New Runner on board

Sailor has been interested in my new running hobby. We ran a practice 1 mile loop the other day and did some sprints because she wants to get in really good shape for soccer. She wants to run every night when time allows. Tonight was our Cascade Lakes Relay team reunion bbq at our house. We watched an awesome video slideshow of our race...so fun to reminisce. As soon as it was over Sailor wanted to go running. So at 9:00 pm after everyone was gone, Auntie Sarah, Sailor and I headed out into the dark streets to enjoy the night air, crickets singing and beautiful stars. We planned for another mile run but Sailor was happily chatting away the whole time so we kept going. We got home and mapped our run (mapmyrun.com) and we ran 2.5 miles!!!! Oh my goodness...Sailor was beaming when we told her how far she went. She's so excited and is set on running the October 5K run with me and Auntie Sarah. I've imagined a life of exercising with my kids since I was a teenager and tonight just sunk in to me that the time is here...what an exciting blessing!

Holy Bat, Man...Batman!

Our cats are notorious for catching prizes and bringing them in the house: dragonflies, butterflies, big birds, hummingbirds, RATS and now tonight...a new prize...a bat...she was batting, pardon the pun, it around and then it flew by our heads late at night and then...we caught it on video...



If you listen carefully...BAT SONAR IS IN FULL EFFECT!

With Vicodin, comes Wisdom...

My 2 existing wisdom teeth went to the Tooth Fairy yesterday so I had an all day date with my bottle of Vicodin. My sweet sis, Sarah, was an amazing nurse. I have had my fill of corn soup, popsicles and pudding. I need NACHOS!!! I've enjoyed a couple of days chillin' and watching movies...if it takes getting wisdom teeth pulled to have a "Momma Break"...I think I'd do it all over again!

Loving the Oregon Coast

We headed to our family's beach house for a quickie weekend with friends. The girls' BBFs came with their family so there was lots of girly love going around. We played dress up one afternoon...the daddy's didn't like their girls looking like they were headed to prom...it didn't take long for them to look like haggard prom dates the morning after though. :) I personally love the pic of Chase and Josh bonding over their first (cough cough) beer together!

Jett goes to college...

Say it ain't so Joe...we dropped off Jett at OSU Beaver Baseball Camp last week and it was extremely strange. Josh and I left the girls at Auntie Baboo's house the day after my race to take Jett to college. We settled him in his dorm and left him in the courtyard awaiting stranger adults to care for him for the next 5 days. Jett has been having major "falling asleep" issues...anxiety, growth, pre-teen hormones, whatever it is I was anxious about him not having me to help him fall asleep each night. Therefore, I sent drugs with him, Tylenol PM to be specific but it was the best I could come up with to help him fall asleep if he needed it. He went with 3 friends. One had a phone for all the boys to use but no one did EXCEPT for my son. He called at every break to cheerfully say, "Hi" and 14 times between 9 pm-1 am crying for me to come "save" him from his sleep issues. It was so sad but we prayed and encouraged and STRONGLY encouraged and he got through it and is even talking about going to camp again...hmm...we'll see...
Pic #1 - Jett chillin' in his dorm! I worked hard all week prior to camp to give him good roommate etiquette and personal hygiene 101 lessons.
Pic #2 - The 3 boys, looking slightly scared yet trying to play it cool, as we said farewell for the week.
Pic #3 - We look WAY too young to be dropping our baby off at college...hopefully we'll still say this in 7 years when we do it for real...did I just say 7 years???
Pic #4 - Jett catching in the "Show Case" on the final day of camp...his friend Kye up to bat.

Cascade Lakes Relay 2009

It's been 4 months since I hesitantly pushed SEND on an email to Chase's kindergarten teacher accepting an invitation to be a part of a 12 person team running a 216 mile relay, the longest in the USA, through the woods, dessert and boonies in the heat of the summer. Well, here are the pics to prove my craziness. I DID IT AND LIVED TO TELL ABOUT IT!!! This was one of the most fun experiences of my life. My sis did it with me which made it super special. We had a paramedics scare with one of our teammates and I had my own small disaster. Picture a pitch black 2 lane narrow highway at 1:30 in the morning...me with a headlamp and reflector vest on and a certain pothole ready to gobble up my foot. I was one mile into my 2nd leg of the race, 5.5 miles in the wee hours of the morning. My headlamp wasn't quite doing its job, I was listening to my worship music softly trying to distract myself from the russling going on in the forest next to me when SMACK...I crashed to my knees and apparently, by the blood, to my forearms, hands and fingers. Confused and searching for my water bottle I flung into the bushes, I got up and figured all I could do was finish my 4.5 miles since there was no one around me and I didn't want to get eaten sitting on the side of the road. God bless my teammates because a few moments later they came upon me and asked if I was okay. They gave me some antiseptic wipes, sent me on my way and thankfully followed behind me with bright headlights the rest of my leg. The scrapes and scabs are slowly starting to disappear...what a memory. I'd do it all again to have the memories, bonding and accomplishment I feel after doing this. GO TEAM TWISTED BLISTER!!!