The Nickajack Dash

Sophie and I teamed up as she ran her first official race, Saturday - a 1 mile "fun" run to help raise money for her school's PE program.

While we've both been looking forward to this for quite some time (and even practiced a trial run per Sophie's request), it was unseasonably cold with temps in the mid-30s that morning. Sophie was not nearly as eager as she had been in the days leading up to the race.

One mile doesn't seem like that big of a deal at first, especially in the eyes of someone like me, who's trained for full marathons. But between the chilly temperatures and the task of keeping up with Sophie, who's strategy was to take little walk breaks every so often and then suddenly lurch ahead like a bat out of hell, it was one long and exciting mile. There were points where I thought she might toss her breakfast after running so fast and hard, and times when I nearly lost her as she wove her way through clusters of other runners. At other points, I thought I might have to piggy back her across the finish line. All of this in the course of 15 minutes! But alas, we finished together and we finished strong.

As you've probably already quessed, the post-race recovery breakfast in the warmth of the cafeteria and playing in the jumpy houses was undoubtedly the best part of the morning for Sophie and Jack, who was a trouper hanging out in the cold with Eric.

The highlight for me of course, was running my first mother-daughter race, and the hope of doing it again and again in years to come!

Fall Fun

It has been a very busy fall, and as usual, I'm behind in my blog posts. So here's the most efficient way for me to archive the many fun experiences we've had this fall...

An outing to the North Georgia State Fair...

Sophie and Jack loved the rides, and Jack was thankful to have his big sister looking out for him amid the crowd of other kids. The dietitian in me was absolutely appalled at the concession stand offerings, but I know that I shouldn't be even slightly surprised. With only a wee bit parental influence, Jack and Sophie opted for Dippin' Dots as their treat of choice. For me, this is like a child choosing an apple over a Big Mac. Believe it or not! We watched as we were surrounded by kids chomping on Turkey legs, deep fried snickers bars, corn dogs and so many other foods that

The highlight of the Fair for Sophie and Jack was their very first roller coaster ride.


The following week we headed to Burt's Farm to select some pumpkins. We knew that Burt's was a trek, but what we didn't know was how much more of a trek it would be with the traffic we hit, which resulted in an 2 hour trip each way. We also didn't know that as soon as we put our very carefully chosen pumpkins on our front porch, that they would be stolen in the middle of the night and smashed in front of our cul de sac. Which broke the hearts of Sophie and Jack, and infuriated me and Eric. Having to explain teenage stupidity, trespassing and vandalism to a 3 and 5 year old is no fun.

But at least we have a few pictures to document that we really did go all the way to Burt's to get our pumpkins before ultimately having to go to Publix to get replacements.




The following week we headed to Cagles Farm with many of our neighborhood friends to enjoy a hayride and smores by the bonfire. There were so many of us that we basically required our own hay ride. We all had a blast, and it was so fun to watch the kids all together, enjoying their smores and playing outside together. We are so lucky to have this great community of young families to share these experiences with.
Stay tuned for a separate Halloween post!

Jack's First Homework

Jack came home with his first official homework assignment from preschool last week. This was very exciting for both him and Sophie, for different reasons. For him, it meant that he was now privileged to sit at the table with Sophie while she works on her own homework. For Sophie, it was an opportunity to play teacher and supervise him. The assignment was a simple tracing page, which Sophie embellished by writing "All Aboard" on the train at the top and later taped a sweet note for Jack's teachers to read him the next day at school. You can click on the picture below to read the note.


I loved watching her delight in helping him, and his acceptance of that help. Even more, I loved the genuinely sweet sentiment behind the note Sophie wrote and that it made Jack feel so special and loved by his big sister.

I'm sure the novelty of homework may eventually wear off, but for now I'll just choose to enjoy watching them find joy in something that could seem like much more of a chore.

International Walk to School Day

We don't live close enough to Nickajack to walk, but Sophie and I made an earnest effort to participate in the fun since a nearby church agreed to let families park and walk the remaining 1/2 mile or so to school.

This may sound like an insignificant distance, but keep in mind that we had to wake up at 6:00am, and it was a mere 40 degrees and still dark when we started our journey. Also, despite the thousands of steps she must log each day, it doesn't typically involve walking for the sake of exercise.

She was a good sport, even when I turned down her request to be carried about one minute in, and was thankful that she was wearing her jacket as she wondered out loud whose idea it was to do this walk in the fall, when it's soooo cold?!

Oftentimes when I head out for a run, Sophie asks to join me, and I instinctively sputter out all of the reasons why this can't happen...she's too young and can't keep up, or this is Mommy's alone time, etc. etc.

I've tried hard to be a good role model by exercising regularly as part of a healthy lifestyle in the same way that I try to eat well and help her make good choices. Maybe I do this sometimes a little too much since she recently assured me that if I come to the school cafeteria to meet her for lunch, I would be able to order a salad.

While walking to school with her yesterday, I realized that I hope one day she shares my love of exercise and appreciates the benefits of eating healthy, but most importantly, I look forward to being able to share in it as something that brings us together.

Sandestin

One benefit of Sophie starting school so early is the week long Fall Break in September which enabled us to do our yearly beach vacation. This year, our destination was Sandestin, Florida and rather than spending the week with multiple families as in years past, we opted for a trip with just the four of us.

The beginning of our journey proved to be a bit nerve-wracking as Sophie had some sort of stomach bug that resulted in pit stops along the way that seemed like once every 10 minutes. Thankfully, her symptoms dissipated and after a couple of days on the BRAT diet, she was good to go.

We had beautiful weather and enjoyed a relaxing week on the beach with no real agenda whatsoever. Even with just a one hour time change, the kids were thrown off a bit which led to some very early mornings, but it also meant that we could put them to bed early and have the evenings to ourselves.

The golf cart we rented with our villa provided a convenient means for transportation and was a novelty that never wore off for the kids.



The gulf was quite a bit rougher than we expected, but the kids still enjoyed plenty of time jumping waves and burying each other in the sand. We also had access to a great pool which was great when the kids needed a change of scenery.

Towards the end of the week, we attempted our first family round of miniature golf, which was just as hilarious as expected. Sophie proved to be quite a skilled player while Jack mostly chased the ball and stopped it with his hands to redirect its path. We will surely enjoy many games in the future!


On our last night, we headed on on a Sunset Dolphin Cruise that did not disappoint. We had lots of sightings and Sophie and Jack each had a turn as Captain. At one point the kids were allowed to feed the seagulls, which involved holding fritos into the air as the birds swept down to grab them out of their hand. Kind of scary, if you ask me, but Sophie was especially into this.

There's just something about a beach vacation that allows one to decompress more than any other type of vacation. It was just what we needed but all too quickly, our week came to an end and it was back to reality. Until next time!