Salt Lake City 1/2 Marathon

In December, my amazing friend, Caryn asked me if I would be interested in running the half marathon with her and her sister and whoever she could round up. At first, I just laughed, but after looking over the training schedule and the route, I made the decision that I was going to try and do it. And then of course, I convinced my dad to do it too. So after 15 weeks of running in the early morning hours, on the treadmill and on Saturdays outside, with an amazing group of women... Today we ran the Salt Lake City 1/2 Marathon. We had a great run. I did reach a point at about 7 miles, where I thought that a 10k was probably more my race. But aside from a few brief stops for water etc, we kept picking up our feet and somehow they kept moving us forward. We didn't see many of the women that I trained with along the route... there were 3819 people who finished the half marathon... not to mention all of the other races running part of the same course today, but Dad and I were able to stick together. In the end, we were pretty happy with our time and our pace. We finished the 13.1 mile race in 2:18:41, which had us at an average mile pace of 10:35. Not bad for first timers, and since I was never a distance runner in my previous life, my goal was to finish.

Here is a shot of the back of us.

And at 8 miles, we were actually still able to raise our arms and wave, so I think that was a good sign.
Here is Dad at the end of the race. With all of the work that Dad was doing on his house, he didn't get as many chances to train and get in shape, but he still did an amazing job. There were only 29 people in Dad's age bracket and he beat 9 of them. Way to go Dad!
Here is me at the end of the race... Let's just say that I felt better while I was running, than when we stopped. I got pretty light headed, and then on the trax ride home, ended up having to whip off my running shirt so that I could throw up into it. Yeah... that's right, I now have a most-embarrassing moment of puking on a super crowded train to go along with pivotal moment of finishing my first half marathon. I guess that is just how it goes.
I think the most important part of these last few months is what I have learned about myself and others.

1. A group of determined and supportive women can accomplish anything they want to.

(Thanks to Caryn, Stephanie, Paula, Martie and Jasmine for being such amazing Saturday running mates. Great job on your races girls. Thanks to Shelby, McCall and Jessi for showing up to the gym in the early morning hours or joining on Saturday runs even when you didn't have a to train for a race. Having your support was so great.)

2. Caleb really loves me, even after all this time. He was so encouraging to me as I trained and especially on Saturday long runs, he was often up really early with the boys on his own... he is always so supportive and amazing... Even when I was limping around the rest of the day. It was so great to have such a cheering squad.

3. Everything is better with a friend.

4. Being in shape again feels great! Even though my goal was just to run, I can't believe how much more muscle I am carrying around, and I actually lost 5 pounds without even trying to.

5. Sometimes I just have to make a decision and then do it, no excuses. I have forgotten what I can do based just on pure willpower.

As of today, I have run 208 miles so far this year.

And for all of you who might be thinking about running a race of any length- DO IT! You might be tired sometimes, but you certainly won't look back and think "Man, I wish I hadn't finished that race." :-) Thanks to all of our cheering fans.

Rock Hunting

Yesterday morning we decided to head west of the Great Salt Lake in search of an old rocky quarry that is said to contain a lot of easy to identify fossils. Caleb heard about this place from someone in his lab and was eager to go a see what we could find. We had a great time and after driving on some gravel roads through some open ranch lands, we came to some cool looking rocky ridges and a small mountain range. At no point were we sure if we had found the right place, but we got out and started hiking around. Caleb's co-worker Thomas, who has kids the same age as ours, came along too. We never ended up finding the old quarry, or any fossils, but we had a great time hiking around on a super nice day. And we did find some cool looking rocks.

This was just a tree that I thought was really cool.

Gavin and his friend, Tommy, were pretty much in 3 year old heaven wandering around picking up rocks and sticks and working their way up the steepest parts of the mountains. We kept having to urge them to throw some rocks and sticks back so that they could at least be able to hike around. Oh yeah, and aside from all of that, Gavin was also super excited that we saw some baby cows and a lizard.

Dad is the strongest of our whole family, according to Gavin, so he got to carry Henry around in the backpack.
On most of the road trips of my life, I have often found myself looking out the window at mountains in the distance with little windy roads on them, and wondering where those roads lead to and who ever drives on them. Now I know.
We did find some really great views of the lake and surrounding mountains. These pictures hardly do them justice. It was quite beautiful.

Big Papa

One of the reasons I have been longing for summer is so that Henry can finally wear his shorts. It was not warm today, but since we were inside... There are only a few things cuter that chubby baby legs... like chubby baby cheeks and chubby arms. And in the last couple of days Henry has finally really started to walk... it is so funny to see him and how proud he is of his new trick. Though he has some new forehead bruises to go with his skills.

All I can think of when Henry gets up in this chair and sits... "I love it when you call me Big Papa... put your hands in the air... if you're a true playa." Luckily I don't know all of the lyrics to that song... I think they get a little bad after that.

Here his is propping his leg over the armrest. What a stud.

Child Labor

Is there a law against making your kid vacuum the floor when the vacuum is taller than them?

At some point we all have to learn that there are repercussions to practicing throwing popcorn and catching it in your mouth... and then teaching your 13 month old brother to do the same.

At least he is enjoying it... and he did catch a couple in his mouth before it was all over... Henry didn't though.

Deeelicious

This week we actually had a couple of nights at home, meaning that we were ALL actually here at the same time, crazy... I know. Anyway, I decided to make cookies with my 2 helpers. Gavin's favorite part is begging for chocolate chips and licking the beater. Henry is usually napping when I bake, but this time he just got a spoon to lick because he is always... always... a mess.

When Caleb walked into the kitchen to find them eating the cookie dough, Gavin said, "Hey Dad, it sure is a good day to lick dough... it sure is."

When we finally took the spoon from Henry, he screamed and threw a tantrum like someone had mortally wounded him. He only recovered when he finally got to have a cookie.

Gavin has also started commenting that everything that he is eating is "Deeelicious." I think this is more because he won't eat things that he doesn't like, not so much because of my cooking. However, today at lunch when he was a eating a not very exciting meal of hashbrowns and cheese with some sausage (still not sure if he has an egg allergy, so I left out the eggs instead of trying to see if he would throw up), he kept saying to me with every bite, "Thank you, Mom, for making me this deeelicious dinner." Its nice to know that you are appreciated now and I then, I guess. Though I might like it more when I actually make a decent meal.

Yuck

This is what I had the joy of waking up and walking to the gym in this morning. The TV by the treadmill I was on said there was close to 4 inches near downtown. Seriously, this is like the worst April Fools joke ever... a day early.... uugghhh....

People always ask me if living in Oregon during the rainy winter months is depressing... honestly, living in Utah this winter is what is depressing. I think it snowed 3 times the entire time we lived in Eugene, not 3 times a week.

Atleast someone was excited about getting in one more snowman. It didn't cheer me up much though. ;-)

Our Happy Easter

Because of time constraints... we neither hardboiled or colored eggs this year... I know, sad. But the boys did get up and search out their easter baskets. Even though they weren't really hidden, they still seemed to have a hard time finding them.

Henry took no time at all to discover how to force his easter eggs open and start pounding jellybeans. He was afraid to look away from the basket for a photo, for fear that it might all disappear.

Gavin wasn't nearly as into the candy first thing in the morning, but he was, of course, opening and sorting the eggs by what he liked best.
We also weren't much on the ball with getting a traditional easter dinner together, but ended up having some yummy boneless honey-barbeque wings that Caleb made us, and some baked-potato salad that Rena whipped up. Luckily we have friends like the Loos who are as low-key as us, and didn't mind hanging out eating random snacks for Easter.

After dinner we headed up to the Salt Lake Cemetery, which I had run by the day before. One of the girls on the run had said that she had taken her kids there to look for the headstones of different prophets. So, we thought it might be fun to do that too. The cemetery turned out to be really huge, but we finally managed to find half a dozen (though there could be more)... I am not going to tell you who they are, in case you want to have a fun filled afternoon of hunting sometime soon. We also found a few other prominent church leaders and some people who practiced plural-marriage to the fullest extend. It was really interesting, and a good way to spend them evening.

Gavin Turns 3!

Whoa! Yesterday, Gavin turned 3. We are pretty much in shock that he is no longer a baby, and that time has gone so quickly with him in our lives. He surprises us everyday with the things that he knows and thinks of. He has been so active since he was born, and still never seems to slow down. He loves to have us read to him and will recite his favorite books to almost anyone who will listen. He longs to be a "shining armor" and often refers to "the handsome prince charming". He is a great big brother and so much fun to have around. Gavin is now 41 and 3/4 inches tall and 37 pounds. (For those who are tracking the wild man, that is almost 5 inches and only 2.5 pounds this year... yikes.)

I thought is would be fun to take a look back...

Ooohh. Can you believe he was ever so small? And with such dark (jaundice) skin?

...And then so chubby... but always so happy. (1 year old)
Growing up all the time... This was him at 2.
Oh Goodness... turning 3, with a Thomas the Train cake. What a big boy.

We had a great party at our house, and despite the fact that it snowed, we didn't get as crowded inside as I thought we would. Gavin really loved having all of his friends come and even brave the cold to sit on the porch and watch for them. He kept saying that it wasn't his birthday until his friends came over.

We have new windows

This week, we had an exciting house transformation... with a grant from the Utah Lead Safe program, we were able to get 6 new windows in each side of our duplex to replace the old original 1910 wood windows. We were kicked out of our place for about 2 days while the contracts came in and spent only about 3 hours of skilled labor to replace the horrid nonworking old things with these fabulous new windows. I don't have many before pictures because there were also some hideous old blinds covering a lot of the bad windows, but I have now gotten rid of those too and we are enjoying the new light. As well as the prospect that on a warm day, we will actually be able to open a window in the living room (or 4!) and a couple in the boys room as well. This was a tremendous blessing for us, and we are now fully aware of the appeal of having a skilled laborer get paid to do work on your house. It was so fast and flawless.
The painter wasn't able to come and finish his job of painting the window sills on Friday because on the inclement weather (yes, it snowed again), but he will be back soon to tidy up the job. I just couldn't wait that long to post the good news.

The boys loved staying at the hotel and just running around and having a good time without ever having to go home. Caleb and I liked it a lot less, we are certainly getting old, and our life revolves more around getting things done and making sure our kids get enough sleep. Sad, huh? But the program also paid for us to stay away from home, since we both still had to work and go about our lives, so honestly we can't complain about any of it. Most of our wait was due to the fact that they had to test the surfaces and air for lead dust before we could be cleared to bring the boys home. Gavin started out calling it the "show and tell" and then it just turned to the "tell". Pretty funny... though really he just liked watching Scooby Doo on the cartoon network the best.

Yearly Photos

Last week I braved the forces of nature and went to get the boys pictures taken for their birthdays. It was actually one of the best photo sessions that I have ever had, and the results were pretty cute, if I say so myself. Gavin was a great sport and even though he was complaining beforehand, he jumped right in and was posing and smiling all over the place.

Here they are looking super cute together.

What Silly Boys.

Gavin had to sit this way to keep Henry from trying to get away.
This was Henry's general attitude about sitting for photos, but we did manage to get some cute ones of him. Gavin calls this "The one where Henry is ready to leave." And it was the only one that Gavin would have bought if he was in charge.
Here's the cute Henry we know and love.

I can hardly believe that Gavin is 3 this week, and that he sometimes acts so grown up, I am usually quite shocked and amazed. When we were getting ready, he kept complaining that his shirt was stuck in his pants (I had tucked it in) and when I told him it was supposed to be, he said, "That makes me look silly." He is certainly his father's son.

Gotta love that adorable face and crazy hair.

This is how we knew it was time to leave...

I got tagged... by Jessi

What is your occupation? The ways that I make money are... Gap Kids Sales Associate (hurray), Companion for a girl named Anne, and oh yeah, I do have a graphic design degree that I plan to use again in the undetermined future
What are you listening to right now? Word World on PBS kids, and Henry talking himself to sleep in his bed
What is the last thing you ate? Toasted carmel crunch cereal
Do you wish on stars? No, but I like looking at them
If you were a crayon what color would you be? Red
How is the weather right now? Very sunny, but cold in this endless winter
Last person you talked to on the phone? Caleb, I think, I am trying not to go over my minutes... hehe
Do you like the person who tagged you? Of course, everyone does ;-)
How old are you right now? 28, I think
Your favorite drink? water probably, sometimes a caffeine free Mountain Dew that I split with Gav
Favorite sport to watch? basketball
Have you ever dyed your hair? hehe... umm yeah
Your favorite job? tough one... there have been a lot... probably picking sweet corn in the early morning hours with my friends when I was 15
Any pets? Only imaginary ones
Favorite month? September, still warm, but getting ready for fall
Favorite food? cheese... with pickles with it... and dark chocolate M&Ms, seperately of course
What was the last movie you watched? Bugs Life, for the thousandth time this morning
What do you do to vent anger? Put myself in time out, its better for everyone that way
Fall or spring? Fall, of course
Hugs or kisses? Depends on who they are coming from
Living arrangements? Our 2 bedroom duplex in Salt Lake
When was the last time you cried? I think about a month ago when Gavin headbutted me in the nose while we were wrestling and I thought my nose was broken, it was super painful and bled everywhere
What is on the floor in your closet? Caleb's shoes and snowboarding stuff
What did you do last night? Worked with Anne
What inspires you? Caleb- he makes me want to be a better person
What are you afraid of? The dark, and not teaching my kids all that they need to know in this life
How many cars have you had? yikes, 8, I guess
How many keys are on your key ring? 3, soon to be 2 when mom and dad sell their house
How many years at your current job? the Gap- like 7... sad, I know
Favorite day of the week? Saturday
Where have you lived? Texas, Iowa, Oregon, Utah
First cd you ever bought? Savage Garden, I think
Favorite vacation? Any and all vacations, though Vancouver, BC was super cool
Favorite tv shows? The Office and Arrested Development



I tag Melodee and Heidi and and anyone who hasn't been tagged in a while.