Happy 4th of July—> I hope your day is amazing and I am so grateful for this beautiful country!
Things started with 6 miles @ 8:29 pace and time for some major SPEED today.
Made some horse shaped (…at least she thought they looked like a horse:) pancakes in honor of her first riding lesson.
The girls went over to my sister’s house (my niece has been begging to babysit them and my bro-in-law was there too:) and my sis and I went on a walk.
We need to do this more often.
it was beautiful out and her back is doing so much better again (it was really bad there again for a few months—> You can read about her back problems HERE and her other guest posts HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE).
Our next stop of the day was to Brooke’s dream activity.
She started riding lessons!
She first got to know Elf, led him around, brushed and cleaned him and then rode him (along with some trotting)!
Skye cheered her on.
One of my favorite lunches.
So now we will be watching as many videos as possible about horses.
Andrew’s cousin is in town and they had quite the amazing Airbnb.
They invited us over for the afternoon…This slide goes SO fast.
Yep.
Brooke told me that we should move in here…
Zoodles mixed with normal noddles for dinner + ground turkey + parmesan cheese.
Time for one of my favorite days of the year—> Hopefully Brooke doesn’t sleep through the fireworks again this year;)
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If you are celebrating the 4th today, what are you doing?
What is your sentence for the day?
27 comments
Erica
4am wake-up proves jet-lag is real, so I hope we make it to the fireworks tonight.
The Hungry Runner Girl
TAKE A NAP TODAY!!!! I hope you are having a wonderful day Erica.
Loribeth
So cool about riding lessons….and the horse seems the perfect size for Brooke. If you need horse movies i recommend Spirit (DreamWorks movie from early 2000’s)and also Tangled of course has a great horse.
Happy 4th!
The Hungry Runner Girl
That is Brooke’s favorite movie right now (Spirit)! We will have to watch Tangled again. Thanks Loribeth and I hope you are having a great day!
Kristen
We’re keeping it kinda low key. Going to a friends BBQ but no fireworks plans.
My sentence for the day is that my little girl turned 12 yesterday and this birthday is the milestone that’s hitting me hardest of all so far. I’ve managed not to be a weepy wreck on the outside but man on the inside I have mascara down to my chin!
The Hungry Runner Girl
12… oh wow! I bet that was rough! I’ll be emailing you when I go through that too for some guidance! She is the luckiest ot have you. Enjoy the bbq!
Jenny|Running On Life
We are doing a ton of family stuff today. I LOVE he 4th! It’s one big summer party for the country (and my brother cause it’s his birthday…he’s so lucky)
Probably won’t be any running for me today but I’ll be running again tomorrow.
Have a fantastic 4th!
The Hungry Runner Girl
How was your big 4th breakfast that you guys do?! So much fun!!!
Jenny|Running On Life
Delicious! We’ve been having an afternoon of rest to get back out for more playing tonight!
jenny
Ran a 5k this morning and came third in my AG! Then home to make waffles with blueberries, raspberries, and whipped cream (muahahahaha…) Happy 4th!!!!!
The Hungry Runner Girl
GO JENNY GO!!! You rocked it. Sounds like the perfect day!
Darla
That AIRBNB looks incredible!!
Just curious, do you mix your group turkey with anything else besides parm? I have a bunch of zoodles so was thinking of trying this out.
The Hungry Runner Girl
HEY!!! We added garlic and Montreal seasoning… it was so good. Let me know what you think of it. We love zoodles!
Alyssa
This is my first Fourth of July with my 15 month old as a single mom. His dad left and the divorce process started when he was 11 months so I guess about the same age Brooke was… but celebrating the holidays as a twosome feels so different even though it was the three of us for just one year. We’re having a beach barbecue with friends later and I hope he enjoys it and we start making memories as our little crew of two!
The Hungry Runner Girl
Alyssa! Girl, I am SO sorry about everything you have been through and that you are going through. This breaks my heart. I get it. If you ever need someone to talk to, I’m your woman. That is exactly what I did… I tried to stop thinking about the things I missed and focus on creating new things together. You are doing amazing and your one is so lucky to have you. Thinking about you!
Alyssa
Mind if I email you Janae?
The Hungry Runner Girl
EMAIL ME PLEASE!!!!!!!!! [email protected]
Stephanie
Happy 4th! I love that Brooke started with horse back riding lessons. And I love that smile on her face with her plate of pancakes. Now I want a plate of pancakes!
This morning I ran the Peachtree Road Race–the 10K in Atlanta that I have been training for (more like “training” with my dang knee…) over the last couple of months. I was scared for it, to be honest, but I went and I got it done! With my 1 min walk/1 min run intervals, I set a couple guidelines for myself: A) stick to my intervals instead of trying to beast it out and run longer, B) run EASY in the minute I am in and walk RIGOROUSLY in the minute I am in, C) *walk* up Cardiac Hill to save my knee for the back half of this run, D) whenever I get hard on myself for what I can’t do, take a minute to list all of the immediate, tangible things I am doing in the moment and smile when I am done listing things, and E) (most importantly) CHANNEL MY INNER DES!!!!!
And I finished. I may have felt SLOW AS HECK, and it was about 80 degrees and 80,000% humidity the entire time, and my knee may have really wanted me to stop from about the 4.5 mile mark, but every time it got hard and we were on a decline I looked ahead of me to the virtual ocean of people who were running, walking, and–like me–run/walking, and I thought of all the people in the 11 starting waves after my assigned wave and how they are SUCH badasses for starting in temperatures that were even warmer than my starting temperature (even a couple of degrees makes a difference). And I kept trucking along.
And I dang EARNED my finishers shirt (no medals in a race with over 60,000 participants–just a super important, hard-earned and highly prized finisher’s t-shirt…). I also earned the right to put the Peachtree Road Race magnet I bought at the expo up on my fridge and to wear the Peachtree Road Race trucker’s hat I bought at the expo…pretty much everywhere I go for the next week!!!!
The worst part of the whole run, since I set solid guidelines for how I could complete this race SAFELY, is that my iPod–which was charging all day yesterday and all of last night–decided to somehow lose all battery power. So for the first time in my whole life I ran with zero music. Music motivates me. Without music, I am left to the voices in my head. So this entire run was one huge mental game. And I won!
Now I will spend the rest of the day sitting on my sofa and puttering around the apartment…with my new Oofos on my feet! Tom is at work all day. I wonder if I can convince him to bring home the most ginormous oreo cookie and m&m milkshake he can possibly get as a treat for me at the end of the day?!?!?!?
I should tell him to get one for you, too!!!
The Hungry Runner Girl
YOU DID PEACHTREE… I want to come and do that with you one year! YOU DID IT. You are amazing, way to go Stephanie (and in that weather!!) You rocked the mental game too. Enjoy the rest of your day and that treat too!
Stephanie
Come run Peachtree! I’ll take you for donuts afterwards! ;)
Emily H.
Brooke looks so happy in her horseback riding pictures!! I also love Skye’s outfit. :) My morning started with an early 12 miler (toying with the idea of doing another fall marathon but I don’t like to commit too early ;)). I am going to my aunt’s house tonight with my family. It’s nice because I live six hours away so I don’t get to see everyone as often as I’d like!
The Hungry Runner Girl
Emily, way to go on TWELVE miles! Keep me updated with whether or not you are doing the fall marathon thing:) Have a beautiful day with your family!
Marie
That’s so awesome about Brooke’s riding lessons! My daughter is obsessed with animals in general and of course loves riding horses. You just gave us an idea to look up lessons! :) My son is into basketball, so it works out for them to have their thing. That house is AMAZING!!! We want to visit Utah some day with all the pics we see lately! Such a beautiful state! :) Maybe I can meet my virtual friend, too? ;) Eh? Eh? LOL. Have a great day, Janae!
The Hungry Runner Girl
YES, have her take lessons, it is the best! COME TO UTAH AND LET’S PARTY!! Thanks Marie, you too!
Lindsey
My daughter love all things horses when she was younger and I would love to send Brooke some of the books and toys we have! Are you interested? We have so much!
Ashlee
I love your blog and have been reading religiously for over a year! That Airbnb looks amazing! Where is it?
kristin
brooke looks SO happy on the horse! how cute! also, that airbnb looks insane!! wow. i’d love to have that pool in my backyard, ha.