I am one Tough Mudder!

 

So after I made my goal to run a half marathon my mom decided to sign me up for another race. The Tough Mudder. It was an 11 mile race with 26 military style obstacles. This race was straight up CRAZY. Click HERE to see the full course details. My team consisted of my mother, my sister Kina, her husband Kyle and my brother Steven. One fun thing about this race is they encourage ridiculous costumes. We were not the only people to look this stupid. 

My favorite obstacle was "Walk the Plank". It was a jump from a high platform into a pit of muddy water. My least favorite was the "Chernobyl Jacuzzi." This was a head first slide into a ditch of ice mud. In the middle of the trench there was a low hanging wall which forced you to go under before you could continue to the muddy exit. The water was sooooo cold it was kinda disorienting. I was pulling ice out of my clothes for the next quarter mile. Here is a picture of them "freshening up the mud" before our group entered.

 
One obstacle was crawling through really really thick mud. This was almost like quick sand. It sucked you down and zapped your energy. As an added bonus you got to carry that mud with you for the next 4 miles before you hit a "wet" obstacle again.

There were 3 sets of "Berlin Walls" spread through the coarse. They got taller as you went on. This is me climbing over the first and smallest set.

  

I swam in some of the most disgusting water I have ever seen and smelt. During one swim in black mucky water the guy in front of me turned around and offered me something in his hand. It was a large dead fish. At closer inspection I noticed that the pond was filled with them. I don't know of they died there or if they were brought in dead but it was gross either way. We were forced to submerge completely in some of this water by going under floating barrels. The water tasted gross too. Luckily we were able to "clean off" in some water that didn't have dead fish in it in the next obstacle, the tight rope walk. 

 

Here are two more obstacles.

 

Perhaps the scariest obstacle was the Electroshock Therapy. It's a dash through wires, some of them containing 10,000 volts of electricity. This has the power to knock you to the ground. I had sleepless nights thinking about this. I didn't know if I was actually going to brave it until the moment I actually ran through it. There was a slight breeze that parted the wires like the red sea for just a second. I knew that this was my chance so I RAN! Kina, Steven and I made it unscathed. Kyle and Becky, not so much. Both were shocked several times. Kyle said it felt like getting hit by a baseball bat. Since I don't have a picture of me running through I found this one for your enjoyment. See a video HERE and HERE. Funny.  

 

Although it was painful and disgusting it was also fun and exhilarating. I will definitely do it again. Anyone want to join my team?

Disney Halloween Kids Races

During Wine and Dine Half Marathon Weekend Disney held it's Annual Kids and Family Halloween Races. I signed the Will up for the 100m dash and Jack ran the 200m dash. Before the race they had a dance party on the big field in the middle of the track. Will was not that interested but Jack loved it. He is a crazy dancer. Will was cranky until it was his turn to run. Then he took off and was all smiles. Click HERE to see more pics from the event.

Disney's Wine and Dine Half Marathon

This past summer I set a goal to run a half marathon in Disney World. I signed up for the Disney Wine and Dine Half Marathon and paid the entrance fee to solidify my commitment. After training for months the day finally came to run my big race. My mom and my sister joined in the fun! This is us waiting at our starting corral.

Here is a course map. It was so fun to run through the parks and in some of the backstage areas. The cast members were great and did a wonderful job cheering us on.

 

The race started at Disney's Wide World of Sports at 10:00pm. The whole race was one big party! Before we lined up at the start line there was a photo spot with Mickey and Minnie and big dance party to pump everyone up. 

 

The race started with fireworks. The music from the dance party kept playing throughout most of the course so there was no need to wear headphones. People would dance and sing together as we ran along. Around mile 3 and 7 there was a live band playing for everyone. You could hear them for a long ways in both directions. There was plenty of characters to take your photo with along the way. The race ended in EPCOT parking lot. That's when the party really began. The after party was held at EPCOT, which was only open to the runners and their family member who had purchased tickets. They had all the good rides open and had plenty of character meet and greets. They also had all of the food and wine festival booths open for us to eat at.

Click HERE to see more of our character photos.

All race finishers received a really nice medal. I am so proud of it!

This race was such a blast that I have signed up for Disney's Half Marathon in January. If you are looking to set a half marathon goal I highly recommend the Disney race series. It was so much fun you don't even notice how hard you are working!

AHHHHHH!

This huge banana spider decided to make our front porch his home. I first noticed him when I almost ran into his web! It was a close call. The lawn care guy assured me he is harmless and said I should get my broom and just move him somewhere else. That was even too close for me. What if he crawled down the broom handle onto my hand? AHHHHH! The lawn care guy relocated him to my parents yard next door :)

4th of July

Ok, so I know it's Labor day but I thought I should finally get around to posting some 4th of July photos. We went with some friends to a little town just south of us called Micanopy. It is a no stoplight town that reminds me of the town from Fried Green Tomatoes.

Here are the boys sitting on the curb with their friends watching the parade go by.

 

Here is a Florida cowboy! He had a whip that he would crack that was REALLY loud. 

Our Little Benny

Benny is becoming very active. He is no longer content to sit and watch. He must be moving at all times. He can now pull himself up on furniture and stand up in bed. Here are some random snapshots of Benny just being Benny. They are not very high quality but they show his personality.  

Naughty Benny! He is obsessed with shoes. He likes to eat them. I try to keep them all picked up but it seems like every time I turn around he's sucking on another one! In this picture he has knocked over the stand we put keys on. 

 

 Benny likes to run around in his diaper. Ok - I like to let Benny run around in his diaper because it means less laundry.

 

Benny and Will don't usually get along so when they weren't fighting I snapped a picture.

 

Ben loves to watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse with Jack.

Benny also likes to stick everything he finds on the floor in his mouth. Sometimes I put him in baby prison so I don't have to watch him so closely. That way I can actually get some work done.

First Day of School

Just like Nemo, Jack was super excited to start school on August 22nd. He goes to 4 year old Kindergarten at Abacus Learning Center. There are 6 other kids from our church in his class of 18 so he was surrounded by friends on his first day. Since then, he has come home to tell me all about the other kids in his class that he has made friends with. Even if he doesn't learn anything about reading, writing or arithmetic, having him learn how to socialize and relate to others (and having three hours a day with only two kids to take care of) is totally worth sending him to school everyday. 

 

 Come on Mom. Let's go!

I found my cubby.

His teacher, Ms. Susan.

His other teacher, Ms. Melissa.

Playing in the Rain

Florida has wonderful afternoon storms. Today Jack asked me if he could play on the porch and watch the rain. It wasn't long before he put on his boots and ventured off the porch. Once Will saw what Jack was doing he just had to join in.

   

 

Am I a Bad Mom?

Will has always been a fan of dogs but when Will met Nacho it was love at first sight. Nacho belongs to Will's swimming teacher and I think the only reason he doesn't complain about lessons every day is because he gets to see Nacho. Am I a bad mom for not getting him a dog? You decide. (Sorry the pics are low quality. They were taken on my phone.)