my weekend in photos

Posted in Random by Kendra G.

i met the girls early on saturday morning for a chatty eight mile run.

we followed it up with piyo at the y.

this boy needed a haircut in the worst way. what a difference a fresh cut makes! side note, he hit the turf head first on the playground on friday, thus the turf burn on his forehead

we hit up the park on saturday afternoon to meet some of crosby’s friends. crosby insisted on playing in the water but soon got out because he was “freezing”.

so happy to see his friends outside of school.

greg and i got out of the house on saturday for a shopping and dinner date.

after church, we celebrated caleb’s 5th birthday!

a late afternoon bike ride to enjoy the amazing weather.

***

we had a crazy busy weekend and it’s not slowing down any time soon.

how was your weekend?

24Feb2017

Friday I’m in Love

Posted in Friday I'm in Love by Kendra G.

Happy Friday! I’ve two weeks of love to catch up on as we round out the month of February, so let’s get started.

o n e

We had such a fun Valentine’s Day! I woke up to some beautiful flowers too. The kids passed out their valentines at school and came home with lots of goodies.

t w o

I’ve had some great girl time in the past two weeks. I went out for Galentine’s Day to Cooper’s Hawk with some running friends for a much needed wine night. This week, Mary Beth was in town so we spent the day strolling Park Ave. and catching up. It was perfect.

t h r e e

We are all caught up on This Is Us after watching three episodes this week. Can we talk about what an emotional roller coaster that show is!? If you haven’t caught up yet, grab the tissues and watch!

f o u r

As I was scrolling through Instagram on Wednesday, I came across this photo from a photographer in Jacksonville and was in awe. Today, the beautiful photos were on Good Morning America and ABC News. What an unbelievable story and unbelievable photos of the gorgeous baby boy.

Friday I'm in Love Linky Party

What are you loving this week?

21Feb2017

my weekend in photos

Posted in Random by Kendra G.

our little climber was standing on a chair until his face met the rug. oy.

friday night we had so much fun celebrating lindsey’s birthday!

an early 8 miles with the girls on saturday.

post-nap snuggles, just because.

park time on saturday!

post-church park time on sunday.

the kids were off on monday so they had a super fun, action-packed day with daddy.

fun at the science center!

they had 4 rivers for lunch, then the best donuts in central florida from donut king!

***

we had a good weekend. kenley came down with strep, but recovered very quickly. greg and the kids had a three day weekend!

how was your weekend?

13Feb2017

Candy-Free Valentines

Posted in Party Time by Kendra G.

Thanks to Pinterest, I really love making valentines, especially candy-free ones! This year was no exception! I chose two super easy options that fit the kids perfectly. Kenley loves her fruit and veggies, so she is giving little clementine cuties to her classmates. I associate all things nautical with Crosby, so as soon as I saw the nautical themed valentines to go with the Pirate’s Booty, I knew they would be perfect.

You’re a cutie!

I had all of the supplies needed for the valentines, aside from the clementines, which I picked up at ALDI. I put these together while catching up on How To Get Away With Murder over the weekend and they were super quick. The party bags I had were too tall, so I cut them down after I had assembled the valentine. You can also get the smaller party bags if you’re buying them specifically for the valentines.

The supplies needed are as follows:

You’re a CUTIE! free printable
Cardstock
Hole punch
Black ribbon
Wilton clear party bags
Clementine cuties

AHOY!

I also had all of the supplies needed for these valentines too, aside from the Pirate’s Booty which I had delivered in just two days, thanks to Amazon. I technically didn’t even have to leave the house to make these and I just love how they turned out.

The supplies needed are:

AHOY VALENTINE! free printable (available in two colors!)
Cardstock
Hole punch
Ribbon (two colors)
Pirate’s Booty

Seriously, these were so easy and so cute! If you still need more ideas for candy-free valentines, you can see my past valentines here, here, and here.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

12Feb2017

my weekend in photos

Posted in Random by Kendra G.

the friday night family movie was finding dory!

the girls.

i was forced to take the week off from running thanks to this little thing called bronchitis, so i was happy to go to the y on saturday morning. it was a struggle though.

we celebrated caelyn’s birthday on saturday with mini bowling. kenley said they were the smallest bowling balls she’s ever seen!

little brothers unite.

after the party, we saw the lego batman movie! we all gave it two thumbs up. it was super cute.

we stopped by a new park on the way home…and then again on sunday!

twins!

he made a foot rest in the cart so he could relax while we shopped at sam’s club. he was in rare form today.

***

we had a great weekend and knocked out our second birthday party of the month.

how was your weekend?

10Feb2017

Friday I’m in Love

Posted in Friday I'm in Love by Kendra G.

Happy Friday! It’s February and love is in the air. Let’s get to what I’m loving this week.

o n e

The kids had themed dress-up days at school this week for spirit week. We all loved it! I was always totally into spirit days growing up, but I have to say it’s just as fun dressing the kids up. This week they had team spirit day, tacky tourist day, Marvel vs. DC day, career day, and pajama day. In all of my years of spirit days, I had never done tacky tourist day and it was my favorite day this week. Greg made them both a sweet camera which they both carried with them all day. I posted the rest of their outfits on Instagram, so you can check them out.

t w o

Sunday was the Superbowl and while I have no interest in talking about the actual game, I will talk about the halftime show. Lady Gaga was on point. If you haven’t seen her performance, you can watch it all here. I am also stoked that she announced her tour dates the following day AND is performing along side Metallica on Sunday at the Grammy’s. That’s a match made in heaven if you ask me (and Greg).

t h r e e

Greg has really gotten into the show Hunted, therefore, I have also gotten into it. It’s really interesting and I find myself learning something new each episode.

f o u r

Podcast update: the kids have been loving this Disney Story Central podcast I found from Denaye at Simple Families. The episodes are short so they are perfect for the ride to school in the morning. I am really into podcasts right now, so share your favorites with me! I recently cancelled my Sirius/XM subscription in my car because between podcasts and Spotify, I didn’t feel like I was listening to it enough to justify the price.

***

Friday I'm in Love Linky Party

Don’t forget to pop over to see what Misha is loving this week and share with you’re loving too!

9Feb2017

Celebration Half Marathon {race recap}

Posted in Running by Kendra G.

The second race in my double race weekend last month was the Celebration half marathon in Celebration, Florida. This was my third time running this race so I knew what to expect going into Sunday’s race. I was really looking forward to the post-race festivities. What I did not expect was the cold and rainy forecast.

Thankfully, Heather picked us up a lightweight rain jacket to wear during the race, but I wasn’t thrilled about the idea of running 13.1 miles in a rain jacket. Once we got to Celebration, we sat in the car for as long as possible before heading to the start line. As we got out of the car, I knew the rain jacket was the only option.

The race was underway and we were off. Heather and I were focused during most of the race and didn’t talk much. The first six miles were really great and we averaged around 9:45 minutes per mile. Between miles 7 and 9, we hit the wooden boardwalks on the course. I knew these miles would be slower especially since the boardwalks were wet. My only concern at that point was to not fall.

The rest of the miles were around 10:30 minutes per mile with exception of mile 12 which was our slowest mile. Throughout the race, we ran through a nice little drizzle, but towards the end of the race, it was really raining. I was definitely ready to be done by that point and so did Heather. I kept encouraging Heather to keep running and to not walk. For the last half of a mile, we could see the finish line from the other side of the lake, but we were still so far away.

Our official time was 2:14.30 which was a PR for Heather! As soon as we finished, I put on my fleece pants and changed into a dry shirt.

Untitled

We headed over to the after party for some good food and drinks! It did not disappoint, but it was short lived because the rain continued to fall and we were all freezing. I think that I shivered for a good two hours after the race.

Aside from the rain, it was a great race and a great double race weekend!

6Feb2017

my weekend in photos

Posted in Random by Kendra G.

easy, breezy friday morning run with the girls.

saturday morning play time.

we celebrated kyler’s fifth birthday with bowling and pizza!

the kids had a great time bowling!

heather and nathan invited us to the chef’s gala at epcot on saturday night. we had such a great time getting dressed up and getting out of the house. i wore the kendra jumpsuit by diane von furstenberg compliments of rent the runway. based on the name alone, i couldn’t pass it up. i loved it and it fit so well.

enjoying all the food and all the drinks.

my favorite dish of the night.

chef mickey made an appearance!

kenley helped greg make appetizers for the super bowl while i did some meal prep for the week. it was very serious business.

play time at the park. crosby loving on baby lincoln. he’s obsessed!

***

we had a great weekend but it went by way too fast, how was yours?

3Feb2017

Lady Track Shack 5k {race recap}

Posted in Running by Kendra G.

My double race weekend started with one of my favorite races, the Lady Track Shack 5k. This year was even more special because Kenley came with me to run the race. I told her a couple months ago that we were going to run an all girl race so naturally she has been talking about it ever since. She even would tell Greg and Crosby that they couldn’t go because it was only for girls.

The night before the race, she got up at least twice asking if it was time to get up yet. She was so excited! We left before the sun came up and headed down to Loch Haven Park to meet up with some friends before the start of the race. Kenley was excited to see Livie, Michelle’s daughter, was there.

This was my first time ever running a race with a stroller and it will likely be my last. We had to start at the very back of the race, the very back. The whole first half of the race was spent bobbing in and out of the walkers trying to actually run the race, all while trying my hardest not to run into anyone with the stroller. Kenley asked the whole first mile if she could get out and run with the girls. Just after the first mile, when it opened up just a bit, she hopped out and was on her way.

She was good about getting back in the stroller when she needed a break. I had to tell her a few times to slow down and to make sure she stayed next to Livie so she could pace herself.

As we passed Track Shack, the DJ said into the microphone that she must be the youngest runner on the course. She hopped in and out a few more times and cheered Livie on from the stroller while she was resting. The last quarter of a mile, I pushed her to run the rest of the race. We kept telling the girls that the donuts were waiting for us at the finish line, which they were, Krispy Kreme!

lts5k3

lts5k4

We finished in 39:23 based on our chip. You can see that we crossed the start line a good three minutes after the clock started since we were in the very back.

lts5k2

We had such a good time and saw so many other mamas after the race. Kenley had a blast playing with Livie, who ended up placing third in her age group! Kenley is already talking about running the whole race next year.

You can also see my past race recaps for the Lady Track Shack 5K from 2015 and 2016.

1Feb2017

monthly miles {january}

Posted in Running by Kendra G.

My January miles ranged from temperatures in mid 30s to the mid 80s.
Welcome to Florida “winter”. Here is a quick rundown.

Total miles: 67.6

Fun places I ran: Most of my miles were logged close to home, but we did run the Cross Seminole Trail starting at Black Hammock Trailhead which was a great change of pace. Two races this month also made for different running locations: the town of Celebration and the Mills/50 district.

Races I ran: Lady Track Shack 5K and the Celebration half marathon

Favorite running thing this month: I am really loving my new socks that I got for Christmas, the Balega Enduro No Show socks. Not only are they super comfy, but I was really surprised that they kept my feet dry and warm during my rainy half marathon.

Longest run: My Garmin clocked the Celebration half marathon at 13.32 miles, making it my longest run of the month (and second longest run ever).

Non-running workouts: I have started to work on strength training and hope to continue this for the first half of the year until marathon training officially begins in June. I started the month doing (some) workouts from the Bikini Body Guide (BBG) but have somewhat abandoned those for now. I attended a Barre class at the Y this month which I really liked. My non-running cardio workouts have been on the elliptical and I attended one spin class.

Next month: I don’t have any races in February, but I do have a couple in March, so February will include more training miles. I am planning to add in a lot of strength training this month, including a plank a day challenge.

Happy running!