Girls

After 5 full days away, Collin was finally back at preschool today and had a great day reuniting with his friends. Although he was sure this morning it should have been another stay home day. ;)

He had two pictures in his mailbox to bring home.  When I asked who had made these for him he replied "girls." Oh my......

And all the while he was telling me about this with the craziest hat hair I have seen to date.  This boy truly has the gift of charm.

8+ Between the Storms

We had a busy weekend and again, we have been told to prepare for another massive winter storm.  Since the last one proved to be 7 instead of 15 inches (but still resulted in two days off from school) I am a bit pessimistic that we will actually see the 8 to 12 inches predicted for our area.

The boys after we heard the news of a second snow day last week

I was finally forced onto the treadmill on Friday evening and decided to do my easy 40 minute run and wait for my 7 mile long run when the weather might be better to run outside on Sunday.

And while our Thursday and Friday were pretty low key, spending time at my folk's house during our days off playing games and relaxing.....our Saturday was full of activities and fun!  The boys each had their last ice skating lessons and both really enjoyed them.  Saturday afternoon we all went with Grandma and Grandpa Ammeter to the KSU Rodeo and that evening was Mitchell basketball game where he did awesome snagging 12 rebounds!!

And today was another active day for Chad and I before the weather prevents any outdoor running again.  I was able to meet up with the same two friends from EMS today and ran over 8 miles with them.  This afternoon Chad ran a 5 mile trail run out at Fancy Creek and placed 2nd in his age division!  The first round of winter weather didn't slow down our training and we are hoping the second round will not either. ;)

Snowmaggedon 2013

At one point our local weather station was forecasting 15+ inches for Manhattan......and with the craziness at Dillons, the gas stations along with the unheard of cancellation of classes at KSU and USD 383 the night before we'd even seen a flake of snow.....I have nicknamed this storm snowmaggedon 2013.

The snow has finally arrived, but so far we only have about 6 inches of snow as of this afternoon at our house.  Even daddy didn't have to go into work today and since the snow hasn't been as bad as was projected for our area, we are headed out to Grandma and Grandpa's to go sledding!

I got both my 3 mile tempo run and a short 2.4 mile tempo run again yesterday before the roads and sidewalks became covered with snow.  Cold temperatures and snow will make it an interesting 7 mile long run this weekend!

Doritos.....a favorite unhealthy snow day snack!

 

Tuesday night Collin had his first visit to the ER after taking a very hard fall on the sidewalk at preschool that afternoon.  He was woozy, vomited and was falling asleep before arrival and we were very thankful for the wonderful and prompt care he was given by the doctor and nurses!  He had a minor concussion and after a day at home being "quiet" as the doctor said....or as quiet as Collin can possibly be.....he is feeling much better today. :)





Friends

This weekend  we were very excited to have our good friends from Nebraska, the Croghan's down to Manhattan for a visit.  Our friendship goes back over a decade!

Our kids enjoyed playing together (and gave our boys a much needed reprieve from each other as the winter weather-caged-inside can have a major impact on how they get along with each other) and we just had such an awesome visit with them!

Last week was a lighter week of training with just a 4 mile long run that I completed before our company arrived on Friday.  And with the fabulous Sunday weather of 70 degrees, I also started week 6 of training with a 4 mile run where I stuck to my Sunday-Hill Day mantra....taking on the hills Churchhill, Grand Miere and Kimball.  The weather forecast for this week is interesting and perhaps we will actually see some winter weather conditions in winter again, so my 7 mile long run could be interesting at the end of the week!

Our Dash

For the first time, both boys are taking swim lessons at the Ahearn Natatorium!

 Both boys are doing great and they both also agree that their favorite part of the evening is going off the diving boards and/or getting to jump into the deep pool at the end of the lessons.

I had a special helper with me first thing this morning at work!  One of the great things about working in town now is being able to attend more school events for the boys.  Today was Mitchell's Valentine's Day party and since it was happening right away in the morning, we both thought it would be fun for him to hang out with me at my school until it was time for his day to start.  So there was some extra help in the EMS Counseling Office to start off Wednesday morning! ;)

I was very happy with my 3 mile interval run last night where I ended up averaging a 9:35 minute mile pace!  I'm feeling better about my pacing for this round of training and hope I can continue this trend in the coming weeks. 

I am ending this post with a quote I took from my good friend from high school Mary (Housewirth) Norman.  I always try to keep life in perspective, but some days are harder than others.....and these words are a perfect fit on keeping what's important in focus.

For it matters not, how much we own...the cars...the house...the cash. What matters is how we live and love and how we spend our dash.' Joe Ginnane 1969-2012. —

3 day weekend

This past week was conferences for me, so training was hard to fit in until Friday morning when I was able to hook up with a couple of friends from school to run on Linear Trails.

I was supposed to run 6 miles, but with the great company I had, I went ahead and ran the 8 miles they needed to accomplish for the day.  And for the first time ever, I ran the whole distance with no music at all.  I almost never run without music so this is a big deal for me!

I got a 4 mile run accomplished today before the wind got completely crazy so week 5 of training is underway!

We had a full weekend of ice skating lessons for both boys (Collin is doing awesome so far....who-hoo!) a basketball game for Mitchell and the best part was having Grandma and Grandpa Bunger down to come to all of these events.

It was pretty awesome for Mitchell to have both sets of Grandparents at his game yesterday afternoon and we had a wonderful time playing with Grandma and Grandpa Bunger for the weekend.

I had to include this last pictures and I believe it needs no explanation.  Brothers........

Warm Fuzzy and Another 10K

What a great way to start the week!

It's National School Counseling Week and it was so thoughtful of the staff and students I work with to make me feel so appreciated!  I love my job as a school counselor!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ready or not......we are registered for our first 10K of 2013. This will be my third time running the  St. Patty's 10K and is also one of my smaller running goals on the way to 13.1 miles on May 5th.

Sunday Run and the Bossy Button

Every Sunday I have a 40 minute easy run to start of my training for the week.  Even though this course will not be as challenging as my last half marathon, I am still trying to get some hill work on Sunday's this time around.

Today's weather was great and since there isn't a shortage of hills in Manhattan, Chad and I planned that I would bring the boys to the Natitorium at KSU after he had finished his swim workout so they could swim while I ran around campus.  And my legs are definitely feeling it this evening!

Another Collin moment to document.  After church today we were sitting at lunch and out of the blue Collin turned to me and informed me he had "found my bossy button and was turning it down."  Another moment where it was hard not to laugh out loud and of course my loving husband had to make a comment that he'd wished he would have found that years ago over his coached back laughter.  Sometimes living in a house of all boys can be easier than others...... :)

Our pictures today were "tough shots" as Mitchell says...the first picture Collin and I were playing bad guy super hero....can you tell who was playing the role of villain?