Bridal shower weekend. Oh, and a couple runs too.

What a weekend! It started off with a 6.25 mile run on the Wabash-Cannonball Trail early Saturday morning. I felt pretty strong through the whole run and I was entertained almost the whole time by my surroundings and the patches of fog. The 57* temperature was pretty nice, too. My friend was outside with his daughter as I ran by his house (their yard backs up to the paved trail that runs through the area. Lil One shrieked when she saw me and demanded her dad go get his bike so they could catch up to me on the bike trail. I slowed down my pace a bit so they COULD catch up (not too hard when I was running and they were on bikes, but oh well). I got to hear all about her first couple days at the elementary school her dad and I went to, which was pretty great.

Annie & Daniel during #2

As soon as I got back to the house and got a shower, mom and I were in the kitchen finishing up the corn and deviled eggs for my friends, Annie and Dan's bridal shower that afternoon. This was shower #2 for her and her fiancee, but the first time we could have all us bridesmaids together in one place. It was a LOT of fun. My parents even had a good time talking to the groom's parents. Dan's dad and my dad have a LOT in common and I knew they would hit it off if they just got to talk to each other. Dan's mom LOVES me and the other bridesmaid she hadn't already met. By the end of the day, we were all exhausted and just a bit sore from standing on concrete all day (and apparently not stretching well enough after my run earlier). I had wanted to hit up the German American Festival later that night, but it just didn't happen. I passed out SO much earlier than is normal. 

Annie and I after #3

I was able to sleep in until 9:30ish on Sunday, but still felt like a truck hit me when I woke up. I somehow got "Ain't no rest for the wicked" stuck in my head as I showered and got ready for bridal shower #3. Yep, another one. Same girl. Saturday was mainly for the friends and extended family, but Sunday was a more proper and lady-like shower for the aunts and cousins. Another fun one, but not as random and goofy as Saturday's. When mom and I got home, I crashed. I crawled in bed and zoned out for the rest of the night. I went back downstairs to visit and grab food when mom's cousin stopped by, but other than that, I was a zombie. 

I'm not sure if I was SO wiped because of the 6+ mile run, the stress of the 2 showers, or a combination of the 2, but whatever it was got me good. Thank god I'm not the one planning a wedding. Sorry, Annie. lol.

Never made it into campus this morning. I had my alarm set for early enough, but I was still exhausted from this weekend and decided I should get another couple hours of sleep. My legs felt better when I finally got up, minus when I made the mistake of kneeling down on that left knee and I just about fell over crying ... again. At least the bruises on my right knee are fading. Nothing feels BROKEN on my left knee, and it doesn't hurt when I walk or run on it, so I guess I'll just have to wait and see what happens. Anyway, I got a couple hours of work on my paper down then I decided I needed to get my "easy" run in for the day. Treadmill and I renewed our friendship for a 2-mile run. It wasn't bad, though I was bored about 2 minutes into it. When on the treadmill, I almost always run at 4.3mph, but I decided I needed to run closer to my regular pace so I kept it at a 4.5mph the whole time. Maybe my slower speed is the reason I can only do 30+ minutes of continuous running on the treadmill right now? Hmm, deep thoughts. *Ouch* ;)

Lovely Lazy Sunday

This whole weekend has been great. Despite the rain yesterday, the family reunion was great fun. I got to spend time with some of my favorite cousins and their adorable kids. I get to see Rachel's family now and again (though that may soon be changing) but I rarely get to see Jacob (and now Caroline). Plus this was the first time I was getting to hold Cayden.

Mikayla (2 years - my birthday buddy!) giving her cousin, Cayden (4 months), a kiss.

And then singing *Twinkle Twinkle Little Star* for him when he was upset. 

I was pooped by the end of the day and just came home and crashed. I wasn't lucky enough to sleep in this morning, but I sat in bed eating cereal, drinking juice, and watching tv like I did when I was a kid. I spent a couple hours laying in the pool trying to even out my tan lines (my stomach hasn't seen this much sun in 20ish years!). A freak thunderstorm blew through, and then it got sunny again. Mom heated up the last of the homemade lasagna for dinner and now I'm back on my bed, eating ice cream, and waiting for my favorite phone call of the week. :)

A perfectly lazy ... comfortable ... relaxing ... day.