Road Runners

Sydney has participated in two 5Ks this spring. Her and Brian 'walked' a Purdue 5k in April. She had a blast, and continues to bring up her first race every time we past where the event started and finished.

These photos are from her second race. We 'ran' the JCM5k in May. Long story, but sometimes you just have to work with what you've got ... hence why were running with our baby stroller and not my cool, all-terrain jogging stroller.

It was quite chilly and very windy during the race.

The expression on Sydney's face is a good indicator that she is having a blast.

And yes, Sydney did beat me :) (Actually, the race announcer said we were first to finish in the 'stroller category' but I'm not sure if that's official.)

Now that the weather is warmer and I am not taking classes any more, I'm able to really get back to running. I ran a 10K two weekends ago, and this is my first week of formal training for a mini-marathon that I'm running in August. So far so good. I'm just looking forward to being outdoors ... and running something called the Hog Jog as part of my training.

Four months later

My blog slacking means I've been remiss about celebrating my new nephew.

Bennett will be four months old this week. What an amazing and sweet little boy. Of course, he has the most wonderful parents. (More info here: http://thepeellefamily.blogspot.com/)

Here are some photos from their first West Lafayette visit.

Sydney chats with the professional Mommy about the best way to care for an infant.

This image is pretty obvious. Sydney is making Jackie smell Baby Nora to see if she needs a diaper change. (Sydney's twin baby dolls, Nick and Nora, are named for Nick and Nora Charles in the Thin Man movies)

Sydney follows Jackie's lead on proper swaddling technique.

Yes, we are all smitten with the little guy.

According to Sydney, anything baby-related means it's Bennett-related. Sydney does well with Bennett, but it does make her anxious when I hold him.

Fountain of Youth

We rarely ate out while I was growing up. My Mom was an above-and-beyond gourmet cook (seriously, she would easily bake a half dozen cakes for the school carnival cake walk), so fine dining took place at home.

However, we did have a favorite Mexican restaurant, Ramones, that we would eat at when we went out. I remember always getting a side of shredded cheese for my tacos, I remember the decor (much fancier than the local Mexican places we eat at now) and I remember the fountain in the lobby. I remember the fountain the most. There were three lights that rotated in the base of the fountain. We would stare at it for what seemed like hours while we waited for a table, or Mom and Dad would let us visit while we were waiting for our food. I have lots of memories from that restaurant. I remember that my father took Julie and I there the night we were going to see my Mom and meet our new baby sister Jackie in the hospital. I remember the last time I was there with my family: we were with Jackie and some of her friends, including the Prybella family. The kids had just had an event (maybe, OM?) and we were all celebrating.

The first time I took Brian to Colorado I wanted to be sure we ate at Ramones. And, he won't ever let me forget it. We went for lunch, and the restaurant was completely empty. Chip refills were a $1 (what Mexican restaurant charges for chips refils?). And my favorite, when we asked for Coke refills, the waitress brought one glass, and split it between us. Ramones wasn't the same, and I think it even closed the following year.

I thought about all of this on Saturday night while Brian, Syd and I ate dinner at Panini Deli. We had an early dinner, and we were able to sit right next to their fountain. Of course, Sydney was ecstatic and talked about the fountain non-stop. It made me think of Ramones.