Awesome Kids

This past weekend was the Awesome 3000, one of the few Salem events that really is awesome. It is a citywide noncompetitive running event for kids 3 years old through 8th grade and it gets a couple thousand kids out moving on a Saturday morning.

1st and 2nd Graders out on the field lining up to run

Megan was up first and had been strategizing with her friend Stella on how they could do better than last year's casual jog. Megan decided she was sprinting the whole mile, but like her mom, she doesn't really have a sprint so she was out of the gate in about 30th place. By the time they lapped the softball field and came back to the track Megan was in 9th (out of about 100 2nd graders). The 8th place girl looked like she was dying, but when Megan pulled up alongside, she took off and held her place. Megan finished in 7:51. Afterwards I realized it was only a 1500 and not a mile so no sub-8 for Megan just yet, but still a big improvement from last summer's 8:52 mile time. Nothing spectacular, but at least a half dozen people told me Megan would do really well in a longer event. Hmmm, now I wonder where she gets that? ;) Mostly, I just love watching her run. Her stride is so loose and free - nothing like her mom's stiff hip shuffle!

Megan strides to the finish (almost a little too fast for the camera)

Liam does things a little differently than Megan. He started slow and ten minutes later came walking nonchalantly back to the track. He made sure to give every volunteer a high five. He sprinted past kids on the track, said hi, and then stopped to walk. He fired a few finger-gun shots into the sky. When we yelled at him on the homestretch he started his sprint finish...then stopped and just walked the last ten meters, definitely embracing the non-competitive aspect of the race. 13:03 for 1500 meters - definitely not last, but certainly a back-of-the-pack performance. But he had a great time and told me it was easy to do a mile (well, when you do it that slow...), and that is really what matters.

Liam looks around and takes his own sweet time to get to the finish

My kiddos - each awesome in their own way

After a hula-hoop cool down while refueling with an apple, it was off to soccer. Yeah, soccer mom time! ;) I don't think Megan has a ton of natural talent for the game, but she is focused and usually doesn't get too tired by the end, and that goes a long way in U-8 play. The team is 0-4, but most of them have been close and Megan has scored four goals, so she is having a good time. However, Saturday, she was dragging big time in the second half. Tough races and 80 degree weather will do that!

 Lucky for Liam, all he had to do was sit around and cheer. No doubt he was tired, too. Later in the day he got mad at me and had a fit. So he told me he was going to call up the orphanage to see if they would take him, so that he could get better parents. Is is appropriate to bust out laughing when your kid tells you he wants a new mom??

Liam tries to find the number for the orphanage in the phone book. Sadly, there was no listing under 'O', so he will be staying with us for the time being.

In other mothering failures, I am pretty sure I warped Megan against the field of medicine on Take Your Daughter To Work Day. I thought it'd be cool to check out a twin placenta together (yes, pathologists are weird) but Megan just stared at it with fear and told me it was gross...really gross. I had to tell her to get closer three times and I don't think she wanted to take her eyes off of it to take a picture. Fortunately, the other parts of my job were much more appealing, so maybe she'll reconsider.

 Eeew, gross!

 Eating donuts in the physicians lounge, because that is really what doctors do all day. But watch out for the surgeons. They are a bunch of greedy pigs who can demolish two dozen donuts before 9 am! That's the bariatric surgeon. Ironically, that guy would eat the donut right out of your hand if you aren't careful! 

 Now that's better - good clean, sanitary fun!

Otherwise we are just trying to make the most of this glorious weather while it lasts. Sadly, all this sunshine is very hard on my training - just too much I want to do, especially in the garden and it is way too light to get to bed before 9, which for me is important if I am going to get up at 4:30 and still be functional by the end of the week. I am not doing too well with that. Last Thursday on my day off, I laid down to take a nap at 2:30 and I slept right through Liam's karate at 5:30. More mom of the year points right there!

Looking forward to another crazy weekend centered around the McDonald 50k and a visit from Olga!