Cherry Blossom Festival Part II

Hi friends.

We finished up this year's Cherry Blossom Festival strong. We did all that the weather would allow. There was a little tornado action here in Middle Georgia, so some of the fun weekend plans were canceled.

Wah waaah.

Here's a peak at some of the blooms around town. These are some tulips that have opened up.

Here are some beautiful dogwood blossoms...not to be confused with cherry blossoms...of which I have no pictures. Someone really dropped the ball there...oh wait, that would be me.

Check out these cotton candy pink Geraniums. Geraniums just may be my favorite summery flower.

In addition to taking in all of the lovely local flora, we went to a few more Cherry Blossom fun-tivities. On Saturday, David ran in the Cherry Blossom Road Race. He ran the 10k and did an awesome job! Way to be fast and focused on a Saturday morning, Davester.

Look at him passing this tall guy on the home stretch!

 "Don't underestimate my man Dave, tall guy!"

In other Cherry Blossom news, we went to the craft festival downtown and saw so many interesting and exciting things. We saw beautiful art, yummy food, crafts of all shapes and sizes...

We saw people with all sorts of puppy dogs, most dressed in their pinkest Cherry Blossom garb.

We saw this guy...

'Cause if you can bring your dog, he can bring his parrot. Well played, sir.

We saw this sign...

 

After all of that craft fair excitement, we had to take a break. We decided to have a little mini-picnic in the park with Kettle Corn and Coke.

Cherry Blossom 2011, you treated us right! We thank you for instilling in us a sense of community and togetherness with our fellow Maconites and for giving us an excuse to tiptoe through the tulips with our kettle corn. We eagerly await your return.

Mel and Dave

Marathon Day

Well, he did it.

David ran the Chickamauga Battlefield Marathon on Saturday.

...Checked it off the 'ole to-do list.

This is at  7:00 a.m. (FYI: I had been up for and hour and a half at this point.) It was a chilly 40 degrees outside. A beautiful day in a beautiful place- fall leaves, fields full of deer, scenic roads, gorgeous sunrise...

After the cannon fired (yes, a cannon...scared me to death) and David started running, I boarded a shuttle to go watch him at different points in the race. I told you this was going to be some serious spectating.

David at mile 4...doing great. His spirits were high.

I rode the shuttle to lots of different spots in the race. I made friends with other spectators. I petted a lot of dogs. When I saw Dave, I would scream and cheer and then run along side of him in my Fuggs (fake Uggs) to give him his fuel bars, trade out his beanie for his running hat, etc.

Big. Time.

After I saw him at mile 18, I went to the finish line to wait. I never get tired of watching runners cross the finish line at a long race. There's such a sense of accomplishment and happiness on people's faces. They've just completed something that most of them weren't sure that they could do. Amazing.

Triumph of the will!

Hope!

Tomorrow!

America!

You know how I feel about all of those things. I get emotional.

David was planning on running the marathon in 4 hours, so I was watching the clock to see when I could expect him. Then, much earlier than I anticipated, David rounded the corner and started the home stretch to the finish.

He's in the white shirt.

And here he is, on the left, crossing the finish line.

He ran 26.2 miles in 3 hours and 51 minutes. When he crossed the finish line, Dave hugged me like he hadn't seen me in 26.2 years.

David finished his first marathon. I'm so proud of him. He's so proud, too.

Race bling.

Dave sat down in the grass to take a break, with some pizza and coke. As soon as I snapped this picture, I told him to get his butt in the car.

Just kidding. I let him finish his pizza. Then, I drug him to the car.

We made it to the wedding by the skin of our teeth. David was delirious.

The wedding was perfect. We are so happy for Tiffany and Chris.

We got to see good friends and eat good food.

They had some of the best sweet tea I've ever had at the reception. And, I consider myself a connoisseur of sweet tea, so don't take that lightly. It was really really good.

We are happily exhausted.

mel

Run Like the Wind

 

David is running a marathon tomorrow morning at 7 a.m. I will be spectating in a big way. BIG!

I will be as supportive as it is humanly possible to be at 7 a.m.

Dave is gonna run fast.

Actually he's got to run fast, because we have to be at a wedding just a few hours after he finishes.

The marathon and the wedding are inconveniently located several hours apart.

Run like the wind, Dave! Tiffy is depending on you!

David is playing the guitar in the wedding.

I'm bossing people around directing the ceremony.

It's good that he doesn't play the guitar with his legs, because I think they are going to be wore slap out.

I told Tiffy she should probably provide the artist currently known as Davester with a stool that he could  perch himself on.

I don't know if he's going to be able to stand up.

I hope so.

Run like the wind, Dave. Run like the wind.

Needless to say, it's going to be an interesting weekend.

You can hum the Chariots of Fire theme now, if you want.
I am.
Have been.
Not stopping.

Spectator at Large,
M. Dark

Weekend With The Mouse Highlights

Hi friends.

We are both a little under the weather here today, but I wanted to let you in on what we did this weekend. I'm under the influence of some pretty strong cold medicine right now, so I'm not going to attempt to write anything cohesive, but let's try a little highlight list, shall we?

1. We went to Disney World this weekend as chaperons for the varsity cross country team. We left on Thursday and just got home last night. It was a great trip with good kids. I love The Mouse.



2. David "unofficially" ran in a race with the varsity cross country team. He was the only one in the whole race with a wedding ring or facial hair.

3. David's parents live near Orlando, so his mom came to watch him run and then his dad met us for dinner. It was fun to get to see them. Blog meet Sue Anne.

4. Moms do not mind hugging you when you are sweaty from running your heart out racing against16 year old boys.

5. This is one of the many roller coasters that I did not ride. (I don't do scary.) It's Animal Kingdom's Expedition Everest. Word on the street is that it's the bomb. Doesn't it look pretty?

6. I sang "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" to myself about 40 times while I waited for people to get off of this ride.

7. If you go to Animal Kingdom, please, please, please go see the Finding Nemo Musical stage show. It is one of the best shows I've ever seen. Amazing songs and costumes... so creative and beautiful. I basically cry from the beginning through the end. I get very emotional about stage shows. 

8. I couldn't take enough pictures of these Tibetan Prayer Flags that were all around the "Asia" section of Animal Kingdom. But every time I took the picture, I was like....wait....these aren't real...I'm not in Tibet. I'm at Disney World. They are selling corn dogs right over there. Why am I taking pictures of replica prayer flags near a corn dog stand? But I don't foresee myself going to Tibet any time soon, so I just kept snapping.

9. I got to see a baby monkey.

10. At Magic Kingdom, I watched all the parades and the stage shows and the fireworks. I can't tell you how happy that makes me OR how many times I cried during said parades, stage shows, and fireworks.

11. For some reason, I cry more at Disney than I cry all year long. It's all very emotional. All the songs are about dreams and wishes and tomorrow and hope. I strongly support all those things.

12. For the very first time, I got to see Tinker Bell fly down from Cinderella's Castle during the fireworks show. Somehow, during all my previous Disney trips, I've always missed it. It was amazing. You can guess my reaction.

Love ya. Mean it.
Mel

Race Day

Wow, folks! We have really been busy around here lately. I'm glad to be back to report all of our latest adventures with you, though. Let's start with this week's cross country race.

Middle school cross country races are typically 1.5 miles long whereas regular cross country teams typically run a 3.1 mile race (which is called a 5k.)

What would you do without me to let you in on all this running information?

Well, this Saturday was David's middle school cross country team's first full 5k. It was a chance for the kids to try out a longer distance and see how they would hold up.The race was right here in Macon and was a fund raiser for the Humane Society and their new shelter.

Of course since the race was "All About Animals," there were lots of doggies in attendance. I made it my job to pet every single fur ball there.

There were puppies...

and bulldogs...

and weiner dogs...

and mutts...

and this guy.

This was a fun race for the team because they were not really competing against other schools. It was a community organized race that they participated in simply for the experience of running a 5k. It was also especially fun because David got to run the race with them, rather than just getting to coach from the sidelines.

They were "all in it together," as they say on High School Musical. You have to be hip to things like High School Musical to hang with middle schoolers.

Here's the team stretching it out before the race. You have to stretch so you don't pull a hammy.

Look at this little group. Adorable. That's David in the black shirt and shorts. He is the Johnny Cash of running.

David loves these kids. He loves to run with them. He makes them love to run. He gives them popsicles.

Now, once the race actually started and everyone had taken off, I pet all the dogs again and then sat on a log to wait for the runners to come back in. This usually takes about 20ish minutes. While I was sitting on said log, something bit my toe. This bite has caused my toe to swell up to enormous proportions. 

I have since had to ice, medicate, lance, and soak my toe. I've was strung out on Benadryl all weekend.

Spectating ain't easy.

While I watched my toe swell and waited for the runners to arrive back at the finish line, I overheard some cross country parents talking to each other about how they thought that some of the kids were going to beat David. "I wonder how many of the kids will beat Coach Dark?" they snickered.

I, however, knew that Dave-O would dominate those children. Sorry parents...my man has still got it.

Coach Dark

4th Place Overall

1st Place in his Age Group

Boo-yah.

There was time after the race for canoodling with the puppies. Middle school cross country races are never too serious for a little canoodling. 

A fine time was had by all.

Melissa

Happy Labor Day

Happy Labor Day everyone! We hope that you have had a wonderful long weekend and that you have gotten to relax and enjoy the last moments of summer. I wish we could have all been together at a big barbecue!

We had a great holiday weekend. We spent part of it in one of our favorite places (more on that tomorrow) and then the remainder of the weekend here at home.

David ran in the annual Macon Labor Day Road Race this morning. It is Macon's largest race and a great community event. About 2,000 Maconites race through the city and cross the finish line at Central City Park, downtown. They are rewarded for their efforts with Chic-fil-a Chicken Biscuits...not a bad deal.

The best part of the Labor Day Road Race for me, is that the race course runs right through our neighborhood. So this morning, I got up, grabbed my camp chair, my cup of coffee, and Lady and then walked down to the end of our street to watch the race.

Jack couldn't come because he gets overly excited in social situations.

This is my little spectator station set up at the end of our road.

Looking SO lovely at 7:00 a.m....

I saw a man walking by before the race and I said "Hi, would you mind taking a picture of my spectator station?" He said, "Sure. You mean you and the dog?"

Yes, I guess that is what I mean.

He turned out to be our neighborhood city council representative. I guess taking pictures of weirdos with dogs is one equivalent of "kissing babies." As he left I told him I'd "remember him" at election time. What does that even mean? Where did I get that phrase? Why do they let me out of the house?

And  here comes Dave-O...

"Hi Honey! You're doing great!"

"You're lookin good!"

"Grab me a biscuit!"

David had a great race. His time was 46 min. and 32 sec. which is his very best 10k since college. He came in 11th in his age group and 96th overall. Way to go Dave! Proud of you!

We are spending  most of the rest of our day here, on our front porch, because the weather is amazing.

There's that first touch of fall in the air and it feels wonderful. I think we may even build a fire outside tonight!

Happy Labor Day!
Melissa

The 2010 Peachtree Roadrace

For those of you who are not from Georgia, let me tell you about a little thing we have here called The Peachtree Road Race. It is an Atlanta institution. The race takes place every year on the Fourth of July and has been going on since the 1970's. It is the world's largest 10k, with 55,000 participants running through downtown Atlanta. It's a huge event. The race has both professional runners and amateurs. Many people do the race every year as a tradition. Some do it in costumes. It's a very fun thing to watch.

But this year, we did not just watch...we participated! (Please note that I am using the term "we" here very loosely. I did not run anywhere, except to catch MARTA to take me from the starting line to the finish line.)

David has wanted to run the Peachtree since hearing about it in college and this year he registered and was accepted. He does a lot of races but he was really excited about this one. I'm telling you people, it's more than a race! It's an event! A tradition! An Institution!

So July 3rd, we hightail it up to Hotlanta. We went to the Health and Fitness Expo, that is held in conjunction with the race, to pick up his race packet and number, to get some swag, and to see if we could find Ryan Hall (a famous runner that David would really like to meet). Ryan was not there, but on the upside we did get free chips and salsa.

David's cousin Harold and his wife Sonia graciously let us spend the night before the race at their house. Thanks guys! We went with their family to a Fourth of July picnic, which was so much fun. We watched great fireworks, drank cokes, ate cotton candy and popcorn...all racing fuel...

The next morning we got up so EARLY. It was 4 something. I don't remember, nor do I want to. We had to ride MARTA (the public transit, kind of like a subway) into the city, because if we drove our car, there would really have been no where to park. Everyone on MARTA was in running gear. It was actually a funny feeling- we were all going to the same place to do the same thing.

We got to the starting line in plenty of time. David did a warm up run. I looked for an open Starbucks. No luck. Please note that it was dark out side. Thank you.

The race is very aptly patriotic, as it is on Independence Day. This huge flag hung over the starting line. As the sun was coming up, someone sang the National Anthem and a plane flew over us just as it ended. I'm a sucker for all things patriotic, and this nearly did me in. But I was too sleepy to be done in.

There were 28 corals of runners, organized by their projected finish time (how fast they are). David was in the third coral, right behind the professionals...because he is awesome. Nuff said.

As soon as the race started and I knew David had gone by (even though I couldn't see him- you can't imagine how many people there are running and watching!), I ran to get back on MARTA so that I could get to the finish line. I was petrified that I was going to get on the wrong train and get lost.

As I was about to have a breakdown and just give up, an old woman, with what was clearly her granddaughter, said "You look like you know where you're going, so I'm just going to follow you." Yikes. I decided I had to be brave for all of us. I looked at the map, picked a train, and led us to the finish line! A small victory.

Once we got off the train, I actually had to walk a really long way to get to the finish. Along the way I would stop to watch the runners and look for Starbucks. I know pretty much how long Dave takes to run a race, so I know where and when to look for him. With so many people running, however, I really had no hope of actually seeing him. But then, as I'm watching clouds of runners zooming by, I spot my man, I yell at him, and snap this pic.

I love how surprised he looks to see me. Hilarious.

Here's the finish line and meeting area where spectators can find their runners. It is a very stinky place due to the 55,000 smelly runners looking for their families.

Jonathan David Dark

Peachtree Road Race 2010

Time: 49:50

Blue Bell gives out free ice cream near the finish line, which made David very happy. This man loves ice cream. Loves it. Especially Blue Bell ice cream. It is the best...accept no substitutes.

Shortly after this I found a Starbucks and we went home. We had so much fun at the Peachtree Road Race and David really wants to do it again next year. You'll all have to come spectate with me...I know where the nearest Starbucks is now, so we're all good. Fourth of July 2011...it's a date!