A 5k at 6pm in 86 degree heat on Saturday. I walked a good portion of it and it took me 29 minutes to finish, but there was a free dinner, beer included, at the finish line! This was the first race Calvin came to see, and we had a great time. After I ran, that is.
running 
Yesterday was the day of the annual Dexter Ann Arbor run. This was my first year of running in our local race, and it was also my very first time competing in a 10K (6.2 miles). I spent most of the past two months being absolutely certain that it would at least be cold and rainy, since my first go at the Shamrock Shuffle was such a weather disaster, but as it turned out it was a beautiful day for it, with temperatures in the low 50s at the start, and a 
warming, but not scorching, sun overhead. My goal, since I was well aware of the hills involved, especially the half mile long torturer leading up to the finish line, was to finish with a 10 minute mile average, and since I was only aiming to compete with myself in this race, I can confidently say that I won, finishing with a time of 55:28 (according to my stop watch), making my mile average just below 9 minutes. That is by far a personal best, and in 
my longest race yet to boot.
But I realize that this blog isn't about me, so let me get back to the most important character involved and say that Calvin also had a great weekend. Saturday night he had a dinner party with his Grandparents O and Aunt Ann (when we arrived to pick him up the house was completely dark and they were all playing with flashlights - you can only imagine the fun he had and how often we've 
heard about it since). He also got to see his uncle Curtis and friend Julie who came for the weekend to run in Sunday's race and to share the stories of their trip to Japan (from which they returned last weekend, and if I thought I did a great job running yesterday, you should know that they both beat me, even with only a week to recover from jet lag). And yesterday we closed out our race morning with an afternoon spent at the Taste of 
Ann Arbor. I can't really say that the crowds were worth it - it seemed like one of the most poorly organized of Ann Arbor events we've attended - but the food was good and Calvin, at least, enjoyed the live entertainment while we enjoyed great beer. Grandparents, visiting uncles, and live entertainment, oh my. Visit the May 2009 album one last time for pictures from this weekend and last.
activities, family, running, summer We're back from a long weekend in Chicago, a trip that this time felt more like a visit to the north pole. 
We left home Friday in nearly 60 degree temperatures and arrived in the big city at about 20 degrees cooler. And if that doesn't seem all that cold for you, imagine my dismay at getting up Sunday morning to a snow covered landscape and snow filled air, only an hour before we hit the slushy streets. The impetus for this trip was my inclination to run the 8K Shamrock Shuffle my brother and his friend, a decision I lamented only slightly as we stood shivering, waiting for the race to begin, but an 
accomplishment with which I am pleased, especially after finishing with a pace better than a 10 minute mile even with running in inches of slush and crossing the finish line soaked all the way up to the knees. I can't say I'd like to race in those conditions again, but race again I will; the Dex-Ann run is only two months away, though I doubt they hand out beers just past the finish line.
Of course there was more to the trip than just my running. We had a wonderful visit with my brother and his friend, and enjoyed such 
frivolities as Chicago deep dish pizza, a night at a jazz club, braving the cold for shopping on Michigan Ave, and an afternoon at the Museum of Science and Industry. I will say that traveling has become a bit more arduous as Calvin matures. He is still the fantastic traveler he always was – he sleeps just as well in a tiny walk-in closet as he does in his own room at home, and he didn't even blink at the time change or the massive obliteration of his daily 
schedule – but because he is so much more busy and interactive now than ever before, it is harder to settle into more confined spaces, like the car or the apartment, without the general peace suffering some injury. At home, where he has his own play room or bedroom, the constant singing and word play are great fun, and the time he spends playing alone are enough to recharge your energy for the next sequence of "why, why, why" (did we mention he 
has entered the why phase?), but in more confined quarters it is hard to get the reprieve needed to bolster your patience for the next onslaught. He was incredibly cooperative and happy the whole trip, he's just more tiring than he used to be and we/I owe a great thank you to my mom, who stayed behind to watch him on several occasions, allowing us to go to a jazz club Friday night, attend the runners' expo Saturday afternoon, and let Jon and dad come down to snap pictures and take care of our warm coats during the race.
The final day of our trip was a special gift, since Curtis realized only that morning (after walking all the way to work, of course) that he had the day off and could spend it with us, and we spent it all together enjoying the Museum of Science and Industry. Destinations like that become increasingly enjoyable as Calvin ages, and the talkative nature that makes him so tiring at other times made him quite fascinating during 
the museum trip. He especially loved any and every exhibit that had anything to do with a train, and, of course, the banana split we had for lunch (don't tell!) at the old fashioned ice cream parlor. It was the cherry on top of our weekend vacation. So now we are home. There are, of course, a great many more pictures. If you want to see them visit the March 2009 gallery. Happy spring!
Tuesday, tuesday, tuesday – dance class, laundry, dusting, work, and dinner – 
the routine is always oh so boring when following on the heels of a mini vacation such as the one to which we were treated this past weekend. On Friday, for Jon's birthday, my parents loaded us all in the van and treated us to a weekend in Chicago to visit Curtis, who also got older on Friday! Big city living is fun in small doses. Curtis's new apartment offers both a great location and a marvelous view (think walking distance to the Pier, Millennium Park, and the Magnificent Mile, all places that we visited), and even had a closet in which Calvin could sleep (important unless we 
all plan on going to bed at eight with the baby). On Friday we arrived in time to enjoy a fantastic birthday dinner, French style, at Cyrano's Bistrot. Mmmmm escargot. On Saturday we stuffed ourselves at breakfast, enjoyed a late morning outting to The Navy Pier (mmmmm local beer), and stuffed ourselves again with an early dinner at the Grand Lux Cafe. Mmmmmm carbs. And that brings me to the second reason for our weekend visit–The Chicago Marathon, in which both Curtis and his friend, Julie, were 
running. So Sunday morning we stuffed ourselves once again at breakfast and then made our way through Millennium Park (a fun destination in itself, too, what with the bean and Crown Fountain) and over to mile 26 of the 26.2 mile marathon route where we camped out against the barricades for an hour in order to see them run by (and snap some pictures, of course). A successful endevor! They both finished what was their first marathon in 
just under 4.5 hours AND managed to look pretty peppy in the aftermath. Our final day, Monday, found us shopping the Magnificent Mile and enjoying a deli lunch before packing it in and heading for home (at which time Curtis probably heaved a sigh of relief at having his apartment to himself again and the tme to rest his marathon weary legs). One more stop, this one for dinner at the nearly century old Schuler's in Marshall, Michigan, for their famed prime rib. And that brings us to today. How boring.
Pictures galore in the Chicago Trip album.