Utah Valley Marathon Recap

The Saturday that we were in Utah I ran the Utah Valley Marathon. It was a beautiful race. It goes through the Provo Canyon, past Bridal Veil Falls (where I got engaged) and finishes in downtown Provo (where I went to school). It was so fun through a city that holds so many wonderful memories for me. 

On Friday I went to the race expo and picked up my packet and hung out with Jeana for awhile. Then we went and got dinner at Kneaders, yum, and I went home to try and get everything organized and get to bed early. I ate a snack at around 9 and then got everything organized for the morning and all the kids' stuff out. 

Saturday morning started very early, 3:30 AM. I got up and ate breakfast and got ready and Aaron took me to a bus in Midway which worked out perfect. Then I waited at the start line with Jeana until it was go time. 

The first 7 miles fly by and are through a small neighborhood, past horses and its the beginning so everyone still feels good. I tried to make myself run slow a I knew that this was an easy part of the course and I didn't want to run too fast. The hills hit you at mile 7 -9 and they hit hard. A lot of people started walking. I just tried to not look at my Garmin at all and know that I was moving really slowly but eventually I would go downhill again. The next 5 miles are just beautiful, they go by Deer Creek and the hills are more like rolling hills. I passed the half way mark at 1:45, exactly where I wanted to be. I knew I was going to see Aaron and the kids at mile 17 so I just tried to focus on getting to that point. At mile 14 the hills come back with a vengeance and this time the headwind came with it. Everyone was slowing way down again but I just tried to keep going and not pay attention to my pace. I knew that this was the hardest part of the race and at mile 17 I would be pretty much done with hills for the rest of the race. Finally it was time to see Aaron and the kids and my heart lept. I was so happy to see them and it gave me just the boost I needed. The headwind ended when we came out of the canyon and it is flat all the way to the finish. I kept trying to do the math in my head on where I would finish and I knew it was going to be close. ( I wanted to finish sub 3:35) I saw Aaron again at mile 21 and 24 and I told him at 24 that I didn't think I was going to make it. 

Then when I passed the 25 mile marker I did the math and I realized that I was going to make it as long as I didn't slow down. I was still feeling pretty good so I flew through the mile 25 aid station and pushed it to the end. The end of the race is big and people are cheering and I zoned in and sprinted to the finish. 

3:33:57

I was so, so happy! I found Jeana right away, she finished about 3 minutes ahead of me and rocked it. I started looking all over for Aaron and couldn't find him. We finally met up and when I told him my time he was so excited too. I felt really good post race and was lucky enough to have so much of Aaron' family there at the finish line. 

One of the first things I needed to do was feed my sweet baby. She is such a good baby. 

 

The race gives shirts to all the Boston Qualifiers. I love this shirt, it represents so much hard work. That last .5 mile I just kept repeating to myself, 4:30 AM wake ups, early bed times, turning down ice cream, lots of miles, blisters, lost toe nails - you can do this. 

It felt really good to have a strong race with a strong finish. Getting back into shape after a baby is not easy but running a marathon is easier than having a baby so it makes me tougher. :)

Then it was time for the kids' race. They were pretty tired after all of my activities but they still went out to run their 1K.  

This is about all Camilla ran, Aaron carried her the rest of the way. 

Carson ran as hard as he could. He loved it. 

They got medals and creamies, they were pretty happy. 

It was a beautiful day for running a marathon and I am so appreciative to Aaron for all the hard work her put in, not only on race day but all through training. He was so supportive of me and motivated me anytime I started to doubt myself during my training. Love him. I'm going to take him on a trip to Boston to say thanks. :)

Camilla

You may have noticed a disproportionate number of pictures of Camilla on our blog lately. I'm sorry, I can't help myself. I love all my children the same, I promise, but this little two year old has completely stolen my heart. (And made me lose my mind simultaneously:)

The Green Band

Yesterday we went swimming at the big outdoor pool at the Y for the first time this season. It is a really fun pool with big slides and sprinklers and waterfalls. When we got there we asked Carson if he wanted to take the swim test so that he could go down the big slide. "No thank you," he said. We didn't push it so we just played and swam and Carson and Camilla, who is fearless, went down the smaller slides and had a lot of fun. Then after about 30 minutes Carson decided he did want to go down the big slide. So we went and got the lifeguard and Carson did the test and was awesome. We were so proud of him and what a great swimmer he has become. He proudly placed his green band on his arm and went down the big slide all by himself, while Camilla screamed begging to go down as well. :) I just can't believe he has gotten this big. I mean that's my little boy taking the swim test so he can swim all over the pool by himself. I sure love him.

Utah

I kind of feel like I could go on and on about our trip to Utah this year, we had so much fun. First things first...the drive. I was so worried about the drive, I feel like I put more time and energy into preparing for the drive than any other part of our trip. We bought new books and coloring books and games and made about 4 trips to the library in preparation for "the drive." I also spent a significant amount of time on pinterest looking for ideas about traveling with small children. Then we stayed up really late the night before we left doing all the food prep (I didn't want to get any fast food). Well the drive was a success. I mean don't get me wrong, we have 3 kids under the age of 5 so there were some rough moments but overall everyone did awesome. The new van was a lifesaver and the DVD player paid dividends. 

We got to Utah just in time for dinner on Tuesday night and to eat watermelon and play in the backyard. Is there anything greater in the world than Utah summer nights??? Seriously, it was so nice. No mosquitos, you can sit in the grass, and the weather is perfection. 

The next day we went to watch our nephew, Scott, play in the championship baseball game - which they won and Scott hit the winning bunt. 

We had KFC while we watched the game.... life is good in Kaysville. 

We also went to temple square and walked around City Creek. It was so nice, there were new parts of it that we hadn't seen yet. I loved seeing all the cousins together. Our kids just loved playing with their cousins. 

Aaron and Kellie took the girls and Carson on a hike (Camilla was excluded from the activity for extreme tantrum throwing, apparently trips don't make my kids immune from fits. :)

Post tantrum, I had to send Aaron a picture as proof that she had calmed down and Aaron took her on a little "hike" after he got back.

Then we were off to Midway for the weekend, my favorite part! Midway is just the most wonderful place. We were lucky enough to stay in My sister-in-law's family house and had a great time. Jedd bought a blow up water slide and it was a big hit. The kids played on it all day long.

Many popsicles were consumed while jumping on the trampoline. 

Baseball game every night (I am not exaggerating when I say Midway is idyllic)

Tennis and other activities on the tennis court. 

On Saturday the men took all the kids on a walk to the river. 

Then on Sunday Aaron took a few of the kids on a walk to the stream and to swing on the rope swing. I'm telling you, you all need to take a trip to Midway. 

Then the rest of the trip was spent in Kaysville. We played with cousins nonstop, had lunch with Stacy, went to the temple, out to eat, and it SNOWED in the mountains. That's right, it was freezing for a couple of days while we were there, reminding me why I don't live there year round. 

 I can't say enough about how sweet these cousins were to my kids. They were never too cool or annoyed with them, they just played with them and were so nice. Tyler babysat for us one night so we could go out to dinner. 

And then suddenly it was time to make the long drive home. The kids loved spending the night in hotels, swimming and eating breakfast. The last night Aaron had to sleep with Camilla and me with Carson but we made it home! After a lot of laundry, cleaning, unpacking, and a full detail of our car we feel back to normal. 

Fun with Dad

So Aaron is bound and determined to do lots of fun stuff with the kiddos this summer while he is home. He keeps trying to think of lots of fun stuff that he can do with them and everyday he has ideas. Some highlights from their summer so far are:

The Children's Museum. Love it. 

Carson getting a hair cut. (I hate it)

Taking the kids shopping and letting them run lose and try on any clothes they want in the store. 

A hike through a green belt near our house. 

With lots of snacks of course. 

Climbing trees. 

Using the potty! This happened while I was gone one evening. 

Yummy treats before bed while Mom is gone. 

Aaron really is the greatest. He does so much for the kids and loves spending time with them. Camilla has completely lost interest in me and only wants, "Daddy, just Daddy."