Friends of ours, Vince & Denise, were married in April. It was a great occasion, and we all had a great time!
Aren't they adorable?
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Monday, August 22, 2011
First Half Marathon
In April this year I did something I never thought I would do, I finished a half marathon. That's 13.1 miles. Friends of mine had done it before, and when I took up running, I told them, "that's just not for me", but that was before I'd really caught the bug. I still can't say that I love running while I'm running, but I love the feeling when I'm done!
I had hoped to run the whole thing. I had trained for 14 straight weeks, 4x a week to run the whole thing.
I did not run the whole thing.
First thing, I went out faster than my normal pace, second thing, the weather after training those 14 weeks in winter months was 92 degrees that day, third thing, I started to feel a pain in my chest at mile five, started to walk to get my heart rate down and promptly threw up. The next two miles were a blur and I was sure I wasn't going to finish, but then I got better and did in fact finish.
My time was not stellar, my pace overall just over a 12 minute mile, but I was thankful that I listened to my body for the second half of the race as I heard they cancelled the full marathon due to the heat, the fact that so many people were collapsing, and they were running out of first, second and third responders.
Three other friends ran that day as well, we kept each other on target for training, drove together on race day, and celebrated afterwards, extremely thrilled to finish!
I had hoped to run the whole thing. I had trained for 14 straight weeks, 4x a week to run the whole thing.
I did not run the whole thing.
First thing, I went out faster than my normal pace, second thing, the weather after training those 14 weeks in winter months was 92 degrees that day, third thing, I started to feel a pain in my chest at mile five, started to walk to get my heart rate down and promptly threw up. The next two miles were a blur and I was sure I wasn't going to finish, but then I got better and did in fact finish.
My time was not stellar, my pace overall just over a 12 minute mile, but I was thankful that I listened to my body for the second half of the race as I heard they cancelled the full marathon due to the heat, the fact that so many people were collapsing, and they were running out of first, second and third responders.
Three other friends ran that day as well, we kept each other on target for training, drove together on race day, and celebrated afterwards, extremely thrilled to finish!
Erin - Rachel - Stan - Me
Rachel ran with precious cargo aboard - I'm still in awe!
Me before the mile five fun
Nathan is actually holding me up here, I'm sure of it!
So what did this first half marathon teach me?
That I can do things I never thought I would.
That training is very, very important.
That having friends and family to support you both in the race and on the sidelines is just as important as all the training.
That walking is not an option for the next one.
That I would like for another ribbon around my neck to someday be simply: Marathon.
So, next step? Next half this October!
Currently in week five of fourteen for training, and going very well.
Friday, August 19, 2011
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Cousin Party
In March of this year my grandfather passed away. It was my mom's dad, her first parent to go, my second grandpa to leave this earth. Even though he'd had some health issues for the past seven years, his death was very unexpected, and it rocked our family. My mom is the eldest of five children, and my grandparents were further blessed with twelve grandchildren and at that time, nine great-grandchildren, with two more on the way.
Growing up in Ohio with most of my cousins (two lived in Arizona) was a wonderful experience. With all the birthdays, anniversaries and holidays to celebrate, we saw each other on a very regular basis. And by regular I mean it was VERY uncommon to go a month without seeing each other. Because of this, all of us cousins grew up very close, and I have some of my most cherished memories with them all.
We've obviously grown up since then, given that I moved from Ohio seventeen years ago and have now lived in both places the same amount of time. Some have married, some have had kids of their own, and it still amazes me that when we get together, even under the most somber of circumstances, nothing has changed. We've added amazing spouses to this cousin clan, and not only do they all tolerate us, but they get along with each other as well. We have a great time, and it always warms my heart with childhood memories.
As we gathered in Ohio this time to say goodbye to grandpa together, my cousin Christi had a great idea to have a cousin "party" to get us all together and say goodbye from our generation. Two cousins weren't able to make it that weekend; my cousin Nikki in Arizona who was expecting her second child, and my cousin Keith who is serving overseas in Korea. They were terribly missed, but there in spirit.
I have a ton of pictures from all events growing up; us all lined up by age, etc...unfotunately none on digital to share with you now, but here are some from that weekend.
At my grandma's 80th birthday Nathan and I went up to celebrate with them and share the good news that we were expecing our first child, Sammie. When my grandpa gave me a hug to say congratulations he said he'd been doing a lot of thinking about all the milestones he'd been able to enjoy in his life time. Seeing all of his children married and become parents, seeing them celebrate 25th wedding anniversaries, seeing most of his grandkids (at that time) graduate from high school, some from college, military, police academy, etc..., and more recently, seeing his grandkids become parents, and his children become grandparents. With our news, mom made four out of five to be grandparents. He told me that it would really be nice to see all of his children become grandparents before he died, and a short time later my cousin Brian made it so with the birth of his son, Kemper.
I hope that when I reach that time in my life I have the presence of mind to look back on all that I had, all that saw, and all that I enjoyed instead of what I didn't do. Family is the most important thing in life to me, and I can't imagine a better way to measure my life later than by those moments and milestones I was able to share with them all.
Growing up in Ohio with most of my cousins (two lived in Arizona) was a wonderful experience. With all the birthdays, anniversaries and holidays to celebrate, we saw each other on a very regular basis. And by regular I mean it was VERY uncommon to go a month without seeing each other. Because of this, all of us cousins grew up very close, and I have some of my most cherished memories with them all.
We've obviously grown up since then, given that I moved from Ohio seventeen years ago and have now lived in both places the same amount of time. Some have married, some have had kids of their own, and it still amazes me that when we get together, even under the most somber of circumstances, nothing has changed. We've added amazing spouses to this cousin clan, and not only do they all tolerate us, but they get along with each other as well. We have a great time, and it always warms my heart with childhood memories.
As we gathered in Ohio this time to say goodbye to grandpa together, my cousin Christi had a great idea to have a cousin "party" to get us all together and say goodbye from our generation. Two cousins weren't able to make it that weekend; my cousin Nikki in Arizona who was expecting her second child, and my cousin Keith who is serving overseas in Korea. They were terribly missed, but there in spirit.
I have a ton of pictures from all events growing up; us all lined up by age, etc...unfotunately none on digital to share with you now, but here are some from that weekend.
Grandkids
Top Row: Christopher, Brian, Johnnie
Middle: Christi, Karen, Me
Bottom: Scott, Kerri, Jen
Grandkid in-laws: Chris(Christi's Husband), Missy (Johnnie's Wife), Sarah (Christopher's Wife), Nathan (my Husband)
Great-Grandkids:
Morgan, Alyssa, Kyler, Sammie, Reese, Lily, Brenna
At my grandma's 80th birthday Nathan and I went up to celebrate with them and share the good news that we were expecing our first child, Sammie. When my grandpa gave me a hug to say congratulations he said he'd been doing a lot of thinking about all the milestones he'd been able to enjoy in his life time. Seeing all of his children married and become parents, seeing them celebrate 25th wedding anniversaries, seeing most of his grandkids (at that time) graduate from high school, some from college, military, police academy, etc..., and more recently, seeing his grandkids become parents, and his children become grandparents. With our news, mom made four out of five to be grandparents. He told me that it would really be nice to see all of his children become grandparents before he died, and a short time later my cousin Brian made it so with the birth of his son, Kemper.
I hope that when I reach that time in my life I have the presence of mind to look back on all that I had, all that saw, and all that I enjoyed instead of what I didn't do. Family is the most important thing in life to me, and I can't imagine a better way to measure my life later than by those moments and milestones I was able to share with them all.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Daddy Daughter Dance
Yes, I know this is from February, which is now six months old, however, that just seems to be how I roll with blogging. There will be several weeks with lots of new blog posts and then I will be quiet for months on end...I probably know some people that wish this happened in more areas than just my blog so all I can say is just enjoy it where it falls :)
So, our town does an annual Daddy's Little Sweetheart dance every February for little girls and their daddies, grandpas, uncles, etc...once they are over three.
So, our town does an annual Daddy's Little Sweetheart dance every February for little girls and their daddies, grandpas, uncles, etc...once they are over three.
Being the wonderful "date" that daddy is, he even got her a corsage
This was the first year taking Sammie, and Brenna was too young...we didn't think it would be a problem...
But as soon as Sammie was getting in her dress, Brenna started to get upset and wanted to go too, informing us that "Brenna a pwincess too..." (her pronunciation for it)
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