The Crafts

Some weekend things I meant to share but slipped my mind... I got new running shoes.  I doubt you care but they relieved my foot and hip pain. Apparently I really needed new shoes. Oh, and that is some Gu sitting by my shoes.  Tastes weird and has a terrible texture but really gives you a boost of energy on those long runs.  I recommend it.  Just make sure you drink some water with it. Kate got to decorate her bike and then ride it in the Kiddie Parade this weekend. She LOVED it. CJ has learned to go down slides by herself.  Almost always on her tummy.  Any other way is quite the disaster. She also loves to play in wood chips at the new park and she almost always keeps them out of her mouth...almost always.  :) Matt and I played in a kickball tournament with some of our friends Saturday morning and afternoon. We won the entire tournament, too!  It was SO fun!  But perhaps I shouldn't have attempted a 13 mile run before it....

After a  very tiring run Saturday morning my legs made an appeal to the Sarah Craft Running Executive Committee arguing that my half marathon running schedule is too difficult.  The appeal was granted and my legs win!  Last week my legs, specifically my quadriceps, hoofed it through almost every single run.  I guess they never had time to recover from the previous weekend's 11 miler.  And just about the time they were starting to feel a bit better, it was Saturday morning and I had to head out for a scheduled 13 miler.  Well, during that run my quads really started burning.  I'm not injured, they are just extremely sore.  I also noticed I was becoming increasingly thirsty.  I ran to a water fountain and it wasn't working so I turned around for home and realized around mile 11 I had stopped sweating.  That is a big warning sign of dehydration.  With throbbing quads and lack of hydration I decided to call it quits for the day ...

Happy birthday to the sweetest, prettiest, smartest and funniest second child in our house!  :) Today's big event has been celebrated with a swim in the princess pool, a birthday wagon ride parade, a trip to the park and later tonight...cake! I'm so proud of our little girl! Happy birthday, Claudia!!

Kate loves the Disney princesses. But I doubt she has figured out the underlying meaning behind each of the movies...

The Craft girls can never make a trip to Walmart without drama. And this week's shopping trip was no different. We actually went to the Cedar Falls Walmart instead of the Waterloo one, thinking that perhaps things would go smoother.  I hate to say it but the Cedar Falls Walmart is full of college kids, stay at home mommies, sweet senior citizens and people who brush their hair and teeth.   Whereas the Waterloo Walmart is full of people without shoes and manners, and their shoppers are often found wearing clothes that reveal tattoos of Bugs Bunny smoking pot. Sorry Waterloo Walmart, it's just a fact. Seriously. Nonetheless we still found drama...actually WE created the drama. First Kate insisted she leave the house looking like this... Which was really, really cute but it sure drew some looks...especially when the drama was taking place. It started with a girl who had to go potty really, really bad.  So with CJ and Kate in the c...

Three and a half years ago all this little girl could manage was to eat, sleep and make messes. Yet somehow over the course of those three and a half short years she grew up and became ready for preschool. Today was the first day of school. The first day of no longer being a little girl at home. The first day as a big kid...a school age kid. We are so proud of Kate! She had a wonderful 2 hours of preschool this morning filled with a trip to the playground, a snack and story time.  Not too taxing or stressful, obviously. The night before her first day of school however was not a relaxing one for her. She started with preschool open house, followed by some ballet with CJ and lastly, refused to go to sleep until 10 p.m.  Sigh. I snagged a few cute pics of my two ballerinas in the making. It was enough pink to make your eyes hurt.  :)  

Monday was rough. Tuesday was alright. And today?  I have high hopes for today! Wednesday started off with a 7 mile run finished in a very short 58 minutes! I ran a warm-up mile then 5 miles in 8:15, 8:02, 8:03, 7:55, 7:52 followed by a cool down mile. I'm as pleased as punch.  AND it was a gorgeous 54 degrees out this morning.  Boy howdy! I came home jumped in the shower and began our trial run for preschool which begins tomorrow. I had Kate and myself dressed, hair combed, breakfast eaten and in the wagon by 8 a.m. CJ may have been in her jammies but she was at least looking cute in those jammies. After we took our preschool trial run wagon ride we returned home and Kate asked to play pretend preschool. So she practiced her letters and numbers while CJ played with a feather boa.  Yah, that's right, a feather boa. CJ is now down for a nap and Kate is peacefully playing her recorder with Sesame Street in the background. Lovely. Now I want to share with you o...