snow, long run, and camping

the first time it snowed this winter, i was on my way to las vegas to run the marathon. so i missed it. this time, i was home and off work. when it snows in the south, life shuts down, and people play! snow isn't a nuissance here, it's an excuse to be a kid again, takes tons of pictures, and talk about it for days. this is my first snow in my first home that i own. also my first snow with my best pal, molly. i spent the morning playing in the back yard with molly, and the afternoon 4-wheeler riding in the snow and mud. that was fun. below are a few pics.

after the fun in the snow, i was talked into 'camping'. i'm a country girl, but still not into the 'roughing it' kind of camping. we were in a nice camper, with a kitchen, heat, a shower, a bed, and a bathroom! we parked at paul b johnson start park and had a great view of the lake. we went down friday, and i came home today. saturday morning, i woke up and headed back to town to meet ginny and audrey to run. ginny was doing 16, and audrey ended up doing 14 with me, her longest distance ever. we met up at anatomies, a local gym, and ran about 7 miles in the hilly neighborhood. the lawns were still covered in snow and it was a lovely run. we met audrey's husband charles at the trace and planned to finish up with him. poor charles is suffering from a knee injury and had a tough time. after our run, the gang indulged in post-race pizza at mellow mushroom. i do think that is my favorite part of running - the post-run fellowship. below is a shot of the trace at our destination, epley station.

camping. i headed back to the camp after the run and pizza. we spent the afternoon relaxing outside, checking out the rest of the campsites, and then listening to the southern miss basketball game by the fire. we got brave and let molly enjoy the outdoors without a leash. she did great! and she LOVED camping! she loved sitting outside watching the birds, the geese on the lake, and just walking around sniffing things like dogs do. i can't wait to take her back in the summer so she can swim! we had a great weekend, and i was sad to come home today. snow is gone, run is over, and the relaxing weekend by the lake is done. these are the things in life that make going back to work ok.