Coastal dreaming.

On Monday we loaded up the car for a quick overnight trip up the coast to visit family and friends.

I love it when we do these trips, they are always last minute, grab what we think we need (always forgetting something important) and head north listening to some strange assortment of kids music, singing at the top of my lungs while the boys plead with me to stop.

We had a great time frolicking on the beach, swimming in the pool and spending time catching up with people who are important to us.  These are my people, the ones that have seen me through all sorts of challenges and triumphs, the type of friend that doesn't require constant checking in or phone calls, where a firm hug and warm smile upon seeing each other again brings us right back to where we left off.

I saw one girlfriend and her now teenage daughter, it constantly blows me away that I held her tight as a baby, my first experience at seeing love grow before my very eyes, not only the love of her mother but my love as an extension of the affection I felt for her mum.  It was probably the first time I saw a glimpse of the intensity motherhood would later bring me.  To see her now flourish and begin her own journey to adulthood make me so proud of both her and her mum.  It makes me think that every now and then you are given a moment which is such a gift, a moment in time which gives you pause to take stock of what a journey this all is.

I love these moments, and on days which don't go to plan and feel overwhelming it is wonderful to have these firm hugs and warm smiles to look forward to.

Superhero running in the rain.

Saturday was the first anniversary of my local park run, and because runners are generally crazy and like to have fun it was superhero themed.  Hugo found this so amazing as he has only just started to become interested in superheros and especially spider man, the torrential downpour that occurred just as we started running was an added bonus.

It was a hard slog, and probably the last run Otto will do in the pram, we figured out that with both kids weight and the pram weight I am probably pushing close to 40kg around an undulating 5km run. The current weight gain of both kids is being felt in my legs and also I have noticed a huge shift in my times.  About six weeks ago I was able to run at a 5:17 pace, currently I am around a 5:44 pace with both boys.

The rain made me a bit slower as I was worried about slipping with the pram, but this run was all about fun and trying to catch and overtake the other superheros!

I love how excited Hugo got while we were running, and how much he gains from this experience, I only hope that Otto will continue to somehow come with me, either a combination of running and pram sitting, or scootering beside me.

A fellow runner came and shot a great video of us setting off and towards the back of the people you see me come through with the pram, it was hugely busy this week so I stuck towards the back.

Later that afternoon we headed into the city to see 'Erths dinosaur Zoo' at QPAC.  I was a little bit concerned about how the boys would manage it, so it was quite a relief when they loved every minute of it, plenty of children ran away crying as the dinosaur puppets were often very life like and behaved erratically, although that only added to the atmosphere. 

We had such a wonderful Saturday together, and a great way to start the new year!