Quiet Tuesday

The girls got front balcony seats for MSTK!

Sam playing.  He is a ball of constant energy and movement.

The Chicago Rock and Roll Half Marathon Finisher's Medal!  It will be added to my collection!  I love my bling!

A picture at the start of the race.  This is actually after about 5 waves had already started before us!  It is amazing the sea of humanity that comes together!

The girls enjoyed going to the running expo with me!  This giant chocolate milk was their favorite.  Violet thought it was real at first!  I love her.

We are now in the dog days of summer.  That time when there are no real plans except to move through the day without much structure, or only a couple items on the to-do list.  It is wonderful, and it is precious.  The moments throughout the day belong to us, and we spend them lazily around the house, playing, laughing, resting, eating...whatever strikes our fancy at the time.  

There are a few more things on our summer list...but not many, and the calling of the classroom grows a little louder each day.  This time since June has been so special, and has proven to help clear my head and get my mind on the right track again.  I feel fresh and healed in a lot of ways, and am looking forward to this new path of teaching and life moving forward.

The Orelove kids are also enjoying summer.  We have been trying to get out and do some fun and new activities and events, while also maintaining some routine things around the house.  This week I took the girls to see Mystery Science Theater 3000 Live.  It is one of our favorite TV shows on Netflix, and the live performance did not disappoint.  I even got to ask the creator of the show a question before the main performance!  It was a special thing to share in the excitement and interests that all three of us have together.  

Sam is now rolling and attempting crawling.  He is still just so happy, and smiles and chirps and grunts his way through the day.  He is getting so big and his personality grows each day.  I am trying to mentally prepare myself for when he becomes mobile!  Kim has ordered baby gates and the like for our house...but there is another level of alertness I need to rediscover before he starts crawling all over the place and finding new opportunities for adventure and mischief!  

I continue to run and try to maintain a regular training schedule.  This last week was a little tough because of the heat and humidity, but it is still nice to get out and get a couple miles in whenever possible.  I ran in the Chicago Rock and Roll Half Marathon, and got a chance to see where I am at fitness wise.  I am not happy with my weight, but I was pleased to be able to finish with only walk breaks through the water stations.  It was a nice day, and we were lucky to have an overcast cloud cover for most of the race.  There were numerous sprinklers and hoses out that provided a spray of cold water every couple miles, and I came to savor these brief moments of cold before slogging on.  It is always amazing to me to see so many people come together for the purpose of a run.  Seeing people of all shapes and sizes and ability moving together to accomplish something only they really know...it is quite something.

And now I digress.  The sounds of feet upstairs tell me that I will soon be in the company of some hungry girls who will need some direction and an adventure today.  So I am off...to enjoy these last few days of summer.