My Birthday Weekend and Baby’s First Brewery

Well, it happened, I’m another decade. No more starting with a “2” to enter my age, now it’ll be a big “three-oh.”

I keep thinking I see gray hairs now, but Kelley just laughs telling me I’m crazy/paranoid. Secretly, I think she’s thinking, “Oh crap, those are gray!” Oh well, I’ve come to terms and am learning to embrace the thirties; and hey, at least it’s not the forties!

My birthday weekend was off to a “winning” start when Avery and I placed first overall in a small 5k run.

Avery and Daddy_5k Race Finish

After the race, we headed to a unique restaurant called Brewed that offers local food, coffee, and beer, and an atmosphere that would fit perfectly in Colorado. To us, that’s a good thing, we love Colorado and it’s health-focused environment!

I’ve mentioned before how I am averse to eating out as I am keen on knowing exactly how my food is prepared and want to keep it healthy, so I didn’t expect to eat there. I did see a tasty egg white omelet option, but I have those every day and don’t need to pay $8 for someone else to make it. I know, I’m a fun guy to go out with, huh? You know who else is? This guy….

Sorry, I crack myself up every time with this one!

So, I just ordered an Americano after the waiter promised to give me free refills of their drip coffee. Kelley ordered the egg white entrée and since it included mushrooms, she just requested those be left on the side and kept raw for me to enjoy. Yes, I love mushrooms!

Since I was the non-eater of the group, I held Avery most of the time so everyone else could eat. She was a little squirmy, nothing new, but we made the most of it.

Avery on dad's head_smiling_brewed

Since she’s so cute, I couldn’t keep her all to myself and she made her rounds at the table. While G-ma was holding her, Paul took a picture of Kelley and me since we thought the curtains made a great background. What do you think?

R.C. and Kelley_Brewed

Isn’t she beautiful? That guy in the picture…he’s pretty damn lucky!

The ultimate plan for the day was to visit a small, local brewery called Martin House Brewery, but it didn’t open until later in the afternoon so we had time to burn. We were right next to downtown Forth Worth and decided we’d check out the new (to us) area. I think the “new” things have been around for some time now, but since we don’t get out much (by choice), we haven’t seen it before.

We mainly wanted to see the new splash pad in the center of downtown and headed there first. Our initial thought was that we could let Avery get in there a little bit, but we soon realized the shooting water would be too much right now. So we just stood in front of it for a picture.

Avery and Daddy_Splash Park FW

Not sure what that look on my face is all about; I think I was talking. Meh, oh well. The sun was beaming down on us and with the buildings blocking any breeze, sweat was seeping through our pores like they were tiny faucets. Luckily, we found a nice shaded area to sit down and kill time until we were ready to head off to the brewery. Paul enjoyed a little Avery time as she grabbed at his face in curiosity.

Avery Grabbing Paul's Face

Finally, it was time to head out, so we journeyed back to our parking spots and drove maybe 5 miles to the brewery. They had just opened when we arrived which made for a quick entrance and kept us from standing in the sun. It cost $10 to receive their beer glass and a bracelet allowing 3 drinks.

Kelley was the designated babywearer and driver, so she didn’t have to pay. G-ma, Paul, and I all got our glass and had our first round poured in no time; refreshing!

Mom, Paul, RC_Martin House

Of course, since I just ran that morning and only had several cups of coffee, three beers would’ve put me way under, so I shared with Kelley. Besides that, I’m not the drinker I was in college, which saves a lot of money and my health, so it doesn’t take much anyway.

Within a few sips I was already feeling nice and warm…..oh wait, that’s because it’s Texas and almost Summer! But I was feeling good, and I think it shows in this picture with Kelley and Avery.

R.C. and Kelley_Martin House

G-ma let Kelley borrow her glass so she didn’t look out of place in the picture. Ummm, Kelley, I think you were the only one wearing a baby, so too late dear!

The beer was great and I’ll be buying several of their brews soon. As expected, it was loud inside the brewery with live music and groups of people trying to talk over one another, but that didn’t keep Avery from sleeping soundly.

Kelley and Avery_Martin House

How do they do that?

3 beers and several samples later, and I was feeling good, maybe too good. I was ready to leave as were the rest of us, so we said our goodbyes G-ma and Paul and headed back home.

I fully enjoyed my day with the ones I love and always wish it would last longer. We just need to remember to cherish the “now” and not worry so much about the past and future. I’m the worst about this and need to remind myself every day to calm down.

The day after, Sunday, was my actual birthday and it was spent with Kelley and Avery at home most of the day. I meant to share this day with you, but right now I have a baby calling my name (slash crying) and must tend to her needs. I’ll share the rest of my birthday weekend tomorrow….I think.

Do you celebrate birthdays for more than just one day?

Do you ever get caught up worrying too much about what’s to come or what happened in the past?

Our Baby Won the Overall 5k!

Yep, Avery and I won the entire 5k! Technically, since she was in front of me as we crossed the finish line in our first race together last Saturday, June 7th, she was the winner.

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This picture confirms I was just the weird shirtless guy behind his speedy, first place princess. And check out the gap; no one in sight. After seeing the race results posted, we had a very comfortable lead of around 5 minutes!

Race for the Family 5k Results_Snip

Honestly, though, it was a very small race and I don’t think anyone else took it very seriously. My thoughts were confirmed after the race director and photographer yelled my name and asked me to run back across the finish line so they could get a picture. Yep, not kidding. Glad my lovely wife was there to take pictures!

Our day started before sunrise, but we were still very late to get on the road. The race said it started at 7:30am and we left our house at around, ohhhh, 7am. Did I mention it was about 22 miles from our home? Yeah, go us.

Going Mom, diligently drove us to the location we input on our GPS, but only one problem, the race wasn’t there! Thankfully, my mom just had the same thing happen to her and her boyfriend Paul, and they found the actual race location.

It wasn’t too much extra driving, but since the surrounding area has a history of being the bad part of town, we weren’t trying to take the full tour. The park where the race was held used to be run down and only a popular place for the homeless to hang out. But recently, it was cleaned up and is now an inviting family-friendly park with trails. The surrounding area is still less than stellar and not a place we’d go to often ever again.

Back to the story, we made it to the race with a few minutes to spare thanks to a faulty microphone delaying the pre-race warm-up. My mom picked up my bib which I hurriedly pinned on my shorts and situated Avery in our B.O.B. stroller.

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She had her game face on and was ready to roll! Traditionally, I made quick use of the port-a-potty since I always have to use it right before a race starts, then we got in line waiting for the signal to start.

Another key indicator of the size of this race was the start was sounded off by someone saying “Ready…..go” in a low tone and without a microphone. For any decent sized race, it would’ve been hard to hear, but for this one, we heard just fine.

I’m not one to push myself up to the front of the line in races, so I just tried to find a good spot in the middle where the stroller would fit. After we crossed the start line, I began weaving around the other runners/walkers and within 2 minutes we were only behind one person.

I kept sight of the other runner, but once we hit a slight incline, he started pulling away. Meanwhile, behind me, there was emptiness, so Avery and I only had to focus on the one guy in front.

Surprisingly, when we made it to the turn around point, he stopped and just waved us on saying to turn around and just go back the way we came. Ha, he was part of the event acting as the race leader, not a participant! At that point it was just a competition with myself to see how fast Avery and I could run a 5k.

I’m happy with the sub-20 minute time as I was just hoping to get under 22 minutes. Immediately after finishing, I set out to complete my last set of 30 burpees before turning 30.

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As Avery and I were basking in the glory of triumph (or maybe that was just the sun), Kelley captured our victorious moment.

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As you can tell, Avery was overly ecstatic about the whole ordeal…..

Everyone at the event was warm and inviting and it was obvious the majority of the folks were all from the same church. Their church put the race together and the proceeds went towards the fight against family obesity.

This is what motivated me to sign up for the run, and I am happy we did since I obviously have strong feelings towards living a healthy life! I love being able to show our girl how to live a happy, healthy lifestyle!

Avery and Daddy_5k Race

We made sure to hang around for our 1st place overall medal, and thought I’d get a second medal for my age group too. By the way, another sign that a race is small is when their age group awards go from 0-6, 7-12, 13-17, and then 18-64. But, when they made it to the 18-64 awards, I was never mentioned.

Not that it was a huge deal, but I would like to get a medal if I am supposed to. Greedy? Maybe, but it’s only because I earned it fair and square. Anyway, we accepted our single medal and left to have coffee and breakfast. As we were driving with my mom and Paul in front of us, I looked at my bib and quickly realized why my name was never called for the 18-64 awards….

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Notice the age of “0” and Gender of “F”? When I filled out the online registration form, there was another form for children 6 and under. I didn’t understand why since they are free, but I filled out Avery’s information just to be safe. Well, somehow they lost her name and my real information, and kept my name and her information.

I’d say that takes the father-daughter race up a notch, and someone, somewhere, might be thinking “Holy crap, that’s a fast 0 year old!!”

Such an eventful day at was only 10 in the morning! We spent the remainder of the day with my mom and Paul to celebrate my birthday since we wouldn’t see them the next day on my actual birthday.

After leaving the race, we headed to a restaurant called Brewed that serves excellent coffee from local roasters who source their beans through Fair Trade. We enjoyed ourselves there before heading out to sight see a little and then go to a local craft brewery, Martin House Brewery.

Yeah, we’re starting Avery early with the beer scene, but I don’t think she was too aware of what was going on anyway.

Kelley and Avery_Martin House

The entire day was great and spent in good company, but I’ll tell you about it in another post. For now, this 30 year old dad is tired and needs to rest his aging body.

Ever catch a typo or information error on something about you when it’s too late?

Do you enjoy craft beer?

Any local breweries near where you live?

Neighborhood Clean Up with Onya Baby and a Father’s Day Giveaway

Hey there! How’s your weekend going?

Pretty fan-freakin-tastic here; it helps that it’s my 30th birthday and I’m celebrating with the ones I love so much! Yeah, no more life in the twenties, but I can’t fight it so I might as well embrace it; right? I think those are lyrics to a song….

Luckily, I was able to make use of the last days in my twenties by running a 10k and placing first in my (then) age group, and second overall! I might be a little boastful, but why not, I’m proud!

And then, just yesterday, I ran a 5k with Avery; our first race together and my last race before turning another decade! We came in first overall, but I’ll post more on that later. Today, I want to share an exciting giveaway for a new Onya Baby Outback baby carrier and a set of Chewies!

As a dad, I felt like I had some catching up to do when it came to bonding with my daughter, Avery, when she was born. From the start, Going Mom had a generous head start; around 9 months to be exact! Avery and I had our very important skin to skin time at the hospital and soon after we brought her home, I started wearing her.

I didn’t have an Onya Baby carrier at first, but thankfully I connected with Diana who graciously agreed to send their Outback carrier for review. I haven’t looked back since; Onya Baby is my top choice and fits perfectly into my active lifestyle. Avery seems to enjoy it as well!

There's a smile hidden in there; promise!
There’s a smile hidden in there; promise!

Almost every day, I will go for a walk with Avery around our neighborhood, and when she’s not napping, I’ll describe the things we’re passing. These are mostly ducks or geese from the neighborhood lake, a donkey from a connecting ranch, or just some of our neighbors out and about.

Daddy and Avery with Donkey

But, since we live in a developing neighborhood, there is a lot of construction going on around us. And with construction, comes trash from building materials and from the workers themselves. Oh, and the port-a-potties don’t help either. Here’s one with a pleasant message; that’s our yard to the right.

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I try to find the humor in things and just laugh, but it doesn’t always work. But that’s not the issue, it’s the trash that gets blown down the street and in people’s yards that gets under my skin. Each day I go for a walk or run, I see bits and pieces spread around our otherwise beautiful neighborhood.

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Maybe it doesn’t look like much in one spot, but collectively….

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….it can add up quickly and….

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….turn a peaceful walk into one of disgust.

Most of our neighbors, myself included, take pride in where we live and hate to see so much litter spread across our community, so I want to take action and clean it up!

For the rest of this month, I will be posting photos of the piles of trash I collect while walking, and if it can be recycled, I’ll recycle it. This will be a great activity to do with Avery to show her how to take pride in where you live and how cleaning up even just a little each day can make a huge impact. I know our wildlife friends will appreciate it too!

When I mentioned to Diana at Onya Baby about my latest endeavor, she thought it would be perfect to incorporate into Onya Baby’s Father’s Day giveaway. So I’m thrilled to announce that I have partnered with Onya Baby to offer my readers (that’s you if you’re reading this) a chance to win an Onya Baby Outback and a set of Chewies. If your kid is like Avery, they will love to have these to chew while being carried, and they help soothe teething gums!

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How do you take part in this incredible chance to win your own Onya carrier? Simply follow this link and enter their RaffleCopter giveaway.

Complete the action steps as listed to earn entries and you’re all set at having your own Onya Outback to wear your baby in style and comfort!

I’d love for you to also take action and clean up your neighborhood or community with your kids and post a photo (with your Onya carrier if you have one) of the piles you collected. Share these photos on Twitter and tag @OnyaBaby and @Going_Dad with the hashtags #onyalove and #goanywhere. You can also share on my Facebook page or Onya’s page.

If you aren’t sure of just how awesome Onya baby carriers are, Paul from The Outdoor Adventure has an awesome video of it in use during his many….err, outdoor adventures!

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKlqbXpFe8U&w=560&h=315]

Make sure to check out Paul’s blog and Amelia from Tales of a Mountain Mama, to see what they are doing with Onya Baby for the Father’s Day giveaway.

I’m looking forward to seeing how much you are able to clean up around where you live and hopefully your kids will see the good you’re doing and even help if they are old enough.

Being one who loves activity, this is a great way to get some extra exercise and bonding time with your children. Have fun setting a good example with your kids and good luck on the giveaway!

How do you feel about the cleanliness in your community? Could it use some cleaning?

Do you have an tips/advice on how to best approach the clean up?

Have you ever worn your child in an Onya Baby carrier?

An at-home dad on a mission to keep it real when it comes to food, fun, and raising a healthy, happy family.