4 on the 4th and Festivities!

Over the years, a "staple" race for me has been our hometown 4th of July race. I've missed a year or two here and there due to injury or being out of town but for the most part, I've run this race every year. Despite my new hamstring injury this year, I still decided to do this race with a plan of "taking it slow". Besides, I had a Triple Crown medal at stake here and after having run the Athletes Corner 3 miler back in March and the Contraband Days 5 miler in May, I knew I HAD to do it, even if that meant walking the entire thing.

Somehow, a race recap from the Contraband Days 5 miler (from May) never made its way here, but during that race, I ran/walked the entire thing with a few friends due to our Relay for Life event the night before. Going into the 4 miler, I knew if I could just get to mile 3 by run/walking with my friends again, I would make it...and make it I did!

 

It was a hot one (as always) for the race, but the sun was hiding behind a cloud most of the time which made it bearable.

My dad was so generous to come out and watch Brayden while we ran. He used to come out to cheer me on by himself but now, he has a buddy to visit with!

Jason was working nights, so he sadly missed the entire day. Whomp whomp. 

This course took us down the lake, out and back. They also had PLENTY of water stops and gatorade, too!

The miles seemed to fly by for me as we chatted and before I knew it, we were almost finished. About .2 miles from the finish line, we passed Brayden and my dad. Brayden started crying because he wanted me, so we ran the remainder of the race together. He LOVES going for a run with mom! Sweet boy!

(Side note, I wouldn't have minded running this race with him but I'm super glad I didn't. After taking his stroller, I could really feel my hamstring pulling for just those last 0.2 miles.)

Triple Crown!

They've offered this option for the past several years and I've only done the full set twice so far. I'm glad they change the medal from year to year, too!

Kona Ice was out there for a frozen treat after the race. I wasn't going to get one, but when I saw "Lavender Lemonade" on the list, I knew I had to try it! The flavor of this one was amazing and reminded me of a Violet Lemonade from the Flower and Garden Festival at EPCOT. I love having little tastes of Disney at home!

After breakfast and showers, we headed over to my friend Kim's house for a lunch time BBQ! All of the food was delicious!

That evening, my community hosted its first ever "Red, White, & Boom" event, complete with fireworks. We had SO much fun! My parents came with us to enjoy the evening and we had a great time!

There were food trucks from vendors in our community which was fun as well as jump houses for the kids.

Side note, when I saw these matching shirts at Kohls in the spring, I knew I had to have them!

Brayden LOVED "driving" the firetruck and playing on the slide. He also really enjoyed the fireworks!

At last count, I heard over 4400 people were in attendance which is huge for my small-ish community. We usually go to the larger event located in the nearby town for the 4th, but wanted to support our community on its first year and I'm so glad we did! We were also home by 9:30 since we didn't have near as much traffic to fight. Score!

My friend Kim was there too and we had fun hanging out with them! In all, it was a great day!! Happy birthday, America!

What did you do for the 4th?

10th Anniversary Vacay - Day 8 Castaway Cay

Our final day on board the Disney Fantasy was spent at Castaway Cay! We had a blast on the island and loved running the 5K! If you've missed previous recaps, check them out below:

• Day 1 Animal Kingdom and Epcot & VLOG
• Day 2 Boarding the Disney Fantasy & VLOG
• Day 3 Day at Sea with Remy Brunch & VLOG
• Day 4 Cozumel & Chichen Itza & VLOG
• Day 5 - Grand Cayman & Sting Ray City & VLOG
• Day 6 - Jamaica & Ziplining & VLOG
• Day 7 - Second Day at Sea with Palo Brunch & VLOG
• Day 8 - Castaway Cay Day & VLOG

Our morning began with room service breakfast that we enjoyed on the verandah while watching the sunrise!

We also had the chance to watch the ship dock at Castaway Cay which was super fun!

Our group was set to meet early in the Walt Disney Theater for the 5K. I am seriously amazed at the volume of people doing these races now over the past few years. I still remember our first cruise in 2009 when only like 8 of us showed up for the 5K!

We were delayed with the 5K due to a decent sized storm that was passing through. After it mostly passed, we were directed out to the pier for our long walk to the start line of the 5K. They were also randomly handing out ponchos at the gangplank - you know, those $20 ponchos from the parks? Yes, they were handing them out to us like no big deal. They might not actually be $20 but I'm pretty sure they are like $16!

By the time we made it to the start line for the 5K, the rain had completely passed and it was turning out to be a beautiful day!

Up next on our agenda was a snorkeling adventure. I'd never snorkeled at Castaway Cay and I wanted to see the hidden Mickey and Minnie underneath the water!

Mission accomplished! We spent a little over an hour snorkeling the entire area here. It was really pretty and I liked the themeing but there weren't a lot of fish which was kind of disappointing.

The boys had taken a fishing excursion that morning so we waited for this at Cookies 2.

 They joined us not long after we arrived and we dug in and enjoyed some BBQ!

This cookie was as big as my head!

After lunch, we spent the remainder of our time at Serenity Bay, just relaxing and enjoying each other's company. We also got in the ocean for a little while which was fun!

 

After a FULL day at Castaway Cay, we decided to head back to the ship to change for dinner! We were excited for Animator's Palate that night!

Goodbye, Castaway Cay! Until next time!

As we pulled away from the dock, these workers were waving with their giant Mickey hands! So cute!

I'd never eaten at the new and improved Animator's Palate, so this was super fun!

We also had to snag a picture with our wait staff on our final night.

Aaaaand being the big nerds that we are...so, we all purchased these outfits on Castaway Cay and so did half of our ship because EVERYONE had these on! You see the guy behind us that photo bombed us in the above picture? Yes, he had one on, too! Hah!

After dinner, we walked around and took pictures with a few characters who were out and about!

I'm still cracking up about our matching outfits. We are so dumb.

We also watched the "Until We Meet Again" presentation in the lobby which was really cute and sad all at the same time.

 
It was our final night on board the ship and our final towel creation!

We had such an AMAZING time on board the Disney Fantasy and I can't wait to do it all over again! We loved spending time with our friends and being on board a new (to us) ship! Now we've officially traveled on all four Disney Cruise Line ships! How fun!

Thanks for sticking by through all of these recaps! We really had a great time and I'm looking forward to a repeat next year (hopefully with an Eastern Itinerary) on the Disney Fantasy again! See ya real soon! :)

2015 4 Miler on the 4th Recap

This past weekend, I ran a 4th of July 4 Miler in my hometown! It's a yearly tradition that I've missed twice since I began running - once because I was recovering from IT Band issues and again because it fell on the weekend of my grandfather's funeral.

This time though, our area was offering a special medal for running their 3-race series which began in March and continued through July! All four of us began the journey together and we all completed it together!

The night before the race, I laid out all of my clothes and accessories - after last year's fiasco, I wanted to make sure i was prepared! (By the way, stay tuned this week for a special review/giveaway of non-slip headbands from KatieDid Productions!)

Thankfully, I woke up with my alarms and made it to the start of the race with plenty of time to spare! YAY!

As the race began, I felt great - I knew it was going to be a great morning and it felt as if everything just "clicked".......until my skirt began to give me fits. You see, this sparkle stars running skirt is a slip on - one that doesn't have bottoms attached. I'm dumb and forgot to pin the skirt to my compression shorts (like I ALWAYS DO). Therefore, the skirt kept riding up the entire race. I know it wasn't riding up terribly far, but it was enough to make me uncomfortable.

This course was out and back and on the two miles out, I felt great and my pace was on target. They had plenty of water stops and even included a few with gatorade.

On the mile back, I felt as if I gave this race everything I had in my tank - it was hot and humid, the sun was beating down with very little shade, and my legs felt very heavy. I kept asking myself, "are you SURE this is all you got?" and yes, I know without a shadow of a doubt that it was. I just couldn't give anymore.

My friend and his wife stood at the finish line and handed out high fives as runners came through...I loved it!

As I approached the finish line, I saw my PR slowly tick by. Four seconds off. FOUR.

I wasn't too upset about it, though. I mean, you seriously can't PR every single one. I went out, had fun, and got some miles in with friends on the 4th...what more could I have asked for?

My husband captured this picture of me after crossing the finish line...teeheee!

After a little recovery, I went out in search of my Triple Crown Medal!

Triple Crown complete - Athletes Corner 3 Miler, Contraband Days 5 Miler, and 4 on the 4th!

After my friends crossed the finish line, we had fun with the podiums! 

Then exhaustion took over!

After hanging around for a few minutes, we decided to have breakfast at a local diner! It was so good! The french toast was like powdered sugar overload!

I appreciate my husband and dad for coming out and cheering us on during the race! It was great having them there!

Following the race, we spent a little time at  a co-workers house for a 4th of July party!  I took to Pinterest for dessert ideas and I love the way it turned out! Thanks, Pinterest!

Love this patriotic Mickey flag from Walgreens!

On Saturday night, we had my parents over for BBQ. We also had Star Wars mac & cheese...just because. 

 After dinner, we drove downtown to see the fireworks. We also met up with Kenzie and her family again!

Such a fun end to a fun day!

Does your area have any 4th of July celebrations? Race/Parade/Fireworks, etc?