Second Quarter Fitness

I am writing this post to keep up with accountability for my exercise routine. As I wrote back in April, the record-keeping aspect of my fitness plan in 2013 has really helped to push me on days when I need the extra motivation. I still love tracking my running mileage and the bookkeeping aspect is inspiring most of the time.

Running totals for the second quarter were:
April - 116.8
May - 123.4
June - 100.8
Second Q Total - 341
Year-to-date - 645.4

Highlights for the second quarter included running more than in the first quarter (nice spring weather in Texas helped!), running a fun and inspiring half marathon in May, and completing another 8-week round of Best Body Bootcamp (BBB). Since BBB ended a month ago I have been cross-training through recycled BBB routines from my past experiences and experimenting with different Bodypump-style group fitness classes at the gym.

I am happy with the above numbers and will continue to record my mileage because it helps me a lot For example, see how June was 100.8 miles? That is not a coincidence, I really pushed myself on my last workout in June to break the 100+ mileage goal in June even though I was really tired and sore that day. With the summer Texas heat upon us now I have a feeling that the running numbers will stay on the lower side, though my goal will remain running 100+ miles per month. I have been trying to run between 6-8 miles outside a few times a week just to keep up my endurance and not feel defeated by the heat, but with temperatures in the 80s at 6:00 a.m. that is becoming less appealing. Yesterday I ran in the gym because I didn't want to feel the oppressive heat.

Last thing I like about recording mileage? I can see what the number of miles translates into from a geographical perspective. 645 miles is about the distance from Dallas to St. Louis, Missouri! I don't know where I am going with this virtual running all over the globe, but saying I have run from Texas to Missouri so far this year sounds cool to me.

With all the above stated, we are off on vacation until July 8. I will likely run very few miles during this trip and instead will prefer finding ways to stay active through our family trip activities (walks along the coast of Maine and through downtown Boston sound like an awesome break from running!). I am totally fine with this and will catch up on July when we are back in Texas. Now, off to enjoy our family vacation!

Gaylord Texan

The kids and I decided to celebrate Father's Day a little differently this year. Instead of treating Scott to tangible gifts, we decided to kidnap him for the weekend so that he could enjoy special time with his family instead. I instigated the idea but Amelia and John were 100% excited about it. They actually wanted to blindfold Scott for the car ride but I convinced them that having the destination be a surprise was sufficient.

Saturday morning the kids presented Scott with a handmade note that informed him that he was being taken to a special place for the weekend. The note did not provide any details, other than the fact that he should pack an overnight bag, including a swimsuit. We left the house around 12:30 and stopped for lunch at Fuel City for what some say are the best tacos in Dallas.

Yes, we ordered cheap tacos from a window (see line of people above) in a gas station (next to a jail) in south Dallas and watched the 18-wheelers fill up at the pump while we ate out of styrofoam containers. Talk about a classy way to begin Scott's father's day weekend! And yes, the tacos were delicious. Bonus was that the kids liked them too and didn't complain at all about the unusual choice.

The next stop was the Gaylord Texan, a huge convention center hotel located near DFW airport about a 20 minute drive from Fuel City. I had planned for us to stay overnight at the Gaylord as the big father's day surprise.

While the hotel itself is very nice, the big attraction (for us, anyway) was the large waterpark on site for guests staying at the property. 

The park had a huge shallow pool, splash fountains everywhere, a large slide, a lazy river, and a zipline. There were hundreds of lounge chairs scattered along the water's edge and waiters to bring you all the food and beverages you wanted to enjoy. This was like a small luxury tropical resort situated in the heart of Texas! With temperatures in the low 90s (not bad for Texas in June) and lots of sunshine, this was perfect for us. We spent three hours Saturday afternoon and about five hours on Sunday enjoying this beautiful waterpark. Because the park is only open to hotel guests, it never got very crowded and we could pretty much walk onto all the attractions.

Below Amelia is on the zipline.

John enjoyed playing water basketball.

There was lots of laughter in the lazy river, easily the children's favorite part of the waterpark!

After lots of fun in the sun during the afternoon, on Saturday evening we spent some time exploring the large atrium inside the hotel. There were several "street" performers out in the lobby area. Below is a huge cowboy, and behind him you can see the replica of the Alamo that was part of the wall of the hotel building.

The gold man below was sitting quietly on a bench. It took us a few minutes before we realized that he was a real person!

 The man nodded in gratitude when John gave him a tip.

Below is a mosaic to remember the Alamo as a decoration on the floor.

And a large model train set with artwork depicting the Texas state flag. There were dozens of specially painted Texas stars across the lobby, each with a story about the artist.

And what Wilson family photo wouldn't be complete without a reference to a Miami sports team? Yes,  to complicate the otherwise awesome photo of Scott, John, and Amelia with lovely smiles on their faces, we also get to enjoy a Miami "U" symbol.

Overall this was a great and relaxing family weekend, and a super fun way to celebrate Scott and Father's Day!

Scenes from the Nasher

When Scott's parents were in town for a visit last month we enjoyed a fun Sunday outing to the Nasher Sculpture Center. Located in the downtown arts district, the Nasher is a renowned museum completely devoted to art sculptures. 

While the Nasher gets a lot of acclaim for its outdoor garden, there were over a dozen pieces on display indoors as well. 

And while I wouldn't necessarily say that modern sculptures are my favorite type of art, I really enjoyed our visit to the Nasher because it was a fun and different activity for us. Viewing sculpture is enjoyable to me, and since I don't know what to make of the modern structures most of the time I feel like it's enough just to relax and appreciate what the artist might have been thinking when he/she was creating the piece.

Towards the end of our visit to the garden, Scott decided it would be funny to ask John to replicate the poses of some of the sculptures. I don't know who was laughing more - Scott, for thinking of the funny ideas, or John, for being game to embarrassing himself in the garden like this, or the rest of the group, for laughing at John and Scott laughing at each other.

And that is how the Wilsons visit the Nasher.

P.S. Despite my inner-desires to have our family behave more civilized in public, I will admit that this was funny, probably more so than the pictures depict.

Ballet recital

Last week was the first week of June, which means it is recital time! This was Amelia's sixth year taking ballet lessons at the Etkin-Atkinson Ballet School in Dallas. This year was a big milestone for Amelia as she increased her dance lessons from one day a week to two days a week, which brought her up to the level where the girls are given the opportunity to experience ballet en pointe. Amelia's teachers, Bill and Ann, let the girls perform their recital number en pointe, which was very exciting!

I snapped one decent photo during dress rehearsal, where Amelia is at the center of the circle below. On stage the girls' costumes looked pink in color, though you'll notice that in the photos below the costume is depicted in the more realistic lavender color.

The girls in the class wore pink, mint green, or lavender costumes. Amelia is on the far left in the back row wearing her lavender costume, and this photo was taken backstage on the day of the recital. Amelia looks short in this photo, though I believe she was about average in height for her class. This was Amelia's first year participating in a more "advanced" class and she was definitely one of the youngest in the group.

I didn't like the black trim and the white lace on her costume at first when Amelia brought it home, though I did grow to like the costume when Amelia and her classmates wore them in person. The costumes definitely looked great in the multiple pastel colors onstage.

More backstage photos...

Recital day is always fun, and this year was no exception. Amelia danced beautifully and I am proud of the way she kept up with the more challenging class this year. Beautiful girl, Amelia did a great job! I am crossing my fingers that she decides to stick with ballet for (at least) one more year.

Celebrations

Friday was Amelia and John's last day of the school year. The past week was filled with lots of celebrations, from the Totally Texas Tuesday barbecue lunch for the fourth graders, to end of year class parties, Amelia's end of season volleyball party and end of the year TAG dinner, and finally the fourth grade promotion ceremony. I have lots of photos to share as we reflect on the end of another successful school year.

John and his first grade teacher, Miss Mewhirter. Miss Mewhirter is an outstanding teacher! John has grown so much this year and Miss Mewhirter deserves a lot of credit for working well with him and understanding John's personality.

Amelia and her fourth grade teacher, Miss Golman. Miss Golman is fantastic! She places a lot of emphasis on developing the kids' love for reading and writing, and I know that her encouragement of Amelia's writing was instrumental in helping Amelia to nurture her enjoyment of writing for fun.

Amelia and her volleyball coach, Coach Cormier. This was likely the last season that this group of girls will play volleyball together and Coach Cormier has been essential to creating a strong team of girls who are enthusiastic about playing volleyball. We have had four fun seasons of volleyball!

Parents versus girls volleyball game at the end of the year team party. This was so much fun!

Amelia and her beloved TAG teacher, Miss Villanueva. Miss Villanueva has taught Amelia's math and explorations classes for the past three years so she has really gotten to know Amelia's personality and learning style well. Miss Villanueva has a passion for teaching children with tons of creativity and Amelia has blossomed in her classroom.

The fourth grade promotion ceremony took place on Friday. The fourth graders filed into the gym in the style of a graduation ceremony and received certificates recognizing the completion of elementary school. Several of the students read speeches reflecting back on their best memories of University Park, and the principal and other teachers gave speeches celebrating the students' accomplishments. 

A highlight was the sentimental slideshow, which included a baby/toddler photo of each child followed by a photo from the current year. The fourth graders had a lot of fun with the photos, shouting out guesses of who was who when the baby photo went up, with the answer revealed in the next photo when they could recognize the face in the fourth grade picture.

Amelia is receiving her certificate from Dr. Carter below.

After the ceremony the fourth graders participated in the "clap out". The clap out is an annual tradition where the students in kindergarten through third grade line the halls of the elementary school, clapping their hands and cheering as the fourth graders parade through the school for the last time. The fourth graders then exit the front door of the school where the parents stand along the sidewalks continuing the clap out. Amelia is coming down the stairs in the blue dress below.

Amelia on the last day of school in 2013...

...and on her first day of kindergarten.

What a great five years for Amelia at UP!

P.S. I just had to include this first day of kindergarten photo of both kids because it is so adorable. When John saw the photo on my computer just now he shrieked and told me that I had to delete it. After watching the fun Amelia and her classmates had watching the fourth grade slideshow, I have already started brainstorming which embarrassing baby photo of John's to include in his class slideshow!