For the Birds

Last Friday the Best Leadership Topeka class ever got a behind the scenes tour at the Topeka Zoo. The Manor has a membership to the zoo and we spend many afternoons there. This behind the scenes look still blew me out of the water. Getting to ask questions to Zoo administration and talk to the Zoo Keepers was an educational experience. For instance, I've often thought it was cruel that we only have one Gorilla at our zoo. I asked the question why they don't get her a friend. The answer was she doesn't like other gorillas. She was hand raised, a practice zoos don't do anymore and she thinks she is a people. She likes Julie Andrews movies and her favorite is Mary Poppins. They have tried to breed her unsuccessfully because she just wants nothing to do with other gorillas. Good To Know! 

Another thing we got to do was feed Lorikeet birds. Any zoo goer can do this and it is worth the price of the food! You just hold your little cup of juice and they land all over you and fight each other for some of the good stuff. It was a great experience. Almost a year after my first Leadership Topeka Class I still enjoy this group of people so much! 

After the Zoo Kelly and I took all of the boys to Fritz's in Shawnee for a fun dinning experience. At this restaurant you order your food by using a phone at your table and then it is delivered by train! Needless to say Alex LOVED it, Zach and Daryl both thought it was cool too. The older two especially liked the Oreo milkshakes! For being a gimmick type place to eat the food was actually good. I had the crispy chicken sandwich and crinkle cut fries. Yum!!

It's only 8:30 but I might still go to bed. I've been taking advantage of the lovely morning weather and have run the last three mornings. Waking up at 5:30 requires an early bedtime! 

A Funny Me Story

Usually, I write funny Daryl or Alex stories but every once in awhile I can be funny too. I was telling my co worker Kim about something that happened during my race and she said it was hilarious and needed to go on the blog. So here it is.

I was pretty nervous about my race when I got up Sunday morning. I made sure I had my watch, my food, my change of clothes and was nervously talking with my friend Becca and Kelly all the way up to the start.

Once we got to running on this beautiful trail I started to calm down. My legs felt good and it was drizzling rain which actually was keeping the temperature very nice. I found my happy pace and was enjoying the tall trees and river we were running beside. Then a little after the three mile marker faster runners were coming back. I'm used to seeing faster people turn around before me and I cheer them on BUT they should not be doing that when I'm only at 3 miles.

My mind started going crazy, I never saw a course map for this race, it just simply stated that it was a flat out and back course. Well if it was out and back there was no way those faster people had already run 13 miles and were already coming back. I started to panic, Beat The  Blerch is a funny race. Most of the things that go along with it are making fun of running. Even at the start instead of the National Anthem they played a song from the Lion King. What If This Whole Thing Was A Joke?! We all signed up for a Marathon but maybe we were only doing a 10k??!! I was breathing faster now but only because I couldn't bear the thought of having flown across the country, training for this race since May, telling all my running friends I was going to run a Marathon, just to be a part of a huge JOKE!!!

So I sped up until I was running with another lady. She had headphones in but I looked over at her, with crazy eyes I'm sure, and said "Hey, do you know if this is a real marathon?" This of course made her pull out her headphones and say, "What." I explained to her about the runners already coming back and while she thought that was strange too she assured me it was a "Real Marathon."

That really didn't make me feel better so I sped up a little more and repeated my question to the next fastest runner. She said the course was an out and back but we had to do this little seven mile bit first because the out and back course wasn't 26 miles long. Oh, OK that made me feel better. My heart slowed again and I realized how silly I was being. When I got to the first turn around I went ahead and laughed at myself. At the end of the race I laughed again thinking a fake marathon might not have been so bad after all! LOL

Becca and I at the first Starbucks. This is a good addition to our collection of Starbucks pictures!

Daryl thought the fish market was cool!

International fountain at the Space Needle

Mom is not really five feet tall!

Daryl getting a bite taken out of him at the Oregon Zoo

We did it!

Daryl rode on a plane! I ran a marathon! Kelly drove in Seattle! Mom golfed two more states! I knit half a sleeve! Becca ran a half marathon! We all did all the things. Yay us! More words next time. :-)

Daryl on a plane!

Smiled all day after I finished my Marathon!

We can do this!

My lovely sweater model!

It's Tradition!

Daryl KU Football 2010

Got to spend the morning with our KU Tailgate crew! This is a great group of Jayhawk fans that have cheered on the football team through thick and thin. Frankly, they have seen a lot more thin. Good thing the company is always good season after season! And it never gets old hearing Kelly tell current students about when he used to come to the games with only three thousand other people. Awww the Terry Allen days. ;-)

Daryl KU Football 2015

Kelly and Alex! 

We brought the bouncy house to the tailgate! 

Can't keep Alex away from a veggie tray. 

Family photo, Kelly what are you looking at?

Baby Jay is always popular! 

The progress on my sweater, I-Cord bind off. Ugh...