Nashville Country Music Marathon 2009

So Kelly said to me around the end of February that he was going to run a marathon with a group from his class in Nashville the end of April. I said that was awesome and that I knew he would do great, not knowing that in less than a week I would be deciding that I was going to run in the same race...let's first just let everyone know that I was going to run the 1/2 marathon (13.1 miles) not the full (26.2 miles for those of you who are like me and don't want to do the math!).  So there it began.  Every Saturday we would meet our running group between 6:30 and 7:00 in the morning and do our training runs.  My first training run was a 7 miler. I was very skeptical that I could even do it (at this point it was around 5 weeks after my surgery), but to my happy surprise it turned out awesome!  I have to give much credit to the best running partners a girls could have...Charissa and Heather!  They are the best!  We chatted, ran and before I knew it I had ran 7 miles! Yay!

So here we are on April 25, 2009 at about 6:30 in the morning, post race.

And here is my very handsome, very sweet, very fast husband before the race.  He is just about ready to leave us slow girls to get in his corral number 1 (very cool, by the way because that means he is fast and gets to start first so us slow people are not in the way!)

And this is my view as the girls and I are in corral #23! The race began at 7:00 when corral #1 people (i.e. Kelly!) were able to start. We in corral #23 started around 7:45. It was fun waiting though, the excitement of being in the crowd of people was very entertaining.

See....

And I even found fun things to do while waiting like taking pictures of the crowd of feet! Cool, right?!

Here I am running at the beginning, still with a smile on my face!  All in all the race was pretty awesome!  I have to admit I really stopped smiling around mile 9+.  After that each mile was longer than the next. But...

Here it is... THE FINISH LINE!!!! Yay!!!! Happy day!!!! I did it and it was soooo amazing!!! Here I come bananas, water, muffins, cookies.....

Here I am covered in dried salty sweat(gross, I know, but very satisfying!), and very happy and yes, very sore!  Stairs and getting down on toilet seats (sorry if that is to much info!) were a problem for a few days!

Here is that fast, handsome, awesome, and extremely salty husband of mine!  He finished the full marathon in 3 hours 28 minutes, a super achievement and it was his first!  I know, know, I am perhaps the luckiest woman ever to be married to this man...he has all these qualities that are so amazing, but the best ones know one even knows about...oh, but I digress...:)

NICE, right?!

Here is the gang... Tom and Charissa Coate, US, and Heather Baldwin.  They are the best!

And here is one of us girls...we all hung in there together, porta-potties, water breaks, the hot sun beating down on us, the hills, and all...every single 13 miles and even that last .1, we did it together!  Thanks Charissa and Heather!!!!!

Oh, I guess I should mention my time...I actually didn't care so much about it, I was just so happy to have finished, but it was 2 hours, 38 minutes.  And I can say that I would do it again! Actually we are, Kelly and I are heading to Ohio in September to do the Air Force Marathon! (Me the half, I really do not aspire to do the full! I have my limits!) 

Dream Do Come True!

Every since we have moved to Alabama Mason has been asking us when it will snow.  I think he was thinking that it snow everywhere else except for Hawaii so of course it should be snowing now that we are not in Hawaii anymore.  Well, we have explained numerous times to him that it doesn't snow in Alabama, but to give him hope we tell him that it will snow in Nebraska (unfortunetely for me!)  It has been a long process of many discussions for him to understand that it will not be snowing here in the south.  Well.... we are liars.  One Sunday morning a couple of weeks ago I wake up to Ashley running into our bedroom shouting that it is snowing.  I think to myself, "OK, it's probably a few flurries melting in the air."....Nope, it's big flakes that are sticking.  Now, a note to all of you who are from the places where snow is a long 5-6 month reality, I realize this might not look like much to you, but to my tropical, snow deprived children this was a blizzard!  So here are a few pictures from EARLY Sunday morning....

Here they are staring in wonder....

Testing it out and here is my favorite quote from Mason after he heads out to play in his jacket and flip flops.   He is playing and then walks through the grass, he stops, gets a pained look on his face and runs to the door.  "Mom! Flip flops don't work in the snow!!"  (I know, I know!  The poor boy has lived in Hawaii most of his life, what do you expect!)

Here we are putting on more suitable foot wear!

Here is Britton testing out the trampoline.  And yes, he is bare foot.  I am such a responsible mom!  Don't worry, I'll try and have them wear appropriate snow attire for the winters in Nebraska!

My second favorite quote is from Ashley..."Mom, this is the most fun day in Alabama, ever!"

Here is Mason rejoicing over his good fortune!

And last we have Britton and his snow ball which he wanted to save by the way!

I think that the heaven's were smiling down on my kids that day and they were also good to me because after about 2-3 hours you would have never known it had snowed! Yay! That is my kind of snow!

Where have I been?

So, it has been a while since my last post.  I like to think that I've had a good reason, but truly I have just been lazy and putting it off.  Sorry mom!  As most of you probably know on January 22 Quincy received a brand new to him but slightly used kidney from me.  It has been a pretty amazing road but he and I are both recovering well and we feel very blessed for all the wonderful friends and family who have been there for us! Thank-you all!!!! Last week they interviewed us and wrote an article that was printed in the Montgomery Advertiser.  I posted the link below.

http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F200902260400%2FNEWS01%2F902260333

My Sweet Blankie Boy

Britton has always had a love of blankets.  When he was little he called them his "bee-boo's". He now calls them his blankets, sometimes blankies.  The one on his head is the one my mom made him when he was one because he would steal my silkie underwear out of the laundry basket and put them on his head.  She figured that if he ever wanted to travel and have the comfort of a silkie piece of cloth that the blanket would be better than underwear.  I am so glad she did because as you see he still puts it over his head and it might be a bit sketchy for a 10 year old to have woman's underwear on his head! Thanks Mom!!!  Although that blanket has been through it...snipped at the corners, painted with white out...it's nothing compared to the "teeny blankie". See below picture....
As you can see, the poor thing has had it.  We decided that the poor things should be retired. Britton took it pretty well, no tears, just a few longing looks.  All in all, I have decided that his love of blankies is a good thing...He can keep on snuggling and holding on to them in bed until he trades them in for a wife!

My Last Sunbeam

Oh, how old I feel!  Sunday was Mason's first day of Sunbeams.  (Sunbeams is the 3-4 year old class at church.  They have been in the nursery prior to this, treats and toys.  And now they are in with all the other children where they have lessons and singing time and sit on chairs A LOT more.)  I remember when Quincy went to sunbeams for the first time and I thought that was crazy, but now it is my sweet Mason, the last one.  I am thinking that kindergarten in coming way to soon!!  

He woke up Sunday morning so excited to go with the big kids.  It was all he could talk about and he even made a book that he had me write "Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam" and Ashley decorated it with pictures for him.  He had to take it to church with him and it even found its way home after church.  The best part was when I went to pick him up...I asked him if he had a good time and he replies, "Yes... I want to go back to nursery, there are no snacks in sunbeams." :) I have to agree with you Mason!!!!

Intervention???

Meet Fifi.....on the outside she looks cute, furry, harmless...right?... WRONG!!!!  Fifi is the cause of a potentially dangerous addiction that Ashley has fallen victim to.  Fifi is a WebKin. OK, for all you out there that are lucky enough to be saying to yourself, "What's a WebKin?" let me explain.  A WebKin or as I like to call it "Toy of the Devil", is a little unassuming stuffed animal that comes with this little card around their paw.  Now I mention the card because that is the source of the evil.  On this card is a little code with instructions...Log onto WebKins.com and put in "the code".  After your 6 year old (who, by the way, knows how to use the computer better than me) does this it all begins!  She now has to "take care" of the stuffed animal, Fifi, in our case.  You do this by playing a multitude of games, after you play the games you earn money to buy things for Fifi...food, bottled water, a bed, a fridge, a toilet!!!!, and my favorite...a treadmill! The list goes on.  And here's the clincher that I am reminded about all the time, you have to log onto the site and "take care" of your pet, ie:watering, feeding it, or it will DIE!! Oh, the tragedy!!  So our little Ashley, is....and I think I can safely make this diagnoses--addicted to WebKins.  I can barely pry her away from the computer to pursue my addiction of Facebook! It's like she starts to get the shakes when she is away to long and somebody else needs to use the computer!  Before you judge, I do feel like a bad parent, but hey, I comfort myself in the fact that at least it's not drugs!!  So I will continue to justify and hope that she grows out of it and one more thing...Thanks a lot Rick and Sharon!!!!!! 

Here's just a little picture of Ashley in the grips of her addiction.....

And the Winners Are....

Congratulations Ashley and Britton!  They were winners in a poster contest put on by the family support group here on base.  First and second places were chosen in three age categories out of over 250 posters.  Ashley won 1st place in here age group and Britton won 2nd in his age group.  Ashley won a 20 dollar gift card, movie passes, bowling passes, and more and Britton won all of those things minus the gift card.  We were very happy for them!  They must get their artistic abilities from someone other than me!