My Mother’s Day

I had a great Mother’s Day hiking around Mt Cheaha.  I didn’t really know what to expect since we had never been before, but it turned out to be a great day.  The hikes were all pretty short, with some decent views, so we got to enjoy most of the park.  Thankfully, the girls love to hike.  Climbing up the Observation Tower was another story though.  Samantha was very nervous.  I think she might be afraid of heights (like some unnamed father of hers…).  We stumbled upon the best view while on the Rock Garden Trail, so we decided to have our picnic lunch looking out towards the lake and the waterfall.  It was lovely.  Thanks Brian and girls for making my day special.

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I did it!

My first official 5K was for the Junior League of Birmingham 5K for Kids. A colleague is Race Day Chair, so I thought I would join in and support her cause. It was a great first race, with almost perfect weather! My official time was 32:33, and I placed 19th in my age group. Samantha was disappointed that I didn’t win, but I had to explain that it’s ok because I tried my best and I was proud of myself.  

Overall Race Results
Age Group Race Results

Vulcan showed up at Regions Field too!

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New Year’s in Gatlinburg

After Christmas, we headed to Gatlinburg to celebrate Christmas and the New Year with the Mauters.  The weather was cloudy and cold, but we did see a little blue sky.

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I finally remembered to pick up some National Park passports so that we can begin tracking our National Parks.  Too bad I forgot to get them while at the Grand Canyon a few months ago…

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Overall, we had a great time, and even got to celebrate a 1st birthday!  Happy Birthday Wesley!

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And of course, with all the traffic/car issues we had while there, it wouldn’t be complete without a flat tire on the way home.  Nice.

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Christmas Eve

We stayed at home on Christmas Eve and started our day making sugar cookies.  Samantha has been begging me to make some, so I thought we’d spend our day off making treats for our neighbors and for Santa!

Brian does a good job rolling out dough.  I always make it too dry.

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And I helped with the decorations.

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Then we took our Reindeer Food outside to sprinkle in the yard.  The girls LOVE doing this every year.  Luckily, they both came home with a pack from school.

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Now, we’re ready for Santa!