Vail Health and Wellness Fair

I feel very fortunate to work in a school district (and particularly my school) where physical fitness and healthy choices are a top priority.  Adults are charged with the responsibility of setting a good example to the students in the food choices we make and the health choices we make.

This morning my district hosted the first annual Health and Wellness Fair, so of course we went out for a happy morning.

The Color Run (5K) started at 9AM.  I ran it while Stevie played with the girls (again, blessed).  It's fun to run along-side (and beat!) students and coworkers and even administrators!  I finished in under 32 minutes and, for the first time ever, I talked the whole time.  I found a guy right away whose pace I liked, so I stalked him for the first 0.5 mile before he started talking to me and we didn't stop.  We kept good pace and the time passed quickly.

The girls ran and ran and ran while I ran.  They made friends with another little girl and enjoyed time playing on the rocks, in the grass, and listening to the musical performances by some of our school's bands and orchestras.

Color Runs are all the rage right now and this was my first one.  They keep things interesting by having you doused with colored corn starch along the course.  Needless to say, by the end you are quite colorful as you can see.  Harper, ever a Forgacs, kept saying, "messy, messy!" and pointing at me.

We enjoyed the health booths in the gym and I got to see a lot of folks I haven't seen in a while (and they somehow recognized me!)  Outside there was a rock wall and trampoline.  Shyla had a great time on the trampoline as you can see.

Once again, it's all about setting a good example for our children and this was another opportunity to do just that!  It was also a great chance to have family time and get some fresh air .... and show off my beautiful family!

2013 Photo-Shoot

We, again, had our friend Torey do family pictures this year for us.  We were supposed to meet at Sabino Canyon for them (I really wanted a desert background this year) but due to the government shutdown, we had to go elsewhere.  We decided on Ventana Resort and, as you can see, it was beautiful!

Once again, anyone in the area looking for a very talented and reasonably priced photographer, we highly recommend Torey.  In addition to those things, Torey is also a mama to two little ones pretty close in age to Shyla and Harper.  This means she is used to photography children and she is very patient with them!  She had the girls looking for dancing monkeys in her lens and even saved Harper from going head-first into a cactus.

PS - the silly pictures were Shyla's idea.  Anyone surprised?

Enjoy!

Fall Fair 2013

If all goes as planned, I will have a Fall Fair post every year for the next 10 years!  

The school that we have chosen for Shyla for Kindergarten hosts an annual Fall Fair as their major fundraiser.  Even though she's still in Preschool, we decided to go out, have so much, support the school, and get her even more pumped about going there.

We had a blast and, although we weren't sure what to expect, we were not disappointed!

We started out with dinner at Panera.  Yumm!  Then we headed over and were shocked to see that this is a real, legit fair!

It was $2 per adult to get in, kids were free but still got a hand-stamp.  Everything else cost tickets, we spent about $40 which is a lot for us, but knowing it supports a great school makes that easier to handle.

There were two jumping castles.  As per normal, Shyla was hesitant until she got everything figured out (where did she get that trait from?) and Harper was not!  There was a cake walk but we didn't win.  The teachers from each department put on a talent show which was hilarious!  When the Kinder and 1st teachers were performing (Put a Little Love in your Heart) Shyla said, "they look like great teachers!"

Then we rode some rides.  The girls rode the train and all four of us rode in the spinning bears of death.

We must be the coolest parents ever!  We used the last of our tickets to get snow cones for the girls at 9PM!  And they got to put on their own syrup!

And they danced.  And danced.  And danced.  They danced so much they eventually scared these two little boys off the dance-floor.  (PS - I love this picture because it looks like they might be doing a choreographed dance.  They're not - but I can see them doing that within the next few years!)

We look forward to many more Fall Fairs with the new "family" we are joining next year!

Special Cookie Delivery!

Dear Uncle Dan and Auntie Erin,

Thank you so much for the special cookie delivery!  The girls (and adults) loved the delicious cookies and we were so thrilled you thought of us.  This is a really special time of year - filled with all sorts of fun family traditions and yummy treats!

Love, The Cookie Monsters

And then there was this:

The other day I was shocked to come down the stairs and see Harper, wearing this ridiculous hat and no pants, watching a television show.

Classic Harpey. 

Buckalew Farms 2013!

This morning we took our annual trip to Buckalew Farms (about 1 hour from us)!  It's become one of my favorite family traditions: we run the SAR 5K then we take a tractor ride to pick pumpkins and have family/play time.

This year did not disappoint! 

Since the girls spent the night with my parents last night, they met us at the farm, just in time for us to start our run.  Stevie did awesome and finished in under 23 minutes, I did okay and finished in under 33 minutes.  I must say, I get super pumped up when I get to run by my family and they are cheering for me!  It is critically important for us to set a good example to our girls about healthy choices and physical fitness, and it's also important that they learn where foods come from.  This event does both of those things.

Grandpa Steve and Viv came out too and it's always nice to spend some time with them.  Also, the Riley family was there and even though we don't get to see them often, they are some of our favorite friends!

After the run, we got ready to have some fun!

The pictures are self-explanatory and, as you can see, the girls sure like to run!  We had a great time! 

Thank you, Mom & Dad, for having a sleepover with the girls and driving them out for the race, once again!