St. George Half Marathon

A couple of weeks ago I was on the fence about whether or not to run the St. George Half Marathon. I didn't feel very prepared and I didn't want to do it if I wasn't ready to PR. Then I got strep and that pretty much made my decision for me. I felt good about not running and thought it would be nice for once to just be at the finish line cheering the other runners on.

Well, the race was approaching and I realized I wanted to do it soooo bad. I was no longer excited about waiting at the finish line. I felt good health-wise and didn't have any injuries or complaints. Six days before the race I registered, which turned out to be a good thing because I didn't have time to get nervous or think about it too much. And I was very excited to run a big race again, since the last two races I've done (the Hoover Dam Marathon and the Hostess Half Marathon) had about 120 runners combined. It's pretty hard to run small races and keep yourself motivated. (The St. George Half had almost 3,000 runners this year!)

The race started at 9:00, a perfect starting time if you ask me. The Dixie Center was crazy busy. The weather couldn't have been more perfect if it tried. The course was new this year and is my favorite half course so far. I hope they keep it. I stayed with Melissa until mile 2 then let her do her thing. I didn't want to push it too hard too early. I felt way good the entire time. My legs started telling me they were tired around mile 9, and my time slowed down a little, but I was still able to stay pretty strong. My goal was to finish under 1:50 and my finish time was 1:48:10, a new PR by five minutes! I was beyond excited. I came in 21st out of 137 female runners in my age group, which I need to enjoy now because in May I move up into the fastest age bracket. Boo.

That girl looks like she's flying past me,
but my time beat hers.
Yes, I looked it up.

My totally awesome running partner.
She finished in 1:44:37, 12th in our age group.

Stuff

#1

Could he be any cuter?

Jada noticed this sign in the neighborhood by my mom's house and thinks it means no cats allowed.

My home workout turned into a family affair. Jada got on her bandana and worked out with me.

So did Caleb.

This is what Beckham did during our workout. Lounged on the chair eating a chocolate chip cookie. I think he's the smartest of us all.

Beckham wasn't feeling well and chose to snuggle up to Caleb instead of mommy. A brothers' love is really something special. BTW, I personally do not agree with dressing siblings alike, especially if they're not twins. But Caleb likes to wear this shirt when Beckham does, so I give in. Once in a while it's cute.


Why read a book on a chair when you can read a book in a tote on the chair?

Christmas Post (finally)

I'm just getting over a bout of strep and let me tell you something. Strep sucks. BAD. I've never had it before and wow! Surprisingly brutal. I went to InstaCare Sunday morning, and no, I didn't time it like that to get out of my Relief Society lesson, which, I admit, I wasn't very prepared for. So I got me some Penicillin and I'm finally able to swallow and talk again. Anywho, I figured as long as I'm just chillin for hours on the couch I might as well finally post about the holidays.

So I was pretty much Scrooge this holiday season. I didn't want to put up the Christmas tree. Or the Christmas lights. Or decorations. Or go Christmas shopping. You get the picture. I'm not sure what it was, I just didn't want to do it. Don't worry, I did. I did it for the kiddos. And they had a great Christmas season. We made sure to teach them the true meaning of Christmas, but when it comes down to it and you're a kid, opening presents on Christmas morning is what the season is all about. It just is.

We have a fake tree, which is just fine with me. My parents go out and cut down a real tree, which is great because then my kids can still have the experience of going out for a real Christmas tree. This year Caleb got to go with them while me and Beckham stayed behind to get Jada from school. He had a great time finding a tree, playing in the snow, and learning how to shoot a rifle. What, is that not okay to teach a 4-year-old?





We really enjoyed our annual family Christmas party, complete with a nativity play (put on by the kids, directed by Melissa and me), a fun gift exchange game, lots and lots of food, and SANTA, clearly the highlight for the kids. Mary (aka Jada) and Joseph (aka Griffin) were so cute with baby Jesus (aka Easton). Caleb really wanted to be a "King" (wiseman) and I can't remember what Beckham was. Great mom, right? He wouldn't hold still, and I was the director. I had a show to run! Beckham was mesmerized by Santa. See all the drool?


I didn't get many good pictures of Christmas morning. Here's the best we got.






Great Christmas, glad it's over:) What, I told you I was Scrooge.

Good News?

I'm not sure. We had Caleb tested for Celiac Disease and the results came back negative. Phew. I have been on the verge of panic for the past few weeks anticipating the enormous lifestyle change that was surely coming. In my head I was certain that was where we were headed. But today the results came back negative. Hmm. Don't get me wrong, I am super relieved. Like, beyond super relieved. But now the question becomes what does he have? Hopefully something minor, like an intolerance to something he's eating. He has had stomach issues for over two months. He's been very uncomfortable with belly aches every day. His stomach gets extremely hard and bloated and he has diarrhea. Every single day. I'm not exactly sure what to do next. I feel so bad for him. I guess we start eliminating things from his diet and see what helps?

Here's a fun text conversation I had with my sister today:
Me: Caleb's results for Celiac came back neg now the question is what does he have?
Melissa: What the heck is it then??
Me/Beckham who stole my phone: yy52
Melissa: Ummm what?
Me: Yeah, that was beckham I meant to say ??? He doesn't have yy52 lol :)
Melissa: lol out loud

That made me smile.

I love this kid.