Running in the Fall!

On October 6th Cody and I ran in the Baton Rouge Zombie Bash 5k. Yes, we dressed up and looked very Zombie-ish. Cody finished 4th overall and 1st in his age group. I set a personal PR at 10:51 and was very pleased. And most importantly, I participated in the Thriller Street Dance. Darryl diligently took pictures and recorded the dance, but unfortunately I accidentley deleted it, which makes me sad because in one of the Zombie pics I looked really thin. *sigh*.
+++++++++++++
Our next adventure in running was on
October 20th
Where we discovered.....
 RAD RUNNING!

It was the "Color Me Rad" Run where they throw color Bombs at you while you run the 5k..

 Spray you with wet color sometimes and at the end have a HUGE color bomb explosion! Shiloh, Emily, Adrianna, Lydia, Cody and I had a blast at this run. It wasn't timed and it was for Charity, so it was a fun event to participate in. 

November 9th-10th
193.6 miles

Ragnar Relay Las Vegas!!

Our team was the Parole Models from the Ragnar Dept. Of Corrections. 

I will say we had one of the coolest looking rides thanks to Cami!

 The Cajun Queen, The Gardner, Squirrel, Brenda the Jeweler, Punky Runster were a few of our names on our "Mug Shots".

Cali and I were with Jacob, T-Bone, Joe and Pat the Turrets-a-saurus Rex.

This was waiting for Jake to come in at my last exchange.

Cali and Cody Waiting for me to finish.

Siblings that run together have fun together.... Most of the time! Hahaha!

Cali, Cody and Cami.

Jake and Cami

Here comes grandma!

Getting the slap bracelet ready to pass off.

Cami's friends Yolanda and Meagan were a lot of fun to have on our team.

Reason #1 of why I run.... to spend time with the kids.

The Parole Models at the finish line. We finished 73 overall out of 572 teams in 29+ hours. Because we only had 5 women we were listed as a "Mens Team" I think we finished pretty high in the men's catagory. Like 13th or something .

Over all it was a very enjoyable weekend and I can't wait to do it again!!

BTW - Our team pace was an average of 8:55 min. Miles. My personal average was 11:07 I think.

Reagan's 1st Birthday

I am one lucky Grandma!! I have the cutest, smartest and sweetest grandchildren in the whole world!

I was able to be with my Sweet Baby Reagan for her 1st Birthday. 

Several months ago Skye asked Darryl and I if we could come to visit them for Reagan's Birthday because she wanted to celebrate her birthday at the Steeplechases. Then in October Skye had to have surgery, and was in the hospital for several days, so the horse race idea was not an option. Not to be deterred, Shiloh and I came up with a brilliant plan.

 We decided to have a "My Pretty 'Racing' Pony" party for Miss Reagan. We decorated up the kitchen...

 And Crowned the Littlest Princess of the race weekend -

 And everyone got ready to race and party.

 Ryan was on Micah babysitting duty for a few minutes.

 The Queen and the birthday princess hold court...

The Royal Steeplechase Pretty Pony Cake.

Reagan is quick. She had  her hands in that cake so fast! 

We sang happy birthday and gave the birthday girl a piece of cake while the rest of us prepared for the races. Everyone had to draw a horses head/face on a brown paper bag. We put them on Dowel rods and then it was Da-da-da - DAT DA DA! (Think trumpets blaring)...

And They'e off!

Cody, Jonas, Adrianna and Preston race over the obstacles!

She was not impressed with that preliminary heat.... 

Time for the next round...Emily, Lydia, Adam and Maggie wait at the starting gate -

And they're off........again!
And now... a word from our birthday girl....

Reagan: "I don't know what those silly people are doing running and jumping over things while dragging sticks. Don't they know there is cake to eat? Silly grown ups". 

"Oops... did I just say that out loud? Uh.... I DON'T hate you!"

 

"Mommy and me Clapping and singing. This always makes Grandma think I am so smart and cute! "

 "Why is the cake gone?"

 And with that we ended our little party by eating all the pizza,

 ...most of the cake and delicious ice cream sundea cups at the party.

Cody: "These pony feet are heavenly."  Silly Cody... Don't eat the toy pony!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY REAGAN!

I am looking forward to next year! 

Come What May and Love it!

Although the outcome of this current election is not the one I had hoped for, I refuse to be disheartened. I woke up this morning with the knowledge that I am still among the most blessed people in the world and when I started counting those blessings.... and I realized that in my little world, all is well.

With that, I want to share these thoughts:

Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin taught us a simple truth; Come what may and love it! "...., every life has peaks and shadows and times when it seems that the birds don’t sing and bells don’t ring. Yet in spite of discouragement and adversity, those who are happiest seem to have a way of learning from difficult times, becoming stronger, wiser, and happier as a result."
".... How can we love days that are filled with sorrow? We can’t—at least not in the moment.... But I do believe that the way we react to adversity can be a major factor in how happy and successful we can be in life.

If we approach adversities wisely, our hardest times can be times of greatest growth, which in turn can lead toward times of greatest happiness."

From President Gordon B. Hinkley:

 "Now,...we must do our duty, whatever that duty might be. Peace may be denied for a season. Some of our liberties may be curtailed. We may be inconvenienced. We may even be called on to suffer in one way or another. But God our Eternal Father will watch over this nation and all of the civilized world who look to Him. He has declared, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord” (Ps. 33:12). Our safety lies in repentance. Our strength comes of obedience to the commandments of God. Let us be prayerful. Let us pray for righteousness. Let us pray for the forces of good. Let us reach out to help men and women of goodwill, whatever their religious persuasion and wherever they live. Let us stand firm against evil, both at home and abroad. Let us live worthy of the blessings of heaven, reforming our lives where necessary and looking to Him, the Father of us all. He has said, “Be still, and know that I am God” (Ps. 46:10). Are these perilous times? They are. But there is no need to fear. We can have peace in our hearts and peace in our homes. We can be an influence for good in this world, every one of us."


I will work, I will do, but above all I will be thankful!

The Mermaids of Norfolk and Beach Fun

On Saturday, Sept. 22, after our visit to Shiloh and Micah in the hospital, Jason and the kids took Grandma Cindy on a tour of Norfolk to see the sights and the Mermaids, the city Mascot.

 Different Artists decorated the Mermaids and they are beautiful, the first one they showed me was in the park,

 Then it was off to the Chinese Garden,

 Where we took time for a snack

 And found another mermaid.....

 And the U.S. Battleship Wisconsin.

 And an Azalea mermaid.

 The Norfolk Shipyard.

 

 Then it was time for lunch at the mall.

 One last mermaid and then the

 last stop before we caught the "Tide" home.

 The Douglas MacArthur Memorial.

After Church on Sunday the kids and I  went out to take pictures.

Pretty Lydia being very serious and Maggie trying to look serious.

 My Cute little Maggie and Handsome Adam.

 A toothless happy Preston and a very grown up Jonas.

 Then we walked to the beach to have some fun without getting in the water.

 Emily is so grown up!

 And Adrianna is so cute and fun!

It was a pleasant Sunday and a great way to spend it with my Grandchildren. 

Stay tuned for more posts to come.