Aleksza Family Blog: The Active Alekszas

K with McGruff the Crime Dog
at the Heroes 5k

There have been instances where active and Aleksza would be seen as an oxymoron. This isn't one of them.

There were some things I neglected to mention in my most recent post. Events I was reminded of when I looked through the pictures. (Pictures can tell a story!!)

Allow me to share the things I missed in the last post...

We went to the last Flight of Honor for WW II vets at Raleigh Durham Airport on April 18th. It was a bit of a spur of the moment thing and I'm so glad we did it. It was an incredible event to be a part of. I had chills as we watched the heroes return from their trip to DC.

It gave us an opportunity to tell Katherine about the soldier heroes. She talked about the soldier heroes for days. We met a gentleman in the parking lot as we were returning to our car. He was wearing a Navy cap. We went over to him to say thank you for his service. As K and I talked to him he shared that he too was a WWII veteran and had been on the very first Flight of Honor to DC. He said he's attended nearly all of them to welcome home his comrades. It was wonderful to meet him and talk with him, even if it was only for a few minutes.

This was a view of some of the people there to welcome the heroes home.
Incredible sight.

Waiting for the heroes to arrive... We sang songs played by the UNC band.

The return... the individuals in blue shirts are the heroes. =)
Our deepest thanks and appreciation for their service to our Country and Her people.

Katherine at the
Primrose Spring Fling

In April Primrose, Katherine's school, hosted a week of events. The intent being to have fun while also raising money and teaching the children about giving back. One of the events was a hop-a-thon. The way it worked was she needed to ask friends & family to sponsor her for the hop-a-thon. She asked me to make a video for to send to the family. She did a great job raising money... The goal was for each child to raise around $5. Our girl raised around $100! How many hops did she do?! Check it out...

We are so proud of our lil hopper!!

Then we had Stephen's first 5k race. He's been working hard over the last few months to prepare for it. We picked a race in Raleigh (The Run for the Heroes 5k). Somehow every time there's a race downtown I think we're going to find the flat streets. I've determined there are no flat streets in downtown Raleigh.

Stephen did very well and finished the race strong! We were all very proud of him. I also learned that speaking to him in the last .25mi of the race is a very bad idea. Oops. I've learned my lesson.

After Stephen and I finished the 5k Katherine had a kids race. She did great too. They didn't bestow medals on all of the kids, like they did at the first race, but fortunately we were prepared for that. She still got her medal. She also had what I think was a super cool t-shirt for her race. (They didn't give the kids t-shirts in this race either.)

Katherine's super cool t-shirt
*yes, I'm quite proud of myself!*

She couldn't wait to meet McGruff!

Just before the race started! :)

Go Stephen go!!! =)

Game face!!!

Next up was Katherine's first dance recital. A big event for the whole family. New leotard, tutu, tiara, tights... Girl was done up! She had a wonderful recital. She did decide, mid-recital, to let her Aunt Nikki know she saw her and was watching her in return. I'll admit to snorting with laughter. Girl is ridiculous.

I'm Watching You!!!
(Our girl is the last one on the right.)

Post recital she received a ballerina trophy, flowers (from Stephen and I) and then she picked the restaurant for dinner. She chose the "Mac & Cheese Place" ~ Also known as Sweet Tomatoes. She insisted on remaining in her dance costume AND taking her flowers in for all the world to see. :)

The Recital Program

Warming up prior to the recital

Katherine & her friend Bella showing off their trophies

We're so proud of our little ballerina!

Ready to go to dinner! :)

The latest activity event was a half marathon last weekend. I signed up for this because I saw the medal and I had to have it. It's a cool medal. It's got a crown on it with gems & a spinning little pink stone that you can put your picture on the other side. I also signed up because just before the finish line you get a boa and crown so you can finish in style.

I've trained off/on for the last 3-4 months. I won't say I trained the hardest I ever have for half, but I didn't train the least either. Needless to say I did not have a PR. I'd hoped... but no go. It was the slowest half I've had out of the three I've done, but I felt the strongest I've ever felt in one. Usually around mile 9 or 10 I'm toast. This time I was able to keep going. I did slow down (courtesy of a pebble in my shoe).

Some things I did differently was I drank water at every water station sans one. (I usually avoid the water stations so I don't slow down... I'm convinced this is one of the reasons I get exhausted at the 9 or 10mi mark.) I also ate some chomps about half way through. They were delightful. :)

I had the best cheering team a girl could hope for. And they had their donuts & coffee/milk as I ran as is customary of our family & half marathons. :)

Some of the bests of the event:

Best sign: My girls... She wrote mom & drew a picture of me running. Wicked cute. I didn't quite get it until after the race.
Funniest sign: A young boy holding a poster that said "This is the worst parade EVER!" A close second was the young boy who was holding a sign about .5mi away from the finish line that said "The bathroom is just past the finish line!!" <- Seriously a welcome tip!!!
Funniest shirt: Runner Girls are HOT!!! (Worn by quite a dashing man who kept moving to keep up with the runners. I passed him 4 times. He was constantly cheering.
Most motivational Group: A group of about 5 guys that I passed twice. The first time I did they were singing "I'm sexy and you know it" at the "wiggle wiggle" part... I couldn't help myself. When I saw them the second time they said "here she comes!!!! READY?!" and sang the wiggle part again. I have no idea if they were mocking me... It didn't matter. It made me laugh. =)
Worst encouragement: The guy who yelled (at mile ONE) You're almost finished!! He found himself sooooo funny! ;)

I was so grateful for the support of Stephen and Katherine. There were moments I nearly bailed on running the race but then I remembered the medal... and that Stephen tackled his race. His determination was a big part of my getting out there to do it! Thanks babe!!!