4th of July Weekend {Pictures}

The 4th of July is one of my favorite holidays. Our little town has fun festivities and there's always so much to do. Plus, my family usually comes to visit.

This year, my parents brought along my niece and two nephews. Little Miss Sunshine absolutely loved having other children to play with. She was so excited about everything going on. It was pretty cute.

We kicked off the weekend with a trip to hubby's parents' farm. The kids love to go out there and experience it all since they live in the Chicago area. It's not something they get to do often! Little Miss Sunshine was very happy to show them everything.

We had a delicious home cooked dinner and then spent time outside keeping the kids entertained! Hubby took them on four-wheeler rides.

And they requested a ride on the old tractor. They wore their bike helmets because they said they would get in trouble if they didn't. Hubby drove slow and everything!

It was a beautiful and cool evening and fun to be outside.

It's always nice knowing that it's a safe place to run around. Lots of open areas to explore without having to worry about cars and what not.

I love this picture of my parents!

I woke up Sunday feeling sick and that lasted all weekend. I was still able to enjoy the holiday though. I just didn't eat much-- which isn't a bad thing!

The festivities began Sunday evening. We started with the kiddie parade. Hubby and I walked with the kids as they scootered and hubby pulled Little Miss Sunshine in the wagon.

They all enjoyed playing at the park after that. Each of them got a free ticket for a ride, so they took advantage of that.

And then it was time to relax a while. All of the grand babies just love Grandma!

We didn't participate in the 5K this year, maybe next year. We started the 4th of July watching the parade.

The older kids got way too much candy! They had a lot of fun and the competition to get to the candy first was fierce!

The kids spent the majority of the day at the celebration in town. They were spoiled by the grandparents!

We tried out a Star Wars volcano toy and it was cool for a couple of seconds. It was like one of those science experiments where you use vinegar, baking soda, and dish soap to make the volcano "erupt".

While we waited for it to get dark outside for fireworks, the kids painted!

I have started painting a little bit and I love it. I'm no artist, but it's really fun and is therapeutic. Here is a piece I'm currently working on.

Once it was dark, we enjoyed the fireworks! The kids had fun playing with their glow sticks and sparklers. Little Miss Sunshine loved the fireworks. She was so excited and Oohing and Ahhing the whole time.

It was a very busy weekend! We had a lot of fun.


How was your holiday? Did you do anything special?

Walking a 5K Race & Inspired

We signed up for our annual 4th of July 5K towards the last minute. Last year, we signed up but weren’t able to make it. I honestly wasn’t sure if I was ready to participate in a 5K yet, but starting the Couch to 5K inspired me to sign up. Hubby has been wanting to run one by himself but always sticks with me, so I asked my dad if he wanted to walk with me this year and he agreed.

In the past, I have always done a walk/run or just run—but I have to say that I enjoyed walking the 5K probably more than I ever enjoyed running. It’s fun to try to get a new PR, but I had more fun just walking it this year.

This was my dad’s first 5K race and my first in a long time! I was worried that I wasn’t going to be able to make it, but once we got started that worry faded away. My dad kept up the pace and I had to keep up with him! I tend to slow down as I go, so it was good that he kept up the pace. I enjoyed our conversation!

When we neared the finish line, my dad said we were going to finish arm and arm at the same time, so that’s what we did! We finished in 1 hour and 23 seconds. It didn’t matter that they had already taken down the finish line cones and that they were already announcing the winners. It wasn’t about winning.

Hubby finished in 33 minutes by doing a run/walk—I’m proud of him since he hasn’t run for a long time!

This was the first race where I truly felt that it didn’t matter how slow I was—the important thing was that I was out there and being active. The only one that I need to compete with is myself and it doesn’t matter that almost everyone else finished way before we did.

Lots of people on the race route encouraged us and told us we were doing way better than they were since they were just sitting in their lawn chairs and watching. I think it’s important for those of us who are overweight to just show up. I hope that maybe someone, who was just watching and thinking they could never do it, was inspired.

I was certainly inspired by the man who came in last (the only person who was after my dad and me). He was probably 500 lbs. and he walked by himself until the very end when I noticed a few kids went back and walked part of the way with him to help him finish.

He showed up and didn’t care what other people might think about him, or even if he did worry about it he didn’t let it stop him. I could tell that he was proud of himself for finishing. The look on his face told it all. It was so motivating to see him out there giving it his best. He proved that if you set your mind to something you can achieve anything.

Fitness is for everyone and it’s not all about competition—it’s about showing up and finishing.

Happy Birthday America

Happy 4th of July to all of you- whether you’re celebrating Independence Day or, if you’re not in the U.S., today is just another Saturday.

I am enjoying time relaxing with family after wearing myself out at a 5K this morning.

How are you spending the holiday?