We had a very busy and fun weekend! Sunday was Anna's birthday and also the day of the 3M Half Marathon. Anna and I spent most of Saturday afternoon together. We had so much fun hiking and throwing huge rocks in Barton Creek (shhh- don't tell Oliver about that!). After that, we ate dinner at California Pizza Kitchen, and watched a bunch of Friends episodes at her apartment.
The next morning (Anna's actual birthday) was the 3M Half Marathon. Anna very kindly woke up super early to make me coffee and drive me to the race start. She is an awesome sister and friend!
Turns out we didn't really need to get up quite so early though -- the race ended up being delayed for 45 minutes! The wind kept blowing barricades over and Austin PD had to weigh them down with sand bags before the race could start. While I was standing in line for 45 minutes, I started to think that maybe I shouldn't run the race after all . . . my knee hurt really badly during my long run the previous weekend, and although it was feeling okay the morning of the race, I wasn't quite sure I should run it. But I did anyway!
The wheelchair racers started first, then 2 minutes later our gun went off. I finally got to cross the start line, and I just felt really good, praise God! I love running races. :-) The first 2 miles of the race are flat, then miles 3 and 4 are mostly downhill, then the rest of the race is equal parts uphill and downhill, with a flat finish. I was anticipating that my knee would start to hurt during the downhills of the race, but thank God it was A-OK!
Finish time was 1:34:22, which beat my previous PR of 1:34:54.
Splits:
miles 1 & 2: 15:05 (I forgot to push the lap button when I reached mile 1). Still dodging people at this point.
mile 3: 7:07
mile 4: 6:54 <---- downhill
mile 5: 6:55 <---- downhill. I distinctly remember thinking, "Oh wow, this is so easy!" Yeah, right! I sure wasn't thinking that 30 minutes later!
mile 6: 7:02
mile 7: 7:13 <---- big uphill at the end of mile 6
mile 8: 7:21 <---- some uphill, starting to get tired
mile 9: 7:13
mile 10: 7:14 <---- really tired
mile 11: 7:04 <---- trying to convince myself to run a sub 21:00 5k to finish in 1:32
mile 12: 7:04 <---- downhill
mile 13: 7:03 <---- tiny downhill, mostly flat, but thankfully adrenaline kicked in! Overall, it was a great race and I'm looking forward to the next time I get to run it!
Well, it finally happened -- Buttercup has a word for Oliver! She used to call him "Uh-Oh" -- or maybe it was just a coincidence :-) -- but yesterday she started calling him "Ah-vuh." And she doesn't just say it sweetly in her usual voice, she yells it. "AH-VUH! AH-VUH!!!!" Oliver refuses to believe that she's saying his name though. He says, "No, Buttercup, it's OLIVER. Can you say OLIVER?"
We had a really fun day today. This morning we were playing with some old(er) toys and Oliver thought it would be fun to pretend the toy box was a boat. Here are the two kiddos in the "boat" with their "oars" (inflatable guitars).
Then we headed to the outlet mall to get some bigger PJs for Oliver and meet up with our friends Robyn and Leah. Oliver very kindly pushed Buttercup in the stroller while she finished her snack.
We stopped for a bit at the mechanical rides and the kids rode the carousel.
After naptime, Oliver asked if he could have some chocolate milk. We didn't have any chocolate syrup, so I used the cocoa mix Mom gave me for Christmas. Oliver did NOT want his milk heated up, so we had to stir for a while to get it all mixed in.
Tasty stuff!
Then we headed to the duck park so Oliver could try to catch something in his net. He caught: leaves, rocks, a minnow, 2 sticks, and an empty beer can. Lovely!
We even had time to play at the playground for a little while before heading home.
When we got back home, I got dinner ready and Oliver watched Lady and the Tramp . . .
. . . while Buttercup played with the shopping bags . . .
. . . and I tickled her with my foot.
Then after dinner, Dennis took Buttercup on an errand while Oliver helped me fix Dennis' lunch for the next day. Here he is helping me wash celery. What fun kids we have! They are the best!
We have been pretty busy for the past couple of days! The weather has been mostly nice, so we've been spending a lot of time outside. Here are a couple of pictures from yesterday afternoon.
Oliver was playing his "sort and pour" game with foam shapes and construction trucks. Apparently it was also raining near his worker site -- very nice of him to keep Mommy Sharkie and Baby Sharkie out of the rain!
Meanwhile, Buttercup was playing in the kitchen with her baby. :-)
And here's a video of Oliver being spastic before bedtime tonight. Enjoy! (Note: yes, his shorts are on backward and his shirt is partially tucked in -- he dressed himself)
These are some of the funny things that Oliver said today!
"I think I want a baby brother. No, I think I want a baby whale shark instead."
"I want to live in the Mississippi River with the bull sharks and Granddaddy." [I pointed out that Granddaddy doesn't actually live in the Mississippi River, just near it.] "Well, I still want to live there. And Granddaddy can come, too, if he's not scared of the bull sharks."
"Now I am going to sing Buttercup a song. Fe Fi Fo Fum . . . SPAGHETTIOS!"
Buttercup: "Ball?"
Me: "Oliver is playing with the ball now, but he'll share it in a minute."
Oliver: "Actually, I do not plan to share the ball with Buttercup at any time."
Oliver: "Do sharks need to wear lotion at night time?"
Me: "No."
Oliver: "Because they have skin like foxes?"
"Mama. You shouldn't run that race. You should go to Chuck E. Cheese's instead!!"
"Mama, are there different colored jellyfish? You know, like strawberry or grape?"
Me: "Can you sing with me?"
Oliver: "No, I'm sorry, I can't. I'm under my umbrella."
