Weekend Adventures

One of the things about being a military family is that you just aren't guaranteed weekends. Kyle has a lot coming up for work so we made sure that we made the most of the time.

We had such a good weekend!

Saturday morning we hopped in the car and headed to Charleston for the day. It's about a 3 hour drive for us but it was definitely worth it. The weather has been dreary lately so we had to take advantage of the sunshine and somewhat warmer temperatures. We arrived around 11:30 and headed straight for the Aquarium. It's pretty amazing! The view from outside was incredible.

E was a happy camper looking at all of the fish and playing with the fun gadgets they had for kids.

We spent about an hour there and then decided to walk around the city. The weather couldn't have been more perfect. The architecture and history of this city is incredible.

We were getting hungry and stumbled upon a restaurant called Toast. They are known for their breakfast but have delicious lunch and dinner items as well. 

I had a biscuit sandwich, E had pancakes (they are her favorite), and Kyle enjoyed the crab cake sandwich with crab soup. It was all SO delicious! I'm already looking forward to going back haha. 

Afterwards we continued walking and came across the City Market. We usually have no rhyme or reason when we visit a city, we just want to take it all in. The City Market was so cool though, so many awesome local vendors. E was fascinated by everything.

We ended up at Waterfront Park afterwards and it was just beautiful! 

This is Fort Sumter in the distance. We definitely plan to visit when we go back.

It was such a fun day trip and we can't wait to visit again! We ended the night with Chinese food at home and relaxation. The perfect way to end such a great day.

Sunday morning we headed out to the Cape Fear River Trail for a family run. I had to run 17 miles and Kyle opted to run 13.1 (yes he wanted that .1 haha) while pushing E. It was chilly but sunny morning and perfect.

This trail is 5.5 miles point to point so we went out and back plus some to get our respective distances. I am SO glad that we went together because that was motivating for me.

It was a good morning.

Later in the day we had our taxes done and filed! We are so happy to have that item checked off the to-do list. 

Weekends like this are the best to me! 

I hope you all had a great one.

Friday Favorites!

Happy Friday!

With it being Friday, it's time to share some of my favorite things.

1. Gummy Bears!

I have no idea why I have been so obsessed with them lately. They have been my go to snack after running and I can't get enough. I guess there are worse things I could be eating haha.

2. Topo Fli-Lyte 2 running shoes

For someone who runs A LOT, shoes are absolutely critical. I have run solely in Brooks for the last few years but was recently fitted for a pair to Topo shoes. They are amazing! The company was launched in 2013 and creates a very natural fitting shoe. I honestly don't feel like I'm wearing shoes and that's the best. The wide toe box is my jam.

3. Family Outings

There is nothing better than spending time together! With Kyle's work schedule so unpredictable we make the most of the time. Last Sunday we took E bowling and it was so much fun. She is through 1 game until she just wanted to watch.

4. The Masked Singer

I am not ashamed to say that I have gotten sucked into this show. Haha!!! It is just silly and honestly just a show that makes me smile. Kyle and I both are invested in it and it's so fun seeing what celebrity is behind the losing character each week. If you haven't watched it, check it out!

5. Pedicures

I don't get them nearly as often as I should. The nail place that I go to is absolutely amazing. They have a binder of pedicure options and I love it. I mean, who doesn't love having fresh fruit rubbed on their legs haha. I know I do. I was able to just zone out for an hour yesterday while E was at school and it was glorious. 

What are some of your favorite things lately?!

I hope y'all have a great weekend! Do something fun!

Resolutions...Or Not.

Every year, people start out with their resolutions. Whether it be go to the gym more, be more present, or stop being on social media so much. Everyone has something that they want to focus on and whatever that may be for you, I wish you a successful year. Even if you don't have any resolutions, I hope this year is amazing for you.

I sat down and thought long and hard about what I wanted the focus of this year to be. I wasn't sure if I wanted it to be a specific resolution or a goal. I was honestly stuck and I couldn't figure it out. I felt like this was something that I couldn't rush because it was just going to frustrate me. 

Then it hit me. I just want to continue to grow. As a person, a wife, a mom, a daughter, a sister, an aunt. I want to be the best version of myself and do all I can to make that a reality. Am I going to be perfect this year?! Not at all, but striving towards perfection is not what I'm going for. 

I want to live life to the fullest and just enjoy every single moment that I have with those that I love. 

I want to smile more but recognize that it's okay to have an off day, because it's those days that we often learn the most from. 

I want to be better about letting the little things go that have no impact on me whatsoever. 

I want to be better about finding the joy in every single moment, even when it might not be clear at first. 

I want to embrace the struggles and know that they are all part of the journey. 

I want to inspire others to embrace who they are.

I found these quotes and they spoke to me so much.

Here is to living out loud this year and being the best version of me I can be.

Things I'm Looking Forward To

Happy Monday everyone!!

Kyle is off work again today so we are heading to SLAM this morning (the owner of Stroller Strong Moms is joining us at our location today, yes I'm fangirling haha) and then it will be home to just relax and enjoy the day. 

I feel like the next few months are packed with lots of fun things and I really can't wait! Here is what I'm looking for to.

1. Disneyworld!!!

We are heading to Disneyworld at the end of next month. My sister and I are running the Fairy Tale Challenge (10k and Half Marathon) and we decided to turn it into a big family vacation.  This will be our first time visiting (we grew up going to Disneyland) and E's first experience with a Disney park. We are so excited. Kyle will just be finishing a hectic exercise at work and so it's a great time to get away for family time. It will be even better seeing the cousins having a blast together.

2. ACE Certification Exam

I scheduled my exam for April 4th and I am pumped. I spent this past Saturday getting my Adult and Pediatric CPR/First Aid certification done and now it's just a lot of studying to get ready for this exam. 

3. Forest Freak 50k/Kyle's birthday weekend

This race is taking place at Pleasant Ridge park in Marietta, SC. We have never been to this area and we are so excited to see a new place while I'll be running a lot of miles. I'm particularly excited for this event because it benefits Camp Spearhead. It is a camp that is specifically designed for children and adults with disabilities. It just makes my heart happy to support such an amazing organization.  It will be fun to be in a new place to celebrate Kyle's birthday as well. We can't think of a better way to spend that time together.

4. E's dance recital

Cue the excitement! To me there is nothing cuter than seeing a group of 2-3 year olds dancing on stage. She was fitted for her costume a few weeks ago and it's adorable! May can't come soon enough.

I can't wait to see it in person soon.

5. Family Photos

I have been in contact with a local photographer and she is supposed to be getting back to me with dates she has available. We haven't had family photos done since July 2017 and we are in desperate need of new ones. I am really looking forward to getting new ones done. However, they still are some of my favorite photos.

What are you looking forward to?

Have a great day!

My Thoughts in Memes

I have really been riding the blog post struggle bus lately haha. I've had every intention to blog but I just can't seem to find the motivation. I'm sure I will find it again and get back to a regular posting schedule. 

I thought it would be fun to share some of my favorite memes and how they are relating to life lately.

~ I have been dealing with some annoying sickness lately. Monday morning I woke up feeling absolutely terrible. Pretty sure I have almost coughed up a lung and successfully kept Kyle up for the past 2 nights. I know that the back and forth between temperatures hasn't helped. I'm not sure if anyone got me sick but this meme made me laugh. I'm just hoping it doesn't take down Kyle or E.

~Speaking of the back and forth weather, it's insane in the south! We go from 70 degree beautiful days to below freezing in the blink of an eye. Now before everyone who is dealing with snow and freezing temperatures get all up in arms, I get it, but we live in the South. My blood is still thin haha. I can deal with below freezing dry temperatures (hey Kansas!) but below freezing humid temperatures suck! 

~So I made the mistake of trying to finally watch a full episode of The Bachelor. Yup, I shouldn't have done that. I just don't understand this show. I get that it's some people's guilty pleasure and that's great but just no for me. I told Kyle that I tried to watch it and his response to me was "why would you do such a thing?!" Haha! I wish I could get those minutes of my life back.

~Today is my rest day! I have no idea what to do with myself haha. E is in school until 12:30 so I have 3.5 hours to do whatever I want. I honestly will probably end up studying in the quiet at home or end up roaming Target haha.

~I have been struggling with being social lately. At the end of the day I just want to sit at home and relax. The idea of putting on actual pants to hang out with people outside of the house does not appeal to me. I know that's terrible to say but it's true. My cousin posted this meme tonight and it spoke to me on so many levels haha.

Well, that's all the thoughts I have for right now! 

I hope you guys have a great Thursday.

Weekend Wrap-Up

I really can't believe that the weekend is already over! 

It was a pretty low key but honestly that is just how we like it. Friday, was spent just enjoying good quality family time. Kyle was home relatively early (thank you division for the early-ish release) and we decided to go out to dinner. We have a local mexican restaurant that we love and E gets to enjoy all the chips she wants haha. Kyle and I watched a movie and just enjoyed a quiet evening after she went to bed. If y'all haven't seen Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri you need to! It's amazing. 

Saturday, it was just me and E. Kyle was on a jump (yes, jumping out of an airplane for work) so she and I headed to Wilmington to get our race packets for Sunday. It worked out perfectly because there was a Chick-fil-A in the same parking lots and that's her favorite. 

She was a happy camper! It was a fun day out with her and she is always such a go with the flow kiddo, which we truly appreciate.

Kyle finally got home at around 7:30 and he was exhausted. Mostly from sitting in the darn harness for so long. We headed to bed early as we had a bit of a drive Sunday morning for the race.

We were on the road at 6:30am for the Beethoven 15k! It took about an hour and forty minutes to get there but it was such a beautiful area. This race benefited the Wilmington Symphony which I think is pretty amazing. We were nervous about the weather because it had been threatening to rain all morning but we were so thankful that it held off until the last .5 mile! This was our first race of the year and we are so glad it was.

It was a 9.3 mile race which is an odd distance and I really just wanted it to be 10 haha. It was a beautiful partial road and partial paved trail course. There was so much to look at which made it that much better. E did fantastic as usual, waving and thanking the volunteers. 

We crossed the finish line and we were definitely happy with our times. 

We were shocked to see that we both placed 3rd in our age groups.

I was pumped that we got coffee mugs for the age group awards. Finally, something we can actually use.

The rest of the day was spent relaxing and just enjoying the time together. Kyle has a big exercise coming up so he will be MIA for a while. We are soaking up this time together for sure. 

I hope you all had a great weekend! 

Life Lately

2019 is definitely in full swing! 

Here is what's happening in our house.

*Kyle went back to work last week but yesterday he started his new job. We heard rumblings that this was going to happen before Christmas leave but we really had no idea when. Last Friday it was official. Haha! His new job is what the Army calls a KD (Key Development) job. He needs to check this block to work his way towards the next promotion. He is excited but we both know it is going to mean even more long hours, but such is the life. :)

*E goes back to school today. She has been asking every day to go back so here is hoping it's a good day for her. I am going to miss my little partner in crime but I know how much she enjoys going. 

*I am currently in week 3 of 50k training! My training program that I'm using is a 19 week program but the best part is that this is not focused on speed but endurance. It takes a lot to run 31 miles and while speed will naturally come that is not my focus. I will just get to enjoy this race. This training cycle overlaps several big races for me to include the Disney Princess half marathon weekend and the All American Marathon. Yay! I knocked out 14 easy miles on Sunday and it was great.

*As with every new year comes the purge haha! We have been going through every room in our house getting rid of things we don't need or use. It has been really nice taking care of that. We have given away baby stuff to friends and tossed random things that have been taking up unnecessary space. I have a few more closets to go through and then I'm done.

*Reconfiguring our budget has been taking up a lot of my time. With a new car payment and pay raise, it's time to adjust some principle payments and get back to a set budget. The holidays always turn things upside down a bit especially with traveling. Time to buckle down again. My goal is to have Kyle's car paid off by the beginning of next year. I know it's possible. 

Hope y'all have a great day!!!