Locomotive Half Marathon in Kennesaw 2-17-2013

 Me and Tay about to embark on our first half marathon together.

• 10 mile run the weekend  before- check.
• Carbed up all week on bagels and bread and pasta- check.
• Cold weather running gear purchased and accounted for-check.
• Numbers retrieved and free pasta buffet consumed- check.
• Went to bed early the night before- check.
• Woke up early to a breakfast of coffee, bagel (me), HN Cheerios (Tay)- check.

So off we go, and WOW! Was it cold!  22 degrees cold.  The dj dude at the race said it felt like 15 degrees.  The tips of our toes and the tips of our fingers were throbbing from the cold within a few minutes of getting out of the cold.  We walked briskly to warm up.  Then we had to pee one last time.. and all of the body heat accumulated in our layers escaped!

But no time to complain!  Head to the start, they say!  And we did, and within seconds of the gun starting the race, we were off for 13.1 miles around Kennesaw.

As promised, I began the race with this awesome selection:

I can say, now, that this song has never had any staying power on my playlists.  Sad, right?  (callie, I know you are shaking your head!  :)  BUT!  I will say I am converted.  I could actually HEAR the song I played at the start this time.. many other races I did had very loud DJs at the start, etc. and I could never hear that first song.  But timing was awesome... as I pressed play, Eye of the Tiger started, and the gun sounded the beginning of the race!  In fact, it was hilarious... the dude running a few yards in front of me was fist pumping like he was listening to the same song!

At mile 1, the mile markers were set up side by side.

Mile 1/Mile 11

I wondered if we could choose, like in Pedro, which one the "Ace" would be. :)

The streets were very quiet, no real interesting outfits or shirts or roadkill or things to report. :)

I did get to see the building for this place, which I did not know existed until Sunday:  Cryolife

And wow.. look at their locations.. Kennesaw and the United Kingdom.

The building is GINORMOUS.. and we passed it twice.. Todd said there are probably people cryogenically frozen in there, waiting to be awakened and cured...
The whole thought of what went on behind those huge glass walls kept my brain occupied for a few miles, at least.

Somewhere around mile 6 or 7, we headed down a road that led to the Vulcan facilities in K-Saw.  The huge massive amounts of rock kept my mind busy for awhile.  And THEN.. there was the chiropractor set up down this same dusty road in the middle of seemingly nowhere, with a table and all, with a sign that said 'Active Adjustment".. something like that.  I am thinking, "Who is going to stop?"  but then on our way back up the street (from the U turn a mile down) I realized that there was a porta potty set up nearby!  Anyone the stopped to use the bathroom might get an adjustment from this person!  HA!  If I would have stopped and laid on that table, I don't know if I would have gotten back up!  

And on we went...

Somewhere around mile 8, I think, this song played, and I realized how happy I was that I left it on my playlist.

As I looked over at my almost 18 year old running her first marathon, I couldn't have been happier all of the miles that we trekked in almost perfect cadence.  Our only words were me asking if she was good and her giving me the thumbs up... no talking necessary.. footfalls together were our only language.

(geez that's cheezy.. sorry.. true though!)

So we ran through the finish line and got our medals.. and wth.. all of the vendors were out of food!  I was looking forward to WHATEVER anyone had to offer.. this was my only gripe about the race.. there honestly was no one there with food.  Sweet Tomatoes had left some multigrain chips, which I ate two bags of.  Muscle Milk was there giving out samples.. (bleck.. too sweet.. give me some good ol 2% milk, please)... the best thing about there not being anyone else WAS Frannie's Gluten Free Muffins.  I swear I ate 2 packs back to back of these yummy delicacies!  Lemon Zest and Zucchini.... thank you, ladies, for an awesome post race meal AND for sticking it out till the end!

(My theory is that the 5Kers ate all of the food!)

Here we are at the finish!

Awesome experience all in all for our first half together!  Yes we rested and ate our butts off that day!  Yes we were very thankful for having the day off Monday!  and YES!  I am looking forward to our next!

My prediction of 2013 for the Blanchards

So every year for the last 4 I have done this prediction for the year to come, which I print out and put in a folder that goes in our Christmas box.  I don't read it again until I am taking out Christmas decorations the following November.  It has been funny to look back on the year through the eyes of early-January Patty.
So I was thinking last night that I needed to compose one of these predictions, which I can't even imagine the complexity for 2013... and here's why:

I will start with graduations.  Within the next 4 1/2 months, we will have two graduations in the house.  Taylor will graduate from North Cobb High School on May 24th.  What a milestone... I can't even imagine the emotional rollercoaster it will be.. I don't even want to think about it right now or I will start crying :)
So with that graduation comes the preparation for college.  And then some of the summer spent at a college campus.  But before we can even get to college, let's not forget the Spring, with Wind Symphony excitement, and a band trip to Washington DC in May, as well as AP tests for college credit, and all kind of other stuff I know I am not even thinking about right now.

Next is my graduation...the road to finish up for graduation will be hard and work-filled.. 4 months to get-r-done.  I don't even want to type more than that as I get anxious thinking about it. :)

The biggest obstacles to tackle in the next 4 months will be our pending move to Louisiana, hopefully to the North Shore.  We toured Mandeville  and really like the area.  The two high schools that are in the area have great state reports, so we are planning on heading there.  Of course, finding a house is the biggest step.  It is looking like we might attempt to buy a house, which will be an interesting feat.

Within the next handful of months, Taylor and I are running a 15K in January, and then hopefully the Publix Half Marathon on 3/17.  So somewhere in the chaos, we will be training for those... a good thing because otherwise I might be liable to shut myself up with a computer and pound out the hours for grad school!

I will say that I hope that this cold I have had for the last 3 weeks is the last one I have for a long time, as I ain't got time for the sickness!  Let's hope for lots of hand washing and hand sanitizer in the next 4 months to keep the germs at bay so that we can get through it all happy, and enough wine in our possession to momentarily be able to forget about it all :)

In closing, I leave you with this:
"Growing old is no more than a bad habit which a busy person has no time to form."
~Andre Maurois

Synopsis of 2012, to date, for the Blanchard Family

So as I place Christmas cards in envelopes, I feel like I am cheating all of you out there on an update to our family.  Instead of typing this and enclosing it in each card, I figure hey!  Use the power of the blog and just send the address to the blog, right?

Update as written by Patty on November 23, 2012

Todd:    Todd has changed jobs a few times this year, but has seemingly found a happy place working for Northrop-Grumman doing work for the Center for Disease Control.  We are thinking that this job, being mostly remote work, will be able to transfer with him when we move back to Louisiana in Summer 2013.  (Which is possibly NEW to some of you reading this!)  Him and Guinness have been enjoying some quality time during the days, Todd working hard and Guinny Boy laying at his feet.

Patty:  I started working this August at Kennesaw Charter Science and Math Academy as the technology teacher as well as the technology specialist for the school.  I am also still in grad school; I extended my graduation date until May 2013 in order to take 2 more classes toward my certification toward Online Teaching.  I also ran my first half marathon in October (here's a link to the blog post about that experience).  Taylor and I ran a few races together so far this year, including the Peachtree Road Race in ATL, the biggest 10K in the country.  We are signed up for a 15K in January as well.

Taylor:  Taylor is halfway through her Senior year in high school, and just got accepted to LSU as well as LSU's Honor College!  She made awesome scores in her SAT in the Spring and then recently in the Fall.  She is one of the Clarinet Section leaders in North Cobb High School's Marching Band.  Here is a link to the only video so far on YouTube of their show this year.  She also just found out she made first chair clarinet in the school's most prestigious musical ensemble, the Wind Symphony.  Here is a video of the Wind Symphony from last year playing Rising Sun by Allen Vizzutti, playing with Allen Vizzutti at Kennesaw State.  In 6 months, she'll be graduating from high school and gearing up for her freshman year at LSU.  Keep reading the blog for updates!  (Note:  The marching band made grand champs at the festival in Asheville, NC.  The North Cobb football team is in round 3 of the playoffs... we are looking forward to another win this Friday!)

Camryn:  Camryn is in 7th grade at Awtrey Middle.  She is in her second year of band as a percussionist.  She particularly likes melodics- bells, marimba, etc.  When she is not at school, a lot of her time is spent creating all kinds of artwork.  Check the blog for updates... I will upload some pictures of her Halloween mask creation as well as the clan of dragons she has been sculpting.

Lauryn:  Lauryn is in 4th grade at Kennesaw Charter,  decision she made the week before school started.  She is doing great, making awesome grades.. she is really into her music class at school, which led to inquiring about band for next year, so she is planning to play the saxophone next year. 

Autumn:  Our little toddler  truly makes everyday interesting!  She is happy at her little preschool where she spends Mommy and Daddy's working hours, and her make-believe skills have matured extensively!  She's a very loveable creature that we can't get enough of.  Check the blog for some videos of her doing cute toddler stuff. 


We took a great family trip Labor Day weekend to Cherokee, North Carolina to one of our favorite cabins, Water Rock Retreat.  We have been super busy the last few years, what with a growing baby, three growing girls, and me in grad school.  I know I am definitely looking forward to graduating in May and having a bit of time to not worry about assignments and deadlines with school, although that always turns into other kinds of deadlines.

So keep checking back here for more videos, pictures, and blog entries to update everyone on our lives.

We hope everyone has an awesome Christmas season and a fun and joyous new year!

My First 13.1

So somewhere around mile 8 today I started to think about what I was going to write in this blog post.  There were several different ideas I had...and I ended wanting to tell them all.  So I will try to keep this brief.

I. Scenery & Music
I stood at the starting line in my "corral" of 2:30 race pace people.  The lady next to me chit chatted with me about this being her 45th Half Marathon.. sheese... all in 8 years.  I really hoped to see her at the finish line... what awesome motivation.

As the starting gun went off and we slowly merged to the front, Pound the Alarm filled my ears... and it made me laugh as the song reminds me of one of my older students who is always trying to sneak on YouTube to listen to music, this being one of the songs I see on the video title.  (Another kid in this same class said "Mrs Blanchard, don't watch that video.. it's inappropriate." lol)

As I passed through the timer to start the race, I INSTANTLY teared up.... WOW!  I am here!  It has begun!  I am gonna do this!!!  I made myself focus... long road ahead.. cut out the drama, Patricia.
Apologies right now to the lady who's shoe I untied by stepping on her laces at some point in this first mile.  But, you know.. I learned in my first 5K that if I was going to be slower than others, to keep my body to the right to let people pass on the left.  The first 3 miles or so, people would just stop running right in front of me and start walking on the hills... all good, I understand but dang, talk about a road block.

(This brought back a story a friend of mine told me about her first half, which must have been this one based on the scenery, and how people did this to her and it drove her nuts.. that kept my brain occupied for a little while, trying to figure out the last time I saw her and how the birth of her baby went, etc.)

The course wound through neighborhoods near Oglethorpe University.  Beautiful homes in mildly hilly neighborhoods, with trees and lushness galore.  The sun rose while we were in this neighborhood, somewhere around mile 2.  Lights by Ellie Goulding queued into the playlist just as the sun came up.. it was perfect.

And then, somewhere in this 2nd mile, I realized.. I HAVE TO PEE!  lordy me... really?  There were water stations and port a lets every two miles, I believe, but damn, I didn't want to stop.  I decided that I would only stop if I was absolutely about to be in pain.

Somewhere around mile 4, I felt that small pang in my stomach telling me I was hungry.. dammit again.  I had 6 Sports Beans with me (ooo I found watermelon at Big Peach Running yesterday.. my new fave)... so I ate one and realized yea! A water station... didn't have to waste the water I was carrying.

Poster I saw around this time:
"If a half marathon were EASY it would be called YOUR MOTHER."
hee hee
another one was a group of teenagers with a sign that said "You are all CRAZY!"
love...

Miles 4, 5, 6 really were great.  I know at mile 4 I thought "two more like that plus 1 mile" but that didn't really help me any... just kept counting down the miles.  I timed my Sports Beans/water combos well so as not to get stomach aches but not get hungry either.  In fact, at around mile 6, I had this burst of energy that I felt AWESOME.

We had some boring highway miles.  The highlite of these miles was the Wesley Cook band that was set up on the side of the road, jamming out.  I was hoping to remember their name, and I passed them again at about mile 11 and then on the way home so yep... name transferred to memory.

I knew that the race was headed to a park, but didn't realize we would double back at the end of the race.  So on the left of us passed a dude running obviously in the front of the pack for the head of the race.  The next person I saw was a woman... most definitely was the winner in the female category.  Yea for her.. awesome chick.. however I will say this... she was tiny to begin with, and was obviously only muscle and bone. SOOOO skinny, but with muscle tone.. pretty scary, but then the next 20 or so people behind her looked pretty similar.  Maybe they all hang out together and don't realize they look kind of freakish.. in my opinion anyway.. mind of like the Desperate Housewives with all of their collagen and botox :)

At around mile 8 or so, while in that park... gotta look up the name... the water tables were run by a Troop of Boy Scouts.. who also had candy and oranges, and I almost took something but didn't want to chance a stomachache... I would be regretting not taking something at mile 11 when I was SOO hungry :)  They had speakers blaring One Direction's What Makes You Beautiful.  Which mixed well with the techno song on my headphones, and made me smile, thinking of my big 10 year old birthday girl at home (this being one of her fave songs).

Somewhere around this time I saw a woman in front of me with a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale shirt on.. yes I was dreaming of the beer I would eventually drink and was pretending she was the beer.. she stopped and I kept going...

Mile 9 started us into the park, which was pretty and on a paved but wooded trail.  And then came mile 10..

Endomondo told me I was at mile 10, but of course I started a good bit back from the start line, so Endomondo was a bit ahead in marking the miles.  Well, the hills started, which I knew from looking at the altitude map when I signed up for the race.  I had no idea how many hills, how big, etc.  So hillward bound I went... each one I went down.. there was some flat land.. and then yet another hill on the other side.. finally I just hollered out "OMG these hills SUCK!"  yet there were still more, one decently big and similar to Cardiac Hill in the Peachtree Road Race.  Really??? at 10.5 miles... ugh...
My knees were starting to not be happy, my feet had been hurting for at least 2 miles, every now and then I realized I had to pee still...

I had no doubt I could push my butt to the finish line but dangit, I didn't want to be miserable.. it's too bad thoughts can't make the endorphins release for pain relief!  or can they...

Maybe I got wrapped up in one of my new favorite running songs, Criminal by Disturbed  (thank you, Tay, for having it on your play list.. and thank you, Brian, for the influence.)  I think right after that was Animal I Have Become by Three Days Grace and then Bad Religion by Godsmack.

Mile 11.5-ish was Breakin Dishes by Rihanna thank you Andrea!  and my another new favorite song, Kyoto by Skrillex.

Mile 12- Lady was carrying a sign that said "Think of the bragging rights" ... ahhh.. that made me smile.
Passed by the Wesley Cook band again, as well as this duet- two guys one with a guitar and one with a harmonica that were awesome
And I hit the turn back around the start line... and there were photographers.. and I tried to smile but I knew I was a hot mess.. :)
and as I got right to the finish line I hear a bunch of names and then "Patty Blanchard... welcome to the finish line"  and I teared up again.. I had done it!  I ran the whole thing!

I crossed the finish line and forgot to stop running, and then I walked to a girl handing me a bottle of water.. and another one handing me a banana, and then another girl was giving out bags of cookies.. mmm.. and another bags of pretzels... and then another was giving out bagels.. and don't forget the chocolate milk..  and then someone walked up to me and put my medal around my neck, and smiled and called me by name (thanks to my name on my running bib) and said great job.. and I almost cried again
and I walked around till my legs slowed down and I thought I could handle sitting.
and I ate almost ALL of that while contemplating passing out under a tree...
a little girl, she looked about 3 or 4.. was eyeballing my chocolate milk.

II. Randomness

On the course I saw...

• 3 cases of road kill (2 chipmunks and a very flat bird)
• about 100 empty packs of Gu (that runner energy gel stuff I can't handle the texture of)
• 1 Shot Block energy chew (the kind that tay likes.. I hope whoever dropped it had a spare)
• 1 Runner's bib.. I thought about it a mile later, I should have picked it up and carried it to the finish with me
• A good sized group of ladies scattered out throughout the race with "preserve the sexy" shirts on.. oh yeah
• Way too many runners with today's shirt on.. I thought that was bad karma?
• About 8 Natural Light cans all within 10 feet of each other... but really not much trash on the road with the exception of
• a million little empty cups from water and powerade... aw man, the job of picking all that crap up
• only one couple in costume.. bet they will make the highlights
• way too many women with too tight shorts on a the wrong panties.. ouch.. I hope their cracks aren't chaffed (hey you run that long, what else are you gonna look at)
• this one dad with two toddlers, seemingly the same age, on the side of the road in one of the neighborhoods, who worked for the whole time they were in my sights trying to keep one kid and then the other out of the road when the runners passed...poor guy, I wonder how long he stayed out there herding cats.
• lots of "Go Mom" signs on the sidelines, held by kids... made me smile.

III.  Final Thoughts

You guys knew this was going to be a long post...

Something else dawned on me as I was running...

the fact that I did pass so many people that were running together, and here I was running solo.. which I love to do (so Andrea and others, when we get to run together, we start and end together but the middle is a solo thing... unless we are doing some kind of keg run or something... lol)

But then I thought

I am not really alone

essentially, when I run, I have a crew with me... or I should say a KREWE with me.. and this is in no particular order, except for the first one :)

• first and foremost, I always have my family with me... my babies and my hubby... I started this jaunt with running 2 short years ago.  Lots of mornings I would hit the pavement before anyone woke up and y'all would hold the fort down till I got back... also, the expense of the running gear, etc.  (especially the search for the right shoes)  props to my mom for those!  With the motivation of being mom and wife to the best I can be, the running goal might not have gone to this level.
•   Kila and Brandee were my first two running friends.. well I think Angie Kraemer, you might have been one of the first back years ago... and then Kila ran that triathlon which totally motivated me to do SOMETHING.  Kila mentioned Couch to 5K, which my friends Shannon and Tara in Lullwater reiterated.  Tara then talked to me every day, or so it seemed.. did I bore you to death Tara? haha... about her 5K and other running experiences.  We had talked about running my first 5 miler together (it was supposed to be right around Autumn's first birthday) which I didn't register for.. darn it.  Tara ran her first 1/2 marathon in March 2011, and I couldn't even imagine wanting to do that, let alone DOING it...
• my buddy, Stephen, who recommended I run the Peachtree this past summer (oh what fun) which led me to running even further and completing this race
• The main reason I started running in the first place was because Camryn seemed to be into running at the time, and I wanted to keep up with the "Cam-zes" :) and Taylor was also running... and I figured maybe if I started running, and Taylor kept running, we could do a race together one of these days.  We did a 5K in Feb., the Peachtree in July, and we are soon to register for the Hot Chocolate 15K in January. :)
• Charmaine and Jason, Emily and Robert, who did the Rock n Roll Marathon last year in NOLA, who put the bug in my head about maybe doing one myself one day...
• Andrea Marcel, who started running around when I did, and who kept me motivated and gave us yet another thing to talk about and keep in touch about.   
• All my other new friends I have met through running who motivate me daily.
• And then a few that might not seem so obvious:
• I only met him once, and only in passing, and I am surrounded by his presence daily at Kennesaw Charter.  Jay Ingram was a friend to many, and he was a runner, and his spirit has been a spot of motivation on long runs, as I know how much he loved to run and the thought of how many miles he would have tallied.  
• My cousin, Aimee, who never was able to run and who fought for every day of normalcy.  I run in her honor, and the pain in my feet is nothing compared to what she contended with her entire life.  We miss you, Aim.

Also, through my awesome playlists, I run with several memories as songs pop into my ears. 

• My fireside posse was hangin with me during DJ Trashy's Close My Eyes at mile 9 today.
• Maw J was with me for Gloria's 'Conga" and Tom Jones' "Kiss".
• Andrea, "Breakin Dishes"
• Godsmack crew of 2000 during "Bad Religion"
• Brian and Tay= Disturbed's "Criminal"
• Blind Melon fanatics during "Galaxie"
• My Sis, Chrissy, during the Foos' "Monkey Wrench" and green Day's "Peacemaker"
• Any Paramore song brings me back to Tay's 8th grade year, as does Avril Lavigne
• My DMB buddy Brad was with me for "Shake Me Like a Monkey"
• Donnelly from KCSMA was there for "Rush" from Big Audio Dynamite
• Darude's "Sandstorm" made me think of Autie at the North Cobb games

Whew. ok.. all my thoughts are out... If you read this far, thanks for determination to make it to the end!

Puzzle Time

Autumn Ivy, 2 years, 1month, with her awesome Ernie Rubber Ducky puzzle from the mid 70's that I bought at a consignment store.

Rantings

If you know me, you know I am not one to get disturbed by much, really and truly.   WELL, I can honestly say this sincerely bothers me:  the "Digital Copy" 'commercial' at the beginning of Disney movies lately.  Yeah, great idea... till the little 8 year old (ish) looking boy says "I can even download them on my iPOD and watch them ANYWHERE!:
"at the beach"- whoa, partner!  at the BEACH???  really?  unless you live on the beach and it's that boring because you see it all the time, well I can't even imagine saying that!  why in the heck would you be watching a movie on the BEACH????

"hanging out with friends"... yeah that's the part right there..are we really influencing the kids of today that it is so dreadfully boring to just sit around and have a conversation that we have to all be watching movies on our mobile devices in order to not be bored to tears????  Yeah, so the scene is of 4 friends around a table, all staring at their handhelds, watching..whatever.

You know me, all for the technology but dang it, not like this.  Every time we watch a movie with that commercial on it, I ALWAYS make a boisterous disagreement with the thing, very sarcastic, etc.  And if you know me, well, yeah, that fits.

I am truly a digital immigrant who hopes to forever be as close to a digital native as I can be, but with these thoughts I am thinking maybe that will never be... but then again, my kids are digital natives and I want them to always value face-to-face conversation over staring at a screen.. maybe not ALL of the time, because I truly believe some conversations can better progress through digital means... There is a balance.

Father's Day 2012

EDIT:  Have to add in here that Taylor, Camryn and Lauryn woke up at 6 to make Father's Day breakfast.

Taylor and Lauryn, bringin home the bacon, fryin it up in a pan

(Camryn was busy creating decorations and her biscuits were baking.)

On to the rest of the day:
I hate that I have no pictures from yesterday, because we all had a fun time, even with the tremendous crowds.  We decided to FINALLY take the girls to White Water, which they were extremely excited about.  Camryn, Taylor, and Lauryn planned their attack on the slides, and all agreed they would ride "Cliffhanger", which was the first slide of the day and Todd went with them.

Autie and I were standing there when they each came down, and I can't believe I didn't hear Lauryn scream!  I don't think she had time to!  

While the big girls and Todd were waiting in line, Autie and I checked out all of the kiddee areas.

This was cute.. a lot of water spraying everywhere which Autumn is not too crazy about.  She was ok with it once I was carrying her and splashing through it.  We headed over to the next kid-friendly area.

This part was a lot more fun.. although she wanted nothing to do with the house part in the center with all of the water falling unexpectedly.  (She has never been one for liking water poured over her head, and now she only likes it if SHE is the one doing it.)  There were three regular looking water slides that moved real slow in this part, and she loved em all, when sitting on our lap. 

So we headed, Autie and I, to the next upgrade of kid areas called the Treehouse.  This spot had some kid slides that moved a little faster, which she would have LOVED I have no doubt if it weren't for the fact that the entire structure had water shooting out, spraying, or falling out of some part of it at all times.  This is the part with a huge 500-gallon bucket that fills up and spills every couple of minutes.  This bucket was a love-hate part of the day for Autie.  She could sit and watch it from a distance where it didn't splash on her all day, I think, but don't get her anywhere near the fall out!  Therefore, we never could get to any of these slides, no matter how fast we'd try to run through all of the water as Autumn was kicking and flailing her limbs to get away from the splashing water and the freakiness. :)

So Daddy took over with Autie for a bit.. well a GOOD LONG bit as it took FOREVER to get through the line to ride The Tornado with the big girls.

Well worth the wait.. all four of us on a raft.  Doesn't look like much but the first drop out of the chute and up the side of this thing... I am sure the people waiting in line were laughing at the insane look of fear on my face as the centripetal forces took over the raft and therefore, all of our bodies.  Fun stuff...

The girls rode Run Away River together 

while Autie played for awhile with Me and Todd and then took a MUCH NEEDED power nap.

Then the girls and dad rode Dragon Tail

while me and Autie discovered her love of the Lazy River, where the water pushes you along.

I traveled the whole loop squatted down so she could "swim", and she was happy as can be the whole 6 or 7 lengths we traveled during various parts of the rest of the day.

The Dad/girl foursome rode Black River Falls= more Lazy River fun for Autie plus ice cream time.

As it began to grow late, we decided to try Bahama Bob with Autie, as all of us fit in one raft, and she was BASICALLY tall enough to ride.  (Doctor appointment had said Thursday she was 35+" and the limit for the ride was 36".)

 

So you ride in a raft side by side, which Autie sat on Todd, and barrel down this white slide, which looked calm enough from the outside.  And it really was, but it went a bit faster than I was expecting and Autie had a look on her face like, well, like she might not trust us again the next time we try to get in anything in water that is different!

The girls had plans of riding more, but it was 7 and the park was closing.  The chicken tortilla soup in the crock pot was calling our names; It was a fun day, and our toes were tired!