5 Year Update & One Magical Summer

Ever since Brayden turned 5 back in April, I've been in a bit of a denial about Kindergarten. How did it sneak up on us so fast? Knowing I truly wanted to make the most of the time we had this summer, I decided to turn the summer before he started Kindergarten into his most magical summer yet! 

Throughout the summer weekends, we swam, ate snow cones, went on road trips, visited the park, loved on family, swam some more, and by the time it was all said and done, I knew that our mission had been accomplished. 

This will likely be my last official "Brayden update" as he is now 5 years old and although he is still growing and changing, it's not as rapid as it was in previous updates. But, here we go...

Clothing: 5T tops - Shorts are mostly 4T or 5T. 

Pants have to be at least 5T because he's such a tall kid! 

He's in a size 11 shoe.

Weight: 42 pounds (estimated)
Height: 44 inches (estimated)

Watching Brayden grow into his own little personality has been so much fun. He's still silly and loves to make people laugh. He's definitely not the shy kid I was!

He still takes naps everyday and I'm fine with that because they do in kindergarten at his school, too! As far as eating goes - well, his variety hasn't changed much although some choices leave me scratching my head. Apart from his usual chicken nuggets, fries, sweet potato fries, spaghetti, pizza, tacos, yogurt, etc, he now will eat lettuce. Yes, like salad lettuce from a bag. He also loves a green smoothie concoction my mom makes. Kids are so funny!

Earlier in the spring, we took him to our local beach. It was such a nice afternoon and the weather was perfect! We had a great time until Jason hurt his foot (he's fine) but Brayden will tell you all about our day at the beach and how his dad injured his foot if you ask! 

He also played tee-ball this year which was SO interesting and a lot of fun to watch! For a first year kid, he learned a lot and I'm excited to see how next year looks for him! 

In June, we took a road trip to Missouri to visit family at the Lake of the Ozarks. We spent 80% of our time out on the water and Brayden LOVED it!

The whole week was very relaxing and something we all needed. It truly was a great getaway!

While in Missouri, we took him to his very first water park. He loved riding all the rides and sliding down all the slides, but he discovered the green slide pictured here and must have gotten on it about 100 times! He still talks about that water park today!

As the summer drew to a close, we packed our bags and headed to Disney World! I wanted to end Brayden's magical summer with a truly magical experience - at the most magical place on earth!

While there, we visited Blizzard Beach water park which was a first for all of us! It was fun but we were rained out of a good bit of our day (more on that later).

We also rode the Skyliner which y'all know is his absolute favorite!

We also said hello to several characters throughout the week, rode plenty of rides, ate a ton of yummy food, and just enjoyed being together!

I hated to see the summer end, but we returned home from vacation literally the day before Brayden started school. Nothing like making each and every single day count, right? :) 

...and now we have a big kindergartner! 

On his first morning as I was trying to get him dressed, he told me that putting on his uniform was so scary. I reminded him that he already has braveness inside of him because his name Brayden literally means brave! I am proud of how much of a rockstar he has been since that moment! 

At drop off, a sweet first grader was helping kids find their classroom. He asked where Brayden needed to be, we told him, so he took Brayden's hand and walked him to his classroom. Brayden never looked back. It was absolutely precious! 

He rocked his first day and has done amazing since! I am excited to see what this year has to hold! 

Here's to an incredible year 5! Brayden says it's been a pretty awesome one thus far! 

For those of you who have followed these updates for a while now, thank you!! I'll still be back with snippets of fun things in our lives and our crazy adventures so stay tuned! Thanks again for following along! It's been so much fun to share this journey with you!

Working Out On Vacation

School is out over most of the country and that means one thing - summer break is in session! For many families with school aged children, out of town travel and summer vacations tend to take place.

If you're like me when you travel, you like to keep up with some sort of running schedule while away. Most of the time for me, that doesn't necessarily involve a super long run but instead, several shorter runs throughout the week. In my mind, some running is better than none, right? Yep. :)

Before traveling, I tend to do a few things to prepare for the new area and new scenery I'm about to see - running some place new is always exciting!

#1: If staying at a hotel or resort, I always check to make sure a workout facility is available before I even confirm the booking. Running on a treadmill isn't my favorite thing in the world (I don't like it one bit), but I'll do it if I have to. Also, if a gym or workout facility is available, are classes offered? You could even try something new like yoga or spin!

#2: A little research of the area usually takes place - is the area around the resort/hotel safe for an outdoor run? Is there a special running path or set route already at the resort? Are sidewalks available?

#3: Does the area have a running group that meets at a set time/location? Meeting new runners is always fun and most of the time (in my experience at least), running groups are welcoming to new people! These groups will also have a set route available, that way you don't have to worry too much about where you're going!

#4: Is there a local race taking place during your vacation week? Running a new race in a new area is always fun, you don't have to worry about water or a route, and you usually get some sort of swag (a tshirt, medal, etc) for your efforts!

#5: This may sound silly, but packing my running shoes and running clothes usually gives me that little extra boost to get out the door and go for a run. I mean, if I took the trouble to bring the items with me, I might as well use them, right?

Whats your best tip for getting a run/workout in while on vacation?

It’s FRIDAY!
Link up with Running on Happy & Fairytales and Fitness for the Friday Five 2.0 linkup!