District Convention, 2013 - Saturday

 Day two is always the hardest....we are a bit sleepy from getting up early two days in a row, and from sitting all day. (sessions are from 9:30 - 5) But, it was another great day!

The wind and humidity made for some crazy hair, and that was only half way through the day!  Did you notice we all matched, it was turquoise day on Saturday.

District Convention, 2013 - Friday

 Emma getting her breakfast burrito at Safeway. We usually get up at 4:30 and leave the house at 6:30 for convention, and stop for coffee and breakfast either at the 76 station, or Safeway...cuz we are fancy like that : )

 Crossing the Bay Bridge

 There's an exhibition hall inside the Cow Palace that is opened up for the convention. It's  a big open room with about 5 portables that are the ladies bathrooms, the volunteer tables, and mostly open space for the kids to run around in.

 Sophie's fancy toes

 Emma and Simone, our baby sitter. She's almost 21 and Em's already passed her up in shoe size and isn't too far away on the height.

 We always wander around the Cow Palace grounds at lunch time.

 I'm not wearing a green flowery hat, that's a blanket on the seat behind me.

While it took 45 minutes to get from our home to the Cow Palace, it took over 2.5 hours to get home.  There was something going on on the Bay Bridge, so we headed south.....with the other 6000 people leaving the Cow Palace and a city of people trying to get home from work.  We ended up stopping at a store for the kids to have a potty break and spotted a Baja Fresh, so we ended up getting dinner and headed right to bed when we got home. 

Trail Love

Weekend Roundup

 We headed to Alameda for a cool (temp wise) run with the kids. It was mid 60's there, and mid 90's at home, so it's our go to place when it's too hot at home to run/bike.  We head south on the trail, which goes past the Oakland Airport if you go far enough, so there are lots of planes coming and going, which the kids love.  Boy did this measly 4 miles remind me how much harder it is on my body to run on the paved stuff. What a pounding! I do not know how we used to run endless training miles and marathons on this stuff.  Gotta get the kids legs strong enough to hit the dirt trails with me!

 His one wreck, the sand grabbed his tire.

 Resting in front of the Oakland Raiders offices. I snuck a pic through the fence of their practice field.

 You can just barely make out San Fran and the Bay Bridge along the horizon.

 Pelican.

 We also partied, just because we can, no reason in particular.  He loved the gator, which made me laugh because I had one like that when I was a kid at some point in time. I think he went to Sun Lakes with us one year??

 Our friend Brian would throw the ball to the kids as they jumped off the board. Above is Em, below is Sophie.

 This is yesterday. We tried to hike, but these sleepy heads weren't moving until about 11:30. We headed out, but it was so hot and humid, we cut it short.

 He's trying to look happy, but he's pretty hot.

 And then, I kicked the sofa while vacuuming. I was trying to keep that one on through the weekend since we have our district convention this Friday thru Sunday, and that involves strappy heels and what not.  At least it came off nice and clean, that way I can paint a nice one on.

 And then,  Emma had some pre-convention prep of her own. Auntie Jill did Emma's brows for the first time! Em is going to have Brian's thick, unruly brows, so even though she's only 11, it was way overdue. Auntie is an esthetician and does this sort of thing as a living, and also for fun.

She's growing up so fast!!

That catches you up with everything!

Updated "Links We Love"

I finally updated my link list!  A lot like my previous post on running with kids, and our running changing as they have grown.....our running interests and styles have changed a lot over the past 6 years, too. A lot of the old links were road running related, and that was a good reflection of our running at the time. When I looked at the list, I realized most of the "links we love" were links I had not used in a year or more.
So, I've updated it with a good cross section of links I do use on a regular basis. Not super exciting, but thought I'd point it out. 

Finally, Phase #5 Has Arrived!

Yesterday,

this happened.

The first of many times that I will head out for a run with all 3 kids on their bikes. 

Running with kids has had many, many phases. 

We started  when the kids were so young. 

As they have grown and matured, it has dictated how and when we run.

Our running started with me pushing a double jogger that had a platform on the front. Em would balance on that platform, with Sophie and Myles  safe and sound inside the jogger.  Oh, the looks we got for this. It really was not safe now that I look back on it. I remember running all out one day, hitting a little bump, breaking the front axle which sent the front down into the ground, with Emma on the platform, and flipping the jogger, end over end. I never let go of the handle and went over the top myself. Upside down jogger, full of 3 kids, and a mom on top of the whole pile. Not pretty, but no injuries.  Myles started off as an infant, in his car seat, tucked into the jogger.  Eventually, the total weight of all 3 together passed the 100lb weight limit.  (maybe before that axle broke??) Anyhow, that took us to.....

Phase #2 - running in the evenings with Brian, so that he could push one jogger with 2 kids, while I pushed the other with one kid....Until Em was around 6 and started to ride a bike. Which led to....

Phase #3- One kid on a bike, and two in a jogger. I was back to being able to run during the day with Brian at work...but still preferred to wait until he was home and all of us could run together.  Until Sophie was around 6 and started riding her bike.

Phase #4 - Two kids on bikes, one in the jogger.  And this is where my "running with kids" has been for the past 3 years.  Which is why my summer running cuts back so dramatically.  Myles is no small boy, he's tall for his age and it's no easy task to push an almost 7 year old in a jogger....nor does it appeal to me at all, and looks totally ridiculous!!  It is one thing to push a smaller kid, but pushing all that weight would bring on aches and pains that really were just not worth it.  My past 2 summers have consisted of grabbing runs when I can, and hitting the treadmill at home when I can't get out to run, and spinning on Brian's spin bike when the treadmill became my nemesis, which would happen about a week into summer.  On the weekends Brian and I try to get a trail run in, but not consistently by any means.  While the kids are not trail ready on their bikes yet (hopefully that'll be phase #6), we have hit the day I have been waiting for, for many, many years......

Phase #5 - All 3 kids on bikes, with a ecstatic mom running behind them!!!

Leaping for joy!  Or, just trying to keep up with them. 

The goal for now is to get Myles riding well enough to hit the trail. He needs to perfect steering and stopping before I would feel right having him on the trail. There's a lot of other runners, bikers, and walkers, so he needs to learn trail etiquette well enough that I'm confident he'll stay on his side of the trail and not run anyone over. But for now, at least I can head out the door and run!!

Yesterday was a huge, huge day in the land of "I'm a mom with 3 kids who runs".

Here's to enjoying Phase #5!!

Got Grossness?? We Do!! And Hikes and Bikes, too!!

 Why, yes, that is a close up of Brian's forehead after Brazen's Dirty Dozen. All that thick brown stuff peeled off....that was really pretty and not disgusting at all.  Kind of like my ultra toes.  So pretty. They make me feel like such a lady. Totally not ugly at all.  So nice that it's flip flop season.  I'm sure nobody notices.

Above and below pic - my left pinky toe.

Below - my right pinky toe.

 I ran on the treadmill this morning and the skin decided today was the day to let go finally. Those nails are going to be painted black for a while.

 After Dirty Dozen, there were 2 down days of legit rest.  Then I was antsy and got moving again with things like mowing the yard, building some trellises...then I was ready to run again...but alas....summer means way more hikes than runs.(although, that will soon change!) So we have been hiking! FYI, I usually edit for clarity and color, but decided not to touch these at all. We have been having amazing weather, super sunny and blue sky, temps in mid 70's, not the 100's we had been having.  Anyhow, the sky has been so blue!!

 

 Do you see her up there? Being the awesome mom that I am, I waited for her to get up there, then took a stick to that pile of horse poo down on the trail and told her she was my target. I made sure to miss, but boy did I get her riled up!

 This guy was not where he should have been, he was solo w/o his herd. He came up behind us as we passed, then got a bit close, but was just watching us pick berries, that's what you see below.......then 4 ladies came up behind him and i knew what was going to happen...he could not go backwards, so he charged us.  I had my arms out to my sides with the kids behind me, stayed calm and told him "No!" over and over again, loudly but calmly.  The ladies were freaked, on their phones trying to call the ranger but had no signal and freaked even more. I swear he flung snot on me before turning and going up the hill and around us.  I love my trail cows and felt bad for him, he was probably lonely and scared. I was super annoyed with the 4 ladies who came up right behind him w/o thought as to the fact they would make him feel trapped between them and us. Their yapping and freaking out spooked him.  Sorry ladies, but if you can't handle seeing a cow...you're running in the wrong area.

 Annoyed, but unfazed....we picked a ton of berries. They ate a ton, filled their bags, and when we got home they still had enough to use to make cobbler.

 There's a farely long stretch of blackberries, should be some for the next few weeks.

 Not often blogged about, this was our family fun day of grocery shopping.  NO really, the kids know that pay day is grocery day and about the only day we spend money. If they have any projects they want to do for the next 2 weeks....that's the day we get the stuff.  We also usually get dinner at....Costco. I know...but they think it's a real treat, and usually they each get a little something, like Myles gets a new Hot Wheels, the girls get a book or some small thing.

 For instance, if they want to build a hover craft.....that'd be a pay day fun thing we would get supplies for. 

 Did you know we were crafty like that?  You just thought we ran, huh??

 This was yesterday's hike in Shell Ridge Open Space in Walnut Creek.  Look at that sky!!

 Frog. The bottom ponds are dry right now, but the frogs still live in the cracks of the pond bed. As soon as you step down out there, they feel the vibration and for some reason, instead of staying safe down in the crack, they all jump out.  If your not a frog person, it's just creepy. There's a lot of them.

 getting more frogs...

 Lunch time!

 And below....BEHOLD!!! Myles is riding his bike!!! This was today. He asked to go to his new school and try his bike.  So we headed out the front door, and he took off. I was running all out just to keep up with him. He rode to the school, rode around this gravel trail around the park by the school, then rode at the school for about an hour, then around the path again, then all the way home!!
This is why my running situation should drastically improve for the rest of summer!! I'm so excited!!
I can throw all 3 on bikes and take off!!!

 After riding home, we went to celebrate this huge, life changing event!

 We hit Burger King for the 50 cent ice cream cones...the machine ran out and we had to wait for cone number 3.  This is what the guy brought out to us!!  Hole cow...that's more then 50 cents worth!!

Well, that catches you up  all the way to this afternoon!

I'll post more pictures on the photo site.