1, 2, 3: a Weekend Recap

a pictorial look at our weekend

1  We got the weekend started on Valentine's Day morning with a special family breakfast.  I posted a menu the night before and the kids were so excited that one of them told me the next morning, "I had such a hard time going to sleep last night, it felt like Christmas Eve!"

The most anticipated taste treat of the morning was The Pioneer Woman's Chocolate-Covered Cherry Smoothies. 

The three oldest designed their own Valentine's to hand out at breakfast.  I printed out Valentine paper airplanes for the boys.  Alaine was thrilled to tear open the cellophane from a box and discover three miniature chocolates inside.

After the dishes were cleared, we gathered back at the table for a regular school day.  Ben asked if we could take off for the holiday and I had to convince him that we could work through this sort of holiday.

2  On Friday afternoon, Brian and I had the opportunity to go out while my sisters came over to share dinner and watch movies with my kids.  It was a win-win for everyone (except maybe Aunt Kati who was persuaded to watch Despicable Me 2 after dinner).

We got to eat a steak dinner and do a bit of shopping alone.  Our best "find" of the night was a basket large enough to hold the pile of throw blankets and the 7 Snuggis that have camped out in the corner of my living room throughout this long cold winter.

The group left behind at our house made their own pizzas with heart-shaped pepperonis and snacked on white chocolate dipped pretzels. They had a festive table, set with the Valentine napkin rings that the kids made the day before.  I neglected to get an "after" photo of their handiwork, though. 

3 Saturday dawned early.  Not bright, but early. It was a cloudy cool gray day, but Brian and I were registered for a 2-mile race and we weren't about to miss it. 

I shared after my last race how I set 2-tiered goals for myself:  a primary, attainable goal that I'll share beforehand if anyone asks and a more ambitious goal that I keep to myself.  My primary goal today was to complete the race with a faster time than this same race last year. I knew I could do that easily since last year's race was the first race I had ever entered and I needed to stop to walk for parts of the course. My more ambitious goal was to complete the course in between 16 and 17 minutes.

It started to drizzle as we set off from the starting line, but it was light and mercifully, it was calm with no wind. I ran my hardest and crossed the finish line with a time of 16:35!  (That's the official race time, though my watch calculated 16:47.  Either way, I met my goal!)

Brian worked hard for this race, too.  Though his job keeps him physically active and in shape, he had to train before feeling ready to run 2 miles without stopping.  On Thursday, he came down with a head cold and thought he might end up needing to walk instead or drop out altogether, but he persevered and ran the whole course.  I'm proud of him! 

What did you do this weekend?  My Sunday plans are far less ambitious.  I plan to catch up on sleep and then spend a relaxing afternoon at my parents' house before beginning another whirlwind week of school, several lunch invitations, a return to the kids' homeschool gym class, and continued half-marathon training.