Richmond

Saturday we drove down to Richmond to cheer Mark on as he ran a half marathon at a park in Richmond.  This was his first half marathon on a course with other runners. They had most of the elements of a race just people could start whenever they wanted.  He started running right around 8:30 and had a really good race.  He placed 49/372 and 6/20 in his age group.  He ran around an 8.25 pace which is crazy to me.  He is really good at running and is quickly becoming addicted to running races, especially the idea of destination races.  I still feel sad that I did not get to run my half marathon in Budapest last year.  I planned to run a half marathon in Charleston in January when we went but ended up not being able to because of my tendonitis but Mark did and loved it.  I am a bit jealous of his running and the places he talks about running races. Yesterday I went running for the first time since the Tuesday before Christmas when my injury started.  I ran 2 miles and my foot felt fine during and after.  It was a little tender today, and I am surprisingly sore but I am glad I tried running again. I will still baby it but hopefully I can do short runs twice a week.  Mark really enjoyed his race and I am sure he will do many more. The race was at Dorey Park and Jared and Lydia had a blast playing on the playground while Mark ran.  We haven't played on a playground since late Fall and this one was really fun. 

It took them a good while to figure out how to walk on this but once they did they did not want to stop. 

This was a lot harder then he thought it would be the first time around. 
The second time he got up there pretty quick. 

This was a pretty cool climbing feature.

We picked up waffles after his run and then headed over to the Richmond Temple for a "tour" presentation with the senior missionaries serving there.  It was a nice presentation and nice to see the how the temple is progressing.  The temple should be finished late spring of 2022 so we really hope when we come back next Summer the open house will be happening. 

This is the back of the temple, where the Monticello Dome will be.  The Baptism is on this side as well.

View from front where they fancy porch will be.

I really love the design the planned for the Richmond temple. It fits the area so well. 

We are still staying pretty close to home and taking the proper precautions but it sure felt good to be out doing something on a Saturday! Friday night we had one family over for a campfire dinner which was really nice as well.  The weather was perfect for it. I am glad the weather is becoming more Spring like so there are more options that feel safe for getting together and just going places in general.

These boys had a blast shooting their BB guns together Friday evening. They thought shooting in the dark was the coolest ever and we do have a great set up for it.  I still find it hard to believe that a child of mine has a gun in any form but Jared has proven himself to be very responsible with it.  Even though its silly I feel better that he bought it with his own money, like it adds a layer of distance between me and it.  He would really like to take it to Egypt but I am not sure how that will play out.