five years

the end of may aaron & i celebrated our 5th anniversary. (yes, this time of year is celebration time for our family with sadie's b-day, our anniversary & aaron's b-day all within weeks of each other). we were able to get away, just the two of us, overnight for the first time since our 1st anniversary. crazy, but true. it was a simple little getaway. we didn't even go too far from home. but, it was absolutely fabulous...dare i say perfect.

our first stop...the newport beach temple. gorgeous. we felt like newlyweds.

next it was off to the quaint bed & breakfast. it was literally on the boardwalk. we had no idea it was that close to the sand. ah....heaven. we got another little surprise when we entered our room. the bathroom window had a view of the ocean. beautiful.

it was a gorgeous day outside. so, we headed down to the lobby to check-out the beach cruisers & go explore along the boardwalk/baloba peninsula. i instantly fell in love with "my bike". check out how adorable it is. i seriously want one for christmas.

we ended up riding around for 4 hours...yes FOUR hours of bliss. aaron loved that i had a smile on my face the whole time.

here is the only picture we took of the two of us the whole weekend. (the truth is we forgot the camera at home. so, the phone camera had to do. good things it's pretty good).

the waves were huge that day....quite possibly the biggest waves i've ever seen in person.

we joined a large crowd to watch some crazy body surfers tackle the waves at "the wedge".

we drooled over the fabulous beach cottages, enjoyed some tasty nachos & "guac" on the pier, and made it back to the hotel just in time to watch the sunset from the upstairs lobby.

we freshened up and headed to an amazing italian dinner at villa nova at 9pm. (can't remember the last time we've eaten dinner that late). we took our time...not to be rushed by tired girls or schedules to keep. we went all out with the food...ordering an appetizer, salad, and two entrees. a big splurge for us. :) we headed back to the hotel and grabbed some gelato on the boardwalk. 

day two started off with a 7 mile run around town. (aaron was thrilled to have a break from pushing the double jogger carrying 50lbs. worth of girls!).  once we were all cleaned up we hoped on the ferry to balboa island.

once on the island we did what we do best on vacation....explore! for hours we walked around & talked. once again, what a nice change of pace to not be on any sort of schedule. we could take our time moving as fast or slow as we pleased.

lunch was had at one of our favorite places to grab a bit to each...cafe rio. then we took our time driving home along highway 101....stopping to explore neighborhoods and beach cities along the way. corona del mar was quite spectacular. check out the view of the backside of "the wedge".

we arrived home to two happy girls. THANK YOU mom & dad!! we were refreshed, relaxed, and ready to tackle the next adventure ahead. getting away just the two of us was much needed & worked wonders for really reconnecting. i highly recommend it.  we hope to do it again...and this time before another four years pass! ;)

My play by play

I started to write this on my personal blog but decided it fit better here...
here's my recap of the big day-

After going to bed at 9:30pm the night before in a nice comfy hotel bed sans kiddos- sleeping with funky dreams (including wearing the wrong running shoes, going to the wrong starting line, etc, etc) I was awoken by Kristen knocking on my door. Luckily I had set all my clothes/gear out the night before and took a couple minutes to brush teeth, get dressed and meet her in the hallway. That could explain why I looked like this at the starting line:

We made a pit stop at the porta potties (along with at least 500 other nervous runners) and then ran over to the rest of you crazy girls. The starting bell went off and Jess said "Let's go" and we were off. In all the craziness Kristen left her Ipod in her jacket so she went back to get it. So we started without her (what the??)......not a great way to start the race. But oh well.
It became glaringly obvious that I was not to stay up to speed with you Jess and the rest of the girls. I ran with Brooke for a bit but then she sped up and I decided to stay at the speed I was comfortable with.

Around what I thought was mile 6, it occurred to me that the mile markers were further apart than what I thought they should be. Shortly thereafter I ran past the MILE 4 marker!!! YIKES! I seriously thought that somebody was going to announce at the end that it was a big mistake and we had actually completed a full marathon instead of a half.
My favorite sign ever!

I'm not sure if it was because I had never run the course before or what but the first half of the course proved to be tough. There was a part where it winded all the way down a canyon trail type thing and then all the way back up (mile 7). I had my GU and didn't have the urge to puke it up- thank heavens.
Everything was ok until about mile 10 when my knee really started to bother me. I have never had knee problems so I had no idea how to deal with it. I kept trying to "run it off" but with no luck. Two ladies asked me if I was ok and I told them I hurt my knee. They told me to walk because "there's always another race," to which I cheerfully replied, "I NEVER WANT TO DO THIS AGAIN!" I ended up run/walking the last 3.1 miles and severely screwing with my time (and my knee). But my original goal was ONLY to cross the finish line.
As I made my way towards that blessed line, I heard an older chap say, "I just can't believe anyone goes over 2 hours to do a 1/2!" I would've punched him in the jaw but his age saved him. HOW RUDE.
What a beauty- you know you're all jealous!

It was as amazing crossing the line as I had dreamed it would be- with a cheering section and all. I cried into Josh's shoulder that I had hurt my knee really badly and that I was embarrassed. He told me how proud he was as any good, supportive husband should do (thanks Joshie) and I was relieved it was over. I could barely walk. My knee was now throbbing and I had to sit down.
We took some quick pics of the group (minus my running partner Kristen) and then hung out for a bit before I had to say my final goodbye to Jess, Clint & Owey (they move on Thurs to BYU-I).

My only regret is that I gave off the impression to Jess that I was upset that I had done the race. And that there were a few moments of complaining along the 2:38 hours (final time).

I am proud to say that I was able to take it all in and feel lucky to be running, have good weather and know that I was accomplishing a big goal that I never even dreamt possible. Thanks Lup for pushing me outside of my comfort zone. I love you SO much!!!

Move out of your comfort zone. You can only grow if you are willing to feel awkward and uncomfortable when you try something new.
Brian Tracy

And while I'm on the I love you's-
can't help but say how much I love these guys!!!!!

And no pic of the rest of the cheerleaders (Mom, Dad, Yvonne)-
thanks for always believing in me!!

Thanks to all of you for your support over the past few months- it was an incredible journey!!!
GOOD JOB EVERYONE!!!

P.s. I know it sounds like I just won an Emmy or something but for me, running 13.1 miles straight was just about as likely as me winning an Emmy.

Good Luck!

Girls, I just wanted to say "Good Luck" in the race. I am so proud of all of you and so bummed I'm not there. Have a wonderful race and maybe I can join you next time (I hope there's a next time!). Take Care!

plans

hey all. are you ready for this?
we have so much going on right now what with all the packing our lives away and trying to soak in all the CA sunshine (i mean rain... boo) that race day still seems way far away when in reality it is (dun, dun, dunnnnn) the day after tomorrow. so here's the deal.
the inlaws come in tomorrow night. we will be leaving here at o-dark-thirty (aka 5 am) on monday to get up there in time to register and park and all that. the ma and the pa i think will be at the race as well as the inlaws, the hubby, and the babe. also miq's whole clan. so, since this is like a giant family affair, i for sure can't bail on everyone even though i really want to hang out with all of y'all afterwards too. so, my parents kind of offered to bbq at their house after if you want to. they don't have a pool, but they have a spa and a wii. (that has to count for something right?) and if you really want to swim, we could always head down to our place to use the pool at our complex. i just can't promise a warm and inviting home to relax in since we are pretty much all in boxes now.
so. what do you think? any takers?
regardless, can't wait to see all your skinny little bums at the starting line. bring your cell phones please so we can meet up?!

Race Day Plans

Ok girls! We're almost there! I can't believe it! I've been nursing a hurt foot all week but it is feeling significantly better so I am PRAYING really hard that it is ok come Monday. The forecast looks good, not too hot I think.

I'm curious as to everyone's plans. When are you arriving, checking in to the race, who are you coming with, where are you going after? I think that my plan is this. Check in to the race on Sunday depending on the hours and how church overlaps them. Morning of- Drop one car off at the finish line area so we have a close parking spot then have Aaron drop me off at the starting area alone. Hopefully I can nurse or pump right before he drops me off. Then Aaron and the baby will go home and later walk from our house to the finish line area so that they can be there and since one car will already be there. (I just don't want to have to walk home even though its probably less than a mile!).

Last time I didn't bring my own water or anything, just myself. I felt like this was a mistake. Even though there were plenty of water stations, it seemed like one or two times I was DYING of thirst and there were no water stations around. This time I think I'm going to put gatoraid or something like that in my waist pack water thing and have that. Mostly drink water at the water stations but also have that around my waist for when I need it. It will also allow me to bring my shot blocks.

I haven't looked up the rules, I know some races are no longer allowing ipods. I hope that this one allows them because even though I plan to try to run with you girls I am so slow lately that I think I might be on my own for at least the second half of things so I do plan to bring my ipod loaded up with some exciting new songs (which I have yet to find).

Then I guess my last step would be to run! And run, and run and run. For 13.1 miles. My only goal right now is to finish. I don't think I'll be fast but I just want to DO it.

We don't have a big house or I would totally offer to have everyone over afterwards. We do have a community pool and a big green belt area so we could gather there if people were interested since it is close (like I said, about a mile from the finish line). If anyone needs a place to shower, nurse, change, whatever, you are more than welcome over at our house. If anyone is coming the night before and wants an air mattress or a couch I can offer you that too but that's about as good as it gets. Or if everyone is heading back down to San Diego after we are also welcome at my brother in law's who has a huge pool and back yard and everything but it is kind of a drive (Scripps Poway). I think it would be fun to socialize afterwards, its just finding the best spot I suppose.

Anyway, I want to know everyone' s plans!

it's good to be back home again

I'm not sure when the last time is that I've posted but, it's safe to say that it has been awhile. I have been pretty good about training except for this past week. The reason - I was in Utah helping my sister with her 4 kids (including a 1 week old baby) while her husband is out of town. Having a 6 month old myself didn't make the craziness any less. So, the two of us watched 5 kids under 7 for 1 week while also throwing a bridal shower at her house...all just one week after she gave birth and while my little one just had to be teething (of course!). Needless to say, I only got out to run once for 4 miles. I was pushing a jogging stroller and running at a much higher altitude so it felt like much more. This afternoon we flew back to SD and one of the first things I wanted to do was go for a run. I know it sounds crazy. The 4 miles felt great. I'm hoping to be able to run tomorrow with jess and "break in" my tank. I'm thinking of running on Thursday as well just because I missed so much last week. I can hardly believe the race is less than a week away but SO glad. It's time for it to be here! Speaking of the big day...any celebration plans for after the race? Are we planning on meeting someplace to start this bad boy together? Just thought I'd throw some of these thoughts out there for discussion since race day is so close. See you all soon....in just 6 days that is!!