yes yes yes, this summer was bananas. B-A-N-A-N-A-S. see for yourself...it's photo heavy and i already have another post started because i had so much to share.
we took a trip up to chicagoland to visit with mike, becce and company in september. i originally signed up to run the half marathon with mike but due to a hip issue (don't worry, i am all better now) i had to set it out. i did do the 5K but mike was the real superstar, he did the half marathon. ain't no thang for him. he's done a marathon before, but still - the man ran a half marathon!
but anywho, i went up a few days before matt flew in from DC. we had SO much fun! becce and i took the kids into the city for lunch and a little light shopping. it was neat having lottie sue and rowdy in our old stomping ground.
 |
it may look like they are playing together but harlan is
really putting his cars away so rowdy can't play with them |
 |
| lottie sue coloring |
 |
| playing with snakes |
 |
| becce titled this perfectly, "the king of queen of chaos" |
here we are on the morning of the race, i look relaxed knowing i only had a 5K to do.
 |
this was taken when we first arrived, it was
dark and smart people were still sleeping |
|
|
this is a shot of the crowd as we lined up
(i think there were 12K peeps there)
|
 |
| peace be with you, me at the start line |
 |
| another one in the books |
 |
| i love chicago |
 |
| go, me! |
here i am with the family after my race, i didn't know that i got a medal - made my day. then lottie took it.
 |
| harlan looking for his pops to finish |
 |
| rowdy wants to see what harlan is looking at |
 |
| lottie sue helping harlan |
yay! mike finished and lottie sue insisted on being in this shot.
 |
yay! mike finishes (way to go!) and it's picture time
(lottie really cracks me up in this photo) |
 |
rowdy dumped a water all over himself
and had to go topless for a while |
here is a cute shot of my nephews - so cute and FUN! i/we had a great trip, so much fun! becce and mike are in their new home and i LOVE it.
 |
| just so we can showcase how cute my nephews are |
after our wonderful trip it was back home with a birthday coming up for the rowdyman. we went up to the lake for a small soiree, lottie HAD to help rowdy open his presents.
 |
| lottie is so excited |
 |
| now rowdy is, too |
 |
| he can't believe it, his very own BIG TRUCK |
FYI: rowdy is OBSESSED with cars and trucks. he talks about them 24/7 and loves to pet them. if we are in a parking lot he will run over to a truck and hug it. true story.
then it was cake time:
 |
| rowdy sees the cake and can't stand it |
 |
| before the candles went out |
the next day the mowrer side stopped by to bestow presents upon the 2-year old.
 |
more gifts from gramma, papaw and grandmother
what a lucky boy - MORE THINGS ON WHEELS |
 |
| AND another cake, with the same reaction |
 |
| saying CHEESE with papaw after it all went in his little belly |
so rowdy is now two and he is a nut job, aside from loving cars and trucks he loves to RUN. away from me. all the time. it makes me tired. but i guess all of that running talk is a good was to transition to the two next sections - knoxventure and i ran a half marathon!!!
let's go in chronological order...
i stole these photos from megan's blog and you should really go here and read her recap. she is very good about the details and is funny/witty/entertaining as well. but here are a few shots from the race - oh yeah, we came in 7th this year! YAHOO! last year we came in 11th and vowed to get into the top ten. also, matt was red-eyeing it back california so marty was my substitute husband ;) thank you shawn for loaning him out!
 |
| team THUNDERSTRUCK - you SHOULD be scared |
 |
| yeah, baby |
 |
| here's the map, we ran all over tarnation |
 |
| THUNDERSTRUCK |
we saw this as well, matt from 2010 made their website...
 |
| matt and luigi, together at last |
then two weeks later a group of my besties and i flew to orlando to run in the disney wine & dine half marathon. we had a great time!!! and again, just go here to read megan's blog, she's better than i am at documenting.
 |
| from left to right: amanda, shawn, emily, megan, amy, me, jo and kelly |
we got there on thursday night and then on friday four of us went to the magic kingdom (this was my first trip ever down the magical land of disney) while the other four went shopping.
 |
| what a magical day! |
we had our very own ambassador, megan - she worked there in college and is so very disney. she was the best tour guide! here are a few shots of our day.
 |
| me, an elephant's behind and amanda |
 |
i took a photo of our photo
(we are in the last two rows) |
 |
i thought this would be fun, but it was c-LOW
(and i just noticed the dude in this picture) |
 |
here i am with megan, flying in a spaceship
(this is for kids, we were crammed in there) |
i was really missing the kiddos, basically because the crowd there is made up of families and i kept thinking about how much fun they would be having. matt kept them close by sending shot of them through the trip...
 |
| matt texted this photo to me before bathtime one night |
saturday morning we went down the ESPN center to pick up our race packets.
 |
| in line to pick up my packet for my first ever half marathon |
 |
| yeah, i know how cool the shirt is |
 |
| my half-marathon finisher photo!!! yay me! |
 |
| post-race at epcot |
we got home on sunday and look what was waiting for me. I LOVE SIGNS!!!
 |
| look what matt and lottie made for me |
 |
i will keep it forever
(it's still in the yard currently) |
i am still on a high from the race, we have decided to do another half next spring (maybe nashville - anyone else planning on something let me know). i am also doing the knoxville marathon relay with megan, amanda and amy - yippee!
and this is random, last year i read the story by the times on the new york city marathon. they took photos of people right after they crossed the finish line. i loved looking at them (i love portraits. so very much. it's my favorite) and i guess i downloaded a few because they were in the neglected folded. so here they are - these people just finished running 26.2 miles. awesome.
last weekend we went to the tailgate and game, i was there for three minutes and found out that beth is pregnant! i don't have a picture of her glowing self but trust me, she's pretty glowy. something is in the water - shawn, tabitha and beth are all pregnant and due within a month of each other. it's going to be a busy spring! YAY FOR BABIES!
katie (shawn's sister) came down from nashville for the game and brought hudson. he loved him some matt mowrer. i tried to hold him and he basically jumped back to matt. not interested.
