Easter, a long run, and my first giveaway!

First off, I hope that all of you who celebrate had a wonderful Easter!  We certainly did.  We drove in to visit my hubby on Thursday, went to my sister's lovely wedding on Friday, hung out with my family on Saturday, and celebrated Easter day with hubby's family.  We drove home on Monday, the kids were happy to be back, and everyone is now getting caught up on sleep.  What a long, fun weekend!  We took over 600 photos, but I'll spare you and only give you a few favorites:

My two favorite fellas!

Sweet, handsome Easter boy

Wildly happy Easter girl!

My running highlight was that I ran my longest distance to date, on Saturday--21 miles!  I was a bit sore and slow by the end, but it went fairly well otherwise.  It wasn't as perfect as the 20-miler previously, but given all the forks in the road that I've had recently, I was happy with it.  Plus, I got to run in my hometown along the riverside, while my kids played with my mom.  Not much beats that!

So there's my gratuitous bragging about my awesome weekend and my awesome family.  Now, on to my FIRST giveaway!  I'm so super stoked to have gotten approached, and I have had a total blast with this so far.

My first review/giveaway is sponsored by Sharkies.  I've mentioned them before, and I have a very deep love for them.  They're tasty little shark-shaped energy gummies that I eat religiously on my long runs.  I try to take them on jogger runs too, but inevitably the children will steal them from me.  Well, no more!  For this review, I was asked to try out a ton of products, including their children's goodies!  Here is what I got (and what I'm giving away to one of you lucky readers):

Please disregard the dirty table.  I cleaned the part my goodies are on, I swear.

--One box of Organic Fruit Chews in Fruit Splash (5 packs)
--One box of Organic Fruit Chews in Berry Bites (5 packs)
--One box of Omega 3 Smart Twists in Tropical Wave (5 pieces)
--One box of Omega 3 Smart Twists in Berry Surf (5 pieces)
--Four packs of Organic Energy Sports Chews, assorted flavors
--Water bottle with Cool Gear freezer stick
--Under Armour brand Sharkies tech tee

The kids went giddy when I told them that they got to help me with my giveaway.  We had never tried the kids' line, though I have seen them in Earth Fare and Whole Foods previously.  My daughter's official opinion is that they tasted "strong and good", and then she did a little jig.  And my son gave them the seal of approval by downing two bags and screaming for more, requiring me to hide them in an undisclosed (on top of the fridge) location.  Shh, don't tell him.

Posing with the goods.

Photo bomb during an attempt at a "strong" pose.

Sugar high officially begins.  At least it's all-natural!

I'm fairly sure I'll be buying more kiddo Sharkies when I buy my own from now on.  It will allow me to eat my much-coveted bag of tasty aquatic pals in a bit of peace, I hope.  As much peace as running while pushing a stroller and shoving down gummies can give me, anyway.

 As for some official details, Sharkies targets themselves as "Clean fuel for active living", and they live up to it.  Their products are free of dyes, flavoring, hfcs, wheat, gluten, nuts, and fat.  They're all vegan/vegetarian friendly, and they contain tons of vitamins, plus omega 3s for the kids and naturally occurring electrolytes for the adults.  They were created after an unsuccessful search for all natural, great-tasting snacks for active physical training.  They are sold in select supermarkets, natural and specialty retailers, and also sold online at Amazon.com and at sharkiesinc.com.  Like I said, I can find them at Earth Fare, Whole Foods, and at my local running store.

Now for the officially unofficial.  I love them.  They are one of the few refueling snacks that taste good AND don't make my stomach do another marathon after my run.  The kids think they're swell too, as you've seen.  My only (tiny) complaint would be that they can get stuck in teeth easily if I try to eat more than one at once.  And running while picking my teeth isn't the greatest experience.  But given the other energy options and my lack of caring what others think, I'm down with picking my teeth for some tasty sharks.

So, now you're ready to win some of these, right?  Right???  Well, here's how you do it, one entry per comment (so you can get up to 7 entries):

Please leave a separate comment for each entry.  And I'll double check--no cheatsies!

1.  Become a follower on my blog (or just remind me that you already are) and leave me a comment.
2.  Become a fan of Running Mother on FB and leave me a comment here.
3.  Become a fan of Sharkies on FB so you can stay up-to-date on their products, and leave me a comment here.
4.  Follow Sharkies and Running Mother on Twitter, leave me a comment here for each.
5.  Post about this giveaway on your blog, FB, and/or Twitter account, and leave me a comment here for each.

The giveaway will be open for one week, until  Tuesday, April 17 when my lazy butt gets up.  Game on.

 Thank you to Sharkies® for providing free product sample and the special gift packs.