Justin and Kristin

Ragnar Cape Cod

We got to run another Ragnar Race this year (aka race of insanity). This year's 180 mile course would run from Plymouth and all the way up beautiful Cape Cod to Provincetown. Let me quickly summarize by saying this was my favorite Ragnar yet! My little brother came in from New York to join us and that made it even more special! How fun to run a exhilarating race with some of my favorite people!

Our team, Dr. Teeth and THE ELECTRIC MAYHEM, consisted of 11 (yep down a runner this year. Hey better than the three we were down last year!) mix and matched people who ended up all being super awesome!

Justin, I and my bro Nick of course were all in van 1, and I must say we started the race off right with some sweet car decorations!

It's not quite like the original Electric Mayhem bus but the inside did have a freaking awesome ambiance, especially at night with all our Christmas lights lit up!

Justin got us all started off at the starting line . . . .

..and we were off!

One day I want to be that girl next to him - running as an Ultra Team. I just need a few hard core running friends! Who out there will take on the challenge with me? I just need 4 more! :)

He rocked his first leg, only taking a wrong turn once :) hahaha. He handed off to me, and my first leg went well, if not a little fast. It helped me finally get into the spirit of the whole race experience, as I wasn't really feelin' it up to that point. How do you like my super psychedelic tank I got in honor of our team? :)

Since our van was down a runner, Justin and I planned on making up the empty legs, so I got to run again just two people later. That was such a cool leg as I got to run through Plymouth, right past the Mayflower and Plymouth Rock!

Plymouth Rock is in that stone pavilion! So cool!

 

I got to hand off to my bro, on his first Ragnar EVER (first of many right Nick?)

 

And look who followed us along for of our van's first set of legs and cheered us on the entire way!

My kids are either totally going to want to be runners cause they don't know any different or they are going to hate running more than anything from all the races we take them to! Here's hoping for the first.

 

At the first major exchange we enjoyed the setting sun, while the poor runners on our team in the other van were running up sand hills and along the beach!

We tried to rest up before our van was up again, but the time went way too fast! Or should I say our team was way too fast! :)

Night runs are definitely my favorite legs of the entire race. Justin and I both got to run almost our entire legs along a huge canal, under the stars, with virtually no traffic to be bothered or distracted by. This was my longest leg of the race, at 11 at night, in the chilly air. I was sporting a neon shirt, sweet "g-string" reflective vest, headlamp, back flasher, Retro head wrap, flashing blue bracelet, and a hot pint sequined mini skirt! hahaha! I had a hard time taking myself seriously dressed like that! It was invigorating and challenging, especially since I was keeping a VERY fast pace, and was only slowed by the .4 miles in the sand at the very end of the leg! Phew! 

Justin took the extra leg this round and Nick borrowed my blue balls ;) for his run!

 

We got to the next major exchange after 1am and tried to sleep. I think most people got a little bit of sleep. I got maybe 15 min. Curses to being a high maintenance sleeper!

These next legs were still in the dark and then early dawn, with a chill and fog in the air, but wow were they amazing! All of our legs were run on a running path that must go at least 20 miles along Cape Cod. Tree lined routes, traffic free, lakes, bridges, tunnels, lush New England beauty! It took my breath away!

Justin was supposed to take the extra leg this round as well, but when my original leg ended up being shortened, and then shortened again last minute, I took the last extra leg on. Looking back now I wish Justin and I had just ran it together, with one of us as a "pacer" - though he says he wouldn't have been able to keep up! :)

 

It was a thrill to be done and we headed to Provincetown, to wait for the second van to finish their legs. We enjoyed a delicious and much deserved breakfast, took in the morning sun on the beach, and strolled around the quaint little Provincetown.

Our team ran about 180 miles in 22 hours, and we were totally surprised to find out that we came in FIRST PLACE for our division! We had no idea that we were even in the "running" for that! Wow! How cool!

I think we all had an amazing experience. The Ragnar is so cool. If you haven't done one you really ought to try on. It's just such a unique race experience and so much fun to do with family and friends! 

I felt really good about all my legs. Miraculously over my five legs (totaling over 24 miles) I consistently kept an incredibly fast pace on basically no sleep! As I ran my last leg I was amazed at the abilities of the human body - specifically mine at that point (not in a narcissistic or egotistictic in any way). I just couldn't believe what I was capable of doing. I thought about how cool it is to see how far we can push ourselves, to test our limits, and challenge ourselves. There is so much gratification in surpassing what you believe your limits to be. The human body and mind are truly incredible!

Way to go Electric Mayhem! I say we do it again!

We Love Visitors

 

Especially this one!

Gramma Gina came into town to take care of our kids for a few days while Justin and I ran a race (more on that to come later). I think we definitely have to run this race every year so she at least has an extra good excuse to come and visit us. She came a few days early so we could have some fun before hand. And despite the rain I think we made really good use of our time!

One of those days we spent downtown soaking up many good things Boston: The Cambridge library, Kick @ss Cupcakes, Boston Commons complete with a carrousel ride the girls have been DIEING for, and a stop in one of my new favorite things to do with visitors - Boston Olive Oil Co. for some taste testing!

 

(our first trip to Boston Olive Oil Co was with these crazy folks who left for 6 months and I miss terribly, so I just had to include their picture for nostalgia's sake!)

The kids had a great time with Gramma Gina of course, and it was wonderful to know that they were being taken care of completely while we raced for 2 days. We got to spend Mother's Day together, though I was completely exhausted and had by then caved in to the illness I'd been fighting off all week, so I wasn't much fun but it was still nice to have a mother to share Mother's Day with.

The visit went too fast and we wish she would come out more often, or that we just didn't live so darn far away. Well at least we have a summer trip to look forward to! 

Half In Vermont

Justin got some wild idea and decided to run a half marathon just a week before another big race we had coming up. It was a fun excuse to get away to Vermont. Man it is beautiful up there! I wish that we hadn't been so tired 'cause we really could have enjoyed our time a bit better. But with kids acting up and all that comes with traveling for hours, sleeping in a hotel, and watching a half marathon we didn't have much left in the tank. But it did inspire me to make another special trip again to Shelburne, Vermont sometime when we REALLY can enjoy it (and when the farm is open so my kids can actually milk the cow).

But the real purpose was to see Justin rock his half marathon; which he did!

It was a VERY chilly and windy day. The course was a bit hillier than expected but Justin went out hard and hung in there!

Nice "action" shot of Justin. I don't have any idea what he is saying here, but I think it's a cool photo! It's like he's saying "I got this!" :)

 

It was an incredibly beautiful course, part of which went through Shelburne Farms.

 

We had fun cheering for him and many called us the "ultimate cheering section".....uh oh....am I raising cheerleaders? *pushing that thought out of my mind*

 

He was feeling really good and doing very well and around mile 10 started to hit a wall. But he pushed through like a champ.

Then with about two miles left the course ran through some wooded trail area and he thought he was lost so he turned around! Ah man! Trying to make up for his lost time he pushed his limits and came gruelingly through the finish line.

Does he or does he not have amazing legs?! So amazing. Kind of jealous.

 

I love how in just a matter of moments you can go from feeling like this:

 

To this:

Isn't racing/running weird? It's so cool though. It's such a test of physical and mental strength. After completing a race or just a hard training run there is such a sense of satisfaction in knowing that you gave it your all.

And to all you "sloggers" (slow-joggers) out there - If you're not giving it your all, you really should try it sometime! And I'm not just talking about running - I mean in all aspects of life. Pick something, anything - running, marriage, cooking, parenting, friendship, cleaning, spirituality, whatever; start by picking one and just giving it 100% for awhile. It's hard, but man does it feel good! 

I don't think that Justin was overly thrilled with his finishing time, but he still PR'ed (AGAIN) so it couldn't be that bad! He also placed THIRD in his age division!! Woot, WOOT!! He definitely gave it his all. There's no way you can look like that crossing the finish line and say you held anything back. Way to go Justin! You're making it harder and harder for me to keep my lead on you! ;)

Where's the Pause Button?

Maybe I've put off getting this post done because then it would make the fact that my baby is now two all the more real. Isn't denial a good place sometimes? I love this age - ok minus the 2 year old tantrums - but really for the most part it is delightful! It's the age where you really can see what kind of person and personality your little one has and may even continue to grow up with. They can understand you but can't talk back, they are learning by leaps and bounds and every new discovery or advancement is the most adorable thing ever and never ceases to make you beam with pride! I love our little Nouvelle. I just love every single little thing about her. I just wish I could pause time for a bit and keep her this way for just a bit longer. She is getting too big way too fast. 

She, being two and all, made getting her two year pics quite a challenge. I think it's the hardest year mark picture to get. We tried three different photo sessions. I didn't come away with as many options as I normally like to have, but I got what I got, and it will just have to be good enough! 

So here she is my little chubbers. My precious, gregarious, funny, ham. The sunshine in our lives.

 

 

 

 

 

Don't you just love her over ambitious attempt to say "cheese?" Oh I want to gobble her all up!

 

Remember This Little Cherub?

 

Well here she is now . . .

. . . all beautiful FOUR YEARS of her!

Cadence is still our sweet little girl who has a fire deep inside her. She definitely can get rilled up with massive amounts of energy by her older sister, but if it came down to it think she prefers to play quietly and calmly on her own. She's the "girliest" of all my girls, evident by her love of purple, Rapunzel, and the fact that she would dress up like a princess every moment of every day in every circumstance. She walks around almost all day on her tippy-toes, and I hope that is an indication that she is going to be an amazing en pointe ballerina some day! She has amazingly beautiful lips, and long hair that I doubt she'll ever let us cut (after all won't it lose it's power if we cut it?) She loves her dance class, loves to read and color, wants to live in a purple house with a purple chimney right next to Curious George (so I take that as she wants to live near her uncle Nick in NYC), and prays almost daily that she can be old enough to go to preschool. 

I'm constantly worried that she is going to fall prey to the middle child syndrome so at times I may give into her a bit more than I should, and I definitely look for opportunities to make her feel special. I hope she does, because she certainly is. She is our sweet little Cadence. We love her! And we're so glad she turned four - 'cause now she can go to preschool this fall, just like she's always wanted!

 

After a few challenges with weather, we finally got some great shots for her four-year-old photos. Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

(For a few more photos from this shoot check out my photography blog HERE!)

When the Hearts Not in It

A little while ago Justin and I had another race. I must admit I had been overwhelmed with an immense amount of DREAD just thinking of doing this race. It was "just" a 5k, so what was my problem? The problem was that this race would be run on or near to the exact same course we ran back in January. And though that was "just" a 5k as well, it was one of the hardest races I've done; as I pushed my body beyond any threshold I knew I had.

The dread only intensified as I came down with a nasty cold the week before the race, only then to be magnified by the fact that the day before the race I was scheduled to do a 22 mile long run! *UG* I did NOT want to run this race. All of my despondent thinking was only supported by Justin's same sense of dread and apathy towards the race. 

But race day came, and almost completely out of a sense of obligation, we woke up early, left the kids with a babysitter, and made the drive in the cold pouring rain to the race that was to be run on grass and dirt* on a "hilly and challenging course".

*aka slippery turf and muddy muck of potential injury.

 

 

Out of shear need to avoid complete torture, I held back a bit- having my main goal just to participate in and finish this race. I still gave a very good effort, considering. The course was very difficult but beautiful. I should have felt more "proud" or excited about my results than I was; seeing as I placed second overall females and first in my age division, but I was still just feeling *EH* about the whole thing. Justin did amazing as well, considering he shared my  same sentiments. His time improved, as well as his ranking among the men and came in 5th in his age division! He didn't even dry heave this time! :) Though we did amazing, I was really just relieved that it was over and not hanging over my head any more! 

I know that this all probably sounds horrible - especially coming from someone who loves running so much! But I think that most every runner has days/races that are not the best or the most thrilling for them. To me, doing this race was definitely physical training, but more so mental/emotional training. Experiences like this are about refining our ability to do something even when we don't want to, and pushing through even when there seemed to be numerous things stacked "against" us. It's about enduring even when it's hard, or our hearts are not in it; A lesson that can be applied to many aspects of life. We don't just give up when we don't want something any more. We see it through, do the best we can in that moment, and strive to turn the corner back into a more hopeful, enthusiastic, joyful, fulfilling place.

One Little Monkey

I think it's still a bit hard to know exactly what a two year old really likes. Especially when all she really seems interested in is what her two older sisters are doing. One thing we DID know about Nouvelle: she LOVES to eat, especially bananas (any food is thrown to the side even at the sight of a banana), and she goes around every day singing the "5 Little Monkeys" song - adorably, I might add. Though she is not all about monkeys per se, she IS our little monkey - so silly, funny, fun of energy, and well, full of bananas - literally! So though we didn't throw her a huge party when she turned two, I couldn't sacrifice on the cake. So keeping with tradition, I made this:

 

For lunch that day, we kept with the monkey theme and ate Nutella banana sandwiches.

I'm pretty sure she thought she had died and gone to heaven.

We invited a few friends over to help us eat cake that evening. One of them is a "connoisseur" of sorts for great tasting treats, and inspired me to try something new. So instead of a plain ol' buttercream frosting, I made peanut-butter buttercream to accentuate the devils food chocolate cake. It was a hit! The cake seriously tasted like a Reese's peanut-butter cup! I think I'll try this more often. Shouldn't a cake taste as great as it looks? Hmmmm, the flavor profiles are endless!

Nouvelle dove right in without hesitation and devoured her piece!

We washed the cake down with some frozen chocolate covered Bananas, and some Ben & Jerry's Chunky Monkey Ice Cream.

What could be more appropriate?

Happy Birthday to our Chunker, our Smushy, our Smooshy, our Silly, Monkey! We absolutely LOVE and adore you!

Ok Fine, but Just 'cause I love You

Cadence has been anxiously awaiting her birthday. I had given her this birthday crown and she decided to get all decked out in a pretty dress for her special birthday lunch with her dad.

It was so sweet to see her face light up when she saw Justin. I loved seeing her excitement (as I spied from across the courtyard) as she sat on her one on one date with daddy; her little legs dangling and swinging from her chair; not hearing their conversation but seeing their sweet interaction as they talked; her timid and reserved enthusiasm as he bought her a special birthday cupcake. I wish I could have it all on video to be able to replay for a lifetime. 

After a day of a bit of fun we had a dinner of "Rapunzel" hair and an outing for special birthday ice cream - bubble gum flavor! 

 

For MONTHS I've been trying to brainwash Cadence into wanting anything BUT a princess party. I even had her on board, more or less. But I could tell in her heart of hearts what she really wanted was a Rapunzel party. In the end, I had to give in right? I mean she's only slightly obsessed with Rapunzel. So we invited a few friends and put our entire heart into preparing the best Rapunzel party possible. After staying up until 3am we were mostly ready (thanks to the internet and a few creative ideas of our own to make things come together)!

 

As the kids were arriving we started them off decorating lanterns. This was a lot of fun and a huge hit!

 

Then we found a clue in a box of jewels that sent the kids on a scavenger hunt for the crowns that the Stabbington brothers hid. Once we found the crowns, we decorated them with the missing jewels.

 

We then played pin the pan on Flynn Ryder. Way to go Justin for sketching his face onto the poster (such an artist)!

 

For lunch we had Rapunzel Pizza Braids, Max's Apples, and little orange boats floating on jello! All of which was consumed on "frying pan" plates!

 

We thought this lantern themed cake I found on line would be easier than the tower we did for Sage's birthday. In theory it would have, but those darn lanterns! I seriously gotta find a place to get pastillage or modeling chocolate. I'm just finding that fondant for certain cake decorations is just too difficult to work with! The cake still turned out ok though. Someday though I want to have a huge house with a wonderful kitchen and an entire closet full of amazing cake decorating tools and materials! Then maybe cake making for birthdays will only take a few hours instead of all night! But Cadence was happy with it and that's what matters most right?

 

We finished up the party by letting the little princesses paint the "walls" with Rapunzel paints! This was a blast for them!

As much work as it was putting this all together and actually pulling it off, it was all worth it because Cadence got the Rapunzel party she was dreaming of. I know it won't always be this easy to make my little girls dreams come true; So if it means putting together an all out princess themed party (against all my non-girly-isms) then I'll most certainly do it while I can. 

Roasted Marshmallows

In trying to explain to a friend the other day the difference for me between running a 5k and a marathon or even 50k I realized it was kind of like roasting a marshmallow. The end results is the same - squishy, soft melted mallow - or "melty" soft, disintegrated legs.

There's a couple of ways to get there.

Keep it in a warm spot and slowly let the mallow roast as it gradually gets hotter and hotter, or set the thing ablaze straight from the gate and just let it fry! You're choice: A slow and steady burn or a quick blaze of fire!

Longer distances will burn you up in the end, but getting to that state of complete breakdown takes time. You'll get there for sure, and it will kill when you do, but it will just take awhile. A 5k or 10k is pure burning torture from the first second the gun fires. It's over quickly but it kills the entire time!

 

How do you like to roast 'em?

 

Uninspired

February was an uninspiring month for me.

Not that February did anything in particular this year to piss me off, drain my creativity or stifle my spirit. It just...well...let's just say that February is like the scapegoat in the family. Everything bad gets blamed on February. And to be honest, it usually doesn't do a whole lot to prove otherwise. Most years February just plain sucks. For being the shortest month of the year it, more often than not, it seems to feel like the longest. This year though, February tried to redeem itself from last year (and to give credit where credit is due; actually did a mighty fine job). But for some odd reason I still found myself a bit hum drum this last month. Maybe I was just spending my energy preparing for the worst that February could potentially hand out, only to find that February was quite pleasant after all.

None the less, here I am having survived March coming in like a lion, and wishing I'd done more blogging in February. Because really, besides the one whole week of puke fest we had in February, the rest of the month offered some pretty great moments.

But onward I move, hoping that March doesn't throw us any weird surprises. But then again, March has kind of been known as a loose cannon, so anything is possible right?

The end of February Justin ran the half marathon he has been training for. He went into it a bit discourage and somewhat pessimistic. He'd caught the sick bug at the tail end of the rest of us, and February was a crazy month at work so his training suffered a bit. Essentially he threw most of his hopes and goals for this race out the window and basically ran it out of duty. Or principle. Or maybe just because I told him he didn't have my permission to woose out. He braved a frigid cold day (at least it was a sunny frigid day) with some strong winds and gave it the best he had. Apparently he hadn't fallen as far behind as he thought because he PR'ed as well as beat his original goal for this race. He left feeling very good about his time, his performance, and his efforts. What more can you ask for?

 A week later it was my turn. I had trained really hard, put in my time, made my sacrifices (i.e. early COLD mornings, pace runs with the double jogging stroller while still recovering from the flu, lots of miles, treadmill runs...you get the idea). But I was feeling pretty ambivalent about my race. I didn't know what to expect from the distance, nor what was a realistic goal. I wasn't feeling all that excited to race again either (to be honest I think that the marathon back in October and the 5k in January both have left me a bit traumatized). But I came up with what I thought was a reasonable goal for a 20 mile race. Then just to give me a little window to work with I used my pace calculator to give me bit more of an ambitious goal. I supposed somewhere between the two would be ideal.

I thought the crappiest thing about this race would be the fact that not only was it an out and back race, but it was a double out and back because of the 10 mile racers running at the same time. Ug. I was surprised that the only slightly discouraging part was hitting half way and realizing I had to do everything I'd just done all over again. But the out and back part actually broke the race down into smaller more attainable milestones. Plus Justin got to just pick a spot at mile 3 and stay there the entire race and I ran by there 4 times! It made spectating with three small children a lot easier than it normally is!

I was grateful that I didn't suffer with anything during this race besides just major fatigue and a small mental game around mile 17 to keep pushing harder all the way to the end. I came through the finish line WAY before both goals with a time that I would have thought unattainable for a 20 mile race! Oh and an age placement award as well! :)  I was proud of myself and my efforts to race the course and myself, giving it my all. I think though that soon again I need to run a race just "for fun." Is that possible any more? Would I really let myself hold back? Hmmm. Maybe it's worth the experiment!

 

Haitian Love

It's been a few months since our family was moved to the Haitian ward here in Boston (this brought on because both Justin and I speak french; but the story is actually a lot more complicated - but a bit too complicated, as well as spiritual, to write all down here).The past months in our new ward have presented us with a few challenges and yes, some major adjustments, but lately I have been overwhelmed by the "amazing" of our experience - or rather the AMAZING of the Haitian people. Of course we are all human. We are all imperfect people. We all have areas to improve upon and change. All we can really do is just daily try to be better, but despite the imperfectness of us all, these people show near perfection in the areas of life that I think truly matter most! Christ-like love.

I have been overwhelmed by the love and warmth of the Haitian people. Never before have I felt so accepted and welcomed completely by every single person in a ward. If there are divisions or cliques there, I am oblivious to them. They genuinely seem to care about each and every person. They are concerned truly about everyone's well being. There is no pretense, no "fashion-show" no popularity contest, no flaunting of "greater" sprituality or knowledge, no judgment. They are thoughtful, giving, selfless, forthright, and loving. They are the kind of people that when you miss a day of church 6 different people, some of whom you don't really even know their name yet, call you to make sure you are ok! Where near strangers buy Christmas gifts for your children! Where "random" people will just sit down and join your family in the chapel. Everyone greets you with a smile and truly wants to know how you are doing! They act as if we have been in their ward all along. We feel a part of the "family." This warmth and acceptance came at the perfect time in my life. What a welcome gift from God in our lives. Any of the challenges or struggles that we may face with this change of wards is made up every week by the true Christ-like love of the wonderful people!

I wish we all could be a little more like these new friends of mine and show true Christ-like love to everyone no matter who they are at all times, thinking not of ourselves but always of others. They are my example.

"Runners Are Wild"

Since the beginning of the year we've managed to get two races in already! Yes we've been busy! :) It's turned out that these races have been key in kick starting my butt back into "training" mode. Not that I have a ton of races planned or anything officially, but it's good to have some bit of specific running "expectations." That way I don't just always go out the door with a big question mark hanging over my head as far as distance or speed (though that had it's enjoyment for awhile as well). 

The first race (in honor of the new year) we did as a family with strollers and all. Nothing like trying to run a race pushing a double stroller half the way, not to mention into coastal head winds! We had a blast though, which is most important! We even managed to finish respectably given our "stroller" challenge (How's 7:08 min miles for 4 miles?)! Really I don't know how many more races we'll be able to do with the strollers! These kids are getting so heavy!

I thinks it's kind of funny though. Everyone at the starting line was trying to make sure they were in front of us. I even heard one guy say there was no way he was going to get stuck behind us! I remember passing him even before we even hit mile one, and he became just one of the 705 people we finished in FRONT of! I think we placed like 65th overall! So there! :) We're no wussie jogggers her folks! We're hard core runners! We're wild!! :)

It was a beautiful day. Sunny and crisp! A great way to ring in a new year!

 

Next was a trail race.

My first official trail race. Now this wasn't some ultra marathonish, up a major mountain, extreme hard-core trail race, but even in it's "novice" trail race-ism it still completely kicked my butt! A "hilly and challenging course" with both single and double tracks.  Heaven's to Betsy!  I thought I was going to have a heart-attack the entire race! Here's an image of one of the many short steep hills.

There were some long steep hills, and some of these short steep ones. No I did not walk. Not once. That is what I'm most proud of. The single track lasted a few miles and was challenging. There was virtually no passing unless someone in front of you was kind of enough to step aside for a moment. Around mile 2 a few people did just that. I'm sure they were a little less than please to see that I was a girl. The single track puts a lot of pressure on you not only keep up with the guy in front of you but more so not to hold up the guy behind. It really challenged and pushed my limits.

There were definitely more than a few curse words spewn from my mouth as I pushed my body beyond what I thought it was capable of.

"Runners are wild....running is anything but civilized. Just look at the faces of the first five guys [or girls] to cross the line at any 10k. Not exactly the kind of expression you can wear to a dinner party." -PearlIzumi

I rest my case.

Not the most attractive photo of me. The spit that I didn't have enough breath to launch further than the front of my shirt. The panting exhale of my breathing. The tension in my body. And the pain and exhaustion all over my face.

The look of a woman running the last .25 miles to her FIRST-place OVERALL women finish! 

Though I don't expect to keep this overall winning standard I seem to have set for myself, it was a fun and exhilarating - not to mention, agonizing and excruciating, start to the year!

 

I have to mention that Justin kept up amazingly well, and finished third in his age division - the best he's ever done - even despite the two dry-heaving spells he had along the way! So dignified!

Yep running is definitely ANYTHING but civilized! Part of the reason I love it so much!

Bullet Points to End the Year

I'm not feeling inspired to post much or many details about all the festivities in December so I'm going to give it to you bullet point format.

"Crazy" Uncle Nick (as my kids call him) comes back into town, much to the joy of our household!

Intense - I mean INTENSE gingerbread house making endeavors which overtook our kitchen for two days! It was like a gingerbread house explosion in there! We were very proud of our results!

 

Delicious Christmas Eve tradition of Fondue with our friends. Olivia, whom I met on my mission in Belgium, can truly appreciate the fondue and brought a light and luscious buche de noel - one of my all time favorite Christmas traditions from my mission.

Christmas Eve snugglies with the cutest and smooshiest children alive!!!!

 

Christmas morning was relaxing and fun. Everyone enjoyed unwrapping their presents!

 

And we finally gave our kids the rocking Eeyore that Justin made when I was pregnant with SAGE! It has moved with us to be stored from CO to NC to UT and finally here in MA, just hiding and biding its time until the time was right! The original rocking horse was made by my dad before I was born. My mom redesigned it into Eeyore with her artistic perfection and Justin did all the cutting and assembling. The paint and embellishing was a team effort! (Somebody's toe is bound to get crushed under the thing I just know it.)

 

A relaxing Christmas afternoon with our dearest friends.

 

Another fun photo shoot with the bro. For more from this shoot click HERE.

 

Though we were far from the entire family even just having Nick here helped everything feel complete, along with friends who for all intents and purposes are our family here.

 

It was a fabulous Christmas holiday! We hope everyone else had a great season as well.

Now on to 2012...wait. I thought it was still 2010. I'm getting old.

This Just-in

A bit behind in posting. You know how the holidays suck you up and don't spit you out again until the New Year! It's a good thing right? So here we go with some catch up. December 17th was Justin's birthday. Having come out of a week or two of sickness in our household it was tough getting my act together. I was a bit disappointed in myself especially since his birthday was on a Saturday which meant we could have had all day to celebrate! It wasn't what I'd consider an extra ordinarily awesome birthday for him, but we still did some fun things.

Sage's present was learning to ride her bike without training wheels! Wahoo! Go Sage!

and we got to see Santa!

(I admittedly, and perhaps a bit sadistically, like these photos with babies crying on Santa's lap. I think they are hilarious! Thanks Nouvelle for not letting us down!)

 

The best was getting out on a date with just Justin and eating at one of our new favorite restaurants, 

and then hitting the Parker Omni House Hotel for supposedly the original Boston Cream Pie (Boston Cream being one of Justin's all time favorites!). This certainly was a decadent little dessert, but shhh don't tell, I think I'd take a Boston Cream Pie Donut from Dunkin' Donuts!

 

One thing for sure, we are glad to have Justin in our life. He is a calming force, a sound of reason, a source of support, and  an endless supply of love. He is an understanding man, who sees no discrepancy between women's role and man's - but that we all share in our family responsibilities. He is the person we miss most when he is away, and the person we all look forward to seeing when he returns. He is definitely everyone's favorite person in this house. Thank goodness we have him. Happy Birthday to the love of my life and the best dad in the whole entire world!

From Us To You!

They certainly are! 

More on our fun Christmas festivities to come, once the excitment dies down! Hope everyone is having a great day! We miss our famiy and friends who are far away, but we are enjoying the ones we have here!

Merry Christmas!

Nothing Like Dilapidation

Like my previous post stated while my bro Nick was in town we were able to go out for a photo shoot. I have fun shooting him 'cause he doesn't need much direction, he holds still, and is patient with me while I find better lighting, cooler backgrounds, and fix my camera settings.

For years I've been driving past a certain dilapidated building on my way to and from work. Everytime I see it I have just felt drawn to capture some sort of life in front of it's baren backdrop. I don't know, it just seems poetic and artistic to me in some way.

I was glad for a willing participant to ignore the "No Tresspassing" signs and sneek a few shots before we couldn't risk leaving ourselves to the cops any longer. :)

 

Here's a few of my favorites.

For more from this photo shoot click HERE

 

 

 

 

Trottin' Little Turkeys

We were so excited to know that my brother Nick was going to come for Thanksgiving. Sage couldn't stop telling people: her friends, teachers, random people at the store. We were glad for her enthusiasm while waiting for her "crazy" uncle Nick to come into town. 

I had a few things I wanted to accomplish with him while he was in town. 

One: get him to catch the fire of running races

Two: eat a LOT of good food

Three: introduce him to the exhilarating world of the "long run"

Four: Have a fun photo shoot with a more docile subject than my ADHD children

Five: Chill, relax, catch up, laugh, create great memories

 

I think we accomplished all of these things!

Thanksgiving morning Nick and I joined in on a Turkey Trot 5k. It was meant to be just an enjoyable race. However, I couldn't let myself take it too easy. I still pushed myself pretty hard, and managed to pull my fastest min/mile ever and got a great new 5k PR! Given the "break" I'm taking it was quite the surprise and I'm pretty proud of my time! The $25 award money was nice too! ;) I seriously don't know how I ran that fast! Wahoo!

Nick caught the fire of racing, the thrill of a cheering crowd, the energy of running amongst so many people, and the sense of accomplishment of pushing yourself to your limit.

Way to go Nick! He seriously did awesome for his first official 5k ever!

 

And what a small world! I ran into my running buddy from the Bar Harbor Marathon! Even from a distance I recognized her seriously amazing body (I know that sounds creepy, but seriously she is so buff and tone - especially for a 50 year old! :) ) It was fun to see her and catch up. I know we only spent about 4 miles together during the marathon but there is just something so bonding about sharing in someone else's physical and mental struggles that connects you on a deeper level. I hope I "run" into her again soon! :)

Thanksgiving was great. Great food, great company, great conversation, great memories.

 

The rest of the weekend was completely relaxing with beautiful weather and fun times. Nick and I went on his longest run ever, and believe or not he's talking about doing a marathon now! That would be so fun to see him run one! Here's hoping!

We got to do a fun photo shoot, just him and I, right before he left (That post to come soon).

We really loved having him here. I'm glad he lives close enough to make these kind of visits possible and we are all already looking forward to the next one!

The Chilly Half

After our last half marathon Justin has been on a mission - Beat his last half marathon time (I teased him that really he just wanted to beat MY last half marathon time, but he adamantly denies that). 

He trained pretty hard for this and went out and did amazing! The weather was great for him and the girls and I had a crazy fun time chasing him from spot to spot to cheer him on!

 

Though a lot of the autumn leaves had fallen it was still a beautiful course through Newton, MA.

 

He was going so fast I nearly missed him at a few points. And unfortunetly my running gloves became a casualty of war in the hustle and bustle of getting three kids in and out of the van.

 

Apparently there was a stretch of some serious hills on this run (I should really just make Justin write about his experience himself - ah well). This is just after the last of it aorund mile 8 or 9. He's still looking good, though he said at this point he was starting to really fatigue.

 

And then he came SPRINTING into the finish line! He said he was bound and determined to pass some dude he'd been following the entire race!

And he did it! He beat his last half marathon time...and *gulp* mine as well.

I guess I have my work cut out for me.

Way to go  on a new PR Justin!!

 

On a side note: I was a bit worried that I would get out there watching him race and wish I were doing the race as well. But nah, I was good. I guess it was a true sign that the "break" I'm taking from serious running/training/racing is much needed (and now my family and close friends can start laughing as they know what milage a "break" looks like for me still! But hey it's still a mental break of sorts right?!)

Thankful for...

So many people have been doing this whole daily thankful thing this month. I knew that would only be setting me up for failure. There's no way I would have been able to post daily with all that has been going on this month. But don't worry, I've still been thinking about what I'm thankful for! Attitude of gratitude and all that...

Last week I was at a Thanksgiving themed church activity.  They took a moment to let individuals share what they are grateful for. As I listened, I agreed with many of the things that people shared and am also grateful for all those things - you know. The "normal" things - family, health, the savior, freedom, Nutella (particularly agree with that one! :) ) but as I sat there I contemplated a bit more, and asked myself deep down, what am I the most grateful for at this moment based on the past year that I've experienced?

I realized that I am most grateful that I know who I am. Truly who I am.

I am who I am no matter what happens to me, no matter what experience or person may let me down, no matter if health or even life fails me in some way. I'm ok through it all because I know who I am. I am not someone that is dependent on fleeting self-esteem, or outside sources to make me feel good about myself or worthwhile. No matter what comes my way I always have myself and who I am. I am grateful that this knowledge grounds me, sustains me, and brings peace to my life.  I know too many people that don't know who they truly are; who allow anything and everything outside of themselves and their control to decide how they feel about themselves. That can be a sad, confusing, chaotic and lonely place.

I'm so grateful for the teachings and experiences that have helped me to develop, recognize, and embrace who I am: A passionate, powerful, and loving woman. A child of God. A wife, mother, sister, daughter, friend.

I have worth, infinite and unchanging. Knowing this is what I am most grateful for in my life.

 May you know who you are and love who are! Happy Thanksgiving!

A Week of Wendy

What does it mean to have a week of Wendy?

For my kids it means fun and silliness and a great play companion, WAY more cool than their dumb ol' mom!

For me it means constant adult interaction, a great excuse to get out of the house, and being able to spend time with the one person besides my husband who completely "gets" me.

For Wendy it means getting to experience the sights, sounds, smells, and tastes of New England in the fall. 

Here's just some of the fun things we did:

 

Walden Pond

where the girls spent most of their time throwing rocks into the water.

 

Harvard:

 

Regina Pizzeria for the best pizza ever!

 

The Freedom Trail

which ended with delicious Boston Cream Fried Dough one day, and a canoli the next!

 

Wellesley College

 

Then Wendy and I took a girls get-away weekend to NYC.

We got to see my brother, Nick.

 

Hang out in The Big City

 

See Wicked on Broadway

 

 

And some crazy weird, unexplainable show called Fuerza Bruta, which can only be compared to a strange dream.

Oh and did I mention that not only does a see-through stage hang above you filled with water and dancers, but it POURS rain on the audience at the end? (Sorry spoiler alert!)

We were DRENCHED!!! So much fun! So wildly unique!

 

 

We had delicious food the entire weekend with Nick

 

Central Park

and happened upon the NYC marathon.

What surprised me most was that my brother could NOT tear himself away from it. He just HAD to keep watching - at the sacrifice of our chocolate shake - which I was totally ok with! It was fun to see someone in my family "get it" with the whole marathon thing!

 

Then back in Boston we got to enjoy the North End and the South End of downtown Boston

and a fabulous picnic and afternoon at the Boston Public Garden

Justin even got to join us for a bit during the day. I wish he could have joined us for even more of the fun!

 

What a great visit. It was fun to have Wendy in town. We missed her when she left and hope it's not too long before she can visit again.

 It's wonderful to have friends where you both feel that you can totally be yourself with each other;  silly, mellow, talkative, vulnerable, and everything in between. No judgment, no awkwardness; nothing but just pure friendship. What a refreshing feeling! 

Thanks Wendy for being just that kind of friend!

We LOVE YOU AND MISS YOU!!!