Running day two!

So, yesterday was Tuesday. Which means it was time to run with Rachel again. I really wasn't dreading it like I thought I may. After our run on Sunday I felt pretty good. Then, my goodness, I woke up Monday morning and felt like I had had a date with Jillian. My legs were so sore I wanted to do as little walking as possible. Tuesday when I got up, I was still sore, but nothing like Monday. We met at my moms house around 5:15pm. Of course we had to chat with Kimbo for a little bit so we probably didn't actually get started until 5:30pm. We took off towards the high school. We noticed there were several other people running/walking around the school too. We hadn't been running long when we noticed a couple coming our way. They were walking and politely started to get over so us runners could pass. As the girl scooted she almost fell off the sidewalk! That was it. The hysterical laughing ensued with Rachel and I! I was laughing so hard I could hardly catch my breath, not to mention how impossible it was to pace my breathing while running or even run for that matter. We had to stop and walk. Whatever! It was well worth the calories we burnt laughing over that poor girls near fall. To realize how funny it was, you probably had to be there. I know that, but trust me when I say, it was Hi-Larious! Anyway, we carried on! We went further this run then we did on Sunday's and our pace improved by an entire minute. Go us! Or at least, go me since Rachel could leave me in her dust if she wanted to. We went 2.41 miles at a 13:55 pace. No world record, I know, but I'm a work in progress! In the end, the nit of the gritty is this: I'm still not in love with running. It's hard work and it hurts, but I certainly don't hate it like I thought I would. I'm still going to give it the full 8 week training period I promised. Be proud of me and stay posted for run day number three!

Happy Wednesday everyone!

I ran...and no one was chasing me!

So, for approximately a month now my best friend, Rachel, has been trying to talk me into running with her. For some background information, I DON'T run. Not only do I not run, I hate running. I don't like being all sweaty and nasty and I don't like feeling like my lungs are collapsing inside my chest. I'm a pretty round girl and I should be running. I should be putting down the biscuit and running like my life depends on it. One day it may. But I don't. To me, it's not fun and it hurts really really bad. When I run EVERYTHING bounces, or jiggles, or rubs together so much I could start a camp fire. It's just not pretty and I hate it. Since I've been friends with Rachel she has been talking about running. This girl is mad crazy about it. She gets up at 5AM to go run?! What the crap! My clock doesn't even register time until 6:30am. And she talks about having a runners high. Says it's amazing. I usually just rolled my eyes and said good for you! One day she had the nerve to say to me, "You should run the Disney half marathon with me in February." hahaha! I looked around and asked, "You talking to me?" hahaha! Thanks, but no thanks. I don't run unless someone is chasing me. Then came her sob story about how much fun it would be to run this race with a buddy. Everyone else had a buddy when I ran it last year and it would be sooo much fun. Please think about it! (In attempt to make myself feel VERY wanted, I may have added a little more whining to that story than actually took place). I told her I would consider it. This weekend I made the decision I would make the first step towards making that decision. I would train three times a week for eight weeks. After that I would make a decision...Well, today was the day. Today could have been the first day of the rest of my running life :) I put Taylor down for her nap. Kissed Robbie bye and I was out the door. Rachel and I ran/walked 2.1 miles. It, honestly, wasn't as bad as I had imagined. Not one time did I feel like I was going to die. I'm still a far cry away from loving it and I've still got a long road ahead, but I'm taking it one day at a time. Could I, the one who never thought it imaginable, be the next participant in the Disney half??

Stay tuned!

We quacked up

Our hotel in Florida was right across the street from the Peabody hotel. My mom reminded us that the ducks walk twice a day and we should try to take Taylor to see them. Score! Great idea mom. So, after we got out of the pool and before Robbie's next conference we decided we would go down stairs, grab some ice cream (It's HOT in Florida people, don't judge us!), and head over to watch the ducks walk. We called ahead and were told they walk everyday at 11 and 5. We left the hotel at 4:45. We knew we'd be right on time! So we crossed the street and entered the Peabody. Once inside, we noticed it was eerily empty. So just started walking down the hall. Off a side hallway we noticed a hotel worker, Muhammad (his name should tell you a lot). Robbie asked him where the ducks were. He said follow this carpet around the corner and when it turns green, take that elevator to the mail lobby. There will be the ducks. We told him thanks and we were off. We walked for what seemed like miles and the carpet never changed colors. We never found an elevator, and there was still not a soul in sight. Finally, we got to a part of the hotel that was under construction. Down another long hallway comes another worker. Once again we ask, where are the ducks. The man takes us through the rubbish to an elevator, right this way. While we are waiting on the elevator the man looks at his watch. He says, you've probably already missed it. The ducks are very punctual! Whatever! Since when did ducks learn to tell time?? We looked at our watch. It was 5:02? Are you kidding? We've been walking inside this stinking hotel, lost, for 15 minutes. This is nuts! We got off the elevator and the man took us outside to the duck palace. Yep, we missed it! So, we started heading back to our hotel. It was almost time for Robbie's next conference to start. We take the elevators down to the lobby and head outside. We are about three blocks down further than when we started because we walked FOREVER inside the hotel. Although, I was very thankful for the air conditioning. This girl loves some AC! Anyway, off we go. It's beautiful and sunny outside when we start. About 5 minutes into our walk back to our hotel, without any warning, the bottom falls out. It is pouring rain...We quickly enter the first door we can get to and lo and behold, we're right back where we started from! Geesh, what an outing!




The Duck Palace


So sad we missed the ducks


The red carpet we would have seen the ducks walk down


They get their own elevator??


Taylor thought a little ninny would be good while waiting on the rain to stop!


I was prepared for the rain!! Thank goodness I put that umbrella in my purse last Christmas :)

We didn't get to see the ducks, but that outing made for a good laugh!!!

Orlampa

So, Friday the 13th was travel day one for us. We were headed to Orlando for Robbie to go to a Ron Paul political conference. This would be Taylor's 3rd flight and I was, again, nervous as to how she would act on the flight. The first 20 minutes were touch and go with some light fussing, but after some ninny it was smooth sailing until we got off the plane :)



Of course we would choose the rental car place with the longest line :( Oh well, they were the cheapest, so we waited!



After packing and unpacking the car three times in the blazing hot Florida heat, we were off! Since we couldn't check into the hotel until three we decided to drive to my old neighborhood and check out where I grew up. It was actually so sad to see how different it looked. My house looked different, my neighborhood looked different, and my elementary and middle school had completely changed!


This is the house I grew up in!


And this is my old elementary school. I liked it better the old way!


My middle school actually looked about the same except for this crazy blue sign.


My church actually looks exactly the same except for the obnoxious new green roofed building they added.

After our trip down memory lane we headed back to the hotel!! Not only was there a Ron Paul political conference going on this weekend there was also an annual Star Wars convention and a huge Indian wedding. Who knew I'd witness some many different people groups on this vacation! It was wild!








The pool at the hotel was huge! I couldn't wait to get in it!!! During one of Robbie's conference breaks, that's exactly what we did!!! Taylor loves the water!





On our drive in from the airport my eagle eyes spotted a COACH OUTLET!!!! So the last day we were in Orlando Robbie watched Taylor so I could go shopping. I've never owned a Coach purse, but my best friend, Rachel, has turned me on to them! Thanks Rach!!!




This place was huge and I could have spent A LOT of money here. I had a hard time deciding on this



or this



Thanks to modern technology, I texted Rachel and we decided on the first one! Had the blue one been a little more navy, I may have chosen it, but I just loved the grey one! Thanks honey, for watching Taylor. Looks like you guys had fun too!




On Sunday we made the two hour drive to my brothers house in St. Petersburg. The drive really wasn't bad. Taylor slept most of the way! And we were all very happy to see Jacob and Jonah!




I couldn't believe how much Jonah has changed in just three short months!



Robbie has always been a big baseball fan. I on the other hand, have not! In fact, I hated baseball. It's so boring. I mean who wants to watch 9+ innings of baseball and walk away with a score of 1-0? Not very exciting! It's just not like watching football. Anyway, a few months back Robbie and I read a book about Texas Rangers player, Josh Hamilton. He has a great story!! Since that book, I've been hooked on watching him play. Honestly, if the rangers aren't playing, I'm still not that interested in baseball. However, if they are, I'm all over it!!! It just so happened that the Rangers were playing a three game series against the Tampa Bay Rays while we were in town. So, Monday night Robbie and I, my brother and his wife, and our THREE kids packed up and headed to Tropicana field. The beauty of the entire evening...IT WAS AIR CONDITIONED!!! Thank you Lord! The rangers lost, but we had a great time anyway. The babies were fantastic!






Did I mention how fantastic it was that this field is INSIDE in the AIR CONDITIONING!!!







These babies were fantabulous!!!








This seemed like a super fast trip and I always hate to leave my family, but we had a great time!