Busy Days

I've been busy lately, chauffeuring Livie around to various activities (mainly swimming), and trying to get some studying accomplished (hard to do with Livie out of school for the summer).

However, we have been able to do a few fun things during my "summertime extended study break," (aside from swimming/swim lessons, studying, and reading for the library's summer reading program).

The other night, for example, Livie and I were able to go to an outdoor concert in the local park. We had a picnic dinner and listened to a classic rock cover band.

On the way back to the car (which was parked a few blocks away), I snapped a photo of a local church, using the Instagram app on my iPhone:

Of course, it seems like in the summertime, the weekend is the best time for me to get study time, because Andrew's home and able to do fun things with Livie (like gardening stuff). So that's when I get an hour or two to get out of the house and get some hard core reading/studying accomplished - at the local bookstore/cafe, of course (which also entails getting myself a little treat, like an iced caramel macchiatto). This photo was also taken with my iPhone and the Instagram app:

Your Sunday Best, 29 April 2012

Thomas Park, Marion, IA

This week's "Your Sunday Best, #14" entry, taken with an iPhone using the Instagram application.

"Your Sunday Best" is hosted by A Rural Journal. Please click on the button below to view the rest of this week's entries.

A Few Views From an Iowa Trail

Yesterday after taking Livie to Kindergarten, I decided I'd get my exercise outside, instead of in the gym. I made this decision for a couple reasons.

1.) It was a clear, sunny day, not too windy, not bitterly cold - a good day to get outside and enjoy some natural vitamin D, fresh air, and the unusual lack of ice (!!) in January in eastern Iowa.

2.) My gym is being renovated. Sure, it's still in use, but the number of machines that are currently "in service" has been greatly reduced, and they're kinda in unusual spots, clumped together, and as of last Thursday, I couldn't see the TVs from any of the cardio machines I'd normally use . . . plus, the work is kinda loud - so what's the point of being stuck inside on a treadmill, right? Sure, it'll be worth it once the renovations are complete, but now it's just kind of a hassle.

So off to the park I went. I think it was about 27°F (with a windchill of 15°F) by the time I headed out. (It ended up being close to a "balmy" 50°F, cloudless, and really breezy by later in the day!) There are a number of trails/paths throughout the numerous parks in the Cedar Rapids area. Some trails are like sidewalks, made of asphalt or concrete. But others are more gravel-like, made of crushed limestone. This is what the paths are made of at the park near my house.

I headed out for about 30 minutes of (mostly) walking and running, so as to not cause my plantar fasciitis to flair up. It was kind of hard, keeping it an "easy" workout, because it felt good being outside running. Especially in new running shoes. But every time I started pushing myself too hard, too soon, my left heel would remind me, "You're being the hare, not the tortoise!" and I'd back off.

I think I may have gone a little too fast, a little too long, because after today's workout, my left heel is nagging me a bit. I've been doing the stretches the physical therapist recommended, and they're helping (especially with the right foot), but the little bit of pain in the left that's not completely going away is a good reminder to take it easy, like the PT recommended.

Anyway, I took my camera with me (it fits perfectly in the back pocket of my running jacket), so I'd have an "excuse" to take it easy on my heels . . . and to have it in case I wanted to take photos. And of course, I took photos. Nothing great, but you get the idea of what it looks like here in east central Iowa during an unusually warm, dry January.

Here are some of the photos I took: 

Farm land - this field was corn in 2011, but has been soybeans before. Now, a lot of this land is being developed for homes. Those mounds of dirt in the background are located approximately where they're starting to build.

Livie likes these kinds of holes in trees because she likes to imagine what (if any) creatures call these holes "home." I took this photo for her. When I showed it to her after Kindergarten, she started telling me how it's "Jumpy Squirrel's" home.

This is the crushed limestone the paths are made of. Usually these paths are nice to run on. As you can see, there are bike tracks, human track, and dog tracks - it looks "smushy," like there's a bit of "give," right? Well, during the unusually warm part of the days, it is, but then we get freezing temps at night. So this path was hard as a rock during my morning jaunt, the tracks having frozen like that overnight.

Some Pac Man-like grafitti under an overpass.

Blue skies!! No clouds!! Woo hoo! Unusual in Iowa this time of year! Usually it's more overcast (and gloomy).

Just about to go around the bend and into the wooded area just behind the farmland. It's nice to take this path in the spring and summer with the green foliage. My allergies, however, don't appreciate it too much.

Will lights-out be early tonight?

We spent some time this afternoon at the park with the HUGE playground. We were there about 45 minutes.

Next, we headed out for a walk down the running trail. There are a lot of running trails (made of crushed limestone) all around town.

We didn't actually run, but we did walk a little bit (just about 1.26 miles).

Okay, so Liv did a combination of running/skipping/walking for about 2/3 of a mile before getting a ride in the BOB for the rest of the way.

It took us just about 30 minutes, because we had to stop and explore every couple minutes.

After one last stop at the park (for about 10-15 minutes), we headed home.

I hope all the playing will mean an easy and early bedtime.

What a way to spend a Sunday!

Yesterday afternoon we went down to the park a little over half a mile from our house (0.64 mi. according to Mapquest). Livie rode her scooter and Andrew and I walked.

I carried her jellyfish kite as Daddy walked ahead with her. (Technically, it should be called a "jelly" and not a "jellyfish," as I learned at the New England Aquarium in Boston, because they're not actually "fish.")

It was a warm, sunny afternoon with temps near 65˚F, and nice cool breezes (not to be confused with "Bob" from the TV show The Unit).

This was the first time Livie ever got to fly a kite, and she was very excited!
 

Here she is with Daddy, as they get the kite up in the air:

Here she is flying the kite on her own:

Here's a view of the "jelly" kite as it's in the air:

It's a cool kite, isn't it?! 

Now it's time to play on the playground equipment:

After just over an hour of playing at the park and flying the kite, we headed home. Of course, Livie only made it about a block before complaining that she was tired, so she somehow got Daddy to carry her on his shoulders for the remaining  half-mile home. I, of course, had to carry all the stuff (the kite, the scooter, the bike helmet, and the (mostly consumed) bottle of water).

When we got home, we opened all the windows in the house, grilled hot dogs, and relaxed at home.

Now that's a way to spend a Sunday afternoon!

A Walk in the Park

Yesterday was such a nice spring-like day (after the fog cleared up), that Livie and I ended up going to the park after school; we needed to enjoy the weather and soak up some Vitamin D.

We started off collecting twigs and small sticks. Livie enjoyed throwing them as far as she could into the stream as we stood on a small bridge.

Then we spent time racing each other down the path. I usually let her beat me; if I purposely tied her, she would insist on a do-over. And one time, she was ahead of me as we ran - she stopped suddenly, and it was all I could do to keep from running her over. She laughed at my acrobatics, as I did what I could to avoid running into her.

At one point, we came across a man and his two Pembroke Welsh Corgis. I saw them first, but didn't say anything, just waiting to see if Livie would notice them. She did, crying out, "Corgis!! Corgis!!" and jumping up and down wildly. We asked if we could pet them, and were given permission. Livie was very gentle with them, and the the three of them were just too cute together. Alas, I didn't get a photo of them. But take my word for it, they were cute - two corgis wiggling around licking Livie's hands.

Anyway, here are the photos, my whole purpose in posting today: