Peek-a-Boo

Winnipeg Run 2 Finish HD

While in Headingley, I looked around for some 5K races to do to motivate me in my running and make my workouts a little more enjoyable and purposeful. Unfortunately, being in the van for so long didn't leave me with much time to prepare, but it was still worth it. I found a 5K at the Assiniboine Park in support of Huntington's Disease. Both Chris' Aunt and Grandpa have passed away from this degenerative disease, so I enjoyed running in support of finding a cure.

I like this one, because it looks like I am so far ahead of everyone, but really I'm not. There are people in front of me, and it is just the start.

 

I don't really know what this picture is about, I think it is because a couple minutes after I finished it started to really pour. It was a little bit refreshing for me.

The after race free breakfast of Smitty's Pancakes. I put too much syrup on mine.

My goal was to finish is 30 minutes, and my time was 30:06. Better than my last 5K, but still room to improve. Hopefully I'll find another race to do this season, they really are a lot of fun!

A few of my favorite things

 

I've been meaning to do a post about Macy for a long time now. There are just so many things she does and so many moments in my day where she makes me smile. I love being able to spend so much time with her and get to know her. Here are a couple of my favorite things that she has been doing lately.
- How more often than not she is carrying around her toy stroller, rather than pushing it.
- The wide variety of facial expressions that she is beginning to develop.
- Just how fast she can really run.
- The sound of her sweet voice as she says the names of the seasons (winter, spring, summer, fall).
- How when playing with her cars, the blue truck is Daddy's and the pink Plymouth is Mommy's.
- How long she can hang from the monkey bars, or really just anything she can hang from.
- How she loves to walk around with her keys and a purse, but also loves to get dirty playing in all the gravel at the playground near our place.
- How she is starting to play more on her own with her toys, a selfish love as it gives a little more time to myself, but also to see how her imagination is starting to take off.

There are probably more that I can't think about right now, but that gives you an idea. She is a ferocious girl and we love her to pieces!

Day at the Beach

I was looking forward to getting out of the south and its very hot weather, but it turned out that the first week we were back, Winnipeg was almost just as hot. We took advantage and planned a beach day. The weather was great, and there was almost no wind or waves, so Macy could enjoy the shallow water. We started with a hot dog lunch, then went down to the water.

Grandma and Macy

Grandpa in his beach wear.

Playing in the water and with all that sand!

 We stopped at the Half Moon Drive-In for ice cream on the way home. Thanks for the treat Grandma and Grandpa!

Get out of my way, I just got back from the USA!

After Graceland we made it to St. Louis again Tuesday night. On Wednesday we drove straight to Minneapolis. Julie, Eden, and Alice met us at our hotel to get some swimming in (again, my camera battery was dead, so no pictures from me). Tom met us a little bit later and we all went back to Tom and Julie's for dinner. Thursday morning, we went to the Mall of America to check out the aquarium. I was pretty impressed with it, especially standing in the tunnel and watching the sharks swim over us. When Richard and I took our amazing and extremely fun trip to North Carolina we stopped on the way back at the National Aquarium in D.C., and it left a lot to be desired. So I was glad to MOA was not the same. Anyway, we had Bruegger's bagels for lunch with Julie and Alice, and then headed home. We did stop very shortly at Albertville, but as we got closer to home, some of us got a little grumpier (me), so we mostly stayed en route and made it back to Headingley around 9:30pm.
It was a great trip. Macy was really the star of it all. With 6 out of 9 days in the van, she could not have been better. Thanks especially to Grandma and Grandpa, because just being in their presence made her happy, so thank you!

Our little star!

'We're going to Graceland, Graceland, in Memphis, Tennessee'

I have been dreading doing this post because I wanted to convey the awesomeness of Graceland, but looking at my pictures, and how few of them I actually had, I realized it was doable, and really, you've just got to see it for yourself. First, to back up a bit. Tuesday morning we stopped by John and Alicia's one more time for breakfast and to say goodbye. It was so great to see them and I'm very glad I was able to go. Thanks John and Alicia for all the good times.
After we left, we drove west out of Birmingham towards Mississippi. We passed Tupelo, Mississippi, the birthplace of Elvis, and arrived in Memphis, Tennessee around noon, listening to Paul Simon's 'Graceland'. We stopped for lunch at a Sonic, in memory of Amy, who used to work there. We then decided to drive by Graceland. We weren't sure if we going to go or not, but the spirit of Elvis must have moved Dad, because after first saying we were going to pass, he changed his mind and we embarked on the adventures of Graceland! It was a hot day, and taking Macy probably wasn't the most convenient, but when else were we going to do it?

 First we got our tickets and then took a bus over to Graceland. Elvis bought this property when he was 22 years old. It was already named Graceland. We toured the main floor and basement of his house. No one goes upstairs. It was private when he was alive, and they still keep it that way.

I know this isn't a great picture, but just to give you an idea of the decor. That was the kitchen. You can see Macy isn't too happy about this part because she can't just run around and touch everything.
 

After the tour of the house we saw the backyard, his carport, the racquetball courts, some horses on the land (which is very big) the pool, and the meditation garden. We listened to the audio tour, which I thought was well done, while walking through. It was amazing to see all of his gold and platinum records. They literally lined hallway after hallway. He was a genuine super star. And it sounds like a pretty nice guy as well.

After seeing Graceland, we bused back to see his car museum, and then tour his airplanes. 

 He had a lot of vehicles, but also a lot of off-road vehicles too. Apparently they used to drive around the property on golf carts, racing and having fun.

By the time we got to the planes, it was very hot and Macy, who was now doing great, had probably spent a little too much time in the sun. I sped my way through the "Lisa Marie" plane, but not quick enough that I didn't notice the gold facets in the bathroom. Later Dad told me there were also gold buckles on the seat. It was a swanky plane.
We probably spent about 2.5 hours there, and then got back on the road. Not before getting ice cream and frozen lemonades from McDonald's again. I can tell you this, I have been received at Graceland and I have reason to believe that you will too.

Visiting the Lab

I feel like part of the visiting Alabama experience is visiting John's lab to meet his rats. So I was pretty excited to go. John had just done a major operation the Friday before so we were checking up on them to see how they were recovering.

Hard at work.

I'm usually not very queasy or nervous around lab rats, but these guys were pretty feisty. Look at this one, he is about to jump out and chew my face off (I had just had my head done low by them to get a picture).

Which is why I look pretty hesitant in this picture.

 Thanks for the exclusive tour John. Hope your rats are still doing well, and gave you the results you wanted.

Science and Swimming

Sunday was a relaxing day of going to church and then hanging around at John and Alicia's. Again, we had a delicious meal. It was BBQ chicken with Greek salad, this amazing garlic naan/flat bread, and some kind of BBQ'd squash with onions, I can't quite remember, but it was my favorite part. I'm salivating just thinking about this (no wonder I gained 5lbs on this trip!!). I think that also was the night we saw fireflies. I don't know what it is about them, but they are just so magical!

So then on Monday we had to get out and about. Everyone was feeling better, so in the morning we went to the McWane Science Center. It was awesome. So great for little kids. No wonder Alicia goes so much, we loved it.

Both Jackson and Macy crashed on the way home and had good naps. The rest of us had lunch and then John and I went to his lab (which deserves a post of its own, so that will come later). After napping everyone was ready to play again. We all went swimming at the hotel pool. It was hot out and very refreshing. Lots of fun.

Dinner was BBQ burgers and hotdogs with potato salad and corn on the cob. It was memorial day after all, and I guess that means you gotta BBQ. Alicia also set off some fireworks and sparklers for us. After dinner we were all tired and ready to get back to the hotel. We had another traveling day ahead of us.

Sightseeing in the South

We made it to Birmingham Friday night and spent the evening with Uncle John, Aunt Alicia, Maggie, and Jackson. It was fun to relax and visit. Alicia made us a delicious dinner, chicken and beef tacos with succotash and beans, probably something else delicious too that I can't remember. She lived up to my expectations of her being a great cook!

 The next day we did some sightseeing. We first stopped at the Peanut Depot. It was cool to try the fresh peanuts. They had boiled peanuts, not a fan. They have these really old machines they use, but since it was a Saturday, they weren't running them.

  They also had no salted peanuts available because they had sold out to the baseball diamonds.

We then stopped at a park and the kids ran around. I don't know what they are all looking at...probably handsome Jackson.

Later in the afternoon we went to the piggly wiggly! I couldn't visit the south and not stop there. So we took our picture, and I bought a $1.00 reusable grocery bag.

 John was at the lab, and we had some time before dinner, so we drove out to Irondale where they filmed 'Fried Green Tomatoes'.

Too bad they were closed, so we couldn't try any.

Macy running around. Today's 'toy' she was attached to was Dad's old Harrah's Casino card. Ask him or Richard about that story, but it kept Macy happy.

After our sightseeing, we picked John up at the lab and went to Dreamlands for dinner. Nothing like a southern BBQ to finish off a day of southern sights!

Firefighting School

Yep, that's me!

 Sorry to interrupt the scheduled blogging of my Alabama trip, but this post is breaking news! Well...maybe not, but I thought it was pretty cool.

Yesterday we went to check out the Firefighters Awareness Day and pancake breakfast. We got there later in the morning, so we skipped the breakfast, but we did see some cool fire trucks, helicopters, and other rescue vehicles. But the real story is that I got to suit up and be a firefighter and go in their training trailer to actually fight a fire. Here's what happened.

For a $5.00 donation anyone over 16 years could have this experience. First you have to drink a whole bottle of water (which reminded me of when I was pregnant and got my ultrasound which automatically triggered my bladder telling me I had to go) and get your vitals taken. I was good to go so I started to suit up in full gear.

Since others had already done this, the gear was kind of sweaty and gross.

They had to make sure this hat would cover all your hair, otherwise anything exposed would be singed away.

Getting my oxygen tank set up. This part made me a little nervous, especially once the mask got on. I kept thinking it wasn't sealed tight enough, but apparently it was, and I had no problem breathing evenly (perhaps yoga helped with that).

All suited up. Notice the trailer behind, the 'Fireblast', is where the action took place.

First they showed us how to use the hose. That is me holding it. Over the shoulder for carrying, and then under between your body and right arm for when you spray.

Getting ready to go in. I went with one other girl who was like me, and then an experienced guide. I am going to go up behind her, so I've got the heavy tool in hand to break down the door (I'm the one in the middle).

Off I go. When we got in it was pitch black. We had to get on our knees to move. Which quite frankly was the hardest thing for me. I have a low pain threshold for being on my knees and the suit offered no padding. I think if I had my old volleyball knee pads, I would have been able to do everything no problem. Anyway, so we are on our knees moving along in the dark. Right away we reach a wall with a door. Here's where my heavy tool comes in hand. I have to smash the door open, which I do. We move through and there is a wall a couple feet in front of us, flames start burning at the top of the wall/ceiling. The girl in front fights them while I pretty much just sit there holding the hose. Once the flames go out, we move around the wall and there is a body for us to rescue. And this guy is heavy! My partner is not much help, but we manage to drag this guy back to safety, and I mean drag. If he somehow survived the smoke inhalation, I don't think he survived our rescue! So then we stop to catch our breath before going in again. Here is where my partner says she can't do any more and backs out. I'm still good and I want a chance to use the hose, so I go back in with the guide. On the knees again, he smashes the door open for me. I fight the same flames at the top of the wall/ceiling. This time there is no victim, so we go a little further and I get more flames right in front of me. I am just supposed to turn the hose on and let it go. Now it is getting really hot! And my mask is starting to fog up. It feels like a really long time, but was probably only three minutes or so of continuous spraying. Finally the fire goes out, and we crawl back along the hose to get out. I come out of the trailer, and no one is outside (it had started to pour when I was in there, so everyone fled for shelter). I got my stuff off and the fresh air felt good. Man was I sweatin'!

I had to get my vitals taken again, and drink another bottle of water. And that was it. I'm really glad I did it. It was a cool experience and definitely made me appreciate what real firefighters do. I asked how long they stay fighting a fire before they switch out. They said for as long as you have oxygen which really depends on how hard you work, but anywhere from 20-40 minutes.

So that was my day at firefighting school. Pretty awesome. Next post, back to Alabama.