Road Trip 2008!

We left San Francisco on October 22nd, and arrived home to our beautiful kids and wonderful babysitters Gramga and Papa Borg. The kids were very happy and very well taken care of and the grandparents were exhausted. :-) They all had fun together while we were gone and we really appreciate Ron and Karen so much for taking such good care of Laney and Jack. Tustin and I had such a wonderful time together and it made me wonder, do I have to run 26.2 miles again in order to get away with my husband next time? I hope not, but it was worth it!


We then had 2 days to unpack and then repack for our next trip. We gathered up everything we would possibly need for a family of four, loaded up the minivan and headed out on a family adventure. We were gone for 18 days, drove over 3300 miles, visted with tons of family and friends and just had a blast. First we spent a week at Grandma Rae's in Southern CA. While we were there, we visited with friends, spent a day at Legoland, and celebrated Halloween as well. We had a really nice visit with Tustin's mom, and the kids enjoyed every minute of their visit with Grandma Rae and the kitties.










Next we drove to Yuma for the Hall family reunion and surprize party for my parents' 70th birthday. They both turned 70 this year and we decided to throw a big party to celebrate. The whole family was there except for Tina's 2 oldest kids, Ryan and Ally who are away at school. Also Lori, Matt and Shayla could not be there due to Shayla's medical condition. We missed them very much and hope to see all of them soon.









We all had a ton of fun, but I think the cousins had the most fun of all. They ran around, played games, and went wild! Laney and the girls had plenty of girly time together which included tea parties and dressing up together with fancy jewelry. I think Laney had the time of her life! When it was finally time to head home after our long trip, instead of looking forward to her own bed in her familiar pink room Laney said, "who are we going to visit next?"

I did it!!!

Getting ready to start the race.




20,000 runners!


Feeling great at mile 11!


Almost done.


Reaching the finish line.


So proud!!


On Sunday 10/19, I completed my 2nd (and final) marathon! It was the Nike Women's Marathon in San Francisco and it was amazing. There were 20,000 runners, and all the proceeds went to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. I trained very hard for this event and it was worth it.

The first marathon I ran in 2000, was with a team for the Leukemia/Lymphoma Society. They provided coaches, mentors, training schedules and a wonderful support system, and in turn I raised $5,000 for this great cause. It was a wonderful experience that I will never forget. I made many friends, had a lot of fun, and did something amazing for a great cause.

This time it was just as incredible but for different reasons. This time it was all about me, and that may sound selfish but it was very necessary. I knew I needed to do something amazing for myself this year, and back in February when I read the description of the Nike Women's Marathon in Runner's World Magazine, I knew that was going to be my marathon! And I did it!!! I worked so hard and accomplished this incredible thing all on my own. I did research to come up with a running schedule that was right for me. I did my daily runs, and weekly long runs, I made sure I ate the right things, had the proper shoes and clothing, and did the right things for proper recovery after the long runs. I gained strength and fitness, and lost 13 pounds along the way, but the best thing I regained was self respect. During those many hours of running I had a lot of time to think and I used a lot of positive thoughts to get through it everyday. I would think to myself, "you are strong, you are amazing, you are a runner and an athlete." All of these thoughts made me stronger mentally and helped me get through the difficult long runs. Then one day I looked at my reflection as I ran by a window and thought, "Who is that runner?" I was changing on the outside as well as on the inside.

While I was running the 26.2 mile race I thought about why I was doing it and realized it was just as important for my family as it was for myself. I was running to set a good example for my kids about being a healthy and strong person. By accomplishing my goal I had become a better mother and wife. I am much stronger, healthier and happier than ever. It was an amazing experience and I'm so glad I pushed myself to do it.

Yesterday I decided to go for a little run. Just four miles, and it was a great run. It felt so good to be running again after a five day break since the marathon. This time when I saw that runner in the window's reflection I recognized her right away. She was strong, powerful and amazing and I was extremely proud of her! :-)

Visit with Grandma Rae

Tustin's mom (Grandma Rae) came to visit us for a week after Laney's birthday. The kids were very excited to see her. We played at the park, rode the carrousel, and went to an ammusement park. Laney and I rode all the rides and had a blast. They even let Jack go on one ride and he loved it. We had a great time and were sad when Grandma Rae went back to California.

We shouldn't have eaten all that junk food!

Delaney turns 4!!

Birthday morning







We had a little party at Chuck E Cheese with Laney's best friend Skylar. The kids had a lot of fun dancing and playing games. Laney says her favorite part was the cupcakes. :-)

Fun with Cousins!

While we were in Utah we got to visit Jeff, Lindsey, Lauren and Emma. The kids had a great time playing at their house with the toys and the dogs. Jack sat like a big boy at the table in the playroom and it was cute. Then we all went to dinner together and had fun (the kids had a little too much fun, haha!) until they practically had to kick us out. :-) We miss them now.

Salt Lake

We all had a great time in Salt Lake visiting "Gramga and Papa" Borg. We played at the park in Park City, had another birthday party for Jack, and celebrated Gramga's birthday too. Laney was excited to play her favorite game with gramga- "the running game!" We sure had a wonderful time in Salt Lake.

Beaver

We had a great time with grandma and grandpa Hall in Beaver. We got to feed the deer, which was amazing. Then we went for a little hike in a beautiful picnic area, and had dinner at a yummy Mexican restaurant. Laney got to pick and eat "fresh out" carrots from their wonderful garden. We were very happy to get a chance to visit them.