A BEAUTIFUL DAY FOR A PICNIC

This morning after successfully getting the kids ready and off to school, I was left with an open hour to get in a little calorie burn.  And by successful, I mean nobody was killed.  You that have kids, know just what I mean.  Two of my most dreaded daily activities are; getting kids ready in the morning, and getting them ready for bed at night.  Are there any other times during the day when kids listen to you less, than those two?  I feel like I just keep repeating myself while they run around trying to get me to chase and tickle them.  I resist the temptation to chase, sometimes, because I know that at the end of the chase it's not tickles that is going to be waiting for them. But, happy to report we are all alive and well today.  And I am not writing this from my prison cell.

Having just a short time to get a burn in before I had to go to my eye exam, I opted for a run.  I mentioned that I feel lucky to have the lake at Daybreak so close to our house.  It has a nice, paved pathway, that is about 3.5 miles around the lake.  For me, running along side a lake has a magical effect.  It has the ability to remove some of the pain from my body while I run.  It must be the lake.  Because, later in the day when I am at home, the pain comes back.  I did manage to sneak in a few pictures of my run.  I hope you guys don't mind all the pictures.  I just bought a new camera, and I'm having fun with it.  The views aren't quite as nice as my last bike ride, but they're not bad for a neighborhood run. (as always, click to enlarge)

Not gonna lie, some days this is the best view out there

I'm not the fastest runner, yet.  So with my hour run, I only get in just under 4.5 miles.  Sometimes it's good to be a big guy though.  That effort left 790 calories out there melting on the hot asphalt.  I'm not going to miss them.  In fact, I hope a seagull flies over them.

Speaking of running fast, you have probably noticed a section to the right for blog records.  If you have a time better than those posted, or a time for one that remains unclaimed, let me know.  This is your chance to be recognized as a record holder.  Be rewarded for your hard work.  You can tell everyone at work that you hold a published record.  WOW!  Let me give a shout out to my baby sister who just completed her first marathon.  To my knowledge, she is the only one in my family to have done so.  Proud of you Crash!

After a successful eye exam, and success here has nothing to do with my eye doctor still being alive and untickled, it was time for a picnic.  My youngest son, Chase, had a picnic planned with his preschool.



Heidi and Chase

 This was something that Chase has been looking forward to all week.  Every day he would ask how many more days until the picnic.  And this morning, he was ready to go as soon as he was dressed.  I had to keep telling him that we still had to wait a couple of hours.  He was so excited to go, that he volunteered to turn of The Little Einsteins, so that we could leave.  The only problem was that it was still, only 8:30.  It's fun to see him so excited about something though.  He was so excited that both Mom and Dad were going to be there with him.  After lunch, all of the kids just play together on the playground for awhile.  Chase must have thought the other kids were trying to get him dressed and brush his teeth.  He spent his time trying to bait them into chasing him around.  It was cute to watch them interact with each other.





After the picnic at Butterfield Park we came home and practiced making sno-cones.  We wanted to have a lot of practice.  We wanted to be able to make really good ones for the older kids when they came home from school.  A picnic at the park, and sno-cones.  If you ask Chase, we won the day, today.  I agree.