loving life.

what a beautiful day.

i'm convinced - sunshine is good for the soul. things are just good today. i managed to get up and run this morning. i'm finally reaching that point where it keeps getting easier to lace up my shoes and walk out the door.

my friend becky and i are training for the minneapolis half marathon this june. this will be my fourth half marathon, and her FIRST! i'm beyond excited for her! even though i've been discouraged off and on these past couple weeks as i've gotten back into running, i'm finally pushing through and it's getting easier. and it helps that my pace is faster now than any other time i've trained for a long race. (other than that 5K last spring that becky and i crushed!) it boggles my mind, but somehow my pace is faster now than it was before i had my son. i'm not going to question it though. i welcome that reality with open arms!!

this was from our trip to the park a week ago:

and these photos are from our trip to the same park just the other day:

 what a difference just a few days can make! we went from an empty, cold, and windy playground, to a sunshiney, warm, and FULL playground. the weather has been goregous this week. elli and i have been trying to get out an enjoy it every day. how could we not?! and this little guy just can't get enough of it! he breaks down into a fit whenever we finally have to come back inside. those tantrums are almost enough to make me skip going out all together, but i'll suffer through them to get our daily dose of vitamin D and to burn off some energy.

i can't help but giggle every time i look at those last three photos. i had no idea how ridiculous his little outfit was until we were walking towards the park. but that's one of the many things i love about elli. he's perfectly content right where he is, just how he is. he loooooves his new sunglasses from the grocery store. he can't get enough of wearing his purple vikings cap (making daddy proud!). and he doesn't give two cheerios as to whether or not his outfit coordinates. he's just loving life.

i'm trying to be that way today. i may not have gotten everything done on my cleaning list, but i got a few things accomplished, and that's more than i usually do in a week! i haven't been able to shower quite yet, and my hair is looking cah-raaaazy after my run this morning, but at least i moved my bum outside and ran, and my sweet family accepts me as i am, crazy hair and all. the cool breeze is rushing in the windows, and it refreshes me as i breathe it in. my coffee is warm and sweet, and the fact that i can sit for a while and enjoy it is a blessing. the dishes are trying to taunt me from the kitchen, but i know that they can wait. because i'm just loving life right now.

thank you elli, for being my example. and thank you Lord, for such a sweet day.