Rockwall's Rib, Rub, and Run 5K

Let me just tell you about my first official race...

Last night, I went to a Dove Chocolate Party and ate way too much chocolate.  But it was delicious in every way possible.  No regrets!  Obviously, I have no self-control when it comes to chocolate!!!  I am pretty sure I was in a chocolate coma and a sugar high all night long!  I am amazed I even got any sleep at all ;-)

I started the morning with a fried egg.

I hate breakfast foods, unless it involves bacon (dipped in syrup), hashbrowns (drowned in ketchup), and/or cinnamon rolls (swimming in cream cheese frosting)! 

Lesley picked me up this morning at 7:15am and we headed to the race.  We were a bit early so we wondered around and smelled all the delicious meats being smoked and grilled after we picked up out race shirts.  YUM!  (I have moved on from chocolate to BBQ as my new food obsession of the moment, if you haven't noticed).  There were so many people set up early...

And this guy was just rubbing those ribs & he was loving it.  I couldn't help but take a picture!  True love!

I was so excited to see the start.

This is my first race since high school.  And in high school, I hated the races back then, which was 10+ years ago....yikes!  That was a long time ago.  I was so not competitive back then and would just find someone to chat with the whole time.  This time, I already had a running partner all picked out ;-)

(We had to to take a pre-race picture before the race...not sweaty, yet!)

I was super excited to see the finish line...

Not sure on the exact time, but when I was crossing the finish line, the clock read 28:52. Way fast for me!  So, I was excited.  My mental goal was around 31:00 minutes, since we normally run 10-10:30 minute miles. It was hot & humid and the course had more hills than expected and it was very narrow.  But we had fun.  And did I mention all the chocolate I ate the night before?!? 

And we were sweaty, but we were smiling...

Then, we had to walked through the bbq cookers again & oh my, did it all smell SO yummy....

But we settled for a nice cold Octoberfest beer instead (since the BBQ wasn't done smoking yet!).  I mean, it wasn't even 10am yet, who can eat BBQ that early? Besides me!?!

It was a fun race, I hope to do it again next year!  But this was the first of 4 races for me in the next 4 weeks in a row!  Yikes!  I started with a 5K, next weekend is a 10K, then my big Half Marathon, then another small 5k.  I can do it!  I hope ;-)

***  Sorry about all the beer/alcohol pictures lately, but it is football season and I am pretty certain that it has been 4 years since I have been able to drink during Cougar Football!!!  (I have always been either pregnant or nursing!).  So, apparently, I am living it up while it lasts ;-)  ***

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Rain, Rain, Rain!

We woke up to rain again this morning!  I love it!  I got smart and put some lentil soup in the crock pot.  Yum!  

Connor put his Dino rain boots on first thing this morning once he heard the rain.  They haven't came off yet...

The boys go crazy being stuck inside...this is what Dylan came up with entertainment this morning:

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Trip to Oklahoma/WSU Football Game...

Chris & I headed to Stillwater, Oklahoma for the WSU vs. OSU Football game this weekend.  So fun!  The 5 hour drive was a little long, but I entertained myself by taking pictures on the way...

A whole lot of this...

A few old firetrucks...

Most of the towns we drove through had only one stop sign, if that...

My favorite were the cowboys riding their horses...

Then there were tons of tractors...

But this one held up traffic....

Some cute little towns...

Then, we got into Stillwater, checked into the hotel and headed to the WSU tailgate.  There were a ton of fellow Cougs there.  It is always great to see lots of Crimson.

Of course, I had to say hi to Butch...

First of all, the OSU fans are the nicest, most welcoming people EVER!  I am pretty sure we were never like that in Pullman.  It was so nice and refreshing that everybody was so nice.  I am talking nice like they welcomed us to their town, said good luck, asked how the team was looking, how far we came from, etc.  I mean, these people were so nice!  On that note, I have never seen so much Orange, ever. 

The game could have had a less embarrassing score, but we still had fun!  Actually, we only lasted at the game until halftime.  We headed to Eskimo Joe's.  I found me a seat and sat at the bar for the next few hours.  Met lots of fun people.  Although a couple of guys decided to buy Chris & I some of these. 

We should have politely declined, but I felt obligated, I mean, they shared their delicious cheese fries with me...yum!

But I sure enjoyed my beers.  And what a fun bar.

Dear Chick-fil-a:  I used to like you....

I had to  wave at Oklahoma City as we passed by...

 Click here to see some pictures of the last time we were in Oklahoma City.  I just love the city.  Bricktown is just so cool.  It was hard to just pass by.   

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Seafood Brunch---YUMMY!

Whenever we are in Tacoma, my Dad knows my favorite favorite favorite place to go for Brunch is The Lobster Shop.  I mean, really, when you can eat crab legs, mussels, clams, oyster shooters, peel & eat shrimp, salmon, bacon, and prime rib for breakfast, who can complain, really?!?  Oh and they have all the normal brunch items too like sausage, hash browns, casseroles, ham, full omlette stations, pancakes, fresh toast, etc.  But I don't mess with those things.  I go for the good stuff!  And honestly, they also have amazing desserts, like at least 20 different ones to choose from. And they are so worth stuffing yourself & making you feel uncomfortable, because I never 'save room for dessert', I just make room!  And by the way, if you think I am kidding about any of this, I generally continue to eat for a good 45 minutes to an hour after everybody else.  I get laughed at, but I don't care it.  It is SO worth it!

I can't get the boys to eat mussels.  But they sure like to play with them...

And then the kids play with dinosaurs & silly bands while looking at the starfish & jellyfish out the window...

And not too shabby of a view either...

Then we headed  waddled out of the restaurant to take a few pictures...

 There was a lot of geese, therefore there was a lot of poop.  Ewww!!!

I attempted to get some pictures of Dad & Gayle with all 5 grandkids.  Trying to get 5 kids to smile at the same time is no easy task.  I don't know how photographers do it!

But I think these are my favorites.  Too funny...

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Cougar Football Saturday!!!

Woo Hoo!  The first Cougar Football Saturday is finally here!  And the BEST part is that we get to watch the Cougs play!  So exciting.  Chris & I are making the 5 hour trip to Oklahoma to watch the game.  How fun!

Here are some great Coug photos to get you excited...

Go Cougs!!!

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Tractor

The boys had fun riding on the 'tractor' with Great Grandpa.  I am pretty sure they were out there for hours.  Finally the sun had gone down and we had to call it a night!

 The boys had so much fun.  Glad the boys were able to spend some time at Great Grandpa & Grandmas when we were in Port Angeles.

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