3.1 done!

I took part in the Cellcom Green Bay 5K! I had set myself that goal back in December - I wanted to prove to myself that I could run all the way. And my good friend Jenna joined me in what was the first 5K (3.1 miles) race for both of us.

 

 

We made it! We both ran all the way! It felt pretty good to be able to do that. The last part of the route was thru Lambeau Field. It was really special to get to run there.

 

And my results: 38min, 09 sec. That's a pace of 12:17 minutes per mile. I know it's nothing fantastic, but I think it's pretty good for a first-timer!

 

Of course, Natalie wanted in on the fun, too! So she took part in the Kids Run, which was one kilometer (0.62 miles). She as a little scared, but she wanted to do it all by herself, and she did! Her route also went thru Lambeau Field, which was pretty cool. She was super fast. We watched her start at the start-line, and the walked over to the finish line. After what seemed like an impossibly short time, Karsten said "There she is!" At first I thought he must have been mistaken, there was no way she could have run it that fast. But he was right! I was so proud of her!

 

And she even got a medal!

 

 

 

Runway for Life

On Thursday, I was modelling for Runway for Life. It's a benefit for The American Cancer Society. They put on a fashion show with cancer survivors as the models, showing off fashion from local stores. I was selected to model a handbag.

They went all out with fashionable hair-do's and makeup:

 

 

We were two cancer survivors from my company that modeled for the event, and our company sponsored a corporate table. I was so fortunate to have Karsten and Natalie in the audience, cheering for me, along with some great friends and colleagues. One of them even recorded a little video of my "5 seconds of fame"..

 

 

 

I don't usually consider myself modeling material, but it was a really fun event, and I'm glad I could take part in it. Not only was it for a good cause, but it was a total blast to do hair and make-up and hang out with the other models behind the scenes. And I think it was a great way to show Natalie that sometimes it's okay to do things you are not so sure about - and to not take yourself too seriously...

 

Soccer Mom

I'm now officially a Soccer Mom - and proud of it! Natalie started practice on Monday:

 

You go, Girl!

 

Happy Mother's Day

We had such a great Mother's Day! We spent the day doing a whole lot of nothing - like playing games, playing outside, flying kites, etc. And we did a lot of baking:

 

Yep, that's my daughter - wearing a pretty dress, an apron, and blue latex gloves. She DOES NOT like getting her hands dirty or sticky. But she's smart enough to just do things her own way. Gotta love it.

 

The best part was how happy she was to share "my" day with me. I think this video says it all:

What a Wonderful Day.

The Mother's Day Fairy

Did you ever hear about the Mother's Day Fairy? Well, she came to our house this morning (one day early, I guess...).

I was sleeping in, while Karsten was watching Formula One on TV this morning. Natalie must have gotten up sometime without me hearing her, and I think she snuggled up with Karsten on the couch for a while. I also know they played some Junior Scrabble, since that game was on the coffee table this morning.

While they were playing, they said they heard the Morther's Day Fairy out in the kitchen. Later, they came to wake me up, so I could come see what she had done:

Sorry, I was so busy enjoying it that I didn't think about taking a picture until after breakfast, but you get the point. The table was so nicely decorated, and the Mother's Day Fairy had made homemade waffles and coffee. Awesome!

Happy Mother's Day to all you Mom's out there!

PS: I've been somewhat absent from this blog for a while. I plan on being more active here in the future. I'll also fill in with posts from November 2012 until now, so please keep scrolling back to see the "new, old" posts.

A bigger park

Towards the end of summer, Natalie and I discovered a REALLY big park across town. We spent a great morning there (with lots of photo-ops):

Natalie's favorite thing to do all summer was the monkey bars.

And Natalie is pretty good at them!

The park also had this very shallow stream, just waiting for us to go for a walk.

Very shallow...

Can you find Natalie?

At the pumpkin patch

As in previous years, Natalie and I went to the pumpkin patch to pick out some nice pumpkins - and to have some fun:

The duckie race is always a hit.

Ready, set, go...

Let's see who's winning!

This year, Natalie wasn't too fond of the corn maze.

Climbing on the hay bales was another story - lots of fun.

Did I say playing? I meant running!

We also had time to do some face painting.

Of course, we had to get some BIG pumpkins.

And play the bean bag toss.

And more bean bag toss.

Yep, she's definitely growing!