Rock 'n Roll, Dallas!

Dallas.  Another "I could live there" city (Jace loves it when I say that). Numerous reasons why but mainly because that's where my little bro, my bestie AND a Pinkberry can be found...a winning combo if you ask me.  But nevertheless we do not live there...we live in Dayton...no bro, no bestie, NO pinkberry :(

Y-U-M -- Pinkberry, Uptown Dallas

The good news is that Dayton has an airport!  So last weekend I hopped on one of them there airplanes and headed down to Dallas to meet up with some dear friends to run/jog/walk the Rock 'n Roll half marathon!!  I left Dayton at 0630 and watching the sunrise from 33,000 feet was beautiful.  I photostalked the sun.

                                   

 

I arrived DFW at 0830 and Sam, Hayden and Colton were there to swoop me up.  Good thing I was also photostalking Sam as she pulled up because she almost cruised right past me.  She said she knew it was me because my camera was up to my face.  You know you have a problem when...

1/3 of my welcome party!!
Mr. Hayden's getting SO big 

The four of us ate up a scrumptious Cracker Barrel breakfast (I got a reality check on being a parent of two) and then headed out to Mckinney so I could challenge Hayden to a serious game of Candy Land (not a huge fan of the graphics overhaul, Hasbro) and laugh my butt off at Colt running all over the house in his cammo undies.  I lost at Candy Land but tried to be a good sport about it.

My 2nd butt-whooping from Hayden in a month... it's cool...I'm still smilin'

To drown my sorrows I decided to get my camera out again...these Kaiser boys are too adorable!!

                        

 

Hayden is still laughing at me...c'mon,man...CL is tough

After playing, learning about the joys of potty-training little men, and becoming very close with their chocolate lab we hit the road.  Dallas Rock 'n Roll here we come!

We checked in to the Omni along with many, many other runners.  It was pretty slick having the hotel connected to the convention center so we didn't have to go back outdoors in the super crap weather. Waaaa...I know...but c'mon it's Texas...in the spring, it should have been at least 80 right?  It was 50...maybe.

Hey Sammy! You look like your mother, BTW ;)

Our room.  It didn't suck.  AND there was a TV in the
mirror in the bathroom!

Our view...of the super crap weather

Me and my TOMS.  Resting up for the race!
(are you laughing at me?  you should be)

My little bro met us about 30 minutes later and we all went over to the expo to check in and shop.  Shop? Yep. Had to get Sam some new kicks...and me a new Sweaty Band and fanny pack (I'm old now, it's cool).  I absolutely, positively needed both.

Race ready!!
I can't wait til we're really old so Sam
won't have to bend over anymore when
taking a picture with me :)

After our official business was complete we hit what would become our "go-to" spot over the next two days -- The Owner's Box @ the Omni. They have horrible hostesses but free yogurt-covered pretzels so it was all good. We hunkered down with a few Firemans #4 Blonde Ales (super yum) and waited for JK, Lauren (and Cooper) and Brooke to roll into town.

They all finally made it and got checked in and we spent the rest of the afternoon and evening catching up on, oh, the past 10 years or so!! It was so much fun...to the point that I wish we didn't all have to get up the next morning to run 13 miles...the Fireman was tasty and the convos were even better!  

I have to say that's the best thing about our USAFA bond is it never matters how long it's been since we've seen on another we just pick right up where we left off, fill in the gaps and continue loving, laughing and cheering one another on!

Lauren ('00), Cooper ('32 or '33-ish), Sam, me, Brooke (all '02) and Julia ('99)
Air Force officers, Fortune 500 fast-tracker, new SAHMommy (of one + one on the way), business owner...
I'm so fortunate to be surrounded with such incredible, inspiring, supportive and beautiful WOMEN!!!

We had some great light in the hotel room so I went ahead and photostalked Cooper -- I'm thinking he loved it as much as Easton...but just look at this little nugget...it was inevitable.

Sunday morning came pretty quick. It was super motivating to look out the windows and see the flags whipping around like we were on the Massachusetts coast during a Nor'easter. Yeay. Running! No problem though, Brooke and I managed to draw some motivation from the Courchaine/Kaiser Energizer bunnies. We headed to the start line about 25 minutes prior to the start of the race...

Quickly after the last photo Sam and LoLo fought their way into corral 1 or 2... I don't know, it doesn't matter, both are so fast that I'd be puking about 5 miles in so kudos to them for training. Brooke and I took a leisurely stroll back to our corral, being endlessly entertained by all the runners in tutus, Great Danes in sweatshirts and WAY too many people wearing trash bags for what I can only assume was to keep warm? It was strange.

A shot of Pioneer Plaza...this is where the race began

The view from corral NOT 1 or 2...
lots and lots o' peeps

And finally we made our way to the start line - 3, 2, 1... run/walk/jog!  Brooke, her bun and I had a goal of finishing within 3 hours.  Julia used her better judgement and chose not to run because she hurt her ankle earlier in the month (oh my how we're growing up!) so she was our cheerleader and it was awesome!! She's a natural motivator and it's no wonder why her business is so successful

This vagabond came running after us around mile 4

This was probably our 5th picture in 4 miles :P

After our photo shoots we continued on our way, ran over a bridge...and apparently went through a secret portal to where money grows on trees. I'm guessing NONE of these people work for Uncle Sam...just throwin' that out there.  Here's a sample...it was one of the smaller ones.

We ran really slow through this neighborhood
so we could admire the mansions

We kept on keepin on. The sun came out a few times but for most of the race it was pretty chilly and windy.  By the time mile 10 rolled around both Brooke and I were getting thrilled to see the finish. Neither one of us had been training and we could feel the muscle fatigue in our shins and hip flexors. 

Smiling but ready for the finish!

The finish line was pretty sweet! There were cameras everywhere, music was blasting and the sun had finally broken through the clouds.  We crossed the finish line together with an official time of 3:00:15 and we achieved our goal! That felt great. Huge kudos to Sam and Lauren, too, who finished at 1:32:45  and 2:15:59 respectively.  You rock, ladies!!

UNREAL!!!

Brooke and I got lots of pictures (none of which ended up on my phone unfortunately), some free grub after the finish and headed back to the hotel with Julia.  Her friend, Tim, was already back at the hotel and we all met up for our 3rd round at The Owner's Box.

Cheers to the finishers and best coach around! :)

After drinks we all said our goodbyes and Jeff picked me up so we could spend some QT together. He showed me all around his neighborhood and then we relaxed on his couch for a while and caught up with the NCAA men's basketball tournament.  Eventually he found some motivation to workout so we headed over to his fancy gym. He worked out, I got a massage and LOVED every second of it!! 

The adorable courtyard of his apartment complex --
the water feature is just loud enough to hear from his apartment
and is the most relaxing thing ever!

That evening we cleaned up and went to dinner at a local sushi restaurant and, as always, spent the evening chatting about life. We then headed over to Pinkberry and filled that always empty part of our stomachs with dessert! We got home around 9:30 and Jeff still had some work to do so he fired up his computer and did his thing while I got ready for bed...I was exhausted!

Mr. Tomlinson getting ready for an exciting
Monday with his teachers!

We were up and at around 0630 the next morning so Jeff could get me to the airport before arriving at his first school. It was a super fab weekend and, as usual, way too short!!

Dayton, here I come...
disclaimer: this wasn't my plane -- i love the 777 so had to
photograph it.  we rocked the MD-80 up to Ohio