It's 33 degrees...lets go run 13.1 miles!

Yesterday morning I completed my second half marathon. I ran my first one in April, and really enjoyed the experience, so Toni, Ashley and I decided to sign up for the Big Hit 1/2 Marathon and Beth signed up for the 1/4 marathon.
It was coooooold. The race began at 7:45 a.m....and the high at 8 a.m. was 34 degrees. Once you get warmed up it's not so bad, but it certainly makes for a chilly start! None of us trained as much for this race as we have races in the past. That became very evident for me at mile 10, when my legs literally felt like lead. By mile 12, usually when I would speed up and run as fast as I can to finish that last mile strong, I was barely able to move them. It wasn't until we entered Slugger Field, and I saw the finish line at home plate, that I was finally able to speed up and finish strong!
My time ended up being 1:50:44...exactly 20 seconds faster than my time in April. I was very happy with that, and hadn't expected to beat or really even be close to my previous time since I hadn't trained nearly as hard for this one. But it is really nice and really motivating when you are running with friends. Thanks, girls!

Here we are before the race: Beth, Ashley, Toni and me

Pumpkin Patch

Yesterday the girls and I decided that we need some pumpkins. So after dinner we headed to a pumpkin patch at a church near our house. They always have a really nice pumpkin patch set up but this is the first time we've ever stopped. We picked out three pumpkins...one of each of the girls to decorate, and one to make into a jack-o-lantern. The girls had a lot of fun running around and climbing on the pumpkins, then we made a trip to Michaels to find stickers and other fun things to decorate with.

Ella is such a goofball!

Ella concentrating on her pumpkin...

Ella's masterpiece!

Kendall's masterpiece!

In the next few days we'll carve the jack-o-lantern!

Puddle Jumping!

Last week we had a few cool, dreary, rainy days. One afternoon before dinner time Ella said, "Let's go outside and play in the rain!" Why the heck not.

 

The biggest puddle we could find...

It was cold...we didn't last long! But we had fun running around in the rain and getting out of the house for a few minutes!

We're going to the mountains to see sharks!!

So a couple of days ago we returned to our first Pridemore family vacation. We went to Gatlinburg, TN for five days and four nights and had an absolute blast!
This trip originated when we were in Bass Pro Shop last year helping Jamie buy a few outdoorsy things before she left for Tonga. BPS is associated with Bluegreen Resorts, and they were offering really cheap two-night packages in Gatlinburg if you sat through their timeshare presentation. We also got $125 in BPS gift cards added in...sah-weet! We thought this fall would be a good time for a trip like that so we did it. Mom and dad also bought the two-night package, but they took their trip last year and decided to go on and come back this year while mom was on fall break. So we had two nights in the hotel they put us in, but I just checked in, put a "do not disturb" sign on the door, then we stayed with mom and dad in their bigger, nicer room that was kind of made like a duplex...we had half and they had half. Much better than the hotel with two beds and a TV.
Ella has been anxiously awaiting this trip, especially after I told her that we were going to the aquarium. Before we left she told everyone that we were going to the mountains to see the sharks. She got some interesting looks, ha ha! We had a lot of fun walking around Gatlinburg, eating good food (but Mom...we never got ice cream!!!!), and enjoying the beauty of God's creation.
The aquarium was amazing. If you know my husband, you know of his recent money-burning obsession with his salt water fish tank...I mean the THREE salt water fish tanks that are currently in our house. So as you can imagine, he was like a kid in a candy store. They have a big tunnel that you walk through and sharks swim all around. We happened to be there during feeding time, so we got to see the sharks attacking the dead half-fish they threw into the water. (Thankfully Ella didn't seem to really notice what they were eating...that could have gotten interesting!) She was so excited when we first saw the sharks, then became pretty quiet. It definitely made her nervous! She kept saying, "I don't want to get in the water!" We kept telling her over and over that she would NOT be getting in the water! What I thought was the coolest part was the "penguin playground." They had a tunnel that kids could crawl through, then they could pop their head up in this chamber thing and it was like they were in there with the penguins. Ella loved this!
One day we were trying to find something fun and active for Ella to do, and a man told us about a place in Pigeon Forge with lots of rides and activities for smaller children. I wish I could go back and give him a big tip, because the place was awesome! I think it was called The Track...or Kids Country...I saw signs that said both. Anyway, they had a big go-kart track, and tons of fun rides for little kids! The girls had a blast on the merry-go-round, ferris wheel, swings and Ella even rode a ride similar to the spinning teacups...except spinning boats! She seems to take after Ronnie and can ride things like that...the guy operating the spinning boats kept giving her extra spins and it made me queasy just watching! Though she did not enjoy the go-karts...poor Ronnie was driving as slow as he could, even allowing himself to be passed by teenage girls, but Ella slumped lower and lower into the seat until all you could see was the top of her blonde head! But after that we rode some more rides and she was great again!
We had such a great time. Ronnie and I were talking about our favorite parts and both realized that we've reached the point that more than anything we enjoy watching the girls have fun...that's the most fun to us! We plan to hit up a beach next summer (and maybe some slopes this winter?!), so we are excited about all the fun new vacations to come! Here are a few other highlights from our trip:

- Kendall now pronounces Grandpa "Poppy"...it's really cute.
- We had a family photo session with my camera and mom's camerawork. It was slightly painful, with Kendall constantly pointing at things and Ella making all her crazy new facial expressions. But we survived!
- The girls enjoyed riding the trolley....also called the "charlie" by Ella.
- Flapjacks has a great breakfast.
- The treadmill at Mountainloft SUCKS.
- Visit the Nike Clearance Store rather than the Nike Outlet at Tanger. (Thanks for the tip, Ashley!) We got some great deals!
- Ella slept on a pull out bed and Kendall slept next to her in the pack n play. They both slept GREAT the whole trip. I was surprised, since Kendall can barely move in that pack n play! By next summer they can share a pull out bed!
- Ella got to watch salt water taffy being made. The man gave her a piece. She chewed about 3 times and said in a serious voice..."I like it."
- If you say, "Ready...Set..." Kendall says, "Go!!!!" pronounced "Doe!!!!" Grandpa taught her this at the resort's playground.
- Ella proves on a daily basis to be the adrenaline junkie her father is.
- When I checked out of the hotel we DIDN'T stay in, the lady said, "Did you enjoy your stay?" Maybe I was being paranoid, but I think she knew I spent a total of 30 seconds in their hotel.
- We bought the timeshare. Well, it doesn't really work like a "timeshare" anymore...we can go whenever, wherever, provided availability. This is something we wanted to do when Ronnie was done with residency. We have lots of travel plans and it's a great long-term investment. We're excited!

Here are some pictures!

We're here!

Aquarium!

My, what big teeth you have!

Ella watching the sharks, slightly concerned.

Kendall loved the vibrating fish!

Ella hanging out with the penguins!

The family

The girls in their Halloween dresses

My wonderful parents!

Merry-go-round! Who is having more fun...the girls or Grandpa/Poppy?!

Ella NOT enjoying the go-karts!

Such a big girl!

On the trolley

The view from our balcony

Are you ready for some...Soccer!

It's soccer season! Ella is playing soccer for the first time, and this is my first experience ever with soccer! Growing up in a small town, we didn't have soccer, so I don't know ANYTHING about it. I told Ronnie that this will be the sport our girls are good at and want to play, since I, who loves to follow and play most all sports, doesn't know a thing about this one. Thankfully Ronnie has had some experience with soccer, mostly just intermurals, but enough to know the basics, or we would really be a mess!
Thankfully, 3 year old "Wee Kick" soccer at the Y isn't quite competitive enough to require a strong knowledge of the sport, so I'm ok for now. :) Maybe I can pick up on some of the rules and positions before 4 year old soccer next year.
So Ella is, without a doubt, the cutest soccer player ever. I love getting her dressed in her uniform each Saturday morning. And thankfully this is the one day a week that I am able to convince her to let me put her hair in a ponytail. So far, soccer is going great. She is making huge improvements each week. Before each game her team has a 20 minute practice session. The first week of soccer Ella did great during the practice. I couldn't believe how much she was getting into it, and she did great kicking the ball into the goal! Then when it was gametime, she became shy and didn't want to stay out on the field. So I did what every great mom does, and bribed her with Chick-Fil-A to keep her out there. ;) Theh second week she was the opposite, she didn't want to practice, but when it came time for the game she at least willingly stayed on the field. (For 3 year old soccer, this is a big deal, and one point our team didn't even have 4 kids willing to be out there, and the games are supposed to be 4 on 4.) Last week she did GREAT! She did awesome during the practice, and then at game time she was running all over the place! She wasn't exactly kicking the ball and trying to score, but she at least ran along with the ball! A little progress each week makes us ecstatic! Maybe tomorrow she will try to run AND kick! :) Here are a few pictures of our cute little soccer player.

Toms!

I've been wanting a pair of Toms for a long time. If you don't know about Toms, check out their website. For each pair of shoes sold, Toms donates a pair to a child who desperately needs shoes. It's really a great company with a cool story. They have really cute shoes, and the prices aren't that bad when you factor in that you're also helping a child get a pair of shoes.
Anyway, while browsing the website I came across "Tiny Toms" - toddler sized Toms. After seeing those adorable shoes I decided that we all needed a pair! We all had fun picking out which pair we wanted. I let Ella look at the website and she chose the ones she wanted. Here are our new shoes!

Ella's new kicks

Kendall excited about her Toms!

This picture was much harder to take than it looks. Unfortunately I didn't get Ronnie's shoe in the picture very well!

We love our new shoes, and are excited that we were able to help four kids get a new pair of shoes!

Pee Pee in the Potty!

It was a big night at our house - Kendall peed in the potty for the first time! As I mentioned in my post two days ago, she has been asking to sit on the potty a lot lately, but tonight was the first time she actually "performed." I was getting ready to put the girls in the bathtub, and Kendall started pulling the lid up on the toilet and saying, "I wan poo, I wan poo."

I went crazy cheering her on, and Ella came running up the stairs and started cheering for her and giving her high fives. Ella was so excited that she even grabbed some toilet paper and said, "I'll wipe her!!" She's such a little mommy.

I'm not actively "potty training" Kendall. She's only 17 months. But any time she wants to practice I am more than willing to let her! She wants to do everything big sis does, so maybe she will end up being trained early!