The week following my half marathon, we had signed up our little family to run The Color Run.  Have you heard of it?  It is known as “the Happiest 5k on the Planet”.  It is a 3.1 mile run with stations that ‘paint’ their runners.  It is a complete mess and absolute fun!  (all pictures from iPhone and taken by myself, the huzband, or our friend Joelle)

packet pick up

playing Uno in her race day clothes

Not only was this a fun run for our little family, it was also little V’s first big race.  (She had competed in one other short run a few days before the huzband’s Ironman.)  To say she was excited would be an understatement.  As the day approached, the excitement grew.  Picking up her first bib packet and browsing through the merchandise (okay, perhaps Mom caved and bought her a cool pair of sunglasses!) was all that was needed to solidify the joy that was overflowing.  This was a big deal.

that smile says it all, the pure glee of the morning

the M family

We took the time to “train” before race day by going out for a few short runs together.  She never complained and was always pumped to go, to the point that she pulled out her dad’s water belt to wear (unnecessarily) during her run.  We are still working on our focus as she was easily distracted by the pretty flowers growing along the path.  There were many wishes upon dandelions; perhaps more wishes than miles run!

the start line…..somewhere down there

I am super proud of my little girl.  She is growing up before our very eyes.  Perhaps my eyes teared up a bit at the start of the race.  To see her come from a little baby to a big 6-year-old girl, to see her get to share and partake in a love of her fathers (I wouldn’t call running a love of mine but I do enjoy it), to see how a little girl finds such joy in running a silly race with her parents, it’s almost too much for this momma’s heart to hold.

I love her little face as she was squirted for the first time

Come race time, her little legs ran and ran and ran.  She would want to take a break but she was motivated by getting to the next color station.  I think by the third color we took a little walk break before running our way through the last color station and on to the end.

It was a fun family day that I am glad we got to do with our little girl before our new member of the family joins us!  I have way more pictures than I have words for this post, therefore I leave you with the rest of the race in pictures.

running with friends from our church’s children’s ministry

a running break for V that I forgot about but obviously not a break for the huzband

A great way to end the 18th week of pregnancy!