Behind the Glass

Last Saturday we watched wee gymnasts tumble behind the glass when I signed the boys up for a summer class here.

Then we went to watch the doughnuts being made.  Wildman’s favorite part was the “Waterfall of Glaze!!!”

Little Leaguers receive a free doughnut when they come in in uniform.

So much for healthy snacks…

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Meg O’Malley’s St. Patrick’s Day Celebration

We have an awesome Irish pub and restaurant in our area called Meg O’Malley’s.  As you would expect, St. Patrick’s Day is their specialty.  They’ve been putting on a party in downtown Melbourne since last Friday.  Most of the festivities have been geared toward the adult set with rivers of flowing green beer and limitless pints of Guiness.  On Wednesday, however, the all day St. Patty’s party was very kid-friendly in the daylight hours.

Several preschool moms decided to go to the festivities after school and invited us along.  I called my friend B to see if she and Moose would like to join us.  They happily agreed and rode over to the party with us.

There was an Irish band and cute Irish dancers.  My boys surprised me by loving the Irish dancing show.  They didn’t want to leave!

When we first arrived, however, most of the children didn’t know what to make of it.  They thought playing in the shrubs was more entertaining.  Wildman found an old hair clip buried in the leaves.  Awesome.  Needless to say, I had to bust out the hand sanitizer more than once.

Before the Irish dancers went on stage, the children were allowed to climb up there and dance.  It took Wildman a while but he finally decided to boogie…

The crowd was huge for noon on a Wednesday.  I suspect that many, many of them were playing hookie from work/college/school…

There were many colorful characters to be seen like this guy in the puffy shirt and kilt with Lambchop…

He had a knife stuck into the top of his boot/knee sock.

There was plenty of green beer and Guiness to be had but I refrained.  Cutie Pie and Wildman shared a Sprite.  I consider that green beer for kids 🙂

We had a great time at the St. Patrick’s Day festival yesterday.  Can’t wait to do it again next year!

Florida Today 5K

All I have to say is 3.1 miles is FAR!  But Steph and I did it.  This morning at 7 AM we ran 3.1 miles without stopping!  I’m proud of myself because I thought I’d have to walk at some point or that I would, perhaps, collapse into a gasping, wheezing heap on the side of the road.  I was certain that all of the old people and children would kick my butt and some did.  But not all of them, surprisingly.  You see, I am not a runner and this is the first time I’ve ever done any kind of distance running.   Once around the block was my previous distance running experience…

Big Red drove Steph and I down to the race this morning.  It was about 55 degrees with clear skies- perfect conditions.  It was still dark when we left the house at 6:15 AM.  We found a miraculous parking spot in a very convenient lot.  Granted we had to jump the curb and drive across some grass to secure said spot…  But lucky for us the cops were busy managing the marathon, 1/2 marathon and 5 K routes.

We retrieved our little time keeping devices, secured them to our shoes with tie wraps and found the starting line.  After a few stretches and jumps to get warmed up we were ready to take off.  Somehow we ended up at the front of the pack on the actual starting line.  Needless to say, we were immediately passed up by more seasoned runners.  In fact, an old guy with bow legs passed us.  But we managed to keep a steady pace throughout the entire course and finished with a decent time in the middle of the pack.

J got the boys up early and met Big Red at the finish line.  They were all there cheering us on.  It was a very empowering experience.  I still cannot believe I actually did it!

The people who do half-marathons and marathons are my heroes.  The thought of running that far is amazing.  My poor knees shake and ache at the very thought of it!  I don’t think I’ll be attempting any of those races.  A measly 5 K is enough for me.

I'm the one with the ponytail and purple tanktop under the balloon arch.