Swamp Stomp Half Marathon

Today Nanette and I ran in the Swamp Stomp Half Marathon in Lake Charles, LA. This was my second half marathon and Nanette's third half marathon, so we are still relatively new to this distance. We chose this half because it is so close to home (about a 45 min drive). There were about 150 participants, so it was a pretty small race. But we liked the small size of the race, and we loved the course. It was a two loop course that went in and out of streets in a country club neighborhood. Because there were a lot of turn-arounds, you could see the people ahead and behind you at lots of different points along the course. It was neat being able to cheer each other on and be cheered on as we passed each other on the course. We both put in personal best times, so that was pretty exciting as well. As you can see in the pictures, it was a cold day (according to Southeast Texas standards anyway). Although the forecast predicted it to warm up it never did. That was a good thing while we were running, but after we stopped it was so cold! After the race they served gumbo. That would normally be one of the last things I could stomach after running 13.1 miles as fast as I can; however, the warmth of the gumbo was a nice way to warm up after the race. Anyway, below are a few pictures from the race.

Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!

Last night we went to bed, and it was snowing outside. We took a couple of pictures so that we'd be able to show the kids that sometimes it really does snow here. Little did we know, that it would continue to snow through the night! We woke to a beautiful white yard and two little boys that couldn't get dressed fast enough to get out and play in it. It may not have been much snow in the grand scheme of things, but it was so much fun. Who would have thought--snow here?! Miracles never cease!

Building a snowman.

I love those rosy cheeks!

Adding a carrot nose and buttons

Our happy snowman!

Decorating for Christmas

Yesterday the kids and I decided to put up some of the Christmas decorations. Claire helped by climbing in one of the boxes, finding a plastic spoon (why was there a spoon in the Christmas decorations?), and tasting whatever would fit on the spoon or in her mouth. The boys found some Christmas ribbon to decorate themselves. After finishing our decorating attempt, we watched Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer. I love celebrating the Christmas season with children!