Road trip for Nathan's 15th Birthday!!

Nathan got an extra special birthday present this year.  It started out as a very special present because he was going to go to the LSU/South Carolina football game in Columbia.  He had only been asking for this as a present for about 3 years.  So we thought, sure.  Then the flood hit Columbia and the Wednesday before the game, it was moved to Louisiana!!

Well this actually made Nathan a little excited because he has also wanted to see LSU play in Tiger Stadium,  We weren't sure at first if we could do it because Dave had work obligations that made it impossible for him to go.  But we pooled all of Nathan's birthday money (and some of our own) and hit the road.

Nathan and I left Friday at 11:30.  We drove all the way to Moss Point, Mississippi that night.  We made the obligatory stops at welcome centers (especially the Florida one with free OJ and a Shutterfly book), and arrived for a much needed night's sleep around 11:00.  To make the time pass, we listened to murder mysteries.  We had finished one and started on a second at this point!

The Florida Welcome Center (the MS one was closed for renovation)

To make sure we would arrive on time, we got up around 6, ate a quick breakfast, started our audio book, and left MS for LA.  Because we were so close to it, we decided to add 30 extra minutes of drive time and go through New Orleans.  We had about 30 minutes to look around.  We wanted to get beignets, but the only place that we could find that sold them was very crowded.  So we opted for buttermilk drops (big round donuts) that were very delicious.  New Orleans is a unique town that I am sure would be fun to take the time to explore, but I have to say this, though, is it is not like Charleston!!    

We finally made it to LA!  

Lots of water in this part of the country!

New Orleans

Bourbon Street

After our brief detour, we finally made it to the outskirts of the LSU campus.  We saw a sign at a church for $20 parking and free for South Carolina.  We got to park free, but at first the man said only for SC fans and with our purple shirts, we didn't look like Gamecocks!  After I told him we had just driven from SC, and he saw our license plate, he did give us free parking.

Never have seen pineapple Fanta before!?!

Off to the bookstore was our first stop to buy Nathan a shirt and windbreaker.  We ate lunch at the student union and ice cream at the LSU dairy, and took our seats to await the big game.  Seats that were good for seeing the game, but bad if you didn't want to get sunburned!

Gamecock cheerleaders

Nathan's favorite player...Leonard Fournette

Flying the SC flag!!

The team warming up

Fournette again, warming up

The marching band

The game was fun for Nathan, even if I did embarrass him by cheering for SC when they made the 100 yard touchdown :)  But I had to cheer for our state since there were so few Gamecock fans!  After a decisive win, we looked around the other side of the stadium where they house Mike, the real tiger mascot.

What Nathan wants for his 16th birthday...I don't think so!

Mike

Our last glimpse of the stadium.

We then tried to find a place to eat in downtown Baton Rouge, but were unsuccessful.  So we went to a seafood restaurant that was recommended to us.  Tired and hungry, we were very glad the hour wait was only 30 minutes!  Crab and crawfish au gratin, and fish were on the very tasty menu for us.

The Mississippi River in downtown Baton Rouge

Then off to bed in our second hotel.  Nathan was convinced he was going to stay up late with the TV muted and watch baseball.  He was asleep in 10 minutes!  Good thing, because the next day we had to drive 12 hours again and listen to the end of our second murder mystery.  We started a third, but never finished it.  I guess we need another road trip!!

Thoughts on a second marathon!

I am running my second marathon in a little over a week!  I did my first one as a check off on my bucket list, and said I would never do another.  In my opinion, a half is a doable race, but still a challenge, so why do another full.  But then my friend Tara had her own check off list that included running a marathon to help raise money for Love without Boundaries.  (see link at the bottom of page for information about donating to the cause!)  And this had to be done in LA.  So combining my love for running and my bigger love for traveling, I said YES!

Although I was always excited about visiting LA, I admit I wasn't always excited about training for another marathon.  The way I train involves gradually increasing my once a week long run until my last long run is 22 miles.  It takes a lot of time to run 22 miles during one day on the weekend.  Running, taking children to baseball, and basketball and sleep overs and church...it makes for a tiring weekend.  Two memories I have is the gradual tiredness my body feels and sitting in church on Sunday night (after a Sunday afternoon long run) with very tired legs.

But I also have noticed other things in training for a marathon.  And these are things that I am very grateful for learning.  One thing is almost like a mind change.  Right now I am calling a short run one that is only 9 miles!  And when I am running, if I only have 3-4 miles left, in my mind it is almost done.

I also have found that I can do more than I ever thought possible.  I heard a quote from a sappy Hallmark movie that said, "Life is full of chances.  If you don't take risks, you will never know what you are capable of."  That is a good quote for a marathoner.  When I trained for my first marathon, I remember barely being able to finish my long 7 mile run.  But weeks later, I was doing 17.  It is always that added mile that is the hardest; but if added one at a time, it can happen.  Although I am always tired after running, it is a satisfied tired because of having met a goal.  I enjoy meeting goals and also facing a challenge and conquering it.  In this marathon training, I have been able to push myself and found that I haven't broken.  To be able to do something that initially seemed impossible has taught me about myself and has shown me my strengths and weaknesses.  I have learned a lot about myself by running circles around my house!

While running, I have lots of time to listen to books and music; think about what is happening in my life and what needs to be done with different situations; pray for these situations and pray that I don't die!  I am able to notice all sorts of things in my running course from the new houses being built to the same litter in the same place week after week.  I have started having a feeling about how long a mile is and being able to time it so that I hit water fountains when needed and finish very close to home.

Since this is not my first marathon, and I have no plans for finishing with some awesome time, I am more relaxed for this run.  I still plan on running the whole thing, however, I also plan on enjoying the view and stopping to record the sites with my phone!  I plan on making lots of Instagram and FB posts throughout my run!  This will be a fun run!

So even though this training has been tiring, I still look forward to running and I still enjoy it.  I REALLY enjoyed running a slow short 3 mile run with Camden and not even breathing hard!  But even though I have enjoyed it, I will be glad to finish this journey and stick to shorter long runs :)  I am really planning on this being my last marathon, however, if someone asks me to do 26.2 around the islands of Hawaii, I just might have to do a third!!      

http://www.lovewithoutboundaries.com/los-angeles-marathon/tara-and-amy/

What happens when boys have a party!!

When boys have a party there are lots of sweets; lots of soda; lots of loud noise; lots of muddy shoes from playing football; and plenty of smells!

That is one big Reese's Cup!!

But boys are a lot of fun!!

A Serendipity Day!

Some days are fun and some days are just practically perfect. Not totally perfect, but pretty close!

We started out our Saturday before Christmas by loading up the car and heading to Columbia to do Christmas with my parents.  Champ was excited to be included.

He really was excited!!

After we arrived and ate lunch, we headed downtown Columbia to look around and see what we could see.  We shopped at the Mast General Store and then went ice skating.  Skating outside is fun even though both the boys were ready to end after a very short amount of time on the ice!  But it was especially fun to do something unexpected!

After walking around and not finding much open and trying to decide where we were going for dinner, etc., we saw a sign for The Nutcracker.  Smart phone out, we checked prices and availability and found tickets for $15.  So using my fingers to pick out our seats on a small screen, I was finally able to walk, choose seats, and pay for 5 tickets. I did mention the not so perfect, perfect day, right?

We decided to eat at Mellow Mushroom where we had to wait for a table for 6.  This made me think...I had only bought tickets for 5!!  So back to the phone while we ate dinner; and I was able to purchase a 6th ticket.  Crisis averted...I thought. 

We finished dinner and headed to the Koger Center. We were excited about the ballet, although we knew we were probably a little under dressed.  When we arrived and saw the tuxes and the little girls in frilly dresses, we were glad we didn't run into anyone we knew!  We didn't look too bad, but jeans at a ballet...well it would have been better if Dad had not worn white tennis shoes with his!  And I was very glad I had not let Nathan wear his baggy sweats!  

So we went to will call to pick up our 6 tickets...of which they had 5.  They looked it up and saw that I had bought the 6th one, however, for the next day!  But they were very nice about my mistake and gave us a seat for that night.  

So we were able to finally sit down on the very top row and enjoy the show!!

After we all had our cultural education, which we all actually enjoyed (Camden's favorite part was the rats!), we headed back to mom and dad's to open gifts at 11:00!  Short and sweet!  

Purses are very big this year..I got to choose between these two; or go find another!

And to end the evening, I got my birthday present early from mom and dad.  Very early, but very nice to receive!

So ended our serendipity day!  A day when we wanted to do something special, but didn't know what.  And a day in which fun things were allowed to happen.  It was not perfect...I almost messed up the tickets and we were not really dressed for the ballet...but it was pretty close!!