A couple of stories...

• Friday night I went out to complete Week 7 Day 3 of C25K.  For some reason the run was much more difficult than previous runs that week, even though it was the same amount of time.  I kept getting bad stitches in my side and once I even had to stop.  Towards the end of my race, a police officer turned on the street I was on after pausing at the intersection.  I didn't think much of it, because I see cops pretty often on my runs.  But as I came back over the railroad tracks toward the house, I saw two more cop cars.  One of them stopped and asked me if I'd seen two guys with a backpack.  I told him I had only seen two girls at the fountain and a bunch of guys on the basketball court.  Today it was in the news that the body of a graduate student was found in the fountain at UMHB!!!  =(  I ran by there twice Friday night, which is when he apparently went missing.  I think this guy lived on my street and I saw his friends outside talking Friday night, probably very worried about their missing friend.  The news said that they don't suspect foul play, but it's still pretty unnerving!
• This happened a few weeks ago, but I wanted to blog about it before I forgot!  We were sitting in the living room at home, with the front door opened but the screen door closed.  As he often does, Mason was staring out the window of the screen door, like this:  (old picture!)

          All of a sudden, he screamed and came running for me. I looked at the door to see what had happened, and the neighbors cat was standing up on its back legs with just it's head showing through the window. Mason was totally freaked out and wouldn't go near the door for a while! I laughed so hard I was crying! =)

P365

Day 22 - We went swimming with Mistie at her neighborhood pool.  Mason did a great job and didn't freak out at all!  Hopefully we can a couple more times before his swimming lessons start!

Day 23 - We had a garage sale at our house Friday and Saturday.  Mason was being quite a...handful...so I stuck a $3 sticker on his forehead (next to the scrape he got from having a meeting with the sidewalk!)

Day 24 - Just being goofy on the couch after a hot morning outside.  Ignore the large thighs at the bottom of the picture please.  =)

Day 25 - Mason has pretty much destroyed the drum that Teresa and James got him for his birthday, but he had fun today using it to play peekaboo! 

Lake Pictures

On Saturday, we all went down to the lake to celebrate Hannah's 7th birthday.  It was a beautiful day, and it was Mason's first trip to the lake.  We had a lot of fun and of course, got a lot of pictures!

Here's Mason drinking his first soda...

KIDDING! It was closed.  You all know me better than that!

Here's Mason trying to decide what he thinks of the water...

He decided he wasn't a fan...

So I held him for a while until Terry suggested that I take him closer to the sand.

He loved it!  He had sand everywhere but he had much more fun a little closer to his comfort zone!

Adorable cousin Tennie came to play in her awesome beach hat, but Mason is a little too loud for her, so they didn't last long!

I managed to not get any pictures of the birthday girl, but HAPPY BIRTHDAY HANNAH!!!

Couch to 5K Catch up

I am now on Week 7 of C25K, which involves a 5 minute warm up, 25 minutes of running, and a 5 minute cooldown.  Tonight, I completed day 2 of the week, and it was my best run yet!  I didn't go until Mason was asleep which was almost 8:30.  I was kind of nervous about running in the dark, but I was all pumped up and motivated, PLUS it was about 75 degrees (very cool for this time of year!) AND I had plotted a new course today, so I decided to just go for it!

I'm still running around UMHB, but I finally drove around and figured out my mileage, and tonight I did 2 miles in about 32 minutes, but the first 5 minutes of that was my 5 minute walking warm up.  So my guess is that I'm doing about a 15 minute mile.  I know that's not great for some people, but I am still shocked and amazed that I am running at all, let alone 25 minutes at a time.  I'm convinced that the time will come as I continue to build my endurance!  Tonight, I was totally in the zone and wasn't hurting, wasn't focusing on the run, was just enjoying the time out, by myself. 

This program is so amazing...at some point along the way, I became a runner.  I'm not the best or the fastest, but I'm a runner!  I never thought I would be able to say that...I can't even express the sense of pride and accomplishment I feel.  If any of you (my 2 whole readers) are considering running or looking for a new exercise regime, I strongly encourage you to try this!  It is really changing my life and building my confidence in ways I never imagined! 

Catching up again

I've still been taking my pictures for Project 365, but I haven't had time to get on and post them yet!  So here goes!

Day 17 - Our first trip to the lake, for Hannah's birthday party.  Mason wasn't real excited about it at first, but he warmed up after a while!

Day 18 - Mason and I decided to take a walk to UMHB Sunday morning.  We hung out on a blanket by the fountain and took some goofy pictures.  =)

Day 19 - Mistie and I both had to attend the same training for school Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday this week.  On Monday we went to lunch at Jalisco's and then took some pictures in the car.  We laughed so hard at how these pictures turned out.  Sad thing is, this was the best one!  We had a great time though!

Day 20 - When my dad took Mason out to see the donkeys, he got a glimpse of Uncle James' tractor from the other side of the yard and decided he wouldn't be happy until he got to sit on it.  He looks like such a big boy!  He wasn't too happy when Grandpa said it was time to get off though!

Day 21 - Umm...I kinda forgot to take pictures today, but I did happen to take this one of Mason putting on my shoe.  I think it's so cute that he knows how to put shoes on!  =)

Splash Pad and Barbeque

Today Mason and I visited the Splash Pad at Harris Park for the first time.  When we first got there, he decided he needed to maintain a death grip on my arm to make sure I didn't try to put him down.  He was NOT a fan of the water and freaked out when I tried to get him to touch it.  I carried him as long as I could, but finally we had to take a break.  We went to sit at a small covered picnic table so he could watch the other kids.  He walked around and around the table, watched the kids, and thought hard about what they were doing.  He never tried to step away from the table because he hates to stand in grass, and there was grass all around the table.  (Makes things easier for me!)

At the picnic table, he finally felt safe to explore a little and watch from afar - safe from the wild sprays of the nearby splashers. I could tell he was thinking hard about the whole situation.

When he finally seemed comfortable again, we decided to brave the water once more.

This time he got down and very slowly started to enjoy the water.  He still stayed around the perimeter of the park, but I could tell he was really having fun!  He even got sprayed in the face a few times by other kids, and he never cried!  I was so proud of him! 

After having fun in the water, we had a nice snack of Cheerios and water, and then took the inevitible Mommy and Me picture.  =)

After a good nap and some time with the Grandparents, we went to Mungia's BBQ in Heidenheimer for dinner.  One of Terry's coworkers gave him a coupon, so we were able to eat very cheaply...once we finally got there that is!  We missed a turn and went pretty far out of the way.  It was a nice ride though, so we didn't worry about it too much!

Ahh, the blissful days of summer!  And it's only the beginning!

P365 - Days 14, 15, and 16!

Oopsie!  I've been taking pictures every day, I just haven't quite had time to post them!  Here they are!

Day 14 - The pretty flowers I got from one of my students and her parents on the last day of school:

Day 15:  The weird thing Mason has had on the bottom of his foot for 3 days.  But bite?  Bruise?  We're not sure!  The good news is that it doesn't seem to be bothering him!

Day 16:  Mason at the splash pad, thinking about joining in the fun!