Hollywood Studios

On Monday Christian and I headed to Hollywood Studios with the boys while Gemma stayed back at the house with Grandma and Grandpa. We love Gemma, of course, but it was sure nice to be able to go with just the boys ;). They loved Toy Story, Tower of Terror (as Reid calls it "up, down, up, down") sat for a Beauty and the Beast show and we stayed late for Fantasmic. Great day and safe to say we wore the boys out!

Kids Race and Animal Kingdom

I surprised the boys with a race for themselves, and they loved it! Especially Micah, probably given his age, he really put his heart and soul in to the race. What an awesome moment to watch both boys, making this mama's runners heart very proud!

After completing their races, we headed over to Animal Kingdom for our first experience at the Disney parks. Grandma and Grandpa came with us on this day and we had such a great time, even getting rained out at the end of the day. Gemma was all out of sorts, poor thing, as she hadn't been sleeping well and then wasn't able to get a good nap in either...and let's just say she was a trooper! Thankfully the week turned around a little for her (she didn't get to a park for the next two days, allowing her to catch up on some sleep) and Animal Kingdom was just a taste of what was to come!  The boys loved the rides, Reid's genuine excitement at the Dinosaur ride, while Micah was slightly more timid and reserved. They couldn't get enough of the characters and autographs and overall fun. What a great start to our Disney experience!!!

Goofy Challenge - 39.3 miles, baby!!

Check off a running bucket list item for me! I can officially call myself a Goofy Challenge finisher and I couldn't be happier. My friend Noelle, a Disney guru herself, let me know last winter she was planning to do the Goofy Challenge this year and I knew this was the time I would run Florida.  I had had that as my goal but wasn't quite sure when to do it...and once I had a friend ready to commit to the race, I jumped.  It's not everyday you find someone willing to run a half marathon (13.1 miles), then turn around and run a marathon (26.2 miles) the following day.  And I have to say, it was a blast! We dressed up as "Mike and Sulley" for the half and "Minnie Mouse" for the full. Noelle and I ran the half together and made sure to stop and take a couple of pictures along the way, culminating with a picture with Goofy (of course!) right before the finish line. What a fun, fun day.  

I then headed out to the ESPN Zone for the kids races and Animal Kingdom with the family (post to come) for the day before heading back to Noelle's hotel room to rest up for the marathon. We had to be on the bus by 3:30ET, so we were up by 2:45ET (1:45 central - ahhh) both mornings! That might have been the hardest part of the entire experience, lol.  

We each ran our own race on Sunday, as it was warm and humid and we both had goals we wanted to achieve. I was shooting for a 3:45, and came close with a 3:46:08, which I was quite proud of after having a breakdown at mile 20. Such a fun experience and so grateful I had Noelle to run it with and my family by my side to cheer me on. None of my running would be possible without the support of my husband and kids and I love them to pieces!