The Life of a Running Momma: Topeka Trip

This past weekend we traveled to visit Ty's family. We had been planning for months to visit that weekend for one of Ty's best college friends, Candice's, 30th birthday party. Then his cousin invited us for his Aunt Gena's 60th birthday party and, of course, we couldn't miss that. So we had an awesome birthday celebrating weekend. Carter had been sick the entire week leading up to our trip and Elise hadn't been up to par either, but they both did really well over the weekend and Carter was starting to get back to his usual form. Friday morning I got up early to run a 7 mile tempo run before Ty left for work. I ran a mile warm up and a mile cool down for a total of 9 miles on the day. My goal was to hit my tempo in 7:20-7:30 pace and was able to finish it in 7:25 pace which I was pleased with. I took the kids to a Talking is Teaching event that morning and was feeling great. I was beginning to think I wouldn't be too sore from the run even though it was a hard effort for me. Ty took a half day so we could leave at naptime on Friday and arrive in Topeka a little before dinner. Both kids napped in the car almost right away but didn't nap quite as long as usual, pretty typical of naps during car rides. We went straight to Ty's grandma and grandpa's house where his mom, dad, and Aunt Netta met us for dinner. By the time we got there I was crazy sore and couldn't wait to get out of the car. While there Elise enjoyed climbing up and down the stairs and Carter enjoyed pretending to run on their tredmill and taking a walk around the neighborhood. That night I had trouble falling asleep because I was so sore and because my toenail was throbbing. Then Carter woke up around midnight screaming for me so I just slept with him so he wouldn't wake Elise.

Taking a nap in the car.

Playing with great grandma.

Elise reading with Aunt Netta.

Taking a walk around the neighborhood.

Gpa went with us on our second walk around the neighborhood.

Saturday morning both kids slept until 8:00 am! That is pretty unheard of, but totally amazing! I was exhausted so after being up with them for a while I went back to bed. I slept for another hour and a half and then got up. By that time I needed to start getting ready for Gena's birthday party. We headed out for her party a little before 11 and both kids were dressed in their party clothes. Ty's cousins: Jessica, Chris, and Lindsay (Chris' wife) did a great job with decorations. There were adorable banners with pictures of Gena at different ages. My favorite was one of her as a toddler sitting on the steps crying and they had printed on the bottom, "Oh no... The big 6-0!" We got to meet Ty's cousin Amber's daughter who is now 5 months old and she was precious! After a great afternoon of visiting with everyone, eating lots of food and desserts, and playing games we headed back to Ty's parents' house to get the kids down for naps. Once they were asleep we changed into our costumes for Candice's 30th birthday party. It was an Olympic themed party and each couple chose a country and dressed appropriately. We picked Scotland so we could use the kilts my mom made us for the Clash of Clans 5k. Ty went all out as he tends to do when there are costumes involved, buying blue face paint and creating a flag to take with us. We had a blast at the party. There were 10 couples competing in 9 events ranging from obstacle courses to water balloon toss and corn hole. We ended the night with the most medals. We got 3 gold, 2 silver, and 1 bronze. Of the 3 events we didn't medal in, we were 4th in 2 of them. Not that winning medals was what it was all about, it was more about having fun, but it was still awesome to do so well! Rocky, Leina, and Aunt Netta watched Carter and Elise for us while we were at the party. Then Gigi and Papa came over to play later. It was so cute hearing all about their evening when we returned. Their big activity was tracing everyone's outlines while they laid on the driveway. When they asked Elise to lay down so they could draw her, she laid on her side instead of her back. I couldn't stop laughing when I saw her chalk outline which looked like a giant fetus. Sunday morning the kids slept until about 7:30 and then we had breakfast enchiladas Leina had prepped the night before. We had a fun morning hanging out and playing with chalk before leaving after lunch to head home.