Wow, what a great weekend. I didn’t step foot in an airport or a hotel room, and by 11 a.m. Saturday, I had zero obligations until work this morning! I know, that’s the story of most of your lives, but for me, this was a rare weekend, and a breath of fresh air.
A couple of things first. I ran my 16th marathon of the year on Saturday, winning the Train 4 Autism Marathon Series, Race 1. My 3:23:56 was probably the slowest winning time in the history of marathons, but the race was a wonderful experience. If you read the report, you’ll see why sometimes a finishing time is really inconsequential. It was an awesome day.
Also, just a quick plug to something I’m pushing for (and I guess that’s my privilege, since it’s my blog!) … this month, I’m running seven marathons in seven states, so I’m trying to get as many $7 donations for Operation Jack as possible. Check out what I wrote … please!
OK, Tiff. You Were Right.
I had planned on going to the Red Cross on Saturday afternoon to donate platelets. It’s tough to schedule time to do that, and I thought I had a great opportunity to get my way down there without impacting much that afternoon. Tiff thought it would cut into time I could be spending with Benjamin, but I thought I’d still have plenty of time left over.
We got into a little bit of an argument, but I pushed off the appointment to have a crazy fun day with Benjamin. The result? A crazy fun day with Benjamin. And I guess it helps my recovery to not deplete myself of platelets.
On Saturday morning, Ben had his first day with a track and field program put on by the city we live in. He was starving afterwards, so we went for a recovery meal.
He just snuck in that milkshake without even asking. He knew it was a fun day with Dad, so he had some courage when ordering and I let it slide.
We were both totally full after that meal. I don’t know how that happened. I’m always satisfied, but never full, after I eat at In-N-Out. But from there, we went to RoadRunner Sports to get him fitted for some running shoes. He spent some time with the Shoe Dog.
They examined his arch.
They evaluated his stride.
We ordered a pair of shoes for him and they should be in soon. I was such a proud papa at the running store. I felt like a dad giving his son his first Playboy. Of course, I didn’t get in any trouble with Tiff for this.
After RoadRunner, we went and picked out a Mother’s Day present for mama, then went and saw a movie called How To Train Your Dragon … in 3D! We continued to overeat on popcorn and we enjoyed the movie. I don’t know how an 8-year-old views that movie. But there’s a part of it geared towards adults that focuses on the dad eventually accepting his son for his son’s strengths and interests, not just on whether or not the son chose the path the dad had hoped for. It was nice seeing that with Benjamin.
Later on Saturday, after I spent a little bit of time watching Butler beat Michigan State, I went to Home Depot and got 250 pounds of new play sand for Jack’s sandbox. I worked with Ava (she wanted to help, so I let her think she was helping) way past dark and I messed up my back shoveling all the old sand out and putting the new sand in. After getting another 250 pounds Sunday morning (I underestimated how much I needed), Jack was excited when we finally let him play in the sandbox again.
So in other words, for a good chunk of time, I got to be the dad I haven’t really been able to be too often on the weekends this year. It was pretty nice.
You were right, Tiff. Thank you.
Jack Loves The Arches
This is pretty much a cheap excuse to put a picture of Jack in here. But I took him to McDonald’s yesterday afternoon. He had a blast on the playground for about an hour, which gave Tiff some freedom to get the house ready for our family Easter dinner.
Nothing beats chicken nuggets, fries and a slide.
These Were Incredible
My sister-in-law brought cupcakes to the Easter dinner yesterday. They were amazing. Normally, the frosting is what I’ll remember from a cupcake. This time, though, it was the cake. It was a lemon-flavored cake with a vanilla pudding filling. The filling soaked in to the cake, so it was moist and INCREDIBLY DELICIOUS. I was raving about them for a few minutes, and I don’t think she could tell if I was serious or not, but she joked about me blogging about it. Just ask Lisa Hernandez what happens if you jokingly dare me to do something.
So here you go, Kelly. You made the blog. That and $1 will get you a small cup of coffee at McDonald’s.
We had Sprinkles cupcakes at work last week. I think these were better.
I Love Spring Break!
I’m not on spring break, because I have one of those “job” things, but Benjamin and Ava are out of class this week, so they stayed at my in-laws last night for a sleepover with their cousin. Peace … and … quiet! (For us, not them!)
Here are a few miscellaneous pics from yesterday. I asked her if she had anything she wanted me to post and this is what she gave me. So here goes.
Tiff and Jack, I think after the Easter egg hunt.
Me and Ava, definitely after the Easter egg hunt. You can see how close together the houses are in California. You can also see how bad my allergies were yesterday by looking at my eyes.
Ava, definitely during the Easter egg hunt.
Ava sorting through her basket in the morning. She traded those Whoppers to Benjamin for 10 marshmallows. Bad deal on her part.
That’s All For Today
I’ll be back tomorrow, same bat time, same bat channel. I’m pulling for Butler tonight. What can I say — I have a mad crush on Cinderella!
What a great weekend! I am so glad you got to spend some real time with the fam! I know the Red Cross would be happy with that, too 🙂
I watched a show on PBS on Saturday night (yes, that’s how we roll) on the history of In-N-Out and it was really interesting! I was this close to going out and getting one! I even dreamed about eating one that night! One of thses days I will break down and have one in your honor 🙂 Happy Monday!
Great update! Just change “get the house ready for our family Easter” to “get a massage” and it’d be about perfect, as far as weekends go. Just a suggestion– it’s hard on the wife when the husband is gone so much. 🙂 I’m really glad you got to spend the weekend with the kids and hope you had a happy Easter!
Sounds like a fabulous weekend! Love all the pictures–what a fun day you were able to have with Benjamin. You obviously can’t go wrong with In-N-Out!