Steve and Kristen Came

Steve and Kristen are visiting from Ohio for a few days and we were able to see them over the weekend.  We had a lot of fun just being with them, going to dinner, going on a little mini Parade of Homes put on by Natalie, playing lots of games, and the enjoying the piano. 

 Steve and I attempted a duet.  We've had a lot of fun with the piano since my parents let us borrow it while they're away.

 We played our new Dominion expansion pack (Intrigue) and Bohnanza. 

 It was really fun to see them and be together for a bit.  We can only hope it will happen more often.  Perhaps we need to head out their way next.

We love you guys!

Top of Utah Half Marathon

Remember how I decided I'm going to run a marathon.  Well, on Saturday I got halfway there when I finished my first half marathon.  Woo hoo!  I ran the Top of Utah Half Marathon right here in Logan. 

I was really nervous for it the days and minutes leading up to the race.  I felt pretty prepared for it since I've been training for the full marathon this didn't seem as scary but there's still nerves involved in races since they're a relatively new experience for me, and especially long races with aid stations and such.

Tyler dropped me off at the finish line then I rode the bus to the starting line.  I had planned to run this on my own.  Well a few minutes before the race started as I was sitting at the starting line, my cousin Emily (third cousin really, but who's counting) and her friend Sarah came running up to me and sat right down next to me.  They took my mind off my nerves and got me really excited to run.

We lined up based on the times we thought we would finish and waited for the shotgun start.  I hadn't planned on staying with Emily and Sarah but they set a really good pace and I liked their company.  We had fun talking for the first mile or so then we really got into our running groove.  Before I knew it we were to our first aid station (mile 3) where we drank some water and we all kept going.  Aid station 2 came quickly (mile 6) which brought us to the bottom of the canyon.  Those first 6 miles were like nothing.

The next 3 miles passed quickly too since there were so many people on the side lines cheering everyone on.  I think that's my favorite part of running - just that there are so many people rooting for you and wanting you to succeed.   It's such a positive environment and runners love helping each other.

Miles 11 and 12 were tough.  They were more uphill and it very sunny and hot by then.  Sarah had broken ahead and Emily had stayed behind a bit after mile 9 so I was on my own for awhile.  Emily caught up to me around mile 11.5 and really helped my through the last little bit, keeping me going.

The finish was brutal because it's at the end of a long stretch of straight road.  I could see it for almost about half a mile but it seemed like I would never approach it.  As I got closer I sped up a bit and right before crossing the finish I saw Natalie, Luke and Dax off to the side cheering for me.  I ran towards them and gave Dax knuckles.  Then Tyler was up a little further holding the camera with one hand and cheering with the other.

I couldn't help but beam with happiness and relief and Emily and I both crossed the finish line.  I turned to her and we hugged right away knowing WE DID IT!  I finished in 2:26:58  I couldn't have done as well as I did without her and I wouldn't have had nearly as much fun.  I'm so so glad she found me at the starting line!

We took some picture and reveled in our victory.  It really was such a good experience and such good training for the full. (Click on the pictures to make them bigger)

Seeing Nat, Luke and Dax

Seeing Tyler

We did it, we really did it!

Me and Emily - love her!

Me, Emily and Sarah

That's right, I finished!  Now bring on the full marathon

 

Oh and just for fun here's the stats from the run:

My Week Off

Tyler and I had a pretty nice week. I had the entire week off work and we sure took advantage of it. We celebrated our anniversary on Monday by staying at Little America and going shopping at the Gateway. Once again, breakfast at Little America was EPIC!

We also stopped by my parent's Bon Voyage party that some good ward members threw for them. We played one last game of Yspahan and said our goodbyes. We're excited for them and have already talked to them quite a bit and they're doing great down there.

My parents wanted me to bring this little airplane to my nephew and show him that it was from "Mima and Boca" so I took a few pictures. This one was too awesome not to post - notice Tyler in the background too.

Later in the week we flew to California and spent the weekend with Tyler's family. His brother was there this week too so it was fun to hang out with everyone.

Excuse the blurriness, this was taken on Tyler's iPod since I forgot to pack our camera.

We went to Six Flag's Magic Mountain on Friday and spent the entire day on huge roller coasters. It was a ton of fun!

Saturday we went to Long Beach. They had a sand sculture contest that was kind of neat. It was just amatures, or everyday people so a lot of them weren't too cool, but there were some neat ones.

This one of Patrick was pretty awesome

This one is for you mom and dad!

Pictures of You, Pictures of Me

My very talented friend Kristin Brown asked if Tyler and I would help her out with a new kind of photo shoot she wants to start doing to capture the little everyday moments in life - great idea right! We were so willing to help and so glad to have such great pictures. I hope we were okay models. Kristin did a great job and I LOVE the beautiful shots she captured. Check out her blog and website here - you'll love her!

Mini Vacation to Cali

The no money thing worked for a few days. It was pretty nice to not even think about money and just focus on other things. But I'll be honest, I kinda got bored of it and we decided to go to California (we did spend less than $200 in California - flights included, so I think that counts for something). It was fun though and interesting to try. I was happy when a co-worker shared this article with me. I'm glad to hear I'm not the only nerd who has tried this.

So yes, we went to California. Tyler's parents finally sold their house in Centerville - yeah for them, boo for us. They had to move all their things to California and Tyler took off work to help them. I was going to stay in Utah but decided last minute that hey, what the heck, I'll go too. We helped them pack up the moving van on Friday and headed out on the road that night. Once arriving in Cali we unloaded the whole van into their garage for now.

We took a few more days for fun too and really packed in quite a bit of fun. We went to a really pretty Japanese garden, ate at a lot of really good restaurants, went to the beach three different times, rode on Tyler's dad's motorcycle, went to church - where I got to see a lot of my family (Tyler's parents chose an apartment in my uncle's ward cuz they really liked the ward).



I was also really happy to drive by my childhood home and show Tyler where I lived. We got donuts from Martha's donuts, which has been a tradition every time we visit California. It's neat that Tyler's parents live only about 10 minutes away from where I grew up, it definitely makes the visits very fun.

My aunt coordinated a family party on Memorial day which was great to be able to see so much family. I really enjoyed talking with my grandma. She is getting more forgetful so I had to remind her who I was a few times but she still sure has a cute personality. We played a game called Toss Ups and she got so disappointed when she kept losing her points she had built up.
We also got to visit my grandpa's grave site. He died when I was 4 months old so I really never knew him but I know he was a neat man and I'm excited to meet him some day.
All in all we had such a great time and really enjoyed just relaxing. We were glad to spend so many days with Tyler's parents and were so grateful that they let us stay with them in their little apartment.

Oh, and I also ate possibly the best churro I've ever had. And those that know me know I love churros, so that's saying something!

Money Free Week

Do you think you could go an entire week without buying anything? Yeah, spending zero money, like no cash purchases, no debit transactions. Nothing.

I’m curious to see if I can do it, so I’m going to try. Mostly just to see if I can, like a social/economical experiment. Yes, Tyler thinks I’m weird too, but I think it will be kind of fun.

The rules are that I can’t buy anything with cash or a card. I can use gift cards if I already have them. I can’t make Tyler buy anything for me, but I don’t necessarily have to limit his purchases too if they’re for him only. So he can still go out to eat for lunch but he can’t buy lunch for me.

The week started yesterday, which was easy enough to do on a Sunday, and goes through Saturday. So, let the fun begin...

Please Be Careful

I had a really scary experience yesterday which I want to post about to make other people aware of.

I went to pick up my Young Women for our activity and after arriving at one YW's house and finding that she was not home I began backing out of her driveway to go pick up the next YW. I had seen our Bishop's youngest boys ride by on their bike minutes before so I consciencely looked for them. Not seeing them I assumed they had rounded the corner and were a safe distance away. I backed out slowly and before I got past the sidewalk I hear a crunch or some noise, knowing I had hit something.

I threw the car into park, jumped out immediately and found the youngest boy laying on the driveway crying. He was not hurt but more shaken up, and understandably so. I'm not exactly sure if I hit him directly or hit his big wheel bike. I asked him if he was okay and watched him ride off so I knew he was fine. His brother who is only a few years older saw it play out and was a bit shaken up as well.

I had to pick up my other YW and I didn't see the boys' mom so I made sure that both boys were okay and left. As soon as I got to our activity I called the boys' mom but she didn't answer. I called her again later that night knowing how frantic she must be wanting to know exactly what happened. You just can't get the full story from a 5 year old.

I didn't get ahold of the mom until today when I saw her post on Facebook about the situation and called her again. This time she answered and I explained what happened. From her point of view and through the eyes of her boys I sounded like a terrible reckless lady who basically did a hit-and-run. I realize I should have forgotten about my YW and immediately told her what happened. I explained everything to her and she was grateful that I called. Ultimately were are both so relieved and feel so blessed that we were all watched over.

All in all there were definitely guardian angels watching over this little boy and also over me. I normally would back out faster - which I will never do now - so I know I was blessed to be more cautious. I am so grateful that this didn't amount to more and I'm glad this little boy is okay.

Please be more careful when you back out and just driving in general. I can not imagine how my life and the life of this little boy's family would change forever if things would have turned out differently.