All In the Family

Our last adventure before heading back to school this year was the annual (okay, every other year) Loughman family reunion. The location rotates every two years between five different states, and this year it happened to be the Georgia year (so convenient!) While other family members booked their plane tickets and packed their vans for multi-hour drives, we just took our usual trip to Peachtree City! Which worked out well, considering that school was just around the corner. Had the location been half a country away, I'm not sure we could have made it. As it was, I was able to enjoy a few last minutes of summer and lots of family, food, and fun.

One of the best parts of the trip was watching my girls play with their cousins. (Second cousins? First cousins twice removed? I'm not sure we ever got the exact terminology correct but that didn't seem to bother the kids!) Growing up, we lived too far away and there was too much age difference to do much bonding with my own cousins. So the fact that these kiddos not only met for the first time, but managed to become instant buddies during the weekend was so much fun to watch. There were golf cart rides, water balloon fights, diving contests at the pool... two years is too long between these visits, but hopefully they'll always just pick up right where they left off!

The hallmark of these family reunions for me isn't the activities or events planned. Given that this is my city, there wasn't a need for sightseeing, after all. But even in a different location, the main event remains the same - the stories of antics from the past, the memories, the side-splitting laughter and hilarity - all of us just sitting on the porch, sprawling in the living room, the pockets of conversation springing up in this corner or that. 

And of course, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to have the Loughman family recreate this family photo on the back porch! I even made Lee Anne close her eyes for continuity!

Winding Down, Gearing Up

Summer is winding down. Insert sad face here. I can always tell when I feel the imminent end drawing near when I have a sudden compulsion to wear flip-flops and no make-up and all those other things that that will reach their end with the start of another work year. It's like my head is like I could wear a cute sundress and sandals but why waste it? So sports bras and ponytails it is, for another 12 days at least.

We couldn't let summer slip us by without a roller skating adventure! Violet randomly started begging for roller skates and I was stalling big time, knowing she'd probably never wear them, or at least never wear them without clutching my hand. So my neighbor had the brilliant idea to go rent a pair as a trial run. For her first time, Violet did great! She wiped out plenty but got right back up again. It was a nice, cool activity and Annie actually napped on my lap for the first half of adventure. Of course, once she woke up she insisted on getting her own pair of skates... I'll say this - we had fun and I think the girls would go back, but Violet hasn't asked for roller skates again! Haha!

First time on roller skates!

Annie's attempt!

Then the day I have been waiting for arrived - the day BOTH my girls could go to camp! Together! For this past week they have been loving the "Rockin' Beach Camp" at our gymnastics place. There were water slides, water balloon fights, crafts, cute "beachy" snacks; it was very well done. Annie was over the moon excited to get to go like her big sister, with a backpack and lunchbox and everything. The first day she barely stuck around long enough to give me a hug goodbye. She is so different than Violet, who I remember having to pry off of me the first time she attended this camp. They both had a blast.

Ready for gymnastics camp!

And what did mommy get to do with five kid-free hours each day this week? Well, on Monday I got a massage and stumbled upon the best kid's clothing sale at Gymboree (everything on sale and then an additional 50 percent off! I destroyed that place!) Tuesday I took myself to the outlet mall and shopped for myself - some new t-shirt dresses, a new backpack and lunchbox for V, a bunch of stuff from the Disney store (more on why that is important later), a new purse and sandals... Score! Wednesday I had a coffee date, and then I took myself back to Gymboree (seriously, it was the third trip in three days - the deals were that good and Violet loved every single thing I picked out).

Thursday I actually went up to the school. I know. I know. I've never gone in this early to set up. But I couldn't pass up kid-free distraction-free time. I got a ton of stuff done and I think I'll be good to go once pre-planning starts. I needed to get a head start since we'll be at Matt's family reunion the weekend before I go back to work, so I won't have time then. Don't feel bad, it was good to go up there. Friday I actually went back in so I could put together a new bookshelf, plus I ran a bunch of other random errands, and even wrapped things up fast enough that I bought myself an hour on the couch watching tv before I had to pick up the girls. I am so thrilled that Annie was old enough to tag along with Violet at this camp... it was great to have some time to feel productive/alone before the work craziness starts again.

Race Day!

Back in April, when I found out the race entry lottery Matt entered me had indeed yielded me a Peachtree Road Race number, I immediately wished I'd entered the Powerball lottery instead. I kid! I was excited. I haven't run a race since the last Peachtree I ran eight years ago with Matt and my dad. And after watching Matt train so diligently for his half marathon and become quite the runner in the process, I wanted a turn to lace up my own shoes and hit the pavement.

I've slowly been transforming myself into a "runner" of sorts. There was the downloading of the Nike+ Training app, the trip to Big Peach Running to get professionally fitted for the proper shoes, the purchasing of running related accessories like the ear buds and flip belt. There have been runs around the neighborhood (hilly) and runs at the Greenway (beautiful) and runs in the rain. I even managed to squeeze in runs while both girls were in the water at swim practice. I've done squats and more squats to try to fend off runner's knee injuries. I've picked up a random yoga routine here and there and marveled that I was ever able to do this three times a week - yoga is hard!

And all this effort, the work, the knee pain... it was all leading to July 4 and the famed Peachtree Road Race 10k. My knees had been bothering me (I sound like such an old lady) so I hadn't been on anything long than a one mile jaunt around the 'hood for the last two weeks, and I'd only managed two or three of those as it was. The longest distance I'd ever hit was four miles, and every big distance had always led to protesting joints. Hit 5k, take two weeks off to heal. Hit four miles, end up on the coach for ten days, etc. While I knew I could go the distance, I wasn't sure I'd be able to do it without crying into my kneecaps. So it was with a bit of trepidation that I watched the days tick down on the calendar.

On Marta, heading to the expo for our numbers. Game faces on.

                                  

We decided to take Marta to the expo as our dry run. We bought our tickets for the next day as well, which proved to be a wise decision when we saw the lines trying to navigate the ticket machines the next day. The expo was crowded, with offerings from running clothes to "energy" jelly beans. Matt picked up his number in the Wave A booth. It had a few fast, fit looking people lined up. I picked up my number in the Wave W booth. The people in line with me, lets just say they didn't look like the people waiting with Matt. Although I figured they would be good company for me and my knees. We took our numbers, signed the wall and headed home.

The road would prove to be as crowded as the signatures on the wall.

Staking my claim.

It pays to be prepared the night before.

Matt set the alarm for 4:45. That would give us enough time to get up, have our coffee and breakfast (half an English muffin with almond butter, in case you're wondering what an elite athlete like myself eats on race day), get dressed and get to Marta. It was shocking how different the station looked than it had the day before. It was clogged with runners of every shape and size. Families, couples, random dudes, it was packed. Everyone had their race bib on, so it was easy to spot the top runners (seeded, yellow bib, no wave) from my fellow W's. Everyone seemed awake and excited, despite the early hour. We stuffed ourselves into the first train that showed up, packed almost as tightly as we would be in the race later, and took off.

Waiting for the train.

Going up!

Once we spilled out into the sunshine, Matt pretty quickly had to ditch me. His wave was called in one direction, the rest of us were herded in another. We took a picture and then he was off. He would be done running before I even got started! I waited for my friend Sheri, who had graciously agreed to run with me once she found out that I was in need of a friend at the race.

Good luck, Matt!

Things back in Wave W were decidedly less serious than I'm sure they were in Wave A. Back here there were plenty of costumes, tutus, crazy headbands with streamers. It was definitely more of a party atmosphere. Which was good! It helped me relax and realize that ultimately my goal was just to get to the end and no one really cared overly much about technique and form from where we were. Sheri decked me out in shades and beads, which turned out to be so helpful as we ran - the beads kept clicking together and made it easier to keep track of each other. I could always hear Sheri next to me!

My running partner and bling bringer!

We were still hanging out in our staging area when I got the text from Matt that he was already done and hanging out in the Atlanta Track Club members-only tent with his free beer. Jealous! At this point what had dawned as a fairly pleasant morning was rapidly becoming a typical Atlanta summer scorcher. But as we finally starting walking towards the starting line, I got excited that this show was finally on the road.

Passing under the giant flag at the starting line.

Let's get this party started!

The actual running part was part jogging, part dodging the professional walkers all around us, looking for holes in the masses to quick-step through... I probably logged an extra mile just trying to get around people. I one point I turned to Sheri and pointed out that we were pretty much the only people running - everyone else was walking! But that also served to make me feel super accomplished - look at how many people we're passing! While I had warned Sheri that my training had been mainly intervals (run three minutes, walk one), we ended up running three miles straight before taking a potty break. As we told Matt later, the two hours we had to wait before starting meant nature came a'calling in the middle of the race. Had we started when he did, we would have made it to the end without a problem. But we ended up stopping at the perfect time. By the time we made it through the line and were back on the road, we were rested enough to tackle Cardiac Hill. We did make sure to grab water at every opportunity and walk while we drank it so as not to waste a precious drop.

For all my worries that I wouldn't be able to make it, I feel rather proud of myself. I managed to run basically the whole race, minus our water walks. There was enough going on around us, from the guys dressed as space men and the random dude that offered us beer from the rolling cooler he was running with, to the cheering spectators and encouragement along the way, that it carried me along. I texted Matt as we rounded the corner onto 10th Street and knew that the finish line was coming up. We finished strong and headed through the masses to pick up our shirts, snacks, and finally reunited with Matt. I was tired, but more from the 5 a.m. wake-up call than the actual race. The race kind of kills your holiday, but I would definitely do it again. I better get a higher wave though!

The finishers!

Many thanks go out to Matt, for getting me my race number and encouraging me to go out for a job while he watched the girls. Thanks to Sheri for running with me on the big day. Thanks to Virginia and my mom for texting me these last three months to check in on my training progress and my knees. Thanks to Nike+ for all those squats. Thanks to the amazingly organized race and its countless volunteers who run the show. Thanks to America for being born. Thanks everyone!

Adulting

It's one of our favorite traditions that every summer, we take the girls to "Camp Grandma" and "Camp Mimi". The kids get to spend several days bouncing from location to location, spending the night in one place, going to the pool at the other place, meeting up for joint playdates and meals, then splitting off again for one-on-one time with the each set of grandparents. It's fantastic and they look forward to it every year.

As do we.

For while the kids are away, the adults can play. Sometimes we have various house projects we work on, like the time we transformed Violet's room from guest room to "big girl" room to make way for Annie's nursery. Or the time we painted our bedroom. Or was it the dining room? But this summer, without any big projects on the must-do list, we just took the time out to relax.

Sushi. Almost too pretty to eat. Almost.

First up, we went out to sushi. Why waste it on kids who won't appreciate it, right? Although Violet shows signs of being a sushi-lover. There is a delicious sushi place called Mori House not far from where we live and we basically just tell the sushi chefs to hit us with their best shot. We sat at the bar this time and as they crafted this masterpiece I was silently jealous of whoever lucky customer ordered it, until they handed over and I realized that lucky customer was me. The attention to detail, the plating... it tasted as good as it looked.

The next day, we headed up to Chateau Elon, the Georgia winery and resort. We were meeting another couple here for a overnight date-night night-golf event. While the rain ended up cancelling our night golf plans, I wasn't overly broken-hearted about it. We enjoyed the pool, headed over to the winery for a wine tasting, indulged at the buffet dinner, and took a morning nature hike.

Pretty!

My hot date.

Thanks for inviting us, Joyce!

We had some generous pours during this wine tasting.

Scenes from our nature walk the next morning! A beautiful day!

The next day, the plan was to go on a 2.5 hour canoeing adventure with the Chattahoochee Nature Center. Alas, the event got cancelled due to poor water quality (again with the cancelled events! Mother Nature was not playing nicely!) But we rebounded quickly with a trip to the "quiet pool" in our neighborhood. We have lived here eight years and I had never once been to this adults-only saltwater pool. See those trees? Just beyond them lies the family pool, full of yelling, splashing kids. But here, do you see that? Just peace and tranquility. We followed this up with a trip to the movie theater to see Baby Driver. Dumb name, great movie! Go see it! So fun!

Ah, the quiet pool.

Shh. I'm at the quiet pool.

The next day we cooked ourselves a breakfast scramble that featured tomatoes, peppers and basil sourced from our own garden (Mother Nature and I were back on speaking terms) and then headed to the race expo to pick up our Peachtree Road Race numbers. We finished our day with a last dip in the quiet pool and then dinner next door with good friends, before turning in early to get ready for The Race! Ah, adulting. It's so nice.

Home Run

I found Bobby Cox!

So, how's summer going, you ask? We are now more than halfway through June, also known as the month I don't think about school at all. Come July, it starts creeping in. But June is held sacred. Professional Development books to read? July. Open House materials to make? July. Thinking about school in general? July. This year had a slight exception, in that I went to the school's Leadership Retreat a couple weeks ago. We gathered at the new Braves stadium conference center, worked hard, played some hilarious team-building games (there were blindfolds involved - but no trust falls!), and then got to enjoy dinner and the ballgame afterwards. And if you must work in the summer, it's good to be amongst some of nicest, dedicated, top-notch teachers at the school.

We are now two weeks out from the famed Peachtree Road Race 10k happening on July 4. My training has been... varied. See, it turns out my knees start hurting if I run to much. Every time I increase distance (example: first time I broke four miles), I pay for it afterwards, often putting me in a no-run recovery period for up to a week or more. Stupid knees! When it happened for the first time back in May, I was super bummed. So I started doing a bunch of workouts focused on building leg strength (I use the Nike+ Training app). Slowly I added in some runs, most around one to two miles. I've worked out a little system where I take the girls to swim practice and in the 30 minute window while they're both in the water with their instructors, I run around the neighborhood. I've noticed this method has been increasing my pace as well, since I'm so paranoid about getting back to the pool before they're out of the water! My goal has been to do some type of workout/run/both every day leading up to the Big Day (I'm also a little obsessed with closing all my Apple Watch circles). I ran 5k on Saturday while Matt had the girls at the playground, and I figure if I can pound out that distance without too much struggle, I can probably go the full distance on the Fourth, even if I have to grit my teeth and blow out the knees to get there. I've found, as I've gotten better at it, I actually enjoy running. But I'm already wondering how on earth I'll be able to keep it up once the school schedule starts again. Short of getting up at four in the morning, there's no way to squeeze in a run before work. Ah well, it's still June. I don't have to worry about that yet!

Kicking Off Summer

BFFs at CAA!

My favorite way to usher in summer is by forcing my kid to wake up early, pack a lunchbox and backpack, and disappear for the entire day. I kid, a little, but honestly it's kind of nice to keep Violet in a routine to help ease the transition to schedule-free days. We headed back to Camp All American (or as I like to say - Six Flags Over Jesus) and once again it was awesome. Violet went for the first time last year, but this year, being both older and having some experience under her belt, she marched in without a look back! I am always so impressed with CAA. The counselors are 110 percent committed to this camp, evidenced by the wrap-up event on Friday. Their energy is amazing and mind-boggling when you consider that they do this ten weeks in a row! Also I get little flashbacks to my own summer church camp experiences (although they weren't nearly as flashy). Violet is already asking for two weeks at CAA next year, and to me it is worth every penny. Camp gives her something to look forward to every day, they make it a blast with pools, games, camp-wide competitions, the always important opportunity to buy candy at the canteen... Violet says next year she wants to do the Wilderness specialty (you pick a different specialty each week to focus on) and wants to eventually do the ropes course.

Yay Jesus!

While Violet was at camp all week, it gave me and Annie some one-on-one time, which happens next to never. Having just one kid at a time, when you are normally used to two (and the whining and competition and fighting that goes along with siblings), is a strange yet wonderful experience. It was nice to be able to focus on just Annie for a bit. She can be so sweet. She was my "coach" during my morning workouts, inserting random helpful statements like "keep going mommy" and "use your strong muscles". Every now and then she would attempt a move, which cracked me up. "Look at my body squats! I'm doing it!" Most days I even got her to take a nap by putting on an episode of Good Eats (she calls Alton Brown her "buddy"). She was a fairly good little errand-runner too.

A no-nap day as we waited to pick up big sister from camp.

We capped off the week with our neighborhood's first Swim-In Movie Night. It was awesome! I was surprised at how huge the screen was! There was free pizza and popcorn and even free floats to use in the water. I don't know how Violet managed to stay awake through the whole thing, after a week of camp plus the swim meet the night before! Speaking of swim team, Violet has continued to rock it, coming in second overall in the freestyle.

Movie Night!

Finally, I got my yearly haircut, and this time threw a little color in the mix just to make things fun for the summer. I love how the ladies at the salon always insist on straightening my hair. It always looks so different! Fear not, it only lasted until my next shower. And even the stylist admitted that it's way too much hair to straighten on a daily basis.

Straight hair, don't care!

Other than swim practice every morning and the meets on Thursday, our schedule is pretty open this summer. Swim runs through June, and the girls are signed up for gymnastics camp in July. But schedule-free summer has officially started. I've got to figure out a way to limit the girls' technology time and habit of asking for snacks every 20 minutes. I also need to figure out what I want to accomplish this summer. So far I tackled the girls' closets. I sorted ALL the clothes into their respective bins (things to save for Annie, things to donate, things Violet hasn't grown into yet, etc) and found a whole tub of baby clothes in the back of Annie's closet that got immediately driven to my friend's house. The faster I can get stuff out of here, the better! I'm sure I could make another pass through my own closet as well. And of course, I'm trying to train for the big race coming up on July 4. I'm sure we'll find a way to keep busy...

School's Out for Summer!

Last Day of First Grade! 

We did it! One more year is in the books! I officially have a second grader! Violet has turned into an awesome reader, and her speech has improved to the point that she might get to graduate out next year. Most importantly, she enjoys school. She likes learning. I never get any "I don't want to go to school" complaints from this girl.

Look how much she's grown!

It's been a privilege to have her at the same school where I teach. I saw so much of this girl during the day, passing through the halls, on the playground at recess each afternoon. Next year will be a little different because our paths won't intersect as much. But that's probably a good thing, too.

First Day/Last Day with the fabulous Mrs. Lockett!

It's been such a busy week, what with our end of the year carnival, our first swim meet, the general last week of school busyness of packing up the classroom and setting up our first grade "camp" that I don't think it truly hit me that the year was done until I saw the buses pulling out of the parking lot for the last time. There are always so many mixed emotions to watching the kids load up for the last time - a little bit of sadness, a whole lot of relief, some giddiness thrown in... I'm relieved to have my first year at this new school under my belt and I won't be the new kid on the block anymore. It's been a good ride, but man am I looking forward to summer!

That's a wrap!

On a Boat!

As one of our fun farewell to summer (sniff sniff) activities, we were invited by some lovely friends to come out on their boat! After Annie's last experience on a boat (see Maine events) I was crossing my fingers that the waters would be calm, and she did great. Both girls immediately took to jumping into the water and paddling around.

Made for the water.

After lunch on the boat and several swim breaks, we headed back to camp where everyone relaxed, let a little rain blow over, and then cooked out for dinner. It was such a break from routine, something so new for the girls to try, and a great way to cap off the summer. I know summer's not quite over yet (although it will be on Thursday) but already things are getting busy and it was fun to give the girls a new experience. 

Our view for dinner.

This beautiful rainbow followed us home.

Maine Lobstah!

Don't let go!

Friday was our last full day in Maine. It was too cold to "beach" but we still walked down and decided to try our hand at kite flying. Lauren had a bright blue octopus kite with eight waving tentacles that the girls had fun holding on to. The tenacity of Mainers (or perhaps it was the dumb tourists, who knows!) was astonishing. There were kids in bathing suits, families with beach gear, and look how we are dressed! Pants, jackets, layers... I guess if this is your yearly beach vacation, or this is your (short) summer season, you make the most of it regardless of weather! I remember having a picnic in Sweden one summer under very similar circumstances. Hey, if it's summer, you take advantage.

Our flying octopus!

After naptime we decided to take the kids to a mini golf place we had spotted earlier. It was your typical vacation town putt putt place, complete with giant waterfall in the middle of it. Violet had only played once before, but she was too young to recall. And Annie was a novice. Of course, beginners luck meant that on the second hole, Matt showed Violet how to line up, then she took over and got a hole in one! Annie quickly figured out the best spot to start her shot was about an inch from the hole, allowing her to make her own hole in one (or hole in nine, whatever). It was actually pretty fun. The nice thing about family places like this is that they are, well, full of families. Families who totally get it if your kid wanders onto their green or cheats their way through the course or has more fun playing with the waterfall than playing putt putt. That put us at ease and everyone had a really great time.

Getting ready to play.

Attempting some instruction.

Our last Maine event was dinner with a view. We headed back to York for dinner at a restaurant definitely nicer than somewhere I would normally take my kids. The staff was great through, and still very family friendly. I mean, when Fluffernutter sandwiches are on the kids menu, you know everyone will survive the night.

Spotted on the cliff walk before dinner.

The girls ordered spaghetti. When we eat pasta at home, I always make Annie take her shirt off. Things are bound to get messy, after all, and why make more laundry for myself? Well, no sooner had we placed our order than Annie starts trying to strip her clothes off! "But I eat spaghetti!" she kept insisting, unable to figure out why tonight should be any different! I died. Fortunately, giant lobster bibs were procured in short order, saving the day.

One big, happy, messy family!

Matt ordered the whole lobstah! It was totally intimidating but apparently amazing. I spent my dinner tag-teaming with Grandma and Grandpa, getting the kids out of the dining room and letting them run around in the courtyard overlooking the sea. Then we headed back home to get ready for our return journey the next morning. The flights home were easy, the kids did great even though we weren't back in our own beds until 11 p.m. Thank goodness for airports with play areas (or moving sidewalks that might as well be play areas). It was an awesome trip! Cross one off the bucket list!

When in Maine...