Canyonlands Half Marathon

Last weekend I went to Moab with three friends to run the Canyonlands half marathon. It was a fun weekend! We drove through the mountains outside of Denver on Friday through a bad storm. It was scary in a few places and we weren't sure if we could make it up some of the hills. Luckily everything turned out OK and we made it to Moab in good time.

On Friday evening we picked up our race packets and then went out to dinner and had an early bedtime. This is me and my friends after we picked up our packets.



Saturday morning we woke up and got ready to run. We had to wait at the start for about an hour and a half. For one hour we had warm clothes on but when there was a half hour left we had to take our warm clothes off and put them in a drop back to pick up at the end of the race. It was so cold!

The week before the race I had a bit of spotting which concerned me a little with being pregnant. I debated whether I should run the race or not and decided to just take it easy and enjoy the run instead of getting a good time. I ran with my friend for the first 6 miles and was feeling really great. Between mile 6 and 7 I started feeling a bit more tired so I decided to slow down and let her run ahead. I put my music in, and zoned out. It was one of the BEST runs! I loved it! I didn't care how fast I was going, how many people were passing me, or any of the things I usually think about during a race. I just enjoyed the beautiful scenery, my music and a nice jog. The best part of the race came when I crossed the finish line and got a PR(personal record). I was amazed that I took it easy and still managed to beat my last half marathon time by 3 minutes. My final time was 2:06:52. Not super fast, but I keep getting better and I finished feeling great. Here is the 4 of us after the 13 miles.



After the best chocolate milk and other snack food we headed back to the hotel for showers. Then we went to Pasta Jays and enjoyed a delicious meal.



After our lunch we went to Arches and hiked a bit. Mostly just easy walking. It was good to stretch our muscles out a bit. I was thinking about climbing into this window but it was just a bit too much of a stretch.



We ended the night with a dessert party! We had tagalog ice cream and grasshopper cookies with hot chocolate. The best part of running 13 miles is all the food you get to eat after! It was a fun weekend away without kids or responsibilities. I need to do that more often.

Bedrooms and Blocks

Over the past 6 months I have been working a bit here and there on our bedrooms. Jacob and David moved to a bigger room so they could have two twin beds instead of bunk beds. There are enough night time accidents at our house that it was getting really tiresome to constantly by re-making bunk beds. Even though I am still washing sheets and making beds the same amount, it is a lot easier on a regular twin bed.

Ben painted the pattern on the walls to add a little fun and color. This is Jacob's side of the room.



This is David's side of the room. It looks a lot cuter when you see the whole thing instead of each side separately.



When we moved the beds around, the twin bed frame in Madeline's room was taken for the boys. I was really excited when I found this bed on Craig's list for $120. I love Madeline's new bed, now if she only wanted to sleep in it instead of her crib.



I got new bedding for our room last summer but it was too cheap and quickly fell apart. I really like the new bedding and pillows.



On Sunday, Ben and Jacob had a block tower building contest. Ben got 40 blocks before it toppled over.



Jacob got 30 stacked before his tower fell over.

Simple Pleasures

Yesterday at the store I splurged on a few things that really make me happy, I would like to share them with you.

1. Flowers- I love to have fresh flowers in my house and tulips happen to be one of my favorites. Ben is pretty good about bringing flowers home occasionally and sometimes I just buy them because the kitchen looks so much happier with flowers on the table.

2. Ice Cream- Yes I love ice cream but this is seriously the best kind I have had in a long time!! I didn't even know how good it was until I bought it yesterday. The actual cookies are ok, I like them but I don't have to have them. The ice cream is a different story, delicious! You should definitely try it especially if you like ice cream, peanut butter, and chocolate.

3. Aquafina flavored water- I love this flavored water! I hardly buy it because who wants to spend money on water? This kind is worth paying for once in awhile especially when it is on sale! A yummy treat for 0 calories!

Our Kitchen Makeover

I recently refinished out kitchen cabinets. They were the 90's oak look before. The real problem is that they looked old, there was sun fading and a bit of cracking in a few spots where the wood wasn't holding up really well. I sanded all the old finish off and then re-stained with the same color I did our kitchen table in. I like the new look and with the table finished in the same color, there is a nice flow.

This is the before kitchen



This is during the process


Almost half way done. I did the top half first and then the bottom so the kitchen wouldn't be in total disarray during the process.



You can see in the top right corner of this picture that we had to glue a wood veneer to the side of the cabinets. It was a cheap cardboard/plastic material that was sun faded blue. So we bought a thin wood, glued it on, and then put stain and polyurethane on. It turned out nice.



Here is the finished project. I am not a photographer and I don't think these pictures quite do it justice but that is just my lack of photography skills.





The project only cost $100 for new hardware, sand paper, wood veneer, stain, and paint to re-paint the walls. Now we just need to find some money for new stone counter tops:)

Happy Valentines Day!

Happy Valentines Day to everyone! I had a few little gifts for Ben and the kids on the table in the morning. Jacob woke up early and helped my decorate the table. He was really excited to participate but disappointed that his box of chocolates only had four chocolates in it.



Jacob made me this beautiful necklace in school and wanted me to model it so he could take a picture. I know, it is gorgeous!


There was no school last Friday, so we made sugar cookies for some of our friends. The boys had a fun time frosting and loading the cookies with sprinkles.



Ben made me a wonderful valentine with sweetheart candy sayings. What a creative guy!

Good News!

Baby Mower #4 is on its way. I went to the doctor yesterday thinking I was about 10 weeks but the ultrasound said I was 9 weeks and 2 days. Not quite as far as I had hoped but not a big deal. I am due August 20 and I am feeling great.

I was amazed how much you can actually see a baby in the ultrasound pictures.

Birthday Week

Last week Madeline and I both had birthdays. I had a great birthday! My friend took me out to lunch the day before. When I got home from running in the morning Ben had made a breakfast cake for me. Another friend came over in the morning and we made cards together. In the evening we went out to dinner, bought some presents and then finished the night with an ice cream cake from Basking Robbins. Thanks to my family and friends who called to wish me happy birthday!


Madeline had her 2nd birthday on Sunday. She wanted a horse cake. I am not sure if she realized what a birthday was but she knew it was a party!


David gave Madeline an Elmo ball and then wanted Madeline to give it to him.


Jacob gave Madeline a horse. She loves the horse and "rode" it around all evening.