Our 5K-ers

Our 4th of July began with a 5K run at 7:30am. Paul and Dani both registered to run it. Paul has been running on the treadmill since January - a New Year's resolution of sorts. He has met many goals along the way. Needless to say, I'm very proud of him for sticking to it. I know how difficult it is. He has motivated me somewhat as well ;) [I'm not going to run or anything, but...]

It was a beautiful July morning here in ATL - pretty much unheard of. As I gathered 3 of the kids to go down to the race before 7am, I quickly realized just how cool it truly was... Sophia ran inside to grab a sweater and for John Paul I grabbed a jacket. Chilly. The thermometer in the truck informed me that it was a balmy 59 degrees - perfect for a morning run [though it was probably in the mid-60's when the race started. Still perfect!]

And yes, Dani now has a new shirt to add to her t-shirts. Yay :)

Here, the mayor of the town is about to start the race...

So, the race started.... about 5 mins. later the leaders passed by again. During the wait to see Paul and Dani pass us by going in the opposite direction, we heard shouts of encouragement for the runners, clapping, whoo-hoo-ing, and a "run Forrest, run!". I got a chuckle out of that. While we waited I got some shots...

Looks like he's saluting, but really he's just shading his eyes :)

and the Chick-Fil-A cow! [one of the race's sponsors]

About 10 mins. later they came...

Love the expressions here :)

What a ham!!

As we walked to the finish line, the leaders were already done!! The winner did his 3.1 mi. in 15:01. I knew Paul's time would be around 35 mins. or so. In the meantime, the cow visited us...

She scared John Paul. His back was to her when she tapped him on the shoulder. As he turned around, "AHHHHHHHH!!!!" It was pretty funny. To me, that is :)

The Sweet Tomatoes Tomato

And the priceless photo shot:

"When you're smilin', when you're smilin'... the whole world smiles with you!"

[10 bucks if you know to what I'm referring]

I think he's just excited that he beat the little girl behind him! LOL His time was 31:48, The really amazing thing is that Dani beat Paul! So amazing that I didn't even look for her as Paul came across. I expected her a few mins. later. Seriously. Paul told me that when they'd run together she'd take lots of walking breaks. She just never really stayed up with him. Paul thinks she was just being gracious now. But not the day of the race. She not only kept up with him, she beat him by a few seconds! So needless to say, I don't have a picture of her crossing the finish line. :( Sorry Dani Girl. It was so exciting to be there and see them run this 5K. We are so proud of them!!!

The proceeds from the race benefited The Hope Center. Isn't that great?!

What a wonderful cause to run for!!

This post has taken me a very long time [in Blogger Draft - thank you Jessica!!!]. The rest of our 4th will be continued!

Hope your 4th of July was filled with fun, food, family & friends!

God bless America!!