Little Balkans Fun Run and 5k

There's a really fun festival in my hometown over Labor Day weekend called Little Balkans Days. Ty's fantasy football league does their draft that weekend so we tend to find ourselves in town for the festival every year. We did the Little Balkans 5k a few years when they ran the race on Saturday morning but they switched the race to Friday evening last year so we didn't make it. When we were getting ready to go to the Blue Moon race my friend, Erin, and her kids were over at our house. Her son, Hayden, really wanted to go to the race with us. My mom told him she'd invite him to the next fun run in town so he could do it with us. That happened to be the Little Balkans Fun Run which is a free event for kids. The kid's fun run started at 6:30 so we wouldn't be able to make it if we picked Ty up from work and then headed to the race. We decided the kids and I would drop Ty off at work and then leave from there to head to my parents' house. Then Thomas would pick Ty up from work and they'd head out. I planned to run 14 miles on Saturday or Sunday so I didn't want to run the race with the stroller and planned not to run the race. Thursday at work Ty found out if he went in at 7:30 on Friday morning he could leave work at 4:30 so he decided to do that. While I was running that evening I decided I might as well run the 5k instead of running alone earlier in the day. Ty and Thomas wouldn't get there in time for the fun run but they could get there a little bit before the 5k started so I'd be set to run without the stroller. I'd just move my long run back to Sunday and take the race easy at more of a tempo pace than a race pace.

The starting line was right by a playground which the kids enjoyed playing on before the race. As I was signing up for the race I heard someone ask about the distance of the fun run. I had assumed it would be a mile since pretty much all fun runs are that distance. It turned out the race was around a half mile but they weren't sure exactly how far it was. I figured that would be perfect for Hayden's first race and Carter would really enjoy that. We headed over to the race start and Carter was so excited giving Hayden pointers and talking to him about race strategy. It was so cute to hear him. He said, "Hayden you don't want to start out running too fast or you will get a side stitch and it will hurt to run. Then you will have to walk." The boys stayed together and I ran with them. Erin was with her daughter, Addison, who wasn't signed up but decided she wanted to run and mom was with Elise who ran parts of the race. At one point Hayden told Carter he was getting tired and Carter said, "If you get tired you can walk for a little bit and then start running again after a break." They even held hands for a little bit at the start of the race. Hayden walked for a bit and Carter kept running. Once Carter was ahead of Hayden he wanted to stay there and kept checking to see how far back Hayden was. I started my Garmin just for fun to see how fast Carter ran and what the distance of the race was. As we neared the finish line we saw Ty standing there cheering us on and I got so excited I forgot to stop my watch. So Carter ran faster than what my Garmin said, but I'd say it was pretty close. The race was 0.62 of a mile long and Carter finished a little under 6:22 which was when I remembered to stop my watch. That put him at 10:14 pace so a little faster than that if I'd stopped my watch. I was very impressed with him. He was back to his regular form from the first two summer series races and did a great job pacing himself. He's really good about running his own race and doesn't worry too much about passing or beating people around him (unless it's his best friend, haha). 

 

 

The boys holding hands during the first part of the race.

 

Elise and Addison finishing the race.

 

Elise decided she wanted to be carried to daddy instead of running.

Ty took over with the kids and I headed over for the start of my race. I looked around at the crowd and figured I had a good chance of finishing as the top female. I figured I'd take off around 7 minute pace the first mile and see where that put me. I figured I could run the 5k in 7-7:30 pace and still feel fine for my 14 mile long run on Sunday. Two women took out pretty fast but by the mile mark I had pulled even with them. I had planned to just hang on whoever was the top female for the second mile but she was slowing significantly and we were going uphill so I went ahead and just powered up it. I went through the first mile in 6:53 which was a little faster than where I'd been hoping to keep my pace to ensure my legs wouldn't be too tired for my long run so I slowed the pace a bit. Jeremy caught up to me and passed me. There were a few guys out ahead of him. The course was 2 loops around the park area and I had intended to see where we were when I went through the first lap to see if the course was going to be accurate, but I got excited to see Ty and the kids so I forgot. Jeremy passed one of the guys ahead of him and I was reeling that guy in too. I went through the 2nd mile in 7:04 and contemplated dipping back under 7 minutes for the last mile. On a turn I peeked to see what kind of a lead I had on the 2nd female and realized I could walk for a while and she still wouldn't catch me. Although I really wanted to pick it up for the last mile I decided I should be smart and downshift to save my legs for Sunday. I went through the last mile in 7:23 pace and then picked it up toward the finish. I saw Jeremy start sprinting and was surprised he was kicking it in so early. Then I realized as I neared the finish that he was closer to the finish than I had realized. Carter ran the last portion of the race in with me and I finished in 21:50. I ran my cool down back to mom to finish with her.

 

 

 

 

We stayed for awards. The kids enjoyed playing on the playground some more while we waited. Jeremy placed 3rd overall and 2nd in his age group in 20:43. I finished 4th overall and 1st female in 21:50 and mom was 1st in her age group, finishing in 34:49. We saw Hayden the next day and he was so proud of his race, he was wearing his race shirt! It was very cute. We enjoyed more Little Balkans festivities the next day with arts and craft vendors as well as inflatables for the kids to play on. It was a wonderful weekend! Jeremy and I ran our 14 mile long run together on Sunday and even though we waited too late to get out and ran in the heat, we still finished in an average of just under 9 minute pace. We felt good so running the race on Friday worked out for us. I think I ran the race perfectly to where I wasn't sore afterwards and didn't have a problem coming back for the long run on Sunday.

Carter's First Week of School

We made it through Carter's first week of school! I'm so glad we kept him at Jenks First Baptist rather than going with a public school down the street. He's not ready for 5 day a week school and I'm not either! Today on the drive to school he said, "I don't want to go to school 3 days a week. That just gives me 2 days home with you and that's not enough. I want to go to school 2 days and be at home 3 days." This first week was just a half day so I picked him up at noon. I'm interested to see how next week goes with him staying at school until 2:30. He's excited to eat lunch at school but he's worried about nap/rest time at school. I think mainly because he doesn't nap every day. He actually hasn't napped at all this week. This morning he said he was shy and clung to my skirt as we walked in and then hid behind me. I'm a little bummed that he only has 2 kids in his class from last year and his best friends from last year are split between the two other classes. I think he'd be more excited about school if he had some friends from last year. He was asking about one of his friends all summer and that boy is in the class next to his. I'm sure he'll make new friends quickly and will be adjusted within the next couple of weeks!

Carter waiting for Elise to find her backpack so we could leave for school.

Heading out for the 2nd day of school.

Carter misses his teachers from last year and keeps saying he wishes he could be in their class again. I told him that's just how it feels when things change. I explained to him how when I was teaching at the beginning of each school year I always missed my old students and wished I could have them back. But then after the first couple weeks I loved all my new students and was glad to have them. His music teacher has changed since last year and he has been unphased by that. I thought he would be sad because he loved music class but he very excitedly points out his new music teacher each morning. I think he just loves music regardless of who is teaching it. Each day when I've picked him up, he's told me all about the songs they sang in music. He even showed me the dance to go with "Back to School Boggie." It was so cute. Center time is still a favorite and he tells me about the different things he plays with at center time. So far there has been puzzles, Play Doh, the toy kitchen, and the sensory bin with confetti paper stuff. He also said he made an Earth craft because God made the Earth and was very excited to tell me God made the Earth when he got home.

Leaving for school today on his 3rd day of school.

Elise wants to wear her backpack every morning when we drop Carter off. She even has to have her water bottle in the side pocket just like her brother! She really misses him when he's gone. I hear a pretty much constant string of, "Where Carty," and "Where Carty. I want pick him up!" She's so shy when he's not with us and is much more clingy to me. It's funny how when Carter is around she goes running up to talk to people with him but without him there if someone tries to talk to her, she clings to me and turns away from them. She has also had a bit of a regression with potty training. Before the only time she really had accidents was in her car seat and the days Carter has been at school she's had accidents while playing too. Each day he's been at school she's had at least 2 accidents during the 2.5 hours he's gone!  On Tuesday we went grocery shopping and then to the library while Carter was at school. Thursday we went to storytime and played at the library. Today we went to the Botanic Garden. We had fun and I really enjoyed my special time with Elise. I know she'll adjust to Carter being gone and I look forward to more adventures with her while he's at school!

Read about Carter's first week of school last year here.

Summer Bucket List: Complete

I love summer so much and all the fun activities that go along with it! For the first time this year I put together a summer bucket list of things I wanted to do with the kids, that way we could make sure to do them all. We had a blast and enjoyed these activities along with various others throughout the summer months. I guess now that Carter has started school it''s time to post about how we did.

Summer Bucket List:

• Complete the summer reading program. We picked up our prizes from the program on June 25th. As always we loved participating in the program! It was adorable to see Carter and Elise go up to the summer reading table all on their own to get their stickers each time we visited the library.

  

  The kids with their summer reading program medals after reading 8 books and visiting the library 4 times.

The kids with their toys from completing the summer reading program.

With all their loot after finishing the program by reading 20 books and visiting the library 4 times.

• Visit the splash pad. I would add a date here but we went too many times to keep track! Splash pad visits were pretty much a weekly occurrence.

  

  Carter with a new friend he made at the splash pad.

   

• Have a picnic. This was another one we did too many times to keep track. We did picnics at least once a week. We'd do them at picnic tables as well as on blankets in the grass. When Wal-Mart starting having lunchables on sale for $1 a piece we did those a few times for picnics too.
  
• Get ice cream from the ice cream truck. One day early in the summer while I was running Ty treated the kids to ice cream from the ice cream truck and I'm glad he did because I haven't seen an ice cream truck since! There used to always be ice cream trucks posted up at our favorite park but they haven't been there this summer!

• Go for a hike. There were quite a few hikes over the summer but one of my favorites was on my birthday at Keystone State Park. I love exploring new places and it was the first time we'd ever been there. Another favorite was hiking at Natural Falls State Park where "Where the Red Fern Grows" was filmed. After seeing the beautiful area as we hiked, I just had to read the book!
  
  
   
• Take a bike ride. We did lots of bike rides during the summer. There were a few where Carter just rode and we went on sidewalks. Other times he rode his bike to the playground to play. Most weeks he rode his bike to the library for storytime. Sometimes Elise wanted to ride her bike as well and we even went on a group bike ride when I was watching a friend's kids one day. The first bike ride of the summer was just me and Carter. He was so fast on his bike, I had to run to catch up. After that I gave him designated stopping points where he had to stop and wait for me to catch up.
  

  

  Group bike ride to the park.

• Go to a swimming pool. June 11th was our first trip to the pool and we had quite a few more trips throughout the summer. We enjoyed the kiddie pool in my hometown as well as a friend's pool multiple times, and an aquatic center near Ty's work that was a lot of fun.
  
  
   
   
• Set up the water slide in our backyard. This one ended up bumming me out. Carter was so excited to get out the water slide and asked to invite one of his friends over for a playdate just to play on the water slide. We got everything set up in the backyard and started out playing out there but had to move inside because we were having trouble with mosquitoes. Carter's friend's little sister was getting them on her even with bug spray on!
  
  
• Make s'mores over a fire. June 9th was the first time we did it but we ended up doing it multiple times over the summer which was so much fun! I love s'mores. Of all the seasonal flavors and treats, I'd have to say s'mores are probably my favorite!
  
  
• Go fishing. July 3rd, Carter even caught his first fish! We had plans to go again but it never happened. We'd like to start taking his pole with us when we visit state parks so he can fish in the kid ponds.
  
  
• Get sno cones. June 10th we got sno cones at Tropical Sno, the awesome sno cone place I grew up going to! Elise picked blue cotton candy and Carter had regular cotton candy. They both loved them and finished the whole thing! We walked there with the wagon which was fun!
  
   
• Go to a free evening concert.  We finally made this happen on August 17th, one of the last concerts of the season. One of my friends told me they were going to have bounce houses there so Carter was really disappointed that there were no toys like I'd told him, but he still enjoyed himself. Ty met us there after his run and the kids enjoyed dancing around while listening to music.

• Enjoy a free kids' summer movie at the movie theater. We ended up going to quite a few of these. It was hard to pass up when we got to see a movie for free and were also given a free kid's pack for a snack. The kids couldn't eat all the popcorn along with fruit snacks so they always shared popcorn with me. They didn't both need a drink either so they would share a lemonade and I'd get a soda. It was a sweet deal! We saw Trolls on June 6th, Madagascar on June 13th, and Megamind on June 20th.

  

  Ready to watch Trolls at the theater.

  

  Ready to watch Madagascar.

• Have a water balloon or water gun fight. June 11th was our first one. We used water balloons and water guns. Pretty much every time we visited my parents Carter played with water balloons and we played with water balloons some at home as well.
  
  
   
  
• Go on a day or weekend trip somewhere fun nearby. August 20th we went on a family day trip to Natural Falls State Park. We enjoyed going for a long hike and visiting the waterfall as well as playing on the playground. It was just over an hour away and as we were headed home we saw a fun looking swimming area just down the road so we will definitely go back next summer too! The kids and I also went on a day trip to the Oklahoma City Zoo on August 23rd for half-price admission day. We had so much fun! It worked out even better than I'd hoped and the kids did great with the drive. We decided our zoo is better than the OKC overall as far as the number of animals and how modern it is. The OKC Zoo has a better Children's Zoo area with a fun river to play in and interactive exhibits and their elephant exhibit is amazing! I'll be honest, I go to the OKC Zoo just for the elephants.
  

  

  Playing on the playground at Natural Falls State Park.

Ready to check out the waterfall.

The pictures I took just don't do it justice. The 77-foot waterfall was beautiful!

The kids posing on a rhino statue at the OKC Zoo.

Playing at the playground at the zoo.

• Camp out inside. We decided to go a step further and actually camp outside at a state park near our house but the weekend we planned to do it they were forecasting thunderstorms so we decided against it. Thank goodness we made that decision as there ended up being a tornado that night! We just camped out inside instead but both the kids decided they'd rather sleep in their own beds than in the tent. We had the tent set up on August 2nd.

  

  Hanging out inside the tent watching tv before bed.

• Have a movie night complete with sleeping bags. We watched Fievel Goes West, a favorite from my childhood, and even did popcorn along with the movie on July 20th.
  
• Go out for ice cream. On August 3rd we took the kids out for ice cream using some of my birthday money. I wanted to take them somewhere they hadn't been before so we went to Marble Slab Creamery. Carter loved getting to watch them add the mix-ins to the ice cream and was already talking about what he would get the next time we went as we were leaving.
  
• Pick blueberries. We went to a nearby blueberry patch to pick berries on June 8th with some friends.

  

  Carter picking blueberries while standing under the netting with a friend.

• Visit a state park. July 29th we visited Keystone State Park for my birthday and had a blast! We went on a hike and swam on the beach at Keystone Lake. Then on August 20th we visited Natural Falls State Park for a day trip where we hiked and visited the waterfall as well as played on the playground.
  
• Take the kids bowling. I didn't use our Kids Bowl Free passes as much as I had expected but we did go a few times during the summer and the kids enjoyed it! The passes get you two free games but we only ever made it through one full game.
  
   
• Draw with sidewalk chalk. This was another one that we did too many times to count. Pretty much anytime we played outside sidewalk chalk was involved.
  
• Play with bubbles. This is another one we did too many times to record dates. At one point we had really strong winds and our bubble machine got blown off the table in the backyard overnight and broke which was super sad, mostly for me! I think I enjoy the bubble maker even more than the kids do!
  
   
• Catch (and release) lightning bugs. We never did this because we were never up late enough. I didn't think about the fact that it gets dark so late in the summer so the kids were always in bed by the time the lightning bugs were out. We'll have to try for this next summer when Carter can stay up a bit later!

• Visit the new Lost Kingdom exhibit at the zoo. This new exhibit is so awesome! Carter loves the larger exhibits for the komodo dragons and tigers and especially loves the new animals there, the binturongs being his favorite. We went to the special member only event before the exhibit officially opened and have been back multiple times since.

  

  Checking out the Lost Kingdom area during the members only event.

  

  Getting to touch some pelts and skeletons during the members only event at the Lost Kingdom.