Thanksgiving Holiday Snapshots!

I had an amazing Thanksgiving holiday! We were off work and out of school on Wednesday through Sunday. I spent a ton of time with family and it was awesome! Here are some snapshots of my wonderful Thanksgiving! I'm so thankful and blessed!

Wednesday started out with a 1.5 mile run! And then goofing around with Hayden taking pictures! ;-)

That afternoon we went with my sister and Ella to the pier to walk and then to the coffee shop. What we didn't expect was how windy it would be down by the bay! It was hard to take pictures because the wind was shaking our phones so bad! You can see the wind blowing the water out of the fountain!

We didn't stay long because the wind made it so cold. We headed to the coffee shop and I got some cuddle time with Ella!

Thanksgiving morning I woke up and ran 2.5 miles! This was my longest run in a while due to my calf injury. It felt great to run a little more mileage!

After getting cleaned up after my run we headed about an hour away to my Dad's house for Thanksgiving lunch! A ton of my family that I hadn't seen in forever was there! It was so great seeing everyone! And I love spending time with my Dad and stepmom!

My Dad is so silly and the boys love him! Sawyer gets his silliness from my Dad for sure! I love seeing them interact! So cute!

I love my silly Dad!

And there is always one photo that has been photobombed lol! Here are my boys with my stepmom...and brother Josh photobombing lol!

We had a great time visiting with family at my Dad's house! Once we left there we headed to Andy's sister Katie's house to spend the night. She was going to watch the boys for us so Andy and I could go on our annual Black Friday shopping date! We woke up early and my sweetie even took me to my favorite coffee shop for Black Friday shopping fuel!

We went to several stores and found lots of great deals! About 80% of my Christmas shopping is done! Yay!

When we were finished shopping we went for a run. I couldn't let my streak end! I ran one mile with Andy and then another mile by myself!

Then we showered and headed back over to Katie's house. His parents brought lunch for everyone. We ate and then spent the rest of the afternoon watching Christmas movies and spending time together. That night we had Mexican Night for dinner! And then me and my mother-in-law and aunt-in-law did a little more shopping! They then took me back to Katie's house where we spent the night again.

So the next morning I got to run from Katie's house. It's always great to run a different route! And...I ran my first 5K in a long time! The calf felt great but was a little sore and tight the rest of the day.

We spent the morning with Katie and ate lunch with her. Then we packed up and headed home. Later that afternoon we went to my sister Christy's house. We went to Bellingrath Gardens that night to see the Christmas Lights! It was beautiful! It deserves its own post so stay tuned tomorrow for more of those pictures!

After seeing the lights we went back to Christy's house for a chili dinner and to watch some football! My Auburn Tigers lost the Iron Bowl but fought a good fight! It was a great game despite the loss!

Sunday morning we all slept in since we had some pretty late nights this holiday. I ran my mile for the streak that morning. The rest of the day was spent getting ready for the next week....back to work and school. That night I babysat Ella so my sister could go to the So You Think You Can Dance Tour.

It was a great weekend! I really hated to see it end! But....we only have 3 more weeks of work and school and then we are out again for Christmas holidays! I hope I can make it that long lol!

QOTD: Did you travel for Thanksgiving or celebrate at home?

The Weekly Chase #49!

Today...it's back to reality! The boys go back to school and so do I! Thankfully I love my job and my little preschool class so I'm looking forward to going back!

We had an awesome Thanksgiving! I hope you did too! It was great getting to hang out with my sister and her family! The boys had a blast playing with their cousins!

When we got home Thanksgiving night, Andy and I headed out for some early Black Friday shopping! We had a blast! We didn't stay out too late...we got home around 1 AM and were back up at 6 AM to head back out! Our goal is to always get the boys' Christmas shopping done. We got some good deals for the boys which makes me even more excited about Christmas!!!

Friday afternoon we decorated the Christmas tree! I just love this time of year and so do the boys! They were also excited because the elves showed up Saturday morning. And by Sunday they were already up to some mischief! (Explanation: The elves were mad because we wouldn't let them go into the restaurant we were eating at called Moe's Southwest Grill. They serve tacos and burritos there. Hayden didn't eat his cookie from there so the elves made their own tacos and stole Hayden's cookie!)

On another note...you KNOW I can't go without saying....WAR EAGLE!!! That was an amazing game!!! I'm still in shock that my Auburn Tigers beat Alabama!!! We had a blast watching the game...Andy's family came over and watched with us! I got in trouble a few times for scaring the dogs and the boys with my screaming lol!

It was an amazing Thanksgiving and holiday weekend! Now it's time for the Weekly Chase! I'm ready to tell you all about my goals for this week!

Here are my goals from last week and how I did with them!

• Goal #1: Follow run directions from Dr. Justin. Yes! I actually got to run 3 times last week!!! I only saw Dr. Justin once due to the holiday but he said I was making awesome progress. He told me I could run 7 miles for my long run (which I did)! He also said he had no doubts that I would do great in Memphis! He said the knee may get a little sore around mile 10-11 but hopefully not. 
• Goal #2: Roll, stretch, and ice daily. Yes! I did miss doing this on Thanksgiving Day...we traveled 6 hours total and then went shopping. It was a busy day!
• Goal #3: Make my shopping list for Black Friday. Yes! The boys made their Christmas lists for me...however I ended up forgetting their lists when we set out to shop lol! Luckily I have a pretty good memory so I remembered most of it.
• Goal #4: Get some blog posts written and scheduled. :-( I got my posts done for each day but I didn't get any extra ones done for this week. 
• Goal #5: Be thankful. Yes! I've made it a conscious effort to thank God for every blessing and good thing that has happened to me this week! I even thanked him for Auburn winning lol!

Here are my goals for this week!

Goal #1: Follow run directions from Dr. Justin. I plan on running about 2-3 miles on Wednesday before I see Dr. Justin. Hopefully he will say I've made even more progress! 

Goal #2: Roll, stretch, and ice daily. Definitely! I truly believe in this!

Goal #3: Hydrate and fuel for the St. Jude Memphis Half Marathon this weekend. I need to be sure to hydrate. It's going to be cold in Memphis (it's even predicting snow showers on race day) and I always forget to hydrate when it's cold. I want to do as well as I can at this race considering my injuries.

Goal #4: Get some blog posts written and scheduled. I need to get my posts scheduled for while I'm gone. I leave for Memphis on Thursday!!!

Goal #5: Pack! I need to start packing now!!! I'm so excited!!!

Goal #6: Get lesson plans done for my sub. I am taking two days off from work. I have to get everything ready to have a substitute teacher.

So that's my week! It's going to be a busy one! But I'm so excited about St. Jude!!! Thanks again to everyone who donated and helped me raise money for such an awesome cause! I'm ready to run my heart out for those precious children!

QOTD: What are your goals for this week?

The Weekly Chase #48!

It's Monday...and the start of my Thanksgiving vacation!!! I am excited about spending this week with my family!

We had a great weekend! Friday afternoon we got to visit with some friends that moved away 2 years ago. They were here for a visit and we met at the park so the kids could play and the mommies could catch up. We all met when our kids were in preschool. It was great seeing how big the kids have gotten. And the kids just picked up right where they left off and had a blast playing together again!

Me and my friend Stephanie (yes I have two really great friends named Stephanie!!!)

Friday night the boys had a birthday party to attend and the hubby and I got to go out to dinner! We felt pretty rushed but it was nice getting in a meal just the two of us.

Saturday started off with a 5 mile run! I will tell you more about it in another post but I will say that I had no knee or hip pain!!! Yay! After the run I felt so good that I came home and cleaned the house. My hubby joked and said he wished every Saturday was like this! I told him...get me back to running long lol! Later that afternoon my Sister-in-law and her hubby came over to hang out. They are in the process of buying a new house and we got to see it for the first time...at least the outside...we didn't get to go in. I'm so excited for them though! After that we went out to dinner together for my favorite...pizza!

Sunday we went to church and ate lunch there. It was the church's Thanksgiving Feast and it was super yummy! Then...I got to go see the movie Catching Fire with a friend! I've been so excited about this movie and it did not disappoint! I think it was better than the first one!

So that was my fun weekend! Now it's time for another Weekly Chase! I'm excited to tell you all about my goals for this Thanksgiving week!

Here are the goals from last week and I how I did!

• Goal #1: Follow run directions from Dr. Justin. Yes! I've been a good listener lol! He let me run 2-2.5 miles this week. AND he let me run a longer run of 4-5 miles on the weekend. Yes being the runner that I am I ran the highest mileage he allowed lol! 
• Goal #2: Roll, stretch, and ice daily. Yep. This has become a nightly ritual for me lol!
• Goal #3: Get everything ready for our Thanksgiving Feast at school. Yes! I got everything ready and the feast was a success! I wish I could show you pictures of how cute my class was dressed as pilgrims but ya know...there's that privacy policy I have to follow. Can't be posting pictures of my sweet 3 year olds on the internet without permission. ;-)

Here are the goals I will be chasing this week!

Goal #1: Follow run directions from Dr. Justin. I will only see him once this week but hopefully he will let me get in a little longer run this weekend. St. Jude Memphis Half is the next weekend (Dec. 7th)!!!

Goal #2: Roll, stretch, and ice daily. I really think all of this has helped me recover.

Goal #3: Make my shopping list for Black Friday. This is a tradition for me and my hubby. Every year his sister comes over Thursday night and spends the night with the boys so that we can get up early and go shopping! Some say we're crazy but we enjoy it every year! 

Goal #4: Get some blog posts written and scheduled. I want to make good use of my time off this week and get some posts done. Especially since I will be leaving for Memphis next Thursday!

Goal #5: Be thankful. I try to be thankful each and every day. But this holiday reminds me even more of how many blessings the Lord has given me. I am so excited to get to spend Thanksgiving Day with my sister and her family!

So there we have it! I hope each and every one of you have a great week!

QOTD: What goals are you chasing this week? What are your plans for Thanksgiving?