook Half Marathon tomorrow. Nice.

Mr. Bloomers will accompany me as we trot about the course. The kidlets will stay home with a baby-sitter.

Kind of like date night.

But not. (We don't usually run till we hurl on date night.)

Good thing.

I'm not expecting to PR. LOL. Just have my sights on a finisher's medal.

Night before last I had bad dreams about not being able to get to the starting line in time for the race. Mr. Bloomers had a dream where I ditched him with 6 miles left to go and he felt lost and abandoned.

When we registered many weeks ago it seemed like a good idea.

When we realized how poorly prepared we were going to be, it began to be a humorous idea.

And at this moment it seems kind of like a dumb idea, but that won't stop us.

Happy Labor Day!!!

Brave? Ambitious? Crazy? Dumb?

As if traveling with five kids for three and a half weeks, and getting home just in time to start school, and prepare to host two sets of visiting grandparents for the occasion of our second beautiful daughter's baptism this past weekend didn't offer enough excitement for our already chaotic family, today we adopted this guy:


Thanks to the grandparents for your patience in sharing your special time in the visitor spotlight with a DOG. And for your generosity in helping the pick-up go smoothly. Three grandparents stayed behind to care for little ones sad to be left while one grandparent came along.

Your help made things so much easier for me and made everything with the introduction of the dog to the family home go so much smoother than it would have otherwise. We appreciate you.

Now if we could just get Princess on board...




***I should note that our family vote on whether or not to adopt Sampson was not unanimous. Mr. Bloomers was in opposition and his vote was duly recorded in the Family Council minutes. Thanks to Mr. Bloomers for not calling in the veto. We love you.

HOME

We arrived safely home this morning at 5:30 AM after driving through the night from Denver.

We left our home July 22nd.

That is a long time to be away.

I'm tired.

More to come...

Happy (Belated) Fourth of July

This is our TENTH cheesy year of matching Old Navy Flag Tees. And the first year of real resistance from one of our children. I am sure there are many more years of that to come. The tradition lives on though folks, though I did tell her she only had to wear it long enough for the picture. (Unfortuneately for her, it seems that the tees aren't the offensive part, it's participating in the photo. )

Also, finally downloaded pictures. Many posts in the making.