Slipping Away

Time....that is.

I don't know where it's going or where I've been. No, these aren't song lyrics, but they could be.

I'm just flabbergasted that it's been weeks since I've blogged anything at all. And that isn't to say that there's nothing notable to write about. Indeed the opposite.

October 6th marked the one year anniversary of Roger's passing. There was a lot of planning and preparation that went into the event that would memorialize this date – We Ride for Roger. There were many obstacles and challenges along the way, but 22 riders with "hard helmets and soft hearts" {to quote the story that First Coast News in Jacksonville did} made the 300 mile mission from that accident spot on Highway 20 in Bay County, Florida to dip the front tire of Roger's Cervelo into the Atlantic Ocean at Jacksonville Beach. I'm sure many of you saw the photos, videos and updates along the way on Facebook and Roger's blog. It was a touching tribute to a humble, sweet man that would have never wanted all of this attention. I was proud to call myself Roger's daughter-in-law and to be a part of this event that would also raise awareness for share the road and the deadly implications of distracted driving. Here were some of the highlight photos....

We love and miss you, Papa! I know you would have been so proud to see these group of riders banded together for you and your family.

This past week was about getting settled and unpacked. Piles of laundry have seemingly multiplied throughout the week and I wonder what I really did this week that was productive. Life seems to trump productivity at times. While we were in Jacksonville, we had a flat tire in our brand-spanking-new car {oh, yeah we bought a car}. I thought for sure the tire was defective. Turns out the dealership thought we ran over something and punctured the tire. The jury remains out, and so does the replacement spare, which apparently hasn't arrived yet.

Talk about a bummer to buy a car with hopes that you won't have to deal with breaking down on a long trip home {which is what happened the weekend prior on the drive home from Jacksonville in the old family vehicle that spurred the new car purchased in the first place} just to find yourself on the shoulder of I-10 calling for emergency back up. Luckily, one of the perks to the new car was 24-hour roadside assistance {props to Toyota for that} for the next 5 years. Also luckily, the new car is equipped with dual DVD players, which really come in handy when said vehicle is disabled on the shoulder of I-10 and two children get antsy. We were, however, all patched up and back on the road after about 15 minutes and one heavy downpour.

One of our "life" things this week was working on a ME timeline for Jack's school project - we chose to showcase his first five years on the "road of life". It turned out really cute and he was excited to share it with his class. They had a family picnic day at school on Friday, it was fun to go eat lunch on the grass with Jack and see all of his friends and their families.

This past weekend was about rest and relaxation, besides the little 5K that I ran for Jack's school fundraiser on Saturday morning. I did, however, take a well-deserved nap after a big brunch. This was the first 5K I've ever run and I finished in 30 minutes and 41 seconds. The last stretch of the 3.1 miles was an uphill climb to the finish. It was brutal. I felt pretty good about my finish considering it's been a good two weeks since I've even run or worked out at all. With everything going on recently, I just couldn't find the time. But I'm back in business this week to get ready for another 5K on October 28, where I hope to feel much better about my run.

Nancy and I did this run together {the first of many} and I realized one very important thing about my dear friend. She's super competitive! I'm sure that I've known this for many years, but I guess it's been so long that we've actually competed for anything {at least in my mind} that I must have forgotten how competitive she is. Let's just say, she left me. We have been running together at the gym and outside several times. Every time we run together when I stop, she stops {or I make her stop}. If she stops, I stop. On this very morning, I stopped at the refreshment station and walked to rehydrate and she left me. That's right, she just left me. So I ran to catch up and I winded myself, so I walked again. The rest of the run, I couldn't seem to catch up and she just wouldn't stop running. I'd like to think she nearly killed herself to cross that finish line before me. Here I thought we were in this together. Nope. We apparently aren't musketeers. I realize it's every woman for herself. 

Today we went to Multi-Cultural Day at Paige's preschool/church. They brought the two-year olds in first. Mostly the teachers sang and the kids just stared blankly at the audience. Paigey did pipe up with a shout out to her big bro in the audience half way through. It was pretty cute! She was the 3rd one from the left in the yellow dress. 

So weird that Paige is the one on stage and Jack is now the one in the audience.

This afternoon we attended a Halloween party at the Couches house. We painted pumpkins, ate yummy treats and played with friends. I caught the kids in a rare photo together with their masterpieces. Jack's was a vampire pumpkin and Paigey's was a perfectly girly glittered and polka-dot pumpkin.

I love my little beast and ghoul. Stay tuned for the Halloween costume reveal.