Lisa's Latest 5K

I now have followers! Ah, that is so exciting!!! :) Since I know one of my followers is also a runner I wanted to add that I finished a 5K recently with a time of 35:05. It isn't my best time but I was very happy with it. For starters, it was approximately 27 degrees when the race started. After standing in the cold for at least half an hour I was THIS close to calling it quits before the starting gun! But I thought of all those ladies in my Zumba class at the Y and how I knew they would ask about the race, so I stayed. Then, I took off way too fast for me. I always do that! Grrrr... I was trying to stay with the pack, and I was NOT in 'pack shape'! So my first mile was 10:27 but my lungs were so not happy with this pace. I finally settled down and got into a reasonable rhythm. I even got warm about 2.5 miles in and took off my hoodie.

So, a big thanks to all those who pulled for me and for those who, in my mind that day, cheered me on. Kelly, you are at the top of the list. I have stuck with running because of YOU! You are a true inspiration to me, in many ways. (Kelly helped - pushed/dragged - me to my best 5K ever back in November. My time was 33:24!)

The Recital

Today was the BIG day. Natalie had her ballet recital. She was so excited to get all dressed up in her ballet suit again. It has been pretty cold lately so she has been wearing her pink sweatsuit and slippers. Today was sunny and kinda warm so she was all dressed up. The teacher asked them all to tell their names. Natalie was the only one to include all three of her names, "Natalie Caroline Goodson" she said. We were all there to see her shine. Robbie had the day off work and the boys came along because we forced them to. :) A little girl was leaving the Y as we were going in and she stopped and looked at Natalie and exclaimed, "That girl is a PRINCESS!" Natalie just BEAMED! Oh, she is alllllll girl, I tell ya!

Getting Crafty Again

I can't get the picture to move so I'll show you this first! Here is my version of a Christmas card holder. Yes, if you are a good friend, I could be letting the cat out of the bag too soon. Try and act surprised, okay?

This is the tree skirt I gave my mom at Thanksgiving. I almost added a picture of it with my quilt. Then I realized mom would see it even sooner than Thanksgiving. :) So, now that it is safely under her tree, I can share it with all of you. Mom, you HAVE put up the tree, right?

Tumbling Block Quilt

It is almost finished.....and it only took about 15 years! Aunt Peggy gave me the fabric, book, thread, needles, etc to make this quilt when I graduated from college in 1992. Partially in my defense, I hand quilted it. But, I did finish that at least 7 years ago, because the top was done before we had children. I had planned to hand quilt it as well, but since having three kids I have learned that my spare time is severely restricted. So, I had it machine quilted and am thrilled that it is almost complete! I have to bind it and then I'll decide whether to hang it on the wall or use it on the bed.

Our Second Camping Trip

We did it again! We went camping on Friday night. It was a beautiful day to camp. The weather was so nice and we enjoyed the beautiful leaves, especially the maples. Robbie set up the tents and the kids played at the playground nearby. We were camping in a group area at the local state park. Our Church rented it for the night so we could all hang out. We got a nice campfire going and others showed up. We had yummy tinfoil dinners. Eating outside is always fun. We also had smores and hot chocolate. As long as you were by the fire you couldn't have asked for a better place to be. However, once you got ten feet from the fire, it started getting COLD. It was definitely a good thing to be wearing fuzzy footie pajamas on this campout! I had wisely invested in a double decker air mattress earlier in the day. I am thinking I wouldn't have survived without it. Natalie had insisted on the cute princess sleeping bag, which is probably best used inside the house. She got cold right away and ended up with dad in his bag. He didn't sleep much after that. I didn't sleep either because I was absolutely freezing!!!!! It got down to about 35 degrees up there in the mountains. BRRRRRR! I'd chosen mummy bags for the boys and they were grateful. They said they weren't cold at all, which is hard to believe! (It is probably a good thing we only took one vehicle. Because about 3am I am pretty sure I would have bolted if I'd had a way to leave!)

When we did get up our friends had set up an omelet buffet and we boiled them in ziplock bags. Really cool and they sure hit the spot.

So, now we have survived beach camping and mountain camping. Bring it on, the Goodsons can handle anything! :) (.....except the realllllly cold stuff!)

Family Photos

Photobucket Album (Click on pic to go to the slideshow)

The Goodsons Try Camping

This weekend the Goodsons embarked on their first family camping trip. There are lots of good things to report, along with some not so great experiences as well. First, the good things! The weather was FANTASTIC. If you are ever going to spend time in a tent you should have weather like this. It was in the 70's and not a cloud in the sky. The beach was beautiful and just a very short walk from our camp site. The water was cool but there were lots of people swimming. We walked to the pier, looked for sharks teeth and dug a hole half way to China (Andy's idea). We set up camp really well. Actually, Robbie did that part all on his own. We borrowed the tents (thanks going out to the Jenkins fam!) and got there right before dark. He had us up and running in no time.

We also lucked out and hit the very last day of the amusement park being open for the season. If we'd waited one more weekend the kids would have missed out on the rides. They had so much fun, especially the boys on the go-carts.

Now, the downside to camping. Bath houses. YUCK! Not my cup of tea but we survived. It was funny to see what little clean freaks the kids turned out to be. Now maybe they'll appreciate the conditions they live in here at home. Nah. That won't really happen.

I also didn't pack well. Myrtle Beach had a terrible storm come through on Thursday and we almost cancelled the entire trip. It was cold and rainy here so I packed mostly cold weather gear. I have a terrible fear of my children getting cold. The thought is just unbearable. So, my kids were the only ones in the campground in fleece footie pajamas! :) Hey, they kept the mosquitos off!

Tents don't really keep noises or lights out. Last night at approximately 3:10am the car alarm on the car parked directly across the street from our tent went off. Horn honking, lights flashing. I thought the hounds of hell had been released and were upon us! I didn't know which end was up. I finally asked Robbie if it was our car because it sounded like it was RIGHT ON TOP OF US! Someone else in a sleepy stupor must have thought the same thing because they hit the panic button on their key chain and then TWO horns were blaring. When my heart stopped racing I heard a little voice. It said, "Mommy, I need to pee." This involves getting dressed and carrying Natalie to the bath house (which was also referred to as the 'pee house' during the trip). So, we took care of that and went back to sleep. THEN, I hear, "Mommy, I'm wet." Hmmmm.... Hey Robbie, did you remember to put a pull-up on Key??? I didn't think so. Then we had 2 extra people in our section of the tent for the rest of the night (and a load of laundry to do the next morning). Back to sleep.

THENNNN, a strange noise outside the tent. RACCOONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Did you know that raccoons love pound cake? Not just any pound cake, AUNT PEGGY'S pound cake. :( We'd already eaten most of it, thankfully. But that they got any at all is a shame because there is no better pound cake on earth than Aunt Peggy's and there is no way a raccoon can appreciate that. Robbie had to beat them off it with one of my shoes, that is how good this pound cake is.

So, mixed feelings about the whole camping thing. I'd definitely give it another go and see if we can fix some of the fixable stuff so we don't loose any more food, etc. I am sure the kids would love to not sleep in really hot pj's next time too. We may be able to be The Goodsons, that family that camps sometimes. :) Natalie was bummed that we had to sleep in 'the brick house' tonight.

Brookgreen Gardens

We spent Saturday afternoon at Brookgreen Gardens in Murrells Inlet, SC (seafood capital of SC). The weather was beautiful and the kids loved walking through the sculpture gardens. The wildlife park was also really neat. I took tons of pictures of the flowers, sculptures and butterflies.

Our Ballerina

We've never had a ballerina before. This is new territory. Territory best traversed in pink tights, a tutu and tiny slippers. She was so excited about her new class today. She tried on her leotard yesterday and I almost didn't get it off again!

We couldn't see what they actually did in class today but she reported that they did the hot potato song and Mickey Mouse. Whatever that means....

Like Mother, Like Daughter

This is a picture of Miss Natalie (aka Missy) sitting beside a painting of me at about the same age. My uncle Harvey had a picture of me in his wallet when he went to Vietnam. He had a Vietnamese man paint this picture of me.

Old Poinsett Bridge

We found the Old Poinsett Bridge today and had fun playing in the creek. It was a beautiful spot to spend the afternoon. The bridge was built in 1820 and was part of the highway connecting Greenville, SC and Asheville, NC. The kids found crawdads, tadpoles, salamanders and a bullfrog. The water was ice cold!

Hollywild Animal Park

A Zonkey

Three kids on safari
Horse with spots
Horse with stripes :)



The kids were invited to a birthday party at Hollywild Animal Park today. (Happy 6th birthday, Eric!) What a great party place! We saw all kinds of animals and had a wonderful time. Our favorite part was the safari ride.

My First Grader

Off to school with Kershaw tagging along
You can really see his missing bottom tooth in this one

Key was very excited to start school this year. He met his teacher and all the kids in his class at the end of last year and has been ready to go since that day. He has already impressed his art teacher by telling her he knew who painted the picture of sunflowers on her wall - Vincent Van Gogh. He got three high fives for knowing. He memorized his lunchroom number and is waiting impatiently for next week so he can get a treat for remembering it.

Here's hoping for a great year!

Meet Chin Chin

We've added to the madness here at the Goodson zoo. Please help us welcome our newest member, Chin Chin. He (she?) already had that name when we adopted him/her so it is subject to change. The boys have been trying out different names but none have stuck so for now he/she is still Chin Chin.

It all started when we found out that Petco would take our sucker fish back. Andy had asked for an aquarium for his 4th birthday in February. He got a 2" sucker fish to help keep the tank clean. That sucker fish is now at least 8" long! He had completely outgrown our tank. I was pleasantly surprised that Andy was okay with taking him back. So, we scooped him up and put him in a big ziplock and returned him to Petco. I was feeling pretty good about the visit on our way out.

We didn't make it out alone though. Right before we got to the door, there was Chin Chin. A FREE dwarf Chinese hamster. Did I mention FREE? He was ours for FREE! Well, if you overlook the fact that he needed a cage and food and an igloo to sleep in and lots of soft bedding to climb around on.

And we've actually figured out why Chin Chin was free. I bet it is because he BITES! I've been nipped. Robbie has been bitten. Twice. Makes you think before you grab him up for some out of the cage time, that's for sure!

Andy was ecstatic to have him. So much so that he has promised not to bug us for a snake now. We'll see how long that lasts.

Home From Florida

Key and Robbie paddling around in the Gulf
Beach bums (no, for the thousandth time, they are NOT twins!)
Cutie Pie
The whole fam damily
Sunset in Venice looking out over the south jetty

Andy ducking to avoid the wrath of the flamingo (or as Natalie calls them with her Southern twang "Mangoes").

Gator wrestling at Sarasota Jungle Gardens

Andy with a conure

Key the diving man
Happy 3rd birthday Miss Natalie!!!!!!!!! She had two parties at different friends houses. I wanted her to have a cake so that is what she had at Wendy's house. She only wanted 'roni pizza so Bonnie got her one at her first party. Thanks Bonnie!
Andy helped eat the cake at the party. Thanks Andy, you are a trooper!
A flamingo and Natalie collide. A split second later and they had gone their seperate ways.
Hanging out under the hibiscus.

Pretty in pink polka dots
Natalie with her very own Little Mermaid....ahhh ahhh ahhhh AHHHH AHHH AHHHHHH
Andy Man - the diving king
All we caught on this boat trip was a picture of a dragonfly
There were really cool red dragonflies at the Van Dykes house



Key and John, trying to figure out how to get this crazy gar off the line
The three muskateers at Ken Thompson Park. I helped get this park from paper to reality when I worked for the City.
Sitting on a big shell at Mote Marine
Having a blast in the Children's Fountain at Bayfront Park.

We made it home from Florida late Sunday evening. I can't believe we were there for a whole month. It flew by. We had a great time catching up with our bestest friends, love ya FL people! :) (If housing prices keep dropping we might be tempted to come back!) The kids spent most of the time in the pool. We now have three very good swimmers! Yay! The first week Andy sat on the steps. The last week Andy was diving for dive sticks, which previous to the trip were called drown sticks. Key even managed to snorkel some in the Gulf. He claims to have seen an underwater lizard but I'm pretty sure it was some type of fish. Natalie IS a fish. She was our first swimmer, still remembering from last year. The retirees at the condo would gather in the evenings to watch her swim.

We visited Sarasota Jungle Gardens and the kids held birds and an alligator. Andy was attacked by a flamingo.

We also went to Mote Marine Aquarium and saw the rehabbing sea turtles, dolphins and whales. There was also a huge manatee to watch and marvel over.

Our last outing was the G.WIZ children's museum in Sarasota. Great place to learn and have fun. The boys especially loved it.

Natalie now has dark brown skin and platinum blonde (white) hair.

The boys borrowed Good Burger from a friend (thanks Rose!) and can quote most of the lines. I am currently the high bidder on eBay for our very own copy. Natalie fell asleep every night watching The Little Mermaid, her new favorite movie.

Key apparently didn't remember mosquitos being so large in FL from when we used to live there. He saw a big one flying near him and exclaimed, "Dad, that mosquito is carrying a stick!"

He also declared that Natalie's screaming in the car was causing him to get an ear infection. Natalie was very upset about having to leave Gina's house and Gina's dolls and Gina's stroller, etc. (Thanks for being such a good friend to Nat, Gina.)

Another time Natalie came crying to me and announced that the chair had tipped her over and poured her out.

I forget what Andy was so excited about but he screamed, "HOLY MERCY!"

Robbie went diving with friends and brought back some cool sand dollars. He hit his favorite fishing holes too. Caught 12 snook walking out to Stump Pass in Englewood. And the lucky duck saw a manta ray jump out of the water. Well, he says he did. He might be saying that to make me jealous!