Third Time's the Charm

Okay folks.  I promise -- this is the last half marathon I'll be recapping for the season!  I'm fully aware that the details of each race become less and less interesting for those who could care less about running.  :)   But for the record's sake, this was my best race ever!! And not just because I hit a PR.

 That's me -- right smack in the middle.

After running the Boom Shakalaka last month, I decided it would be really fun to run one more race this fall before taking a break for a while.  My sister-in-law, Kristin, was already signed up to run a half in their little town with a couple friends from her ward, and I thought it would be really fun to join them.  So I signed myself up and kept up my training.  The kids love an excuse to visit the cousins, anyway, but this trip was made even funner due to the fact that Ethan and Grace were planning on joining Hannah and Josh in running the 5K that weekend as well. 

 Waiting for the racers to finish.

I have to say, that as excited as I was for my own race, I was almost MORE excited for Ethan and Grace to run in their first real race with their cousins.  Their race started after ours and finished a long time before us, but the pictures Scott took managed to capture the spirit of the action for me.  And from all accounts, they had a BLAST!  Ethan, Grace, and Hannah stayed together the whole time {other than the end, when Ethan broke free to sprint to the finish line}, and Grace was excited to tell me that they ran the whole time without even stopping!  I guess that 5K Training Club has been doing its job.  :)  

 Finishers!

As for my race, I discovered that I am capable of much more than I realize.  Once again, I find myself thinking of running as a metaphor for life.  When I signed up to run the race with Kristin and company, I knew they were planning on aiming for a certain pace.  Because I was a fourth wheel, and they had been training together for the last few months, I figured it would be pretty presumptuous of me -- not to mention a little rude -- to jump in at the last minute and try and push the pace the whole time even though I was pretty sure I could run it a little bit faster.  As I've been running the last month, and trying to increase my speed, I've thought a lot about the trade-offs that would come with either option.  I could try and run it my fastest -- which would mean I'd be on my own for the bulk of the race -- or I could stick with the group and have company and friends to chat with.  This was a really big toss up for me!  Running with friends and having it be a social experience is part of the magic and fun of racing, for me!  So, in the end, even though I did a lot of speed work on the treadmill over the last few weeks, I decided that I would rather stick with company for the course of the race than strike out for a faster time on my own.

What ended up happening, however, was the best of both worlds!  After sticking together for the first 12 miles at roughly a 10:30 minute pace, I looked at my watch and realized that I had a slight chance to finish close to 2:15, which was a goal I had been looking at beforehand as being a very doable time for me.  With Kristin shooing me on to go and get my PR, I took off at the 12 mile mark and raced the last mile and almost a quarter.  Here is where all that treadmill work came in handy.  I ran that last bit with an 8:35 pace!!  ME.  The non-runner, who two years ago ran her first half marathon averaging 12 minute miles.  If you had told me then that I was capable of running that fast now, I don't think I would have believed it.  But I am capable.  As I was finishing up the race on Saturday and looked at my watch and saw that 8:35, I was worried for a second that I wouldn't be able to keep up the pace.  But knowing that I had done that speed {and faster}in practice and for longer stretches than a mile, gave me the confidence and mental strength I needed to finish that race strong.  And finish strong I did!  I didn't quite make the 2:15, but I was close.  According to my watch, I finished in 2:16.50 {although the official race results say 2:16.44}. I think what this experience goes to show is that A.) Preparation is paramount, B.) Hard work pays off, and C.) You never really know what you're capable of until you give it your all. 

All in all, it was awesome.  And as crazy as it sounds, I can't wait to do one again.  Perhaps I have finally become a "runner."   Because mere hours after finishing Saturday's race, I was already talking to Kristin about the strategies I was planning on using while training for and running my NEXT half marathon.  But have no fear -- you won't be reading about the next one for a while.   :)  My knee is bothering me enough at this point that I still think it's time to take a break for a bit.  But sooner or later, I plan on breaking that 2 hour barrier in a race!

 Not everyone was as happy about being at there.  Hahaha.  Let's just say that Friday night was a LATE night for the kiddos, and Saturday morning dawned bright and EARLY.  

 Hahahahaha.

 Me and Kristin

 The girly bugs after the race.

As awesome as the morning was, the day ended even better!  Attending the Women's Meeting of General Conference with some of my favorite little women was a treasure.  I was so grateful to be there and hear such inspiring and uplifting messages.  I can't wait for next weekend as well -- the countdown for Conference is on!!  :)

Technically the meeting was for girls and women 8 & up, but Sophie just didn't want to miss out.  So we snuck her in with us.  :)

Updates

Every year, I take a new picture of the kids around their birthdays to document their new age and to preserve them for display on my mantle until the next year rolls around.  Since we moved here over a year ago, the showcase has moved from the mantle (not big enough to hold them all) to the tops of the bookshelves we have in the hall.  Because they're higher up on the shelves, and not as in-your-face-noticeable, they've been a little neglected this past year, and today I decided to change that!

I finally got around to taking most of the pictures this past weekend and then printed them out today.  And even though some of them are WAY past their birthday {Sophie's was in February}, I'm still glad I've got SOMETHING in there to document another year.  My favorite thing about putting in the new pictures every year is looking through all the old ones that are still right there in the frame behind the current one.  Especially with the older kids, it's sweet to look back and remember how little and adorable they all once were, and realize that in just a few short years I'll look back on THIS year's picture and think the very same thing. :)

And to close on a completely unrelated tangent, I'd like to address the TRAVESTY that was Ethan's 5th grade Social Studies experience.  He never did a state report last year!!!!  Isn't 5th grade supposed to be the year where the curriculum is U.S. History and everyone gets to pick a state for a project and a report???  Come on, now -- that's a rite of passage!  To rectify this, and ensure that all the kids get to experience some kind of State Report magic, I asked them all to choose a state to learn more about and this is what I capturedt:

Ethan, who -- for the record -- couldn't care less and didn't want to have anything to do with this crazy idea of mine finally chose something "random" in his words; Grace claims she's just interested in too many states and chose 6; Sophie quickly followed suit; Jane doesn't really know a whole lot of states; and Alex only cares about superheroes.  So, this is what we've got:

• Arizona
• Alabama
• Minnesota
• Georgia
• Michigan
• Nevada
• Massachusetts
• New York
• Washington
• Utah
• Connecticut
• Alaska
• Hawaii
• Ohio
• Louisana
• California

I would love, love, LOVE it, if any kind readers out there from any of these states would be up for sending a postcard to us from your state and telling us something cool, or interesting, or noteworthy about it.  And even if you don't want the hassle of doing that {and truly -- I understand  :) }, if you could leave a comment telling us something about your state, I think the kids would really get a kick out of it.

And on that note, I'll say goodnight!  I've got another race on Saturday morning, and I think TONIGHT is the sleep that will be the most important.  Because chances are high that tomorrow night will be a lot more difficult to catch some zzzzzz's.  :)

Paradise Lost and Found

When last we left off, I made mention of some issues with a certain firstborn son on Monday night.  Well, the mystery of what triggered his epic meltdown of  insane proportions was discovered on Tuesday morning when I had him show me what he packed for lunch for the day.   What I found in that lunch bag was the same sandwich I had made for him the day before, and came to the realization that he had never eaten any of the real food that I had packed for him that day, and only the extras. And then he had run 2 3/4 miles after school, fueled only by granola bars and maybe some chips before coming home and chowing down on some more of the same.  The result?  Even after a balanced meal of Taco Salad, he was still in a full-fledged, mega, MEGA red zone kind of mood.

So while I'm certainly not happy about his "episode" on Monday night, I'm definitely glad to know that there was indeed a major trigger that set it off!  I was worried that Tuesday would bring more of the same craziness, but I'm pretty sure I had heavenly help all day yesterday and into the night as Scott left early in the morning for a super quick recruiting trip to BYU and I was left on my own to man the battlefield.  I was pleasantly and gratefully surprised, though, when every single child went to bed AT THEIR BEDTIME last night without a fit or a fuss to be seen.  That pretty much NEVER happens, which is why I'm sure there was Divine Intervention going on.  :)

Thankfully, Scott got back this evening and we welcomed him home with open arms -- and the last Paradise Ice of the season. After dinner, the kids and I headed on over to our {my} favorite place in town, where we joined with the rest of the masses who had also come to get their last fix before Paradise closed for the year.  It was all very bittersweet.  Hahaha.  We all had fun, and even though we got home later than expected and everyone went to bed a little later than they should have, it was still worth it and I'd do it again!!  Hahahaha.  Until next time... ALOHA!

Day is Done

This is what 5:30 PM on a Monday looks like around these parts.  The weekend was long, today was longer, and no naps for multiple days in a row make for a very grumpy little preschooler.  And just to clarify -- he hasn't fallen asleep in that picture up there, he's throwing a full-fledged tantrum.  Hahaha.  Poor little Lover Boy.  So tired.  As am I.  I know that Ethan and Grace aren't teenagers yet, but they might as well be with the roller coaster of emotions we've been experiencing lately.  Tonight was epically epic with son number one and daughter number one had her turn over the weekend.  They are ALL finally up in bed and asleep for the night, though, (a small miracle -- and I'm not even joking) and I for one am GLAD that this day is done!  Let's hope for a more rested tomorrow.  :)

Flashback Friday -- Another Hundred

For this week's flashback, I thought I'd give myself the challenge of coming up with another 100 Things List.  The kids have gotten such a kick out of reading the first one I did -- YEARS ago -- in the printed blog books, that I decided it was time to add some more to it.  I tried my hardest to come up with 100 new things, and I was pleasantly surprised when reading back over the old one to see that I mostly did!  So, here for your entertainment, I give you another hundred things about me...

1.)  I have 5 kids.

2.)  I love crossword puzzles.

3.)  My favorite subject in Elementary School was Language Arts.

4.)  When I was a kid, my favorite color was periwinkle.

5.)  I really like rainbows (because of Jane).

6.)  And elephants (because of Alex).

7.)  And the color orange (thanks to Ethan).

8.)  Orange Daylilies are some of my favorite flowers -- they always remind me of Ethan's baptism.  I remember seeing hundreds of them growing along the side of the road as we drove to the church that day.

9.)  Kevin Henkes is one of my favorite children books authors.

10.)  BabyLit board books are my newest obsession.

11.)  I've loved Simon & Garfunkel ever since I discovered them in my formative youth years.

12.)  I'm not ashamed to admit that I also love me some T. Swizzle (that's Taylor Swift, to the uninitiated).

13.)  Sara Bareilles is one of my favorite singer-songwriters -- she's pretty much a lyrical genius.

14.)  Same with Mumford & Sons -- although I really wish the swear words were absent in a few of their different songs.

15.)  I've lived in 5 different states -- Missouri, Ohio, Utah, Oregon, and Louisiana.

16.)  I love oatmeal.

17.)  I quilt.

 Latest progress on Sophie's baptism quilt.

18.)  I also love a good project -- especially of the before and after variety.

19.)  I've still never been to San Francisco.

20.)  I don't really love to cook.

21.)  I go to bed way too late each night.

22.)  I've run 2 almost 3 half-marathons.

23.)  I still hesitate to call myself a "runner."

24.)  Conference times (April and October) are two of my favorite times of the year!  (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints holds a semi-annual General Conference each year where we are able to hear our leaders speak.)

25.)  I like to listen to Conference talks while I run.

26.)  I would love to go to Prince Edward Island.

27.)  Anne of Green Gables was one of my very favorite books as a kid.

28.)  I would also love to go on a Sound of Music tour of Austria.

29.)  While we're speaking of travel, Greece looks pretty amazing as well.

30.)  And I hear Prague is the new Paris.

31.)  Nothing makes me happier than when the kids are all getting along and playing nicely together.

32.)  I've only recently discovered that I'm kind of an intense person.

33.)  With extremist tendencies.

34.)  Who is also mostly likely saddled with ADD.

35.)  Despite these new found discoveries, I like to think that I'm pretty self-aware.  Hahaha.

36.)  I have to sleep with both a ceiling fan and a box fan on.

37.)  I am TERRIBLE at keeping the covers straight at night.

38.)  I'm a semi-regular journal writer and have been since the 6th grade.

39.)  I have slight pack rat tendencies.  But once too much stuff accumulates, I usually end up throwing everything away.

40.)  I'm a little "all or nothing."

41.)  With a penchant for going big or going home.

42.)  I've been every size from a 6 all the way up to a 16,

43.)  My favorite guilty pleasure to watch in the summer is Big Brother.  (Don't judge).

44.)  I enjoy doing family history.

45.)  I don't enjoy doing laundry.

46.)  I have HRF.  Hostile Resting Face.  It's a thing.  Hahaha.  But seriously, if I don't make a conscious effort to make my face a pleasant mask, I look angry.  Or at least upset.  And I'm not just imagining things here -- it's been pointed out to me from a few different sources.  Hahaha.

47.)  I'm naturally quite shy, but sometimes I'm not.

48.)  I have mild social anxiety in new settings and feel SUPER awkward when trying to make conversation with people I don't know very well.

49.)  Yet paradoxically, I'm a very sociable person and NEED time interacting with others.

50.)  Which sums me up rather nicely, actually -- I am almost always a walking contradiction in terms.

51.)  I went to BYU for college.

52.)  The BYU Bookstore is one of my favorite places on Earth.

53.)  I really enjoy photography.

54.)  One of my dreams is to one day write a book.

55.)  It probably won't ever happen, though.

56.)  I'd also love to take some art classes.

57.)  I love words -- Vocabulary is my thang.

58.)  I sang in the choir in high school.

59.)  I have an addictive personality.

60.)  I go through obsessive phases of things.  Paradise Ice, anyone??  Haha.

61.)  I regret not keeping up on my spanish speaking skills.

62.)  When I was a kid, I used to wish that I could speak every language in the world.

63.)  Each of our babies have been brought home to a different house/apartment.

64.)  I have major FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out).  Hahaha.  But seriously, I do!

65.)  In a lot of ways, I think I'm a pretty stereotypical firstborn.

66.)  I am currently a Relief Society teacher at church.

67.)  I love babies.

68.)  I'm not good at mental math.

69.)  I love getting mail.

70.)  The last time I've been home to New Orleans was in 2012 for Mardi Gras.

71.)  I love salmon.

72.)  I was a T.A. for Physical Science 110A in college.

73.)  I'm not very patient.

74.)  My biggest pet peeves are incompetence and slowness.

75.)  Along with not being able to find something that I need that I know I've put somewhere, because the kids have taken it and moved it.

76.)  I don't love roses.

77.)  But I think the ranunculus is both cool to look at and cool to say.

 

78.)  I love the smell of gardenias.  And peonies.

79.)  Lily-of-the-valley also smells heavenly to me.

80.)  Brown butter is divine, and chocolate chip cookies made with it are the bomb.

81.)   I wish I had a green thumb, but I don't.

82.)  I'm not a big phone talker (other than to family).

83.)  I've never seen the original Star Wars trilogy.

84.)  Whenever I finish a good book or series, I feel like I'm saying goodbye to my friends.  And it makes me a little sad!  

85.)  As much as I love to read, there are only a handful of books that I've read over and over again:

86.)  Anne of Green Gables,

87.)  Little House on the Prairie series,

88.)  Harry Potter series,

89.)  Pride and Prejudice,

90.)  Jane Eyre,

91.)  To Kill a Mockingbird -- the second most influential book of my life,

92.)  And The Book of Mormon -- the #1 most influential and impact-ful book in my life.

93.)  I love a good thunderstorm.

94.)  Sometimes, when the little ones are begging for my food and I don't want to share, I'll lie and tell them it has nuts in it so they'll let it go without a question and leave me alone.  :/  (Another "don't judge" moment).

95.)  I am HORRIBLE with geography -- I seriously couldn't name the majority of the state capitals, much less locate them on a map.

96.)  Having a GPS has revolutionized my life.  :)

97.)  I'm a big fan of hard copies.

98.)  I love a peter pan collar.

99.)  And pin tucks and lace.

 Ignore the mess, and the fact that you can't even see any of the details on this outfit, but THIS photo encapsulates all those things I love -- Peter Pan collar, check!  Pin tucks down the front of the blouse, check! And a lace skirt to boot!  Check!

100.)  And finally, I am a closet tree hugger.  :)

I'm out!!!  It is a lot harder than you would think to come up with 100 things about yourself! 

Have a great weekend everyone -- I need to go rest my brain now.  Hahahaha.  :)

Highs and Lows

I feel like I've been a little MIA on the blog lately.  Life has been REALLY busy these days.  I feel like I'm constantly engaged in a juggling act that leaves me dropping balls left and right.  It's not a fun feeling!  This week has been slightly slower than last week, but there's still enough going on to keep us on the go.  For tonight's post, I'm recording a few snippets to capture today's highs and lows.

HIGHS:

• I set a new PR this morning on the treadmill doing a 5K!  To be honest, I'm a little burned out on running.  I'm still super excited to run one last half marathon for the season next Saturday, with my sister-in-law, Kristin, but after that I plan on hanging up my running shoes for a bit.  As is often the case, in order to beat my boredom, I've made things really challenging for myself on the last couple of runs.  For today, I did speed intervals toggling back and forth between 6.5 MPH and 8.5 MPH until I hit the 3.1 mile mark.  The result?  My new fastest time.  And with an average pace of about 8:25 which is really not too shabby.  :)

• After a late night last night and a LONG day yesterday, Alex was in desperate need of some sleep.  Luckily, he didn't even fight nap time today and fell asleep for a good long stretch.  The best part was that he woke up in a great mood!  

•  Having Alex out for the count this afternoon made it possible to get all kinds of stuff done!  Such as getting dinner started in the crock pot {chicken tortilla soup for those who are wondering}, unloading and then loading the dishwasher, finishing the tidy up of the kitchen, starting a new batch of bread, and then finally having some time to read my scriptures.

• The evening finished off on a high with Jane having her very first {unofficial} Daisy troop meeting!  :)  Since we hadn't gotten the school booked as our venue for the month -- not to mention our troop isn't officially official until October 1st -- we just decided to have a "Get to Know You" fun meeting at our house instead.  Seeing Jane and all the other cute little Kindergarten girls was giving me so many flashbacks of when Grace was a Kindergartener and just entering the brave new world of Daisies.  It was such a fun experience for her, and I'm so excited for Jane to have the same opportunity. 

LOWS:

•  We never really got the Family Room tidied up in the morning, which set the stage for disaster later on when it NEEDED to be cleaned before that Daisy meeting.

• Sophie came home "sick" from school right around lunch time.  The nurse called saying that Sophie was complaining that her stomach hurt and that she was looking a little piqued.  AND, she had a temperature of 99.6.  So, I went to get her, and even though I agreed that she looked a little off, she never did throw up or have any higher of a fever, so I guess that's good for now.

• I always hate it when I lose it with the kids, but LOSE IT is what I did this evening when certain children who had the Family Room refused to get their chores done and insisted instead that they needed to do their homework.  As if!  Hahaha.  In all seriousness, it was super frustrating as I was trying to get things cleaned up before the meeting, PLUS get everyone fed dinner a little bit earlier than usual, and ALSO finish getting all the paperwork and other things ready to give to parents at the meeting.  Thankfully, Scott got home just in time to help with the finishing touches and to keep the other ones out of the way while our meeting was in progress.

• And now -- it's the end of the day, I'm dead tired and realizing that I never did get any loads of laundry done and I'm pretty sure that half the kids are out of clean clothes.  Oh well!  Tomorrow is always another day, right??

Here's to hoping that my juggling act will go a little smoother tomorrow!  Thank you and goodnight.   :)

Collections

Alex and Grace are two peas in a pod.  Their love for their junk is unsurpassed.  When they love something, they LOVE it.  And collect as much of it as possible.  I was thinking the other day how I'll be kind of sad when Alex outgrows his superhero phase.  But then, when I saw the way Grace "organized" her room the other day, I realized that he just might NEVER outgrow it.  Hahahaha. 

Alex likes to organize all his superhero guys in his cubby.

Meanwhile Grace still loves to organize all her dog junks into family groupings.  Say goodnight to the Golds everyone.  Hahahahaha.

The Great Divide

It is official.  You couldn't PAY me enough money to ride the big rides at an amusement park.  Like seriously.  I don't get it.  How do people LIKE this stuff???  Just watching some of the rides in the KIDDIE land made me start to have a panic attack!  But oh well -- clearly I'm in the minority here.  Especially on Dividend Day.  :)

The kids have been waiting ALL year long for Dividend Day to roll around again, and by Saturday morning they were chomping at the bit.  We got there shortly after opening around 10, and stayed as long as we could {handle it}.  Since we came in two cars specifically for this purpose, I left around 5:30 with the younger 3 and Scott stayed until 9:30 with the older 2.  It made for one LONG, exhausting day.  Especially since I woke up at the crack of dawn that morning to run 10 miles before our Dividend plans got underway for the day.

 They said she was 48".  I'm not buying it.  :)

The first half of the day was spent split up -- me and the little kiddies in kiddie land, and Scott and the big kids in the big kid land.  Haha.  Us little folks hit up the bumper cars, train rides, carousels, and car rides before meeting up with the other half for lunch.  Once we were done eating, Scott and the older two came over to the kiddie land to give Sophie and Jane a chance to go on the "big" rides since there was no way I was going to go on any of them.  The next few hours were spent mostly happily as we met up with a few friends and the little kids got to have some fun.  The only party that wasn't happy was son number one who did NOT want to be on the baby side.

 Cute little kiddies BEFORE the ride.

 What isn't pictured is AFTER the ride, when it finally stopped and Alex had time to process how terrified he was and let out a great big dramatic cry wail of distress.  Poor little lamb!

Here is the break down of the The Great Divide that is the amusement park:

Scott -- likes most of it

Ethan -- LOVES it

Grace -- loves it

Sophie -- half loves some rides in kiddie land, half hates some; isn't tall enough for any of the big rides, so we'll have to wait and see if that divide continues.

Jane -- half loves some (the kiddie roller coaster), and half hates some (Surf Dog was NOT her cup of tea)

Alex -- HATES just about all of them.  The train was the only real thrill for him.

Me -- HATES everything.  Hahahaha.  :)

So there you go!  I finally managed to pull the little ones away from the park with a bribe of ice cream and treats and got them home in time for dinner, baths, and bed.  {If only it were that simple}.  Scott got home much later with the big kids, and felt nauseated for the rest of the night thanks to all the rides the kids made him go on.  All in all, it was a day to remember!  Unfortunately, we're still dealing with the aftermath of their "fun"{i.e. exhaustion}.  Hahahaha.  Thank goodness Dividend Day only happens once a year...   :)

 

Post 10 mile run. Pre 71/2 hours at an amusement park.  The morning was chilly enough that I was able to wear this awesome, hot pink shirt that my visiting teacher made for me after the Boom Shakalaka.  It's pretty much impossible to read in the picture, but it says "13.1 miles -- Because I'm only HALF crazy."  Hahahahaha.  Love it!