Post Bolder Boulder

We did it! What a fun day! I must admit I am tried, and sore, but it was worth every pain and blister!

Yesterday we headed up to the Boulder area to stay the night. Because one of the ladies in our group got a relative discount, we were able to stay in a Westin for very cheap. After exploring and swimming, we went to dinner at Carraba's.








We were good on carbs, and headed back to the hotel for smores with everyone else. We got to bed and tried to rest. Sadly I was not really able to sleep well, but that is okay.



This morning I got up and met the other runners down stairs at 6:30, and we headed to the race. There were people everywhere! We had to be dropped off about 1 Km from the start line, but it was a good warm up. The race itself went well. Two big goals were met. I ran the whole time, and did it in under 70 minutes. I ran with my sister-in-laws the whole time, and I would not of done as well without them. We finished in 68.08 minutes. My one regret is that we did not sprint harder at the end, and finish under 68 minutes. It was harder than I thought with the inclines. Next time I will definitely have to train with running on more inclines.

The course was really great. So many people encouraged you and kept you going. Food choices along the race were marshmellows, donuts, doritos, and bacon! You could do slip and slides if you wanted. It really helped the with the run, and I was so entertained that I did not need to turn on my ipod at all!

After the race we met up with the families and got our snack bags. There were so many people everywhere, that we did not stay at the booth/ festival area long. We ended the day with one of my favorites, Pappadeaux's. I definitely got back every calorie that I burned!

Such a fun day, and weekend! How was your weekend?

Pre-Bolder Boulder

I am super excited to be participating in the second biggest race in the country on Monday, the Bolder Boulder. I am racing with my two sister-in-laws, and two of my sister-in-laws friends. It is a 10K, which is 6.2 miles.

It is my first race, ever! I am super excited, but also nervous. My goals are to finish the race, and to do it under 70 minutes. Yesterday, I did it in 66:06, but that was on a treadmill. It felt awesome, but I did get a blister on the bottom of my foot. As long as it heals before Monday, I should do well. Today and tomorrow are my rest days, and hopefully I will be all ready for race day.

The Bolder Boulder is unusual in that it is more like a big festival. Check out the list of entertainment along the race route. Throughout the entire race there are crazies. Mile 1.6 and 3.0 have belly dancing, and mile 2.4 is Tex-mex smurfabilty, what even is that? The race ends in the University of Colorado football stadium, how cool is that? You end you race with thousands of people yelling, while you are in a huge stadium!

So I am very excited. Tomorrow we head up to the Denver area to stay in a hotel, and Monday morning at 7:47 is our start time. After the race there is lots of things to do, and from what I hear tons of freebies. It should be a blast. I will share stories and pictures on Monday evening. Wish me luck!

Our trip to Houston

Our trip to Houston was so much fun, minus the fact that we missed Jerm terribly. As normal it was busy, and packed with things to do.

Friday we ran errands, and hung out around my Mom's house. We also headed to my Dad's house to visit and see the brand new puppies one of my Dad's dogs had.

Saturday we got up super early to head to Nacadoches for my brother Andy's graduation from college. We were all super tired and had a relaxing evening at my mom's house.


Sunday, we went to church, and got ready for Uncle Andy's party. We loved playing and visiting with family and friends.



Monday, we went to the beach and had a blast.




Tuesday we went to the children's museum with Grandma. And spent the evening playing at Grandpa's house.



Wednesday we went to the Zoo with our friends Jessica and Hudson. It has really improved since I was little, and we will have to go back with Jerm. That night we played in Kemah with Grandpa. Brady started to not feel well, but he still had fun.








Thursday, we had planned on visiting with Jeremy's Grandparents, but sadly Brady was sick, and he needed to go to the doctor. I wanted to make sure he did not have an ear infection, and then make it worse on the plane. My cousin works for a peditritans office so she was able to get us in quickly. Thankfully it was just a cold, and Brady can still say he hasn't ever had antibiotics. After the doctors visit we had lunch with Grandma, and went back to Grandmas to rest and play.

Friday we shopped with Grandma and played in the pool. Brady did not want to get out of the pool!


Saturday we got to go to my cousins' birthday party at Pump it up, a fun Inflateable place. After the party, I went shopping with my old high school friends, and had a blast. We also went to dinner, and it was so awesome to sped time with these wondreful ladies.




Sunday we played at Grandpa's one more time, and headed to the airport.

Wow, what a trip. We had so much fun, and I could probably strech this out into many posts. We miss everyone so much already.

I love being a whale!

So I normally do not forward emails. It has to be very good. I cringe at emails that say you break some chain, and will be a horrible person if you don't forward it to 500 people. It is just my rule to not forward any of them. So when I got this email from my mom, and I really liked it, I had to share. Hope you like it too!
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Recently, in large French city, a poster featuring a young, thin and tanned woman appeared in the window of a gym. It said:

THIS SUMMER DO YOU WANT TO BE A MERMAID OR A WHALE?

A middle aged woman, whose physical characteristics did not match those of the woman on the poster, responded publicly to the question posed by the gym.

To Whom It May Concern:

Whales are always surrounded by friends (dolphins, sea lions, curious humans). They have an active sex life, they get pregnant and have adorable baby whales. They have a wonderful time with dolphins stuffing themselves with shrimp. They play and swim in the seas, seeing wonderful places like Patagonia, the Barren Sea and the coral reefs of Polynesia . Whales are wonderful singers and have even recorded CDs. They are incredible creatures and virtually have no predators other than humans. They are loved, protected and admired by almost everyone in the world.

Mermaids don't exist.

If they did exist, they would be lining up outside the offices of Argentinean psychoanalysts due to identity crisis. Fish or human? They don't have a sex life because they kill men who get close to them not to mention how could they have sex? Therefore they don't have kids either. Not to mention who wants to get close to a girl who smells like a fish store?

The choice is perfectly clear to me; I want to be a whale.

P.S.. We are in an age when media puts into our heads the idea that only skinny people are beautiful, but I prefer to enjoy an ice cream with my kids, a good dinner with a man who makes me shiver and a coffee with my friends.


With time we gain weight because we accumulate so much information and wisdom in our heads that when there is no more room it distributes out to the rest of our bodies. So we aren't heavy, we are enormously cultured, educated and happy. Beginning today, when I look at my butt in the mirror I will think, Good gosh, look how smart I am.

Traveling with a toddler- part 2

Honestly Brady did awesome on the way home. The trip was very hectic, but it was completely my fault.

I was determined to be at the airport early, so that we would not be rushed, unlike the way there. I borrowed an extra bag this time, so that we could haul everything home. It only cost $60 instead of $75, lucky me. When I bought the airline tickets, it was with my frequent flier miles, through Continental. It never occurred to me that the flight home would not be Continental. So when I showed up at the Continental counter in terminal B, and the lady said that I was on a United flight, I started to panic. There went being early. We had to drag Brady, the stroller, my purse, Brady's Elmo bag, the 45 pound suitcase, the heavy other bag to check, and a carry on bag all the way to a different terminal. Thank goodness, I had my mom with me, otherwise we would not of made it. The terminal tram thing pulled away as we walked up, so we decided to walk and not wait the three minutes for the next one. We beat the tram by seconds, but at least we got a good workout.

Once we finally checked in, and said a hurried goodbye to my mom, we waited in the long security line. Thankfully, Brady was much better this time around. After getting our belongings, I was putting back together the stroller, before I had put back on my shoes, and I cut my foot on the stroller. We hobbled to the gate, and we were only the second to last ones one the plane.

Thankfully we sat next to Grandparents, and Brady did awesome, portable DVD player was a life saver.

Unfortunately on the way back we had a lay over in Denver, which is only an hour away from Colorado Springs. It was discouraging to be so close to home, but still so far away. The lay over was two hours, so we had some dinner, played in a toy store, and found a candy store.

I mistakenly thought our flight was in gate 39, nope gate 94, on the other side of the airport. But no big deal, I would still have 5 minutes to spare before boarding. After walking across the airport, the gate was quiet, and I thought maybe they had not boarded yet. Then I read the sign final boarding, and saw the door closed. After almost crying and pleading with the gate attendants they let me on the plane. It was a small plane and it was the kind that we had to get on stairs and climb up to. I was so grateful, but still very confused why they boarded so early. After asking the person sitting next to us, I guess they boarded about ten minutes early. Also I realized that when I had changed my watch back to mountain time, I had set it about ten minutes late! No wonder they had already boarded.

The plane ride was nice and quick. When everyone was getting off, Brady seemed very confused as to why we were getting off so quickly. It was cute. I am so grateful that he is such a good boy.

It was a fun trip, not so much the traveling part, but the trip itself. Being reunited with Jeremy was awesome. We are really enjoying getting back on schedule, and enjoying being back together as a family. Look for posts on our time in Texas soon.
Brady was so happy to see Jerm and the dogs

The dogs were a little too happy to see Brady, poor thing got licked to death.

Traveling with a toddler - part one

Our trip started off a little crazy!

I was kind of late getting ready and finishing packing. So when Jeremy picked us up to take us to the airport, we had to hurry out the door, and I did not get a chance to weigh our bag. So of course, once we get to the airport, my bags weighs 61 pounds! I had no extra bags, so instead of paying $25 we had to pay $75! Bummer! That will not be happening for the flight home.

Then we had to say a super quick goodbye to Jeremy and hurry though security. :(

Brady had a meltdown because he thought that the TSA people were taking his new Elmo backpack and shoes. I had to drag him though security, with three bags and a stroller. Finally we get our stuff , and I start to hear my name over the speakers. I did not even wait to listen I just ran. Colorado springs is a very small airport and normally the same flights are always out of the same gates. Unfortunately this day, the Houston flight that used to be in gate 1 is now in gate 10. So I had to run with a shoeless Brady, and stroller, and three bags across the airport!

We finally made it, but we were the last ones on the plane.

The first few minutes of the flight were good. Brady was yelling "airplane" but it was fun, and he enjoyed it.

Then we were able to watch an Elmo movie, have snacks and a drink, and that really worked well for a while.

Toward the end of the flight, Brady's ears hurt him, and he started his screaming. Sadly, it did not stop until the end of the flight. Sooo embarrassing! Thankfully I no longer care what people think of me of my child, so we quickly got over it. But it was not fun.

I guess we will see how the trip home is. I hope he will sleep, I think I will give him Tylenol for his ears.

Otherwise we are having a great time, visiting family and friends. We will share all our activities soon.