Pretty Proud!

So, Tiana's decided she wants to take on another 5K. She'll walk/run with a friend this Saturday down through a really nice neighborhood for the 4th of July celebration. She's even been "training"! Yesterday she and I went up to the golf course for a trip around. That wasn't near so much fun because it was with me, but today she was up for more and asked a different friend to join her. I took her DOWN to that friend's house and they walked UP the hill to our house! Let me just tell you that this is quite a hill. It's not as bad as it looks, but it isn't a super slouchy hill either! There is a 377' gain over 1.5 miles! Anyway, I'm very proud of her -- and Kaylin -- for taking on that awesome task! And I've done nothing today! I did 5.3 miles yesterday, and I will get something in today yet, but for now... She's got me beat!

RACE DAY!

Today was the first ever Rock 'N' Roll Half and Full Marathon in Seattle. What an experience! There were 25,000 entrants of all ages, shapes, sizes and abilities. At least two of us didn't train much and now, oh boy!, am I paying for it!! Oh well!


Thanks so much to Trevan and Jill for a wonderful dinner and sing tonight! The taco salad was excellent, as was the company!


And back to race day impressions. There were PEOPLE!!! Lots and Lots and LOTS of people. And even more cars and buses all trying to get to the same drop off points for the start line! Jolyn and I ended up walking about 2¼ miles before we even got to the start line and there was probably at least a tenth of a mile of being in the start area, too, before even GETTING to the start line! The first picture is BEHIND us (and we were pretty far back in the line up) and the other is the far-off start line!



I'm going to say straight away that there weren't as many bands I was expecting. I think in our 13.1 miles there were 7 bands? The BEST band was just a little kid on his electric guitar (he was pretty good for maybe 10!) with his dad on upside-down-trash-can percussion and his littler sibling doing some sort of percussion, too. The people lining the streets just stepping out from their houses and cheering us on were AWESOME and very much appreciated! The guy with the hose, though, he's beautiful and I'll love him forever!! There were very frequent water and Cytomax stations, which were very helpful since the weather turned out to be quite warm. The hills that many thought were hills weren't much to Jolyn and I, but we did notice them as we tried to run them. Around here we pretty much walk the hills, but they are DEFINITELY hills! When we were on the shores of the Lake we saw, perched high above in a tree, a regal bald eagle! The trek through the I-90 tunnel was GROSS! Talk about humid and stifling. The noise level was pretty high and echo-y, too. At mile 10-ish I was still smiling, but I could also see the end in view (never mind that we had to circle around and back to it on the other side!!)



The coolest part of it all was knowing that I had lots of friends encouraging me, running along beside me, watching for my finish -- even if on their computers at home, Mom!! And customers who told me to just walk to the start, but take a cut-off to get to my grouping faster! Thanks, Ken, I owe you a coffee!!

Kate (and Baby Mercury), Jolyn, and I

Projected time 2:55:40 Actual finish time 2:53:37 WooHoo!!!

The Half Marathon - Pre-Race

First off, I'll post this and I want to make very sure that Justin knows how much I appreciate his pre-race spaghetti feed! I'm not sure how many of us were there, but a good lot of runners and their support crew arrived to carb-load and hang out and wish each other well. We had, I think, 3 full-marathoners in attendance, 3 mommies-to-be who signed up for the half-marathon, 1 worker-in-residence! :) who was doing the half, and then a bunch of the rest of us also crazy people. I know for a fact that 2 of us signed up with the best of intentions to get some training done, but it didn't really happen! Thanks again, Justin, it was fabulous!

Big Weekend Plans!

So, it's here -- the Inaugural Seattle Rock-N-Roll Marathon and Half-Marathon! There's a WHOLE big group of us doing this thing and we're all getting pretty excited -- even if we aren't all really ready for it! Tomorrow at 7am we're off and running, walking, waddling, crawling! If for any reason you are interested in watching you can go to www.rnrseattle.com and watch the webcast! My number is 30178 and I won't be crossing the finish until around 10:15-10:30 most likely!! Will update after it is all finished!!

ALL SMILES!!!

This is from 6th grade Graduation Day -- braces went on just a couple of months later.

This was Mother's Day of this year.

Just before going into the orthodontist this afternoon!!

As we're leaving the orthodontist!

First bite of an apple in almost 2 years!!!

Girls' Day Away

So, Jolyn had to leave her car in Chelan last weekend because of a broken motor mount. That gave me an excuse to need to take her back over to get it this Thursday. So, after Tiana went off to school, off went we two girls to Chelan via Leavenworth. We did a bit of photography, a bit of eating a fabulous German lunch and then on to the car retrieval. On my way home, alone in the car, my mind was just spouting random thoughts of the day. Unfortunately, on the way home I ended up sitting completely stopped for two hours while a very serious accident was cleaned up and so I was able to write down those thoughts I'd had. Maybe I'll share them and a few corresponding pictures.

Swollen, angry, rolling rivers

From Day trip to E. Washington

Roadside Waterfalls

From Day trip to E. Washington

Leftover snowfields

From Day trip to E. Washington

Late spring wildflowers

From Day trip to E. Washington

Majestic Mountains

From Day trip to E. Washington

Gutes Essen und Freundschaft (good food and friendship)

From Day trip to E. Washington

Sunshine; Wind; Fresh scent of rain; Crystal Blue Lake; Big Horn Sheep Crossing; Bald eagle soaring, swooping; Apple trucks full of fruit; Peace; Quiet; Countryside; Time alone; Picturesque Towns; Renewal

Busy! Busy!!

WOW! It's been a long time since I've been on here! I think it may have to do with the fact that we have been so super busy! So, let's see, we had dinner with Big T, Robert, Vi and Andi and Anne from Austria. What a wonderful evening together!!



Then, it was clean the house time because Mom P. and Trenton were coming for a fast 5 day stay before heading out to the Great Frozen North! TT got to go to a Mariner's game after Union Meeting, he and his buddy Coda got to play at the dog park after he and Aunt Mo walked the almost 2 miles to the dog park, Monday he got to shop with his cousin at the mall, Tuesday he and Aunt Mo went to the zoo and to visit the troll. I think he had a bit of fun. I can tell you this, Coda misses his buddy! He and Trenton would lounge together. Trenton really liked that Coda would let him cuddle on the floor, because his own dog, Beemer, doesn't quite go for that!

From Trenton's Day at the Zoo

We're also winding down and counting down the days until school is out! Can you believe we'll have a High School FRESHMAN in the house?!?! Tiana will also be getting her braces off just before school is out. That was a quick trip through orthodontia! Less than 2 years!! YAY!!!

A Family Weekend

WOW! And CONGRATULATIONS to my parents on their 40th Wedding Anniversary. To help them celebrate, Justin, Kathy, Wyatt, Zoè, Kent, Tiana and I took Mom and Dad to Seaside where we enjoyed time on the beach flying kites and just being together. It was a short, fast weekend, but it went very well and we'll all have good memories I'm sure! We went out for a nice dinner once we all were finally there and then spent the evening just relaxing. The next day found us again on the beach flying kites and then meandering through the little downtown area that is so quaint. Sunday, after having a little study in our hotel, we went down to Tillamook and took a quick tour of the cheese factory. Although the time was short, we made the most of it and had a grand time! I'm ready for another beach vacation -- this time with a book or two and a comfy chair!

Check out the pictures here.