Suffering from some SERIOUS nerves!!!

(Ahhhhhh! Yes, I would like to scream like this!)

(could possibly describe how I am feeling)

So...

This Saturday I am running the 10k in the Pocatello "Running the Gap" marathon race. I know, it is only Tuesday...but I am feeling the worst kinds of butterflies in my stomach just thinking about it!!! I haven't raced since high school, and yet it is all coming back to me very clearly! And the main question I keep asking myself is:

"Why do I have to be so dad-gum competitive??? Why?"

So, this is what I found myself doing a few months ago after I registered for the 10k (thanks, Jan, by-the-way, for the birthday money in which I used to register....if it wasn't for you, I probably would not have registered at all for lack of money...being married to a poor college student! haha!)

Anyway, upon registering, I decided to look up last years women's results...of course telling myself it was just out of curiosity...and that I really did not care what place I got...just as long as I finished. I have had MANY friends and family tell me I am an awful liar.

Hmmm, let's just think here for a minute...

Do you REALLY think that I can even possibly run a race and NOT try to win??? I mean, come on...I am trying to fool myself to think that I will just run for PLEASURE and nothing more! I was born with a competitive streak far too dominant to sit there and all of a sudden become recessive for the sake of my own silly lies! The reality of the situation hits me hard, even at this very moment, as I am blogging and eating pretzels and yet my body is already suffering from the "flight or fight" response!

So...over the last few months of my "training" I have tried to get into a pace of running consistant 10 minute miles, and that would allow me to run the 10k in an hour. Results from last year, for the women's age group 25-29, the top three finishers ran it in 59 minutes to the fastest time of 55 minutes. The question I keep asking myself is, "Can I do it??"

That question is what is making me so blasted nervous! And this is why:

A week ago on Monday, I ran 6.5 miles in exactly an hour. I was, to say the least, THRILLED! So, pushing my limits a little further, yesterday evening I ran about 7 miles in an hour. I timed each lap (which is 0.5 miles) and most laps I ran in 4 minutes with a few in 3 minutes and a few in 5 minutes. When I finished, I still felt strong and realized I could have pushed myself a little faster. That's a good thing when you have a race to run in a week.

So...there is a possibility, considering who is running the 10k this year in my age group, that I could place....and you have no idea how BADLY I want to!!! My stomach is churning and palms are sweating!!!

To make the weekend even better, also running in races are: My sister-in-law Chelsea running the 10k as well, Ben and my nephews Carson and Jake, registered in the 1.5 mile fun run, Anna and my neice Rylei, registered in the 0.2 mile fun run, my sister-in-law Jenilyn and her sister as well as Jenilyn's son Dallen, registered in the 5k. It will be a whole family affair!!!

I cannot wait for Saturday to come, and I will make sure Russ takes lots of pictures of all of us to post! I am so proud of Ben for being tough and running so well to get ready for the race and I have been amazed by Anna and her enthusiasm to run at such a young age too! I could not be a happier mom than to see my children go on and pursue the joy that running and physical activity has brought me in my life...and I hope they will find the same joy in their lives too. They always say that if you want your children to be more active, then they need to see their parents become more active as well. Be your child's best example.

Good luck to any of you who might be participating and wish me lots of luck too!!!

JUMP!!!

A few weeks ago, we drove down to Twin Falls for a visit. One of the first places I wanted to go was Nat-Soo-Pa, one of my favorite places to go swimming growing up. It is about 20 minutes outside of Twin Falls and the area is over natural hot springs. It was only $5 for an adult and $3 for a child, and you could rent mats, inner tubes and such for just a dollar. I went with my sisters Alisha and her kids, Haylee, and Emma, and then my kids, Ben, and my brother Caleb too. We had so much fun and stayed there all day!

Carter kept me quite busy, climbing up the side of the pool and then jumping in with little or no warning at all! He would often push my hands away because he didn't want me to catch him, not understanding that if I did not catch him it would bring imminent death!!! I started letting his head go under the water when I would catch him, and he didn't mind too much!!! He loves the water and I have a feeling he is going to keep us all running after him as he boldly jumps into life and all it has in store!!

(I will post all the pictures of our trip this week, so stay tuned!)

Just a "FEW" pictures and a few comments as well...

Chelsea Jane...what would we do without her??? She is our little bright spot of sunshine that you go searching for in the park with that perfect spot with soft spongy grass where you lay out your blanket and glimpse a moment of happiness...yes, we LOVE her!!! She is Adorable, Funny, Beautiful, Compassionate, and has a passion for life and all things good in this life...including a cute little button-faced boy named WESLY WARD....they are ADORABLE together...and we cannot wait for October 24th to come soon enough...when they will be married FOREVER!!! Chelsea is as much my little sister as my own true sisters are, we had some great fun living together while Russ was on his mission, and even fought a bit like true sisters do too, haha! She is Russ's baby sister, and always will be, and they hold a special bond (probably cuz Russ changed so many of her diapers as a baby, eh?) and so this wedding has a special meaning for us. She tends to remind us of the true meaning of life, to be loving and LOVED, to give and give, buy high heel shoes...even bright RED ones...and wear them proudly, to remember that the most important words you can say are ones we hear her say EVERYDAY, "Love you guys!", to SMILE and laugh and LAUGH some more, to forget about fights and "bad" moments and find, instead, the BEST in a situation or in any person, that you can never go without a CUTE and TRENDY purse, and that family really can be the BEST part of your day.

CONGRATULATIONS girl....even though you already know that I jumped up and down in a VERY unlady-like manner and full of BUBBLY excitement to hear of your engagement!!! We LOVE you!!! And WES too!!!


OKAY now...about the rest of these pictures...A little bit from Anna and Carter's birthday party...

PINATA!!! That would NOT break...even when it became a "ball" and grand-slammed with a bat...(by the time it DID crack...most of the hard candy inside was "dust"...but the kids enjoyed it nonetheless!)

Geoff gave it his all...poor little pinata...

And the kids tried as well....

It was so CUTE though....I obviously got a little carried away with putting on too many layers...next time will be better.

We all roasted hot dogs and had smores...

Anna had a BLAST reuniting with her cousins from West Virginia, and she and Halle were inseparable that day!!! We miss you Halle!!! Come back soon!

The little "babies" of the clan(Emily, Carter, and Jett)....not so baby-ish anymore...all grown up now and talking, drinking and eating on their own (woo hoo!), making great messes, but still screaming and crying, and pooping and peeing a lot too...potty-training 101 here we come little ones!!!

This was my "creative" spin on the beloved game "Pin the Tail on the Donkey". All the kids got a little bumble bee...and what FUN that was to give the cute little bear (inspired by Charmin Toilet Paper) a poke!!!

It is hard to tell what is going on here, but all the kids got to go "fishing" for a surprise. The boys got little parachute men and the girls got a ring and bracelet.

Face Painting: Carter got a big tear drop because right before he was throwing a major tantrum. What better picture to put upon his cute little cheek than something it knows quite well....tears?? He turned TWO and ask me if it has been TERRIBLE??? YES YES YES!

The rest of the girls ALL chose kites.

We also had a cupcake walk and a game of bean bag tossin where they had to throw the bean bags into a clowns mouth and two balloons. It was about the BEST birthday party EVER and we all had so much fun celebrating our two favorite kids' birth: Anna Belle: July 29 and Carter John: July 24!!!

Sunday, Anna's actual birthday, we celebrated at home, where she requested a "titten take" which I had fun making, and then she got to open a few more presents we saved. I had to attempt to make a "cool" or "creative" cake this year just because there are so many of you that are AMAZING at the whole cake-thing for your kids' parties. If you would like to know how to make this one, let me know and I will give you the website. Anyhoo, I have a half-dozen posts still to post, so keep coming back for more...if I can just slow down enough to get a few more in over the next few weeks!!!