A weekend of Firsts!

Happy Monday everyone! Hope you all had a fantastic weekend! Why am I so perky on  a Monday morning you ask? Well, in just a few short days, I will be on a plane.... Cali bound! 70-80 degree weather? Yes please! I am actually going there for work (boo), but will have some play time as well. I judge All Star Cheerleading and Dance and am lucky enough to travel to some pretty awesome places (Palm Springs, CA being one of them). However, my travel experiences with my judging family deserve a post of their own, so stay tuned.


Back to my weekend,...it was great and full of firsts! On Friday, I traveled to Asheville with my parents to see my niece compete in her very FIRST Gymnastics Competiton. She was competitng early Saturday morning, so we headed down Friday afternoon. We enjoyed some family time with my brother, his wife, and their 2 kids and then tucked in early so we'd be well rested for the next day. On a side note, downtown Asheville is an extremely cute little area. We saw so many adorable little shops and cozy resteraunts/bars. I wish we would have had more to time to explore/experience, but let's be honest.... I'm not as young as I once was and a girl needs her sleep!


We woke up at an unmentionalble time on Saturday morning and headed over to the venue (UNC-Asheville). As I mentioned before, this was my nieces FIRST meet...and I am here to tell you she rocked it out! She competed in 4 events : Floor, Uneven Bars, Vault, and Balance Beam. She placed 4th in 2 events and she placed 4th OVERALL! I was very impressed with her poise and skill level and can't wait to see her progress in this sport. I am so proud of her!


Here is a picture of me and my niece. Everyone calls her "Little Paula" and she thinks it's a compliment. Bless her gullible little heart :).

 I had been taunting her for weeks, jokingly threatening to make embarassing signs to hold up at the meet. I later discovered that she was in fact excited about the idea of signs and I rushed out to find the brightest hot pink poster board in existance. And yes, I brought back the "bomb.com"....a little cheese factor never hurt anyone. She loved it and told me at least 3 times that she couldn't believe she was the only person at the whole meet who had signs. My heart was full.


 My parents decided to make the most of their trip and head to Cherokee to enjoy a couple of nights at the casino. I rode back with my Brother, Sister in Law, and the kids. Most people wouldn't consider a 3 1/2 hour ride cramped between 2 kids as fun, but we had a blast! Proof of our fun can be found in the video below. This was completey unrehearsed. I dare you to watch it and not smile.
  

Yes, I realize my niece completely botched the lyrics - "All the shawtys in the club, let me see your DRESS. Back it up, drop it down, let me see your DRESS."  But seriously, how do you correct a kid with THAT MUCH swagger?




On Sunday, I had another first! I ran 5.4 miles without stopping to walk! My friend Amy, who is also training for the same 1/2 Marathon, came over and we got the job done! It was a gorgeous day out and the run went a lot smoother than expected. We were able to hold decent conversation throughout and we even ran .4 miles over our "required" workout suggested by the training plan. Say whatttt?!?!? This week will be a little rough because I will have to condense all my runs/workouts into 4 days. I could pretend I am going to run in California, but I don't see it happening. I have always allowed  travel to throw a wrench in my workouts, but it's not going to happen this time. I made a commitment and I am sticking to it!


I hope you all have a fabulous start to the week and I will attempt promise to have another post coming your way before I leave for California!