My First 5K!

I ran my very first 5K on Saturday June 5th! I started training for it at the end of April and was determined to get in shape for my trip to North Carolina. My sister Heather has been my inspiration and she found us a race to do together. There were so many times in the past month that I was sure I was never going to make it! Running is NOT fun for me, and it took some serious will power to get me going some days. I only missed a few days in the past month, and I even cut out desserts and sweets!

I flew in to Charlotte Friday night. (Friday was a LONG day with just me and the kids. Let's just say it involved sitting on a plane for 45 minutes just to get off because it was broken. Waiting around for 45 min to get transferred to a new terminal and then finally getting back on a new plane. we were only delayed 2 hours but it felt so long!)
We woke up super early on Saturday, got ready and left the kids with a baby sitter. I was a little anxious, but I just told myself I was going for a run. There was definitely some excitement in the air before it started.
Here's Heather and I before we started. I felt pretty fancy with my number and tracking chip on.

Then off we went. It was extra humid that day and so so hot! I was at the back of the pack which was okay until people started to stop and walk. I was determined to run the whole way, no matter how slowly I ran, but it was so tempting to walk! Around mile 2 I wasn't sure I would make it. I kept thinking, "Why am I doing this? I hate running and it's sooo hot!" Knowing that my sister was at the end and I would have to be proud of my goal or disappointed that I didn't make it kept me going. Luckily there was a nice little hill I ran down at the end that gave me an extra boost. Here I am running at the end.

Everyone was cheering as I came running to the finish line. I know they cheer for everyone, but it made me feel so great! I was so tired but SOOOO HAPPY! I can't believe I did it!

I'm so glad I did this, and while I can't say I love to run, it was an awesome experience and I'll do it again! Maybe I can get Ben to do it with me next time!

On your Mark....

Saturday May 29th we had a Harper Family Pinewood Derby. It was so much fun!!!!! Here are all the cars lined up ready to go. We didn't follow the BSA rules exactly.... we allowed for a little extra weight.

Ben and I made the pink car, and we borrowed the brown car from my friend's son.
Here's our attempt at a family picture for the day.
Grace, Aly (kyle's girlfriend), Kyle, Garett and Ben watching the first of our heats.

Here they come! The competition got pretty intense with cars flying off the track at times. It wouldn't be a Harper competition without a little "cheating" so we had to do a few reruns. We also had about 5 cameras and video cameras going so we took advantage of "instant replay" to determine some close races.

This was such a fun activity because the adults and the children could be equally involved. Some of the adults did get a little possessive of their cars though!

Ben and his brothers Corey and Kyle.

Notice my new haircut? I cut it that morning and am so happy to have a new summer do.

I didn't get a picture of the champions but we won! Turns out my friends 10 year old son makes a mean Derby car! That car smoked almost everyone else! Our pink car? It barely crossed the finish line in most heats. It looked good though, and that's all that matters.

Lesson Learned.....

On Wednesday May 26th I ran to Walmart to grab a few things while Grace was at dance. As I was putting Garett in the cart, he was throwing a tantrum. (that's his new thing....screaming, crying, hitting, every time he's mad. It's lovely.) Well I figured I was only going to be there for 15 minutes so I just stuck him in the back of the cart and made him sit. He was doing a good job staying down until we were in the produce department. As I was walking by the salad some lady urgently told me I had dropped something. Picture this in slow motion..... Garett standing, me slowly stopping the cart and turning around, Garett flipping over the back of the cart, hitting his head on the bottom of the cart, then landing on the ground.... I quickly turned around and scooped him up. He started screaming and the blood started coming. Every Walmart employee within 50 feet came running and they escorted me to customer service, handing me paper towels as we went. When we got to customer service I immediately asked where the Instacare was and wanted to go. They made me wait while they found their first aid kit, gave me a cold compress, asked me if I wanted a band aid, etc.... All I wanted to do was get my poor kid to the Dr., but then they made me wait for the manager to come over. When she finally got there she made me fill out a form. I was just thinking, "are you kidding me? My kid has blood running down his face, behind his ear and all over his shirt, and you're making me fill out a form?" When I was finally done we headed off to the Instacare which luckily was just in the next parking lot over from Walmart. It was empty when I got there and they got me right in. The nurses and receptionist were so sweet! I was feeling like a pretty horrible mom by this point. They were reassuring me that this happens all the time. When the Dr came in he asked what happened. I told him and he gave me the look..... You know, the one. The "I can't believe you actually put your child in the back of the cart" look, also known and the "you're a horrible mom look". I felt pretty sheepish, but all I cared about was getting my poor guy stitched up. It was awful strapping him into his straight jacket and holding his head still. He screamed a very angry scream the entire time he was stitched up. When we were finally done they gave him a sucker and he perked right up. My little guy rebounds quickly. We were done with the whole ordeal in about 30 minutes from cart to stitches, so we headed off to finish the rest of our day. My friend Tomie picked Grace up from dance and I met them at our Primary meeting at the park. Garett got right down and played the entire time, as if nothing had happened. I went home and felt completely drained the rest of the day. I still feel bad knowing I could have prevented his fall, but I am grateful that it worked out so well that I have a very resilient boy!

Here he is three stitches later.

He did learn a new word from this.... Owie. He walked around for 3 days saying owie and pointing to his forehead.
On a side note, Grace was almost his exact same age when she fell and split her forehead open. That one however was not my fault.

Grace's Spring Dance Recital

May 22nd was Grace's big Dance Recital. They danced to the Tinkerbell song "Fly to your Heart". She was so excited to get up on the big stage again and wear her Tinkerbell costume! She needed a good luck kiss from Daddy before the big show first!

We practised her dance probably 20 times in the day and a half leading up to the recital. Here she is waiting backstage.
She did so awesome! None of my pictures from the actual dance turned out, but she did so well! She did all of the moves and was totally confident. In fact, I don't think it even occurs to her to be nervous.
Here she is with her dance class.
Her teacher Miss Rachel is so sweet and gave everyone a flower. We have LOVED her as a teacher! Grace responds really well to her, plus her favorite dance friend is Rachel's daughter Briley.
We are so proud of our little ballerina!

So pretty in Pink!

We had lots of family come and support Grace. My Dad and Debbie were there, but we didn't catch a picture.

Ben's Mom came with Grandma and Grandpa Neal. We're so glad they were in town to come!

My Mom was also there.

Grace has really enjoyed dance this year and has really learned a lot!

Grace Graduates

I can't believe Grace is done with Preschool for the year! We had so much fun doing our preschool with our friends and we both learned so much! (her as the student and me as the teacher)

Emerson Fuller, Hattie Bankhead, Ryley Williams, Addie Rollins, and Grace.

We are sad to be done, but are excited for a new adventure in Preschool come fall!

The Farm at Thanksgiving Point

We've had the chance to go to the Farm at Thanksgiving Point twice in the last month. This is such a fun inexpensive place to go! Last week we went for our final field trip for Grace's Preschool. It was fun to be there with all her friends, and my friends too!

Garett has been totally fascinated by animals lately. (He calls all dogs Nala, which it so funny!)
The first thing Grace wanted to do was ride the Ponies. There was a long line but she was determined to wait. By the time we got to the front the line was gone and the rest of our preschool friends had made it around to see the animals and practically walked onto the pony ride. Oh well, that's what I get for having a determined child.

This was Garett's first pony ride. He LOVED it! He bounced himself up and down and said WHEEE! He had such a fun time!

We finally made it around to look at the rest of the farm and made a stop at the Jail House.

A few weeks ago the highlight of our visit was feeding the Goats! Garett laughed and shrieked anytime the goats licked him. He loved it! When we ran out of corn he started picking up anything he could find on the ground to feed them.

We opted for the Wagon Ride that day instead of the ponies, and it was freezing! It was a very windy day!

We also found a cute little building with some fun activities in it. Garett got to ride a tractor, and Grace got to plant and harvest some food.

We love to visit the Farm!