Epic Weekend Recap

Well, I hate to rub it in, but we had a pretty epic weekend.  Friday was pretty uneventful, which was fine by me!  Saturday started bright and early at 6 a.m.  Not my favorite Saturday wake-up time, but I was on a mission.  We had to leave the house by 11 and I was determined NOT to miss my long run this weekend!  So, after a bit of coffee and breakfast, I headed out the door around 7:20 (whoops, little late...)... and ran.... and ran...

and ran FIFTEEN POINT FIVE MILES.  

Um, yeah, that's 25 kilometers.

 Yeah baby!

Actually, I had been planning 14 miles, but I didn't evaluate my route very well and ended up tacking on an extra mile.  So, I reached my neighborhood at 15 and was about to start walking when I realized, heck, I still have another 1/2 mile to get to my house!  Might as well run it in!  Soooo stinking excited to actually have completed the 25k distance prior to running the Riverbank Run in just over two weeks!   I know I haven't put in the training to do it as fast as I'd originally hoped, but now I KNOW I can cover the distance (without walking) and that is still a huge accomplishment for me at this point in my running. 

 (two more weeks baby!)

Then I rushed home - late - to find that my magnificent husband had been busy while I was gone and had the kids (and dogs!) all ready to go away for the night. So I showered, dressed, madly packed and we piled in the van about 11:30 (late, but who's counting?).  And headed too... Grandmas!  We had a birthday party for my grandma (well, my grandfather's long-term lady friend?). She turned 90.  I'm sad I didn't get any photos. It was a wonderful party and so nice to see family.  

BUT our visit was brief because Mark and I (ONLY) were off again!  We have had a gift certificate this this B&B we love (the Wild Goose Inn) and finally had a chance to use it! 

 It was just nice to get away and have time for each other.  I think, generally, we are pretty good about that, even at home. But it's been a stressful few months and just knowing that we didn't have to be responsible for feeding anyone was a nice relief. :)  We have been very fortunate these last few years to have family help us out and allow us to get away for at least one night, once a year, sometimes more. It's so good for our marriage and nice to realize that we miss our kids too. :)

For anyone concerned, the kids (and dogs) behaved well for my  mom and Joe and had a blast (and a lot of sugar).  So it was a win-win.

After party food mid-afternoon, we didn't have big plans for dinner. But wait - I ran 15 miles!  I was H.U.N.G.R.Y!  We ended up going out for burgers at the Peanut Barrel.  Oh yum.  Really hit the spot.  As you can see, it was even nice enough to sit on the patio!  Actually, it got downright chilly before we left, but overall the fresh air was great.

 

 And don't forget a highlight of a B&B - breakfast!  This place does it right. Great coffee, fresh fruit, an incredible blueberry muffin, and omelet (for me) or french toast (Mark). There are a few other options too.  so, so good.

 

 After we checked out, we had a little bit of time, so we popped into the bookstore and found some great used children's books. Oh, how I love bookstores.  I also found a huge collection of the Babysitter's Club books and wanted to buy them, but figured I would be the only one to read them and that was sad.  :)

So THEN we hopped back in the van (there was a LOT of driving) and headed back to pick up the kids.  They were over visiting Joe's sister, so we picked up the dogs and stuff and headed over for a quick visit too. While there, the kids were all waiting for a stow-away raccoon to appear.  Unfortunately (fortunately?) the rodent decided to stay put.  I mean, why wouldn't you want to greet this crowd?!?

Then all 7 of us (plus 2 dogs) piled back into the van for the 2 hour trip home. Whew.  The evening was busy with laundry and finishing up paperwork... 

Great weekend. :)