This was certainly a baseball weekend! Saturday night was Mercer night with the Macon Pinetoppers. Sunday we went to the Braves game, part of Kimberlie’s birthday present. On Sundays, kids are invited onto the field after the game to run the bases. They get a t-shirt and certificate and it’s free! On top of all that, it was kid’s day at the game with tons of stuff to do.
Enjoy the photos below:
Two weeks ago, we spent almost a week in Philadelphia. I had a work-related conference across the river in Camden, New Jersey so I brought the family along to see a new city. We flew to Philadelphia, but decided to try something new (or old) and take Amtrak back to Atlanta. It was a great experience. If you ever get the chance to travel by train, take it! It forces you to relax and enjoy the scenery.
Since I’m so far behind on blogging, I’ve decided to just post photos from the recent trip.
One of the highlights of our recent trip to Philadelphia was visiting the Please Touch Museum. It’s similar to the Imagine It! children’s museum in Atlanta, but on a much grander scale. It is housed in a building that was constructed for our nation’s bentenial celebration in 1876. The grand building looks like it belongs on the mall in Washington D.C. You would never guess that it has a museum for children inside.
Philadelphia had many first class attractions. I only wish we had arranged to stay longer and see more of them.
This morning, after running a quick 7:30AM 5K, we met some of my colleagues for a trip down the Ocmulgee. We went with Ocmulgee Expeditions, which is one of the best kept secrets here in town.
They put us in the river at Water Works Park and we paddled/drifted for about 4 miles to the Riverwalk. The kids loved it. It was amazing how we were right in the middle of town, but it seemed like we were out in the middle of nowhere. Even when we passed by the trails, you couldn’t see anyone because we were so low in the river.
I highly recommend taking a trip sometime soon!
My sister got the opportunity to ask Clark Howard a money question . . . and get her two minutes of fame. This was obviously before she had her baby. Check it out:
This has been quite the busy weekend.
Saturday, we awoke at 5:00 AM and drove to Milledgeville for another 5K. I set a new personal record and was 2nd in my age group. Former UGA quarterback David Greene (second photo in black) presented the awards.
Later that evening (after a nap interrupted by a census worker), we met up with some friends at Buckner’s Family Restaurant. It’s located at exit 201 off of I-75 behind the Pilot truck stop. They seat your group around a lazy susan and serve the amazing food family style. I highly recommend it!
This morning, we got up and headed up to Athens. My sister had her first child, Elinor Grace (don’t ask about the name), on Wednesday and we went to meet her. Afterwards, we ate at Raisin’ Canes — the best chicken finger shack ever. We discovered this place on our trip to New Orleans last year and were happy to find one in Athens.
Aside from all of that travel and fun, we have also played in the pool, went grocery shopping, and watched Avatar (which is totally not my kind of movie). The rain has now ruined our afternoon plans, so it’s a good time to catch up on a blog post.
I hope your weekend was enjoyable as well!
Somehow, our Saturdays have been consumed with running and t-ball lately. I fondly remember sleeping in on Saturdays. This Saturday, we woke up at 5:30 to get ready for the Run4Missions 5K.
The kids participated in the one mile fun-run. No, I’m not forcing my kids into my sport. They WANT to do this. I am happy that they are picking up on positive habits. We know several kids who sit and play video games all day.
Tristan placed 3rd among boys 10 and under. He ran the mile in just over 10 minutes. That’s a lot faster than I was two years ago!
Mackenzie finished 4th among girls 10 and under. She beat out girls three times her age! She finished in about 14 minutes.
Here’s a picture with them sporting their finisher’s medals. I regret that I didn’t get the pictures of them receiving their trophies at the awards ceremonies. I wish I had brought my video camera so that you can hear the “AWWWWW”s when Mackenzie ran up to the stage to get her trophy.
After the fun run, it was time for my 5K. I ran the race in 23:48 — a new personal record! I was pleased. Since I’m in a tough age group (30-34), I ended up 5th and didn’t get any bling bling.
Next, it was off to t-ball, which no longer has a “tee” as you can see above. I’m still not sure what’s up with that. I think maybe the ballpark lost all of the tees.
Here is Tristan getting tagged out on the way to first base. It turned out to be a pretty good shot.
After lunch and a nice nap, we headed off to Downtown Macon for the Moonlight Miles 5K. I’ve never raced twice in one day, but it worked out pretty well. It was my first local night race and the only one I’ve done other than the Tower of Terror 13K at Disney.
Kimberlie isn’t great at getting good night shots, so you won’t see any pictures of me running at night. My time was about 2 minutes slower because of hills and trying to avoid the Macon potholes at night.
We finally got home about 11:30 after a nice meal at the Waffle House (the only thing open). Needless to say, we slept in this morning!
This past Saturday, we skipped town and day-tripped up to Stone Mountain. No t-ball, yard work, chores, or errands. I loved the ropes course (Sky Hike), although it was one of the scariest things I’ve done in my entire life. When did I become afraid of heights? If a picture is worth 1000 words, then you have a lot of words below:
This weekend, we took in parts of Macon’s Cherry Blossom Festival. We usually go the Thursday night before and ride things for free (like we did last year), but Tristan’s first t-ball game interfered with those plans.
We didn’t ride anything this year, but we did visit the Arts & Crap (crafts) Festival, the park, and Ocmulgee National Monument, where during Cherry Blossom weekends, you can explore the park at night. I would highly recommend those Lantern Light Tours.
I wanted to take the kids this year because Macon is dying a quick death and the Festival might not be around much longer. Besides, if I get my way (a new job), I won’t be around here much longer either!
In a previous post, I talked about our restaurant addiction and how we are giving it up for March.
I’m happy to report that today is day #27 and we are sticking with it. We did use our Chic-fil-A mulligan on March 6 and I have been extremely creative at finding free food at work.
I failed at the no-Coke goal. I have had three so far this month: one with the Chic-fil-A meal and one after each 12K that I ran. I am happy to report that the last two didn’t even taste good.
(On a separately related goal, I have not posted a Facebook status update since February 28! That one was easy!)
I have tried to talk Kimberlie into calling this silly goal quits. It’s not like we’re doing it for lent or anything worthwhile. This morning we were at the Cherry Blossom Festival surrounded by fair-food. It was horribly tempting. Same story two weeks ago at the Forsythia Festival. But, I think the hardest times though have been the nights where Tristan has games right after work and we don’t get home until 9pm. Stopping at Zaxby’s would be so much more convenient.
This goal really was pretty silly. We are not eating healthier. We are still pressed for time when it comes to preparing meals, so unhealthy frozen foods have become a staple. Maybe that’s better than restaurant food, but probably not.
On a positive note, we have saved tons of money this month. I was more than thrilled at my credit card statement. We only have four more days. I can’t possibly screw it up this late in the game. The hardest decision . . . is where to go eat on April 1.
My Latest Run
