.: bistan.net :.

First of all, we are NOT pageant people.

I have no problem telling people that we are frugly (pronounced FRUG-LEE). That stands for frugal-ugly. We would rather look plain and have a few extra dollars and more free time than visit fancy salons and spas and wear clothes that cost more than we make in a week.

We didn’t even own an iron until a couple of years ago when I needed to make t-shirts (and honestly compels me to disclaim that we haven’t used it since).

A hair dryer? We don’t own one. My wife doesn’t have a hairdresser. She doesn’t even know any. The only time she gets haircuts are when they are free because she gets enough cut off for locks-of-love.

To us, appearance just isn’t the most important thing. Yet, apparently during a moment of weakness, we decided to enter Mackenzie into Macon’s Little Miss Cherry Blossom Pageant.

The pageant isn’t your average Toddlers-and-Tiaras-type pageant. Only “Sunday” dresses are allowed. The kids are suppose to look like kids, not miniature adults. No excessive make-up, hair-dos, etc. Sounds like the perfect pageant for a frugly family like mine!

So first, we had to find a pink dress — in November. If you walk into any store, you quickly realize that red and magenta are the colors of the season. Finding anything pink was a huge challenge. By the way, I got the $60 dress for less than $20. Score 1 for the fruglies!

Next, it was time for shoes. We wanted white dress shoes, but again, those are impossible to find outside of the Easter season. After visiting at least 25 stores, we finally found a pair (and at a reasonable price). Score 2 for the fruglies!

Now, what to do about the hair? Mackenzie is cute in braids, pigtails, or pretty much any other quick hair style, but this warranted something special. We found a curling iron for $5.00 (Score 3 for the fruglies!). After pleading for help on Facebook, and nearly choking from laughing so hard when a Facebook friend suggested that we call my wife’s (non-existent) hairdresser, Kimberlie’s co-worker and friend volunteered to help with the task. This same person also trades Saturday shifts with Kimberlie and made a few wonderful pink bows for us.

Finally, there were logistical matters. We had a 5K scheduled in Milledgeville (and hour away) just 4 hours before we had to be at the theater. (It’s the end of the year and we are chasing points.) That gave us (all four of us) less than an hour at the house to shower, change, eat lunch, and prep my little princess. But, somehow, we pulled it off.

Mackenzie didn’t win the title, but we weren’t “in it to win it”. She did a wonderful job, however.

I think it all turned out pretty well. What do you think?

We spent this past weekend in Chattanooga, Tennessee. On Friday, we visited Lookout Mountain and rode the Incline Railway and visited Rock City and Ruby Falls.

On Saturday morning, I ran the Chickamauga Battlefield Marathon in Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia. Actually, I ran the first half and survived the other half. (I really need to stop skipping my distance runs!)

That evening, we explored downtown Chattanooga and ate at Cheeburger Cheeburger, which was awesome. The kids enjoyed Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream, even though it was about 40 degrees outside.

On Sunday, we took Tristan to the Tennessee Aquarium to celebrate his 8th birthday. I can’t believe I have an 8 year old!

Chattanooga is a wonderful city. Although I’ve driven through there a few times, I had never really stopped for a visit. Priceline gave us an awesome deal on a nearly 100 year old historic hotel called the Reed House. Several presidents as well as Al Capone stayed there in the past. And, as icing on the cake, it had an indoor pool, which gave the kids something to do while I recovered from the marathon.

I hope we can go back and spend more time in Chattanooga in the future. Until then, enjoy the pictures:

- Register for the marathon only because you plan to train with your running buddies — all of who end up injured.
- Register for a marathon and then proceed to gain 10lbs before race day.
- Decrease your mileage in the months leading up to the race.
- Visit every tourist attraction in the town hosting the marathon the day before the race.
- Swear off caffeine the week before race day.

I did ALL of the above . . . and PRed by 27 minutes.

4 Halloween events yesterday, 1 today, 3 tomorrow.  Exhausted.

Sometimes, you have to go back to work to recuperate.

I’m such a sorry blogger. I take hundreds of photos and tons of video and I rarely get them off of the camera.  It was so much different when the kids were younger.  I guess I need some motivation.

The weather was perfect again this weekend!  Last weekend, we let Tristan spend the night in his playhouse outside.  This weekend, we saw The Lion King in 3D, and then spent lots of time outside — running, playing soccer, visiting the local park, etc.  Here are a few photos:

Mackenzie’s preschool class has a class mascot: Monkey George.  If you have read my blog for very long, you know that Mackenzie knows how to take care of a monkey.  Each Friday, he goes home with one of the kids for the weekend.  He returns on Monday with a story and photos of his weekend adventures.  Mackenzie’s story is below.

George’s Weekend with Mackenzie

February 25 – 27, 2010

On Friday, George went home with Mackenzie.  That evening, they rode a long way to eat at Buckner’s with friends and family.  George met a really big chicken outside.  They ate so much that they came home and went right to bed!

On Saturday morning, George and Mackenzie woke up really early to go watch Mackenzie’s dad run a 5K race.  While he was running, Mackenzie and George met Chester the Frito Lay Cheetah.  He gave Mackenzie and George two bags of chips.  They also met the Chick-fil-A cow who told George to Eat More Chicken!

After coming home and taking a nap, Mackenzie’s family took George downtown, where they climbed onto the roof of one of the highest buildings.  George could see the whole city!

That evening, George put on his Mercer Bears shirt and went with Mackenzie’s family to watch the last Mercer basketball game of the year.  George even met a big bear, but he wasn’t scared.

George ate a hamburger before the game and that night, the Bears won!  Mackenzie and George even saw their classmate Jana at the basketball game! George was so happy!

On Sunday, Mackenzie and George played around the house, ate lunch and then went shopping.  Afterwards, they played outside with Mackenzie’s friend Chelsea.  They rode bikes and drew on the driveway with chalk.  Then, everyone walked to the park, where George got to swing.

That evening, George and Mackenzie talked all about the animals George got to meet: the chicken, the cheetah, the cow and the bear. George and Mackenzie had so much fun!

Last weekend, Tristan and I ran the Al Toll 5K.  It is on one of the largest inclines around.  You pretty much run 1.55 miles uphill and then turn around and run back.  I beat my time from last year by about 30 seconds, and Tristan took his 5K time (out of 2) down to 31 minutes.  He won second place in his age group and was all smiles.

After running the Walt Disney World Half-Marathon and Marathon (literally 6 days after), I ran the Museum of Aviation Half-Marathon on Robins Air Force Base.  I’ve always wanted to run this race, but every year it is days after the Disney race.  This year, I decided I was going to do it.  I initially thought about doing the full marathon because two marathons in one week would get me into a club called “Marathon Maniacs”.  I later decided on just doing the half.

The Museum of Aviation race is the closest long race to my house.  It’s literally 15 minutes away.  The course leaves the museum, circles the flight line, and returns to the museum.  I’ve lived minutes from Robins Air Force Base for my entire life, but aside from a few air shows, I had never been out on the flight line.  That made this race a must for me.

I was doing extremely well, considering the races that I ran the previous weekend until about half way through.  I was on track to score a sub-2-hour half-marathon but my legs started to KILL me.  I’ve never felt pain like that during a race.  Needless to say I slowed down.  I came in at 2:19, which is my third best half-marathon.  I’ve decided that I’ll break two hours in March at the Publix Georgia Half Marathon, or I’ll die trying.

The highlight of the race, by far was watching the F-15 perform touch-and-gos on the runway, which was only 100 yards or so from the race course.  At times, I thought I could even feel the heat from the engine burn.  You don’t get that close to the action at an air show!  It was, by far, the coolest thing I’ve ever ran past during a race.

While I was running the race, Tristan ran his first 5K and did pretty well.  My apologies for the lack of pictures.  We forgot the camera!

I previously posted some of the pictures from my races last weekend at Disney, but now that my home project is done, here are pictures from Kimberlie’s 5K and the kid’s races too:

I’m really torn over whether to do the Goofy race again next year.  The Disney races are truly magical.  They print your name on your bib, so while you are running you hear complete strangers calling your name and cheering for you.  I’m no professional athlete, so where else am I going to have complete strangers cheer for me by name?  I also love it when the little kids lining the course reach out to give you five along the way.

The only reason that I didn’t enjoy the races this year is because I wasn’t feeling 100%, thanks to Kimberlie who was sick the week leading up to the trip.  It does, however, take a lot of “ching ching” to get all of that “bling bling”.  I’m definitely going to sit on the decision for a while.

This weekend, we once again traveled to Walt Disney World for Marathon Weekend.  Kimberlie participated in the 5K, Tristan in the Mickey Mile, Mackenzie in the 200M, and I completed Goofy’s Race and a Half Challenge which consists of the half-marathon on Saturday and the full marathon on Sunday.

Everyone had a great time, and I fully intend to post more pictures soon.  But, for now, here are some photos of characters I met along the course.  My strategy this year, since it will likely be my last Disney race, was to take photos with characters that I hadn’t been photographed with in the past.

You can also see the finisher medals below as well.