just like her mama

happy halloween!

haha, i just don't have any idea where she got that expression from.

and, even though i showed you this already, it's still funny.  and totally appropriate for today.



have a fun and safe halloween, everybody!

this run was, like, totally gnarly, dude

the folks who organized the hollywood half marathon i ran earlier this year added a really fun race to their lineup - the awesome 80s 5K/10K.  the inaugural run actually took place last month at the rose bowl, which would've been really cool for me...except that it was on the same day as the bean's race at disneyland.  i was so sad to miss it, so when i heard that they were doing it again in san diego, i roped my friend kelley into signing up with me.  thank god she's always willing to be my racing buddy.

the bean was super excited to be staying in a hotel for the night.  before we left, she sat down and drew a picture "to give to the lady at the hotel desk."  i love how she was so sure the front desk clerk would be a female.

but when we got there, she and i stayed in the car while the hub hopped out to check us in.  so we brought our stuff upstairs first:

and then the two of them went back down so she could present the clerk with her picture.

meanwhile, i checked out our room, which was pretty nice.

and the goodies in the bathroom earned my seal of approval, too.

a few minutes after they returned, the phone rang.  and from the hub's end of the conversation, i could tell that the bean's hand-drawn offering had worked its magic once again.  last time, it earned her a sweet little snack pack.  this time?  our $25 overnight parking fee was waived.  she's like our very own little traveling coupon.  sweet.

the bean and i crashed early while the hub ventured downstairs to grab a drink.  and then my alarm went off what seemed like five minutes later.  it actually wasn't all that early, i suppose - just before 6 - but when it's still super dark, it sure is hard to get out of that nice, warm bed.  nevertheless, i dragged my ass up and got myself all gussied up in my 80s gear.  kelley texted me just as i was putting my hair into that horrid scrunchied side ponytail that was so cool back in the day, and i headed out to meet up with her.

how convenient to find a full-length mirror right in front of the elevator.  heh.

man, it was chilly out there.  i did a couple of jumping jacks before kelley found me, and we marveled at the long line of cars snaking down the street looking for a parking spot.  these runs always snarl up traffic, despite the super early hour.

we were walking behind these chicks, and i wondered how hard it would be to run three or six miles in a jean skirt.

there were lots of people at the expo, all decked out in neon colors and side ponytails galore.  the dj was playing a fantastic mix of 80s music, and some folks were already out on the floor partying like it was 1999.

some folks really went all out with their costumes.  we saw a group of run DMC chicks in the classic black tee and giant gold chains, quite a few "physical"-esque leotard getups, even the sta-puft marshmallow man from "ghostbusters."

this chick showed up in a giant tutu and OG roller skates.

and we cracked up at the sight of officer poncharello from "c.h.i.p.s."

the start line.

it was just after 7 when the race started.  we were near the front of the crowd, and as i started running i felt the rush of adrenaline i always get when stepping on the timing mats at the beginning of a run.  doesn't mean i was particularly fast, mind you.  but i had a good feeling about this one, and pretty soon i passed this:

and not much later, this:

i was so sad that i'd forgotten my headphones, charging on the desk back at the hotel.  so i was happy when i could hear music blaring from several different spots along the course.

kelley and i had both debated stopping at the 5K mark.  she decided to leave it up to me, and i told her that if she didn't hear from me, i'd be doing the whole 6.2 miles.  so when i found myself still running happily at this point, without a single walk break, i just kept on running.  like forrest.

i was feeling so good that i didn't even need to stop for water.

and yeah, i had to take this.  yo, she wasn't wearing tights!  blech.

pretty soon, i was here:

this was somewhere between miles four and five, i think.

my mojo didn't last the whole way, though.  i slowed to a walk for a bit, but picked it back up fairly quickly.  and i kept pace with a couple of others who i remembered running with back at the beginning.  so it wasn't too terribly long before i finally got here:

i wandered around a bit and was happy to run into ken, the race director.  he's a really cool guy, and recognized me from the facebook group that's dedicated to the hollywood half.

kelley found me not long after that, and we snagged someone to take a sweaty post-race shot.

back at the hotel!

i used the panorama setting on my phone to take this shot.  the hub said he could see the hordes of runners clad in brightly colored attire from the balcony.

my finish time, 1:05, was two full minutes faster than the last 10K i did a few months ago.  yay for setting a new personal record!

field trip, check!

last week, i got to go with the bean and her class on their very first field trip of the year.  she was super excited to ride the school bus to a local pumpkin patch with her friends, and it was all she talked about for days.  it really is the little things in life, huh?

the school bus driver was running a few minutes behind that morning, so their teacher decided to get all their wiggles out with a little exercise.  i guess this is something they do every day, and it was cute to listen to them sing the songs and move along with their teacher.

and then it was finally time to go.  everyone was pretty excited.

it was a short ride to heritage park in la verne, and every kid thanked the driver as they got off the bus and then got in line to await further instruction.

after checking in, everyone hopped onto the tractor for a fun ride around the park.

there were lots of old things to look at.  luckily their audience was pretty easy to please.

this lady got to take everyone on a walking tour, delivering her spiel to a bunch of 5-year-olds who, despite being on their best behavior and following directions perfectly, weren't listening to a darn thing she said.  i gotta admit, i may have zoned out myself.  it was pretty boring, but it was a beautiful day.  and when they got to the first stop, they perked up considerably.

although the next stop was really bizarre.

yeah, she stood there and talked about the 100-year-old outhouse.  the kids were visibly bored until she started talking about poop, and then they all started giggling.  it was really funny.  and, ew.

lucky for them, the animals here were just for looking at.  they stopped and watched for a while before moving on to the next thing.

photo op!

finally, it was time to pick out a pumpkin to decorate.

there were stickers for the face and glue and yarn to make hair.  this was their favorite part of the trip.

a little lunch:

a bit of play:

one last group shot:

and then it was time to head back to school.

best part of the trip for me?  listening to the bean chat, giggle, and interact with her friends - all without being particularly conscious of my presence.  it was a little bit of a test for me to see how she'd function in class with me around, and she did really well.  maybe now that means i can actually volunteer to help out in her classroom if her teacher needs it.

although with a whopping nine students in her class, i may not be needed anyway.  maybe next year.