Catching Up to Do...

Geez, I have been a horrible blogger lately.  I am given the same 1,440 minutes per day as everyone else... but for some reason I have had a hard time fitting everything in.  Blogging seems to be one of the first things to go... then housework, and returning phone calls, and working out... Ugh.  I am very thankful that Travis is in town this week - it makes my world a much happier place  :)

We had a great Easter this year -- had Chuck, Kim, Lola and Olive over for brunch after church.  We also had an Easter egg hunt in the front yard.  This picture was taken after the hunt -- I think it really highlights the three kids' personalities. Not sure why Noah is making that pose.... but I think it is hysterical!!    (Noah, Evelyn & their cousin Lola)

 Noah turned 4 on April 9th.  He got some cool toys for his birthday - some of his favorites are his dinosaur 3-d puzzles and his super-soaker squirt guns (they are battery-powered, very cool for the big kids to play with, too!!)  Here is my little man getting ready to eat cake:

 Evelyn was excited to help me plant some flowers this year.  I helped my mom plant tulips and some other flowers when I was growing up, and it is a fond memory of mine.  I was glad to be able to share this experience with Evelyn, too.  We don't have a huge area for planting -- which was perfect, because she didn't get bored of the activity/work!! 

 This past weekend we went on a family hike to Twin Falls.  We went with the Mertel family, too.  Sarah is one of my favorite running partners - and it was our first time getting the families together.  Her kids are a little younger, but Evelyn and Noah enjoyed having new friends to play with. 

 The hike was a fun, free activity.  I really liked how the kids could run, scream, throw things, play with sticks, etc -- and I didn't mind at all  :)  This was a crowd favorite - a small area off the trail where the kids could throw rocks in the water.  They probably could have played there for hours. 

I need to get the Eugene half-marathon post up soon...  hopefully tomorrow.  Too tired tonight ;)

Cruisin'

Wow -- time sure does fly. Back in mid-February we went on a 7 day Caribbean cruise. My parents went with us, too. We left from Miami and went to two stops in Mexico, a day in Grand Cayman, and a day in Roatan (Honduras). It was SO much fun!!

The cruise had a free kids club for kids from 10AM-10PM --- it was great for them, and for us :) We would all play by the pool for an hour or so, and then they would go to the kids club for a little bit... the adults could get some time to read, drink, etc :) We didn't use it the days we went ashore though... the kids got off the boat with us when we got off.

Evelyn at a bar in Cozumel:Family photo before dinner one night:Photo with my mom one of the formal nghts:Play time at the pool:

The cruise had a kids club for kids from 10AM-10PM --- it was great for them, and for us :) We would all play by the pool for an hour or so, and then they would go to the kids club for an hour or so... we didn't use it the days we were ashore though... the kids got off the boat with us when we got off.

I have to admit though -- it was really hard coming back from vacation to this horrible weather we are having in Seattle. I can't even look at the forecast anymore --- it is seriously depressing. I am ready for spring, and flowers, and playing at the park, and sunshine!!

Evelyn asked me the other morning on the drive to school (it was pouring rain outside) -- "mommy, what month does it stop raining?" Ugh... I didn't know what to tell her other than "hopefully April!!"

All for now... I hope to get another post out soon... then I will be close to all caught up :)

Don't Think - Just Run

I have two weekend runs to cover here... so I will start with two weekends ago :)
Travis was in Sacramento for the weekend, and I had 10 miles to do. So... I dropped the kids off with a babysitter at 7:30AM and met Megan and Sarah for a run. ($40 well spent though -- 10 miles on a treadmill would not have been fun!!)
It started out a little hairy... still some snow, ice, and slush on the ground -- it was going to be a treacherous 10 miles!! Thankfully the worst of the route was at the very beginning... and the sidewalks cleared up after the first mile.
Megan split off at 8 miles - and Sarah and I finished up another 2 to get to our goal. I had a tight calf most of the run... but just took it slow and easy... and I am just happy to get the mileage in. Here are the three of us at the 8 mile mark :) Last weekend Sarah needed to run on Sunday, so I met up with my good friend Melissa on Saturday morning. She is starting to train for a June marathon. Our husbands are buddies - our kids are buddies - but I have to admit, it was nice with just us girls for a little sweat-session together. We definitely need to spend that quality time together more often!! I am going to be totally honest -- I am feeling a little overwhelmed lately with the marathon training (and sometimes just life in general!) My legs/calf isn't feeling super strong, and I am struggling with fitting in the training runs during the week. If I look ahead at the mileage to come in the schedule, I freak out!! I am telling myself to take it day by day, and week by week... and I am stretching, using my foam roller, and praying a lot! :) Next Saturday... 12 miles.

Don't Think - Just Run!

Results From Lame-o Excuses -- and Snow Days

Last Saturday we had 9 miles on the schedule. I was supposed to do 3 days of running earlier in the week with mileage of 3, 4, and 3 miles. I had a tough week - Travis was traveling - work was stressful - (insert another lame-0 excuse here) - and my mileage didn't happen. I was a complete slacker! No running took place between Tuesday and Saturday.
When I woke up Saturday morning, it was 36 degrees and freezing rain. I texted Sarah right before I walked out the door -- just to make sure she was still going to meet me at 7AM. She was :) I am SO glad that I have such a dependable running partner!!
When I got out of the Jeep, it was FREEZING... we decided to start out running 2 miles, and if we were still cold and miserable we would turn around, finish at 4 miles, and then go home to our treadmills to finish the last 5. We ended up going out 3.5 miles, but we decided to take a longer route back. We both knew that if we got back to the car at 7 or 8 miles, it would be hard to find the motivation to jump on the treadmill to complete the last 1 or 2. We needed to find a way to finish at our goal of 9. We did :)
It was a TOUGH running day for me -- what did I expect?? I missed pretty much all the training during the week... Sarah was great though. She stopped with me a couple times to stretch out my tight calves, she was our navigator/tour guide deciding where we should go, and she was a good cheerleader towards the end when I was losing steam...
Here we are - happy to be done!! It was Sarah's longest run ever! She will have a new distance record after this Saturday, too -- 10 miles on the schedule :)
In other news, the kids have been off school due to snowstorms all week. When it snows in Seatte, the city shuts down. I am not complaining though --- we have been having a good time outside enjoying this rare weather occurrence. I am not getting as much work done at home as I would in the office --but oh well :)

Another Running Date

My Saturday morning started out at 7AM for a running date with Sarah. We "date" and have more one-on-one time than I date my own husband!! But I wouldn't give up our time together for the world. Even though the runs are hard at the time -- it is my favorite time of the week!! This week the training plan cut back a little to only 5 miles -- next week it is up to 9. Here we are post run:I was kicking myself -- when we met, it was still dark out. I wanted to try out my new headlamp - but I forgot it at home, DARN! It wasn't until the sun came up a bit that we realized we were pretty much twins (black tights, purplish long sleeve shirts, but with different color hats). At the end of our run, we passed a guy that gave us a huge smile --- we joked about whether he was overly nice, or kinda making fun of our matching outfits. Probably a little bit of both!! :)
Later that night, Travis and I took the kids to their first hockey game. They had a good time -- they liked watching the game, cheering with the crowd, keeping an eye out for the mascot (a thunderbird), eating the popcorn and licorice treats, and also getting to go to bed LATE!!

New Year's Eve

New Year's Eve started out bright and early with Sarah. It was probably our coldest run together of the winter (31 degrees - but dry - yay!) We had 7 miles on the agenda for the day. I thought it would be great to do a run from Bellevue over the bridge onto Mercer Island (out 3.5) and then back. I thought it would be moderately hilly. Yeah -- holy hills! We passed the time by catching up on stories from Christmas, plans for New Year's Eve, goals for 2012, etc -- but we were both struggling a bit at times. Other gals might bond over drinks and dinner -- we bond by sweating it out and running up and down hills together :) Here is a picture of us 7 miles and about 1 hour 10 minutes later (we had already removed our cold weather hats/headbands):In other big running news --- I bit the bullet and registered for EUGENE -- the full 26.2 miles!!! Crazy to even think about... but I am just starting the training program and taking it one mile at a time :) Sarah registered for a half-marathon in San Luis Obispo, it is the weekend before my race. She is doing the marathon training, and if all goes well, she will upgrade to run the marathon.
I know I have said it before, but I am really lucky to have met Sarah (and some other running friends recently). Our run on New Year's Eve was seriously therapeutic for me -- we chat things out during our miles together -- and everything seems so much clearer when we are done. We are just getting started -- we will have PLENTY of long talks (long runs) coming up, I am sure! Here are the kiddos later in the morning. We took them to a park to burn off some energy. They are SO much fun at the parks now -- I love that I don't really have to worry about these two toughies much anymore. Such a big change from a year or so ago... I used to dread when they would get close to the "big kid" area. The kids had a birthday party to go to later that night -- and then Travis and I enjoyed some cosmopolitans together (I might have forced those on him -- but he liked them!), played board games, and stayed up to watch Dick Clark and the ball drop together. It was much-needed bonding time after a crazy December filled with him traveling a lot and me trying to keep everything together and prepare for Xmas at the same time.
Happy New Year!!!

I'm 5 -- it's kind of a big deal :)

Sweet Evelyn turned 5 on the 26th. I never want her to feel like her birthday isn't a big deal due to all of the craziness of Christmas -- so she had a big busy day of fun! In the morning, we (me, Evelyn, Sally & Kim) went to a nail salon that had a special chair just for little princesses. As you can see, it was a big hit. Notice the dvd player, too --- Not only was she getting a manicure and pedicure, but she was able to watch a princess movie while she was getting it done :)
After getting our nails done, we headed to Red Robin for lunch. We headed home for a couple hours to catch a break before the big party that evening. We let Evelyn choose her party this year, and she wanted to go to Pump It Up. The kids played on the large inflatables for an hour before enjoying pizza, snacks, and cake. Here is Noah catching a quick break:Here are the kiddos (not sure why Noah seems to be acting like a monkey...):

It is hard to believe that it has already been five years since the day after Christmas when I thought I was just going in for a pre-natal exam/ultrasound, and ended up having a 4lb 13oz sweet baby girl. Evelyn Marie, you will always be my little peanut - and I love you more than you will ever know -- well, at least until you have a baby of your own... :)