This weekend’s visitors were Grandma and Papa, and David charmed them, too. We relaxed, ran around, spent some time in the sun and some time in the rain, visited Mommy at work, and Emily and Chris had a chance to spend some delightful time car shopping…

The much-anticipated 33rd annual running of the 500 Festival Mini Marathon brought Sara and Kevin to Indy for the weekend (along with 34097 other people). The weather turned out to be beautiful, and some of us ran very well. Some of us were foolish and pushed our way through injuries, but at the end we all finished and could then focus on enjoying each other’s company and eating poorly at every opportunity (both of which we did very much). And now there are bigger goals to focus on: everyone mark your calendars for the Marine Corps Marathon in DC on October 26th. 26.2 miles, and Team Hansen/Sherry is taking it on!

We visited with the Zembrodts on Friday (and ate cheeseburgers!), watched and walked in a parade on Saturday, and took the dog for a spin at the Speedway on Sunday. We worked in the garden, took some naps, and relaxed for about 10 minutes this weekend. Both Chris and Emily ran Sunday morning, though we’re winding down in preparation for next weekend, when we tackle the Mini and Team Sherry all at once. It the meantime, it’s getting harder and harder to get David to come inside. I suppose that’s a good thing (at least we don’t have to watch Cars every single night anymore)

With the weather finally warming up (and drying out a little), Team Hansen experiences a marked improvement in attitude this week. Although Christopher is fighting a sinus infection, we enjoyed a lovely grown-ups-only dinner out at L’Explorateur on Friday night. This was a delightfully stable way to end a day that began with an EARTHQUAKE at 5:40am; as the bed moved across the room, the sides of the house shook, and dishes in the kitchen rattled, Christopher assured me that “it’s just the cat”. The cat was asleep next to me at the time, and just as startled as we were (and even more insulted that she registered 5.4 on the Richter scale).

Meanwhile, we continued to run (Emily’s big pre-Mini run on Saturday morning, and the Best Buddies 5K on Sunday morning) and roll (David was excited to saddle up for “the race”) and play in the yard. Stuff got scrubbed as the Spring Cleaning bug bit just a little, and even the car was washed and sparkling… a sure sign that it’ll rain again this week.

We ended the weekend all very happy, very smiley, and very giggly. It’s amazing what a little sun and a little warmth can do for a family.

We really should have enjoyed last weekend’s weather even more than we did, given that this entire week (save for one day) was rainy, cold, and miserable. David has a cold, so we spent most of the weekend trying not to lose our patience with the pitiful, whiny, slimy creature who still managed to cute us out a few times.

We made some cookies, made even more messes, and made a few dollars (sniff!) selling back some baby clothes. You know he’s all grown up when he a) starts doing the dishes on his own (I didn’t think men of any age learned how to do that!) and b) informs you one night during bath time that he’s a “ladies’ man”. Where did the baby go?

We headed to Bloomington Friday night and hung out with the Ingalsbes (thanks, Nate and Suzanne) and then got an early start Saturday for the IU Circle of Life Mini Marathon and 5K. While Chris’s time was awesome, Emily realized that a) running outside is much harder than running on a treadmill, especially when the entire course is up and down hills b) running in the cold makes breathing very difficult, and c) dude, David+jogging stroller= 50 pounds of heavy.

We enjoyed lunch at the hippie grocery store, made another stop at the hippie garden store, and then fell into bed once we returned home. Yes, it was a beautiful day out, but the naps needed to come first.

Sunday, Emily was up early again for another run (with a new friend she made at the IU Mini;) and then we all headed out to the garden to experience varying levels of mud. It felt good to be in the sun, to have dirt under our fingernails (or in David’s case, to have sand in his ears and mouth) and to get our vegetables started. Today’s crops: lettuce, spinach, Swiss chard, broccoli, and sweet peas. Next week: cucumbers, okra, squash, and possibly tomatoes and peppers and eggplants. We also put in some peonies, clematis, and a hydrangea. We’ll see what happens…

What a glorious day! Even after all the running around we did all weekend (literally…we had 24 miles between the two of us), we still headed out for a bike ride Sunday afternoon, and then treated ourselves to buffalo burgers on the grill. Ah, finally spring

The weekend started out sunny (but cold) as we kidded ourselves into thinking we could work in the garden. Chris did some plowing, but it ended there. Well, we did buy a bag full of seeds, but they’re still in the bag and may not come out for at least another week. Everyone was in good spirits all weekend long, though, so the cold and the rain were manageable. We even took a spur-of-the-moment trip to the Zoo on Sunday and walked through the drizzle to see the animals. David was especially interested in the tigers, the dolphins, the meerkats, and the water in the shark tank. Can’t keep that kid dry for anything…

It was 40 degrees outside so our Easter egg hint was a little chilly, but we stayed warm by bumming around inside, making warm drinks, and giggling. And we watched Cars two or three or eight times

We know, we know. We didn’t do pictures last week. Here you go.

Cappy had been feeling a little down lately as he recuperated from knee surgery, so Emily and David decided to pay him a surprise visit this past weekend. We took an early flight Friday morning and stayed through Sunday afternoon, and may have set the record for Number of Times to Watch Cars in weekend. We had no big plans, nothing scheduled…just good quality family time. We all need that once in a while