Hops Over the Moon 5K

Yesterday I ran my second 5K race. Ben, Andy and Lisa ran too. It was held at the Boonshoft Childrens' Museum in Dayton - a fundraiser for museum - which we used to take the kids when they were smaller. Ben and I knew we would be in Dayton visiting his parents, and were looking at races we could do while there since Maria would be at 4-H camp and Ben's parents could keep Sam for us, when we stumbled across this event. For $40, we ran the race and got the usual T-shirt, but also had all the food and drink we could eat at the event after the race, and 5 beer (or other drink) tickets. The party also featured live bands and went from 7:00 - 11:00. Seemed like a great deal - especially when most races cost around $30 and don't have the food or beer.

So we decided we'd sign up, and were thrilled when Andy and Lisa were going to be able to join us as well. We all were kid-free too. The only downfall - a race at 6:30 in the evening. In 91 degree heat. Although some was in the shade and for a while there was a slight breeze, it was still hot. Very, very hot. The last race I ran - 46 degrees and windy. I can only seem to be at one extreme or the other. My only goal was to beat the time of my previous 5K - 32'37". But as the afternoon wore on, I knew that was probably unrealistic given how hot it was.

When we started, I had a great first mile. I ran my pace, let Lisa get ahead of me, and thought I could run that pace the entire time. But it started to get difficult in the second mile, where I had to walk some - I just was out of breath, my legs hurt, and sweat was dripping off my face. So I knew I couldn't keep up. By the second mile I would jog for a little bit, and then have to walk some more. The walking didn't seem to help me catch my breath like it should have. By the end, I was feeling pretty bad about this race. I really questioned whether I should ever run a race again. I finished in 36"12" which was more than 3 minutes over my last time. And I did not feel good when I crossed the finish line - I had to sit down and keep drinking water. But I also reminded myself I don't do this to win - I'll never be fast - I just want to stay healthy and in shape.

But then I talked to the other people in our group - everyone but Ben had to walk at some point. No one was happy with their time. Everyone agreed the conditions were horrible. Even people we didn't know commented on how unbearably hot it was. So I felt a little better. My first mile was my fastest ever - 9'21" - which was certainly not the plan and also probably contributed to how bad I felt the second half of the race.

But the rest of the evening was a lot of fun. It was a really nice event - the variety of food and beer was awesome, the weather was hot but at least it didn't storm, and as usual when we're with Andy and Lisa, we just had a great time hanging out. And Ben got 3rd place for men ages 30-39 (probably his last race in that age group!), so that was cool too.

Final results:
Total racers: 119
Ben - 15th overall 22'22"
Andy - 20th overall 24'00"
Lisa S - 71st overall 34'04"
Lisa K - 81st overall 36'12"

Note - Pictures are all pre-race except the one with Ben and his bronze metal. Post-race pictures would have been a very bad idea.

Job #1 Completed

Before:



After:
Today Maria and I painted the barn. It hasn't been painted since it was built in the summer of 2002, and poor Ben was on his own because I was 7 months pregnant with Sam at the time. Painting is something that until several months ago has always been Ben's job - at least since he painted Maria's bedroom while I was pregnant with her. Before that, we used to paint together, but once the kids came along I always had to take care of them while Ben worked.

Then we painted the basement this winter, and Ben decided I wasn't as bad a painter as he remembered (I did enjoy not household painting jobs for 10 good years, though). So this spring, when I mentioned (numerous times) that the barn really needed painted, and that it would be a breeze compared to the basement, he replied that if I was so sure it needed to be painted maybe I should be the one to do it. So I agreed that I would. And then Maria piped up and said she wanted to help. And I'm not sure he really took us seriously.

But I decided it would be the first thing crossed off my summer to-do list, and so Ben went out and bought the paint for us this morning. And we got all of the rolling done before lunch. But then we had to take a several hour break because the radar looked like rain (in fact, was green over us for most of the afternoon although we only got a few drops). But we went back out mid-afternoon and finished all of the white trim, which was the most time-consuming part - especially on the doors on the front. Maria helped up until about the last hour - she did almost all the painting on the front and barn doors. If I hadn't had her help I would still be painting!

And Ben didn't paint, but he did buy us the supplies, and then took care of groceries and meal preparation and clean-up today so that we could paint with fewer interruptions. It was like some kind of opposite day where we each did the others' job, but as usual, we make a great team and got everything accomplished.

Father's Day

This year, as usual, we spent Father's Day traveling home from Oxford after Alumni weekend, so Ben didn't get a special breakfast - unless you count eating in our freshmen year dining hall special. But the kids were able to give him a gift when we got home - a LEGO Star Wars set that they can all help put together. The kids had a great time picking it out and its fun to see Ben be able to be a kid again and indulge his love of LEGOs and Star Wars.

Miami Alumni Weekend

Great friends, beautiful weather, wonderful time.

Washington, D.C. Day 4

Today was our last day here, and we started with a tour of the White House. At least a little tiny part of the White House. We had e-mailed our Congressman months ago and had all of the proper paperwork and security checks behind us, so we were ready to go. When we got in the line for the first of three security checks, the line was moving along pretty quickly, until we were second in line. Then a huge line of what appeared to be South American high ranking military officials and their wives arrived for their own tour of the White House. And our line stopped while these people were checked in. And boy did they check them carefully. In a couple of cases, a birth date from the person's passport did not match the birth date the security officials had in their book, and these people had to wait off to the side while lots of walkie-talkie official looking business took place. Eventually, they were all let in and then our line resumed movement. But we were at a standstill for about a half hour.

Once we showed our I.D.'s to two different officers at different points on the way into the White House, it was amazing how quickly the metal detector check went. Probably because you weren't allowed to bring anything other than a wallet, umbrella, and cell phone (no bags) today, but the security check at the Capital Building seemed much more difficult to get through. Anyway, the tour was self-guided and went through about 10-12 rooms. It was pretty cool to be in the White House and the kids seemed to like it, but I would have liked more information.

After the White House we stopped back at the hotel to get our stuff - bags, cameras, etc, and then headed to a quick lunch followed by a trip to the International Spy Museum. This was supposed to be a good place for kids, but we all really liked it. I learned a lot about things that I've heard about before, but since it was presented from the viewpoint of the intelligence agency it was all much more interesting. There was a lot of reading, and Sam wasn't interested in either reading it himself or having it read to him, so he was pretty impatient during parts of the tour. But I still think it was one of the best things we did on this trip.

Then we headed to the National Archives to get a quick look at the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. We waited in a line for over a half hour and it never moved, the kids were tired and restless, so we finally left without getting in and instead went back to the hotel for a rest.

We had dinner at the Capital City Brewing Company, and then finally made the walk to see the Korean War Memorial and the Vietnam Memorial. We had never seen the Korean one before, and I was amazed by how big it was and how different from the other monuments. A quick stop to see the Einstein statue and we headed to our home-away-from-home. We had planned a swim before bed, but apparently the pool closes at 8:00 on Wednesday evenings for chlorination so the kids were disappointed.

Tomorrow morning we head home after a stop to see Falling Water in Pennsylvania. We've had a good trip but are ready to get home!

Picture note - two of our main destinations today - the White House and the International Spy Museum did not allow photography, so we don;t have many pictures to choose from today!

Washington, D.C. Day 3

We started Day 3 with a trip to Arlington Cemetery. It was cooler today - highs in the low 80's and mostly cloudy, so we thought it would be a good day to do the cemetery, although it still felt pretty hot in the sun. I don't think the kids were very impressed by anything there. We explained things to them in general about the cemetery, who is buried there, and the perfect straight lines of the tombstones, etc. Then we headed to the Kennedy burial sites. Of course, neither Maria nor Sam knew who any of the Kennedys were, so we tried to explain enough so they could understand the idea behind the eternal flame, etc., but it's difficult for them to really get it, and in the hot sun I don't think they cared all that much. We saw Ted Kennedy's burial site too, which was new to Ben and I. I do think as the kids get older, and learn more history, they may be able to look back and think "Oh yeah, I remember seeing that." I think most people don't really start to respect history until they have lived through more of it!

Then we made our way uphill to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. We ended up getting a perfect spot up front to watch the changing of the guard, but had to wait about 20 minutes for it to occur. They were doing wreath-laying ceremonies so at least there was something to watch while we waited, but it was hot, and I think the kids were just glad when it was over. A quick stop to the memorials for the Space Shuttles and we were on our way. One thing we have noticed about traveling in June is there are so many school groups here with teenage kids - acting like teenagers - which we are trying to avoid over summer vacation! These large groups are sometimes annoying to work our way around when we are walking places.

After Arlington, we headed back to the mall and grabbed lunch at a street vendor and ate on a park bench. When we noticed we were right across from the Museum of Natural History, the kids and I took a quick trip inside to see the Hope Diamond. It's so nice that's there's no admission price so we could just go in for 10 minutes and then come back out.

At this point we had some time to kill before our 2:00 tour at the Bureau of Printing and Engraving, but not enough time to come back to the hotel. So we decided to walk over to see the Jefferson monument, which is fairly close to the Bureau, but it was still a long hike around the Tidal Basin, which was made longer since we had to walk around all of the construction. Still, it was a very cool monument to see, and we saw lots of similarities to Monticello, which we visited two summers ago.

The tour at the Bureau of Printing and Engraving was neat because you could actually walk through the factory and look down as workers printed real money. I think the kids enjoyed it and it was something new for Ben and I too. It's just amazing the amount of paper money that is being printed every day.

We came back to the hotel for a break before dinner, which we had decided to have at the Hard Rock Cafe. We thought the kids should experience it, even though we knew it would be very crowded. We did have to wait 45 minutes for a table, but spent some of our waiting time looking around and in the gift shop so it wasn't too bad. They had some things there from artists the kids recognized - like Beatles album covers, Michael Jackson's red leather jacket, and a guitar belonging to Prince. After dinner, we came back to the hotel for a swim and then to bed.

We are having a great time, but starting to miss home as well. Our hotel is a suite, with a separate sitting room and bedroom, and I think that has really saved us all from getting on each others' nerves too much. But still, the kids are starting to argue a little more often, which they only do when they are together this much, and I am missing my bed, my house, my own coffee maker, my own TV, etc. So we'll be glad to get home on Thursday night.

Washington, D.C. Day 2

This morning we spent at the tour of the Capital building. Even though we had reservations through our Congressman, there was a lot of waiting around - in line to go through security checks, then inside until it was time for our tour, then in line for the movie before the tour. I think the kids were really tired of waiting around and not really seeing anything. But once the tour started, it was very informational. We had to wear headphones, and the tour guide was able to talk to us through a mike attached to her suit. It really helped to block out all of the background noise. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable, but talked very fast and I think most of it went right over Sam's head. But we gave him the camera and he was content to take pictures. That's one thing I have definitely noticed about this trip - even when the kids are tired or unhappy, they really don't complain too much. Sam will mention his legs hurt and ask how long until we get there, but he does that in the car all the time too. There's never any "I don't want to do that" or similar whining, which is so nice. And Maria just gets quiet when she's tired or hungry - so we do our best to fix that situation when we can. She's really been a trooper - had some trouble with a scab coming off one of her removed warts and bleeding all over her capris pants last night, and she has a cold. She's been taking Sudafed, but I still don't think she's feeling quite like herself. But she never complains and is determined not to let it ruin her vacation.

After the Capital tour, it was lunch time and the best thing to do - to cut back on the amount of walking we had to do - was to just eat at the Smithsonian since we were going to spend the afternoon there anyway. So we paid almost $40 for McDonalds (No, I'm not kidding) and had lunch at the Air and Space Museum. We spent most of our time looking at space stuff - by the time we got to the "air" side the kids were tired, and have seen a lot of similar stuff at the Air Force Museum. After that, we stopped in the Natural History Museum to see the dinosaur bones (Sam's choice) and the American History building to see the entertainment stuff. We were disappointed there wasn't more to that display - like no Seinfeld puffy shirt - but did get to see "Olympic Speed Skater and Ballroom Dancer" Apollo Ohno's gold skates (no ballroom shoes, though). One thing I wanted to see and we didn't was the Hope Diamond - I thought it was in the American History museum, but it was really in the Natural History building, and we were too tired to go back once we figured that out.

Then we headed back to the hotel - we did all of our traveling by subway again - to swim, but of course it started raining on our walk back. So we had dinner first - walked to a local pizza place in Georgetown that was supposed to be good - Pizzeria Paradiso. It was about a mile walk there - but the pizza was so good it was worth it. And we needed the mile walk back to burn off some of those calories! Now Ben has the kids at the pool, and we're hoping for an earlier bedtime for them tonight - even though they slept 10 hours last night they did not want to get up this morning!

Washington, D.C. Day 1

Yesterday we arrived here around 2:00. The updated GPS in the van and Ben did a great job of navigating - we didn't get lost at all. Now that the van is parked, we don't plan to use it until we leave for home on Thursday.

The original plan was to check in and then head to the mall to look at several monuments before meeting college friends for dinner at Old Ebbit's Grill. But it was so hot - over 90 degrees, and Ben needed a break after all that driving. So he rested while I took the kids up to the rooftop pool for an hour. Then we changed clothes and headed to the subway for our dinner date. Ben had done plenty of research on the Metro system, and did an awesome job of getting us where we needed to be. It was the kids' first subway ride, and a Sunday was a good way to introduce them since it wasn't very crowded. I think they were most impressed that it was underground the entire time (especially Sam), and with how fast it went.

We stopped to see the White House and Department of Treasury on the walk to dinner. Dinner was great - we hadn't seen Megan in 5 years - she lives her with her husband and two young daughters, and hadn't seen Jen since we graduated 17 years ago! Both were in band with us at Miami. The kids were great - Sam started to get antsy at the end but we were there for 2 hours!

After dinner walked to the mall and saw the other side of the White House, the Washington monument, World War II monument, and the Lincoln monument. The kids were interested and took lots of pictures - unfortunately Sam's camera pooped out and he had to use ours for the rest of the time, but Ben brought his good camera as well. Sam was bummed that his earlier pictures were gone - the same thing happened the Maria's camera about a year ago. Anyway, the kids were very interested in the monuments - more than I thought they would be - and Sam had questions like "What is a monument?" and "Why are they here?" I'm glad, because sometimes I forget how much younger he is than Maria and assume he knows thing that he doesn't, so I'm glad he's not too shy to ask.

On the walk back to through the mall to the subway station, though, the kids were tired. And thirsty - we hadn't brought any water bottles. It was hot - even though the sun was setting the air was still humid. It would have been so much worse in the sun, though. Sam complained a lot, but we made it back to the subway station and then back to the hotel. The good thing is that our hotel is only a block and a half from the Metro station, so once you're on the Metro the worst is behind you. I'm just concerned about how Sam will do the rest of the week, if he's already tired. Maria was too, she's just much less vocal about it. And we did walk a few miles last night.

After we got back to the hotel - around 9:45 - and got the kids to bed, Ben and I spent another half hour planning specifics for today - mainly the transportation and lunch options - trying to cut back on the walking as much as possible. Unfortunately that meant our brains were too active to sleep and neither one of us slept very well last night. Today we have the Capital tour this morning, and the Smithsonian museums this afternoon. A lot of walking again, but at least most will be in the air conditioning.

Weekend with Dan and Pam

On our way to Washington, D.C., we made a stop in Staunton, Virginia, to see our friends Dan and Pam. We were here two years ago, and stayed with them in the President's mansion on the campus of Mary Baldwin University. But now they have a weekend home in the country - its very secluded and has a beautiful view of the mountains, and the best part for the kids - an in-ground pool. We arrived Friday late afternoon, and the kids swam while we grilled out. After dinner we all swam, and then were in bed by 11:00 - we had an exhausting 8 hour drive that day.

Saturday we decided to go on a canoe trip down part of the Shenandoah River - the kids have wanted to go on a canoe trip for a while and we thought the scenery might be better than an Ohio canoe trip. We ended up taking a 9 mile trip in two canoes - one with Ben, Sam and Pam, and the other with Dan, Maria and me. Both kids rode on a seat in the middle of the canoe, with a paddle they could use whenever they wanted. It was along, hot ride, with a lunch picnic, lots of rocks to get stuck on, and a little thunderstorm about two miles from the end. Luckily, the thunder and lightning were pretty far off, so we just parked our canoes under some tress to wait out the storm - we just sat there in the canoes and got soaked through while it poured and poured. So it was certainly not a boring canoe trip, but very exhausting. The kids were great - Sam was ready to be done about half-way through, but we took a quick stop in some deeper water for the kids to swim for about 10 minutes and that cooled them off and gave them enough energy to make it to the end (this was before the rain storm). Neither canoe tipped the entire trip, which we consider a victory - especially since the canoe I was in came very, very close - in fact, we may have defied the laws of physics.

After that trip, we came back to the house for more grilling and swimming, and again went to bed before 11:00- we were all beat. This morning Ben and I got up at 7:00 and ran together - which we have never been able to do - on the roads around the house (ended up being 4.75 miles). And the roads were hilly, very hilly. And it was hot. Very hot. So we ran some, and walked some. But the scenery was beautiful, and I'm glad I attempted it. I can say I don't think I have ever sweat that much - during one stretch in the valley the sun was beating down and there was no breeze, and I was so hot that my hair was dripping sweat onto my arms like it was sprinkling rain. But I am hoping to use the experience as a "You think you're hot - its not as bad as that time in Staunton" motivator for the future.

We left mid-morning and headed to Washington D.C., and arrived here around 2:00.

End of School Year Awards

Yesterday, Maria finished 5th grade and left the elementary school after spending seven years there (pre-school through 5th grade). She had a wonderful time, under the supervision of a great staff and surrounded by some really nice classmates. But I'm a little sad that she will be entering middle school next year - her elementary experience was so positive and I know there are going to be more challenges in middle school - socially, if not anywhere else. Anyway, since it was the end of elementary school for the 5th grade, the parents were invited to an Academic Awards assembly. Out of the three award types given - Honor Roll, Presidential Award, and NUMATS recognition - she was only one of four students to receive all three (out of 75 total 5th graders). The Presidential award is based on grades and test scores, the NUMATS was from her gifted and talented EXPLORE test she took this winter (only 4 students did), and the honor roll is self-explanatory. In addition, she brought home certificates for a National Physical Fitness Award and being part of Student Council. Even though she is saying goodbye to elementary school, I don;t think we could ask for a better experience, and are thankful to the wonderful people who have worked with her over the years.
Sam also had an extremely successful year. He has grown so much this year - both academically and socially - and we are so proud of him. His report card speaks for itself - in the academic subjects, students must receive an A+ percentage (98%) to get an S+ on the report card - so he did exceptionally well. At Dad's Day on Friday, each student in the class received an award for some quality - each student a different quality. Sam's was for honesty, which I'm very happy about. We are so proud of him and have high hopes for Sam's continued success in 2nd grade next year.

We scanned some, but not all, of the awards.

Maria's Zoo Trip

Maria visited the zoo with the 5th grade on Friday. Since neither Ben nor I went, she walked around with her good friend Lydia and her Mom, and actually preferred that to one of us going and having to walk around with us rather than her best friend. She had a great time, although it was very hot, and took lots of pictures herself. They ran into Jack Hanna, and had thier picture taken with him. Lydia's Mom told me it looked like Jack Hanna was trying to ecape without being noticed, but they saw him before he got out. If he really wanted to be incognito, he should have worn something different than his signature hat and khaki vest. Anyway, Maria had a great time.

1st Grade Field Trip to the Zoo

I had the pleasure of joining Sam on the first grade field trip to the Columbus Zoo on Wednesday.  Every thing about the day made it feel like Friday.  I got in a traffic jam on the way to the zoo and thought I was going to be late, but I still bet the buses there by almost 15 minutes.

We had a small group, as it was only Sam, Dominick, and myself.  I let the boys go where they wanted and they saw almost everything they wanted to see.  The new bear exhibit was amazing.  There were black bears, brown bears, and even polar bears.  Most every animal at the zoo was napping except the polar bears.  They were playing away with 50-gallon plastic drums both on the land and in the water.  They put on quite a show.  We also saw the elephants and penguins before lunch too.  

It rained on us a just a bit as we finished our packed lunches, then we headed into the aquarium to see the fish and the manatees.  By the time we came back outside, the sun was shining again.  Most of the afternoon was dedicated to the monkeys, both African and Asian.  We had some dip-n-dots and took a ride on the carousel too.  All in all it was a fun trip and the boys were just great.  They drew pictures and answered questions on four of the animals they saw, and Sam chose the polar bears, bald eagle, flamingos, and manatees.  Sam rode home in the car with me and we got home well before the 3:00 end-of-school time, but we were both pretty tired.

Talent Show

Today was the annual Fairbanks Elementary Talent show. Only second through fifth grades could audition, and even though they said that not all students auditioning would be allowed to perform, I can't imagine what an act that didn't make it would look like. I was only there for about the last 12 acts (out of 58!), and in some cases the talent was difficult to find.

Anyway, Maria had an idea inspired by Beatles Rock Band, and got three friends to go along with her. They performed "Paperback Writer," complete with cardboard instruments and custom-made T-shirts. And they spent a lot of time getting their costumes and props ready. After the day of the audition, Maria told me they made the show. I then asked the teacher in charge if Maria's group could be near the end so that I could rush over there and catch it when my plan period started at 2:05 (I am really going to miss having that last period free next year!). Heather told me that Maria's group was "soooo cute I'm saving them for last." And Maria was also one of the two students chosen to introduce each act during the show - all 58 of them.

As it turned out, Ben and I were both able to go over to see her perform - Ben got someone to cover a few minutes of his band class now that all of his performances are over. And they did a really good job - it was very entertaining and a great way to end the show. Next year I think Maria is going ot miss being top dog at the elementary school - it may be hard to start over at the middle school. And I can't believe she's going to be in 6th grade next year!