Weekend of Giving Thanks

It was kind of ridiculous how much I was looking forward to Thanksgiving break.  It's not like we were really doing anything or going anywhere- but that's my favorite kind of holiday! Sometimes when we travel for a holiday weekend, we get back and think, "Where did my break go?" I loved being able to stay home and get things done.

A few weeks ago, a friend at work had a customer putting on a turkey trot in Arlington ask if anyone wanted a free entry. Lucky for me, I am one of the only runners at my office. Normally I pick a few big races per year to pay for, so doing a local 5k was super fun! I had a secret goal to beat 23 minutes. I'm not really sure how I came up with that goal; I only knew I had to run really fast. And I did! My time was 22:45, definitely a PR for me. And get this- I was 5th in the 20-29 age division.

Beau is used to waiting during races. He likes 5ks. 20 minutes is a lot more bearable than a two hours!

Afterwards, we went down town to continue trotting... or cycling, in Beau's case. I looped around the very empty mall and Beau explored on his bike a little.

this cute group on the right was doing family pictures

the Vietnam Memorial is probably my favorite

Thanksgiving dinner was at the Tagg's (not the same without Gram), and afterwards, Beau and I got to do some target practice with Tyler!

Let's be honest here. I wasn't really aiming for the target. I just thought it was really cool to shoot a handgun.

Friday the fam went for a little day hike on the AT.

The girls were troopers, completing their first real hike of about 6 miles.  They had a lot of fun playing in the shelter we went to for lunch. Soren loved his first trail experience. AT Class of 2033!

Seriously though, this kid was born while we were summitting Katahdin. It's meant to be.

 

I just love this picture of Adriel and Beau. They're buds.

 

 We <3 the Appalachian Trail!

Too bad I didn't take any pictures at our game night that evening... just imagine 3 babes and a bunch of adults playing games and snacking on holiday treats. It was great.

One last photo of the weekend. I went on a long run Saturday morning in Manassas- something I've been avoiding because I don't know my way around yet or any good routes. I planned my route via mapmyrun.com, but it was actually a couple miles longer than I was anticipating. When I got home and looked in the mirror, I just had to laugh at my completely disheveled appearance. It was windy and I was tired, okay??

Phone Files

In general chronological order, some shtuff from our phones:

Did I ever tell you about the time I kayaked to a job interview? No? Well I did.

Baby train! Gram's latest progeny at the funeral

A napping Soren

Gram's seven children

Saturday morning hair session

my second favorite trail

unicorn & baseball player at the ward Halloween party

Tru Tru!

Reagan's Halloween costume.... me!

Anna with a baby inside her tummy

Now that baby is out of her tummy, and in my arms.

I finally get to use my best thrift store find ever! I got this set for $10 a couple years ago and it's been in storage ever since.

Broccoli playing in my sleeping bag. Within 30 minutes she had an itchy rash on her face. Down allergy? Something from the woods? Who knows.

The Who! at the Verizon center

pinball wizards

May your long weekend be filled with cycling, nieces and nephews, the AT, anything that can be made with pumpkin, Wii Just Dance, sweet potatoes, Turkey Trots, and Hulu.

Reasons to Hike the Appalachian Trail

Reminder: ZonePerfect giveaway is still open! Ends Monday at midnight, so get your entries in now!

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 I won't even begin to point out how many errors there are on this map, but here's a neat infogram:




Anyone want to take a stab at how many things are incorrect? :)

ZonePerfect nutrition bar giveaway! (closes 11/12)

Through cycling and hiking, I've ended up trying SO many brands of nutrition bars.  One of my favorites, and Beau's too, are bars from ZonePerfect.  For resupplies, we were always happy when we could find these on sale at the grocery stores.  Beau was known to only get bars that were mint chocolate flavored, and he loved ZonePerfect's Chocolate Mint.

My favorite is the "dark" variety- Double Dark Chocolate and Dark Chocolate Strawberry.  In fact, the first time I had a ZonePerfect bar was when I was on a short overnight hike with my mom.  We shared a Dark Chocolate bar and were marveling at how good it was, and not good "for being a nutrition bar", but actually good good. With no qualifiers. With close to 200 calories and around 12 grams of protein, they're perfect for energy snacks while you're hiking (or cycling... skiing... running... and other -ings) or as a sweet afternoon snack that will keep you full until dinner time.

I'm super excited that ZonePerfect will give away sample boxes of the Chocolate Mint, Chocolate Peanut Butter, and Cashew Pretzel flavors to a reader.  Use the Raffle-copter widget below for two chances at entering the contest through commenting and "liking" the ZonePerfect page on Facebook. Giveaway closes midnight on Monday the 12th.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

and, of course, while ZonePerfect has agreed to provide giveaway product, all opinions are my own