His first request was for a “special lunch” or a “special dinner” one day. When I asked what that meant, he said, “Chick-fil-A, but eating INSIDE the restaurant.” This made me smile for a myriad of reasons. First, it reminded me just how easy kids are to please. Second, his comment made me smile because the only time I can think of eating inside Chick-fil-A with Chase occurred during our mother-son date after his kindergarten open house. We had the best time and part of me wonders if that’s what inspired his latest request. It was a special memory for me and I’d love to think that, in some subconscious way, it was a special memory for him, too.
Saturday
Saturday morning was wet and dreary but that didn’t put a damper on our spirits because we had something special on the agenda! In the beginning of December, my friend Carrie told me about a kids’ fun run up in Mooresville. She knew Chase loves running with a passion and I had a feeling he would be all about the race. We signed our oldest kids up and Chase has been taking about his big race for weeks.
On the way to the race, I heard Chase talking about winning and we had a little chat about how his race was a lot like the big race Dad did back in October. Dad didn’t win but he tried his best and set a big goal for himself that he accomplished and that felt amazing! It was a good opportunity to talk about trying our best versus always winning but I could see Chase’s face fall a little bit when I explained that some really big kids were probably going to be there and might win. (Ryder immediately chimed in and said, “I think you will win, Chase!”) In the end I could see Chase come around and feel a little better when we talked about how he’d get to run through a real finish line and use his strong body to do something he’s never done before.
All of the kids were clearly excited for the big race and the rain that poured down intermittently before the start of the race thankfully didn’t seem to phase them.
Ryder, Rhett, Ryan, my father-in-law and Carrie’s family all cheered for Chase, Lilly and Tommy as they sprinted toward the finish line!
I’m not lying when I say Chase was absolutely beaming the entire time he ran. His smile was so, so big and seeing him try so hard and do something he loves to much was one of those moments in parenting that I know will stick with me for a long time.
He absolutely lit up when he crossed the finish line and didn’t waste a single breath on the fact that he didn’t win. (Thank goodness!) Chase has such an affinity for running and is already asking us to sign him up for another race. Local friends, if you know of any kid fun runs taking place in the coming months, please let me know!
(Beanie: Aerie / Leggings: Beyond Yoga / Shirt: Brooks Running / Sneakers: Reebok / Puffer Jacket: Columbia)
Once the race was over, we popped into Sugar and Spice LKN, the sweetest little bakery, and the boys picked out hot chocolate bombs to bring home for movie night as well as some cake pops to enjoy for a post-run rainy day treat. I just wanted to give this local spot a shout out because the woman working behind the counter during our visit could not have been any kinder to our family and was so wonderfully engaging with our kids!
By time we made it home, Rhett was ready for a nap and everyone was hungry so we dug into lunch before enjoying some downtime at home. Our afternoon plans took us back out to a birthday party and the boys had a blast running around with their friends before we headed home for early baths, our favorite Oreo peppermint ice cream dessert and bed time.
Sunday
Sunday morning was what I like to call a “catch up” morning where we do a bunch of things around the house. It felt good to check some things off our to-do list, knock out some chores, wrap some Christmas presents, send out some more holiday cards and get organized heading into the week. I also had some work to do and spent some time photographing a recipe and wrapping up a blog post for the BJ’s Wholesale Club’s website.
In the late morning, we had some visitors in the form of a man who came to fix our air conditioner, my father-in-law and our friend Ben! Remi, Ben’s goldendoodle puppy, was the guest of honor on Sunday, however, and had our boys going absolutely bananas!
They had the best time chasing Remi all over our house, throwing him toys and cracking up at all of his puppy antics. Ryan and I exchanged about a million knowing glances because we talk about how much our family misses Sadie all the time. (The big kids truly mention her multiple times a week.) We’ve discussed adding another dog to our family many, many times and it is on our radar but we’re not quite ready yet. We just miss our girl.
Most of our Sunday was spent around the house until we rallied and drove out to Truist Field, the stadium for the Charlotte Knights baseball team. It’s home to the annual Light the Knights event and this was our family’s first time attending!
(Jeans: Old Navy / Sweater: Pink Clover via Stitch Fix / Beanie: Universal Thread via Target / Combat Boots: Sam Edelman)
We heard good things from friends in the area and made our way to the stadium around 4 p.m. Tickets were only $5 (price doubles at 5 p.m.) and our visit to the stadium could not have been better. It wasn’t crowded at all when we arrived (benefits of arriving early!) and the boys loved running around the lights and dancing to holiday music. I enjoyed the Christmas Village and couldn’t resist buying a couple of last-minute stocking stuffers from some of the local vendors.
The official lights show began at 5 p.m. so we were able to enjoy the show for a bit before calling it a night and heading home for dinner, hot chocolate and bed.
Once the boys were all tucked in, Ryan and I both had some work to do so we hung out on the couch with side-by-side laptops before making our way up to bed.
As for the week ahead, it will be a wild one! Without the structure of school in the mix, the boys and I have some fun things planned with friends during the day and some evening holiday activities on the agenda with Ryan. I cannot believe Christmas is almost here! We are determined to balance holiday craziness with some downtime, peace and reflecting on the reason for the season. I hope you are all enjoying this holiday season and know that you and your readership mean a lot to our family. Thanks for making PBF a part of your day today and a part of your December!
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I love that Chase is following in his mama’s footsteps!! I just took over the local chapter of Healthy Kids Running Series and I am so excited to get involved in organizing children’s races! Have a wonderful holiday season with your beautiful family. <3
You should check with local running stores about kid races. They’re always in the know about stuff like that!
Merry Christmas to the Fagan family! Beautiful pictures Julie of you and your family. God bless!
Congratulations to Chase for completing his first race! That is awesome. In elementary school, my daughter’s school had a running club that several moms organized with the help of the PE teacher. I am not sure if Chase’s school has that but if not – it might be a great idea to pitch to the school. They also held an annual Feet Meet then and it was a 2 mile run in the neighborhood. The school had the kids enter a contest to design the t-shirt. All money raised from the t-shirt sale and race (parents, siblings and students could sign up) then was donated to the PTA to use for equipment for the PE department.