Not Just a Run in the Park

This afternoon I met up with a special friend for a run in the park.  She hasn't run for over a year and wanted me to help her ease back into running.  We used a 2 min. run/1 min. walk interval and ran for a total of 4 miles.  We had a great time catching up on our run.  It has been a long time since we ran together.  My friend shaved her hair off a few months ago in support of a friend battling breast cancer.  Now she is sporting a sassy pixie cut which matches her personality.  She is such an amazing lady! We have more future runs planned since she and her 8 year old grand-daughter will be running a 5K in July. It will be her first race. What a wonderful way to spend a warm spring day! 

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!

In love,

in life...

In friendship,

in fun...

In heart,

in happiness...

You two have such a special bond and so much happiness to look forward to.  Congratulations on your first of many happy years together.  

Now the Work Begins

It's the time of year when yards are blooming with color and I get the urge to fill my planters with geraniums, impatiens, petunias, ivy, sweet potato vines, and the list goes on and on.  Every year I tell myself that I am going to cut back on the number of planters that I plant.  Every year I forget that I told myself that.  Surveying our yard this week,I realized that the yard is screaming for color.  Mother's Day seems like the perfect time to bring gardens to life, and mine is no exception.  So, this weekend I will be on the hunt for plants and flowers to fill my yard with the colors of the rainbow.

A pop of color from our perennials

Limes, yellows, and greens brighten up the drive

Poolside containers waiting for color

My favorite view from our drive

Circle drive 

Our big back yard...mostly corn field

Redbud tree...an early Mother's Day gift!

Momma Girl, my "cat-dog" always on guard

Yes, it really is a deer head in a tree.  My husband's fall deer. Since our basement fireplace is flanked with mounted deer heads and antlers, he decided to adorn our hollowed out tree with the head.  This has greeted our guests all winter as they drive up to our house.
  Soon it will be replaced with a cascading
basket of ivy, asparagus fern, and trailing petunias.


In just a few weeks our yard will be transformed from colorless to colorful.  Let the fun begin!

Runners, on your mark, get set, GO!

This past weekend my family and I ran the Indy-Mini Marathon which is held the first Saturday in May in Indianapolis.  The race sells out months in advance, with the draw being the opportunity to run on the actual Indy 500 racetrack.  I have run this half marathon three times, but this time was the most fun that I've had.  Kevin, Kym, Brooke, Jake (Brooke's boyfriend), and I started out together with a run/walk interval plan. The weather was perfect, low 60's and overcast.  The course is flat except when entering the Indianapolis Motor-Speedway.  Here, runners encounter a slight incline leading onto the track.  I have never been to the actual race itself, but my husband has. 

At the expo

Always have to have a shoe picture.
  Chips were on our bib, not our shoe.

At the start in Corral T.
 There were 6 more corrals behind us!

The route

Just about to cross the timing strip to start the race

After crossing the timing strip, we were greeted by the American Flag flanked by members of the military,
 fire-fighters, and police.

We passed fire-fighters and members of the
 armed services running in full gear

"Eat More Chicken" cheerleaders

About to enter the Indy 500 Motor Speedway

The famous "Bricks" where runners stop "to kiss the bricks."  I was afraid that I would end up with
 a face plant if I attempted to "kiss the bricks"
 due to the volume of runners stopping for a photo.
 So, I just squatted for a photo.

Photo courtesy of Jake.
  About halfway finished with the race at this point

Encouragement from complete strangers

IU cheerleaders with spirit

About to cross the finish line.
 Another 13.1 miles in the books.

 

Kym and Brooke sporting their hard earned medals

Me and my girls!

Kevin and I

Our hotel, The Crown Plaza Union Station only 5 minutes from the start of the race. This hotel is housed in an old historic train station.

Indianapolis Capitol building

Our "official" Garmin time

Inspirational monument on our walk back to our hotel

Colt's stadium

Indy Runners support Boston

We followed our walk/run interval throughout the race as  planned.  However, stopping for photos, potty breaks, and chatting with fellow runners put us about 20 minutes off our target goal. Although I enjoyed this race, I will probably chose a different one next May.  As they say, variety is the spice of life!

Fear, fear, go away,come again another day!

Taking tests always made me panic with fear, even if I was well prepared for them.  So, when spring rolls around and students are required to take the mandated state tests, I feel their anguish and understand their fear.  Our third graders must take the IREAD-3 test to assess their reading and comprehension at the third grade level.  If students fail this test in March, they have another chance in the summer to retake it.  As a Title I interventionist it is my job to arm these at risk students with the strategies they need to master these tests.  Our Title I team compiled a list of test strategies and then created a "test prep boot camp" for these third graders.  We met every day for three weeks starting with a mini-lesson and then breaking into smaller groups.  Students were called "recruits" and were expected to memorize the cadence of strategies as we marched through the halls. 

Our attire

 

Our Boot Camp Manual

Portion of our "Sound Off " cadence

Add some banners

Runner of Strategies

Finished hallway!

Boot Camp mission statement

Entrance to third grade hall...ready for the test!

Our elementary school students were honored to have a special guest last week who came to our school to participate in our school wide read-in.  Chandler Harnish, an Indianapolis Colts quarterback, attended our elementary school and graduated from our local high school with my daughter Alyssa.  He has returned to our school multiple times over the past several years to participate in our read-ins.  On this visit, he addressed the importance of school and doing your very best in everything you do.  The students were riveted with his casual question and answer session.  He shared what it takes to be successful both in school and in life.  Our school is fortunate to have Chandler as a positive role model for our students.

My school, a wonderful learning community

Good luck to all students taking the state standardized tests.  Especially my third graders!