Em's Race and Daddy Daycare

This weekend, I (Em) went to Indy to run the Half-Marathon. I was so pleased to get my personal best time--1:47 (8:10 pace)! I felt great!! (Well, other than feeling extremely sore and like I wanted to quit a dozen times, but telling myself that I'm not dead yet, so I might as well just suck it up and keep pushing!) But other than that, I felt AWESOME! Before the race, and several times during it, I caught myself thinking, "Why the heck to people DO stuff like this?!" But as soon as I finished, I remembered why. :) It was a quick trip to Indy; I went down with my two girlfriends on Friday, and we left right after the race on Saturday (gotta love the 6-hour-post-race-drive home!). But I got to stay with my parents Friday night and get my love bucket filled :), AND have a fun time with my buddies!

Back at the homefront, Jaron wielded his magic with the kiddos: a little Mickey-D's, a load of Halloween Candy, and some late-night wiggles yielded the following fun times!

Quad Cities Marathon 9/25/11

Just thought you might be curious about the marathon I ran today in the Quad Cities (border of IL and IA). It was a beautiful route--along the river on both sides, and through an army base. One very powerful moment was running through the army base, and running past hundreds, if not thousands, of white headstones all lined up in a row. It touched me deeply.

So, I started out feeling strong, powering up hills (not too many of them), and staying at a good pace. My goal of qualifying for Boston was revised at mile 15, after I had strong stomach pain for 3 miles. I decided to slow down a bit, and my new goal was now to "Finish". Around mile 17, a drizzle started, which turned into a strong downpour, till about mile 20. It was in the 40's, and I'm known for my lack of thermo-regulation, and sometime around mile 21 I started shivering uncontrollably, teeth chattering. I walked at a water station, and when I tried running again my muscles seized up, and I almost fell over. I hobbled along like this for a short while, when a nice lady spectator offered me a blanket to wrap around me. By then the rain had slowed back to a drizzle, but I was thoroughly chilled. My goal of "finishing" was then revised to "not get hypothermia"...and I met my goal!! I'm sad to say that I didn't complete the entire 26.2 miles--I fell short about 3 miles. It's funny, being dry and somewhat recovered (I can almost walk again :), I wonder if I should've pushed on toward the goal, but in the moment it was all I could do to not fall over. I kept telling myself to run so I could move my body faster and warm up, but my muscles wouldn't go that way!

I crossed the finish line at my goal time, which is ironic, considering that I'd cheated the clock for 3 miles (and that I was hobble-walking across the finish line w/a blanket wrapped around my shoulders!). But I'm alive, I didn't get hypothermia, and am very humbled by the experience.

So that's how it was. Will I run another marathon to redeem myself? I told Jaron that I've been effectively cured of all desire to run a full marathon, but he said something like, "It's okay, Honey, you don't have to make that decision right now." Sly dog.

Another highlight, besides running through the army base, was thinking of something that I'm thankful for at each mile marker. I was almost moved to tears at some mile-markers, as I reflected on how blessed I am with amazing family, friends, health, and my faith in God. It was also a nice way to get my mind off the "how many miles are left" thoughts that are so pervasive in a long race like that. :)

I loved having Jaron, Spencer, Mikey and Trevor greet me after I finished. They missed me when I hobbled across the finish line (no pics of that--phew!), but they found me a few minutes later huddled in the foyer of a restaurant (over a heater) trying to warm myself up. They each gave me such sweet hugs and told me in sweet voices that they loved me. It really took all my discomfort and disappointment away (at least for a moment). I love my darling husband and my wonderful sons so much!

Paging Dr. Sullivan...Anybody Seen Dr. Sullivan??

Jaron and I were blessed with some awesome friends this summer, Dierdre and Andrew Davis, who are not only amazing people, but who also have a sweet wakeboarding boat! Jaron's passion for wakeboarding, which had been dormant for many-a-year, was rekindled full-force this summer (with a vengeance!). Jaron and Andrew were like peas in a pod, taking off to go wakeboarding whenever their work schedules allowed (which meant early-early mornings, or late-late nights, usually!). We have loved being with our friends, having "family time" on the boat, and getting to watch some Uh-MAZE-ING tricks like these:

I made this imovie for Jaron for his birthday (Sept 7).

Texas Summer Vacation!

Early this summer we got to spend a glorious week in Texas! We had so much fun with Jaron's family: We stayed in a fun hotel in Galveston and played at the beach and the pool, gave Jenna and Jared a baby shower, spent time in the Haley's lovely home, and romped with bunnies and chickens at Mammy and Pappy's. We felt sad that Landon's family couldn't join us! But overall we had a wonderful time--Thank you Sullivan Family! We love you!!

Look at our Gorgeous Friends!!

When we went to Texas this summer, we were sad that our best friends, the Allred's, were out of town, and we weren't going to be able to visit them. Lucky for us, though, we schemed a plan to meet "halfway" between their vacation spot, Colorado, and our drive home. That's how we ended up partying it up in Wichita, Kansas:

Jared and Janene got ahold of our camera and left us a few "surprises"!

Best Buds Spence and Carson

Mikey and Tanner

Trevor and "Bwin-wee" (Brynlee)(SO sad that we didn't get a pic of her cute face!!)

We were lucky to have joined rooms, so the kids went NUTS running from room to room, playing tag, building forts and jumping on beds!

We love you Allred's!!

April in Arizona

Back in April, Jaron went to a conference for work, and I tagged along (thanks to Nana for staying with the boys!). We had a lovely "getaway". We stayed at a nice resort in the foothills of Tucson, did a little mountain biking and hiking, and greased our tubes at the scrumptious "In-N-Out". I sure have an amazing husband, and it was so fun to have an extended date with him. Can't wait to do it again!

Catalina State Park. Right near our hotel. I spent half a day hiking around while Jaron went to conference meetings one day. Rough, I know.

"Together we stand, Divided we fall"...cause I'll be darned if I'm falling off into the cacti! Mountain biking was pretty intense, because if we weren't careful we'd be eating cholla or prickly pear! Check out these Dr.Seuss-looking cholla bushes. (Those are thorns, not fuzzies):

Thanks for a wonderful trip Darlin'!

Spencer's Piano Recital

Spencer worked hard this year at practicing piano. He doesn't always love practicing, but he sure brings joy to the home when he plays! We're so proud of him for being so dedicated!

Dread-locks

WARNING: Excessive use of winter hats and sleeping on pillows MAY cause up to 12 dreadlocks on a single head. These are not life-threatening, but are likely to cause severe irritation of the scalp when attempting to comb through them!

The recommend course of action is to immediately cut (with scissors or a Suck-cut) the mad nappy-ness.

After you have shed the mean case of bed-head, you will likely feel light and free, and may even attempt daring acts such as scaling the pantry shelves to get your paws on the chocolate chips.

Spencer's Baptism!!

We're ba-aaaak! We're pleased to announce our return to the blogging world after a forced hiatus due to the loss and (thankfully!) recovery of all the pictures on our hard drive.

So now it's business as usual!

There's so much to catch up on, but rather than letting myself be paralyzed with guilt, I'll just trudge forward as if we hadn't experienced a 3-month hiccup, and hope that maybe someday I'll get around to publishing Christmas, and Spence and Trevor's birthdays.

Last week (March 26th) we had the wonderful experience of having Spencer baptized and confirmed in the church of Jesus Christ of latter-day Saints. Spencer has been the light and joy of our lives. He is a great example of kindness to his little brothers and his peers. His teacher has told me that the other children look up to him, and we are so grateful that he has been a positive influence on their lives. In addition to being a great friend, story-teller, and example, Spence has a desire to know God and to make good choices. We're glad that Spencer wanted to take this step to help him draw closer to God.

We were grateful to have Nana and Opa, and Chris and Deanna and their girls be there for the baptism. Opa gave a simple yet powerful talk about the Holy Ghost, and Jaron's confirmation blessing was sweet and touching. It was a peaceful, love-filled morning, and we wish we could have shared it with all our family and loved ones!

Don't be fooled by the sour face. Trevor really was excited for Spencer--he just needed a nap!