Ummm folks, life has been NUTS! I keep thinking things will slow down, but they do not. Auuugh.
We’ve been having a lot of fun this summer, but I’m hoping once summer is over, the kids go back to school, my “schedule” becomes more “schedule-ish” and the baby gets just a bit bigger, I might be able to actually accomplish some things and blog a bit more.
BUT, until then, this “once a week” blog schedule will have to suffice. Lame.
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A Wonderful Fourth of July!
I hope all of you who live in the United States had a fabulous FOURTH of JULY! AND, those of you who don’t live in the USA, I hope you had a fabulous weekend!
I love the 4th of July! It is one of my very favorite holidays and the epitome of summer, IMO. We had such a fun day. Kev and I started the holiday running our local 10K race with some of our friends.
It was our 4th time running this race and I really love it! I couldn’t run it last year because I was so pregnant, so I was very happy to be able to run again this year!
However, I sort of kind of hated the race this year. 🙁 Dang, dang.
Here are my excuses (ha ha):
- I really haven’t been running too much since my half marathon, so 6 miles feels tough again. Boo.
- I started out the race running too fast, so I kind of fell apart the second half.
- They changed the race route this year. It’s a beautiful route, but HILLY!
- We’ve been having a crazy heat wave lately, so even at 7:00 AM, it felt HOT.
- I didn’t bring any water with me (I thought about it, but decided not to) and there weren’t nearly enough water stations. I LOVE to have lots of water when I run!
I think that pretty much sums it up. I still loved running, but I just didn’t feel too good most of the race. AND, this was officially my SLOWEST 10K race ever. I ran it in 1:02:03!!!! What the???? It was a 9:59 pace. There were about 220 people who ran the race and I came in 112th place. Woot, lol!
I also somehow miraculously came in 4th place in my age group! I’m conflicted though because I’m not proud of my time and it was my slowest 10K ever. Weird.
In my defense, I think it was a tough race for everyone! I heard a lot of people talking about all the hills and the lack of water. I did manage to take this “beautiful” selfie out on the course…
Ha ha. Cute. I also took this pic of one of my favorite parts of the race…
It really was/is a beautiful race!
I also took some pics of my LEAST favorite part of the race. There were some MEGA switchback hills on the last half mile! Seriously!??! The LAST half mile!???! These pics don’t do it justice…
I had to walk. Sniff, sniff. I’ve never ever had to walk during a race! Granted, I haven’t run a ton of races, but this was the FIRST time I’ve ever had to walk and it made me sad. Most everyone else was walking too though, so I guess I was essentially “following the crowd.” Ha.
I sped up as I approached the finish line, but I was bummed I was so slow and felt so crappy. BUT, then I saw this cute, young, teenage “cross country” lookin’ kid who I’d seen throughout most of the race running just ahead of me and I thought, “I shouldn’t feel too bad!” I’ve been keepin’ up with this young, fit kid!!!
That made me feel a little better.
Then I finished the race and wanted to keel over and die. After my body calmed down, I took this pic of Kev and I…
BTW, Kev ran the race in 59ish minutes, which is his slowest 10K too!
Even though I sound like a big whiner and complainer, I still enjoyed the race and was so glad we started the holiday off that way! Afterward, we grabbed the kids and headed over to our friend’s house for a yummy French Toast breakfast. I didn’t take ANY pics. Lame.
Later on that day, Kev’s brother and his family (who live in Idaho) came to visit us! We had so much fun with them! We had a yummy BBQ dinner with them and I didn’t take any pictures once again!! Yes, my blogging skills are waning. Sigh.
In case you want to know, we just had grilled chicken, hot dogs, fruit, salad, corn on the cob and chips. Super yummy and festive!
Later on, we went to see our local firework show. It was great!
I also took this selfie with some of my kids (from such a flattering angle, I must say!)
The baby SLEPT through the entire fireworks show. I seriously couldn’t believe it because it was SO LOUD!
Look at his little cute red knees from crawling. Auuugh, I LOVE that little baby so much! Is it weird that I think his red knees are cute?? Yes, it’s kinda sad at the same time too. Poor baby. He loves crawling though and I think he’s enjoying his new sense of freedom!
My 5 year old also dropped off just before the finale and he was OUT cold!
Kev carried him all the way back to the car afterward…
We had such a fun day!
A Fun Trip to McCall Idaho
Last week, we went up to McCall, Idaho to spend some time with Kev’s parents in their timeshare. We had a fabulous time!
There was a pool right behind the timeshare unit and the kids pretty much LIVED there!
They had a BALL!
We had a picnic lunch next to Payette Lake one day. It is a gorgeous lake and the kids loved playing in it and on the playground nearby.
That night, we got pizza for the kids and then Kev and I went out to dinner with Kev’s parents. We ate at Chapala, which is a wonderful Mexican restaurant nestled right on the lake.
I tried to keep it “healthy-ish” and ordered the Carne Asada, which was great!
The next day we took a tram ride (free that day!) up to the top of Brundage Mountain Ski Resort. It was a lot of fun!
Heading up on the tram….
When we got to the top, we found a decent place to have a picnic lunch.
We also snapped some pictures of our fam with the beautiful scenery…
When I saw that pic, I thought, “Holy COW, when did our “little” family get so “not so little?!!!” Time is flyin’.
The tram ride back down was even more beautiful! Wow. Just wow.
On the tram ride back down, my daughter asked if WE could take the baby with US so she wouldn’t have to worry about him. She was a little stressed about him going up and down on the tram, so she wanted to be the one to hold him. What a sweetie.
It was a fun little adventure.
I was even able to sneak away for a bit one night and go on a run. It was one of my most favorite runs ever because the scenery was so beautiful!
I took a “selfie” with a deer. Ha ha.
I saw so many deer out on this run (I only ran four miles) and they were not afraid of people…at all. It actually made me a little bit afraid of them! I could walk/run right past them and they wouldn’t even move. Crazy.
When I was heading back from my run, I saw a doe with two baby fawns. It was absolutely adorable, but they totally blocked my path!
As I approached them, I totally expected them to run away, but they didn’t! AND, when I got closer, a Buck came running out of the trees. I decided to just turn around and run away for a little bit. Ha ha. I was a little nervous because I know you should never approach a wild animal with babies around….even if it’s an innocent deer.
Eventually the ferocious deer were gone and I was able to run safely home. Although, I ended up getting lost and had to call Kev to rescue me. I’m severely “directionally challenged” and get lost everywhere I go.
We had such a fun trip! It was so nice to get away for a bit and spend some time with my sweet little family and Kev’s parents. It was great.
Oh, and overall I was pretty happy with how I ate while we were gone. When I first started my current “healthy challenge,” I anticipated times when it would be hard to eat 100% healthy; being out of town visiting family was one of those times.
I’m completely fine planning and eating my own separate meals when I’m on vacation on our own; but when we’re vacationing with other families, I just think it’s common courtesy to eat what everyone else is eating….so I did….mostly.
I was still very careful though. I enjoyed Kev’s mom’s homemade waffles, French Toast, potato salad and burritos, but I abstained from cookies, cinnamon rolls, soda, ice cream, pizza, caramel apples, sugar cereal and homemade bread!
I consider that a success!
I also kept it healthy on the drive up there and back home and chose a salad whenever we’d stop to eat…
This one was Wendy’s Strawberry Fields Chicken salad and it was great. Yes, it had bacon on it, but that was fine by me!
Oh, and on the way home I took this pic of the outside temperature…
Holy HOT! Yes, we had a major heatwave last week and the temperature was in the 100’s most of the week! We’re back down into the upper 80’s this week and it feels great.
We also had a crazy MEGA hail storm today that was insane! This was my back yard….
Utah weather can be so strange, but I kind of love it! I love summer storms! This was one of the craziest and longest hail storms I’d ever seen though!
Well, that’s the latest on my crazy, crazy life! I do want to mention that I officially signed up for the Oxygen Ultimate Challenge (#Oxychallenge) that I talked about in my last post! I’m so EXCITED about it! It’s exactly the kick in the pants I need right now!
I signed up to be on #TeamErin and I can’t wait. I’m feeling really stubborn and determined to succeed! Heck, it’s only 90 days right??? They’re also having a Cover Girl contest and I’m going to enter! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. I’m not expecting to win, but I think it will keep me motivated and help me to remember to take progress pics!
The challenge officially starts on July 15th, but they haven’t sent me any emails yet telling me exactly what the challenge entails. I’m a little nervous! I’m going to commit to giving it my all though. Wooo hooooo!
Well, that’s all folks. I’m going to head to bed. I have SO much more to tell you guys about, but I’ll have to save it for later. I seriously hope to update this blog a lot more frequently SOON! It’s bugging me that I’ve been neglecting it so much. Such is life…..dang it.
Love you all! Keep on keepin’ on!
4th in your age group! That’s awesome for a race you didn’t feel confident about. Your other 4th (of July) and all your vacation photos look so fun. I love seeing those chubby red knees. So cute!
I was quite surprised about the 4th in my age group!?? I was a small race though. Hee hee.
Oh my goodness – that is so HOT. Be proud of running that well in the heat.
Thanks Abby! Yes, heat destroys me quicker than anything else!
Great photos by the way. Looks like yal had a blast.
Thanks so much! We had such a great time!
love your pictures! such a beautiful family you have. Don’t worry about walking in a race – some days are better than others and same goes for races 🙂 i’m sure your next one will be fab!
Thanks so much for your positive comments. I so appreciate it! It was a little bit of a discouraging race, but still a lot of fun!
You always have the happiest photos! Congrats on the finish!
Thanks Jill! Yes, that was one race I was happy to FINISH! Ha!
I read this while running on the treadmill last night and had to come back and comment. :]
Nice job on your race! I know that warmer temperatures kill my time and make me feel like I am a terrible runner, so don’t be too hard on yourself! I pushed SO HARD at my 4th of July race and wasn’t even fast. LOL
Your daughter is so sweet. Her wanting to hold the baby on the lift reminds me of when I was young and worried about my baby brother. So sweet.
Your lil guy is growing up too. Why do they grow so fast!?
Thanks Christy! Heat kills my runs quicker than anything else. I’m a big wuss. Hee hee. Your 4th of July race looked like so much fun!
I cannot believe how quickly these little babies grow up. It makes me soooooo sad….:-(
Wow, you have been busy ! We have good days and bad when it comes to running, which is why it stays interesting !Heat & hills would definitely make me slow down. Have a great weekend. (ps – my brother lives in Idaho but I have never been. Really need to get out west….)
I know, running definitely has it’s ups and downs for me! That’s neat your brother lives in Idaho. It is really beautiful there and very serene. Have a fabulous weekend!
I was just in a half yesterday and thought I was well trained for it, but it was one of my worst times ever. The heat had broken, and there weren’t any hills, and I was well hydrated, so it should have been good, but… no idea what happened. Oh well. You run quite a bit faster than I do, but last year I was in a half that was fairly small. I hate those, because I’m always worried they’ll be picking up the aid stations before I finish. Anyway, I’m sure I came in someplace close to last, but I still won in my age group. Go figure.
Oh and the deer thing in Idaho is weird this year. We were in Stanley last weekend (between Boise and McCall, about 50 miles east as the crow flies) and saw dozens of deer over the course of two days, more than I’d ever seen in that timespan in my life. One came right into our campsite to eat grass. Weird.
Love the pictures, as always. Glad you had fun.
One thing I’ve learned about running is sometimes I just have weird runs…with no explanation…just weird. I love small races, but my poor sister-in-law was the very last one on the course of a small race once. The “clean up crew” was following her. She was mortified!
I know exactly where Stanley is because we’ve run Sawtooth Relay a bunch and it starts there. It’s a beautiful place!