Rylan
(September 13, 2012)
At his soccer game: "We're never going to defeat them."
(September 22, 2012)
At Lagoon eating smarties "They taste just like sugar"
(September 28, 2012)
Kevin was home from work by the time Rylan was getting out of school and his little 4H class. I decided to take the Camry since it was going to be just the two of us. When Rylan got in the car he asked "Why did you bring this car?"
I told him it was just the two of us so I thought I'd just leave the van at home. When we got home he opened his door to get out and lightly bumped the van. I looked at him and could tell he already felt bad so I just kindly said "Be careful." He replied "That's the whole point in why you shouldn't bring this car."
Well, okay then!
Asher
(September 10, 2012)
While watching and old Mr Rogers with Daniel Tiger on YouTube:
Asher, laughing: "He's weird! Can you rewind it?"
(September 19, 2012)
Asher is so good to talk to me and tell me about his day at preschool. Today he told me about a game they were playing. One kid got to hide the mouse in a house (circle, square, or triangle (maybe?)) and another preschooler would guess where the mouse was.
Asher: "I got to hide the mouse in the circle house and then somebody guessed right. How could that be?"
Hee hee..."how could that be?" :)
September 29, 2012)
Kevin likes to say things like "Whose name is Asher" or "Who thinks daddy is the best?" and then the boy(s) will raise their hand(s). So after a series of questions he said "Who has blotches all over his face like an alien?" while looking at Tyce (who had his major rash going on). Asher said "Yeah, but he isn't. He's baby Tyce."
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Friday, September 28, 2012
Yikes!
Yesterday as I was changing Tyce out of his jammies I noticed red bumps all over his body. I suspected they were bug bites. He had about 20 on his legs, arms, neck and stomach. Kevin had put Tyce to bed the night before (while I was at book group-yea!!) so I asked him if he had noticed anything. Nope. I inspected Tyce's pjs, his bed and blankets, around his crib, and found nothing. We had been on the trail after dropping Ry off at school so maybe a bug bit him them?
The day went on and Tyce didn't seem to be bothered by them. Deborah watched Tyce while I was at Ry's school so she and my mom had a good look at them. We all thought they were bug bites. As the day went on, they started getting bigger.
This morning I got up with Tyce around 6:30. It was still a bit dark so I couldn't really see well, but I was alarmed at the spots. I inspected his body and I was almost panicking. I kept telling myself it must be okay since he didn't have a fever and didn't seem bothered by them. But there were many, many more, they were big, some had turned white in the middle, some were bruised in the middle, some looked like targets. They were all over--feet, legs, stomach, back, arms, hands, neck, face. Oh, it's terrible! Right at 8:00 I called the pediatrician's office and made and appointment to get him checked out. I was anxious for our 10:20 appointment!
At the doctor's office I had to wait in the 'sick child' waiting room. There was another mom in there who kept looking at Tyce and moving away from him as he was looking at the fish, playing with the toys, crawling everywhere. Once we were in our room and the doctor walked in, he knew immediately what it was: Erythema Multiforme. It's a fairly common rash that is cause by an infection or a bad reaction to a medication. Tyce has not had any medicines recently but he has had a little cold. There is nothing to help the rash go away and it's not contagious (whew!). Dr. Fullmer said it will probably even get a bit worse before it starts to get better. In some cases a fever will happen, redness and pain in joints, and the rash will blister. If any of those happen I am to call the doctor right away (blisters would probably put him in the hospital). But he is fairly confident that none of those other symptoms will happen and the rash will go away in a week or two. Dr. Fullmer said he sees it about once a month but he was very impressed by Tyce's rash--maybe the worst he's seen! And even better than text book pictures! Well, maybe other mom's take their kids in sooner than I did!
So all is mostly well but it still makes me sad to see it. Poor little guy. I'm just grateful that it doesn't bother him at all...and of course that it's nothing more serious!
The day went on and Tyce didn't seem to be bothered by them. Deborah watched Tyce while I was at Ry's school so she and my mom had a good look at them. We all thought they were bug bites. As the day went on, they started getting bigger.
This morning I got up with Tyce around 6:30. It was still a bit dark so I couldn't really see well, but I was alarmed at the spots. I inspected his body and I was almost panicking. I kept telling myself it must be okay since he didn't have a fever and didn't seem bothered by them. But there were many, many more, they were big, some had turned white in the middle, some were bruised in the middle, some looked like targets. They were all over--feet, legs, stomach, back, arms, hands, neck, face. Oh, it's terrible! Right at 8:00 I called the pediatrician's office and made and appointment to get him checked out. I was anxious for our 10:20 appointment!
At the doctor's office I had to wait in the 'sick child' waiting room. There was another mom in there who kept looking at Tyce and moving away from him as he was looking at the fish, playing with the toys, crawling everywhere. Once we were in our room and the doctor walked in, he knew immediately what it was: Erythema Multiforme. It's a fairly common rash that is cause by an infection or a bad reaction to a medication. Tyce has not had any medicines recently but he has had a little cold. There is nothing to help the rash go away and it's not contagious (whew!). Dr. Fullmer said it will probably even get a bit worse before it starts to get better. In some cases a fever will happen, redness and pain in joints, and the rash will blister. If any of those happen I am to call the doctor right away (blisters would probably put him in the hospital). But he is fairly confident that none of those other symptoms will happen and the rash will go away in a week or two. Dr. Fullmer said he sees it about once a month but he was very impressed by Tyce's rash--maybe the worst he's seen! And even better than text book pictures! Well, maybe other mom's take their kids in sooner than I did!
So all is mostly well but it still makes me sad to see it. Poor little guy. I'm just grateful that it doesn't bother him at all...and of course that it's nothing more serious!
Thursday, September 27, 2012
My boys and walking report cards
As I took off Tyce's pjs this morning I was surprised to see red
bumps all over him. They look like bug bite. He has at least 20 on his
legs, arms, neck. They didn't seem to bother him at all through the day.
I inspected his pjs, bed, and blankets for any sort of bug but found
nothing. We did walk the trail after dropping off Ry at school so maybe
that's when it happened? Sad. I'll have to keep my eye on them. Last Friday Tyce took his first steps!!
Asher brought home a sack from preschool with instructions to put something blue inside for a surprise. He chose a blue butterfly. His teacher said as soon as he walked in the door he said "Mrs Raleigh, I know what 'surprise' means. It means you don't tell anybody." We both thought that was cute. So his sticker for the day said "Good at thinking and knows what surprise means". He loves preschool and talks about it often. He will tell me all about his day on our walk home which is something Ry has never done. It's been kinda fun!
Today after school I got to go into Rylan's classroom with him for walking report cards. We went to 4 different groups and he showed me some things he's learning in class.
1st stop: Rolling two dice (die?) and writing the greater than/less than/equal to equation. He was a pro at this. We each rolled a dice (die? I never remember!) and his was almost always greater than mine!
Next stop: Matching beginning letter sounds with a picture. There was a picture of a quilt and he asked me what it was. When he grabbed the letter 'b' he said he thought I was wrong and that it was a blanket. Boy was he surprised when he pulled out the letter 'q'!! He looked at me and said "I think you were right" and quickly got it fixed, moving the 'b' to 'bus' :)
Third: Taking a list of words and putting them in the correct column: Noun, Verb, or Adjective. He hesitated a bit and took his time but he got it done! I later heard his teacher tell another mom that they have just started working on this. 'Dad' was one of the words and he put it in the Noun column. I told him that when Kevin came home from work he needed to tell him "Dad, you're a noun!" He shook his head 'no' and said "Dad won't even know what that means". Exactly Ry, that's dad's humor :)
Last stop: Counting m&m's, sorting, and making patterns. He told me his favorite part of this was sorting and making the pattern. I wasn't too surprised. He's always loved patterns. I wonder if that says something about his future career?!
We were also able to pick up his book order which he has been so excited for since there was a Ninjago book with the lego Ninjago guy. He immediately started reading it as soon as we got in the car. Deborah had Asher and Tyce and when we picked them up Rylan ran inside and told Asher to hurry to the car because he had something cool to show him!
Rylan showed me around his room, different work he's done, his job for the week, the calendar, and he even sang me some songs! He was excited to be there and he was very cute about it all. His teacher gave me his mid-term report before we left. She had also sent home a very kind note with Rylan that brought tears to my eyes. It said "Mr and Mrs Doyle, Rylan is such a good boy! He is always doing what he is supposed to be doing. He is quiet, kind, and respectful. You should be proud!"
He is a very good boy and I couldn't be more proud!!
Asher brought home a sack from preschool with instructions to put something blue inside for a surprise. He chose a blue butterfly. His teacher said as soon as he walked in the door he said "Mrs Raleigh, I know what 'surprise' means. It means you don't tell anybody." We both thought that was cute. So his sticker for the day said "Good at thinking and knows what surprise means". He loves preschool and talks about it often. He will tell me all about his day on our walk home which is something Ry has never done. It's been kinda fun!
Today after school I got to go into Rylan's classroom with him for walking report cards. We went to 4 different groups and he showed me some things he's learning in class.
1st stop: Rolling two dice (die?) and writing the greater than/less than/equal to equation. He was a pro at this. We each rolled a dice (die? I never remember!) and his was almost always greater than mine!
Next stop: Matching beginning letter sounds with a picture. There was a picture of a quilt and he asked me what it was. When he grabbed the letter 'b' he said he thought I was wrong and that it was a blanket. Boy was he surprised when he pulled out the letter 'q'!! He looked at me and said "I think you were right" and quickly got it fixed, moving the 'b' to 'bus' :)
Third: Taking a list of words and putting them in the correct column: Noun, Verb, or Adjective. He hesitated a bit and took his time but he got it done! I later heard his teacher tell another mom that they have just started working on this. 'Dad' was one of the words and he put it in the Noun column. I told him that when Kevin came home from work he needed to tell him "Dad, you're a noun!" He shook his head 'no' and said "Dad won't even know what that means". Exactly Ry, that's dad's humor :)
Last stop: Counting m&m's, sorting, and making patterns. He told me his favorite part of this was sorting and making the pattern. I wasn't too surprised. He's always loved patterns. I wonder if that says something about his future career?!
We were also able to pick up his book order which he has been so excited for since there was a Ninjago book with the lego Ninjago guy. He immediately started reading it as soon as we got in the car. Deborah had Asher and Tyce and when we picked them up Rylan ran inside and told Asher to hurry to the car because he had something cool to show him!
Rylan showed me around his room, different work he's done, his job for the week, the calendar, and he even sang me some songs! He was excited to be there and he was very cute about it all. His teacher gave me his mid-term report before we left. She had also sent home a very kind note with Rylan that brought tears to my eyes. It said "Mr and Mrs Doyle, Rylan is such a good boy! He is always doing what he is supposed to be doing. He is quiet, kind, and respectful. You should be proud!"
He is a very good boy and I couldn't be more proud!!
Sunday, September 23, 2012
Lagoon!
The McQuarries invited us to go to Lagoon with them and we had SO MUCH FUN!!! Kristyn wanted to go for her birthday since Lagoon has Frightmares going on and she likes that spooky, scary stuff. So does Kevin so he was excited. And of course the boys and I were excited about the rides!
We picked up the McQuarries and were on our way. Once at Lagoon we found a shady spot for our coolers and headed to the rides. First stop: Bombora. Asher was excited to ride the roller coaster, Rylan was not. We tried and tried to get Rylan to go but he refused. Kevin stayed back with him and Tyce while the rest of us had fun! Asher wasn't quite sure if he liked it but I talked it up so much he decided he had fun :) Kev wasn't about to let Ry get away with his pouting so once we were off the ride, the McQuarries turned right back around to get on the ride again with Kevin who was carrying Ry over his shoulder, forcing him to go. After the ride Ry had tears in his eyes and said he didn't like it.
Next ride: Flying Dragon. It goes around in circles and typically I'm fine with these rides but I've had nauseating stomach aches lately so I didn't want to risk it. Kristyn was the fun parent for the day and would take the kids on the rides the rest of us adults didn't want to go on! So Kristyn, Asher, and Evan rode the dragon while Ry pouted and was sad. After the ride Asher and Evan were obviously excited and Ry said to me "Why is Asher having more fun?" I had a little talk with him and told him he needed to be the one to decide to have a fun day. I think he was tired (he came into our room around 10pm the night before saying he couldn't sleep he was so excited!) and just feeling a bit out of sorts.
On to The Bat ride. Again, Ry didn't want to go. Asher was too small so I waited with him and Tyce. Again, Kev carried Ry on the ride while Ry was saying "I'm definitely not going to ride this one. Definitely not." After the ride Rylan said to me "Can we go on it again to see if I like it?" HA! So Rylan, Evan, Kevin, and I rode it again and Ry declared it a fun ride. In fact, several more times throughout the day he and Evan rode it together. That was the turning point for Rylan and the remainder of the day was lots of fun for him. Yea!
We continued on with ride after ride. We were all having tons of fun! We did some swapping so everyone got to ride while someone stayed with Tyce. The lines were short enough that lots of times the kids got to ride two times in a row while the adults did a swap. It really worked out perfectly! Tyce was a trooper and stayed in his stroller most of the day. He got to ride the train, which he loved. It takes you around to see lots of (mostly sleeping) animals--tigers, a lion, kangaroos, elk...and Tyce loves animals. He was very excited. He also rode the sky ride with me which made me very nervous. Every time it stopped Tyce would start moving around and I would tighten my grip on him. But we made it safely and he loved it!
For Frightmares they had several haunted houses and creepy characters walking around the park. Evan was not happy about that but our boys did fine. One zombie character came up to my boys are started dancing, giving high fives. They mostly just stared at him (well, I'm pretty sure it was a girl). They had a 'haunted' house for the kids which was really cute. Alice in Wonderland, Pirates, and different themed rooms where the kids got candy and small trinkets. Ry is way into "treasures" so he was more than thrilled to get shiny bracelets and rings. They also had a straw maze which was similar.
One of my favorite rides was Ody Sea. I just think it's fun trying to avoid the spraying ocean life. Asher manuevered our ship one time and he was really good at getting us right in line of the spraying water, that stinker :) My other favorites: Jet Star, Spider, and the crazy Mouse one which keeps me laughing the entire time.
Asher's favorites: Ody Sea, Flying Dragon, and Rattlesnake Rapids "because we got wet".
Rylan's favorites: He liked them all. Except after going on the white roller coaster he declared it the worst one ever. I have to agree with him. I felt like my head was going to shake right off. It was terrible. I would say his favorites were Ody Sea, the Bat, and Flying Dragon.
They had these creepy things throughout the park to take pictures with. Rylan didn't want to do it, neither did I!!
We rode the rides until closing time and ended the night with a haunted house (a second time through for Dain and Kevin). It was my second haunted house of the evening and much better than the first. Our fun day had come to a close. The drive home was entertaining and surprisingly quick. Before dropping off the McQuarries we had to get a picture:
Really a fun, fun day!
We picked up the McQuarries and were on our way. Once at Lagoon we found a shady spot for our coolers and headed to the rides. First stop: Bombora. Asher was excited to ride the roller coaster, Rylan was not. We tried and tried to get Rylan to go but he refused. Kevin stayed back with him and Tyce while the rest of us had fun! Asher wasn't quite sure if he liked it but I talked it up so much he decided he had fun :) Kev wasn't about to let Ry get away with his pouting so once we were off the ride, the McQuarries turned right back around to get on the ride again with Kevin who was carrying Ry over his shoulder, forcing him to go. After the ride Ry had tears in his eyes and said he didn't like it.
Next ride: Flying Dragon. It goes around in circles and typically I'm fine with these rides but I've had nauseating stomach aches lately so I didn't want to risk it. Kristyn was the fun parent for the day and would take the kids on the rides the rest of us adults didn't want to go on! So Kristyn, Asher, and Evan rode the dragon while Ry pouted and was sad. After the ride Asher and Evan were obviously excited and Ry said to me "Why is Asher having more fun?" I had a little talk with him and told him he needed to be the one to decide to have a fun day. I think he was tired (he came into our room around 10pm the night before saying he couldn't sleep he was so excited!) and just feeling a bit out of sorts.
On to The Bat ride. Again, Ry didn't want to go. Asher was too small so I waited with him and Tyce. Again, Kev carried Ry on the ride while Ry was saying "I'm definitely not going to ride this one. Definitely not." After the ride Rylan said to me "Can we go on it again to see if I like it?" HA! So Rylan, Evan, Kevin, and I rode it again and Ry declared it a fun ride. In fact, several more times throughout the day he and Evan rode it together. That was the turning point for Rylan and the remainder of the day was lots of fun for him. Yea!
 |
| "I'm definitely not going to ride this one. Definitely not!" |
 |
| Pleased that he got Ry strapped onto the ride :) |
 |
| Pre-ride pep talk |
One of my favorite rides was Ody Sea. I just think it's fun trying to avoid the spraying ocean life. Asher manuevered our ship one time and he was really good at getting us right in line of the spraying water, that stinker :) My other favorites: Jet Star, Spider, and the crazy Mouse one which keeps me laughing the entire time.
Asher's favorites: Ody Sea, Flying Dragon, and Rattlesnake Rapids "because we got wet".
Rylan's favorites: He liked them all. Except after going on the white roller coaster he declared it the worst one ever. I have to agree with him. I felt like my head was going to shake right off. It was terrible. I would say his favorites were Ody Sea, the Bat, and Flying Dragon.
While Kevin, Dain, and Kristyn were going through some haunted houses I took the boys on a couple rides. Evan and Ry rode the Flying Dragon but Asher was too short to ride without an adult (and I had to wait with Tyce). So I took them over to the kiddie land so all three could ride together. Evan twiddled his thumbs on this swinging ride :) It was Rylan's favorite last time we were here (a couple years ago) and Asher really liked it this year.
They had these creepy things throughout the park to take pictures with. Rylan didn't want to do it, neither did I!!
Friday, September 21, 2012
Macey's Fun
Our Friday night fun was a trip to Macey's to get some snacks for Lagoon tomorrow. Kevin suggested we get some ice cream cones (only our second time to get ice cream from Macey's. I've always wanted to avoid it knowing the boys would ask for it every time we were grocery shopping. I'd say 5 years is a pretty good amount of time to avoid that soft serve deliciousness!!) I got the boys the baby cones and had to take a picture of Tyce since he was so cute eating his :) As I was looking at the pictures I had to laugh at what was going on in the background (forgive the smudges on my camera lense.)
Play Fighting:
Loving:
Choosing a snack together:
Concerned Asher:
And Tyce, just enjoying his ice cream cone, leg kicked up. Ahhhh, nothing better than a Friday night with your family at Macey's!!!
Play Fighting:
Thursday, September 13, 2012
Go Pumas!
I was talking to a neighbor recently and she mentioned that she missed soccer sign ups. Huh? That happened? Yeah, I guess I missed them too! The next day I called the rec office and asked if they had a backup list. I was told that they in fact had enough first graders to make a full team, they just needed a coach. The lady asked if I'd be willing to coach the team. No, but my husband will! So that was that and Rylan was on a team!! I immediately messaged Kev to let him know what I just did. Luckily he likes soccer :)
Before the games began Kevin held two practices and I think they had fun. The first game they had was great! The kids worked hard and Kev worked harder, keeping them in their position and coaching while also reffing. It was fun to watch!
Rylan hasn't grown to love soccer as much as his daddy, but at least he gets out there :) Ry had his best game after Kev bribed him with one Mike and Ike for every time he kicked the ball. He proved to be more aggressive when a treat is involved!
I continue to remind Kevin that the kids are 6 years old and just there to have fun. He can get pretty intense sometimes! But he's been a great coach and really wants the kids to learn about the game. One mom commented to me that she was impressed her son was learning about the different positions and she was pleased with Kev as the coach :)
Asher and Tyce are great to sit next to me while I watch the game. Their favorite things to do are: eat snacks, pull everything out of my purse, take random pictures with my camera, eat snacks, pull everything out of my wallet, and eat snacks. Whatever keeps them entertained!
Asher took these cloud pictures and I thought they were pretty cool!
And then we got home and there was a rainbow!! It was a great evening to watch the sky!
Close up! Asher loves to get his pictures taken...but only when we're just playing around!
Before the games began Kevin held two practices and I think they had fun. The first game they had was great! The kids worked hard and Kev worked harder, keeping them in their position and coaching while also reffing. It was fun to watch!
I continue to remind Kevin that the kids are 6 years old and just there to have fun. He can get pretty intense sometimes! But he's been a great coach and really wants the kids to learn about the game. One mom commented to me that she was impressed her son was learning about the different positions and she was pleased with Kev as the coach :)
Saturday, September 8, 2012
I Made It!
(This post has a lot of unnecessary details. In short, I ran my half marathon and am very grateful for Jessica for cheering me across the finish line at 2:05:30!)
At the beginning of the year I decided this was the year to run a half marathon again. It's easy to say that when you have 8 or 9 months before race day!
About three months ago Kevin and I started looking at half marathons and talking about which one we'd like to do. He runs the Spanish Fork half every year (which is partly sponsored by Xango) so I decided that would be a good one to join him in. Easy to get a babysitter, no traveling required. Then some time went by without much thought concerning half marathons. One morning I was out on a run on our gorgeous trail and a thought came to mind "Oh, I better start training if I'm going to run that half." As soon as I got home I looked at the calendar--7 weeks away. What?! Holy smokes, where did the time go? I looked up a training schedule and found one I liked that was a 12 week plan. I just jumped right in on week five and did a small adjustment (I wasn't sure I was really ready to run 8 miles that weekend!) and continued to stick to that plan. And it actually worked out great!
I did my long runs on Fridays. Kev often works from home on Friday and even if he doesn't, he just goes to the warehouse which is close. So I didn't have to get up extra early as I started adding on mileage. Plus, the training schedule has the day after your long run as a cross training day. I love the cycle class at the gym on Saturday mornings so it was perfect!
I'll pat myself on the back here (well, this whole post is a pat on my own back :) but there were many a mornings I didn't want to get up to go on my run. But I did it and I stuck with it. Of course, once I was out there I was so grateful. I can't say enough how much I love our river trail. I'll require I nearby trail in every future house I live in!!
So a couple weeks ago Kevin came to me with bad news. Xango has a convention in Vegas every year. That he has to go to. He'd be gone 5 days. Including race day. WHAT?! NO!!! Should we pick a different race? No. I had been training and I was ready to just do it. Sad.
I asked my dad if he could come to my house the morning of the race to watch my boys. He said he may be gone for work but if he was in town he would come over. I called him yesterday morning to make sure he was okay with it still and he told me that he and my mom were actually going on a mini vacation so he wasn't going to be around. Bummer. No, actually I was super happy for them to be getting away to do something fun! I made a phone call to Deborah and asked if I could just drop my boys off with her nice and early and she agreed. Yeah!
Last night we all went to bed too late. Ry and Asher were invited to Gabe's birthday party (in Murray) so after school we went up to visit with Kacy and her babes (so sweet!!) and then I took them to the party (late--oops!) Since we were so late to the party we skipped dinner. The boys loved the donuts and ice cream and I'm sure would have been fine going to bed with nothing else, but after the party I decided to stop and get some food. We went to Zupas (yummy!!) and then drove the hour home. On the way home I explained to them what was going to happen in the morning, telling them they could sleep on the couch after I dropped them off with Deborah. I also told them to fall asleep in the car since it was so late. I heard Ry say to Asher "Do you want me to sing you a song?" which was followed by a few rounds of 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star'...I sure do love being a mommy :)
Race Day...
Tyce woke up during the night (he's been doing that a lot lately) so I was up with him for about a half hour. Asher woke up at 5:30am wanting to sleep in my room. I was tempted to just get up right then but I like my sleep too much. So I went back to bed for another 20 minutes :) After getting ready and eating my toast with peanut butter (one of my favorites!) I started getting the boys in the car. I had told them I would just carry them to the car but Ry told me it was okay if I woke him up. As I was picking him up he woke up bright eyed and hopped out of bed. He asked if it was time to get up and said he could walk to the car. So I got Asher, then Tyce. When I came back with Tyce, Rylan had buckled Asher in a seat and covered him up with a blanket and nuzzled his Tigger right up with him. That boy can be so dang sweet!
I quickly dropped them off with Deborah (whose kids were still sleeping) and headed to the library (the start and finish line location). I saw Brett Gallacher (who I've seen quite often on the trail) and talked with him until race time. Jessica McShinsky was there helping out so she came over to say 'hi' and cheer us on. I realized I'd never had to worry about car keys before. Brett offered to carry my key in his fanny pack--awesome! They announced the race would start in 5 minutes so we all gathered at the starting line. With a simple "On your mark, get set, GO!" we were off. I started my garmin and thought how glad I was to finally be doing this!
About a half mile in I checked my pace. My watch wasn't working--drats! The time was going but not the pace or distance. I pushed some buttons and then powered off and back on. Okay, we were back--whew! I was bummed it didn't start from the beginning but soooo glad I had checked it early on!
The race was going well. I found a group of ladies (about 15-20 years my senior) and liked their pace so I stuck with them. I just cruised along enjoying the cool morning. Since the course starts and ends at the same place, the course makes a big loop. At about mile 5 or 6 the super speedy runners were passing us on the opposite side of the road on their way to the finish line. Wowzers! This was also where my group of ladies started walking at the aid station so I passed them up and found a new group to follow. Mile 8 and 9 I had a terrible side ache. I could still run through it but it slowed me down. Last week I was supposed to run 12 miles but I was feeling lousy and I slept in (gotta get home to get Ry off to school now) so I only ran 9 miles. When I saw the 10 mile marker I was so happy! My side ache had gone away so I picked up the pace a bit. My knees were starting to hurt but I ignored the pain and pushed on. From my last half I knew to not stop at the last aid station. I ran right through and kept my mind on the finish line. I heard a runner right behind me and pretty soon another runner (who had already finished) ran towards us and joined her friend (the person behind me). She encouraged her on and then they passed me. It was one of the ladies I followed at the beginning of the race! I stayed close by and eavesdropped because the friend was giving such encouraging words. This is when I found out this lady was 56, and by golly, if I'm still running at 56 I'll be incredibly proud of myself! I tried to keep up with them and as they picked up their pace I tried to pick up mine. I fell a bit behind but as I rounded the corner and saw the finish line I knew I could push it just a little longer.
I couldn't see the time on the clock, and since my watch didn't start correctly from the beginning, I wasn't sure what my time was. I thought the clock read 2:06 so I was feeling happy that I'd beat 2:10. Kev and I ran our last half in 2:07 and I would have liked to beat that but I already told myself that 2:10 was my goal. (I am pretty competitive with myself so inside I really, really wanted to beat that 2:07.) Then as I got closer (I really do have good eyesight so there must have been a glare :) I saw the clock change to 2:05. No way!! I think I may have even laughed out loud since I was so pleased! And then the best thing happened. I saw Jessica stick her head out and heard her cheering my on. "You did it! You beat your time!!!" and full of emotion I crossed the finish line at 2:05:30. I was thrilled!
I grabbed a couple cups of water and got to talk to Jessica and Brett for a bit (he had his best time and I later heard them announce his name as third place in his category!!!)
I waited around hoping to win a prize and saw Tami's good friend Kim who had run with her husband. We chatted and congratulated each other while keeping our fingers crossed for a prize. We didn't win anything so we tried to bask in the goodness of running 13.1 miles :)
I really think I could have had an even better time had I run with Kevin. He makes me better in so many ways and running is one of those ways. He will darn certain be with me for my next half (did I really just say I was gonna run another one?! I guess I'm on an every two years schedule. That means I'll run about 11 more half marathons if I'm still running at 56. Holy Moly.)
I went to pick up my boys and as soon as I walked in, Tyce started crawling to me and crying. Oh, that little boy is so cute :) Deborah said she couldn't get him to eat anything (it doesn't help that the yogurt I sent over was moldy!) We gathered up our stuff and left our mess, said our thank you's and good bye's and went home. Tyce ate and ate and ate, Ry and Asher had a snack and I got a nice shower. I put Tyce down for a nap and was tempted to nap myself but I knew it would be best to keep moving. I cleaned up the kitchen and straightened up the house. The boys were watching a show so I sat down to read my book and briefly snooze. We kinda just relaxed the entire day! I told the boys I'd take them out to eat after they cleaned up their toys. Ha! I was actually taking myself out to eat for a job well done :) Ry chose Winger's. I think for the popcorn cause neither of them ate their dinner. We made a quick stop at Macey's before going home and straight to bed. Well, I stayed up and watched a movie and talked to Kev.
Ahhhh, so glad to have had a good run!
At the beginning of the year I decided this was the year to run a half marathon again. It's easy to say that when you have 8 or 9 months before race day!
About three months ago Kevin and I started looking at half marathons and talking about which one we'd like to do. He runs the Spanish Fork half every year (which is partly sponsored by Xango) so I decided that would be a good one to join him in. Easy to get a babysitter, no traveling required. Then some time went by without much thought concerning half marathons. One morning I was out on a run on our gorgeous trail and a thought came to mind "Oh, I better start training if I'm going to run that half." As soon as I got home I looked at the calendar--7 weeks away. What?! Holy smokes, where did the time go? I looked up a training schedule and found one I liked that was a 12 week plan. I just jumped right in on week five and did a small adjustment (I wasn't sure I was really ready to run 8 miles that weekend!) and continued to stick to that plan. And it actually worked out great!
I did my long runs on Fridays. Kev often works from home on Friday and even if he doesn't, he just goes to the warehouse which is close. So I didn't have to get up extra early as I started adding on mileage. Plus, the training schedule has the day after your long run as a cross training day. I love the cycle class at the gym on Saturday mornings so it was perfect!
I'll pat myself on the back here (well, this whole post is a pat on my own back :) but there were many a mornings I didn't want to get up to go on my run. But I did it and I stuck with it. Of course, once I was out there I was so grateful. I can't say enough how much I love our river trail. I'll require I nearby trail in every future house I live in!!
So a couple weeks ago Kevin came to me with bad news. Xango has a convention in Vegas every year. That he has to go to. He'd be gone 5 days. Including race day. WHAT?! NO!!! Should we pick a different race? No. I had been training and I was ready to just do it. Sad.
I asked my dad if he could come to my house the morning of the race to watch my boys. He said he may be gone for work but if he was in town he would come over. I called him yesterday morning to make sure he was okay with it still and he told me that he and my mom were actually going on a mini vacation so he wasn't going to be around. Bummer. No, actually I was super happy for them to be getting away to do something fun! I made a phone call to Deborah and asked if I could just drop my boys off with her nice and early and she agreed. Yeah!
Last night we all went to bed too late. Ry and Asher were invited to Gabe's birthday party (in Murray) so after school we went up to visit with Kacy and her babes (so sweet!!) and then I took them to the party (late--oops!) Since we were so late to the party we skipped dinner. The boys loved the donuts and ice cream and I'm sure would have been fine going to bed with nothing else, but after the party I decided to stop and get some food. We went to Zupas (yummy!!) and then drove the hour home. On the way home I explained to them what was going to happen in the morning, telling them they could sleep on the couch after I dropped them off with Deborah. I also told them to fall asleep in the car since it was so late. I heard Ry say to Asher "Do you want me to sing you a song?" which was followed by a few rounds of 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star'...I sure do love being a mommy :)
Race Day...
Tyce woke up during the night (he's been doing that a lot lately) so I was up with him for about a half hour. Asher woke up at 5:30am wanting to sleep in my room. I was tempted to just get up right then but I like my sleep too much. So I went back to bed for another 20 minutes :) After getting ready and eating my toast with peanut butter (one of my favorites!) I started getting the boys in the car. I had told them I would just carry them to the car but Ry told me it was okay if I woke him up. As I was picking him up he woke up bright eyed and hopped out of bed. He asked if it was time to get up and said he could walk to the car. So I got Asher, then Tyce. When I came back with Tyce, Rylan had buckled Asher in a seat and covered him up with a blanket and nuzzled his Tigger right up with him. That boy can be so dang sweet!
I quickly dropped them off with Deborah (whose kids were still sleeping) and headed to the library (the start and finish line location). I saw Brett Gallacher (who I've seen quite often on the trail) and talked with him until race time. Jessica McShinsky was there helping out so she came over to say 'hi' and cheer us on. I realized I'd never had to worry about car keys before. Brett offered to carry my key in his fanny pack--awesome! They announced the race would start in 5 minutes so we all gathered at the starting line. With a simple "On your mark, get set, GO!" we were off. I started my garmin and thought how glad I was to finally be doing this!
About a half mile in I checked my pace. My watch wasn't working--drats! The time was going but not the pace or distance. I pushed some buttons and then powered off and back on. Okay, we were back--whew! I was bummed it didn't start from the beginning but soooo glad I had checked it early on!
The race was going well. I found a group of ladies (about 15-20 years my senior) and liked their pace so I stuck with them. I just cruised along enjoying the cool morning. Since the course starts and ends at the same place, the course makes a big loop. At about mile 5 or 6 the super speedy runners were passing us on the opposite side of the road on their way to the finish line. Wowzers! This was also where my group of ladies started walking at the aid station so I passed them up and found a new group to follow. Mile 8 and 9 I had a terrible side ache. I could still run through it but it slowed me down. Last week I was supposed to run 12 miles but I was feeling lousy and I slept in (gotta get home to get Ry off to school now) so I only ran 9 miles. When I saw the 10 mile marker I was so happy! My side ache had gone away so I picked up the pace a bit. My knees were starting to hurt but I ignored the pain and pushed on. From my last half I knew to not stop at the last aid station. I ran right through and kept my mind on the finish line. I heard a runner right behind me and pretty soon another runner (who had already finished) ran towards us and joined her friend (the person behind me). She encouraged her on and then they passed me. It was one of the ladies I followed at the beginning of the race! I stayed close by and eavesdropped because the friend was giving such encouraging words. This is when I found out this lady was 56, and by golly, if I'm still running at 56 I'll be incredibly proud of myself! I tried to keep up with them and as they picked up their pace I tried to pick up mine. I fell a bit behind but as I rounded the corner and saw the finish line I knew I could push it just a little longer.
I couldn't see the time on the clock, and since my watch didn't start correctly from the beginning, I wasn't sure what my time was. I thought the clock read 2:06 so I was feeling happy that I'd beat 2:10. Kev and I ran our last half in 2:07 and I would have liked to beat that but I already told myself that 2:10 was my goal. (I am pretty competitive with myself so inside I really, really wanted to beat that 2:07.) Then as I got closer (I really do have good eyesight so there must have been a glare :) I saw the clock change to 2:05. No way!! I think I may have even laughed out loud since I was so pleased! And then the best thing happened. I saw Jessica stick her head out and heard her cheering my on. "You did it! You beat your time!!!" and full of emotion I crossed the finish line at 2:05:30. I was thrilled!
I grabbed a couple cups of water and got to talk to Jessica and Brett for a bit (he had his best time and I later heard them announce his name as third place in his category!!!)
I waited around hoping to win a prize and saw Tami's good friend Kim who had run with her husband. We chatted and congratulated each other while keeping our fingers crossed for a prize. We didn't win anything so we tried to bask in the goodness of running 13.1 miles :)
I went to pick up my boys and as soon as I walked in, Tyce started crawling to me and crying. Oh, that little boy is so cute :) Deborah said she couldn't get him to eat anything (it doesn't help that the yogurt I sent over was moldy!) We gathered up our stuff and left our mess, said our thank you's and good bye's and went home. Tyce ate and ate and ate, Ry and Asher had a snack and I got a nice shower. I put Tyce down for a nap and was tempted to nap myself but I knew it would be best to keep moving. I cleaned up the kitchen and straightened up the house. The boys were watching a show so I sat down to read my book and briefly snooze. We kinda just relaxed the entire day! I told the boys I'd take them out to eat after they cleaned up their toys. Ha! I was actually taking myself out to eat for a job well done :) Ry chose Winger's. I think for the popcorn cause neither of them ate their dinner. We made a quick stop at Macey's before going home and straight to bed. Well, I stayed up and watched a movie and talked to Kev.
Ahhhh, so glad to have had a good run!
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
1st Day of Preschool!!
Asher has been soooo excited to go to school! Today was his big day and he just couldn't wait. Kevin left this afternoon for a work convention in Vegas. Since he was home I suggested we go out for lunch. We ate at Cafe Rio and Asher was so excited to get to school that he didn't even want to eat! He asked several times if we could just leave because he was ready for school :) We got home with just enough time to get his backpack, wash his face, and take some cute pictures (in fact they were so cute I just have to put lots of them on here!)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
