He did it! He did it! He did it!

You might be wondering "what in the world is Rachel talking about? "

Well....

Sunday morning, my dear Hubby, ran in and completed a half marathon! That is 13.1 miles!!! Running! All the way!!! That is insane!!!

The race was "The Emerald City Half and Quarter Marathon." held in Dublin, Ohio.

Sunday morning, Dear Hubby and I were up at and out the door at 4:45am for an hour drive to Dublin for his first half marathon.

To say that Hubby was nervous would be an understatement. (In truth, he drove me nuts for the 2 days prior because he was so nervous). Upon arrival, we parked and walked to the starting line so hubby could pick up his shirt and bib. Then we stood around and waited for the start. (It actually was delayed by 15 minutes due to traffic on one of the main roads that the runners would be running on....)

There was over 3000 runners there....

Hubby got off to a great start....

While he ran, I went back to the van and sat and read some of a library book. I then walked over the grocery store and got a frappucchino from Starbucks (not the brightest thing for me to get!) and a couple of donuts for breakfast.

Around 9:15am I went back over to the finish line to wait for Bill, as he said his goal was to run it in under 2 hours and 20 minutes. So I waited for him....I watched other runners come through. There was a couple who looked like they were in their 70s running hand in hand. It was really sweet! I saw a father and son duo who were running in the quarter marathon come through....Then I saw him coming toward the finish line.

He ran in 2:16:33.72! That is AWESOME for a first time half marathon!

After he was done, we went to McDonalds so he could change into non-sweaty (AKA- non-stinky) clothes for the hour long car ride home and to get him some food. Then we headed home. That night we had my family over for Ron's Pizza to celebrate Bill's accomplishment! And to thank my sister for coming over and spending the night Saturday night into Sunday and watching our kids so that I could be there for my husband.

Bill is 41 years old. He will tell you that he is overweight. He started running around a year ago. He has since competed in a 4 mile run, a 5K and now a half-marathon! He ran in this for himself and for our family. He ran this race in memory of our son, Travis, who was born silently into Heaven September 21, 2008 (he has Travis' name and date of birth on his headband). He ran in memory of a high school runner that he befriended named Nick who was a runner and who died in a tragic auto accident a couple of years ago. Bill is an inspiration to me and I hope to our children!

Have you or someone you know done anything recently that you are proud of?

Do you think you could run in a half-marathon?  

Softball

I was a soccer mom.....

Now I am a softball mom!

In the field for the first time

Rebecca is playing softball this fall in our community league. She is on a 8 and under team and is having a blast so far. She has had a few practices and a scrimmage, but last night was her first game!

Getting a hit!

She did great!

After getting a hit! On first base...

She had 2 hits, scored 2 runs and had a RBI! GO REBECCA!!!!

Scoring a run!

It made for a late night. She was in school from 7:45-2:15; in the afterschool care program with me until her dad picked her up at 5:10 to take her to the ballfield. I went straight from work to the ballfield. Her game started at 6. We got home around 8:10. Then snacks, bathtime and bedtime. She finally got to bed at 9:30. Makes for a long day. Thankfully at this age, there is usually only 1 game during the week, with the other game being on Saturdays.

Clowning around in the dugout with her teammates!

Overall, though Rebecca did great. She loves playing softball and gets along with her teammates! And it is a great experience for her.

Do your children play sports?

And we have a first grader!

Yesterday was Rebecca's first day of school! It is hard to believe that she is in the first grade! She was nervous and excited!

Well I am glad to say that she said she LOVED first grade and I think she is excited to learn all the new things.

I am so thankful to have a daughter who LOVES school!

Have your children started back to school yet (either in a brick and mortar school or homeschool)?

Do your kids like school?

I feel like...

....a chicken running around with my head cut off!

So much to do....getting ready for back to school, trying to eek out the last week of summer vacation, running to and from the softball field for Rebecca's practices, running to and from work when I can get Bill to be home, going through all the motions with potty training a boy (which is going to make me go grey!), and Bill just called to tell me that the transmission is acting up again in the car....UGGHHHH! .....LOTS going on and NO TIME for anything else!!!!

I hope to get back on track soon with blogging....trying to get into some sort of routine for back to school.....

Children's Garden with the Grandparents

I like my in-laws. I really do. They can be very annoying and very opinionated at times, but that is just who they are. I truly believe that our children need to be raised with the opportunity to have a relationship with their grandparents, even if Bill and I don't always see eye to eye with them.

They live over an hour away, are retired (my mother-in-law will turn 80 in November) and we see them maybe 2 times a month if that. Usually, it is easier if they come visit us...since it is hard to pack the 3 kids up for the full day that would be a visit and their house is NOT childproof at all!

Well yesterday, was one of those days. Alot of times they come up, will bring KFC for lunch and we will just sit around the house and talk. Well, I wanted to do something a little different so I suggested that we get lunch (NOT KFC!) and go eat at the Children's Garden. My mother-in-law agreed that that was a great idea! (Surprises do happen! Bill was certain she wouldn't want to do it!)

So we packed everyone up and headed out. Bill and Rebecca went with his Mom and Stepdad to Burger King to pick up lunch and the boys and I went to the Children's Garden to snag a picnic table.

It turned out to be a really nice afternoon with beautiful sunshine and a nice breeze....

 

The kids loved playing on the train. Benjamin even climbed up onto it for the first time. (It was also the first time he ever climbed up onto something, which means I need to figure out a way to block our stairs....)

We took lots and lots of pictures...

I even taught my in-laws how to use the timer function on their camera so everyone could be in the picture.

We saw LOTS of butterflies and some birds. The kids and my in-laws found a toad in one of the ponds.

Rebecca wanted to be the photographer so I handed over the camera and she took lots of photos of beautiful flowers.

Overall, it was a very nice afternoon spent with my family and my in-laws.

Do you get along with your in-laws? Do you do anything special with them?

School supply shopping

2 weeks from today, Rebecca heads to 1st grade! (Really, how did I become the mother of a first grader????) To prepare, we had to go school supply shopping of course.

When we picked her report card up for Kindergarten, they included the supply list for first grade so that we could shop all summer if we wanted. Well I wanted to wait until the back to school sales started.

Well, last week we went and did all of her supply shopping. And I found that items were not as cheap as last year, but that I still spent less than $100 on her supplies....

Here is her supplies for this year...

And I spent a grand total of: $67.22.

Not too bad. Some of the items were very specific and thus more expensive. For example the watercolors were $4.97 because the art teacher wants "Prang" brand. I understand because they last longer and are brighter colors. I would rather spend good money up front for supplies to last, than buy the $0.50 container and have them be no good.

One blessing this year is that we don't have to buy any uniform stuff, as she still has uniforms from last year that fit. I did have to get her a pack of white socks and shoes but I was able to find a pair of school shoes for $5 on clearance. Yahoo!

So Rebecca is all set for back to school. As for me, I am ready and I am not ready. It is a mix of emotions. Back to school for Rebecca means back to work for me, so that will be a change from summer. It will be nice to get a paycheck again (I don't get paid over the summer months).

Are your children ready for back to school? How much are you spending on supplies?

I went to the movies....

I am not really a movie person. I get in the mood to see one maybe once a year, if that. I have never really been a movie or TV watcher. However, my dear hubby is. He LOVES watching movies, even though he really doesn't have a lot of time to do that.

Well Thursday afternoon, I got a babysitter for the kids and surprised dear Hubby with a trip to the movies. We went to see The Wolverine....

What can I say...Hugh Jackman shirtless!!! I can say that he is an attractive man when he is cleaned up a bit...lol...hubby likes to tease me that I only went to see it so I can see the bathtub scene where Jackman is naked. Not really...

Anyhow, the movie was very good. I thought that there were maybe a tad too many fighting scenes, but it was an action/superhero movie so I should have expected it. I have read reviews on line that were complaining that there wasn't more grittiness and gore, but that is perfectly okay with me. I don't need to see a lot of blood to get the point across that people are dying or being killed. Overall, it was an interesting storyline and kept me engaged. There was moments of humor and heartbreak, along with romance and lots of intrigue. Overall, I would recommend it!

Are you a movie goer? What was the last movie you saw in the the theater?

Update on Summer Bucket List #2

At the beginning of the summer, I made a summer family bucket list that listed things that I wanted to do with our family. I was doing this as a way to be intentional with how we spent our time over the summer and not just end up watching TV and lounging around. Well it is now August 1...so I thought I would do a check-in to see how we are coming with our bucket list and to see what we still need to fit in during the next 2.5 weeks before school is back in session!

 

2013 Summer Family Bucket List

 Visit the Zoo-DONE!

Wash the car/van by hand with the kids' help-DONE!

Play at the park at least once every 2 weeks--went to the park 2 times in June and 2 times in July!

Have a picnic on a blanket on the grass

Go to Chuck E. Cheese---DONE!

Catholic Kidz Camp for Rebecca (Vacation Bible School)---DONE! She had a blast!

Make Smores in the sun

Pick strawberries---DONE!

Eat lunch on the porch

Play tag in the yard

Go to the library at least once every 2 weeks---ongoing, we have been going every week.

Attend the Knox County Fair--DONE!

Go to Ye Olde Mill for Ice Cream

Mini golf

Go to the Children's Garden---DONE

Take Rebecca to the movies

Watch fireworks on the 4th of July---DONE, wasn't on the 4th, but the night of the 3rd when our town had theirs.

 

Not too bad! We still need to go to the mill for ice cream, to the movies, eat luch on the porch, play tag in the yard, make smores, and have a picnic! We have done so much though! I notice that I have been more intentional with what we are doing and the plans that we are making. It has made for a great summer so far. Looking forward to seeing what adventures August will bring.

 

What have you been up to over the month of July or during the summer?