Zoom Through the Zoo

I just ran my 2nd race, only this one was 4 miles instead of 3.  I could definitely feel every step of that extra mile.  I ended up running the 4 miles in 45 minutes which was a pace of about 11:27 per mile.  The fun thing about this race was that Elia ran it with me.  The kid has never done any training whatsoever, but she blew it away.  I think all of her soccer practices and games have her in the best shape ever!

Here we are before we left the house.

Jason also ran the race with us.

Several from my running group were there!

Jason and Elia stayed with me the entire way, although they both could have run on and finished way ahead of me.  Elia kept looking at me asking, "Momma, why are you breathing so hard?"  Jason kept saying, "Come on Jenny, keep running!"  As much as it was nice to have them with me, I would have been thrilled if the two of them would have run on.  LOL!

Go Elia Go!

Carol, Cami, and Ava came with us to cheer us on.  

Here is Elia crossing the finish line!  (You will not see my picture crossing the finish line- you will have to read my previous blog to know why.)

Here is Elia after the race.  She doesn't even look tired.  Once again, you will not see my post race photo.  LOL!

Bring on the St. Jude half marathon!!!!

End of Year Awards

It is hard to believe that we have finished yet another school year.  Ava just finished 2nd grade, and Elia completed 4th.  

Ava's program started with a few songs about America.  

Ava and her friend, Andrew.

Ava received the following awards this year: Certificate of Completion, Teacher Honor Roll all year, Citizenship all year, and Nutrition council.

After the 2nd grade program, the kids got to sign yearbooks and have an ice cream party.  Here is a picture of my sweet class enjoying their ice cream:

Then it was time for the 4th grade awards program.  It is pretty neat because I also get to see my nephew get his awards since he is in the same grade as Elia.

Elia's awards for 4th grade include: Certificate of Completion, Teacher Honor Roll all year, Citizenship all year, and Perfect Attendance.  She worked so hard to be at school every day, all day.

I am SO proud of my girls and all their hard work!

Arlington in April and Bees

Every April, Arlington holds their annual Arlington in April festival.  It is a lot of fun with petting zoos, bouncy houses, craft booths, and fair food.  The kids always have a lot of fun at Arlington in April!

Ava had fun breaking a board with her karate moves.  HA!

Kevin has become a bee keeper, and he is loving every minute of it.  He built his boxes, and his bees have arrived.  It has been pretty interesting learning about the behaviors of those little insects. They are quite intelligent, and my own children should take notes about how hard those bees work and do chores.

Hopefully, I will have some pictures of the actual bees real soon.  Kevin wants to have an intervention with me since I am terrified of bees.

Soccer Tournament

Elia had a soccer tournament in Nashville a few weeks ago.  

The girls were pretty funny playing duck, duck, goose while they were waiting for their game to start.

  
We were lucky to have some special visitors join us at one of Elia's games.  Terry and Kaitlin live in Nashville, and Kevin's parents were up visiting them that same weekend so we were able to meet for lunch before her game.

Ava always enjoys Elia's games.

Here are more pictures from the weekend:

We all went to Cozymel for dinner.  We were a loud bunch, but the girls sure had a lot of fun.

We had one last game on Sunday before heading home.  Before we left, we found a fun snowcone stand.  It was kind of like Yogurt Mountain where you get to add your own flavors!

Field Day

We had a great time on Field Day.  Fortunately, I got to be there to see Ava play since I teach 2nd grade, and she is in 2nd grade this year.  I did not get to see any part of Elia's field day.  We were having our class picnic when Elia had hers so I do not have any pictures of her.  

Here are a few shots from Ava's field day:  (I love the one where her tongue is sticking out.  I guess that helps with the concentration!)

Here are couple pictures of the best class ever:

Ava and her buddy, Andrew!

Me with my buddy, Carol!

1st 5K- Lessons Learned

I ran my first 5K on May 5.  It was actually my 2nd race, but my first one was about 10 years ago so I count this one as my first.  There were lots of lessons learned from running the past 7 weeks and running this 5K.

Lesson #5
PACE YOURSELF- I had been running for about 7 weeks when I ran this race.  About 10 seconds before they blew the horn to start running, my running coach said to me "Whatever you do, don't go super fast for the first mile!"  I think that advice went in one ear and out the other.  Actually, I heard every word she said, but my adrenaline was going and I got caught up in the excitement.  When I got to mile one I heard "8 minutes, 41 seconds".  I about flipped out.  All I could think about was how on earth I was going to finish this race.  I ended up slowing down A LOT, and finishing the race in 33 minutes and 59 seconds!  I don't think I will make that mistake again!

Lesson #4
RACE PICTURES ARE NOT PRETTY!- I made Kevin promise to take my picture as I crossed the finish line.  Once I saw them, I made him promise to delete the pictures of me crossing the finish line!  There is nothing uglier than things bouncing around and hair pushed all back while sweating like a hot pig!

Lesson #3
THE FIRST MILE IS ALWAYS THE HARDEST- Ok, so obviously this lesson doesn't apply to this race.  However, I have learned that the first mile is not much fun.  It takes a little while to loosen those muscles and really enjoy the run.  About halfway through that first mile and the start of mile 2, I am feeling great and feel like I can take on anything!!

Lesson #2
RUNNING IS FREE THERAPY!- I have completely surprised myself at how much I have enjoyed running these past several weeks.  I think my favorite time of day to run is at 5am when the rest of the world is asleep.  The world is quiet and you can actually hear the birds chirping.  I know that sounds kind of silly but it is good stuff.  It gives me several minutes in the morning all to myself!

Lesson #1
I AM A RUNNER!- I can remember when our running group first started.  Courtney had us run a minute and walk a minute and a half.  I remember wondering if I could even run a minute without stopping.  Now I am running ten minutes without stopping!  That first minute is a piece of cake now.  I look ahead at this journey and wonder how I am going to be able to run a half marathon in December.  Then I think back to that 1 minute I didn't think I could run!!  That one minute is a constant reminder that I can accomplish anything I want to accomplish!

A picture of Courtney and me right before the race:

My view from the starting line:

My results: