Baltimore Running Festival!!

Brian and I started running about a year and a half ago. It was right after I turned 30 and started getting a spout of health problems that I realized I want to be moving my whole life so I need to do something about it now. I started running in the afternoons when Brian would get home from work (wasn't much of a morning person). Brian would run at the gym at work in the morning. This worked great for a while and we were feeling much better. Then Brian one day said he wanted to run a marathon. I thought he was crazy. I mean, really we were only running about three miles at the most, and most of his mileage was on the dreadmill, oh I mean treadmill.

One day Brian decided to run outside. He got to the bridge, about a mile away, touched it and hobbled on home. That is when he decided never to run inside again. From then on he was determined and each week he did a mile more. I couldn't believe when he actually hit four miles. I was getting a little jealous. I still had NO plans whatsoever to run a race though.

Then last February while I was running, I tore my achilles tendon. I was upset because I had finally hit the four mile mark and started feeling good about my runs. After taking six weeks off, I bought some new shoes and started again. I still had no intentions of running a race. But, I couldn't let Brian pass me right? So, then I started upping my mileage. I hit four miles and thought I was on top of the world!! By then Brian had hit about nine. So on it went like this until Brian actually DID sign up for the Baltimore Marathon! I couldn't believe it. I still thought he had no idea what he was getting into. And no, I still had no intentions for myself. I was just trying to be healthy here, not to try and run a race.

But Brian talked and talked and slowly I started thinking about it. Then, about three months before the race, I realized I was healthy and feeling good and probably in the best shape I have been in since high school, I decided I better run the half-marathon while I can. On one night when I was feeling a little more brave, I signed up.

So now we are two days past our goal. And yes, Brian finished the marathon and I actually finished the half-marathon. In the middle of it I really wondered why I was doing this to myself and what had made me think I was in shape enough to finish 13 miles, but I kept trudging through and amazingly I did. Thanks to my good running buddies, I probably wouldn't have done it. I needed that extra little motivation to keep me going when those hills seemed to be never ending.

Brian was amazing. He didn't get his goal time, but he finished even when he hit mile 16 and thought he couldn't go a step more. What surprises me the most though is that he is already talking about more.... "what can I do to get in better shape?" etc. etc. I think I've had enough for now. I'm going to hang my medal up somewhere. Tah tah for now running... until Wednesday.

Nauvoo

This last summer we decided to take our family trip to Nauvoo Illinois to see the church history site. We live about 12 to 14 hours away, so we thought we might as well do this while we have a chance. So, Bri took off a few days of work and we packed up the car and did it. The ride was long, but not too bad. We got a few books on tape, a whole lot of movies, books, and we were set. The only one who really had a hard time was Raegan, since she didn't understand the books on tape and she can only take so many movies...

Nauvoo was great. Being there and seeing it, really put things into perspective for me. The saints had such a beautiful place and had put so much of their lives into building it and making it their home. We were only there for a day and an evening. We got to see the Nauvoo pageant though, and it was amazing. The next morning I took a run around Nauvoo and the mississippi river. Then, we took a wagon ride, a carriage ride and toured a few of the buildings. I was sad when we had to leave because you could definitely stay there a week or so if you had the time (and the reservations! Phew, they go fast!). I can't wait to go back.

On our drive home to MD, we decided to go see Chicago and the Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower). We thought it would be fun to go up to the tallest building in the U.S., so we paid the outlandish fee and did it. We were waiting for about two and a half hours to get to the top. We met a really nice LDS man from Hawaii right behind us though, who made the time go much faster. The top was great and we got to step out in the glass boxes and look all the way down. We stayed there for all of fifteen minutes. Lesson learned, never go to the Willis Tower on Saturday...

Next we went out to a restaurant known for Chicago's famous pizza. We waited for about an hour for the pizza, but it was totally worth it! It has two layers of crusts stuffed on the top, middle, and bottom. Yummy! My kids can't stop talking about it.

The last day we decided to visit Brian's old mission in Detroit. Yes, the most crime ridden city in the U.S. We first went to the temple, which is beautiful and is in a very beautiful neighborhood. Then we decided to drive down to the inner city of Detroit and look around, quickly... And, it was quick. It was getting a little dark and I was getting a little nervous in the inner city with four little girls so we left after a half hour or so, but it was amazing to see what Brian had lived in for two years! We couldn't even find any of his old aparment building because they had been burned down or torn up. It made me realize how lucky I am to have what I have. I feel very blessed to live where I do and have so many things that are so easily taken for granted.

A Little Change....

Hello fellow bloggers! Wow, has it really been that long since I last posted??? Well, as any mother knows, summer is such a busy time. But, more than that, it was a decision I had to make. Although I LOVE reading blogs and posting my own, I decide it was consuming my life a little too much. So, I gave it a hiatus for a few months where I didn't read blogs or write. Now that those months are over, I also realize how much I miss keeping up with my friends and also posting my own thoughts and experiences. It is a really fun hobby, don't get me wrong, just a little time consuming.

So, I have decided that I will still keep a blog and write whenever I can, but I won't let it consume my time as much. Forgive me friends if I don't check your posts on a regular basis, I still do care so much for you and love to hear how you are doing. And I will read them, but not quite as often and maybe not as many comments. And for those of you who always read mine, thank you! I really do know how much time it can take. Especially my long catch up posts...(:

That's all for today.... (: until next time.

April and May

Okay, this is a catch up post. Yes, I have been a slacker with my posting lately, but since this blog is mostly a journal for me, I'm going to quickly catch up on the happenings for the past couple months. Feel free to skim... (:

*Bought a new sectional and console for our t.v. room downstairs. Yes, it is officially not our play room (at least in one side of the room). We divided it in half, bought a new console for our tv and a new sectional and moved our toys and bookshelves. Whooo hoo! We love it! Finally, we want to stay in our basement. I will take pictures and post soon.

*Spring break with mom and dad! This was awesome. We had a great time and loved their visit. We're waiting for another soon mom and dad!

*John (my cousin), Ruth, and their little boy Jeffrey came to visit while they were going through chemo with Jeffery in Philadelphia. They spent one day in DC and then we dragged them to Ashtyn's ballet the next evening with us. We had a great time with them and love them so much. We pray for little Jeffrey's eye to heal quickly.

* Ashtyn did a Cinderella ballet recital that she has been practicing for months. This time she didn't get hives!!! Although it was only about five minutes they were on stage, it was very cute and got a whole lot of smiles.

*I had a mommy daughter date with Teralyn to the National zoo. We had a hotdog and icecream for lunch. Yum!

* Raegan turned two. I think I'll do another post about this later... (:

*Michelle (Brian's sister) came to visit for a week. We had a lot of picnics and just hanging out. Loved it.

*NYC trip. This was my first trip to NYC. I have been to the Statue of Liberty before, but never actually in NYC. So, Michelle and I decided to do this two days before we left. Very spontaneous for me... Vanessa watched my girls for me on Friday and Bri watched them on Saturday. We flew up on Friday morning and stayed just until Saturday night. We had a blast! We saw the Empire State Building, Ground Zero, had lunch in Little Italy, walked the Brooklyn Bridge, had a NYC bagel, ran through Central Park, saw Times Square, saw NBC studios, went to Phantom of the Opera, bargained on Canal Street, walked through China town, visited St. Patricks Cathedral, The American Girl Place, got a taxi ride and did a little shopping on Fifth Avenue. Phew! We were so tired, but it was so worth it.
My favorite part?? Definitely Phantom of the Opera oh, and not having to drive in the city!

*Kids Day! This year we did our traditional cold breakfast in the park and then we headed on up to Sandy Point to try and do crab fishing. We got there close to the afternoon though so the crabs weren't biting. It was fun to try though. We gave up finally and went swimming at the beach. Which the girls loved. I'm not so sure if they loved crabbing or not though... We headed home just in time for rain and watched a movie with homemade pizza.

*Said goodbye to Aunt Michelle, our most frequent visitor... ): Come back soon!
I'll post pictures later.

Spring Break

Okay, I wrote this a long time ago, but never posted so here you go, my post from spring break back in April. (:"

Yesterday my parents left after a ten day visit. Now, I am sitting at the computer pouting a little because it is quite lonely in my house after sending them back home, sending Bri back to work, and sending my older girls back to school.

We were lucky to have a week without sickness while they were here, and luckily Raegan was finished with her antibiotics from having Strep throat, phneumonia, and an ear infection all at the same time last month. We also had some great days with little or no rain.

So, here were our events of spring break...

*Went grocery shopping with my mom- I love to do this, she always has some great ideas and fun recipes to try.

*Watched conference- Yes, I love General Conference time and it was even better sharing it with grandma and grandpa.

*Girls night in- you probably have heard me talk about this before. When the men go to priesthood, we have a girls' night with banana splits (all the works of course) and some kind of chick flick. This year Shay and Tera did it with us and we watched Heidi. Fun.. (:

*Made great food- rolls, greek salads, vegetarian lasagna...

*Drove to Williamsburg and stayed in a hotel for a couple of nights. The best part of this was the hotel and the food. Pretty much our healthy eating ideas went right out the window. We went to a seafood buffet, which was good, but way too expensive... and a really good Mongolian buffet. My girls LOVED the swimming. In the evenings, we went to my parents room (next door) and played games, ate homemade black licorice, and talked.
Williamsburg was fun, but for some reason I talked everyone out of getting the tickets to take the tour of the capitol and the governor's palace and so it was fun to see, but a little uneventful.

*Jamestowne- This was the best part of our Williamsburg trip (besides the hotel and the swimming). It was very hands on and the kids loved it! I really helped them understand how the Colonists and Native Americans lived.

Hmmm... I guess I didn't finish this and I can't remember what else we did. Oh well, it was fun. Come visit again mom and dad!

We did it!

We finished our bathroom!!!
When we moved into our house hmmm... about two and a half years ago, we had a basement that was half finished. A finished play room or tv room, but an unfinished bathroom (no walls, plumbing, electricity etc.) and an unfinished bedroom. Our plan was to finish them up and then have four bedrooms in our house, and a convenient bathroom downstairs. So, we started on the bathroom first and now finally after two and a half years, it is finished!! I have to say, it really wasn't me too, mostly just Brian. When he told me he wanted to do it, I pretty much just laughed. He had never done electrical work before or plumbing! Yes, it has taken a while, but oh I am so happy and proud of him for doing it and it looks great! The plumbing was definitely the hardest part, but I thought the dry wall and the shower was because, well, that was pretty much the only part that I helped with. He even put in tile! You will now have to come visit me to see!!!! But while I'm waiting for a visit, here are some pictures... enjoy!

BEFORE PICTURES...

Notice the blue painters tape... no, it is not still in our wall...




Look at that beautiful dry wall job... we should go professional.


And the beautiful tile... (:





OKAY OKAY, after pictures.....





Now, doesn't that make you want to come visit me?? We will even let you use it if you like...

Allergic to Running...

The idea of running a marathon is horrifying to me. Brian got the idea in his head a few months ago that he wanted to run a marathon this year. I thought he was crazy. Slowly, he has been working on me though, and I have finally come to be a little okay with running a half. No, I am still not close at all. Actually, pretty far away from that goal, but at least the idea is starting to sink a little into my head.

Well, just when it started to accept the idea a little I went out and bought some good running shoes. At least so was the claim, and then three days later, I tore my Achilles tendon. After just a couple of days of running, I started to have a pain (which I first thought was an internal blister) and then I just couldn't do it anymore. My ankle hurt so bad. I thought it was related to my sprain last year, so I decided to call the podiatrist. After feeling my tendon crunch back and forth, he concluded that it was torn and put me in a big old boot for four to six weeks!
So here I am, it looks much worse than it is really. It doesn't hurt anymore, but just a little annoying lugging around.

And as for that half-marathon... we shall see. Sorry Bri, you may be on your own.
As my friend Mendy says, "maybe I'm just allergic to running".