26.2...Utah Valley

Running 2 marathons in 3 weeks might not be the best idea I have ever had. Remember my post about the Ogden marathon and how it didn't go all that well?!? Besides not having the best marathon ever, I ended up having some hip problems and not being able to run much between the 2 marathons. I heard great things about the course, but I didn't start out with too high of expectations about how the marathon would go.

When my hip wasn't feeling better a week after Ogden, I started going to physical therapy. I felt much better, but I knew I wasn't 100%. I didn't get as nervous as I usually do until the driver didn't know how to get to the start line. Every time we turned around I got more and more anxious. I never really got over that. I am not kidding when I say I started struggling in the first mile. I could never get my pace under control, and my hip was bugging me. Thankfully the Grand Slam made it so quitting was absolutely not an option. I knew I could push through and get to the finish somehow.

I don't usually run with people I meet along the way, but this marathon was totally different. I met 3 groups of people that literally got me through the marathon. All of the groups had at least 1 person who was struggling a bit and someone who could have finished much faster but slowed way down for a friend. I learned a really important lesson about charity that day.

Suzie ran the half and then stayed to run the last few miles with me and drive me home. I don't have a picture to prove it, but Emily S stayed for hours and hours to see me run in and take these pictures. It was so nice of her and Suzie.

finally getting to the finish line

with my new friends Natalie and Tiffany. they inspired me all along the way.

The kindness/support of strangers and friends got me through this marathon. I might not have preformed as well I would have liked, but this marathon experience was about so much more than running. Some day soon I really am going to do a post about running and why I keep doing this over and over again.

Les Mis

I thought I was the only person on the planet who had never seen Les Mis. When I found out it was coming to Salt Lake, I had to go. Laurann really wanted to go too. We raced to dinner at Blue Lemon before the show. We didn't have the best seats (I mostly couldn't see anything), but I'm so glad we went. It was very well done and an enjoyable night.

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Bachelorette Weekend

Mikael is getting married. Instead of a shower we decided to have a bachelorette weekend instead. Emily's parents live in Oakley and were generous enough to come let us stay in their barn/house. We met in Park City for lunch on Friday, did a lot of shopping, went to dinner, and headed to Oakley. We sat in the hot tub for hours before staying up half the night talking and laughing. Emily planned a tea party for lunch on Saturday complete with a hat for Mikael. Emily really knows how to entertain, and it was so much fun.

Thanks Mikael for getting married so we could all have a fun getaway weekend and thanks Emily and your parents. Such a fun weekend!

Happy Birthday Karson

Karson's birthday is today, but we celebrated a little early while we were all in Vegas. Chelsea decided to have a family party the last night we were all in town. There are no pictures to prove it, but besides my mom Ashley, Jake, and I were all there.

my mom made the sports cake for the sports themed party

Karson needed a little help to dig in but then seemed to like it and really loved the ice cream grandma kept feeding him

Karlee was so excited for his presents. I love this picture. It looks like they actually know how to share
I'm glad they had the party early so we could all celebrate with him. I can't believe it's already been a year. Happy Birthday Karson!

26.2...Ogden version round 2

Somehow someone or something convinced me to sign up for the Grand Slam. I've pretty much been dreading it ever since...not the best thoughts to be having staring at a 4 marathon year. I've been anxious to get going and at least get one down. Saturday I got one down...barely.


Teresa, me, Caroyn, and Alyson after the finish
My usual training tactics haven't been working that well lately, and my long runs were pretty rough. I tried to be positive and hope for the best. I did the Ogden marathon last year. I was a little excited to do it again. I remembered how beautiful the course is but somehow forgot about the many rolling hills that nearly killed me. I was freaking out all week and especially Friday evening and early Saturday morning, but somehow once I stood on the road for the start line I suddenly felt calm. I started out pretty well (not too fast and not too slow). Somewhere along the way (not exactly sure where or when or even what) I went from doing pretty well to ending pretty bad. Not my best marathon but not my worst. Lucky for me I have 3 more chances this year to do better. Time to step it up a notch. Anyone want to go running?
stay tuned for a post about my thoughts on running and how I actually survive these dang things...over and over again

DISNEYLAND

My mom has been talking about taking to Karlee to Disneyland. Karlee has loved Mickey and Minnie for a long time, and she has really gotten into the princesses this year. We had such a great time as you can tell from the tons of pictures.


Karlee in front of the castle

Ashley had these cute shirts made for the kids

Karlee's dream of meeting Minnie coming true

We got really lucky and ended up in the front of the line to see Minnie and Mickey

Karlee got to meet her favorite princess Ariel and several others including Pocahontas

Karson was so good the whole time and actually got some good naps. Karlee LOVED the teacups

Dumbo was another favorite

As was the carousel

Karlee was excited for another carousel in California Adventure

She loved rides so much, but this was a little much. Jake and Ashley bought this cookie, and I'm pretty sure Karlee ate most of it. She was pretty excited to eat a Mickey cookie.

Grandma and Karlee. Me with the kids

All the girls in front of the castle. The whole fam (mom, Jake, Karlee, Ashley, Chelsea, Jeff, Karson, me)
Disneyland/California Adventure was so much fun with kids. Thanks mom for taking us!

Matchy Matchy

I did a lot of sewing over spring break this year. I started out with plans to make a couple skirts and ended up making a little more. I had tons of extra material so I made a skirt for Karlee. Here we are posing in our matchy matchy skirts.

Spanish Night

Once a month some people from work get together to practice Spanish. The first time I went I was completely terrified. My Spanish has gone way downhill over the past several years, and I was so scared. Spanish night turns out to be the best thing for me. There are varying degrees of fluency, and it's a great time for us all to practice. We usually have dinner, play some games, and speak as much Spanish as possible.

Christina, Ana Maria, and Charmaine in the kitchen

delicious meal

Salt Lake Running Co. 5k

When I found out this FREE 5k was the same weekend Jeff and Chelsea would be in town, I signed us up (even though I should have run a heckuvalot more miles that day). We woke up to a ton of snow but got lucky with beautiful running weather. It was Jeff's first race, and he did great. Way to go Jeff!

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Happy Birthday Chelsea

Chelsea, Jeff, and the kids came to town for the weekend. Jeff's brother blessed his new baby today so the real reason for the trip was to see the Vocana family. They stayed at my house so I got to spend lots of time with them.

The trip happened to be the same weekend as Chelsea's birthday so I hosted a birthday brunch for her and her friends. It's so hard to see everyone when she is in town so this worked perfectly. A lot of her friends came, and it was a lot of fun.

i finally used my cupcake pops book i got for Christmas. i love how they turned out and will definitely make them again.

karlee was dying to eat one all morning

karlee loves taking pictures so we let her take some pictures of us after the party

nick, lindsi, and baby, vocanas, melissa, sheryl, carrie

It was so fun having them here this weekend. Jeff and I ran a 5k (more to come later). Chelsea and I went shopping. We went to dinner with the Vocanas for birthday dinners, and they spent time with family. Such a fun weekend!