Half Marathon #5

The Gilbert Half Marathon was so much fun! It felt so amazing to work so hard and see such a big payoff. I love running! People always laugh at me when I say that, but its true! There are so many times that I wonder why I love it so much when I'm in the middle of it. 

I had really prepared well for this race. Usually there is something that comes up in the middle of training every time that throws me off. Not this time! Running with a big group and doing lots of speed work really helped me out. I was running consistently faster than I ever had before. It was very exciting! 

We went down to the expo the night before the race. Thats always so fun for me! 

The morning of the race was SOOO cold! The race didn't start until 7:30 so we knew it would get hot and fast but just sitting and waiting at the start were so cold. There was a monster line at the bathrooms so I wasn't able to go before the race. That had me worried but I was ready to get moving. I really wanted to get a PR in this race. That meant I just had to run an average of less than 10 minutes. I knew I could do that! 

We started out and Wendy and I stuck together. We killed it the first 4 miles! At mile 4 the Williams Field girls basketball team was running a water stop. Lacee jumped out and gave me a big hug and cheered me on! I had no idea she would be there and it really pumped me up! 

The we had a long stretch and the it was starting to get warmer, but we kept pushing it and were making amazing time. We turned off of Recker onto a trail that lead us through the riparian preserve and behind freestone park. Running through riparian was so fun! Then we ran through freestone park and that really  took me back to my high school cross country days! 

I was really starting to falter. Every mile felt slower and slower. I was just over 10 miles. Almost there! And then I saw 4 of the cutest faces cheering me on! Kyle and the girls were right at the edge of freestone park. Seeing them pumped me up again. But only for a little while. I was really getting tired and my legs didn't want to move! I knew I was going to be so close to breaking two hours and that was really the only thing that me kept going. Wendy caught up with me (she stopped to fill up her water bottle at a water stop) and I needed her. Then we jumped onto the parade route and were about a mile from the finish line!  So close! We picked up that pace a little and crossed that finish line triumphant! Poor kyle didn't make it to see me cross. Its hard hauling all those little girls around and Juliet doesn't ever do anything fast. But I met them seconds after crossing. I got my metal! 

I gave it my all and ended up with an official time of 2 hours and 53 seconds. So close to breaking one hour!! my First 4 miles were between 8:30 and 8:45 minute miles which is HUGE for me. And I set a new personal record by 11 minutes! It was seriously amazing. I felt like I could take on the world. Until the adrenaline wore off and I felt like I might die. We went to kneaders for breakfast and I could hardly get it down. My stomach was not happy with me. Then we ran home, got ready, packed and dropped the girls off so we could head to Sedona. It was awesome! 

Starting line! 

Finish line! 

Sedona Anniversary Trip

I seriously can't believe that its been 8 years! 8 years of amazing changes and growth. Kyle has helped shape me more and more into the person I want to be. He is patient, kind and hilarious. We've done so much in 8 years. Its going to be crazy to see where we go in the next 8 years! Hopefully it involves a lot more weekends like the one we had for this anniversary.

We snuck away for a couple nights. My amazing parents watched our sweet girls. They were so excited to have a sleep over and Mema and Poppi's house. It was awesome! 

We left after I ran my half marathon. I was pretty wiped out so it was nice to get to relax on the drive there. We stopped at Montezuma Castle on the way to Sedona. It was so cool! This big village set in the caves on the side of a mountain. The surrounding area was amazing as well. A big river and gorgeous fall leaves! 

We made it up to our hotel in Sedona. It was amazing! Our room was pretty nice and views were amazing. So many beautiful trees and red rocks. A river ran right past the resort. It had mini golf and bocci ball. A pool and tennis courts. We could have spent a whole week there easy. We have to take our girls back! We got into our room and got ready to head out for some dinner! We were right across from the coolest shopping area. It looked like something you would see in Spain. The architecture was so amazing. It was all lit up at night. It was chillly so bundled up and headed out. So fun! 

We went and had the most amazing steak at a brewery. Seriously so good. And the mashed potatoes! So yummy! Then we walked around the whole resort. We sat by the river and talked and talked. I love how we still just love to talk like we did when we first met 8 years ago. Then we went and saw Dr. Strange. It was really good! 

The next day we went to Church which is always amazing. I love how wherever you are in the world when you go to church it feels like home. We came back and played a really fun round of mini golf. The resort mini golf was super fun. We were the only ones out there and we had a good time. 

Then we headed out on an amazing hike. We stopped at a little roadside cafe for lunch. Middle of nowhere in the mountains and it was the coolest thing ever! So quaint and run by a bunch of hippies. I've never had sourdough bread or herb butter like that in my life! So fresh and delicious. 

The hike was one of the most beautiful I've ever been on. We ended up hiking 6 miles the day after I ran a half marathon. Ha ha! I'm not very good at resting and recovering. We crossed over the creek around 6 times there and then again on the way back. The trees and cliffs were so amazing. We had such a great time. Kyle found a tarantula. Gross. We started to get rained on the last couple miles. And it rained the whole rest of the time we were there which was a bummer. We drove back to the resort, took a nap, got some dinner and relaxed the rest of the night. We did play a couple rounds of mini golf in the rain. So fun! Heaven! 

Monday it was back to our girls and getting ready for Thanksgiving. 

The shopping area across from our resort. 

Our part of the hotel. It was separate from everything else which was really nice. It felt so secluded and cozy. 

Eating lunch at the roadside cafe. They had these blankets on all the chairs to wrap up in. So cool! 

Don't mind my big cheeks full of heavenly food. 

I am so blessed and this trip was exactly what I needed. I felt so refreshed and ready to jump back into life when I got back. This life Kyle and I are building is more amazing than anything I could have dreamed up. We have struggles, but there is so much joy. I am so grateful my family is forever! 

Thanksgiving Week

Thanksgiving week was so much fun! 

Abby didn't have school on wednesday so we put up our outside christmas lights that morning. Then the girls helped me make our pies that afternoon. Two pumpkin and a snickerdoodle pie! Wednesday night we went to the Old Spaghetti Factory with my Dad's family.

I started out Thanksgiving with an amazing 6 mile run with friends. The sunrise behind the temple was so incredibly breathtaking! I was overwhelmed with gratitude that morning. I'm so blessed to live the life that I do. 

Then we relaxed all morning. We watched the Macy's day parade. We all got ready and headed over to my parents. I helped my mom finish up the food and then everyone showed up and we feasted! The food was, as always, fantastic! 

Then my Dad's family came over and we had a huge pie party. We had 4 pumpkins, 1 pumpkin creme, key lime, banana cream, 2 chocolate, 1 pistachio, snickerdoodle, cherry, berry and 2 apple! SO MUCH PIE! It was great. 

We ended Thanksgiving Day by going to see Moana! And it was amazing. Seriously amazing. I loved it! The girls loved it. We all want to keep listening to the music, but its Christmas music time! The struggle is real! ha ha. 

Then Friday we went on a fun hike and had lunch with everyone. That night everyone came over and had s'mores in our backyard. I love our fire pit! 

Saturday Kyle worked. The girls and I went out to get some more Christmas decorations and made Christmas cookies for our Santa Cook jar. I had a photoshoot after Kyle got home. Then we had dinner and went out to get a real Christmas tree. We had so much fun picking it out! We brought the beautiful thing home and tried to put it up. Its so hard! The stupid thing toppled over and pulled one of my shelves out of the wall. It left a huge hole. So Kyle ran out to get some dry wall patch stuff. Luckily you can't hardly see that anything happened. Now I just need to get the shelf back up. We finally got the tree stable but it stands at a huge angle. So we twisted it so it looks like its straight but it is leaning straight up against the wall. So funny. But it smells amazing. Kyle has been a good sport, but I think this will be the last year that he lets me get a real tree. 

The girls were great troopers on the hike. Abby hiked the entire time! I was so proud of her. Juliet was not a fan of the hike. She fell right at the beginning and kept telling me how tired her legs were the entire time. But she had a pretty good attitude. She made it the entire way out and then we took turns carrying her back. She told me "don't ever take me on a hike again". Unfortunately we will go on more hikes. Sorry Jules! 

My hero putting lights up on the house. Luckily a previous owner had put little light hooks all over the house so all you have to do is loop the lights strands in there. It was scary having him up there but the house looks great!! 

Kyle marked his pumpkin pie. Ha ha! 

The most incredible sunrise. The picture doesn't even begin to do it justice! 

The place cards I made for the dinner 

My mom knows how to lay out a table. So beautiful! 

PIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (not all pies are pictured) 

This was Jane playing the morning after Thanksgiving. She sure looks like she is having a fantastic childhood. 

Abby wanted pumpkin pie for breakfast after Thanksgiving. 

Jules was seriously knocked out after the hike. She had been sitting next to me whining all afternoon. Finally I said lets just lay down and relax for a little bit. No joke 30 seconds later she was snoring. 

S'mores!! 

Me when we put the tree up the first time. So happy. So naive. 

After it fell. All Christmas spirit gone. Stupid, beautifully smelling tree! Eventually it will be funny. But not this Christmas. Not yet. 

I love the Christmas season. Thanksgiving is amazing and this one was perfect. But let the best of the Holiday season begin!!!!!!!! Wahoo!!!!!