Fun Run

As I sat down to write this particular post, I suddenly remembered that I had publicly announced that the Jones family would never participate in another early morning run/fundraiser. As I read over last year's debacle I'm pretty certain I meant it. At the time.

However, one good thing about parenthood is the gift of forgetfulness. (How do you think we ever managed to have more than one child?...but I digress.) Yup, I forgot the horrific experience suffered that fateful day...and that, my friends, is how we found ourselves awake at an absurdly early hour supporting our local elementary school. Wahoo!

Now, I should add (before my hubby interjects) that Ian was up waaaayyy earlier than the rest of us...running a 5K. And he was. Senor Speedy crossed the finish line just shy of 23 minutes. Yeah, he's pretty awesome.

And here's where it starts for the other "runners" in the family:

Lindy and Ellie are both smiling (I know, right?!) as they wait for their 1K Fun Run to start.

The whistle blows...and they're off. Running. All of them. No surprise, Ellie ran her guts out and crossed the finish line before anyone else in the family. For some reason that kid is focused when she runs.

Next came Lindy, running AND smiling, through the last turn. I was so proud (and relieved).

At last, with a little encouragement/support from his dad, came The Boy. He made a great show of huffing and puffing as he ran. But, he did it.

And they were all so VERY pleased with themselves.

(Yes, even her.)

Turns out we can do it. (And by we, of course, I mean them. I still hate running. And early mornings.)

Hola!

So...I'm in Mexico. So far I have:

• been offered a plethora of beverages (including, but not limited to, the Smirnoff which is "on tap" in my room)...which, of course, I have refused.
• been offered dancing lessons by a young mexican Michael Jackson impersonator.
• had my glasses fog up due to the unbelievable humidity.
• sampled about 1/80 of an amazing all-you-can-eat buffet.
• been unable to take pictures because the lens on my camera keeps fogging up.
• met 3 Javiers and 2 Miguels and a Jose.
• eaten a pear from our complimentary fruit plate.
• cried a little over the unavailability of Diet Coke.
• felt my hair frizz to a degree that would rival Carrot Top.

and

• missed my husband and children fiercely.

And that's only the first day.

The Jones Family Goes Camping

Ian and I used to camp. Like, a lot. Something happened when we had kids, however. I suddenly became overwhelmingly aware of how much dirt actually covered the earth. And my offspring seemed far too willing to let the majority of the earth's surface fall into their mouth, on their clothes, in their ears...etc., etc., etc. Blame it on the OCD, but dirt and I suddenly had a falling out. Needless to say, our family hasn't done much camping in the last few years.

Last summer I suddenly felt an urge to get ourselves out in nature again. Ian and I discussed it and decided to go ahead and reserve a campsite super-early in the year so that we could a) have it on the calendar, and b) be able to choose a campsite suited to our little crew.

And it started out great. We did a little hiking (a.k.a. walking around and looking at sticks/rocks/bugs).

Curtis screamed a little for no reason.

We also invited some friends up to join us for dinner.

And then...it rained. At first we tried to ignore it. A little sprinkling can't hurt, right? Especially when you're cooking some delicious tinfoil dinners. Then it started raining a little harder. No worries...we tied the shade umbrellas up to the picnic table to give most of us a little spot to eat our dinner and still enjoy our time together. We were able to serve up a few dutch-oven scones (which I totally recommend, by the way) with some of Amy D's incredible honey-butter...

...while the kids ran amuck. Just a little bit.

Then...the skies opened up and the rain came tumbling down. We bid a hasty farewell to the Davidson's, threw all the food/etc. in the van and hunkered down in our tent. It was a wet and cold night (at least for me...Curtis decided he needed to steal my bed AND my blankets. I shivered on the hard ground for the majority of the night in a state of half-sleep while everyone else snored away...grrrr).

Morning eventually came and with it, the sun! Hallelujah! With the kids all bundled up, they were able to enjoy a little more hiking (a.k.a. walking around looking at sticks, rocks, and bugs, and playing with the flashlights).

Oh, and drinking WAY too much water.

While it may be a while before the memory of this particular trip fades...I'm sure the Jones family will eventually brave mother nature once again and find ourselves equally covered in dirt...and equally happy.

The Not-So-Amazing-Race

When the PTA announced they would be holding only one fundraiser this year I think I inwardly cheered. When I heard that their one fundraiser would be a 5K/1K Fun Run, I'm fairly certain I cheered out loud. Not because it involved running (ewww) but because there would be no selling involved. Yippee!

I presented the idea of our family participating in the 1K Fun Run and was greeted with six enthusiastic thumbs-up from the little ones.

In hindsight, I suppose I should have known an 8am race was a bad idea for at least one of my children. But the "FUN" in Fun Run must have confused my already-impaired memory. So, at 7:20am, Ian and I prodded the offspring awake and dressed them in their race-day paraphernalia:

The 2 year old was happy. The 5 year old appeared out-of-sorts while the 7 year old appeared content. Then the whistle blew. I found myself watching Lindy S L O W L Y plod her way across the starting line. I panicked as it occurred to me that the next FUN Run wouldn't begin until the last 2nd to 4th grader passed the finish line. But in spite of (or perhaps because of) my best attempts at encouragement...followed by some fantastic threats...she would not be moved.

I was forced to leave Ian (who was busy with a still-happy two year old) in charge of the disinclined Lindy...partly due to the hopelessness of our mother-daughter dynamic, but mostly because we had lost Ellie.

Ellie surprised us all by running her heart out. The entire way. By herself. Not only did she come in way ahead of the rest of the Jones family, she also managed to beat a few students!

Then promptly had an asthma attack.

Lindy had to be literally DRAGGED across the finish line by her father.

And was decidedly unimpressed with the accolades (and ribbon) she then received.

What I learned today:

• Fun Run does not necessarily equal Fun. Especially if it also involves mornings.
• Racing numbers do not necessarily inspire good racing attitudes.
• I should never be in charge of motivating my daughter.
• We should always bring Ellie's inhaler.
• Next year I'm handing them a check...then happily sleeping in.

Swimming and Sunshine

We finally broke down and pulled out the swimming pool and all it's accompanying paraphernalia. While the kids certainly enjoy the pool, their favorites seem to be the buckets and paint brushes which, it should be said, were purchased for a pittance (and worth their weight in gold). They spent most of the day "painting" the concrete,

hanging out in the buckets,

and stealing paintbrushes from sisters when they weren't looking.

And while they had a most remarkable day, with much joy and little fighting...we did learn a tough lesson: mom and/or dad should supervise the sunscreen application a little more closely.

Yeeeouch!

First Day of Summer Vacation

While I understand that the exciting new-ness of summer vacation will quickly fade, we thoroughly embraced our first unscheduled day.

This morning, as I heard the first rumblings of waking children, I groggily opened my eyes and peered at my alarm clock. As my blurred vision deciphered the time of 8:57am, I inwardly gave myself a high-five. I do love sleeping in. I mean...I really love sleeping in. (Once again, I recognized the tender mercies of a loving Father in Heaven. I could never have handled early-risers.)

I took my time getting out of bed, savoring the laziness of it all. I eventually emerged from my room curious about the noise from the kitchen. I walked down the stairs and found that Lindy and Ellie had "made breakfast" for us.

The girls enjoyed hours upon hours of mind-numbing television and blanket forts.

That afternoon, my sister surprised us and came over to hang out. We ended up playing a long game of Scrabble (my favorite) and, for the first time, I walloped her (also, my favorite)!

What a great day!

Safety Is Our Number One Goal

Today I took Curtis to the store to pick out his very own (non-pink) bike helmet. He opted for the very manly HotWheels edition:

The gender-appropriate gear helps compensate for our lack of male-influenced wheels. See?...he's so happy now.