Stop, Drop and Run

Over the weekend we watched in horror the destruction Hurricane Irma caused in its path across the Caribbean Islands, Florida, Georgia, and the Carolinas, and we are fortunate to only have incurred the last remnants of Irma here in Tennessee yesterday. This was one heck of a hurricane and so powerful, it is amazing that not more damage was caused or more lives lost, which can be attributed to all the evacuation efforts. The sheer size of Irma is only comprehensible when seen on a satellite image:   

While the weather was unfavorable down South, we actually had the perfect Fall weather here in Nashville over the weekend. It was perfect timing too as I had a  local 5K run (benefiting the underprivileged children in the community) on Saturday morning. My company was one of the sponsors and so some of my coworkers had also signed up. Group shot before the race started:

The run was organized by the local fire department and thus, Sparky, the fire dog was there too:

Ready, set, go:

During the run, my biggest fans cheered me on with posters and encouraged me to run faster:

Despite a big incline during the first mile, I completed the race in 23.38 minutes (a personal best) and even won 1st place overall for the female category (out of a 102 starters). This was total surprise and so was the $250 gift card attached to the 1st place win. 

Group photo after we finished the 5K:

Always smiling:

After the run was over, we visited the kids' zone for some bounce house fun, bubble catching and how to train like a firefighter. 

The fire department had set up a little parkour for the children to complete. It included crawling thru a smoking house, hitting a bolt, climbing up the ladder to crack open a "window" and rescue big Ted. 

But the best part of the parkour was using a real fire hose to extinguish the "flames":

All weekend long the weather was great, so we made sure to spent lots of time outside. Fall decorating is in full swing:

Based on the past two weeks, it looks like summer as we know is over for this year and we are more than ready to welcome Fall. This little cute pumpkin was grown in our backyard and is now part of our Fall decoration: