5K and 4 Doors

Usain Bolt has nothin on me. Just kidding...:) But I did run a 5K this Saturday with my little sister, Amanda. We both finished in 22:43, and were really excited about our time. She finished 1st in her age division, and I finished 3rd in mine! It was a fun race. Towards the end she started to sneak up on me, and it ended up being a full out sprint for the finish line. If anyone has ever seen me sprint, you might have thought I was sprinting in slow motion. I'm VERY slow...but LOVE to run longer distances. :) Amanda is much faster, so she would have passed me had I not been ahead of her to begin with. We ended up crossing right at the same time, only she was attacked by the chute at the finish line, so she had the sympathy of the crowd I think. :) Here are some pictures we took after the race!

Another piece of very exciting news for the Barron family: We got a new car! We sold Billy's truck (much faster than we had hoped!) and got a Dodge Caliber. We are so excited to have a vehicle with 4 doors. I was getting very tired of doing gymnastic trying to get Merrick into the back end of my 2 door Honda. :) I think Merrick appreciates not being launched into the car seat base in the backseat also. Here's a picture of our "Merrick-friendly" vehicle:
We are so excited that God allowed us to buy this car, and look forward to all the miles we'll be able to put on it together! :)

Laser Tag!

We just got back from Laser Tag with the students from church. Kinda our last hang-out of the summer before they all start back to school in the next week or so. It was a lot of fun! Billy jokes that everytime there is a gun involved I (Austin-Lee) outshoot him...so about a year ago he gave me the nickname "Shooter". [He lost today, also, by the way. ;) haha] Here is some pictures from the trip!

Other news from around here...Billy has started back to school after taking a bit of time off. He is working on Greek for this semester. This could be interesting. :) Merrick is continuing to get into everything, but has been down with a little bit of a cold for the last few days. That hasn't stopped him from a bit of his usual mischief, however. Examples from this week include: eating toilet paper he took off the roll himself, tackling the cat and yanking out two handfuls of his hair, and crawling out the door of the childcare at the YMCA when Austin-Lee went to workout. Our life is never dull...:)

Our Trip to the Vet...I mean Pediatrician

Well...we had our 9 month check-up today for Merrick! (He is actually 9 1/2 months at this point) All is going well, other than the friendship between Merrick and his pediatrician. :) Merrick doesn't seem to appreciate the man who sticks things in his throat and ears...and pokes him in various places. Haha. Following Merrick's exam, and screaming fit on the exam table, we were sitting in the office talking with his Doctor, and Merrick was growling across the desk at him. Apparently we should take him to the vet next door instead of the pediatrician. I'm sure they see wild animals all the time, and maybe could even recommend some shots. :) The Doctor said he is growing well, but mentioned he's a little on the light side when it comes to his weight. He asked was Merrick really active...(Billy and I look at each other and crack up at this point, thinking active doesn't quite cover what Merrick is)...and says that is probably the reason. It surely isn't his eating habits...which involve eating everything he can get into his mouth. Whether edible or not. He's starting to eat table food at this point...and seems to love it. I think he's tired of his baby food...wondering why it kinda looks like cat food compared to what everyone else is eating. :) He got several shots today, and was our little tough guy, hardly crying at all. I think getting his shots done is harder on me than it is on him. He doesn't seem to mind much, and is rarely fussy afterwards. He's gone to bed now...he was pretty worn out from his battle with the Doctor. :) He's growing so fast...we're so thankful for every day with him!

Rodanthe, NC

Well we're back from Rodanthe, NC. It was a great trip...Merrick's first time at the beach! :) I have lots of great memories of traveling (and going to the beach with my family) from when I was little, so it was fun to take Merrick for the first time!

He did great...and as usual wasn't afraid of anything. :) He (and therefore WE) had a very eventful week. He yelled at the waves, splashed in the pool until he looked like a prune, crawled away on the beach, and did a face-plant in the sand when he took a dive out of his "pool". It was classic Merrick style: head first and full-out wherever you go...even if it's off a bed or head first into the sand. :) Here is a picture of him crawling away on the beach...

and him in his "pool"...

We had a great time hanging out with my mom's side of the family...and were able to celebrate our second cousin Avery's 1st birthday...she and Merrick are about two months apart in age, and had a good time playing together this week. (Minus a few pacifier stealing incidents and getting jealous of each other's food) :) Vacation with a baby is definitely a new experience...because laying out or playing a little volleyball have to be arranged around napping/eating schedules. And as we realized this week...babies get fussier than adults when they get too hot. :) We are glad to be back home, though. Hope everyone is taking time to enjoy this last month of summer!

Kings Dominion!

We had a blast at Kings Dominion with the kids! (Despite the fact that it was 300 degrees outside) Here are some pictures from the trip! :)

Now we are packing up and heading to Rodanthe, NC for a week. We'll post picture soon. Hope everyone has a great week!