Mud Run

A few months ago, LaVor found some information about a mud run for kids.  The Lime was on board from the start and we've been counting down ever since.

Yesterday was the big day and The Lime was ready!  One parent was able to run alongside the child and The Lime chose LaVor.  Maybe next year we'll all be able to participate.

We arrived early and got to watch the first group start/finish.  Every person we saw cross the finish line was way too clean.  The last obstacle was a full on army crawl through mud but kids were climbing over the ropes!  And parents had the option to bypass the mud, which most of them chose to do.  I encouraged The Lime (and LaVor) to get as muddy as possible.  Heck, that's why we were here!

Before we knew it, it was time for the boys to line up and get stretchin'.

Their bodies were warmed up and it was time to begin!

Doodlebug and I were able to see The Lime go over one obstacle and then we parked it at the finish line to catch them at the end.

Doodlebug loved pointing out all the dirty people (and there were lots of them at this point!). One girl even dunked her entire head in the mud :)

Before we knew it, we spotted LaVor's hat and The Lime swung his way over a mud puddle (but dropped midway...possibly on purpose). Then it was the finale...the army crawl!

Go big or go home! Just don't eat the mud :)

We ran into LaVor's aunt, uncle, cousin, and his family as we were headed to the rinse off location. It was great to catch up with them and we wished them luck (and lots of mud) on their run.

LaVor tried to hose as much of the mud off of him and The Lime but there was a line of kids behind them so we had to call it quits. They rinsed off in the parking lot and changed into clean, dry clothes. The Lime sighed with relief when he put on his warm socks and dry shoes.

We finished the day off with lunch at Dad's Kitchen. The Lime worked up an appetite and ate every.single.thing. off his plate. We left with full bellies and all took good naps when we got home.

It was a great day!

Summertime in San Francisco

We woke up Saturday morning with two destinations in mind; Yountville/Calistoga or San Francisco. One was 97*, the other 73*. Guess which one we chose?

We got a late start which meant more traffic, but that's okay! At least we got to go.

At dinner Friday night, we were watching the Giants/Padres game at Chili's. The Lime's first request in the city was to see AT&T park. We walked around the backside of the stadium and got there just in time for them to sing "Take Me Out to the Ball Game". While we couldn't see into the park at this point, we got a show of our own.

LaVor and I don't have the best of luck when it comes to avoiding couples showing a tad too much PDA.

Berlin - 2008

I've never been to AT&T park and thought McCovey Cove was in a completely different spot. Even though we didn't get to go inside, I now have a better mental picture of what the area is like.

I also didn't know we could watch the game from a little spot in the outfield, underneath the Arcade seats. We were about 100 feet from Hunter Pence and I couldn't figure out if he was ignoring the folks standing next to us that were yelling at him or if he really couldn't hear. It was a neat 5 minutes for the boys to be that close.

We wanted to get out of there before the game ended and crowds started flooding the streets. A few more pictures and we were on our way!

After our last fiasco trying to visit Dolores Park, we weren't sure we wanted to try it again. There was a restaurant in the area that had a dessert I wanted to try (the Lumberjack cake, to be specific) so LaVor dropped me off and I went to grab the door when I realized nobody else was inside. I passed a girl leaving as I was going in, who was cleaning out the floor mats, so I asked her if they were open. She said I looked like I knew what I was doing so she didn't bother saying anything to me :) Unfortunately, they didn't open until 5:00 and it was only 4:00. Darnit! It's definitely on my list of things to do next time.

Since we were down the street from Dolores Park, we drove through the neighborhood just to see if we could get a parking spot. Something had to have been going on because the park was PACKED. We decided to forego it, again, and continued on to our next destination.

We agreed on Suppenküche for dinner and planned on visiting a park in the neighborhood until it was time for them to open. We found a prime spot (after driving around and around and around) and spotted a playground for the boys to explore. Actually, they played and I explored. The flowers that surrounded the playground were AMAZING! I should have taken more pictures but we were running out of time (and to be honest, I was afraid my camera was going to get swiped).

Spot the bee?

We walked down the street to the restaurant and were seated right away. I enjoy sitting with strangers, LaVor not so much. But it all worked out and we were munching on our salad and pretzel in no time. We were the only couple with young kids but with the help of devices (as much as I hate it!), you could hardly tell we were there.

Which sort of felt like the case when the hostess gave away The Lime's seat after he got up to go to the bathroom. She also tried taking Doodlebug's plate even though he wasn't done eating. When I fed him his last bite, she literally took the plate from underneath my hand before I had a chance to put the fork down. I've been dining here for almost 20 years and I've never experienced "service" like this before. Normally, we let stuff slide but LaVor couldn't keep quiet after this incident. The manager was very apologetic and assured us this is not how his business is run. The hostess was new and still undergoing training, and he'd make sure to address the matter.

After dinner, we had one last spot to visit - the beach. We asked The Lime if he wanted to go somewhere new but he insisted on Lands End again. It was actually nice to be there when the sun was still shining :) On the way there, we made bets on how cold it would be outside. LaVor suggested 65* and I was certain it would be cooler than that. I think it ended up being 63* or around there.

The Lime brought his swimsuit with every intent on going in the water but we weren't so sure he'd go through with it when we realized how cool it was. I told him I'd pay him $5 if he went into the water, up to his knees. The stinker not only went in the water, he ran in it, let it soak him completely, and whined when we had to go.

Doodlebug and Daddy were content on staying on the sand, but Doodlebug did put his toes in just for a quick second.

Excited The Lime was having such a good time

LaVor claimed he'd never seen me go in the ocean in the entire time we've been together (17 years) but I had to in order to get The Lime swimming. I just wasn't expecting some of the waves to soak my pants.

There was a couple taking wedding photos on the beach and the brave bride and groom toke some photos IN the water! She got up and I heard her exclaim, "My dress is SO heavy!" I really hope they already got married and she doesn't have to try and clean that dress!

The Lime really could have spent all night in the water, bless his heart. It reminded me of when we went to Pacifica almost exactly 5 years ago. He could have cared less that the water and air were freezing, he was just living life. Another little boy joined him for a few minutes and I loved that they didn't know each other, didn't care what the other one looked like, or where they came from. They were just two young boys having fun!

It was after 8:00 and we needed to get on the road so I could be at work before midnight. We dried off, wiped the sand off our feet, and took a few more pictures before departing our favorite city.

Until next time, San Francisco! Thanks for the memories!