Girls (and Guys) on the Run!

Less than 12 hours after we returned from Turks & Caicos, we whisked away to Charleston for our annual, adult-only weekend to participate in the Cooper River Bridge Run with about 14 other friends. In typical Bridge Run fashion, it was an incredible weekend filled with delicious food, tasty beverages, sunny skies, and a bit of running. This was our ninth year in a row running the race and I had my best time yet (52:15)! Trent finished in 54:05. We’ve come a long way since 2008 when we finished in 1:26, not knowing at all what a 10k with 40,000 people (nor the steep bridge) entailed. You definitely have to train for something like that.

Brayden continued to do amazing during her tennis lessons. We hope to get her entered into some 10 and under tournaments over the summer. Hanleigh’s swim lessons also continued and she is doing much better (we can see her getting a green band at the Y this summer!). I spent a fabulous weekend in Atlanta with my awesome friend, Laura. She is due to have a baby boy in August and ever since she changed jobs, we made a pact to see each other about every six months. We ate at some fabulous restaurants, she experienced her first trip to IKEA, shopped at Ponce City Market, and even went to the Clermont Lounge. Not knowing what this place was all about (no one would tell us!), but taking our friends’ recommendations to go, we ventured into this sketchy club with black walls covered in stickers, low ceilings, loud music, and a mixed clientele (all ages, all races, etc.). As it turns out, it is a strip club where the average age of the strippers is probably around 60. It’s where they go to retire, I guess. This may sound weird, but it was the most amusing thing I’ve seen in my life. A complete anthropological thesis paper in the making. All I can say is that you have to go there yourself to get the experience. Nothing I can say will ever do it justice. Incredible.

There were the requisite birthday parties, which seem to happen more frequently as springtime rolls around. Brayden’s report card was once again straight As (she absolutely loves school) and, as always, I can only hope she keeps it up! We had a really fun date night out with some good friends eating at RuRu’s Tacos (muy delicioso!) and then went to see my favorite bluegrass-80s band (I’m guessing there aren’t many of these, honestly), Love Canon. Everyone had a blast and it was nice to introduce our posse to a new band. Of course, all the ladies were front and center! Check out the picture of the lead singer behind us in one of the photos! Hilarious.

I’ve been taking a lot of hot yoga classes lately and have a love-hate relationship with them. I never knew my eyelids and eyelashes could sweat. It is definitely helping to strengthen my core, but geez, that class is crowded on Saturday mornings…we’re talking like six inches between mats. A serious case of “know thy (extremely sweaty) neighbor”. After that class concludes, though, there is not one tense muscle in my body and I am close to believing that you should wait a few minutes before driving because it’s easy to daydream and be totally out of it.

We enjoyed lunch with GG & Dadaw and I spent a couple of days in Raleigh for a work trip. Brayden completed her first 5K race, coordinated by Girls on the Run. I was her “running companion” and couldn’t have been more proud of her. We ran nearly the entire way as she donned these totally kick-butt Wonder Woman knee-high socks with red, sparkly capes that soared behind her strong calves as she ran. I am totally buying a pair of them! I played us some good musical jams as we ran (didn’t see anyone else doing that for some reason), which put a little pep in our step and kept our attitude upbeat. When she neared the finish line, she ran her face off. Trent and Hanleigh met up with us a couple times on the race course and were great cheerleaders, as evidenced by the video.

We went to Hawk Fest for a couple hours and had a fabulous date night at one of the best restaurants in Charlotte, Barrington’s. Prior to dinner, we checked out the Foxcroft Wine Bar, which was quite tasty. After dinner, we went to our local stomping ground for a bit of music. Trent spent a few days in Raleigh for work as well and then we all went to Hanleigh’s kindergarten night at her new school, which she will start in August. Her behavior was out of the ordinary as she clung to my legs and didn’t want us to leave her with people she didn’t know. Luckily, Brayden took one for the team and stayed with her. She ultimately ended up having a great time. I also ran into a guy I dated in college, whose son will also start kindergarten there (small world!).

We ended the month attending Cooper’s birthday party and that evening, went to dinner at Kid Cashew with our awesome neighbors and then ventured to Exit Strategy. For those of you who haven’t tried the new trend in “escape rooms”, this experience was incredible! The eight of us were locked in a room that simulated a creepy, dungeon-like hotel room that was coated in fake blood, hidden blacklight paint, furniture covered in padlocks, and (apparently) clues. The script was that a murder had taken place in the room and we had to uncover a series of clues to escape in 60 minutes. Sound easy? Umm, no. Not at all. The good thing is that you can call the facilitators as much as you need (of course, we were stubborn for a bit with this and didn’t want to call) for help. We did do this a few times, but still couldn’t get out in time. Although that was a bit frustrating, the experience was so cool. I can’t wait to go back! Next time, I’ll be sure to tear the room apart a bit more. I think we were all a bit more careful than we should’ve been. We went to Wooden Robot Brewery afterward (where I got to have my favorite beer, Good Morning Vietnam…and I’m not a beer fan, so that says something…it’s SO good!) and then to Bradshaw’s to close out the night. Another great month in the books!

Hanleigh-isms

• She calls Theodore (smallest chipmunk on Alvin & the Chipmunks), “Vidor”.
• One of her memorable moments from school was “My favorite way to move my body is by playing tennis”. This is funny because she’s never played tennis before!

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