My Last Run Before 13.1 and Splash Pad Fun

05/05/2015 R.C. Liley 4 Comments

Sunday brought us beautiful weather here in the South, and Going Mom had a great idea to go to a splash pad with Avery. I was planning on going for a run in my Soft Star Dash RunAmoc Shoes. They have a bullhide leather sole instead of the typical rubber sole you find on most shoes.

Definitely not what you’d picture a running shoe to look like, but they are awesome for the barefoot enthusiast! And not just for running, these things are comfortable around the house and would easily pass for work shoes in the office. Desk jockeys, rejoice! I’ll have a review posted after running the Mother’s Day half-marathon I signed up for.

I haven’t run over 10 miles in over a year, so I’m interested in seeing how I do. Stay posted to find out. My wife will be running the 5k and my mom (G-Ma), will be with Avery watching and cheering us on. Then we’ll go out to enjoy a Mother’s Day brunch together. Big weekend ahead!

But back to this past weekend, running and a splash pad. Kelley drove with Avery to a splash pad a few miles from home and I ran to meet them there. This was Avery’s first splash pad experience, so she was a little unsure of what to make of it at first.

I showed up not too long after they arrived and Kelley told me how Avery seemed more intrigued by the surrounding grass than the colorful water-spraying structures. Makes sense….NOT! So I decided to swing Avery around one of the sprayers.

What kid doesn’t love water sprayed in their face? Seriously though, Avery actually got a kick out of it.

Her smile and laughter is worth more than any sum of money I could imagine! So I continued my earning the riches with more swinging in the water.

You can see how smart I was by keeping my leather running shoes on while splashing in the water. For some reason, leather soles with no tread don’t provide the best traction on wet surfaces. Hmmm, probably why Soft Star even warns about this! Just had to test them out for a thorough review!

I took a break from swinging Avery around the water streams and my wife took over for a while. First she had to catch the little grass lover who is too quick for her little legs!

Then back to getting swung around for more toddler soaking madness.

I swear, that smile, it’s infectious! That goes for my wife’s too! There’s no doubt fun was had by all.

Of course, Avery seemed a little lost when we set her down to have a go in the pad by herself.

Ummm, Mom....Dad....a little help here? — Ummm, Mom….Dad….a little help here?

Once more, we took turns throwing our daughter around the water like any awesome parent would. First I played helicopter with her as the propeller….

….and then Going Mom reenacted The Lion King with our girl “Simba”.

Circle of life, gotta love it. Also gotta love these two….a lot, which I do.

Avery was getting cold and slightly fussy so it was time to head home. Kelley drove, I ran. With the run there and then back, I totaled about 7 miles, give or take a few tenths of a mile. As expected, traction was limited, but I enjoy running in the Dash RunAmocs thus far.

Once home, the fun didn’t stop there as I had a full-grown lawn to mow. No problem there since mowing with our EGO Power+ Mower took all but 25-30 minutes and I was done. Great way to wind down the weekend for sure. We never watched an episode of The Walking Dead after our date night, but snuck one in on Sunday.

Getting close to the yet-to-be released on Netflix Season 5, what are we to do?! Besides pay for it, I refuse, even though Kelley is threatening to buy it and watch alone.

Oh yeah, Happy Cinco de Mayo……if you care.

Ever take your kids to a splash pad?

Would you wear leather-soled shoes to go running or just in general?

What do you think wait for The Walking Dead Season 5 to come out on Netflix or give in and pay $27 for instant gratification?

Life, Parenting

3D Avengers and Our Next Date Will Be Different

05/04/2015 R.C. Liley 4 Comments

The Avengers: Age of Ultron was not only the first movie we’ve seen in almost a year, but also the first time to ever get the 3D “experience”. I put that in quotes because it really doesn’t seem that special.

Here I am rocking a new belt I received from Kore Essentials before heading out on our date. I’ll post a review of the belt soon.

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Don’t worry, I quickly un-tucked my shirt after the pic (per my wife’s request), I just needed to show off that fine Evolve Buckle and Belt!

At first, 3D is cool because, well, 3D, but then it’s just like any other movie but you have to wear glasses. And as a guy who already wears glasses (I try not to as much as possible), that meant I had to double up my eye-wear. So yeah, I was looking pretty Rico Suave for sure!

If we didn’t have a $25 gift card to use, the 3D thing wouldn’t of happened. Come to think of it, going to see a movie wouldn’t of happened if we had to pay for it with our own money. Hell, we didn’t even have enough to cover the $4 bottle of Dasani water after purchasing the tickets. Stupid Coca-Cola company, I don’t like you getting our money!

I’m done complaining, for now at least. The movie was good, but not out-of-this-world-slap-you-in-face-fantastic. I found myself laughing at the intended jokes, but in retrospect, they seemed to joke too much and during times of immense stress. My wife noticed this right off the bat, but it took a while to set in for me. Plenty of action though, and as a boy who loves his comics, I was thrilled to see the superheroes in action.

The move was rather long, and the trailers beforehand didn’t help. I found my leg getting fidgety early into the movie and didn’t stop until the end. Basically, sitting is not a strong suit for either my wife or I, we’d much rather be moving or at least standing.

Which is what I did when we went to the pub afterward for a beer. And a beer is all we had. Weak, I know, but we just stood there, drinking, and couldn’t find much to discuss. We picked apart the movie we just watched, Kelley brought up the fact that we could have watched 3 episodes of The Walking Dead in the time it took to see the move, and we talked about Avery (of course).

We talk so much about our freedom away from our kid, but then end up missing her while we’re out. We can never win! Actually, I take that back, we just need to do something different next time. By different, I mean nothing that involves sitting, not even beer. Well, maybe beer afterward, when it feels more deserved.

For instance, on our 7th anniversary, we seemed to have the most fun when we went on an impromptu kayaking trip. So, next time we agreed that going hiking, rock climbing, or even bowling will be the activity of choice. Movies are cool, but sitting is not, and $4 water from Coca-Cola definitely IS NOT!

Meanwhile, Aunt Stef and Avery seemed to have a great time and played hard while we were out. Avery gobbled up the steamed carrots, broccoli, and cauliflower with wild salmon I left, and kept taking her Aunt inside and outside multiple times.

Big thanks to my sister-in-law for watching our crazy toddler for the day! I know her daughter, Cousin Taylor, really wanted to be there but had a soccer conflict, so they plan to come back next weekend. Now, Going Mom and I just need to plan out our next date and what adventure we should go on.

Are you good at sitting through movies?

Have you ever seen a movie in 3D? Like, dislike, or don’t care?

Any thoughts on a fun adventure date to take my wife on next?

#MySundayPhoto, Parenting

The Toddler Trance: #MySundayPhoto – 05.03.15

05/02/2015 R.C. Liley 18 Comments

Kids and adults alike find themselves locked in a trance of deep thought almost daily. A toddler may ponder something as simple as what to make of the family pet. It’s nothing like mommy or daddy and certainly doesn’t poop or eat like anyone else in the house. Well, maybe…

But as adults, we have plenty of things swarming our brains that cause us to hold a trance of perplexity as we try and make sense of it all. I’m sure for many parents, myself included, that perplexity is comprises what’s going on inside our kids’ head. Especially as toddlers when they lack the verbal skills to better relay their needs/feelings.

Anyway, what I’m getting at, is that every time I catch my daughter in deep thought like this, I can’t help but to wonder what it is she’s thinking. Maybe why her bottom lip feels bigger than normal, or maybe she’s just pausing to poop in her diaper. Who knows?

Okay, I’m done being philosophical for the day. This week’s pic is the day after Avery busted her lip, hence its swollen redness, and she’s caught in a trance thinking about who knows what. Here’s the original…

…and a B&W version I probably tried to hard to edit.

I wanted to keep the color of her beautiful eyes, but fear they look more bloodshot than anything else. Regardless, the picture captures that ever-growing mind working hard, I only wish I knew for what!

Do you ever try to decipher what your kids are thinking?

How do you like the b&w with colored eyes? Would it be better just straight b&w with no color?