I got over IT...and WE had a LOT of fun!!

This past weekend was spent in the Isle of Palms, SC...probably my favorite beach, short of Hawaii.  This was our (almost) 8th consecutive trip for me to run the Charleston Cooper River Bridge Run, the largest 10K in the country, and 10th largest 10K in the world...a pretty big deal (I was about to have Payton 2 years ago, so I thought it could be a bad idea to run at 39 weeks preggo!) There were over 44,000 people running/walking, and I happened to come in, er, 8,295th place.  Not SO bad, right?  I didn't come close to breaking my PR.  My PR is around 55 minutes, and I finished in 58:54.  The start of the race was a debacle.  Supposedly due to some late buses, the race commenced an HOUR later than the scheduled 8am.  So, we were all pretty angry, lots of booing, and the Kenyans were about to kill someone.  Anyway, I got over it.  The bridge, that is, and continued on with OUR fun weekend.

The weather couldn't have been nicer.  Warm (downright hot, at some points).  Sunny (for the most part).  Full of friends, food, family, and fun.  Lots of "F" words, lol!  We had about 20 people over on Saturday night for an oyster roast/burger/dog dinner, then hung out, watched the bball tournament, and hung outside on the deck...it was gorgeous out!  A few of us went to the local beach dive, "The Windjammer," for some drinks and dancing, then tried to get a little sleep before the "littles" awakened.

Speaking of, I think Payton has outgrown her sleeping beauty stage, and has graduated to the full-on "terrible two's."  She's sleeping less, becoming extremely independent (or trying to be), spends much of her time in "time-out," going potty (sometimes) on the big toilet, and pushing her limits.  Kind of like a little girl I knew very well (ME, at two!...uh oh.  Payback is a bitch, so I'm learning! Sorry Mom!)  Payton gets out of bed now, whenever she's ready, cuts off her sound machine, closes her bedroom door behind her (not sure where she learned that), and heads upstairs.  On the other hand, she's extremely intelligent, loves to sing her ABC's and other nursery rhymes, "reads" to Griffin, knows her colors, letters, and can count to twenty (naming most of the numbers in between, lol), and I taught her the proper way to throw a ball, over the weekend.  She can do a front roll, okay sometimes a sideways roll, by herself, RUNS everywhere she goes, loves to smell flowers, hold caterpillars, inch worms, and turtles (all new friends within the past week), and LOVES the beach.  She also loved being the center of attention all weekend, and showed off for all the people around her.  She had us laughing most of the weekend with her silly antics!  Lastly, she is addicted to my iPhone.  I mean, really addicted.  I think we need to start therapy to wean her off YouTube!

Griffin was his normal, happy self all weekend.  He loved the attention he got from everyone.  He LOVED the sand and the pool.  The water was chilly, okay, it was downright COLD, but we let him put his legs in the pool and ocean.  I think the sand must have tasted great, because he sure continued eating a lot of it!  And the big news from the weekend:  WE HAVE A TOOTH!  No fussing. No drooling.  No signs. I was holding him in the pool, he was smiling, and the sun hit a little white spot on the bottom of his gums.  I felt.  I looked again.  Sure enough!  There was a tiny little toofer poking through.  Woo-hoo!  There ARE teeth in that mouth of his.  Also, he's really gotten much more efficient crawling, although (and thankfully) he just goes to the toy he wants, then plunges down.  He's not into that super curious mode....yet.  He's also holding his bottle now, and we are transitioning to sippy cups...we had Payton off bottles by 9 months, and I plan on the same with Griffin.
 

And, I became addicted to a "new" board sport this weekend (at least one I've never tried)...Paddle-boarding.  Brian and I have both wanted to try it, especially since living on the lake would make it easy for us to actually use one.  Well, we got our opportunity (thanks, JJ!) and now we both want both one.  It will only cost us about $1000...ha.  So, if anyone is looking to buy a present for us, there's an idea.  HA!  

I forgot to mention that Brian completed his second annual stair climb at the Duke Energy building...Over 1,000 stairs, something like 48 flights?  He survived, and did quite well!!  We're proud of Daddy!  Now, to get him on his bike soon!!  Time to train for 24 Hours of Booty!

Well, until Saturday I will enjoy my ONE year old.  It's amazing how fast time continues to move.  As of Monday Brian and I will have a TWO year old and an 8 month old.  Before I know it, I'll be planning Griffin's first birthday party...*sigh* For now, they are still my babies.

Caterpillar!

Inch Worm!

Turtle! Teenie, weenie, turtle!

Our View...check out that Carolina blue sky!

DAY ONE...THE BEACH!  83 degrees, not a cloud in the sky.  March 30, 2012!

It was cold.  I was also in!

But she kept going back for more!

Lucian...Griffin's "other daddy."  lol...everyone thought they looked a lot alike.

DAY TWO..."The Run."  Here are all the runners (minus Greg...he was showering.  Again.)  ;)

Scott, Superwoman, er, Shana, and Greg

Getting our stretch on!

Taking a much needed walk break up the bridge.

WE GOT OVER IT!  Our gorgeous view from the boat ride back over to Mount Pleasant.

Camden, Riley, and Emma...some friends of ours who live in Mt. Pleasant came to visit (and swim!)

Britt, Me, and Jenny Gerald Davis (good friend from grade/high school)

Being silly with "Uncle" JJ

G Money and Katie playing around.

Shana and little Gil (15 months)...he is the son of Beth and Nate Shephard, who also stayed with us.

Oyster Roast...fighting for position!  YUM!

Brian, our wonderful gourmet griller!

Britt and Greg...showing neighborly love :)

Shana and Me...having a moment.

DAY THREE!  BEACH AGAIN!!

Sweet Emma enjoying the beach.  I have a picture of my Bailey-dog just like this one, she's just facing the other direction.

Who needs lunch when you have a tasty, sandy shovel?

Brian paddle boarding for the first time.  SO much fun!

This child LOVES the water, but being that she's my daughter, this doesn't surprise me!

Shana letting G dip his toes into the ocean.  He would NOT let go of his rake!

Payton's turn!  She knew exactly how to "kayak."  Very strange, since I don't imagine she's ever seen anyone do it before.  She LOVED it!

Our surfer girl!

G's turn!

My turn!  Not that you can tell, but that's me way out there!

Throwing the ball after I taught her how to really throw!  Just like a little quarterback...

Even though he had pretty much had no naps all day...he was still all smiles.

Payton doing "waterfall," ie, dumping that COLD water over her head.  Jon was fine with that as long as she didn't dump it on his bald head!  Brrrr!

Something was obviously very funny.

I just love these contagious smiles :)

And this is what 3 days at the beach does to an almost 2 year old!  NOW THAT'S SOME GOOD FUN!

Being silly on the way back home.  She can always entertain herself (and us!)

This is Griffin crawling...although he's doing much better each day!!

On the way back from the beach...again, entertaining us all (Griffin pokes his little head around the car seat and laughs at her).