Gate River Run

Growing up in Jacksonville, the Gate River Run has always been a prominent tradition in our community. It's one of the most significant weekends of the year in our fair city, for both runners and non-runners. If you've never thought of running as a spectator sport, then you've never been to the Gate. A large portion of the race is throughout neighborhoods and people go all out, throwing huge parties in their yards. The entire 9.3 mile race route is basically lined with spectators. Some just cheering you on with signs and music, others handing out water and snacks, some even bold enough to offer you beer or mimosas, and food straight off the grill. I have no idea who could possibly manage to drink a beer and eat a bratwurst while in the midst of running 9 miles (definitely not me), but the option is there if you want it. Whether you're running the race or just partaking in the festivities, this is definitely a big day for all Jacksonville residents.

I've never been a runner. In fact, up until about two years ago the farthest I could ever manage to run was about half a mile. After that, I felt like I was going to die. In the summer of 2013, I decided that I wanted to try and run a 5k. I trained for about a month and accomplished my goal of running an entire 5k race without stopping or walking. I thought that was the end of my running career. I always dreamed of possibly running the Gate once day, but I never thought it would be possible. I struggled enough with running a 5k start to finish, so having to run three times that far seemed completely out of the realm of possibility. Then last year Jared ran the Gate while I was pregnant and I was super jealous. Seeing him accomplish what I had always dreamed of doing made me think that maybe I could actually be crazy enough to try it for myself.

After Peyton was born last summer, I had a new sense of self-confidence. Delivering a 10 pound baby with no drugs makes you feel like a superwoman. I was convinced that my body could do absolutely anything. I decided that if I could power through natural childbirth like a champ, then surely I could run 9.3 miles. So I signed up for the Gate in October. I hoped that signing up 5 months in advance would give me plenty of time and motivation to train for the race. I was wrong. Apparently, I'm still a procrastinator at heart...you'd think I would have grown out of that after college. Not the case. The new year rolled around and I still had yet to begin my training. Finally in late January, I began a very inconsistent running routine. I managed to run a 10k (6.2 miles) the Sunday before the Gate and up to that point, that was the farthest I had ever run in my entire life.

Going into race day, I knew that there was no way I would be able to run the entire race. I decided that my goal would be 7 miles (a personal record for myself) and then if I had to walk the last 2 miles so what. The 8th mile (out of 9.3) of the race is up and over the Hart Bridge (nicknamed "The Green Monster") and I knew that I wouldn't dare to try and run that mile of the race because I've heard the horror stories the thought of having to run up a bridge after already running for 7 miles terrified me. I was perfectly content with the idea of having a nice walk up the bridge enjoying the beautiful view.

Race day finally arrived and I was pretty nervous. I do not run with other people. It is not a social activity for me. In fact, I don't want anyone I know running anywhere near me. I hate feeling pressured and watched by other people when I am trying to run. I'm not a competitive person at all so I do not derive motivation from other people, I just get angry and uncomfortable and self-conscious. Therefore, Jared was instructed to part ways with me at the starting line. Plus, I knew he wanted to run at a faster pace than me so I didn't want to hold him back.

Getting ready to line up at the starting line...here goes nothing!

I was pretty proud of myself for keeping the same pace for the entire race. I knew it would be hard to maintain my pace at the beginning of the race because I would be all amped up for the race and everyone else would be taking off fast right off the starting line. I quickly realized that majority of the runners in my wave (12-13 minute mile pace) only run across the starting line for the picture and then about 100 yards out, they all just stop running and start walking. Slackers. This totally threw me off because I was just running along nice and slow and everyone was blowing past me and then all of a sudden I hit this wall of people who just came to a halt out of nowhere. I literally almost ran into a bunch of people. It was so frustrating. I basically spent the rest of the race weaving in and out people who would just randomly stop in the middle of the road. I'm pretty sure that I actually ran an extra half mile or so simply from crossing back and forth across the road constantly.

The first 5k of the race was super easy even with having to go over the Main Street Bridge during mile two. By the time I hit the 10k mark, I was pleasantly surprised by how awesome and energetic I still felt (thanks to my GU Chomps). I also felt a little extra kick of adrenaline because I was determined to make it to my 7 mile goal since I was so close at that point. Once I hit 7 miles, I just had to see how far I could really push myself.

Once I hit the Hart Bridge (aka: The Green Monster), I couldn't possibly quit now. I had made it so far and there were less than two miles left, that I just had to try and finish out running. As I headed up the bridge, I felt like I was going in slow motion and that even though I was running, I felt like I wasn't moving forward. However, the fact that everyone else around me was giving up and walking, kept me running. As I made it to the top of the bridge, I could see the finish line and knew that the final mile was downhill. The exhaustion and muscle pain in my legs was lifted away and I was ready to conquer that last mile. There was no way I was going to give up now, after running over 8 miles, I just had to finish.

Running that final mile was such a surreal experience. I was shocked and amazed. I could not believe what I had just accomplished and it was an amazing moment for me. For a minute, I seriously thought that I was going to cry out of sheer joy as I crossed the finished line, but I was just so excited that I couldn't help but smile from ear to ear. 

I finally earned my first piece of race bling and it truly felt well deserved. I still can't believe that I actually ran 9.3 miles start to finish, without stopping or walking. Going from being a total non-runner to a Gate River Run finisher is huge accomplishment for me and I will cherish this proud moment forever. I am so happy that I finally challenged myself to take on this goal that I've always dreamed about and successfully check it off of my bucket list!

Jared beat me (but only by 10 minutes!) and successfully completed his 2nd Gate River Run. 

I'm so glad that Jared and I were able to share in this awesome experience together and I'm thrilled that he was there to support me in my special moment! Congratulations to all of the runners!

Peyton's 1st Zoo Trip

We went on our first family outing to the zoo this month! I've been wanting to take Peyton to the zoo for a while now because I knew she would love it; however, Jared didn't want to miss out on her first zoo experience so we had to wait for a time that we could all go. Of course Peyton doesn't travel anywhere without her entourage, so Grandma DeeDee, Grammy and Auntie Erika came along for the fun as well!

We wanted to visit during the morning hours because that's when all of the animals are out so you can see them really well. This kind of stole into Peyton's nap time, but she didn't mind, she was having too much fun!

Admiring the rhinos with Grammy

Not sure who is more excited about the elephants here, Peyton or the grandmas/auntie?

My absolute favorite part...baby lion cubs!!!!

Checking out the lions with daddy

Peyton and I plotting out how we can steal one of the lion cubs and bring it home

Peyton was mesmerized by the giraffes. She loves them and I think that she could have stared at them all day. She was actually a little sad when we left their area. I can't wait to bring her back when she is big enough to actually feed the giraffes herself. 

Watching the giraffes with Grandma DeeDee

Too busy chatting away to smile for a photo with Auntie and Grammy

The new tiger exhibit was pretty cool, except that the tiger kept getting mad and wanting to either spray the visitors or hide away. 

We love the zoo! Peyton really seems to love animals so I have a feeling that there will be many zoo trips in our future. In fact, we already got a membership because it's such a good deal. 

She loved watching the penguins swim around too!

Of course we had to go on the carousel and sit on the giraffe. This kid loves a good carousel. 

We can't wait to go back to the zoo again soon!

Festival of Lights 5k

One of my favorite annual holiday traditions is the Festival of Lights 5k. It takes place in one of the historic neighborhoods of Jacksonville, with beautiful homes along the river decorated in Christmas lights and candle-lit luminaries lining the race route. People dress up, decorate their strollers, sing Christmas carols and just have a wonderful time walking together. This event is so full of magical Christmas joy and it always gets me in the spirit for the season. Oh, and of course, there are some people who actually run the 5k as well. However, we always go as a family and just walk together, enjoying the atmosphere.

I was so excited to have Peyton here with us this year to share in one of my favorite traditions of the season! Well, technically I guess she was here with us last year too since she was strolling along in my belly!  

My mom and I started participating in this walk about 5 years ago because we loved looking at the Christmas lights and the event benefits Children's Miracle Network (which is Phi Mu's National Philanthropy so it is close to my heart). We have made this one of our annual traditions and we've done it every year since then. And now we get to share the fun with Miss P!

We even adorned Peyton's "sleigh" with some magical light-up snowflakes that played Christmas music for us to enjoy along the way!

 Loving this wonderful time of year with my sweet little Santa baby!

Sykes and Cooper Farm

Allow me to introduce you to my new favorite fall tradition...the pumpkin patch/corn maze/farm combo. It's basically everything wonderful about fall all wrapped up into one awesome experience...plus, adorable photo opportunities! I've been begging Jared to take me to a corn maze for years now, but he claimed that was a "family with kids" activity and that he wanted to wait until we had kids to do that sort of thing. Lame excuse. Plus, we basically never have free weekends to do stuff like this because of our season tickets to FSU Football. We've got priorities around here. However, since this was Peyton's first Halloween/Fall, I insisted that we partake in all those fun, family, fall traditions this year for her sake. Ok, so really for my sake. Alright, mostly for the sake of my camera documenting these experiences. I couldn't possibly allow myself to look back on Peyton's first Fall and not have seized the opportunity to pose for photos on the farm for heaven's sake. I mean, what kind of mother would I be if I allowed such a travesty? A sane one, perhaps.

It was about 90 degrees on this "crisp" (as in burned baked in the oven crisp) fall day, and I had to haul about 50 pounds of baby crap from the field we parked in up to the farm, but oh my goodness did I have a blast. It was all worth it to get this adorable photo of my pissed off husband, over-heated sweaty 4 month old, and myself surrounded by the goodness of fall. Happiest mommy on the block right there.

If you live in Northeast Florida, I highly recommend Sykes and Cooker Farms in Elkton (South Saint Augustine near Palatka) for this type of family fall activity. We had a great time and I can't wait to take Peyton back next year when she is actually old enough to truly enjoy it.

Of course, we dragged our entire families along with us to suffer in the heat and watch our 4 month old be completely clueless about what the heck was going on around her. I'm pretty sure that my husband is never going to forgive me for forcing him to do this. Too bad, daddy.

Daddy is a least pretending to enjoy our little outing...even if only for Peyton's sake. That's parenting right there folks. 

Because everyone needs a family photo with a tractor. Welcome to North Florida. 

Peyton loves to dance with Grandma DeeDee

 Peyton's first pumpkin!

Only grandparents would tolerate scorching heat on a farm for nothing more than a photo and an experience (that the kid won't even remember) with an infant. Grandparents are so amazing.

We accidentally started out on the kids version of the corn maze, instead of the adult one. Well that turned out to be a blessing in disguise because we totally got lost anyways. This little family with small children let us go ahead of them at the beginning of the maze and by the time we found our way out, they were already done way before us. Epic fail. Apparently, it takes more than college degrees to get you out of a kiddie corn maze successfully.

And this is why my sister-in-law and I are basically best friends...we both share a love for acting like complete idiots together. No shame. Happy Fall Y'all!

Maternity Photos

When I told Jared a few months ago that I wanted to do a maternity photo shoot, he was less than thrilled. At first, I think he was actually confused. "Maternity photos, like that's a real thing that people do?" Yes, paying someone to take professional photos of you while you are fat and swollen is a real thing, and I wanted to jump on the bandwagon. I still don't think he is completely sold on why I believe this is a necessary part of a first pregnancy. However, he was a good sport and played along because he knows how obsessed I am with taking photos of everything.

I chose my photographer and location carefully. I knew what I ultimately wanted, but I also wanted to make this experience as painless as possible for Jared. My cousins use this one photographer for all of their maternity/newborn/kid/family photos and I always love how all of their photos turn out. Sold. I decided to use a local park sort of back in the woods as our location because I wanted to be able to have a little bit of privacy so that Jared and I didn't feel like we were on display out in front of a bunch of people watching us take our pictures. Plus, I didn't want the location to be too super girly for Jared. He likes the woods and water, so off to Alpine Groves Park we went.

Our photographer, Ariel with Ariel Rose Photography, did such an amazing job and I absolutely love how our photos turned out. She was great to work with and made us feel super comfortable the entire time. My favorite thing about her is that she is so good at giving directions. Posing while pregnant is really awkward and it's hard to tell what I look like because everything feels weird and uncomfortable. Not knowing how I look while I'm taking pictures makes me anxious and nervous because I'm terrified that I'm going to spend all this money and then not like the way I was standing or something. Luckily, Ariel was awesome about calling me out when she could see I was doing something that she knew I wouldn't like. For example, reminding me to relax my face or lift my chin up, trying out different positions to find the most flattering one, and telling me how to hold my arms or my dress to make me look as thin and "all belly" as possible. I love her for that.

Here are a few of my favorites from our shoot!

Ariel will be returning to do Peyton's newborn photos, and I can't wait to work with her again!