Jumping

This was a great weekend. We spent a majority of our time jumping with friends. On Saturday we jumped on the trampoline with our neighbors, and today we went to two birthday parties; one had a bounce house and the other was at Rollie Pollies, a jumpy house dream.

The best picture from the weekend didn't involve jumping. It involved Aurora clobbering a piñata. I love the intensity! The last picture was a rare moment when they were together and didn't mind sitting still for a moment. They were together most of the time. It used to be that Clark would call me when he needed attention or help, but today I noticed he was constantly calling his sister, which just about made me jump for joy! Other highlights from the weekend included seeing Beauty and the Beast (we loved it); I had time to run and do yoga (twice), and Chuck had lots of free time to continue fixing up his studio. He won't have as much free time in the next couple of weeks as we are about to jump into a VERY busy month. April will be awesome, stay tuned!

Weekday Edition

It can be hard to transition from spring break (and a time change) back into the normal routine, but for this crew it has not been a problem. Clark's been waking up before the alarm and Aurora's been able to do her homework and the dishes every day. This week was especially awesome because class pictures came in and Aurora got an award! I have to admit, picture day completely slipped my mind. It was during a week when Clark was sick, and at first I was kicking myself. We'd already pre-ordered individual and class photos and the kids were just wearing regular old t-shirts with messy hair!? Turns out, it really is the perfect glimpse into a normal day at school.

On Friday I got to join the kids at school for their weekly assembly, where Aurora was given an award for being inspiring! Clark was SO excited to see his sister on stage. 

I figure this is as good a post as any to put a picture from an event I attended a couple weeks back, where I ended up on stage with a group of amazing women who have all completed a leadership course in the past couple of years. 

When I first heard that every child gets an award every year, I thought this might be one of those "everybody gets a trophy" type of situations. But the awards are so personal, the kids are so proud, and giving each child a chance to accept an award on stage with their friends and families in attendance gives these kids such confidence. And, as I'm learning through my own professional development, it's something that she'll continue to do well into adulthood!

Break

In the days leading up to Spring Break, I kept telling Clark that we were going to have a 9 day weekend. Tonight as we recapped our fun and talked about what we liked the most, Clark said it only felt like an 8 day weekend. I guess he could use one more day... couldn't we all! The second half of spring break was super fun. On Wednesday we spent hours at Mt. Playmore jumping, running around, and playing video games. Clark had recently been there for a field trip and had a great time, but they couldn't play the arcade games and he really wanted to so we got a 2-hour unlimited pass and enjoyed every minute out of it.

Thursday we spent the day in Lakeway exploring a park we'd never been to, having lunch at a restaurant we'd never been to, going to a library we'd never been to, and having ice cream at this amazing new place we'd never even heard of. Fruity Pebbles ice cream FTW!

Friday we were off to the Thinkery. Clark didn't think he'd ever been there before (he had). It was pretty crowded but we arrived early and found some quiet corners to explore.

Lunch was high tea, a tradition for me and Aurora but new to Clark. If you can believe it, he overdosed on sweets and doesn't think he needs to go back again!

That evening we rode bikes and had pizza with friends, then Saturday night Aurora accompanied me to a co-worker's wedding at the Wildflower Center. It was lovely and she was the perfect date.

Today we had lunch at the Lake Park with friends, did our food shopping and laundry and enjoyed our last relaxing afternoon of this very long weekend. I love taking Spring Break off with the kiddos and we all needed the break to unplug, rest, adventure, and play together. We did get a little bit of time with Chuck as well, but he had a busy week at work so I guess he'll have to recharge and take a break on his own time. 

Spring Forward

In all the excitement of the time change and spring break, I completely missed a blog post! Last week I had a couple of late nights out without the fam, and this week we've had several late mornings sleeping in. I'm taking the whole week off and so far we've spent most of our time going on outings with our neighbors Heidi Grace and Collins. Yesterday was the Dino Park and Chuck E. Cheese.

Today we went to the Nature and Science Center and had lunch at a new restaurant called Lucy's on the Fly, then spent the afternoon on our own, riding bikes and doing art projects at the library.

Aurora has been needing a new bike, but it's such a rare opportunity that we can go riding that it hasn't been a priority. Over the weekend we found her an inexpensive big girl bike and I bought it as an early birthday present. I knew the weather would be nice and figured it would be an ideal spring break activity. It was actually her first time riding without training wheels and she just took off without hesitation. She wobbled around a bit but it didn't take her long to get a hang of it.

These last few days she seems to be growing up before my eyes. In addition to riding a big girl bike without training wheels, she's decided that she wants to be a helper and has been doing dishes and laundry, sweeping the floors, helping make dinner... we actually decided to put together a chore chart and I've given a value to each household activity so that she can start earning allowance. She still has the option to help, but the more she helps the more she'll earn (dishes = 25c so she can earn $1.75/week if she does the dishes everyday, and so on). She's super excited about it, though we know that once school starts back up her time will be much more limited.

Clark isn't quite as helpful. He's more stubborn and ridiculous. Lately he's been wearing his pants backwards every day, on purpose, so that the ties in front can be his tail... so, yeah. At least the time change hasn't affected him!

Cool Kids

In school I was never one of the cool kids. Chuck and I met in junior high art club and that's about as cool as either of us have ever been. Flash forward to today, and I'm pretty sure we have two of the coolest kids you've ever seen. Case in point: Clark, wearing a handmade beanie while shoveling mac & cheese with a pumpkin scoop, and Aurora showing off her science day inventions to Clark's friends. I'm pretty sure they were thinking Clark has the coolest sister ever.

This weekend I felt a little like one of the cool kids. We had a date night Saturday and went to this awesome show at the Long Center which was part play, part concert. It was called Let It Be, and it was basically a Beatles cover band changing sets and costumes to take us through actual concerts from the 60's and 70's, followed by the concert that never happened; a reunion show in 1980 with their newest hits as a group and a variety of songs they'd released as individuals. The band was amazing and the audience was going crazy!

Today I got to be in the audience once again for some live music and an awards ceremony honoring the top finishers for the Austin Distance Challenge. I got my jacket, my beer, and even got invited on stage for sharing my experiences through the ARC blog this season.

The Austin Runners Club is full of cool people. I may have been the first one to register this season, but today I sat next to the female/half track first place overall finisher and if you think my running goals are big, think again! This girl has goals! My goals for the coming year are still a bit up in the air so instead of planning ahead I've been extending this season instead. After the Ragnar Relay I'll be participating in a Women on the Trails introductory program followed by my first ever trail race. I'm thinking all the cool kids run on trails... we'll find out soon enough!

Summer Planning

This was one of those over-scheduled weekends that at first feels overwhelming but ends up working out perfectly. Saturday morning Aurora's Girl Scout troop volunteered for a creek cleanup, which was surprisingly educational and unsurprisingly fun and gross.

We got home, cleaned ourselves up, and Aurora's friend Melody came for a play date and sleepover. Our first activity was going the lake park. We have lived in this neighborhood for nearly 11 years and about 2 years ago decided to get on the wait list for lake park access. As of this week, we are officially members! In addition to a great park and lake access, there's also a nice pool so our summer plans just got a whole lot more fun. We may have to get a canoe.

We ended the day with pizza and cake at our neighbor's house (Will is turning 5!), and this morning headed out bright and early for donuts and a trip to Bee Cave City Park, where I went for a run while the kids played. After dropping Melody back home and running a few errands, I took the kiddos to the Scottish Rite Theatre to see Puff the Magic Dragon. Clark didn't remember ever going to a play and firmly decided he did not want to go. He threatened to look the other way the whole time, kicked and screamed and made such a fuss as we put him in the car. As soon as we got there and the music started, he was grinning from ear to ear, giving me big thumbs up. Afterwards they had all the kids get on stage with the actors for a photo op. It was great!

Then we went to a summer camp fair where Clark played legos, Aurora fed horses, and I spent a long time learning about nearly every summer camp in the area. There are some pretty amazing options out there, but very few that accept 4 year olds, last the full day, and go through August. Even fewer that are affordable and close to our house! That being said, it was a good way to spend our afternoon. If only I could spend the summer with the kids volunteering, going to plays, and swimming at the lake park...

Half Crazy

Well, it's been tough few days but I'm happy to report that I finished the Austin Half Marathon and earned the final magnetic piece of my Distance Challenge puzzle. Instead of recounting the whole thing here, I'll just let you read the latest (and last!) installment on the Austin Runners Club blog. I'm kind of digging this on-course photo, and here are the pictures from the blog; showing off my leg muscles and a whole lotta bling:

I've been recovering with lots of hydration, food, and sleep, plus yoga, massage, and another visit to the chiropractor. I'm feeling surprisingly good considering yesterday's effort! My chiropractor was happy to see that I was smiling and walking, and he said my back was much better today, so I guess all those hills must've been good for me.

I am glad to have today off. I hate to say it, but the kids have spent the majority of the weekend playing video games and watching movies while I've been out and about. I'd like to say now that the Distance Challenge is over my running days are behind us for awhile - but alas, there are more races on the calendar and more medals to be earned! I do plan on scaling back next year and limiting myself to one or two big events. And contrary to what everyone is thinking - I am not interested in increasing my distance or doing a full marathon. You may think I've been going a little crazy with these half marathons, but I'm only half crazy...

Warm Winter

Just another lovely warm weekend in Austin... while it's been snowing in other parts of the country! Next weekend is the Austin Half Marathon and temperatures are predicted to be in the 60's and 70's, which was pretty much how this weekend went. I took Aurora to a Marathon Kids meet up, where we ran nearly 2 miles together. What this girl lacks in endurance, she makes up for in enthusiasm!

Then she spent the night at a friend's house and we had a #onekiddatenight. Whenever we only have Clark, we take him to a fancy restaurant and pretend it's a date night. He's pretty quiet and doesn't complain or eat much, so it works out fine. We took him to a sushi restaurant right after a quick stop to the library (and P. Terry's). He wore a party hat "just in case."

Today Aurora had a Girl Scout meeting, where the girls learned how to tie ropes!

I'm pleased to say that we sold all 100 boxes of cookies (with fewer than 10 boxes staying in our pantry). In the coming weeks we'll be volunteering to clean up a park and planning our Girl Scout camping weekend, which will be just a week after the Ragnar Relay (I'm not sure what's wrong with me). I hope your weekend was just as active, relaxing, and warm.

Long weekend?

This weekend was so action-packed that Aurora actually woke up this morning positive it was Monday and angry that I let her oversleep! I can see why she'd be confused. It started Thursday when we stayed late at school for Valley View's first International Open House. The food that families brought was over the top, representing the best of every nationality you can imagine.

After school on Friday I brought Aurora directly to her friend Melody's house for a slumber party. These girls are turning 9 and sleepovers are the way to go!

Yesterday we had a double playdate with some new friends who just happen to have a 4 year old boy and an 8 year old girl. We had such a good time playing that they invited us to stay for dinner and a movie! Super fun, but yet another late night.

Today was party after party. We celebrated our friend's son Sebastian turning one before heading to a Super Bowl pre-game party. The face painting and food were amazing!

Afterwards, Aurora wanted a special girl's only activity so the boys stayed home playing video games while we went to a little art studio and worked with tiles.

We did our food shopping during the Super Bowl, as per tradition, and when bedtime came around these kids were READY. This was not a long weekend, but it sure felt like one! 

This is not a political post.

Lately social media has become a whole new beast full of politics, fake news, real news being called fake news, outrage and activism. And while I know that we are living in troubled times, I can't help but miss the days of puppies, kittens, and babies. It feels like posting outside of the political realm is insensitive, but as Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, "Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that." So, I'm hoping to keep my blog a place of light and love, family and fun.

We have had a lot of fun recently. I took the kids up to this crazy place called Catch Air and they loved it. We saw the Trolls movie and LOVED IT.

Yesterday we had a babysitter come over so we could celebrate the accomplishments of the last few weeks. The kids love our new babysitter, Zora, and we had a good time going on a brewery tour and seeing a magic show.

Yes, that's me with Houdini, and yes, the magic show was awesome and hilarious. Can I plan a date night or what? We also visited with friends, held a new baby, celebrated a sweet little neighbor who just got potty trained, and generally made the most of our limited weekend.

I hope you're staying educated and sane, taking time out to laugh, have fun, and take care of yourselves and each other through all this craziness.

2017 Goals

This awesome goal sheet came home in Aurora's Thursday folder and I couldn't love it any more than I do. She has made huge strides with swimming, hasn't picked up her guitar in a year, needs a new bike, and well... she's always been a pretty good girl (and sleeper).

I went into 2017 with some fairly large goals of my own; namely, passing the SHRM certification exam and finishing the Distance Challenge. After months of coursework and preparation, I passed my test on Friday (!!!) and got one step closer to completing the Distance Challenge today as I set a personal record at the 3M Half Marathon.

Our next big goal is to sell all of Aurora's Girl Scout cookies (preferably not to ourselves), and her troop has some volunteering and a camping trip on the calendar. I still have the Austin Half Marathon coming up and am hoping to increase my fundraising efforts for Team LIVESTRONG. Chuck's next goal is to fix up his studio and move all of his computer equipment back out there, and Clark... I'm saying his goal for the year is to learn how to read.

There's so much more I hope we can accomplish this year, but tonight I'm feeling incredibly relieved, proud, and very sore from a big weekend. Time for bed!