SLO in Arkansas

My Rock Star Husband

2012-02-13T12:17:00.000-08:00

Have I mentioned how awesome my husband is lately?? Check out this little number he built for the boys last week. I came home from work one afternoon and he took me to the garage to check it out.

It is none other than a fabulous rock, sand, gravel table complete with digging tools and equipment. Oh my goodness, my boys are IN LOVE with this thing!!

They have spent hours out in the garage digging, scooping and playing together quite nicely all week. Silas was also rock star enough to bring home a wonderful space heater so the garage stays pretty warm while they are playing. They like to bundle up for fun:)

Have I mentioned how much I have gotten done around the house since we have had this thing??!! Now I can scoot the boys out to the garage to play, and get the laundry done, clean up, and not worry about them destroying another room of the house! They can come in and out as they please, and it keeps them entertained for hours.

Of course we have the occasional someone dumping a load of sand on his brother's head, fighting over the tools, etc, but for the most part, it has been amazing! I am constantly thankful for Silas and his creativity and ability to think of a fun concept and make it happen:) The boys think it is a wonderful treat, and it is a welcome change from being inside the house all day when it's too cold to actually get out in the "real dirt" and play:)

January Rewind

2012-02-04T16:41:00.000-08:00

Running: 82.46 miles

Bike: 7.92 hours (trainer or at spin class)

Swim: 14,600 meters (9.13 miles)

Rest days: 4

So overall it was a pretty good month. I feel great about my running, since I only run 2 days a week! Time on my bike needs to double, and I am pretty sure I swam all 9 miles of my laps with very incorrect form, but at least I swam them:) I just finished up a recovery week, which was much needed. I do have to say, rest days are not good for me at all mentally.....I NEED to sweat! I feel pretty rested and ready to tackle this coming week head on.....week #9....bring it:)

Swim Lesson #1= Public Humiliation

2012-01-29T18:59:00.000-08:00

Sooo, I had my first, and possibly my last swimming lesson this afternoon. Basically I stink and do lots of things wrong. The good news is I can still swim while doing all my things wrong:) The coach was super nice and made me feel better despite all my deficits. She was very motivating, using things like "You better do it right this time because I'm videoing you on my phone and I will post it to Facebook if you don't watch out!!" Yikes!! About the only thing I did well was roll on my back like a whale. Apparently I have wonderful form in my backstroke, despite the fact that I have never done it before!! Anyway, it was a tough and more than humbling experience to say the least. Of course it didn't help that my lesson was smack dab in the middle of family swim time and there were tons of kids yelling and splashing around, at times in my lane, and that I knew someone there who got to witness my humiliation, and the lifeguards standing around watching my entertaining performance. It was a tough day in training folks. Mentally tough. Pride wounding. Thinking about quitting altogether tough. But, I won't give up that easily. I will get back on the horse tomorrow with my usual 8 mile run and figure out what day I feel like hitting the pool again for a little more torture:) I can do this!

BRICK #1

2012-01-28T20:07:00.000-08:00

I completed my first BRICK workout of my triathlon training this morning, and it went well:) I have done a few shorter BRICKS so I was a little nervous about this longer one. I was interested to see how my legs would feel after some time on my bike, since my only pace gauge at this point is on fresh legs. I typically run about a 9:30 pace for my runs of 8-12 miles which is where I can hold a conversation with my running buddy. I didn't really have any idea what to expect for my run pace, so we will see if today is a good average or not.

I got on my bike at 6:25am and began the lovely task of riding indoors for an hour and a half. It can get boring, but I have found that using my ipod makes all the difference in the world. I will randomly become aware that I am belting out songs while huffing and puffing:) I am sure my kids think I am crazy....pedaling away and sweating and singing at the top of my lungs in the basement on Saturday mornings:) I found myself watching the Food channel as well, which didn't help as it was all Super Bowl foods and it made me very hungry!! Anyway, the ride went by relatively quickly, and is by far the longest time I have ever spent on my trainer. You get a much better workout on the trainer since you never stop to coast or quit pedaling, so it was more like a 2 hour ride out on the road (according to the guys at my local bike shop). A quick change of clothes and into my running shoes and I was out the door for my run.

Now my plan called for a 15 minute run just to get my legs used to the transition from bike to run, but really, who wants to get all dressed up just to run for 15 minutes?!! Not me, so I figured I would head out on my normal 4 mile loop. Unfortunately I was a bit under dressed as it was 36 degrees with a 17 MPH sustained wind and 24 MPH gusts. It was cold!!! I hit my first mile at 8:34 and decided to just try and hold that the whole way. My legs shook out pretty fast and it didn't feel too hard of an effort. I finished strong and mile 4 was a 8:24. At that point I felt like I was just warming up too:) It was not nearly as tough a workout as I thought it would be, but my legs are tired from it. The hardest part of tri training is finding a pace you can hold comfortably in each discipline, while saving your legs, energy, etc for the next discipline. And fueling appropriately. I am working on figuring all these finer details out along the way.

I have an official private swim lesson scheduled after church tomorrow afternoon!! I am excited to learn some new techniques that will help me swim more efficiently, but I really hate being critiqued!!! Should be interesting, and hopefully my legs won't feel like lead weights in the pool tomorrow:) Week #7 of training is in the books!!!!

Better Late Than Never!

2012-01-22T18:54:00.000-08:00

We had a great Christmas this year! We have really enjoyed being able to stay at our own home the past few years and spend Christmas morning together as a family. I love the looks on the boys' faces when they see that Santa came:) This was the year of Geotrax at our house, and the boys got plenty of them! They have spent hours playing with the train tracks and airport, creating all kinds of fun and new arrangements. We actually ended up moving the boys into the smaller room together and making Tyson's old room the new play room so they would have more room for all the tracks:)

My boys having fun opening presents.

Jace the pilot playing with his new planes. He is obsessed with the forklift he got from Santa, and only stopped playing with it a few minutes to play with the plane!

My sweet Tyson on Christmas Eve. I love how excited the kids get in anticipation of all the fun.

My little guys on Christmas Eve. We had fun opening our gifts on Christmas morning, having a nice breakfast, and then heading to church. The boys did great at church and we spent the rest of the day napping and playing with new toys. It was another magical and fun holiday season, and as always, we are so blessed and have much to be thankful for.

Jace is Paci Free!

2012-01-21T20:26:00.000-08:00

We had been telling Jace for weeks before Christmas that Santa was going to take his pacifier and leave him big boy toys in its place. At times he would be very agreeable to this idea, and other times he would just shake his head no and look worried. When Christmas Eve arrived I really struggled to decide what Santa would do! We finally decided that we needed to follow through with what we had been telling him for weeks since we had already set the stage. Here he is putting his beloved paci on the plate with the cookies for Santa.

He got pretty concerned when we told him to leave it for Santa. Look at that poor face! I am not so sure about this Mom!

Paci with the cookies for Santa.

Getting excited to go to bed and wake up with new big boy toys!! It only took about 10 minutes to rock him to sleep that night, which was amazing for his first night without paci and the excitement of Christmas. My sweet boy did great and we have never looked back. I am so glad we went through with it and he never seemed too traumatized that Santa took it to give a new little baby. He asked for it for a week or so and has finally quit talking about it. I am so glad to be paci free in our house!!!

January

2012-01-21T18:29:00.000-08:00

Let's see....what has been going on in January for us. My parent's came down for a visit last week Tuesday through Thursday which was fun! The boys were thrilled to have them here and it was a nice change from the regular routine:) They definitely got to experience first hand how crazy our daily schedules are! I was able to get a nice walk in with my mom and we had a good lunch and coffee together as well. Dad got some good duck hunting in while he was here which made him happy:)

We celebrated Silas' 32nd birthday on the 14th. He finally caught up to me in age:) I had arranged for a baby-sitter for the boys and we dropped them off and headed out to a nice dinner at Longhorn Steakhouse. It was wonderful and we ate a ton:) We were going to see a movie too, but decided to head to the book store instead where we enjoyed some coffee and reading books and magazines in peace and quiet.....yes we are old!! Things sure change when you have two very loud and active little boys in the house. We definitely value quiet time these days:) Silas found several new books to read so he was happy.

We finally launched ourselves into this century and just bought an XBOX 360 this weekend!! This is a big deal for us, since we are probably the most anti-technology people ever! It has the Kinect with it, which we thought would be fun for the boys and our family. We have already had a good time playing this weekend together:) I down-graded our cable package to a really basic one last week, since we just don't have time to watch any TV (plus I think almost everything on TV is garbage anyway). We started streaming Netflix at home so we will see how that goes. I may cancel it if we don't watch much...we will see.

Everything else is good. I am happy to be back in a routine with Bible study after the holiday break. I guess the biggest change is that the new program/group I was working on for work started last week. It is a support group for children of separated or divorced parents. We have had 2 weeks of classes so far and its going well. Not quite as many participants as we had hoped, but we are hoping to keep building it up over the year. I have enjoyed the children that have come so far and am looking forward to next month's classes.

I am continuing on diligently with my training, even though I still haven't registered for anything! I am working out 6 days a week and usually get about 7 workouts in since I double up at least one or two days. I am tired! I rolled my ankle right at the end of my run on Monday and was scared I had sprained it, so I rested it (as in no running all week, but still did all my swim and bike workouts). It felt better so I tested it out this morning with a nice 11 mile run:) That was after my 20 minute bike ride on my trainer. Thankfully it felt just fine so I'm not worried. I have settled into a new routine that seems to work pretty well in my life. I'm up every morning at 4:30-4:40am so I can either run or go to the gym by 5am. Needless to say I have to go to bed earlier now. Some nights it's 8:30 or 9. Some nights its 10pm. Depends on how late I work and how much needs to be done around the house! The boys are up every morning between 530 and 615am so it helps for me to get up and get my workouts done by then. I sure wish they would sleep later! I am still feeling good and healthy overall and enjoying the cross training that triathlon gives me. My poor feet really needed a rest from all the running of marathon training. I still get about 20 miles a week or so in with running, but that is only 2 runs so they get 5 days to rest! It never ceases to amaze me that I manage to get faster even during long distance running. I went out the other morning for a short run and just ran the first mile to see how I was feeling. My watched beeped and I saw a 7:46 mile and thought, well that felt easy, lets see if I can do it again for another mile. I managed to run a 5k faster than my fastest race times from last year, and held a 7:40 pace for 4 miles. I ran the last 2 miles faster than the first two miles! I may have to register for a local 5k just for fun to see what I can do this year:) It makes me wonder what I could get my 5k down to if I really focused on speed work. Too bad I am enjoying all the endurance training, which doesn't leave me much time for the shorter things. I have just completed my 6th week of half ironman training of my 16 week program. I guess I need to register for the silly thing:)

Busy

2012-01-09T13:32:00.000-08:00

I think that BUSY will be the theme of 2012 for me! I have hit the ground running (literally and figuratively) this year and not slowed down for one second it seems. I have been trying to start the year off getting everything organized and finished up from last year, and getting my organizational system in place to keep me under control in all areas for this new year. It has taken a bit of work, but I think I am finally ready to rock and roll:)

I have found a new plan to completely de-clutter my home from top to bottom. It is a 12 month calendar with small 10-15 minutes tasks to complete most days of the week. It seems pretty manageable so far, and I am really hoping this is The Year to get my clutter and "stuff" out of the house that we have been packing and moving from house to house with us!

I have cut my work load down to just 2 jobs, which is working nicely so far. I am working at the counseling center Mon-Thurs afternoons and all day on Tuesdays while the boys are in Mother's Day Out. I work for Silas on Thursdays while the boys are in school, and still love those days most of all since I get to spend time with my favorite person! I can't believe I have worked for him for almost a year now...I think I started the end of Feb or beginning of March last year. Time flies!

The boys and I continue to love our Bible study group we attend every Wed morning. We have all learned so much, and it is such a good way to keep me reading, studying, praying and learning so many new things about God. It is truly a blessing in my life:)

I guess it's the fitness area of my life driving me a little crazy right now. So far the only official race on my schedule for this year is a 10k in Little Rock in March. I have never raced a 10k, so I figured this would be a good year to get a time on the books:) I also enjoyed how organized the Little Rock marathon was last year, and wanted to participate in the event again without having to run those huge hills!! It's the rest of the year that is making me crazy.....crazy because I am seriously considering competing in a 1/2 Ironman event. Seriously considering, as in I am training 6 days a week at this point for the silly thing, but just haven't signed up yet. Do I have time in my life right now with a 2 and 4 year old and two jobs to train for a half ironman?? Probably not. It is going to be crazy from now until April? Absolutely! Do I love every second of this craziness? You better believe it!!! Just in case you were wondering, the half Ironman is a triathlon consisting of a 1.2 mile swim, a 56 mile bike, and a 13.1 mile run (half marathon). Now I know I can do the events individually, but this is a major endurance event to say the least. And lets not forget that I just learned how to swim correctly a few months ago this summer, and I thought a 1/4 mile swim just might kill me. I have been in the pool about 3 times a week since December and am feeling fairly confident, but still scared to death at the same time:) But you gotta love a challenge. Anyway, I am planning to continue training to the best of my ability and make a final decision about actually registering a little further down the road once I see how I am doing. I sure hope it works out!

The boys keep growing and changing like crazy. I am due to do a complete post on each of them soon to re-cap what all we have been up to lately. I just can't find the time to sit down more than 30 seconds right now!! My parents are coming for a visit this week too, so we are all excited to see them and catch up!

Christmas 2011

2012-01-04T12:52:00.000-08:00

I am getting so behind with my posts! Here are a few pics from our Christmas Eve. Silas was so thoughtful and bought me an awesome new camera for Christmas, so these are the last ones taken with my old one. We used the new one for everything else, and I am still trying to find time to figure it out and learn how to get the pictures loaded to the computer, etc. There will be lots more pictures coming soon!! Our Christmas Eve tradition growing up was to have a fancy steak dinner, and it is something we have continued to do with our own family. The boys think it is so fancy to sit in the dining room and eat on the china plates! I think they like the fire/candles the most:)

A few rare shots of the boys looking towards the camera! They were so sweet and excited on Christmas Eve. After dinner we played around and talked a lot about Santa coming. We read Christmas books. Rudolf has become a family favorite around here. We got the boys dressed in their pj's and took our annual trek out into the front yard to look for Santa in the sky.

Then we got our special plate ready for Santa's cookies and milk and set it out by the fireplace. We checked the stockings to make sure they were empty and finally herded the boys off to bed. Silas and I performed our needed duties and got everything ready before heading to bed. I just love the magic of Christmas Eve, and love experiencing the excitement again and again through my children.

A rare shot of me on Christmas morning! Somehow my hair managed to cooperate:) We had a wonderful Christmas morning together as a family. Lots of pictures coming soon hopefully!

Growing Up

2011-12-22T19:10:00.000-08:00

My boys are growing up and it is wearing me out!! It seems these changes never come at the best times, but ready or not, you still get to deal with them. Jace is in the middle of all kinds of big boy changes, and man I'm tired! He started climbing out of his crib last week, and its all been downhill from there. Since he was waking up and climbing out of bed and wandering around, we decided to go ahead and move him into a big boy bed. I set the twin bed up in his room at the beginning of this week and we haven't looked back.

He does great going to sleep. He likes his bed and is usually ready to pass out at bedtime, so that hasn't been the issue. The killer is the mornings! He has woken up about 4:30 or 4:45am every morning since and gets up. Then he proceeds to go into Tyson's room and wake him up every morning. I found them before 5am this morning up on a chair looking for candy to eat! I have been up every day this week before 5, and it is starting to catch up with me now. The hard part is that neither of the boys will go back to sleep once they are up, so it is making for some loooong days. Jace's afternoon nap is all messed up too as a result of his crazy morning times. We even tried to keep him up late last night to see if he would sleep in a bit, but no such luck. I sure hope he gets over this phase quickly...mama's tired!

We are about to get rid of his paci too, but I want to get him sleeping better before I take that away. He is also on the verge of potty training, and has started telling us when he needs to go, which is nice. My baby is growing up, all at once it seems!

Breakfast with Santa

2011-12-19T10:38:00.000-08:00

We have been so busy going from one fun holiday activity to the next. We have packed so much fun into December already, and still have lots more to come! This is the first year we have participated in most of these activities, since Jace was so little last year. Both boys have loved everything so far! One of our favorite things has been Breakfast with Santa, which our church hosts every year.

The gym is decorated with all kinds of fun things, and there are tables set up to eat pancakes and bacon. All around the gym are various tables full of crafts for the kids to complete. And of course you can't leave without sitting on Santa's lap and telling him what you want for Christmas:) The boys did great and their crafts are adorable!

They had so much fun running around with their friends and enjoying the morning. They had an area set up in the middle for music and the kids all gathered together to sing Christmas songs. It was so precious to see the excitement in all of their eyes as they enjoyed the fun. I love this time of year and watching my own children soak in all the fun and festivities for the first time!

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-12-14T11:45:00.000-08:00

I am a little late in getting this posted...oops!! Life seems to move at warp speed and finding moments of time to blog is becoming harder and harder lately. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with the Smith family this year for Thanksgiving. The boys were so excited to have their cousins come visit, and they haven't stopped talking about them since! We were able to have professional family pictures made while they were here as well, so I got one picture of the cousins all dressed up:)

The boy table for Thanksgiving feast, as Tyson calls it. The older boys were absolutely wonderful with my boys, and Jace can't stop asking where his buddies Parker and Danny went! I am so thankful they all get along so well, even with the age difference:) Tyson had so much fun playing football with the big boys, and having more freedom to run around the yard since he had some good playmates.

The girls:) We had fun playing games, watching movies, shopping, and of course eating. The favorite game this year was spades, and of course it was girls vs. boys. We had a great time playing cards and catching up with Sherrie and Shawn:) I didn't get much sleep, but it was totally worth it! Sherrie and I had fun venturing out for a little Black Friday madness and were able to survive and not buy anything! Those lines just aren't worth it, but we enjoy the adventure together:)

Jace clomping around in his uncle Shawn's boots:) Jace just loves his Uncle Shawn and follows him around everywhere. I think Shawn adores him right back:) We had lots of fun eating and just spending time together for a few days. It is always a nice change of pace to not have to travel anywhere, and for that we were extra thankful. We enjoyed the time together with family, and it was a bit bittersweet as we knew it would be Ellen's last holiday at home for a while. We have had such a great year as a family and have so much to be thankful for every single day.

More Pics

2011-12-04T19:34:00.000-08:00

Marathon #2 is in the books!!!

I couldn't do any of this without my #1 supporter and encourager Silas!! He is there for me every step of the way and always does an amazing job juggling the kids, dragging them around the course, taking pictures, and cheering me on. I love this guy!

How the boys spend 5 hours on mommy's marathon race days!! They had lots of snacks and ran around quite a bit too!

Our sweet friends from Jonesboro who drove to Memphis to cheer me on! Silas was happy to have their company during the race and I was so blessed to know there were others there cheering (and praying) for me to finish well! We love you guys!

St. Jude Pictures

2011-12-04T19:27:00.000-08:00

Heading off to the starting line to get in our corral.

Waiting for the race to start:)

The fab 3:) I forget which mile this was, but it was pretty early on and before mile 5.

Crossing the finish line! The race clock was about 12 minutes past my official time.

St. Jude Marathon Race Recap

2011-12-04T18:36:00.000-08:00

I am going to do a written recap without pictures first, since I know this will get a little long, and every time I write a long post my pictures never show up!! So pictures will follow shortly:)

Silas and I packed up the boys and headed to Memphis on Friday afternoon when he got off work. The trip went well and we rode a trolley downtown to the expo at the Convention center which the boys loved! I got my packet easily and we left to go check into the hotel. After we dumped our stuff off, we headed out to load me up with carbs at Macaroni Grill:) We all had spaghetti and bread which was delicious! Then Silas dropped me off at Toys R Us to finish up our Christmas shopping for the boys. I found everything I needed and was happy about that! The boys went to bed pretty well once we got back to the hotel, but then it all went downhill from there. I got my outfit set put and everything ready for the morning and finally laid down about 10pm to try and sleep. Jace woke up around 11pm and would not go back to sleep. I hadn't been to sleep yet. And then he was up and down from then on until 2am. I finally fell asleep a little after 2 am and my alarm went off at 5am. My 3 hours of sleep was about all I thought I would get, but it sure would have been nice to have a little more rest!! I got ready, we packed the car and were off to the race!

We met up with my running partner and her friend and hung out downtown for a while before heading to the starting line. The weather was stressing me out a bit. It had snowed earlier in the week, and then it ended up being much warmer than I had hoped for at race time. The temp was somewhere around 52 degrees when we started and around 60 at the end, which was about 15 degrees warmer than most of what I had trained in, and a bit warm for my liking. It was just a hard temp to dress for. Anyway, we headed to the starting line and got in our corral. I waited to start my watch until 5 minutes to race start, and of course it wouldn't come on. I reset it and tried again and it worked thank goodness, but said Low Battery, which stressed me out a bit too. I knew it would die before the race was over, but had no clue how long it would last for me. I tried to stay calm and not worry about it, and did pretty good about it! It took us about 11 or 12 minutes to cross the starting line once the race started, and we were off!

Our plan was to pace around a 9:30 minute mile for the first half and go from there. It was very crowded for the first 5 or 6 miles and hard to run a steady pace. We ended up weaving a lot too around slower runners, which gets tiring fast. The 3 of us ran along for the first few miles enjoying the crowds and music. It was fun to run down by the river, and through downtown Memphis. At mile 4.5 or so we headed to the St. Jude campus and ran through the hospital. That was my favorite part! I got choked up several times seeing all the kids with cancer, and the parents holding signs thanking us for running and raising money for the hospital. It was so emotional and touching. I am so glad it was near the beginning or I really would have lost it! We didn't stop at a water station until mile 5, where we grabbed a drink and took some chomps. My running partner started saying she didn't feel well a little after this, and our race plan started to change pretty fast. We were keeping a steady pace and doing well, so we decided to just make it to the half and see how she felt. I put my ipod in about mile 10 which really helped. I could tell Liz was starting to fade towards the half, so I went on ahead around mile 12.5 or so and was on my own.

My watch was still working thank goodness, but I knew it would last much longer, and I had no one with me now! I saw Silas, the boys, and our friends at mile 13 which was fun and a good boost. About mile 14 I started to get bored, and realized there had been a girl running alone in front of me for a while now, so I decided to make a new friend:) I ran up to her and started talking. I asked if she minded if I ran with her a while since I had lost my running buddies and was lonely! She said sure! It turns out her training partners had gotten injured before the race and she was running solo too, and was happy I joined her:) Her name was Ali, and we ran together the entire rest of the race! She finished about a minute ahead of me, but I was so thankful for her. We talked off and on for the next 12 miles and encouraged each other when we needed a boost. My Garmin ended up dying right after mile 16, and I was so thankful my new friend was happy to keep me updated on our progress:) She kept me up on our pace and total time, and I used my pace chart to keep us on track. It worked out perfectly! It was a beautiful sunny day to run and the course was great. No big hills at all and lots to look at along the way. There were water stops every single mile and I pretty much stopped at all of them but maybe one from the half point on. I knew I needed to stay hydrated since it was getting so warm.

I got a little tired around 20 miles, but we pushed on. The last 6 miles were a foggy nightmare for me in the last marathon, but this time around went much better. We started playing the "lets just make it to the next mile game" at this point. I knew if I could just get to mile 24 I would feel better mentally. We stayed strong and only walked for about 5-10 seconds at each water station to make sure we drank well. It was easier to start moving again when you had someone with you! We had fun smiling for pictures along the way, and tried to encourage other runners who looked like they were struggling. The miles kept ticking away slowly but steadily, and I was still about 3 minutes ahead of my best case scenario time goal! Mile 25 to 26 was the hardest for me. My left calf tried to start cramping at this point. I would feel it start to cramp up, and just willed it not to. There was no way I was going to start walking when I was this close to the end! Mostly I was just hot. And the wind had really kicked up and seemed to be blowing right at us. It was hard to fight it and keep moving. But we did. I knew the finish line was getting close and I was really happy with the race so far. I lost all my extra time in that last mile, just from being so tired, hot and windy. The crowds were so good and very encouraging along the way, which really helped too. I lost Ali right after mile 26 as she went ahead. I was so proud of her, since this was her first marathon!! She did awesome:) The finish is inside the AutoZone park field which was fun. I ran into the stadium and had plenty of juice left to push across the finish line with a smile on my face!

I got my medal and mylar blanket, and smiled for a picture from Silas:) Then went to get my picture taken with Elvis! I felt tired but really good. I was walking around fine and was so excited about reaching my goal without my watch!! Official time was 4:18:46, and I had carried a pace chart for a 4:18 finish....it was perfect! I went up the stairs to meet up with Silas and our friends. I couldn't believe how much better I felt after this marathon than I did in Little Rock. I thought I was going to die after that one! We all hung out and visited for a while and then decided to head out. The boys were getting restless and I was ready to sit down and get off my feet! We made it back to the car and headed home.

I changed into some clean clothes in the car and we headed out of town with a big smile on my face:) Oh yeah, my running partner finished in 4:46. She had a cold and just wasn't feel great, and I am so proud of her for gutting it out and finishing the race alone. That is not easy to do.

Marathon Personal Record!

2011-12-03T16:33:00.000-08:00

I finished the marathon this morning in 4:18:46 with an average pace of 9:53! Exactly on pace for what I wanted to do!!! It was a great race and I am so happy with my time. I will get a full race report up soon along with some pictures:)

The Night Before St.Jude

2011-12-02T10:44:00.000-08:00

Marathon #2 is in the morning!! I am so excited, and feeling much more prepared for this one than my first. We will see if that means anything when the rubber meets the road and I pound the pavement tomorrow. I am looking for a good PR and hope this will be the race to do it. My last marathon I finished in 4:43:19 I think, and I am aiming for anything under 4:30 this time around. Of course I have some huge goals in my mind which I am hoping are pretty realistic, but we will see! I have a pace band printed out for a 4:18 finish, and will see how long I can hold that pace. The weather is driving me crazy right now. I was hoping for 30 degrees at the start and to finish in the 40's, but it is looking to be a bit warm and I have about 6 combinations of outfits packed. Yuck! The car is packed and we are just waiting on Silas to get home from work to head out to Memphis and have fun at the race expo before heading to our hotel. Oh yeah, and Santa's elves are making a stop at Toy's R Us to do a little Christmas shopping for the boys while we are there:) There are tons of people I know running all distances at this race, so I am hoping it will be fun to see some familiar faces along the way:) And it is such a good cause as well, I am so proud to be part of this great event for the children of St. Jude Hospital.

Boys of Fall

2011-11-28T18:28:00.000-08:00

I found some pictures I took of the boys a few weeks back on my camera so I thought I would post them:) They have so much fun playing in the leaves in our yard. They happened to be dressed nice for church so I grabbed the camera when we got home while they had some fun playing around.

It is funny to post these now, as we are currently having a snow storm outside! I can't believe they were outside in shorts and t-shirts 2 days ago and now there is about 2 inches of snow everywhere. This weather is crazy!

We had some professional family pictures taken last week, and now I have the task of picking out which ones we want to order. I think the boys wore these same outfits since the colors showed up so well. They are the first family photos we have had made since Jace was born, so we were a little overdue:)

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving last week as well. I will be posting those pictures soon so check back!

Woo Pig Sooie!

2011-11-21T20:07:00.000-08:00

Silas and I were so excited to attend our very first Arkansas Razorback game this weekend! My running partner had extra tickets and invited us to go, and we were so thrilled that some dear friends were able to keep our kiddos all day and allow us to have a fun filled day of football, eating and shopping in Little Rock!

It was our first time to the War Memorial stadium, and it was a sold out crowd. The fans were awesome, and we had such a good time calling the Hogs!

It was a little warmer than we expected, but the weather was great (no rain or sun!) and we had a great time.

Silas took all these pictures from his phone, so sorry if the quality isn't the best! It was a great game, we beat the Mississippi State Bulldogs 44-17 and put Arkansas into 3rd place overall in the standings. I think that is the best ranking we have ever been! I love some SEC football:) Silas and I were so thankful for some time together and with friends. We have been so busy working lately and it was a great break to go and have some football fun!! Woo Pig Sooie! Razorbacks!

Fight For It

2011-11-12T18:29:00.000-08:00

I have been blessed with a fairly easy training cycle this go-round, which I am very thankful for. My long runs have been nice at a steady but pretty easy conversational pace and the hours fly by while my training partner and I talk the miles away. We have had lots of sunshine and mild temps. So naturally I have been a little worried! I have been feeling like I needed a "tough run," you know, one you have to fight for. One where it is less than ideal conditions, so that you have to push your body to perform, and work on your mental toughness to overcome the physical conditions. Well I got more than I bargained for today, and I loved it!!

I had 16 miles planned for my last long run today, and two friends lined up to split the distance with. One was meeting me for the first 10 miles, and another for the last 6. It was going to be great. But then the 6 mile friend had to cancel, and right when I was going to bed I got the call that the 10 mile friend was sick and wouldn't make it either. Bummer! I do not run in the dark by myself, so this now solo run would have to be pushed back later in the morning once the sun was up. I was frustrated but knew this would be a good mental training run. Then comes the weather. 46 degrees and sustained 17-20 MPH winds!! Yikes. Definitely not ideal. Bring on the mental toughness!

I started off trying to run slow but I naturally fall into a 9:30 mile pace when I'm on my own. I thought I would aim for a 10 minute pace overall as I figured the wind would slow me down considerably later on. Well I put in my ipod and took off, cranking out the miles. My first 3 miles were my slowest as I warmed up, and then I settled into a good groove and just kept going. I kept my average pace between 9:30 and 9:35 the entire run, which included my stops for water. I finished the run strong at an even 9:30 overall pace for 16 miles, and my last mile was the fastest at a 9:01! I never ran slower than a 9:44 mile the whole run. Needless to say this has been one of my hardest and best runs to date. I haven't pushed myself too hard on my long runs, but wanted to see what I could do before I taper down the next few weeks and give my legs a rest before the marathon. I was pleased overall, physically I did well, especially in the conditions, but more than anything, this was a mental run. I got my head in the right place and got it done even though I had to fight for it. I can't believe I've got nothing but short runs left now:) And I am really hoping marathon race day is a nice pretty day to run:)

Striving for Excellence

2011-11-11T10:57:00.000-08:00

I read a great line on another runner's blog this week. It said

You would rather epically fail trying for excellence than fully succeed at mediocrity.

Wow:) I love that. The problem with me, is that it doesn't apply! I am such a safe person. Not a risk taker at all. I would rather set my goals low and succeed than fail. I don't like failure. And I am trying to change all that in myself. I need to epically fail trying for excellence! Or epically succeed trying for excellence would be even better! I know that I succeed at most things I do, and I think I sell myself short by not pushing myself harder at times. I play it safe and realistic. So for this marathon I will set several goals. A safe goal, a target goal, and an epically awesome goal!

Little Bit of Stress

2011-11-11T10:47:00.000-08:00

I am a bit stressed out and getting more so by the day. I am writing this from my NyQuil induced coma so excuse me if it makes no sense! We were all sick with a nasty stomach virus last week, and I think the weird weather on my long run combined with a weakened immune system has left me with a cold I can't seem to shake this week. Not feeling bad enough to be "sick," but run down enough to have missed several of my runs this week. Enter stress. Now I not only feel physically run down, but I am mentally stressing more each day that I haven't run. It is actually making me panic a bit. I know I need to rest, and believe me, I have been, but my brain is still very anxious about missing some important runs and it being so close to my marathon. I sure am hoping I feel better soon and get my strength back. I am just wiped out this week. My dad was here on Monday and Tuesday, and I worked all week, and the weather has been crazy and windy and gotten cold, so I know all that combined with being sick last week has just worn me out. I am going to bed super early tonight and hope to feel rested enough to tackle my 16 miles at 5am:)

26 Days

2011-11-06T18:55:00.000-08:00

Yep, I am running marathon #2 in 26 days! Whoo Hoo. I watched the New York Marathon on TV this afternoon, which was very inspiring. I am definitely adding it to my bucket list of future marathons:) I knew 2 girls running it today and it was fun to track them as they ran. They both did great! Anyway, I am in the final few weeks leading to the race and on the downhill slide. I ran my second 20 mile run on Saturday. It was no fun! The weather was cool (46 degrees) but very humid and thick air (90%) which made it feel cold and clammy. It was the kind of weather that is hard to dress for. We started out around 5:30 am and pounded the pavement for the next 3:27 minutes. We took it nice and easy with an average pace of 10:23 for the run. With that being said, I am having a very hard time trying to determine what kind of finish time goal to set for this race. I know what I can do for 20 miles, but I really faded in Little Rock from miles 17 to 26, so I am not sure what kind of race pace I need to aim for. I want to be realistic, but push myself too! Right now I am thinking 4:15-4:25 is a good time to aim for, so we shall see. I plan to run 16 miles this weekend and then its really downhill from there!

Yesterday's run was one that made me ask myself...now why in the world did you sign up for this marathon?!! It really wasn't that bad, but I was ready for it to be over by mile 12!!! Thankfully it went by fast as usual since Liz and I talked the whole way. Thank goodness for good running partners who can distract you:) I don't think I drank nearly enough water either, which I need to do better at. Luckily I had remembered to drink lots of water the few days before, which helped keep me hydrated.

I think the best part of yesterday's run is how good I feel today! My feet have been killing me from all the pounding, but they feel really good today for some reason. My quads are a tiny bit sore, but barely noticeable. I definitely don't feel like I ran 20 miles! I am happy my body is tolerating the training well and recovering quickly. Life moves too fast these days for me to have to slow down any! I am pretty sure I have my race day outfit picked out (I just bought the shirt on Friday so I could test it out on my long run). I just bought a new pair of shoes too. I ran 3 miles in them on Wednesday last week and then broke them in good on the 20 miler:) I am working on my play list on my ipod too. I would like to say that I am trying to clean up my diet, but this Halloween candy in the house is killing me!!! It needs to GO AWAY! Silas and I both are working to cut back on the carbonated drinks so I haven't done too bad there. I have lost 10 pounds so far during this marathon training cycle. That is what I expected pretty much. Hopefully I don't gain too much back with the candy and cutting back on miles these next few weeks! I can't even begin to imagine the damage Thanksgiving is going to do to me, especially since my race is only a week after that! Any prayers for self control would be appreciated:)

I have love love loved this training cycle and hands down feel that fall marathon training beats spring training any day! We have had the best running weather and I am so thankful:) I feel much better about my training this time around and just hope to run a more consistent race and take 15 to 20 minutes off my time. I can do this!!!

Halloween 2011

2011-11-04T19:28:00.000-07:00

Halloween 2011, aka Puke Fest! We had a fun weekend full of activities, but unfortunately ended up with Jace throwing up all throughout trick-or-treating and then Silas and I coming down with a stomach bug as well. Needless to say, it has been a very long week and we are playing catch up on all we missed while we were sick. The kids had a great time though, which was the important thing!

Lots of Randomness

2011-10-29T19:20:00.000-07:00

There is a lot going on so this will be a lot of random stuff:) Apparently Blogger is not cooperating right now and I can't get the pictures to post that are missing from my previous post. I keep getting and error and am not sure what to do about it. I will try again later.

I am 5 weeks out from my marathon!! That is really close! My training partner raced an out of town half marathon this morning and couldn't run with me, so since I was on my own I decided to run my own half marathon:) You just could not order a more perfect day for running. It was crystal clear blue skies, 40 degrees and gorgeous outside when I left a little before 8am. The leaves are turning brilliant shades of red and orange, and I tried so hard to look around and just soak up the beauty of the day. I do most of my runs very early in the mornings these days, and don't realize what all I have been missing by running in the dark! It doesn't get light here until close to 7am, and we are usually running around 5 or 5:30am and finish up around 8. Plus, when I am with my partner and we are jabbering on, I forget to pay attention to the pretty surroundings. I put my ipod in this morning and just ran. I tried to start off slow and was aiming for 10 minute miles, but I can never seem to do that when I am alone. After a few miles of 9:30 pace I decided I would just hang in there and see if I could hold it. I finished the 13.1 miles in a little over 2:03, which is my second fastest half marathon time ever!! It was a 9:27 average mile pace, and I ran faster during the second half than the first. I felt great the whole time, and it went pretty fast. I need to do these solo runs every once in a while, but I really do enjoy talking for hours and being with a friend:)

Our second 20 mile run is this coming weekend, and then we start to taper for the race. I think that will leave me with 18, 12, and 8 mile runs left for my long runs, which isn't bad at all! I am getting excited and anxious to see what I can pull off this second time around. All of the race predictor charts seem to think I should be able to run a 4:05 marathon, but I am thinking that 4:20 is a bit more realistic for me. I faded a lot more than I wanted to in Little Rock, but I am hoping that was just due to the crazy hills and my minimal training base. I cannot believe how much I have enjoyed this marathon training cycle:) I am having a lot of fun running and really enjoying seeing my times come down. My shoes are getting towards the end of their life, so I am planning to buy some new ones to break in over the next few weeks to wear for the race.

I guess I am still crazy since I am already planning my next races after this marathon is over:) I am really wanting to run the half marathon in Little Rock in March. My running partner and I are out of our minds and are throwing around the idea of a half ironman for next summer! I am really trying to decide if I am willing to commit to that kind of intense 6 months of training as soon as this marathon is over. Silas is on board with whatever I decide, so we will see:) I am so much happier since I starting running. I went way too many years without any athletic competition in my life, and I can't tell you how much fun I am having! I am so thankful for the talents God has blessed me with, and am so happy to be using them again at this phase in my life:)

Heading Towards the Holidays

2011-10-28T12:21:00.000-07:00

I love love love this time of year:) Fall is just beautiful and there are so many fun outdoor things to do. I found this picture of the boys from the pumpkin patch last year and posted one from this year to see how much they have grown. Please ignore the pouting/crying faces on both boys from this year. They were not feeling cooperative with my picture taking and had just gotten in trouble and told to stand still!!!

I made spooky sugar cookies with the boys this morning and Tyson and I decorated them while Jace was napping. It was fun, but messy!! We will carve our two pumpkins this weekend, and are very excited about attending the Fall Festival at our church on Sunday. Then we are heading to a friend's house on Halloween night to eat dinner and trick-or-treat with a group. Lots of fun activities planned in the next few days:) Tyson got to wear his costume to school on Thursday and had a Harvest Party too. I got to go with him and it was fun. I just have to get this candy out of my house soon before I eat it all!!

Everything else is good. I have a break from running this weekend and only have to run 10-12 miles! My running partner is racing a half marathon in Conway this weekend so I am taking it easy and running solo. Next week we ramp back up to another 20 miler so I figure the rest this weekend will be good. I have been running 5-8 miles for my shorter runs during the week, so I still have some decent mileage for only running 3 days a week:) I feel good and couldn't ask for better weather than what we have had this fall. I have only missed one run I think due to yucky weather. I hope it stays nice until the marathon!!

This was my first week not to work at 3 jobs and it was awesome! I was a little out of sorts, but got a lot more things done at home and with the boys, which is what I was wanting. There are lots of amazing things going on work wise right now and Silas and I are throwing some pretty big dreams around as some goals to work on over the next few years, so that is pretty exciting too! Never a dull moment around here:)

Pumpkin Patch 2011

2011-10-23T20:00:00.000-07:00

We took the boys to Peebles Farm for the 3rd year in a row this past weekend. It was a beautiful fall day and we had a great time being outdoors and spending time together all day as a family. The boys really don't like to look at the camera, so these are about the best pictures I got of them! We picked a pumpkin, successfully navigated the giant corn maze, picked some cotton, played on the playground, crawled through hay tunnels and looked at the animals in the petting zoo. The boys loved gathering the dried corn from the corn maze and Jace came home with his pockets stuffed full of cotton from the field! We ate lunch at the Bulldog Cafe as usual and actually ran into some folks from Jonesboro that we go to church with! It was a great day and the boys are really looking forward to Halloween, carving our pumpkins, and dressing up for Fall Festival at church this weekend. I plan to make and decorate Halloween cookies with them on Friday to get the holiday weekend kicked off right!

Accidental 20

2011-10-19T12:12:00.000-07:00

Enjoy these pictures of the boys and our fall decorations while I bore you with running information! I fully realize that I am officially crazy. I have read other blogs about people who just happen to feel good and run 20 miles, but that was never going to be a problem in my life! Except that I did just that on Saturday:) I had 18 on the schedule, so I also realize that running 20 miles wasn't that much more, but still, 20 miles is 20 miles:)

The miles flew by as we ran and I realized when we were around 16 miles in that I was feeling awesome. The weather was picture perfect! Fall day, cool, brilliant blue sky, no breeze. You couldn't ask for better running conditions. Usually towards the end of a long run I am just ready to see the finish line and stop (Silas' truck). But at mile 17 I started thinking, I feel great, I could keep going! So I dropped Liz off after we finished our 18 and she ran into my house to tell Silas I would be gone 20 more minutes. Those last two unplanned miles were nice and I just enjoyed the quiet time and beautiful day. My calves cramped a bit after the run, but nothing a few IB profen and Silas working them out couldn't fix:) I was so happy too! We have another 20 miler coming up in about 3 weeks and I am hoping it goes just as well. My average pace for the run was 10:10, which I was very pleased with.

The weather has just been amazing lately and I figured I should take advantage of it, since November tends to be a bit cold and rainy around here. Just a few more weeks and I will be tapering for the marathon! We had a hay ride and chili/ hot dog party with our Sunday school class on Saturday evening for the whole family, and I rested on Sunday. I felt so good that Amber was able to convince me to run 8 miles on Monday morning! I can really see my fitness improving and my body seems to be tolerating the pounding ok. My feet do hurt all the time though, but that's just part of it I guess!

We are hoping to get the boys out to the pumpkin patch this weekend and have a fun filled family day again. I just love this time of year and am really enjoying it:)

Things Are Changing!

2011-10-14T12:29:00.000-07:00

This has been a pretty eventful week for me. I have been doing a lot of soul searching and thinking and praying the past few weeks in light of the craziness that has been my life recently. The one conclusion I came to over and over was that something needed to change! And when it came down to it, the thing that needed to change was pretty obvious.....work.

I have been blessed to pick up several new clients at my Christian counseling center, and have had some really busy and full weeks. I finally reached the point where I just wasn't able to fit everything in anymore, and was getting increasingly overwhelmed by all the hats I wear. I realized I was stretched way too thin, and I didn't like it. I feel that God has been leading me in a certain direction for some time, but as usual, I am pretty slow to let go of the familiar and jump into the unknown. Well I am finally ready to jump, and I did!! I turned in my two week notice to my second counseling job, and will no longer work there effective October 25th. I really wrestled with this, as this is an agency I have worked for since graduating with my Master's degree in 2004! I would have been there 8 years in the spring. It was familiar. But ultimately, I am in a different place in life right now, and I have been shown over and over that it just wasn't a good fit for me anymore. So I turned it loose.

I am in the process of wrapping things up with my clients there and getting my paperwork turned in. I feel good about my decision, and would be happy to go back and work there again in the future when my life is a little less crazy! But for now, raising pre-schoolers and counseling in a Christian setting are my main priorities, and I have to let the extra things go. I am excited to see where this leads, and looking forward to seeing the plans God continues to reveal to me day by day. God is good!

Fall Fun

2011-10-13T17:14:00.000-07:00

We have really enjoyed our fire pit out in the backyard. This was one of the first times we headed out there since the weather started to cool off. We had s'mores, which the boys loved! We talked and listened to the sounds of the night. We sang some songs together too. The boys decided it was time to go inside when the raccoon family that lives next door came out looking for food!

Jace just eats the marshmallows by themselves.

Tyson loves the fire just as much as his daddy, and has fun sitting and watching it.

My little marshmallow man:)

Fall Football

2011-10-13T17:08:00.000-07:00

We are loving us some ASU Red Wolf football around here this fall. We have had such a good time going to several of the home games, tailgating, and cheering for the team. The boys love getting decked out in their football gear too:) I love having things that the whole family enjoys doing together, and this is definitely one of them.

What a Week

2011-10-08T18:32:00.000-07:00

This week just about killed me. Luckily I survived, but just barely:) I went to bed about 8:30pm last night and didn't get up until 8 am. I am thinking a 9:30pm bedtime tonight is also in my future. I have missed some serious sleep and it is taking a toll on me. The month of September wore me out, and October is proving to be more busy than that! I ran over 100 miles last month, and worked double the amount of hours I did in August. We are in full swing with the boys in Mother's Day out two days a week, and my Bible study on Wednesdays. Life is busy and I am frazzled right now! I am trying to re-evaluate my priorities and make some changes where I can so that I don't feel so crazy all the time:) Hopefully I can do that soon and give myself a break.

I ran 16 miles again this weekend, in exactly the same amount of time I did it the first time! 2 hours and 44 minutes, at a 10:16 pace. I am impressed I even finished really. My legs were sore until Wednesday from my half marathon, and I moved my run to Friday morning instead of Saturday, so I didn't have much rest from my harder run on Wednesday night. Thank goodness for running partners who make you finish those last 2 miles when you really want to quit:) And we ran the last mile at a 9:20 pace! We have 18 miles on the schedule for this weekend, and I am hoping to go into it much more rested and prepared! I am still a bit shocked at how close we are getting to tapering already. I am hoping to stay healthy and rested and get to the starting line in December in good shape:) I have several friends running the Chicago marathon tomorrow morning and it is making me excited for my race:)

Since I ran long on Friday, I got to sleep in on Saturday (if you count waking up at 7:30 and getting up at 8 sleeping in!). We spent the day buying pumpkins and mums for the yard, shopping, watching football, and enjoying the beautiful day. Silas has everything torn out of the front flower beds now, and we are making a plan for what new landscaping we want to put in. It is definitely a work in progress, and will take a while to get everything we are wanting. At least I have fun and festive fall decorations up!

Heart and Sole Half Marathon 2011

2011-10-02T19:28:00.000-07:00

Here are the missing pictures!

Perfection

2011-10-02T19:26:00.000-07:00

Saturday was just one of those days that you wish you could bottle and re-play over and over again. I woke up early, ate breakfast, took my vitamins and got dressed. I wanted to have plenty of time to wake my body up and get moving before heading to the race. I met up with Amber in the parking lot a little after 7am to pick up our timing chips, stretch and jog a bit to warm up. About 10 minutes before the race we walked over to the starting line and the only bad part of the day happened. I went to turn on my Garmin watch and it was dead....nothing! I had charged it the day before and made extra sure to have it ready to go for the race. This has never happened to me before, so I started to panic quite a bit. I mean, my whole race plan was based on our time....and my watch was going to tell us our mile splits, our current and average pace, and where we were distance wise. I was depending on that thing!!! Amber had a watch that would at least tell us our total time and mile splits, and I had made a little cheat sheet to carry that told us what time we needed at each mile to be on our target pace. We would have to make it work!! The gun went off and the race was underway, with me still freaking out a bit mentally at how we were going to pull this thing off.

Now the plan was to run the race in just under 2 hours (hopefully), which would require an average pace of 9:05-9:09 miles. I was nervous about keeping that pace. We had planned to start off slower too and warm up for the first 3 miles, then settle into our groove. Well everything went out the window from the start. And it was the best thing that could have happened! We hit the first mile in 8:16, and it felt easy. We tried to slow down for the second mile and ran it about 8:20. The rolling hills started about mile 3.5, and by then we were over a minute ahead of our planned goal. I felt great, and figured we would lose some time on the hills, so it was good we had banked a little up front. We chugged away and keep cranking out the sub 9 minute miles through all the hills. I guess it was about mile 5 or 6 that I fully realized we were going to break 2 hours for this race, and I was pretty excited. It was a gorgeous fall day, perfect blue sky, no clouds, bright sun, and 50 something degrees. The wind did pick up quite a bit, but it kept us cool. By mile 8 I knew we would beat our time of 1:59 if we just kept doing what we were doing. We went up the last big hill around mile 9, and I felt Amber start to fade just a tad after mile 9.5. At mile 10 we were still about a minute ahead of schedule and I was feeling excellent, so I pulled ahead. At this point I was running alone and with no watch whatsoever. It was so fun to run by feel and just push my body without looking at the numbers. I couldn't help but smile the whole way too:) I knew I was crushing my previous time, and I felt amazing! I started trying to pick the people off in front of me between miles 11 and 13 which kept my pace strong. I turned the final corner and sprinted to the finish line. Official time.....1:56:18!!!! I had taken off over 12 minutes from my previous race time!!!

I was elated. I felt strong and good the whole time. I smiled and laughed and had fun through the whole race. I really enjoyed running with Amber in her first half marathon, and was so proud that she finished with a 1:58! She totally rocked it! Of course I tried to turn my watch on many times throughout the race, and it came on while we were driving home, go figure:) I am really happy that it didn't work though. I ran so much faster by feel than I would have if I had been staring at the numbers the whole time. It was so freeing to run without it! My average pace ended up being 8:53 minute miles, which was almost a full minute off my previous race pace!! Whooo Hoooo!

I got my medal and mingled for a bit, then we headed home to take a shower and get cleaned up. I went back up to the race to check on my official time, and realized they were doing awards. I ended up finishing first place in my age group and brought home a trophy and towel as a prize, which I didn't even expect!! I was the 11th overall female too. It was the perfect ending to a perfect race:) I love this gift of running and am so blessed and thankful for every day that I get to do it:)

Racing

2011-09-30T17:44:00.000-07:00

I have decided to race this half marathon in the morning. I am super excited, and a bit nervous. I am aiming to take about 9 minutes off of my previous time, which is about 45 seconds per mile on my pace! Yikes! I am rested and ready to go:)

Ready to Run!

2011-09-25T17:29:00.000-07:00

I can't believe how fast my half marathon has gotten here. I guess when the days and weeks are packed full, they just fly by! I will run the half this coming Saturday. I change my mind daily on my plan for this race. One day I am going to race it all out with huge time goals, and the next I am just going to take it easy and enjoy having lots of people to run with on my long run for the week:) I won't really make up my mind until Friday night or the morning of the race. It all depends on the weather, and how I am feeling. I woke up this morning with a sore throat and we sat out in the rain for a while at the ASU football game this weekend, so I am really hoping I don't get a cold this week. I am going to take it easy running and just try to rest a bit this week and hopefully I will feel rested and fast when Saturday morning rolls around:)

I ran 16 miles this past Saturday morning at 5:30 am. I really wasn't feeling it! I was tired and would have rather stayed in bed than run for 2 hours and 44 minutes, but we got it done. This is where having a running buddy is priceless. There is no way I would have made myself go if she wasn't going to be there waiting for me. We talked each other through it and checked it off the schedule. I will tell you what....I enjoy marathon training up until 16 miles. There is just something about hitting that kind of mileage that makes it not be as much fun anymore!! My feet are torn to pieces with blisters everywhere, and no matter how much I try to prevent it, something is going to chafe after running almost 3 hours straight! I am at the point where it just gets very time consuming, and the long runs just really wear you out. Despite that, I am still having fun, and very thankful for the mild weather and fun running partner I have. Talking for hours makes the miles fly by thankfully, and it is so nice to have someone to encourage you along when you get tired. We have a few more weeks until we bump it up to 18 and 20 miles, and then it will be time to taper as we head towards the race. It really has seemed to go fast this time around, even though I have been training a lot longer than I did for Little Rock. I ran 32 miles this week in 4 days, which is my highest training mileage to date. I don't really get sore anymore, thank goodness. Just a little stiff the morning after a long run, and sometimes the bottom of my feet hurt from the hours of pounding the ground. I can tell my body is handling the training a lot better this time around since it has done it all before, and I have quite a few less pounds to drag around. 10 more weeks til the marathon! I am sure it will go fast!

Mom's 60th Birthday

2011-09-22T10:37:00.000-07:00

Wow, what a fun weekend we had celebrating my mom's 60th birthday! My sisters and I (with awesome help from our Dad) have been planning a surprise birthday for my mom for the past month or so. We pulled it off perfectly, if I do say so myself! We all packed up the kids and headed to Nashville Saturday morning to meet at my parent's house. We all skittered in right on time and were hanging out in the kitchen when they got home from their morning outing. She was surprised to say the least:)

We all hung out and visited for the afternoon, enjoying a perfect middle TN fall day. The kids ran like crazy around the yard chasing each other and enjoying catching up with their cousins. They played croquet, tag, dug in the dirt, and cheered their G-daddy on while he mowed the yard. It was precious. The grown-ups enjoyed the cool weather and sat outside or in the hammock chatting and watching the kids play. Then the real fun began. The men played a vital role in our plan, and we are so thankful for their willingness to help us out! Since we have 6 kids between the 3 of us girls all under the age of 5, it has been a long time since we have spent any uninterrupted time together with mom. We left all the kids with the men, got dressed up, and took mom out on the town!

We headed to downtown Franklin where we walked up and down perusing all the awesome shops. These are the kind of shops I would never set foot in if I had my kids with me, so it was quite a treat to browse and not worry about my boys breaking anything:) After shopping we hit the Starbucks for a Pumpkin Spice Latte which was perfect for the fall day. We shopped some more before heading to our dinner. Caroline had made us reservations at a perfect local place called Red Pony in Franklin. It was trendy and cute and lively, and oh my goodness, the food was amazing!!! Renee met up with us after work and the 4 of us girls ate and ate and talked and laughed for hours together. It was so much fun, and much needed time together:) Life gets so hectic and crazy raising small children and I really cherish this time I had to reconnect with my sisters and Mom. I am not sure who had more fun!

We headed back to the house full and content, and had a blast celebrating mom and a new decade. The guys had a bonfire for the kids and they roasted marshmallows, which were a big hit! It was a fast trip, but I love the memories we created. We all headed home the next morning to get back to our crazy lives, but I am so thankful for our time together and the blessing of family:) Hope you enjoyed your birthday Mom!! I love you!

Fall is Coming!

2011-09-16T11:25:00.000-07:00

There is a change in the wind and cooler temperatures to go with it, which I am LOVING! Today is only 68 degrees...and of course all the windows in the house are open:) The boys enjoyed playing outside after lunch and not sweltering in the middle of the day, and I am happy to get them out and have some fresh air.

Sorry up front this post will be very random, but that's how I roll this week:) I had a calmer week work wise (thank goodness) and was able to go to lunch with my new running partner Liz while our boys were all at school. We picked a Thai place in downtown. It was an interesting lunch for sure!! I felt like a moron in there...I have no clue about sushi or anything Thai. She ordered a huge sushi roll and shared it with me. I was pretty scared to eat it with all the orange and black circles on top (caviar??)! There was crab meat and avocado inside too. I got one down, but that was it for me! I ordered some lettuce wraps hoping they would be similar to PF Chang's, but alas, were not. They were disgusting! Ha! We had a great lunch visiting and trying new things, but Thai food is not something I will be going back for any time soon:) I am a burger and fries kind of girl. It was nice to have a "girl lunch" though and hopefully we can do it again soon.

On the parenting front, lets just say this week has been "challenging." I am worn out emotionally and physically with the boys. Jace is full on Terrible Two's, and Tyson is just emotional and very in tune with my stress level, so we feed off each other constantly. He is also learning about "telling the truth vs. lying" which is not easy to deal with some days. Jace is Mr. Independent and it's driving me nuts-o! He yells, "NO MAMA I DO IT!" to just about everything we try to do during the day, and in reality, he can only actually "do" about 10% of what he is wanting to do on his own. Like he tries to get the gallon of milk from the fridge and pour it on his cereal. Breakfast time is the worst around here and it starts my day off with a major power struggle. Yuck! There is lots of spilled milk, crying, and time-outs. I don't really know who does more of those things, me or the kids!! Parenting is not for the weak, that is for sure:) The boys are like monkeys and can and do climb anything and everything these days. They get things off the top shelf of their closets, get stuck hanging off the side of the bunk bed and bookshelves, and climb the cabinets in the kitchen. I can't put anything out of their reach anymore, so I have resorted to locking entire rooms of the house and hiding things in there! I keep telling myself, this is just a phase, and this too shall pass:)

One fun new thing in our lives this fall is BSF! I have grown up with Bible Study Fellowship as my parents have both participated for years, and my mom was a discussion group leader for years and years while I was in high school and college. They didn't have a group in Searcy, but there is one here, and so I signed myself and the boys up last spring in hopes we would all get in this year. We did! Our first meeting was on Wednesday morning and we all loved it. It is an all women's Bible study based only on the Bible, and thousands of people around the world all study the same thing together every week. This year we are studying the book of Acts, and I am very excited. We have a lecture time, singing, and break into small discussion groups to talk about our questions we answered on the text for that week. I have really been scattered with my Bible reading and study, and this is very organized and in-depth, so I should learn a lot! My favorite thing is how amazing the children's program is. They are very structured and teach the kids Bible verses, songs, etc for the 2 hours we are there each week. I am thrilled we all got in (the kids have a HUGE waiting list) and am excited to see how we all grow and learn this year through our study of Acts.

I am hitting the meat of my training for the marathon, so the next 2 months should have some pretty big mileage (for me anyway). This week I should hit 28 miles, which isn't huge at all, but it is the most miles I ran in one week during my entire training for the last marathon!! And I am only up to 14 miles for my long run:) I am excited to get up into the 30's and really hope the higher mileage base will help tremendously come race day. I am LOVING the cooler weather too...you just can't beat temps in the 50's and 60's for running:) I am still trying to work on my speed a bit too. I had a 5 mile tempo run this week and averaged an 8:34 pace. My last mile was my fastest at 8:06, which felt great. I usually start off too slow, so I am working on getting going a bit faster and finding a good pace I can maintain mile after mile. I run my half marathon in 3 weeks and am getting excited and nervous already!

Confession

2011-09-12T10:55:00.000-07:00

I know Tyson doesn't need to take a nap anymore during the day, but man I am having a hard time letting him give it up!!! He sleeps great at nap time, but is never ready to go to bed at night. I find it easier to let him stay up a bit later than to give up my precious hour or two of quiet time (sanity time!) during the day:) I know all good things must come to an end, but I am dragging this one out as long as I can!

H-O-W-L

2011-09-11T12:50:00.000-07:00

Let 'em hear ya Howl!! Go Red Wolves! Have I mentioned how much I love football season?!! It's the best time of year:) Silas and I were so excited to take the boys to their first live football game this weekend. The ASU Red Wolves had their home opener against Memphis yesterday, and it was a great day for some football.

The weather was awesome and it turned out to be a perfect day. We packed the boys up after nap time and headed out to tailgate with some friends from church and their families. The boys loved running around playing with the kids, and Silas and I enjoyed eating some great food and hanging out in the sunshine.

We ran into tons of friends from church tailgating in various areas, and had fun hanging out with lots of different people. The boys had a blast. We even lost Jace at one point. He had wandered off, and we found him in a crowd of Memphis fans playing bean bag toss with some older men!! They were nice to him and treated him well:) We finally made it into the stadium and the boys loved all the music, the band, and excitement. The Red Wolf mascot rode out on the field on a motorcycle and the boys loved cheering and waving their flags like crazy when we scored. They had hot dogs and coke to top off the night.

We left at half time since we had been there for hours and it was getting late. I am so proud of how well the boys did! We had so much fun! It helped that we had a huge win too....lots to cheer for and be excited about! We are new ASU fans since we didn't go to school there, but it has been fun having a school in town to go watch and cheer on. Of course we still have lots of other college teams we love to see win every weekend too:) It was a great fall day filled with friends, football and food. Just what I needed after my crazy week:)

CrAzy

2011-09-09T10:59:00.001-07:00

I think I might actually be at risk of losing my mind in the near future. As long as it comes back, I guess that is ok! I have really been struggling to adjust to our schedule since school started back, and I am at the point where I am just feeling completely overwhelmed. I know it's just a phase, so I'm not letting it get me down(too much), but the stress is really taking a toll on me. I keep hoping that each new week I will get my to-do list down a bit, but it seems to be growing instead. Work is the main thing overwhelming me at this point, and I know it is just because I got so far behind over the summer months with not having regular babysitting. Things have really built up, and suddenly everything is falling into the Urgent category! Yuck. I am not sleeping well at all, and have seen almost every hour on the clock some nights this week. It doesn't help that I am also getting up at 4:45 or 5am some mornings to run. The days are very long, and the nights are very short at this point! I am just doing the best I can everyday to get done what I can, since I know that's all I can do:) I am just ready to have a nice relaxing day for once, and enjoy this awesome weather and do something fun. Hopefully tomorrow will be great. We got tickets for the whole family to the home opener of the Arkansas State football game, and are taking the boys to their first real game!! We are tailgating with a group of friends beforehand and the game starts at 6pm. We are all really excited about some good ole college football and food!

My running is going really well, but the miles are starting to stack up now. I ran 14 miles this morning before 8am. It was a great run, and absolutely beautiful fall weather. 58 degrees when we started and nice and cool. I loved it! I am at the point where I have to put more thought into running though. I can't just walk out of the door and run for 2 1/2 hours with no preparation. Running isn't really stressing me out, but it's just one more thing to plan for and squeeze in some days. I am in the hardest part of training now too. The next runs will be 14, 16, 18 miles, then I race a half marathon, then 16, 18 and 20 miles before I start to taper for the marathon in December. It is pretty time consuming, and time is something I don't have a lot of these days! I am feeling strong though, and have added a 4th day of running during the week when I am able. I am also trying to push my pace down on my shorter weekday runs, which feels great! I am just really enjoying this training cycle so far, and hope it continues to go this well to the finish:)

I know this is just a busy time in life and it will all settle down soon. Some days I just feel a little crazy!

Pottery Barn Vs. WWF

2011-09-07T12:25:00.000-07:00

How can something this cute be so destructive??! I grew up with girls, all girls. We were sweet:) Well, I was the tomboy, so I was the dirty destructive one, but that is beside the point! Anyway, my current dilemma is a decorating/storage issue. It's driving me crazy too. I am trying to organize all the toys and at least provide the boys with a place to store everything on shelves in their room or closet. They make a big mess, but at least we can clean it up:)

The problem comes with the fact that I have visions of cute Pottery Barn like rooms filled with colorful bins all nicely placed on the shelf with cute labels and toys right where they belong. But in reality, my adorable children break everything they touch....especially if it is pretty or if mommy likes it! They love things to death, literally. I have been using clear plastic shoe boxes for storage of small toys, which are functional, but not cute or pretty at all. But my children stand on them, crush them, ride down the stairs in them, etc. They are very creative with the ways in which they crush them to pieces. So not even functional is working anymore. Baskets wouldn't stand a chance with these two. Cloth bins won't last more than a day (they LOVE to climb inside these and stretch them out). I actually found some clear plastic Hefty tubs at Lowe's that are called, "virtually indestructible," but I wouldn't put my money on those, plus they are ugly!

Silas finally found a huge black box which he deemed perfect for toy storage in their rooms. I took one look at it and said, yep, that will work, but it is black plastic and made for the GARAGE!! It's not cute, pretty, or anything. Sigh. Life with boys. I am at a total loss here on how to resolve what I want with reality. How in the world do you combine Pottery Barn with Wrestle mania/King Kong??

I am open to suggestions if you have any!!!

Pre-K 2011

2011-09-04T19:07:00.000-07:00

The boys are officially back in "school" and we are settling into a routine finally. They were both so excited for their first day, and I could barely get them to sit still for any pictures. Tyson started Pre-K and is loving it. His class is huge this year....21 kids and 3 teachers! He has a very structured day and has already been talking about the things he is learning. The kid is so smart, and loves soaking up all the new information.

He was so proud of his new Spiderman backpack this year too:) He proudly wears it into school, which I am thankful for...one less thing for mama to carry:)

Poor Jace's backpack is as big as he is, and when it's fully packed he can barely stand up with it on! He kept trying to wear it around too, so I took a picture. He loves to carry his lunch box into school, which is more his size:) He has transitioned well and seems to really like his classroom and teacher. His teacher actually came over to our house and did a home visit the week before school started, which was a nice way for the kids to get a little more familiar with her before school started, and for her to get to know the parents better. My kids are spoiled and loved on so much there, and I can't believe we are starting our 4th year there this year!

I have been super busy working while they are in school on Tuesday and Thursday, so I haven't really enjoyed the break yet! I am hoping to get caught up on a few things I have gotten behind on with work these next few weeks, and then maybe I can take a few days while they are gone to get the house nice and clean or even relax a bit:) Actually what I am really looking forward to is being able to run after I drop them off in the mornings and enjoy some cool fall weather and sunny days. This running in the dark, either very early or very late, is getting old! Overall everything is great on the school front and we are looking forward to a great year!

Happy 2nd Birthday Jace!

2011-09-01T20:13:00.000-07:00

My baby boy is 2 years old! He has always seemed so much older than his age though, so it's like he is just catching up to how people see him anyway:) We celebrated with some Mickey Mouse Clubhouse decorations and a firetruck cake like Tyson. He was very pleased with his cake and did great blowing out his candle.

All three of my boys:) I am definitely outnumbered around the house, but I couldn't imagine life any other way!

Me and my crazy kids.

Jace got a look and find Mickey Mouse book for a gift and I think Tyson loved it more than Jace. He could not keep his hands off of it and wouldn't let poor Jace find anything before he would point it out and yell....There it is!! The boys are getting so big and really changing by the week. They are at each other's throats all the time, but are able to play really well together some days too. I love those days! So far having a 2 and 4 year old is fun, and definitely much easier than when they were just 1 and 3!

Official stats:
weight: 31 or 32 pounds (75th %)
height: 37 inches (90th %)

Jace continues to be a big kid! He eats like a human garbage disposal, and the doctor said that seems to be working for him:) He is healthy and happy and growing like a weed.

Things about Jace at age 2:
He loves his blankie and paci. He sleeps with a stuffed Nemo fish and a duck (quack quack). I have tried to transition him into a twin bed but that kid just loves his crib so much! He asks to get in it and goes right to sleep, so I'm not in a hurry to change anything. We are working on getting rid of the paci, and trying to limit it to nap and bedtime. Most days he is pretty good with that. He eats almost anything you put in front of him. He loves black olives and kalamata olives. He drinks salsa by the bowl full.....people actually stop and watch him drinking his salsa when we eat out at the Mexican restaurant in town:) He is very independent and loves going to Bible class, and has loved his first week at Mother's Day Out this past week. He loves to stomp on bugs, dig in the dirt, and play with tractors and forklifts. He is a rough and tough kid and when he and Tyson fight, Jace usually wins. While he can be a brute or aggressive, he is also sweet as pie. The other week when I dropped him off in Sunday School his teacher said....."He just melts me with those eyes!" I thought it was just me he could get away with anything with, but apparently he has learned how to do "the look" with other women as well:) He loves his brother to pieces and is always wanting to do things or be "just like Tyson." One of his favorite phrases is, "Look at me Tyson!" He has started asking for it to be his turn at dinner to say the prayer. He folds his little hands and bows his head, and says a sentence or two in a really high pitched voice. Silas and I crack up every time, but try so hard to not let him hear us. It is really adorable!! He thinks he is a big kid and is such a fun part of our family. We love you so much little J-J and are so excited to watch you learn and grow this year!

Running stuff

2011-08-27T19:43:00.000-07:00

Here is a little running update, so if you don't care at all, feel free to quit reading now:)
Anyway, my running has been interesting the past few weeks. I am currently having some shoe drama, which I hate. The last shoe I bought was apparently a wee bit too small, and has been killing my feet. As in, blood blisters and black toenails on 3 of 5 toes on my left foot. Yuck! I finally went and bought some new ones downtown for my birthday, and got a size and a half larger than those old ones hoping that would give my toes some relief. It did, thank goodness. It also gave my foot some room to move around, and now I have a HUGE blister on the bottom of my foot right on the ball where I push off with every step. My toes are healing, but now I limp even when I'm wearing flip flops:( Ugh! I went and traded those shoes in last night for the exact ones as my original pair, but in a half size down from what I just had. I ran in them this morning and my blister is killing me, but it was already there so I don't think it was the shoes. I am hoping it will heal somehow so I can move on (less painfully).

Anyway, I am progressing nicely with my distance and love the change of perspective having a marathon under your belt brings. I had 12 miles on the schedule for today. I used to fear 12 miles. Today I was like, it's not even a half marathon, it's not that far!! My new running partner and I knocked those 12 out like they were nothing. I have been working a bit on my speed lately and trying to hold a faster pace for longer distance, and it is starting to pay off:) I ran my last (and only) half marathon in 2:08 something, which averaged out to a 9:50 mile pace. I was happy with that to say the least. Well this morning I ran 12 miles (1.1 miles shy of a half) in 1:54, which averaged out to a 9:26 mile pace! Whoo hooo! I could have held it one more mile which would have given me about a 2:03 time, or 5 minutes faster than my previous time. I am really excited about that. My ultimate goal is to break 2 hours in a half, and I am getting closer:) My next half will be on October 1st, and I am getting excited to race again. It will be a hilly course though, so we will see how that factors in.

I ran 26 miles this week. Want to know what is crazy? My highest mileage week during my last marathon training was 28 miles, and that was the week I ran my 20 mile run! Every week that goes by I am more and more amazed that I even finished that marathon with my poor training for it. Yikes! Needless to say, I am feeling much stronger this time around, more confident, and have a wee bit better understanding of the distance and how to push and train my body. I am having fun too! Now if only we could trade in this heat and humidity for some awesome cool fall weather, it would be just perfect! Getting up at 4:45am to get my longer runs in on Saturday mornings is not my idea of fun, but pretty much necessary when running in August in Arkansas.

I am really looking forward to next week and the boys going back to school/mother's day out. We are in desperate need of a regular schedule, and a few hours break from each other around here these days!!

32

2011-08-21T19:02:00.000-07:00

I am really loving my 30's so far, and am really hoping that 32 is as awesome as 31 was:) It will be hard to top, but that is what I am going for! My actual birthday was in the middle of the week and we just ignored it for the most part and went about business as usual. I had fun going to the store and picking out my presents later in the week with Silas and the boys. They got me some new running shoes and an ipod shuffle, which I love!! I can't wait to get out and run more now:) I also opted for no cake this year, since Jace will have a birthday next week and we will definitely be eating cake for his celebration! I just couldn't be trusted with two cakes in two weeks in the house:)

Some awesome friends from church offered to keep the boys so we could go out this weekend, and we were so excited to take them up on the offer!! Silas and I rarely go anywhere by ourselves (unless the boys are in school for a few hours and then it is usually a local lunch), so we couldn't wait to get dressed up and do something fancy. We were going to try a nice steakhouse in town, but decided at the last minute to head to Memphis for our favorite treat.....the Melting Pot:) We always feel so strange leaving the state for dinner, but it was fun to drive and talk uninterrupted for over an hour and eat in peace!

My birthday dinner date was fantastic! I could eat cheese fondue every day. We ate and ate until we were stuffed and barely had room for dessert. I am the weirdo who left the cheesecake untouched on the plate and ate everything else! It took us about 2 hours to eat dinner which was such a treat, and very different from the usually hurried meals out with the boys. I think it's a good thing we don't have a Melting Pot closer....we would be huge and broke for sure! It was wonderful:)

Silas made sure to watch carefully how things were made so we can try some of our own at the house. I can't wait! The boys had a blast while we were gone and were so excited to tell us everything they had done. We are so thankful for special people who love on our boys and give us a small break:) I had a great birthday and am excited to see what this year holds for me. Maybe it will be my best yet!

Fitting It All In

2011-08-18T12:54:00.000-07:00

Well I'm not actually! To tell you the truth I am a wee bit overwhelmed at the moment. I have way too much to do and not enough hours to get it all done, which means my stress level is a little higher than I would like it to be. Thankfully running helps keep that under control most days:)

August is a tough month. It's really hot. The summer has been long and fun, and you get kind of bored and ready for a change of pace. And then all my babysitters have gone back to school, and my kids haven't started back to mother's day out yet, which is my number one stress right now. I still have to work, but now I have lost the ability to do that easily. I love my kids to death, but the days are getting long and it is so hard to make phone calls and schedule clients, do paperwork, etc with them screaming and wrapped around my legs! I am definitely looking forward to August 30th!

Speaking of August 30th, Tyson is starting Pre-K!! I am amazed at how fast the years have gone, and how big he is. The Mother's Day Out program he has been attending for the past 3 years has an official pre-k program that he will attend this year. He is pretty excited and already knows most of the kids in his class as lots of them go to church with us, or he has been in their class over the years. Jace will be in the 2 year old class and knows several of his classmates as well. I am really looking forward to the routine and schedule of school again and having some dedicated hours each week to work. I like being fully present and engaged with them when I am at home, and that is always such a struggle in the summer months when they are out of school and I still need to get some work done. I had taken on 3 home studies this past week or so, and was getting more overwhelmed by the day trying to figure out how to do them around my regular work hours and when Silas is home. Today I finally gave in and told my supervisor I could only manage to do one of the three. I really hate having to do that, but I felt my sanity going out the window rapidly and for me it is better to cut back than forge ahead and lose it down the road when the stress hits. Don't you just love getting older?! I don't think I would have been smart enough to make a decision like that even a few years ago, but now I at least have the wisdom or better understanding of myself to know when and where to draw the line. I have been working this year to simplify, and its not always easy. I have felt bombarded the past few weeks with events and activities, work, and fun, and have been trying to figure out how to fit it all in. My answer to most of it has been to cut most of it out when possible! I hate missing out on things, but sometimes you just gotta let it go:) My kids and husband suffer the most when I am stressed and overwhelmed, and keeping that in mind really helps me in my decision-making when it comes to what I can handle. If mama ain't happy, no one is happy! So, I am working to fit in the important stuff, let go of the unnecessary things, and focus on all the positive things and people I am blessed to have in my life:)

It's My Birthday!

2011-08-17T11:26:00.000-07:00

I am finding it a bit hard to believe I am 32 years old today:) So far the 30's have been wonderful years, and hopefully this one will be even better! I am in a really good place in life and loving it. I am so blessed in so many ways. And what better way to spend my birthday than with my favorite little guys?!

The Good News Is I Have A Six Pack....

2011-08-16T12:02:00.001-07:00

.....the bad news is you can't see it because it's hiding under the last remaining layer of baby fat:) Silas tries to assure me it's there. He is so sweet:) Sorry, I know that was random! I'm pretty scattered today. It's day 3 without a coke, so excuse my random thoughts. This is currently the time of day I would bust open a nice cold one, sit down on the couch and veg out for a bit while the kids are sleeping, enjoying some quiet before I have to go to work. But not today. Today I am making my 2nd cup of coffee instead for an afternoon pick me up:) I'm not trying to cut out caffeine, I'm working on cutting out the dark carbonated goodness that is coke. I will probably fail, but that's ok! Every day I go without one is several hundred calories I have saved:) I use sugar free creamer in my coffee so yes, I am saving at least 100 calories per drink.

Anyway, Silas and I have recently discovered a little something called vitamins. I have been feeling tired all the time, and just have no energy most days. It's a wonder I get my workouts done with the way I feel. I have really been dragging lately, and finally hit the point where I needed to do something about it. I finally went to GNC and found a nice multi-vitamin for active women and let me just say.....I love my pills! I have taken them for 2 days and can already tell a HUGE difference in my energy levels, clarity of thinking, etc. Silas even decided to try some too since he has been feeling the same way, and he loves them as much as I do:) Last year I focused on weight loss alone, and did so by doing the very basic things, eating less/portion control and exercise. This year I am really wanting to do more for my health and try to cut out some of the junk food and give my body more of the good stuff. I ask a lot of my body with my training, and I pretty much fuel it with sludge half the time, which isn't the best combination. So this marathon training cycle I am working on cleaning up my diet a bit (don't judge me if you see me eating junk though), drinking more water, taking my vitamins, and doing a much more intentional training plan. Last marathon I just ran the number of miles at whatever pace I felt like it. This time I am incorporating cross training into the schedule, and doing a long run, an easy run, and a tempo or speed or hill run. I feel really good at this point and am already so far ahead of where I was last time. I went out and ran 10 miles on Saturday morning at a faster pace than I ran my last half marathon and felt great the whole time, so I am super excited to see my time come down in this next race in October.

Speaking of October, have you felt the weather lately??! Fall is coming! There is a nice coolness in the early morning air when I go run now, and though the humidity is still there, you can just feel fall coming. I love this time of year and am energized by it. I can't wait to bring out the fall decorations and smell the pumpkin spice candles soon:)

Summer Slow down

2011-08-08T12:11:00.000-07:00

I really can't tell if we are slowing down in the heat, or gearing things up for the fall these days. I just can't believe how fast our summer has flown by and that school starts just around the corner. Even though we still have a few more weeks, the public schools start next week and things will be back in full swing in no time.

We are still busy cramming in summer fun where we can and trying to enjoy our free time as much as possible. We have loved our swim days with friends, and are planning a day trip to Searcy this week to swim and catch up with good friends we have been missing. The boys and I are excited! There are plans to try and squeeze in one more trip to the water park before it closes for the season. Hopefully that will work out for next week. We are taking some friends to the lake this weekend for some get-away fun before their kids start back to school. We had a family over to grill out hot dogs and the kids all played in the sprinklers in the front yard this weekend. We even managed to eat ice cream for dinner one night last week when the temps hit 107 degrees! It was just too hot to cook, or even want much food:)

I have done a bit of back to school shopping for the boys, but luckily they have most of what they need already. I try to buy ahead when I find great sales on clothes and stay ahead of what they will need coming up. I finally caved this year and bought our first "themed" anything for Tyson! He specifically requested a Spiderman backpack for pre-k, so a Spiderman backpack is what he got:) He loves it! Both boys got new backpacks and new tennis shoes for school, as well as hooded zip up jackets. Thankfully they are good to go with jeans and long sleeve t-shirts for the fall. We made a startling discovery this weekend when I was trying on Tyson's long sleeve shirts from the spring. They are all too short in the arms and waist length, but guess who they fit perfectly?? Yep, Jace. My baby who will be 2 years old in a few weeks is wearing 4T shirts and 2-3T pants! We basically realized the boys are almost the same size in the body, Tyson is just several inches taller:) I am not sure if I am happy they can share clothes, or scared at what this means for down the road! Jace won't stop eating and may possibly be much bigger than Tyson if he doesn't watch out:)

The heat has been crazy the past few weeks, but the early mornings seem to be cooling off and I am really looking forward to the fall weather. I love the Fall and everything about it, and am so excited! The crazy heat has forced me to start getting up early to do my workouts though, which has been a struggle at times. Last week I was up at 4:45am on Thursday to run almost 6 miles, 5:30am on Friday to swim, and 5am on Saturday to run 9 miles. I really love the mornings, but unfortunately do not go to bed early enough to get a full night's sleep. I am really needing to work on that:) Life has been fun and good for us this summer and I am constantly trying to be thankful for all our many blessings. We are all happy and healthy and looking forward to school starting and all the fun things the transition to fall will bring:)

One Year Race-aversary

2011-08-05T12:55:00.000-07:00

It's my one year anniversary of racing this weekend! August 7, 2010 was my first road race last year, and I ran Hot Summer Nights (4 miles). I was so nervous for that race, and it was so tough, both physically and mentally. But I finished, and have not looked back since crossing that finish line:) I was so proud of myself for running that race, and the work I had put into losing the baby weight from the boys. That race was a turning point for me, when I finally felt alive again and remembered that being an athlete is a huge part of who I am. I am so sad that they aren't having the race again this year....I was really looking forward to racing it again and seeing how far I have come. But even without that specific race, I can see how far I have come in the past 12 months......

I gained confidence after the 4 mile race and entered several more local 5k's in the fall. Each one my time improved, and I was more and more hooked. I decided to aim high and began training for my first half marathon that fall. I finished 13.1 miles in Wynne, AR in November 2010, and knew this was only just the beginning for me:)

After slowing down a bit on the running front for December and the holidays, I was anxious to get back into my training. I bit the bullet and registered for the Little Rock Marathon in March 2011. Running that marathon was probably the hardest thing I have done. One and done??? Nope, not for me!! Crossing that finish line was huge for me, and the confidence grew, along with the desire to push even harder.

I hoped back onto my bike in the spring for some cross training and started gearing up for some real fun...triathlon!!! I completed my first sprint triathlon last week and am really looking forward to increasing my endurance and distances for the next one down the road.

As I look back over the past year I can't help but smile at the journey I have been on. I love this stuff so much (in case you can't tell)! I am much more confident in myself all the way around, am much healthier, physically, mentally and emotionally, and have had fun involving my boys in an active lifestyle. I have made some great friends along the way as well. It has been a busy year, but an amazing year. I began marathon #2 training this week as well, and am so excited to push myself even more this time around. It sure helps knowing I can do it!! I am so excited about racing this year and all the adventure it will bring. I am so thankful that God has blessed me with a physical body that is able to accomplish all the things I love, and a family that supports and encourages me to go even bigger. I am blessed beyond measure and loving every second of it!!!

Jace

2011-08-04T12:50:00.000-07:00

I am a bit in shock at how fast Jace is growing up. He seems like such a big kid to me, and my baby isn't even 2 yet!! His 2nd birthday is in just 3 weeks though, and he is excited. What gets me the most is that I can't believe he is almost the age Tyson was when I had Jace:) I can't even imagine being pregnant again yet, much less have another one!!!

Jace and Tyson are both big talkers, but in very different ways. Tyson has been jabbering since he was 8 months old and just won't stop. Man that kid talks constantly about EVERYTHING!! He is hard to understand at times though. But Jace is a different story. He is a pretty quiet kid, but can talk so clearly and is starting to use really big sentences! I think they are supposed to be putting 2 or maybe 3 words together at this point, but he frequently uses 7 or 8 words at a time. He says things like, "Daddy look at me!!" or "Get out of here, there's a monster in there!" He is very demanding when he is hungry and tells me things like, "Mama, want my apple juice in the fridge right now!" or "I need a piece of cheese right now!" Apparently everything he needs is right now:) I just laugh when he says it because it sounds so grown up from such a little guy.

His first words this morning before I pulled him out of his crib were "Want to watch a movie now." He and Tyson are really into watching the Toy Story movies right now, and they both love them. They have gotten all buddy buddy lately and are really having fun playing together. Especially now that Jace can talk and participate more I think. He can open doors, get his juice cup out of the fridge by himself, climb anything, start the dishwasher and even turn on the TV with the remote. He is a busy bee and learns so much from big brother. I have really enjoyed spending time with these guys this summer and am amazed at how much they know and can do. One random thing they do at mealtimes is to stand up in their chairs/booster seats and put their arms up over their heads and yell out "hextagon!!" I have no idea what it means!! I think they are saying hexagon, and Tyson picked it up from a Mickey Mouse movie where there is a hexagon shaped train car, but not sure how that works into meal time really:) They both do it at the same time, and then get down on the floor and dance a little jig before they will go on eating. Funny little boys!

Race Junkie

2011-08-03T12:02:00.000-07:00

My camera does some weird things to pictures, so this one looks a bit grainy. It was the only one of our family though, so I had to post it:)

This picture was from a random run a few weeks ago. I love wearing my Little Rock Marathon shirt. The back says...."A marathoner of mythic proportions." I love that:) And speaking of marathons, I am back in "official" training for marathon #2! I am trying to take a completely different approach to this second marathon and learn from my first one as much as I can. First off, I only "officially" trained for my first one for about 9 weeks. That is NOT enough time people! This one I am planning to have 18 official training weeks for, which is substantially more. August 1st started my training with a nice dripping 4 mile run. I loved it:) I have combined several training plans together to create one that should work well for me. I am going to try to increase my mileage quite a bit over last time, and get several more 16+ mile runs to help build my distance base up. I am also planning to try and incorporate some speed work in, because the whole goal of running number 2 is to beat my time from race #1:) I am hoping to take 15-20 minutes off my time, so we will see how it goes.

I am also training with some different people this time around. There are several women who are running the same race, or other marathons around the same time as me, and we will train together. It should help to run with people who are also training for the same thing and with the same goals in mind. Seeing as it is 105 degrees today the plan for August is just to survive the heat and get a good foundation in. I am loving the summer, but I am really looking forward to some fall running temps! I have a half marathon race planned for early October which is my goal race to break 2 hours. I am looking around for another sprint triathlon too if I can find one close enough and fit it into my schedule easily. No big deal:) Anyway, everything is going great and I am hoping to stay healthy and get serious about my training over the next few months. December 3rd is coming and I have some big goals to reach:)

Race Recap- The Run

2011-08-01T13:36:00.000-07:00

I ran back into the transition area, changed into my running shoes, and was off again for the last leg of the race.
Transition goal time: 1:30
Transition 2 time: 47 seconds!

There weren't many chances for pictures since the run was in the woods, so this was the best we got! The run leg started across a 1/4 mile levee, and the winner was already coming back towards me as I was running out! This was a fun part since you got to pass people coming and going, and I tried to do lots of encouraging to others that were just heading out on the run as I was heading back in. I crossed the levee and headed into the woods. Oh the woods. I try to have a good attitude about trail running, but I just don't. I hate it. A lot. Mostly because I have had two knee surgeries, and have pretty bad ankles from years of being banged up in soccer, and picking my way over rocks and tree roots up and down narrow little dirt trails is not my idea of fun, and my body doesn't like it! Anyway, I knew it was a trail so I made the most of it. I just ran along and mostly tried not to fall. My legs felt like jello and the terrain was rough and uneven. I girl right behind me crashed hard right at the end. Yikes!

I didn't have my Garmin on so I had no clue how far I had gone. Thankfully there was a random 1 mile marker in the woods. At that point I was tired, but knew there was only a mile left of the race, so I chugged along. The trail was so narrow there was no room to pass anyone either, so I had someone right on my back the whole way. We finally got back to the cleared part to come back across the levee and she said, "thanks for pacing me!!" and took off. I finished strong and felt good at the end. I couldn't believe it was already over!! They handed me a ice cold wet towel and a powerade and off I went to find my family.

My run time was about what I thought for the trail part.
Goal run time: 20 minutes
Official run time: 20:40 (10:20 pace)

Not the best for me, but for a trail, that was all I could hope for!!

Overall finishing goal time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Official finishing time: 1 hour 14 minutes 22 seconds! I rock:)

This was a group shot of all the women who participated from Jonesboro. There were several others who didn't make it in the shot I think. We had fun together!! So there is my race breakdown. I will post again later with my thoughts on the race now that I have had some time to process it all.

oh yeah. I finished 8th out of 26 women in my age group! I was aiming for top 10, and I got it!! Man I love this sport:)

Race Recap- The Bike

2011-08-01T13:14:00.000-07:00

I was so pleased with myself for finishing the swim, and in a decent time, that the rest of the race was just fun! I grinned all the way up the ramp into the transition area, and got my bike stuff on pretty fast. I had every intention of practicing my transitions before the race, but alas, did not. I managed to be fast and efficient though, which was awesome:)

Transition goal: Under 1:30
Transition 1 time: 1:17

I ran my bike to the mounting area and off I went.

The bike was enjoyable except for the fact that I had a pounding headache the entire ride. Like feeling like my head was going to explode pain. There was nothing I could do about it, so I just rode along:) I was cool from the swim and the breeze felt nice. I have never ridden my bike hard for a very sustained period of time, so this was all new to me. I just went along and tried to pass people, or catch back up if I got passed. I ate my jelly bean energy beans along the way which helped with my head a little since they had caffeine in them too. I was able to drink my water and gatorade just fine too, and didn't lose any of my bottles:) The ride was pretty uneventful. There were some rolling hills, which really slowed me down, but I felt like I was doing fine on time. Of course there was a killer hill (the biggest one yet) right at the end of the bike leg, so I got off the bike huffing and puffing, which I did not want to do!

I got of my bike and ran it back into the transition area to get ready for the run.

Goal bike time: 35-39 minutes (17-20 MPH)
Official bike time: 40:22 (16.35 MPH)

Pretty close! I was pretty slow taking off and coming back in, which I will account for the extra 22 seconds of time:)

Here is a picture of me with my awesome photographer and coach after I finished the race!! I love this guy and couldn't do any of this without him!!! Thanks Silas for all you do for me:)

Tyson just had to wear my race number and glasses after the race. He was SOOO excited to be there and loved it all so much:) Maybe he will follow in his mom's footsteps down the road.....

Swim Video

2011-08-01T12:47:00.000-07:00

Hopefully this works. I am the one in the bright red outfit a few back. Yes, I jumped off stupid, but I didn't want to dive in and risk messing my goggles up!! I have contacts and needed my goggles to stay put:)

We had to swim out to a large green buoy, turn right and swim out to another one, and then head back to the pier. It looked pretty far when you weren't in the water, and really seemed like you weren't getting anywhere when you were in the water!

Annie Oakley Super Sprint Triathlon 2011- The Swim

2011-08-01T12:08:00.000-07:00

So my first ever triathlon is officially in the books, and the verdict is.....LOVED IT!!! That comes as no surprise to me:) I am breaking my race recap down into sections so I can get more pictures on here, so hang in there. We got up at 3:30 am and hit the road by 4am. The boys did amazing and watched movies all the way to the race. It ended up taking us almost 2 hours to get there! We arrived, picked up our race packets, got our body markings and time chips, and set up the transition area. I met up with some girls I know from Jonesboro, which really helped calm my nerves to have others to talk to, and show me how to set up my stuff! This is Kara, Heather, Emily and I before the race.

I was really close to the front for the swim start since I registered so early, so I didn't have a lot of time to be nervous before we took off. Blow up the picture and take a look at the look on my face!! I was pretty nervous but trying to be calm and tell myself I could do this:) It worked! I hit the water and just started off my freestyle like I had practiced in the pool. My breathing was great every 3 strokes, my sighting was good and I didn't veer off course any, and I just kept it slow and steady. A few people did swim into me at times, which is more annoying than anything. I resorted to breaststroke a few times, but overall I felt I did as good as could be expected for the swim!

This was before the race when I was setting up my transition area. It was a beautiful morning and not nearly as hot as it had been the past few days thanks to a little rain the day before.

A picture of the start of the race. Silas got a great video clip of me swimming and I will try to figure out how to put it on here! I was never so happy to see the pier and climb out of the water by the end. I never panicked though, and never felt like I couldn't make it, so that was good. I had started my watch right before I jumped in the water and checked it when I got out...10:35 or something close. I was so happy! My official swim split was 11:16 though since it included the run down the pier and back up into the transition area.

Goal swim time: Less than 12 minutes
Official swim time: 11:16

The Devil is in the Details

2011-07-29T11:55:00.000-07:00

The Annie Oakley Sprint Triathlon is at 7am in the morning, and I am so excited!! And pretty nervous, but mostly excited! We are waking up early, as in 3:30am early, to head over to Memphis at 4am. We plan to be there between 5 and 530am so I can pick up my race packet, get my body markings, set up my transition areas, and hit the water by 7. I know I won't sleep too much tonight, and am hoping the kids are cheerful and cooperative at 4am:) So I have been packing and preparing for this tri all week, thus the devil is in the details. You basically pack everything but the kitchen sink for a tri, and a sink might come in handy at some point even then:) For the swim I have the basics, goggles, swim cap and my ironman watch which I plan to wear through the whole race to keep track of my overall time. I will have my tri shorts and shirt on for the whole race, so no major wardrobe changes thank goodness.

The bike stuff looks a little light, but that is because most of it will be packed on my bike before hand. I also have my pump, bike itself, water bottles, GU chomps, chapstick, etc which will go on the ride portion with me. Well not the pump, but you get the picture!

Finally the run. I will just trade my helmet for my visor, switch out my shoes, strap my race belt/number on and off I go. Easy breezy right?! I hope so:) The run portion is short, but it is also a trail, which we all know I hate, so it should be interesting. Hopefully it's not too rugged, and I think part of it is shady, which should be nice. The heat will be bad, but I should be finished by 8:15am if all goes according to plan, so not too bad.

Here is a picture of more of the gear. I also have towels to dry my feet off with, extra clothes to change into, bike pump, spare goggles and watch, and on and on! Plus, being an athlete who is also a mom, means we can't forget to pack for the boys either!! Snacks, diapers, sunscreen, juice cups, backpack, spare clothes, and on and on as well:) We pretty much have the packing thing down to a T around here, so no worries.

I had a great 5 mile run on Monday evening, and then a mini tri later in the week. I swam 1,100 yards in the morning, then met up with friends and rode 6 hilly miles on the bike, and changed shoes and went straight into a 1.58 mile run. I felt strong and good, which really helped the confidence. I also happened to run the almost 1.6 miles at a 8:58 minute pace, which didn't hurt my feelings either! Tomorrow by the time most of you wake up, I will be a triathlete!!

Race Goals

2011-07-23T18:50:00.000-07:00

I can't believe my first triathlon is a week from today! I was feeling pretty confident a few weeks ago, but the past two weeks have not been the greatest training wise, and now I am fairly nervous. We had VBS two weeks ago and I barely got any workouts in, and then I got run down and sick with a head cold/sinus junk which I have been fighting since then. It is awfully hard to run when you can't breathe out of your nose at all. I feel about 80% right now, which isn't the best going into my last week before the race. I just feel run down and super tired, and like I haven't gotten too many quality workouts in for a while. I guess its time to get mentally tough and just think positive!

I know its obvious, but good grief its hot too. This heat and humidity are so draining, and make it so hard to breathe. At least everyone has to deal with it for the race:) My asthma has been acting up the past week or so too, which I think is part of it. Not fun at all. My plan for this week is to get one good quality workout in for the swim, bike and run, and then rest completely on Thursday and Friday before the race. We have reached the point of no return, and I really can't cram any more in, so what I have done has got to be enough at this point. I am excited that several girls I know from town are doing the tri too. Up until a few weeks ago, I didn't know anyone else going! I went to bed at 9:30pm last night and got almost 10 hours of sleep. I was supposed to meet some girls for a 6 mile run at 6am, but at 5:30 I still couldn't breathe well and figured a few more hours of sleep would be better for me:) This was one of the only Saturdays in a long time that I haven't worked out. We did do yard work this afternoon, so at least I was still drenched in sweat for part of the day!

On to my race goals, which may or may not change during the week!

Swim: 12 minutes or less. Basically if I get out of the water and am still racing, I will have had a successful swim! This is definitely the part I am most nervous about, and the part I am hoping goes much better than anticipated. I know I can swim the distance, just hoping I feel better this week and can go into it strong. My mantra for my swim alternates between "strong and steady" and "slow and steady." I don't want to go out too fast and wear myself out for the rest of the race.

Bike: 34-39 minutes. I believe this will give me somewhere between a 17 and 20 MPH average speed. I have no clue what speed I can sustain, but it's only 11 miles so I should be able to ride pretty hard hopefully. I love my bike and feel very comfortable on it, hills or flat, so I am not too worried. Plus, I am super inspired from watching every stage of the Tour de France for the past 3 weeks, so I can pretend I am riding for the yellow jersey:) (yes I know I am a dork)

Run: 20 minutes or less. This gives me a 10 minute mile pace. I know I can run faster, but once again, I have never run after biking and swimming, plus it will be later in the day with the heat to factor in, so this is just a good guess. I am really hoping to finish strong by pacing well throughout the race.

Overall time goal will be to finish in 1:15 or less. We will see how close I come, and how the transitions play into my overall time too! Last time I checked there were about 20 women in my age group (30-34) signed up, which is a good little field. I am aiming for a top 10 in my AG finish, and I will be happy with that.

I have to keep reminding myself that this is my first tri, and will mainly serve as a learning experience. That being said, I am so stinking competitive and really do want to do well. I am hoping I feel better this week, or else all the goals will change to just finishing. I am excited and nervous all rolled into one. I still need to practice my transitions, and have really not gotten in the brick workouts that I had wanted to, but such is life:) I am planning to love the triathlon so there will be plenty more in the future hopefully.

Happy 4th Birthday Tyson!

2011-07-23T11:46:00.000-07:00

My big boy is 4 years old!! He had so much fun on his birthday, and we had fun spoiling him too:) We started off the day with a play date at the mall with a friend that has just moved to town. Tyson was excited to meet two new little friends, and they ran around the indoor playground and yelled and sweated up a storm together. We topped off the visit with some popcorn, pizza, and coke at Target for lunch, which is one of his favorite things to do.

It was tough getting him to take a nap, since he knew his party was later that evening. We went to Chuck E Cheese as a family when the boys woke up and had fun playing games and eating pizza. That was where he wanted to eat for dinner out. He invited two little boys over later to help him celebrate, and they had so much fun! He requested a firetruck cake and loved the one he got. We usually make his cake, but I was a little intimidated to pull this one off, so Silas helped me out and ordered one from a local cake store:) Everyone loved it!

Jace mostly ate the brightly colored icing off the top, which would later come back to haunt us as he puked it all back up a few hours later after running around and crying. Bright blue icing does not come out of white carpet easily either:) The four boys ran and played for hours while we sat and visited with the parents. Tyson loved his presents and has already enjoyed all of them. He got a cool water gun, sidewalk chalk, a spiderman dress up costume, two firetruck DVD's and some playdoh. They have all entertained the boys for hours:)

He is so excited to be 4 years old! I took him to the doctor Friday for his well check up and he got 4 shots. He did great and didn't even cry a bit. He loves the doctor and was excited to go! I took him out to Sonic for ice cream afterwards for being such a big boy. We went during Jace's nap time and it was fun to be out with Ty by himself. He is so animated and inquisitive and funny. The doctor said he is growing like a weed, healthy as can be, and pretty advanced with his spelling and language skills. I am definitely a proud mama:) He decided to give up his booster seat at the kitchen table this week too, I guess since he has decided he is so big now! Funny kid:)

Getting Closer!

2011-07-15T11:39:00.000-07:00

July 30th is rapidly approaching and I am really excited for my first sprint triathlon. It has been tough getting workouts in some weeks, but that is usually due to my motivation, or lack thereof, rather than scheduling. Of course everyone knows it's hot, but triple digit heat just saps the "want to" right out of me!! Most days I just don't want to:) I had a pretty bad swim on Monday this week, but that was due to my legs being fairly tired from the 54 mile bike ride, and my crazy brain doing some weird things. I read a story online about how a woman died at a public swimming pool and sank and no one found her for several days until she floated up! Yikes! The pool water was all cloudy when I got there Monday and of course my overactive imagination was just sure it was due to a dead body in the deep end:) Needless to say my mind wasn't focused on my technique and I did what I could and got out of there! I had my mind much more under control this morning and had a good swim, which helped:)

Everything else is good. I didn't run much this week due to WOW, but should be back on track for next week. I am hoping to get a decent open water swim in tomorrow when we go to the lake. Hopefully it goes well and gives me some confidence in the water....I need it! I need to be practicing my transitions as well, so I have a good idea of what I need to do when I get to the race. Other than that, I am feeling pretty good about things.

We have kind of hit that lull of summer where it's just really hot and draining. For some reason it doesn't seem to slow the boys down any! We have fun playing in the water hose and sprinklers which is doing great at keeping my grass alive. Silas is slowly making progress on the yard and pulled a huge azalea plant out last night. We are working to completely take out all of the front landscaping and re-do everything. It is a big and slow process, but we are getting there:) My big crepe myrtles are blooming and are so pretty! I love them and their color in the hot summer. Jace has also randomly decided to start his potty training, which I had forgotten how much I don't like! He is telling me he needs to go at times and loves to flush the potty and get his candy. We are using Smarties with him, which he loves:) He goes on the big potty and his favorite part is flushing. Tyson thinks he is entitled to candy every time Jace goes potty too, so we go through quite a bit! I wasn't going to work on it with Jace just yet, but if the boy wants to get rid of diapers, who am I to stand in his way?! Speaking of more changes, the boys are sleeping in their bunk beds for the very first time as I type this! Tyson asked if Jace could nap with him today, so I threw him in the bottom bunk and hoped for the best. I had to go check on them once (aka threaten Tyson to be quiet), but its been about 45 minutes now and I haven't heard a peep! The boys both have birthdays coming up in the next few weeks too, which we are excited about. Tyson's is next week and he can't stop talking about his firetruck birthday:) Now Silas and I just have to figure out how to make a fire truck cake! We are hitting the lake in the morning with some friends for some fun in the sun, and hopefully some relaxation from the crazy busy week. Wait, who am I kidding....taking the boys to the lake is not really relaxing, but it is fun!

WOW What a Week!

2011-07-13T13:05:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year again.....WOW week 2011 is here!! WOW is our church's VBS. It stands for Wonders of the Word, and we do things big here! We had 1,300 people the first night, and not sure what the numbers are looking like for the rest of the week. Tonight is our last evening and I am sure it will go out with a bang:)

The boys have loved going to their classes and seeing the dramas. Our theme this year is Esther, and it is so sweet to hear Tyson walking around talking about Queen Esther and Mordecai and "the bad guy" and how Esther saved her people. I am working in the nursery with the little babies and we have had a great time this year. Definitely one of the easier rooms:)

Jace has had a crazy week all on his own. I am pretty sure he broke his nose on Monday. Silas walked in the door for lunch and Jace yelled "jump" at him and flung himself down the stairs. Well poor Daddy didn't even hear or see him coming, and the kid splatted on his face in the foyer, face first. Blood was coming out of his nose and mouth, but not too bad. He has a big busted lower lip and a bruised nose. He seems to be fine, but keeps banging his mouth on random things. Then he got knocked over hard at the pool yesterday by a big kid who was running and slammed his head on the concrete. Bless his little heart this week! He is a tough cookie though.

The boys are showing off the back of their WOW shirts for you:) They have loved wearing them every night to church. Between working, decorating for VBS and going every night, watching the most amazing womens' world cup soccer games on TV, plus the Tour de France every day, we have been busy this week!

Nashville

2011-07-11T12:41:00.000-07:00

We made a trip to Nashville over 4th of July to visit my parents and sister/family for a few days. Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the trip! The theme of our trip was "eat, swim, sleep, repeat!"

Ride the Ridge 2011

2011-07-10T11:45:00.000-07:00

I completed my second organized bike ride yesterday morning, and loved it:) I rode the Ride the Ridge 50 miler. It actually turned out to be almost 54 miles, but who is counting?!

Me and some of my girls before the ride started. There were 200 riders total so we had a pretty good sized group heading out of town at the start.

Action shot of me on my bike! Silas did awesome as usual getting me dropped off, taking pictures, keeping up with the boys, and meeting up with me several times out on the course. I would yell and wave to the boys in the car each time we passed them, and they loved it:) We have been watching the Tour de France all day everyday this past week, so Tyson was all excited to see the bicycles in real life.

The ride was great, but hot. At times the temp on my bike was reading 100 degrees. There were plenty of water stops and I ate tons of watermelon and oranges along with gatorade and water along the route. The first 20 miles or so was a little hilly, but then the course flattened out for the rest of the ride. I felt great when we were finished. Just ready to wash the sweat, salt and road grime off! It took us about 3:35 minutes of riding to complete the course, plus stopping for water. I like the bike rides since they aren't races! No time pressure, just a fun day out on the roads with friends:) I am looking to do a 100 mile ride coming up in October hopefully too:)

Missing pictures

2011-07-07T12:03:00.000-07:00

sometimes I really get irritated with Blogger not posting my pics!

Brotherly Love

2011-07-07T11:58:00.000-07:00

The boys are getting to such a cute fun age where they can play together with each other. There are still lots of fights, but they are getting so much better at interacting and getting involved in games together. One of their favorite games right now is called "Monster!" Tyson tells Jace there is a monster, and they run screaming down the hall to get away from it. There are several variations of the game as well. One is where they decide that I am the monster, and yell "get me!" and I have to chase them around the house and tickle whoever I catch. It's fun, but exhausting:) They also have gotten smart and decided to blame the monster whenever they make a big mess. It's hard to be angry when little Jace is looking at you saying "monster did it!"

We are still loving the summer and having lots of fun. Tyson has decided to teach himself how to swim out of the blue, and is doing awesome! He just takes his water wings off, puts his head down in the water and kicks away. Jace loves to jump off the side of the pool, and they have fun wearing themselves out while swimming:)

We are slowly working on transitions to new big boy things. It seems that Jace gets more attached to that paci with every day, so I am just putting off the fight to get rid of it. I know, I know. I just don't feel like doing it yet:) However, we are making progress with our sleeping arrangements. Jace is now napping daily in his twin bed and doing great. He still loves his crib at night, but we are getting there! Tyson slept in his top bunk last night and made it all night too! That was a first. He has been napping up there once or twice, but seems to be moving in that direction. The cute part is that he keeps asking for Jace to move into his room with him, so at least he is willing to share with little brother!

Jace is talking up a storm, and Tyson is in full swing of the "why?" phase. He asks why of everything I say to him, even when I have already given him the reason! Everything else is good. The boys are healthy and happy and growing like crazy. We are having fun during the days and I have loved our time together this summer. It is hard to believe that school starts back next month!! Time goes by so fast. I hate to say it out loud, but I will. I have started to get a touch of baby fever! It doesn't help that Tyson randomly tells me that he wants a brother and a sister:)

Journey of Faith

2011-06-27T11:44:00.000-07:00

I had a little spare time on my hands the other evening and so I was reading back through some of my old blog posts from the past few years. I came across one in particular that has stayed on my mind, as I am having the strong feeling that God is doing some pretty neat things in my life right now. I think I wrote this one about a year after we had moved to Jonesboro, sometime in 2009. I was reflecting on our first year living here, and talking about how I thought God had a plan for me here, but I just couldn't see it or figure it out. I am not a very patient person, and tend to want things to be clear pretty quickly. As I look back over the past 3 years (can you believe we have lived here 3 years already!?) I can see plainly the stepping stones that were being laid in my life to get me to this place today. One of the biggest lessons I have learned in all of this is that God tends to do some pretty amazing things in our lives, DESPITE us! If I had had things my way, there is no way I would be in this place at all. I sure am glad he knows better than I do:)

Crazy thing number one happened back in 2009 when I was about 6 months pregnant with Jace. A guy I barely knew from work at the counseling center in town briefly mentions that the counseling center at church is looking to hire a new therapist part time since one of the other therapists was leaving. I submitted my resume. I thought about it, talked to Silas about it, and decided against it. I was due to have a baby in a few months, and didn't think adding a new job to the mix was good timing in my life. Plus I just didn't think I could offer them the hours, etc that they were looking for. Several weeks or a month went by and I got a phone call from the director asking to set up an interview with me. I politely declined, explaining all the reasons I was NOT a good fit for the position. Somehow I ended up going to the interview anyway. And then randomly got the job:) I didn't end up starting until October after Jace was born, and it was a slow process building up my caseload there. I got frustrated at times and thought of giving up, but something kept me hanging on. I was pretty confused too. I mean, who tells a potential employer they do not even want to interview, and then gets the job??! God has a way of working things out, doesn't he:)

I have cruised along and have been enjoying my work there for the past 2.5 years. I have to admit it has been tough though. Counseling is not an easy job. I know lots of jobs are hard, but this one is just hard on my heart. I am a very sensitive person, and I truly hurt when other people are hurting. And trust me, there are a lot of hurting people out there. Some days I don't think I am the one for the job, but I just keep trusting that I am right where I need to be. Several months ago my director asked me if I would be interested in developing a program for kids of divorce. Yeah, in all my spare time!! I wasn't really sure what direction this was going or what it was looking like, but I attended the meeting and we got some ideas going. Ideas started coming together the past few months, lots of collaboration with attorneys, schools, etc in town, and we finally got a proposal worked up to apply for a grant to fund our class. And lo and behold, we just found out last week that we got it!! So now I am in the process of developing my very own class/group curriculum so that we will be ready to launch our new group which starts in January 2012. I AM PUMPED! I have loved working with children in all my years of counseling, and have missed that aspect of it, as most of my clients are adults or older teens at the counseling center. I wish I had the research on hand to give specific statistics, but basically everyone knows that one out of every two marriages ends in divorce. Think of how many kids experience divorce, maybe even multiple times in their childhoods. And Arkansas has the second highest divorce rate in the country. That is a lot of hurting kids out there, right in our backyard. There are lots of divorce support groups/recovery groups out there for adults, but none for kids in our area. I am working to put together a group for kids (kindergarten through 6th grade) that will help them navigate this painful experience to the best of their abilities, and hopefully minimize as much of the damage as possible so they can have a chance at healthy relationships and marriages of their own.

I feel like things here are falling into place, and I am so excited about the professional opportunities I have been given. I am almost embarrassed at how reluctantly I proceed with things (like moving to Jonesboro), and am amazed at how God has patiently worked in my life to get me to this place. So many times I think we feel stalled, or stuck in life, but in reality it may just be a foundation being laid for greater things to come. I am so thankful to be in this place, and to be a part of something that will hopefully change the lives of children for the better. I would appreciate your prayers over the rest of this process and for the kids that will get to be a part of it!

Survival of the Fittest

2011-06-25T19:48:00.000-07:00

I had to put a picture on here of me all cleaned up, since the one below is of me all nasty after my 40 mile bike ride last weekend:) Ok, I feel better. Anyway, I LOVE LOVE LOVE my bike. It is so much fun to ride, and I have to admit I just love the speed of it. I think I might be pretty good at riding too, which helps. I did my first 40 mile ride last Saturday morning with two of my friends, and we had a ball. About 25 miles in one of them got a flat tire, so I got to experience my first changing a flat out on a ride. Mostly I just stood around a watched. I called Silas for back up, and he brought us cold Gatorade and helped get things pumped back up once we got the new tube on. It was fun! We were all super impressed that 3 girls got that flat changed:) I am glad I saw how it was done, so I will be more confident if it is me next time!

I went out for 20 miles this morning and it felt great. 20 miles is just a nice easy ride for me and I can tell the more times I do it the stronger I feel. I have also learned that I like hills quite a bit, and can get up them pretty fast. These soccer legs are turning out to be quite helpful in many different ways!! I have my running to thank for my endurance base too. I named this post survival of the fittest because of a little incident we had on our ride this morning. We came to an intersection in a neighborhood (rural area) and I was keeping my eyes peeled for a dog that had tried to eat me for lunch once before when I had last come this way. Well sure enough, I heard furious barking, but not from the yard I was watching! I turned and right across the street were two large dogs charging our way. And when I say dogs, I mean they were two Dobermans with ears back and snarling as they raced towards us. Thankfully the adrenaline kicked in and I pedaled like nobodies business! I was NOT going to be the first person they got to, that was for sure:) Luckily they didn't get either of us, but my heart pounded for a while after that. I am really not a fan of dogs, especially man eating ones that aren't tied up or in a fence. Mental note to skip that route next time we ride:)

Anyway, I have been having fun with my training. I am just tired! The heat today wore me out for sure. I did some yard work with Silas after lunch and am trying to just spend some time outside to help acclimate to the heat when I can. Thankfully a little nap and a cold Coke perked me right up:)

My first BRICK

2011-06-24T11:28:00.001-07:00

I did my first official BRICK workout earlier this week and it was AMAZING!! So we are all on the same page, a brick is a back to back workout in triathlon training. As in, I rode my bike and then went straight into my run. Apparently it is named a brick, because that is how your legs feel when you start running after riding:)

Anyway, I have been riding and then running for the past few weeks, but there is usually about a 20-45 minute time gap between them while I am waiting for my running buddy to be ready to go. Usually that is just enough time for me to cool down completely and my legs to get stiff before we head out to run:) At least it gives me a little break/rest though. Well this week I decided to just head out and get at least a mile in while I was waiting for her to call. I rode 19.1 miles in about an hour and 22 minutes (14 mph average), ran inside, threw off my helmet and gloves, put on my running shoes and garmin and headed back out the door. My garmin took forever to find the signal, so I had to run 2/3 of my mile without it. I felt pretty good starting out, and while my legs felt a little strange, it didn't take me long to find my running groove. And groove I did! I finished my mile in about 8:06 minutes. I really thought I would be slower than usual, but I felt good:) I walked home and my friend was ready to go, so off we went for another 2 miles. We slowed the pace waaaay down to 10:30 minute miles, but it felt fine. I actually felt amazing and could have run a lot longer, but I have read enough to know you are not supposed to over-do on your brick workouts. Just run 20-30 minutes to get used to the feeling of transitioning from the bike to the run. I felt great the next day, not sore or anything, which I was happy about.

I think that workout was a huge turning point for me mentally. I know without a doubt that I can do this! And now I am thinking I might actually do it pretty well too:) Icing on the cake:) I rested yesterday and then swam this morning. Every swim gets better as I am constantly improving something. I got some good goggles which helps, and a friend gave me a swim cap. I can tell my endurance is improving, but I still think I am swimming too fast/hard. I am very thankful I still have several weeks to train, because I need all the time in the water I can get. I am having fun with my training and actually looking forward to all my workouts. That has been the best part of tri training....you get to do so many activities you don't get bored with just one! Next up, another 40 mile bike ride:) Not sure if I have mentioned it, but I LOVE MY BIKE!! I will do a whole other post on that later:)

Everything Changes

2011-06-21T11:48:00.000-07:00

What a week Jace has had! He has gone from my baby to a big boy in the past 4 days it seems, and it's killing me just a bit how fast everything is changing around our house. It all started with a hair cut on Saturday. After constantly pushing the mop out of his eyes and wondering what to do with the mullet/tail in the back, off to the barber shop we went. He sat perfectly still the whole time and was awesome:) And what a change it is. He looks all grown up now, and my baby is gone.

Just another shot of before his hair cut. We have had so much fun this summer getting outside in the sun and water. The boys do great, and we are trying to make the rounds to all the fun activities we can think of. One of our favorites has been the splash zone at the park in town. Lots of water, dumping buckets, water guns and sprinklers, etc and hours of fun on these hot summer days:)

Not the best after picture of his hair, but you can tell it isn't in his eyes anymore. We went to a friend's house yesterday morning and spent the day playing outside. Jace and her son Cole were born on the same day just minutes apart, and we enjoy catching up with them in the summertime and hanging out. They live out in the country, and the 3 boys had a ball splashing in the kiddie pool, playing in the hose, doing the slip n slide, riding the little 4 wheeler and playing with the dog, or making mud puddles in the dirt. She grilled hot dogs and we had potato chips and baked beans for lunch. It was perfect! Not to mention the awesome long naps the boys took after all that fun in the sun:)

As if he was inspired by his grown up looks following his hair cut, Jace pulled a new one on me and went pee pee in the potty for the first time ever yesterday too! I clapped and danced and we all had smarties to celebrate his accomplishment:) It may have been a one time event, or the beginning of real potty training, but it was a big deal. The boys and I packed up and went swimming at the big pool this morning with several friends from church and had a blast. Both boys are swimming so well with their floaties and it makes for some much more relaxing times at the pool for me:) Jace jumps off the side like he has been doing it his whole life, and Tyson decided this morning he would start jumping in and swimming with his head under the water! We got home, and I decided to try and lay Jace down in his big boy twin bed for nap today after lunch. And that's where he is right now...snoozing away for the first time in a real bed. My heart hurts a little at how proud I am of all his accomplishments this week, and the fact that my little guy is growing up so fast on me. Children are so amazing and they change whether we are ready for them to or not.

Happy Father's Day!

2011-06-19T13:01:00.000-07:00

The boys and I had fun celebrating Silas this weekend. We were very sneaky and ran several errands on Friday while he was at work, getting his gift ready. I was smart enough not to tell Tyson what we were doing, so he couldn't ruin the fun! We took him out to Longhorn Steakhouse on Friday night and he got some fried shrimp. Yum!

I had to do a home study on Saturday afternoon, so Silas held down the fort while I was gone. We decided to go ahead and surprise him with his gift Saturday night since Sunday mornings can be a little rushed getting ready for church. He had no idea we had gotten anything for him, so he was totally surprised:) We got him some gift cards to use around town to some of his favorite places, so he can have a treat any time he wants. He loved them!

He put one card to good use and got doughnuts for the whole family before church this morning. Thanks for sharing! We took him to eat pizza for lunch, and he is going to see a movie later this evening he has been wanting to see. We also got him some fun plaid cargo shorts that he loves. I sure hope he has enjoyed his weekend of special treats, but we really appreciate him each and every day.

Silas is such a special blessing to our family, and the head of our home. I really admire how hard he works to provide for us, to be our spiritual leader, and the importance he places on spending time with the family. I know the boys adore him as Daddy now, but I look forward to the day when they admire him for being such a good man, role model, and leader in their lives. They are truly blessed beyond measure in that department. Thank you Silas for all the ways you bring joy to our family and lives, just by being exactly who you are!! We love you so much!

Redemption!

2011-06-15T11:32:00.000-07:00

I made it back to the pool this morning for some sweet swimming redemption! Man it felt good. Having such a bad first swim really threw me and I have spent the past 2 days reading up on other's swimming experiences and thoughts, and doing lots of visualization of things my neighbor taught me in my head. Yes, I am that dorky, but it works:)

I was at the pool at 6am right when it opened this morning and ready to get down to business. My agenda was simple, don't have a repeat of Monday! I was slow to get my stuff ready and get in the water, as I studied very carefully the older man that swims laps non-stop for over an hour everyday that was in the lane next to me. He breathed every right armed stroke, so I decided I would too! I did a lap of breaststroke to warm up, and got ready to tackle my freestyle. One thing Silas and I had discussed after the bad swim was that I probably went out way too fast and just wore myself out too, so going slow was my other plan for today.

And guess what? I rocked it today:) It's amazing how much better you feel when you breathe more frequently, and when you aren't thrashing around like a floundering whale:) I took it slow and easy, strong strokes, breathing every right arm stroke, and practiced my sighting along the way. It felt great, and I was able to hammer out 2 more full laps than last time and was not panting like I was dying when I was done! I feel much better today and got the old confidence back, which is what I needed. The best part of swimming is that it doesn't take forever to get a good workout in. I was there at 6am and home by 6:30am. Eventually I will build my endurance, but for the sprint tri I don't plan to be in the water longer than 10 minutes, so I don't need that much training 9hopefully) at this point.

Have I mentioned I am contemplating an Olympic distance tri in September??! I will definitely need more endurance for that one:)

Sink or Swim?

2011-06-13T05:22:00.001-07:00

Soooo, I finally got myself to the pool at 6am this morning for my first official swimming workout of my training. I have to admit I have been fairly confident before this in regards to the swimming portion of this triathlon. I mean, I swim every summer. I go to the lake. I can swim, right? WRONG! Oh my goodness. Swimming. is. HARD! I definitely had a giant dose of humble pie this morning at the YMCA:)
I now realize that while I have grown up "swimming" I have never actually done any lap swimming of a real distance before. Apparently laying on a raft getting a tan does not count as real swimming:) Boy am I glad I still have 7 weeks to get some practice in. I guess I am starting from square one in this area and having to build from there. It was a great workout though, and now I know I stink so bad I can only get better from here! Let the real swimming begin:)

Weekly Training Recap

2011-06-11T20:16:00.000-07:00

These pictures have nothing to do with the post. Just more pics from our Texas adventure:) This has been one of my better weeks of training and I feel like I am getting somewhere! I ended the week with only 8.5 miles of running, which is really low, but I was happy with the 3 workouts I did get in. I ran a nice easy 4 miler on Monday, and then hit the track on Tuesday evening for my first ever speed workout. It was about 96 degrees and I had just eaten a huge dinner (bacon, eggs, and pancakes!) so I wasn't going all out to say the least:) I did manage to get a good 1.5 miles in, with 3 quality 400's. I just needed a baseline time for my 400's so I know a time to improve on. It was fun too. The whole family went, and I ran my first warm-up 400 with Tyson:) The little guy ran the whole lap with me and did great. The boys had fun running around the track and "racing." Tyson kept asking where the speakers and finish line timer were! I ran 3 miles on Wednesday evening, following my bike ride, which made it pretty tough. It was a faster average pace than usual on my runs during the week, so I was really happy with that. At this point I am still adjusting to the heat and humidity, which have been really high lately.

I have had a great week biking. I rode 17.7 miles on Wednesday with a group of girls and then went 22.7 miles this morning with one other girl, for a total of over 40 miles out on the road this week. I also rode 30 minutes on the trainer last night, so I got 3 good bike rides in for the week. I am feeling much more comfortable on the bike, getting a good feel for where my gears need to be to do what I want them to do, and for clipping in and out. No more falling since that first time, thank goodness! My average pace has not been as high as I would like for my rides outside, but we do lots of crossing intersections and turning down streets, crossing train tracks, etc that I know really slows us down. I am sure I will be pleasantly surprised at what pace I can hold when it comes time to race:) That is the plan anyway:) One thing I have learned with riding with others is that my soccer legs are very useful tools when it comes to powering up hills on the bike. I have been very happy with my ability to get up the hills at a good pace, which I know will be huge during the tri.

I haven't had a full official swim workout yet, but I have finally gotten in the water and am ready to go! We took the boys swimming at the neighbors house this afternoon, and I got some good time in treading water and really tried to focus on using mostly my arms to keep me up. My neighbor also happens to be an awesome swimmer, so he gave me some good coaching and tips, and we practiced a bit on my form. He said I have a good powerful stroke, but lift my head to high out of the water for my breaths, so I need to work on that. I also only breathe on one side, so I have to practice both side:s) I got some good advice and some good things to practice when I start my official lap training next week. We finally joined the Y, so no more excuses on not getting my swims in.

Speaking of swims, Silas has been going and doing great! He got up early twice this past week and rode his bike to the Y, swam laps, and rode home. He loved it. I am really proud of him and think it is something he really enjoys. Since I do most of my running and biking in the day or evenings, that leaves early mornings to swim. The Y opens at 6 am during the week, so that is when we have to go in order to be back for Silas to get to work in the mornings. We are working out our schedules so we can both get at least 2 swims in each week and take turns. I will tell ya, it is tough to focus on 3 sports all at the same time! Luckily I feel great on the bike and run, so swimming will be my focus for a bit. I have been able to do two brick workouts, where you do two events back to back. I have been able to bike and then run twice. It is definitely exhausting, but I usually run better than I think I will after riding. I am having fun and enjoying incorporating other sports into my training for the summer. Swimming and biking are a bit more fun to do in the heat than just straight running! Only 7 weeks til the tri:) I will be ready!

Orbison Family Pictures

2011-06-09T12:29:00.000-07:00

The Orbison cousins. Tristan, Danny, Kennedy, Hannah, Jace, Parker, Tyson, Ellen, Makena, Hayden and Kasey.

Mimi and Pap-pa with the grandchildren. Yes, Tyson was fed up with pictures by this point!

The Orbison family 2011. Martin was missing, but everyone else was there.

The original Orbison family! I love this picture so much:) They sure have grown over the years and added lots of members to the family. We are so blessed:)

Texas fun

2011-06-09T12:20:00.000-07:00

Just a few cute pictures from the Texas weekend. The Orbison boys:)

We LOVE pap-pa's corn!! It is the best ever, and we ate a ton of it while we were there:) He was nice enough to let us bring some back home too:) Tyson had fun helping Pap-pa pick corn and okra out of the garden.

Aunt Marcene loving on Jace during cousin camp. He loved her and went over to climb up and sit in her lap for a bit:)

Danny and Jace hanging out.

Ellen's Graduation

2011-06-08T11:46:00.000-07:00

One of the highlights of our Texas trip was getting to see Ellen graduate on Friday night. We had a wonderful dinner with tons of family and friends, and then headed to the high school for the graduation. We had a huge group, and the kids did pretty good considering it started at their usual bedtime!

My camera did something weird to this picture! Anyway, I still can't believe that we are old enough to have nieces already graduating from high school!! I feel like it was me just a few years ago:)

We all enjoyed getting together to celebrate this big milestone in Ellen's life. It has been so much fun watching her grow up over the years, and I am excited to see where she goes from here, and what all she will accomplish:)

Proud mom Sherrie watching the ceremony. I did pretty good myself until they played the Kenny Chesney song "Don't Blink" at the very end!! It was a good reminder of how absolutely fast life goes when you are raising your children. I know mine are still in diapers today, but their graduation will be here before I know it, and that really gets to me when I think about it. I have had lots of reminders lately that time marches on, and am working hard to enjoy the little things in the moment. I am so thankful for time we got to spend with family too:)

Cousin Camp 2011

2011-06-07T11:28:00.000-07:00

We headed to Texas on Thursday last week to get some time in with our Orbison side of the family. Our schedule was packed full from the minute we got there, and it was awesome! We spent all day Saturday doing Cousin Camp, which the boys just loved. Tyson adores all his cousins, and had so much fun playing with everyone. He keeps asking to go back to Texas every day!

We started off with breakfast and a devotional, then did some fun arts and crafts, and lots of time playing. After lunch everyone headed to ride go-carts and play mini-bowling, but we took our kids home for a much needed nap! We met back up with the group after naps, and went swimming:) Then we made mini pizzas for dinner and spent the rest of the evening visiting and playing. We ended with a family time of singing. It was a full and wonderful day for everyone involved!

Tyson loved cowboy hats and wore one around constantly while we were there:)

Here are the boys with cousin Danny. Danny is wonderful with the kids and took such good care of them for me! This was our first year to make it to cousin camp. It was so much fun creating these memories with the kids, and so special to be part of such a fun family:) We are already looking forward to next year!!

Mini Tri

2011-06-02T11:25:00.001-07:00

I had a little impromtu mini triathlon training yesterday. I started off the day taking the boys to the pool. No official lap swimming, but I did have to tread water quite a bit as Jace decided he only wanted to jump in the deep end:)

After dinner I headed out with my girls I ran the relay with, and we got in a great 16.5 mile bike ride around town. It was super hot, but lots of fun to be out with them again.

I got home from the ride, changed into my running shoes, and about 30 minutes later hit the pavement with my friend down the street for a 4 mile run. We topped it off with a mile walk for a cool down. I was soaked from the heat and humidity. I was definitely not ready for the temps to jump up in the upper 90's overnight like they did!

I have been drinking water and Gatorade like crazy, which I know my body needs to stay hydrated in this heat. I can tell my appetite is down a little as well, which is good. I feel like I eat all the time! Yesterday was fun getting a little workout in all 3 events. Today I am tired but not too sore. I need to get serious with my training since this tri is next month!!

Lake Season 2011

2011-05-31T19:58:00.000-07:00

is officially here!! Since the weather was gorgeous and turned to hot summer temperatures almost overnight, we made a quick decision to head to the lake on Memorial Day with the boys. Silas and I are old pros at prepping the boat, and can get things ready to go pretty fast when we want to:) The boys were really excited too. We loaded up the car Sunday night and everything was ready to hit the road right after breakfast on Monday.

The new SUV handled the boat like a dream. Silas was so impressed with how well it pulled the load. The Yukon got some great reviews in this area when we were researching it, and it definitely lived up to the hype! We were on the water before lunch and spent the rest of the day driving around the lake, swimming, and hanging out with friends. Jace is a hand full this year. He hangs over the side and throws everything in sight into the water! First rattle out of the box he had thrown his paci over. Then he got hold of the suntan lotion and tossed it in. There is never a dull moment with these monkeys:)

This is Tyson's 4th summer on the lake, and he is so comfortable out there. He loves taking a turn at driving, and does a great job. Jace just likes to honk the horn! My favorite moment of the day was when Tyson jumped into the water. It was really hot and he had been asking to swim for a while. We finally anchored and I got in before him. The water was about 72 degrees and FREEZING. Poor Tyson had no idea it was cold, and just jumped off the back. When his head popped up out of the water his eyes were the size of saucers and bugging out of his head!! I couldn't stop laughing:) He adjusted fast and had so much fun swimming around. Jace loved the water too, but would get cold after a bit and start asking to get back on the boat. The boys took naps while we drove around. It was a great day as a family and a wonderful kick off to summer break!

I am so happy we are able to get to the lake and back in one day. It is so much easier than spending the night! I am hoping to get several more trips in this summer. We have fun stuff planned for the rest of the break while the boys are out of school. Summer swim day with our friends from church is starting up in the morning, we will hit the library for story time, the water park, and hopefully Magic Springs. We are heading to Texas this weekend for a family graduation, and we are all so excited to spend some time with TX family!! I love this time of year!

The Dream Team

2011-05-29T12:23:00.000-07:00

I ran the marathon relay this weekend. It was awesome! My team was awesome. Our outfits were awesome:) I didn't know these girls before running with them, and have made some new running friends. We got together for a girl's/team night to carbo load the night before the race. We got our outfits ready, made some cute running bracelets, and talked strategy. We ran well and got 3rd place in our division. More than that, we just had fun and enjoyed the day together.

Silas was a rock star as usual at any of my races. The course was pretty disorganized with few water stations along the way. He and the boys paced with me and gave me water and Gatorade between water stops when I needed it. The boys had fun cheering out the windows and I loved seeing my family along the route! Having their support and encouragement makes such a difference for me:)

It was a pretty tough course and a much warmer day than we were used to. I ran the second leg which had some killer hills in it. Luckily I had practiced my route before, so I knew where to save energy and where to push it. I ran my 6.62 miles in a little over 58 minutes, with an average pace of 8:51. Being part of a team really made me push when I wanted to slow down.

Here is my team running to the finish with our last runner. She actually smoked us all she was running so fast!! I was already in my flip flops so I wasn't moving too fast myself:) Overall it was a great day. I had so much fun with my team, and enjoyed racing "for fun" if there is such a thing!! I did learn one thing.....I am not a fan of 10k's! It is hard to push that far at a pretty fast pace. I will probably run at least one more real 10k so I at least know my time for that distance. Otherwise I am sticking to 5k's and distance:)

Mama's New Ride

2011-05-26T11:43:00.000-07:00

I have officially joined the ranks of "suburban mom." Except that I now drive a Yukon XL, but it is pretty much the same thing:) As the boys have gotten older, and bigger, we have been toying with the idea of upgrading the car for a little while. With summer on its way and several trips planned, along with getting the boat to the lake, we figured we would go ahead and start looking for something that fits our needs a little better.

We had several appointments planned to look at several older models of the same vehicle, but just could not find anything that fit exactly what we were needing. So after about 5 hours of shopping, we decided to head to dinner before going home. And of course that is when I saw this one sitting in a lot and we drove in just to take a peek at it! Needless to say it was just what we wanted, and didn't require too much thought at that point:) We left and ate dinner, came back, traded the Honda in, and brought this bad boy home. It was an interesting evening too, since there were tornadoes all around, the sky was green, sirens were going off for over an hour, and rain was coming down sideways the wind was blowing so hard. That made for some fun times cleaning out our old car and getting car seats transferred, etc! Luckily the storm passed while we were finishing up at the dealership, and we had a quiet and peaceful ride home while the boys slept.

I love this thing! It is about the biggest thing on the road, which is what we were looking for. There is plenty of room for the boys, our stuff, and everything we need for the lake or trips. I didn't realize how squished we actually were in the car until we got everything in this and had tons more room to spare:) I took the boys for a little drive around town this morning to try out the DVD system, which they loved. They better not get too used to it....I pretty much reserve that thing for road trips only:) I love the dark interior too. We had looked pretty seriously at another vehicle very similar, but it had very light gray interior, and the carpet showed every juice and crayon stain! Thankfully the dark hides a lot more stuff:)

The boys are very comfortable in their captain's chairs in the back, and we can fit 3 more people in the third row. I am still getting used to the idea of not having my car anymore. It all happened so fast! I miss driving the 6 speed, but it sure is nice not to have to shift all the time anymore. Now I am just hoping gas prices stay down!

New 5k PR

2011-05-23T11:49:00.000-07:00

I have had a lot of fun racing recently:) I ran my fastest ever 5k this Saturday morning and finished with a time of 24:25 officially. I am tempted to say that my real time was 24:22, since that is what my watch read when I crossed the finish line. The timing company had major trouble at the race and NONE of the timing chips registered our times, so they had to go back and figure them all out by looking at pictures, etc. It was a nightmare to say the least! My average pace for the 3.1 miles was 7:53. Silas thinks I can get down to 7:30 minute miles pretty easily:) I am just happy to be seeing 7 minute miles! I ran a 7:31 first mile which is also my fastest mile to date. I am getting ready to start hitting the track some for some speed work, so I may get to a 23 minute 5k soon, or at least that is my goal for this year. I managed to get 1st place in my age group too, which is just icing on the cake:)

Sunday morning I was up at 5:15 am to meet my relay team for a nice 6.6 mile run. We were practicing my leg of the relay race coming up this weekend. It was tough!! I think it was a lot harder since my legs were tired from racing the previous day. There are also some killer hills on my leg, which don't help either. I am a bit sore today, which is unusual! I am really excited about the marathon relay and ready to run on Saturday. The temps have warmed up a bit, along with the humidity, which I am not used to yet. So far it is looking pretty nice for the weekend, and I hope it holds!

I don't think I have any more races until early July after this one, which is weird! I have it on my agenda to join the Y this week, so I can start swimming. At least I will have a bit more time to do other things if I am not racing on the weekends. I will use June to focus on getting some more good long rides in on the bike and build up my swimming base. I am riding at least twice a week at this point, but only about 30-45 minutes at a time. It is great cross training, but I am really itching to get out on the road for a good 30 or 40 miles. I love being outside so much!

Summer is just around the corner! Which also means it is about to officially be boating season!! I am so excited and can't wait to get out on the lake. The boys are really excited and keep asking about going. They put on their life jackets and play around in them, which is super cute. We pulled the boat out a few weekends ago and cleaned it up a bit. It was nasty dirty from the winter. I sure miss having it in the garage! It needs an oil change and then should be ready to go. I am really hoping for no blown out tires this year:) We could use a little less drama. I am excited to get some open water swims done too, since training in a pool just doesn't cut it when your race swims are in lakes. I keep running into women in town who did the same tri I am going to do in July. Everyone has raved about how much fun it is, and it is making me so excited:) Well, I am off to get ready for work. I do manage to keep my work hours up around my training, though it isn't nearly as much fun to do or talk about!!

Art Show

2011-05-20T12:48:00.000-07:00

The boys had their end of the year art show a few weeks ago at Mother's Day Out. I love going. All their teachers dress up and the kids have a ball running around, seeing their friends, and showing off their projects from all year.

Jace was very proud of his art, and loved posing by each picture.

Tyson, on the other hand, acted weird and silly and would barely stand still for any pictures!

They both had fun though, which is all that mattered. Their last day of school was Thursday this week, and I seriously almost cried when I picked them up. The year has gone by so fast. I loved their teachers dearly, and am so sad that some very special ladies are not returning next year. Luckily, lots of the same kids will be back in the fall, which will be nice. Tyson is registered to start Pre-K in the fall, and we went to his Pre-K preview this week too. He will start a real curriculum and they have lots of fun things planned. I can't believe how fast it all happens! Lots of changes with these guys are happening at home too. We have a busy summer planned and I am ready to jump in!

Oh Yes I Did!!!

2011-05-16T12:32:00.000-07:00

These pictures have totally nothing to do with anything I am going to say!! I was a very busy bee this weekend!! I ran my third 5k of the season on Saturday morning and managed to place higher than I ever have before:) My overall time was slower than usual, because it was a trail run (which I had no idea about until I was on the starting line!), but I managed to come in 5th place overall female! I have been trying to place in the top 3 of my age group at the races, but placing in the "overall" category wasn't something I thought I would do at this point! It was fun to say the least.

I was on such a runner's high after the race that I went ahead and registered for the sprint triathlon I was planning to do in July. Once I register I feel much more committed to my training, so that was a good feeling as well. I am getting seriously excited about that race to say the least:)

And then it happened. I decided to "just take a look" at some of the marathons coming up for the fall/winter around our area. A lot of my running friends are running the Chicago marathon in October, but the race is already full, so that wasn't really an option. Then I remembered how I was planning to run the St. Jude half marathon last December, but it was full when I went to sign up too. I took a peek at the site, saw that registration was already open, read a description of the course, looked at Silas for affirmation that I was CRAZy, and signed myself up right then!!

So there you have it. I am officially signed up to run the St. Jude Marathon in Memphis the first weekend in December this year:) I was already planning to run a few half marathons this fall, which I am hoping will be perfect for my training schedule. I really want to put more into this training round than I did for my first, and have some big goals for my second marathon. So my summer will be committed to swim, bike, run. I am working on my speed right now with the short races. Then I will hit the tri in July. Then I will get back into my long distance frame of mind with my sight set on a new personal record in the half marathon in October (2 different races), and finish the year out with the full marathon on December 3rd. Then I plan to catch up on my eating and sleeping all winter!!! I am really hoping that training through the late summer and fall is much more pleasant than the winter running I had to do for Little Rock. Any cold weather running I do this winter I want to do just for fun:) I AM PUMPED!!! (and fully aware that I am crazy)

Little Man

2011-05-16T12:10:00.000-07:00

My baby is so big too!! He loves that blankey and paci, but we are working on getting the paci to go away:)

And he talks so much it's crazy!! This kid has a huge vocabulary. Too bad his typical first response to any question is "No!" We usually ask him if he did something, so he has learned to instantly defend himself:)

His hair is getting long, especially in the back. I still can't bring myself to cut it yet.

Jace will be 21 months old next week! We moved Tyson into a twin bed when he was 20 months old. I am thinking Jace may be making a move of his own in the near future. We have started talking about his "big boy bed," and I am so ready to re-arrange their rooms and get everyone settled so I can organize their stuff better:) I still can't believe I am about to have a 2 and a 4 year old!!

Growing Boy

2011-05-15T19:01:00.000-07:00

My oldest little guy is growing so fast!!

I can't believe how much he knows.

Or what a great big brother he is.

Man I love these boys:)

My Boys

2011-05-07T10:45:00.000-07:00

I am so happy to be a Mom to these two crazy little guys:)

Like someone said this week, being a mom is one of the easiest and hardest things I have ever done in my life!

Children are definitely a gift from God, and I am so blessed to be given the gift of raising these two little ones:)

Thanks boys for making me a mom, and for loving me in all the ways you do. You are my greatest treasures:)

Road Rash and Battle of the Bulge

2011-04-27T11:21:00.000-07:00

I finally broke down and bought some bike shoes so I can clip in to my bike and not worry about my feet slipping off the pedals like they do with my tennis shoes. I got them on Thursday afternoon and tried clipping in and out with them one time on Friday after Silas changed my pedals out. I practiced on the trainer in the house, and it seemed ok. Then I was invited to go on a 20 mile ride on Saturday after lunch, which became my debut of trying the shoes/pedals out on the road. Yikes!! I rode with a group of 7, and I only knew 2 of the people there. The shoes did awesome and it all went great until we decided to stop for ice cream.....yes, I surround myself with fellow athletes who like me, exercise so we can eat whatever we want!! We made it to the parking lot and I forgot my feet were stuck to my bike when I went to stop, and I just tipped over right there in the parking lot. It was pretty funny, and it didn't hurt too bad. I am glad I fell, so now I know what it feels like, and will hopefully remember to clip out a little sooner next time. Just a little road rash from the fall, no big deal.

Here is my cool new tri outfit for my race in July. Cute huh!? The only problem with it is that it is all spandex, and very tight! Thus the battle of the bulge. You definitely can't hide anything in this little number, so the battle is on to have as little bulge as possible come race time:) I am not thinking my nightly snack of Oreos and milk will be able to last much longer on this plan. I am pretty mortified wearing this, but Silas and my friends all assure me I won't stand out since everyone else will be wearing spandex suits as well. I am really hoping my appetite goes down a bit as it warms up, so maybe I won't want to eat so much all the time!

Just a close up shot of my bike shoes. Silas picked them out for me. I would usually think white shoes are pretty dorky, but they look pretty cool with my bike:) I feel pretty fierce in them too:)

Not that they ever look towards the camera, but I couldn't resist adding little Jace to the mix:) Anyway, everything is going well and I feel good about my training and progress so far. I am proud, and very surprised, with my speed so far, and feel like I already have a great endurance base built up. So for now I am working on more speed, a little bit of technique, and arming myself with as much information as I can about how to train smart and effectively for a multi-sport event. Next step is to join a gym and begin my swim training, which should hopefully happen in the next few weeks. I may throw in a little weight training as well. My next 5k races are in mid-May, and then I plan to run on a marathon relay team May 28th here in town. I am having a great time and love all the competition of racing:) I was definitely made for this!

Falcon 5k Recap

2011-04-25T12:49:00.000-07:00

I keep surprising myself this year it seems! All week since my last 5k I focused on one race goal, to beat my time of 26:01. I ran twice last week, both runs were 5 miles at a pretty slow pace. But I brought it when it came time to race! I ran my fastest mile yet on the first mile, at 7:33. I held on petty well for the second mile and kept it under 8 minutes, but I get so tired by mile 3. I ran that one around 8:30. I finished in 25:06 with a new personal record:) It was also good enough for first place in my age group, so I got a trophy too:)

The course was pretty tough with lots of hills, which I know made me extra tired at the end. I guess it is time to focus on holding on to my speed when I am tired, which is hard to do! I think I was the 6th female finisher overall. I need to get some new race goals since I keep blowing through them.

The boys had fun playing with daddy while I ran. At least they get lots of energy out at the races too!

Jace got pretty tired during the award ceremony, but other than that everyone did great. I have a few weeks off from racing. Next 5k is on May 14th here in town. Hopefully by then I will have figured out how to keep all 3 miles under 8 minutes! I also managed to squeeze in a 20 mile bike ride Saturday afternoon after the race! I will save that adventure for another post though:)

More Easter

2011-04-24T11:32:00.000-07:00

Tyson was so excited to check out what was in his Easter basket.

Our sweet little old neighbors love our boys, and got these cool motorcycles for them this year. They love them and won't put them down!

Jace was still a bit groggy while checking out his basket, but got very excited when he saw the candy! He shook his egg full of jelly beans furiously and of course the lid flew off and they went everywhere:)

Here is Jace saying, "Where did they go?" This is one of his favorite phrases right now. The boys have had a great Easter so far. We had a wonderful church service celebrating our risen Savior this morning, and will hunt eggs in the backyard and eat our ham dinner later this afternoon. What a great weekend with fun and family:)

Happy Easter!

2011-04-24T11:19:00.000-07:00

Tried to catch a few pictures before church this morning!

Maybe one day we will get the whole family in one picture too:)

My favorite guys:)

This was the best one I managed of just the boys! They would not put their new toy motorcycles down for anything though!

HMG 5k Race Recap

2011-04-17T12:07:00.000-07:00

I may be pushing my luck with this post since I finally got some pictures up, but here goes! I ran my first 5k of the year yesterday morning and it went great:) I had decided not to run the 1/2 marathon, and on race morning I was super glad I made that decision. It was cold and WINDY! Not great for running at all. I was one of the few people in shorts and short sleeves:) Anyway, the race went out fast as usual but it felt slow due to fighting the crowds and the wind, which never seemed to be at your back. I knew I was good when I hit mile 1 in a record pace of 7:50! Now to hang on. I managed to hang on for mile 2 but mile 3 had hills, lots of wind, and the finish line was all uphill with the wind in your face. I felt like I was barely moving. I tried to get in under 26 minutes but official time was 26:01. Average pace of 8:24 I believe.

Even though I know I can run faster than that, I was very pleased overall. I even walked away with 2nd place in my age group and a trophy! It was my first time to place in the top 3, and I was so excited:) I ended up being the 11th female finisher overall, and finished 54th overall (men and women) out of 286. I can't believe I almost made it to the top 10 women finishers! I guess that will be my next goal. I run this coming weekend again, and hope to set a new PR.

This is me and the guy that works at the shop next door to Silas. He has run several of the same races I have:)

Showing off my 2nd place award...it's a nice etched glass mug. I love starting off my short distance season with a Personal Record for the 5k and have high hopes of setting some new ones in the next few months! Next race goal....break 25:30.

Family

2011-04-17T11:37:00.000-07:00

April Showers

2011-04-11T11:18:00.000-07:00

I still can't get my pictures to post at the moment, but now Silas is trying to help me figure it out, so hopefully I will be back in business soon:) Spring is in full swing in Arkansas, complete with windy days and lots of rain. The wind was blowing 26 MPH during my run on Saturday with gusts up to 35 MPH! It was crazy and not so much fun. What was fun was seeing my time. I have gotten into the shorter distance frame of mind with my triathlon coming up this summer, so I decided to go out on Saturday morning and just see what I could run a 5k in. (Oh yeah, I have decided not to run the 1/2 marathon this coming weekend. I just wasn't feeling very motivated at all, so I think I am going to run the 5k if I can get the online registration to work! ) Anyway, last year my fastest 5k time in a race was 27:20. Now I am a firm believer that anything you can run in practice, you will beat in a real race, since you have some little helpers called adrenaline and competition! That being said, my goal for a 5k this year was to run a sub 27 minute race. Well, I may have to re-evaluate my racing goals, since I went out and KILLED it on Saturday. I ran my 3.1 miles in 25:39! My pace averaged 8:15 miles. I was pleased as pie to say the least. Especially when I looked at my watch when I hit mile 1 and it said 8:00! I haven't run a mile in under 8 minutes since I was 18 years old and in the best shape of my life. I am now thinking my new race goal will be to run a sub 25 minute 5k. I am definitely interested to see what time I can post in a real race, especially for the first race of the season this year:)

Spring Training

2011-04-08T11:29:00.000-07:00

We are loving this time of year and doing lots of things outside these days. The boys are addicted to dirt, tractors, and shovels, so we spend a fair amount of time digging in the backyard:) We continue to make lots of progress back there, which is great.

I am starting to feel the lull as we hit the downhill slide towards summer. Work has slowed a tad, which has given me more time to spend at home. It always goes up and down, busy then slow, so I am trying to enjoy the down times when I am in them! The boys and I continue to enjoy library story time once a week and have had fun checking out all kinds of books, DVD's and books on CD. The library is a fabulous free resource!! So glad I finally starting taking advantage of it this year:) We have even made a few new friends along the way with other regulars there.

I am still running and loving this warmer, yet still cool weather. Too bad we can't have spring temps all year long:) I am gearing up to start running one morning a week, once it gets light enough for me to go and get back before Silas leaves for work. I have been having late nights and need to get myself up and moving in the mornings instead! I am planning to run a half marathon next weekend in town, but still need to register. I might want to get on that! Other than that, I have really enjoyed not having the stress of any official training or schedules. I guess I have also officially started my triathlon training. I have been riding my bike several times a week and am really feeling comfortable on it. Next step is to purchase some new riding clothes and clip-in shoes. Still taking this bike thing one thing at a time:) I think the riding has really helped my running too. I seem to feel stronger now, and my pace has picked up since I added the bike in several weeks ago. It's fun to see your watch tell you numbers you never thought you would see:) I have even come in from running a few times and hopped straight onto my bike for a bit, to practice the back-to-back workouts for the tri. It has been fun. I can't wait to actually get my bike back outside though and take it on the road for a while. Maybe this weekend will cooperate for that. We also purchased a new grill since ours was on its last leg. Silas is loving it, and we have already been enjoying some grilled filet and hot dogs. Hopefully I can get some pictures of it up soon.

Busy Bees

2011-03-28T11:02:00.001-07:00

I don't know what is going on with my computer, but I cannot get my pictures to post right now. So sorry in advance for a pictureless post! Anyway, life is chugging along full steam ahead as usual. I love it:) I have picked up quite a few more hours at work, which has given me a very full plate right now. I work at the church doing counseling on Mon, Tue and Thur afternoons. I am seeing clients for my other couseling agency on Wed afternoons and Thur mornings (sometimes just every other week though). I have also added a new job to my crazy life....office manager! A very handsome young man in town was needing some office help for 4-6 hours a week and it just so happened to fit right into my schedule while the boys are in Mother's Day Out, so I applied! For those who don't know, yes, I am talking about Silas! I have to say, this is my favorite job at the moment:) I love that I get to spend time with my husband away from the house and kids. I am doing simple filing, organizing, cleaning, as well as learning how to operate Quick Books, do invoicing and sales orders, and payroll. It is such a welcome change from the emotionally draining work of counseling, which is nice:) I also feel great about helping Silas keep his office under control and reduce the amount of stress on him, so it's a win win all around for us. If you ever see me on Thursdays and I look a little wild eyed, it is because I actually work at all three of those jobs that day! Thank goodness I am organized:) I have spent some time doing a little reflecting since running the marathon. Initially I thought running one would be something to check off my bucket list....one and done kind of thing. Not so much! While it was definitely one of the hardest things I have ever done, I like a good challenge, and will most likely run one again. What I have realized is that now that I have one under my belt, I am not intimidated by wondering "if" I can do it, which takes a lot of the stress off. Secondly, I trained so minimally for that thing, I now realize it is a miracle I finished and did as well as I did! With that being said, I know I can do better and plan to in the future. Just not sure when that will be:) We are slowly working to spruce things up around the house and yard which is also keeping us busy. I am terrible with patience and want to make huge changes all at once and be done, but of course yard work is never that easy:) We are enjoying working outside as a family though, and seeing things progress is exciting. I am still working on organizing the house and doing some spring cleaning. Silas and I purged a huge amount from our closet recently and it feels so good to de-clutter! We continue to try to simplify our life as much as we can, and I am enjoying the process of letting go of things we don't use or need. Life has a nice pace to it right now:)

Growing Up

2011-03-27T19:18:00.000-07:00

The kids are growing at warp speed, as usual. Tyson has taken a serious interest in reading books, spelling, and writing. He continues to expand the number of words he can spell verbally. He is starting to recognize words the more we read his books too. It is pretty exciting to watch him learn! I haven't worked with him much on paper, as my kids tend to be more verbal or gross motor oriented than fine motor:) We started working on writing his name one day at nap, and he did an excellent job! The top picture is the first time he has written his whole name. I did help him with the "s" but other wise he did it all on his own.

Here he is so proud of his work! He still can't hold the crayon correctly and makes his letters in very interesting ways, but at least they are recognizable for the most part:) I am so proud of the little guy for his hard work, and mostly for his enthusiasm to learn and practice new things. Not bad for a 3 and a half year old:)

Spring Has Sprung!

2011-03-21T12:10:00.000-07:00

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this time of year:) Sunshine makes me happy:) We are having plenty of it lately too, which is awesome. We are sitting in the mid 60's-70's most days and it is divine weather for sure. Silas and I are not big do-it-yourselfer's inside the house, but we love us some good yard work and outdoor projects. When we bought this house a little over a year ago we inherited over 13 years of neglect in the overgrown and wild yard. Fun! Last spring I would literally start crying when I even walked into the backyard because it was such a mess and out of control I would get overwhelmed and not even know where to start. Silas has prodded me along this past year and we have slowly been working on small sections over time to start trying to even find the ground!

I am happy to say the hard work is finally paying off. We found the ground recently and I like it! We have tons of trees out back, so raking is a must. We have raked leaves all year and are finally able to see the layout of the yard and begin to redefine some of the space out there, and actually make it useable again. If you know Silas at all, the first thing we do is build a fire pit. We love fire and must have a nice place for it:) There was actually a small dogwood that used to be right where the firepit now is, but it never bloomed and was pretty tiny, so we took it out last fall. Of course this is just the beginning of getting the area like we want it, but it is such a HUGE improvement from what was there and we are so excited. We have dumped all the leaves we rake in a gigantic pile in the back of the yard. Silas is going to built a compost bin for me and we can keep everything a bit more contained back there once that gets finished. Of course we continue to battle the bamboo forrest, but that is just an on-going thing, so its no big deal. Now that we have the actual yard cleared and raked, we are starting to define the areas and will get new edges, rock, railroad ties, etc to replace all the rotten ones we had to dig up.

We are also tackling the actual landscaping on the sides and front of the house too. It's awful to say the least! The existing plants are ones that do not thrive in the areas they are planted, and haven't been trimmed for a decade it seems. Poor things! We are working to pull everything out and start from scratch, as Silas thinks most are not able to be saved. The yard is a huge project and one we will work on for years I am sure. Luckily we love this kind of work, and it is something the whole family enjoys doing since we can be outside. The boys love to dig in the dirt and drive their trucks and tractors around, or swing, while we do the grunt work. I am very excited at the transformation so far, and I know we have only just begun:) I may even have grass in my backyard this year or next!! The front yard is greening up and I am ready to pull the mower out soon. Spring is definitely here!

Return to Running

2011-03-17T20:23:00.000-07:00

I took 10 full days off from running after the marathon, which my body desperately needed! I was only sore for about 3 or 4 days, but my ankles ached for over a week. The joys of having weak ankles and pounding the pavement for almost 5 hours straight:) Anyway, last night I headed out in almost 60 degree weather for a nice easy 3 miles. The weather was perfect, and it felt good to get back into the groove. I felt a little stiff at first and was just good and loosened up by the time I was finished, go figure. I even did something very strange for me...I didn't even wear my watch! I just wanted to run the miles, stretch my legs, and ease back into things. It felt great. I am very glad I let my body rest, but now I am itching to get back at it...especially since the weather has turned all gorgeous and spring here! I was able to take my bike to the park last weekend and get a 9 mile ride in with my friend. It was awesome, and easy on my body since there is no impact. I am excited to start serious bike training now that the weather is warmer. I am also toying with the idea of running a half marathon next month. Guess I need to get a week or so of running under my belt and see how the old legs are feeling. I only want to run it if I think I can beat my previous half time!!