Head for the Cure 5K

I did another race today!  It was the Head for the Cure 5k.  I ran on Lisa's Legacy team.  Lisa was a nurse at Children's Mercy Hospital who lost her battle to brain cancer a few years back.  She was an AMAZING, incredible nurse.  There is a memorial chapel at the hospital being built in her honor and set to open up in the next few months. 

The race did not start until 8:00, so I rode with Mark and the girls and we all arrived together.  As always, it was awesome to have them down there cheering me on!  

Here is our whole team. I am on the right (looking at the picture) about 3 rows back with a black hat on, behind the girl in the white hat.  

The route looped around, so Mark and the girls were able to see me twice at the race.  It is so motivating and gives me so much energy to see them and run by!  

Oh, and my time...a PR (personal record)  27:54 (which is a 9 minute mile) 23rd in my age group and 443 overall.  There were over 4000 runners.  Pretty impressive?  What is even more impressive is that I ran that well AFTER running 7 miles yesterday morning.  Overall, a great running weekend.  Each 5k that I have done I have been faster and faster (well almost anyway.)   My first 5K, my second 5K, my third 5k (and old PR), my fourth 5K (a very slow run)

Lauren is totally into doing bunny ears with pictures these day.  Mark tricked her!  

Lauren also loves taking pictures of us.  

The girls enjoyed lots of post race snacks.  Pizza, cookies, bananas, juice, water, while I enjoyed a mimosa. Prepared by one of the team members of Lisa's Legacy.  Great race and a good run for me!  

1st Day of School

WARNING:  THERE WILL BE AN OVERLOAD OF PICTURES IN THIS POST :)  

I can't even believe that Summer is unofficially over and school started today.  Lauren was very excited!  She was ready to see her friend Gabriella and to start 1st grade.  She was not nervous about anything.  She was anxious and ready for school today.  The girl loves school, and we are thrilled.  

She had an awesome first day.  She said they talked about money, but only pennies.  She had calendar time later in the afternoon, "not like first thing like in Mrs. Fiedler's class."  She played with Gabriella, Camryn, and Olivia on the playground.  She had music class today and will have art tomorrow.  

She talked me into this backpack from Justice and the sandals "just like mommy's." 

But, we have to back up to Meet the Teacher night on Monday night.  Lauren's teacher's name is Mrs. Ostrander.  She has taught for over 20 years and has been at Underwood for 13 years.  We really liked her and I am sure Lauren will have a very successful year with Mrs. Ostrander as her teacher.  

Addison took part in the photo shoot this morning too!  

I was shocked when Lauren picked a dress for the first day of school, since she has not worn a dress all summer.  But, she loves how they twirl around when she spins.  

I just can't believe how grown up she looks.  It just seems like yesterday when we sent her off to Kindergarten.  Addison will be off to school in the blink of an eye!  

And, she will be ready!  

We snapped a few more family pictures before heading up to the school.  

Mark and I both took the day off and enjoyed a date day.  Lunch, a movie, and washer/dryer shopping.  Fun times :)  

Lauren wanted to pose for a few more pictures before leaving for school.  When she is in the mood I can capture some amazing pictures of her.  

She found Gabriella right away!  They were both very excited.  

Patiently waiting to head into 1st grade!  

Moe (her best buddy) is in her class again.  They are so lucky to be in the same class again.  And, they are sitting right next to each other in the classroom.  

Checking out her desk and getting settled.  I snuck in for a few more pictures before heading out.  Lauren did amazing, waved good bye and told me to stop taking pictures.  No tears, no hugs and kisses, nothing.  Well, I did give hugs and kisses in the hall before she marched into the classroom.  She did awesome and had a great day! 

We can't wait to see what the year will bring.  

Last Weekend of Summer

I can't even believe school starts this week!  Where did summer go?  

We enjoyed a nice relaxing Friday night with the Wright's.  It is always fun to catch up with them.  It was actually a beautiful night and we sat out back and enjoyed the cool breeze!  The kids ran around outside and had a lot of fun.

Saturday afternoon we went to Build A Bear.  Addison finally filled up her sticker (stamp) chart Friday night!  That last stamp took a long time to get.  The stamp chart (she decided to do Hello Kitty stamps rather than stickers) was started a few weeks back to encourage better listening and better bedtime behavior.  I think it worked pretty well, although by Sunday afternoon both girls not only lost our afternoon at the pool....we also took TV away for the rest of the day.  Yes, Sunday was a rough day at the Harding House.  

Addison was very excited to go to Build A Bear and get her OWN bear.  Lauren got one shortly after her birthday and Addison has wanted one ever since.  Build A Bear had a special going on, so Addison got a much cooler bear than Lauren did.  

Addison needed a little help getting her bear dressed.  

Before getting dressed the bear had to get a bath.  Lauren brought her bear along too...cause she had not had a bath since March!  

The girls had a blast at Build A Bear.  It was the highlight of the weekend and everything went downhill from there.  No pool, no TV and two very grouchy parents at the end of the weekend...

2 more days till school!  Lauren can't wait!  

A Few More Pictures...

The pictures taken at the triathlon were/are free to the public to download and print.  The sponsors of the race paid for the photography...this is rare...So I filtered through the hundreds of pictures and found several of Mark...and some of me and the girls! 

So I know Mark will probably hate that I posted this one of him in his tri suit...but I love the picture and if anyone wants to poke fun I want to see you get out there and do a triathlon!  Mark did not swim in high school or college, he just put his mind to it and trained for this event and did awesome! 

Almost to the end.  It took him 1 hour and 24 minutes to complete the race. 

I had no idea these ones were being taken.  I love little Addison and the innocence of playing with her flag. 

 Way to go Mark.  I am so proud of you.  You trained hard and it paid off!  He has taken this week off, but said he will probably run Saturday morning since it will be so nice and cool outside.  He said he is already looking for his next event.  Probably another 1/2 marathon!

My Version of the Triathlon!

Mark's triathlon this past weekend was so much fun!  The girls and I left the hotel at 5:30 to arrive to Smithville Lake by 6:00.  They were closing the entrance after 6:30 because it was the same path that the bikers would be on once the race started.  

It was a very chilly morning and it felt great!  We found Mark right away and hung out for a while before all the pre race festivities started.  

We found a spot along the beach/lake to watch the swimmers and enjoy our donuts for breakfast.  

The organization at this race was amazing.  I loved seeing all the bikes set up, waiting for the athletes.  

Everyone was lined up and ready to go shortly before 7:00.  The National Anthem was sung and then there were guns fired.  It gave me the chills.  

We watched Mark swim and that time passed quickly. It only took him about 10 minutes to swim, then he ran by us and started on his bike.  We headed over to the playground and hung out for a while waiting for him to come back through on his bike!  Lauren did cartwheels along the way.  

We have been to enough races cheering each other on that I knew the girls would  need a little entertainment.  Crayons and coloring books are always good to pass the time.  

After Mark passed us on the bike it was time to head back to the finish line area where we would see him finish the race with a 5K run.  Addison lead the way, running very far in front of us, giggling most of the way.  

Lauren walked with me, snacking on her Twizzlers.  Another must for race day.  Snacks.  

Flags were handed out to the runners right before the final hill to the finish line.  The girls got some too!  

The food afterwards was amazing!  Addison and Mark had a whole cinnamon roll to themselves.  

It was a great race, an amazing atmosphere with tons of old friends from college.  Mark did an incredible job and trained for several weeks to prepare.  I sure this will not be his last triathlon.  Way to go Mark!