Pitter Patter of Little Feet

The Chaos of Christmas Time

December hit and we took a deep breath and settled in to the chaos.

It started out with two separate choir performances

 

A birthday sandwiched in there (aka eating even more cake and sweets in the midst of all the holiday sugar over-load).

 

Ballet performances

 

With visits from Grandmere, complete with gingerbread making extravaganza!

Dress rehearsals and Nutcraker fun!

 

Once again it is always a thrill to see these ladies of mine on stage, smiling, somewhat out of their comfort zone, enthusiastic, happy and talented! Any parent can attest to this right? What is better than seeing your child developing a talent and doing something amazing for themselves!

Sage came home from the last day of school before Christmas break with a present from a boy. At first I didn't realize that this was a boy not even in her class. It seemed simple at first glance but then we got home and discovered a sweet little necklace inside! It said "Love Love Love" all over it. Boy you should have seen her face blush as she realized this adorable, sweet boy had a huge crush on her! Man, first loves. Aren't they sweet and fun?

 

Then towards the end of the month my grandpa passed away. He had been struggling the past few years with his diabetes and after going into kidney failure hung on and on and on. He put up a good fight and then left this world to find peace and wait for his love to someday join him.

I flew out for the funeral

 

We will all feel an absence of his wisdom, his kindness and love. Auf Wiedersehen Gramps.

 

We enjoyed the beauty of sunny Colorado winters

early snowy runs and all.

We made and ate more and more delicious Christmas treats! All in the name of Santa of course! 

Santa gets treated right around here.

And in return he gives the girls great memories to keep and a merry Christmas!

 

 

And to make Christmas break complete we did a bit of playing in the snow. And around here we have to do it right away before that amazing Colorado sun melts it all away! :) Gosh I love Colorado!

 

We rang in the New Year, I think at about 8:45 pm. But who cares the girls loved their sparkling cider and gummy bear drink!

Bring on 2015!

 

 

Spooks and Gobbles

When we got home from my race in Goblin Valley we picked our new puppy back up. The breeders (our friends) said that he was acting sick, not eating, lethargic. We took him home and he threw up some hair ties. Great. 

He wouldn't eat. And wouldn't eat. And kept throwing up. After a day or so we were forced to take him in to the vet. $300 later we had an x-ray that showed foreign objects in his stomach and intestines.

They said we should pay for a cat scan that would cost over $800 and from that they would either say everything is fine or we would need exploratory surgery which would then be over a thousand dollars more! 

We certainly didn't have that kind of money. We began force feeding him (on the advice of my vet brother-in-law) hopping it would force whatever out, without damaging his insides. We did this for days while I looked for options we could afford that would help him. The only option we had was to give him up to the humane society. So we waited and the kids prayed. It was emotional times over here.

After more than a week of worry, force feeding, and waiting eventually he pooped and seemed to start feeling better! Phew! We felt it was a miracle. I couldn't imagine having to explain losing him to the kids.

 

We then jumped into the holidays: Starting with the best one of all - Halloween.

Sticking with tradition we all dressed up the same together and somehow decided on Day of the Dead Skeletons. 

The kids and I enjoyed class Halloween parties and then we all went out for a great night of Trick-or-Treating.

 

Fall preceded on and we enjoyed the crispness in the air, the changing leaves, and the beginning of holiday treats!

We cuddled in bed

and got ready for my sister and bro-in-law to join us for the Thanksgiving break!

We did what I love best about Thanksgiving and spent a full day baking pies together!

And enjoyed a fabulous Thanksgiving feast the next day!

But as great as the food and festivities were, the best part was just spending time with family making memories - oh and seeing their adorable dog and our adorable dog play crazy in the backyard!

 

 

We headed into downtown for a DIY family photo shoot and as luck would have it look who we ran into!

 

We were all dressed up  and coordinating anyway!

Here's the best we could get as far as family shots, but I'm glad to have something!

So grateful for this beautiful little family of mine!

Goblin Valley and Ultra *I-Want-To-Die* Race

As it turns out, we should have left Dantès at the breeders until the previously appointed pick-up time. The week before my huge Ultra Marathon Race I spent sleepless and exhausted as we trained a new puppy who whined through the night the entire week. 

But he's so dang cute, isn't he?

We returned him to the breeders while we set off to Goblin Valley State Park in Southern Utah for our 4 day camping/running trip.

And what a trip it was! We all immediately fell in love with this place!

 

My mom met us at the campground that evening and we set up camp. The first night and next day were spent letting the kids explore and play in the amazing landscape while I tried not to do too much and let my legs rest. But how is that possible when you have this amazing scenery you want to insert yourself into?

 

Considering we were camping, I slept pretty well the night before. The morning of the race I woke up extremely early and went to the starting line.

Justin, the girls and my mom made it to the start in time to see me off. 

And so it began. I didn't have high expectations of myself as far as time. Having never ran an ultra at high altitude or on trails or with any significant climbs I really only wanted to finish and enjoy the scenery. Just having raced a marathon less than a month earlier I also didn't know what was left in my legs for this race. 

I can say that this was probably one of the most beautiful races I have ever participated in!

I tried to start off conservatively, but already my legs and body felt tired and I wondered how much was in the tank and how far it could take me. 

I enjoyed the rising sun over the red and white rocks as the hills rolled down and then up for the first 7 miles or so.

 

It was at mile 7 that the course turned to serious 4-wheel drive terrain and I passed by my cheering family. Justin passed off some water to me and that was the last we saw of each other for a few hours.

For the next 17 miles I was on my own in the most beautiful, awe-inspiring, out-of-this-world scenery ever. I wish there had been photographers to capture the view or that I could have expended the energy to take out my phone and snap a few photos: the red rocks, the views from the mesas, the purple, red and white sand that looked like another planet, the warm tones of the desert. I wish I could show it to you, but I will just have to hang onto the memories for myself for as long as possible.

The course was beautiful but difficult. The most difficult terrain I have ever ran on. It was sandy and/or rocky terrain those middle 17 miles, with steep inclines that were so sandy and rocky that it actually was faster for me to walk up them than run. Walk? WALK? I never walk. EVER. Period. But this race I did. And it is probably because I allowed myself to walk up those hills that I had any amount of anything left to cross over the finish line. 

Those middle miles up and down that sandy rocky terraine in the heat were killer. They chewed me up and spit me out. I think they took a major toll on most of us. One guy I had ran a few miles with took off up those rocky hills like no other and left me in his dust. But on the way back down he was spent and I passed him at mile 22 or so and never saw him again. It was brutal I'm telling ya. It was also at that point that the sun was really taking a toll on me. No shade to speak of. Exhausted.

I was so glad to see my family again, who had waited to see me again where I had last left them. But I knew that the last 7 miles were going require a lot from me.

And they did. The last 7 were brutal to survive.

 

I held on best I could but in the last 5 miles I slowed way down and even stopped at a couple water stations. Yes. STOPPED. I'm pretty sure I was suffering from heat exhaustion at this point, as I felt like I was going to pass out. I kept dumping water on myself at the water stations and the helped a tiny bit.

As much as I wanted to quit I kept running slogging all the way to the end (though they were probably the slowest miles I've ever clocked during a race - ever).

Going into this race I was excited about the finish as we would be running through the Avenue of the Goblins. By the time we got there though I wasn't so thrilled. This cool and picturesque way to end the race added some extra milage to the 50k when I was already WAY past done.

 

Not to mention it was through sand and uneven terrain and the last 100 yards or so before the finish line was straight up a sand hill!

This is me power walking up the hill. I literally had nothing left to give.

I was completely depleated, nauseous and a bit traumatized, to be honest. I was relieved to be done. And I was proud of myself for finishing. My finishing miles/min is a bit shameful to me but I guess when you consider the conditions of the race it's pretty good. I didn't know how well I could do and I definitely did not expect to place 3rd OVERALL - men AND women.  Nor did I expect to place 2nd overall the women.

I got this cool silver medal and even a cash prize! WAHOO! It almost makes the self-torture worth it! ;)

I don't know if I could ever survive this race again. If I'm ever CRAZY enough to sign up for it again please remind me how excruciating it was and then make sure I get my butt out there doing hill repeats nonstop to better train and prepare for this race.

 

As I tried to recover and force myself to eat, the kids had a fun-run through the .5 mi Avenue of the Goblins Loop. By now it was like 90 degrees but they all did it and they all had fun!

They won goodie bags and t-shirts! 

 

After a short respite at the finish line we spent the rest of the afternoon hiking around the Avenue of the Goblins.

Such a magnificent location!

Then we drove to the nearest town (not near at all) and got my race completion celebratory onion rings, some ice cream and drank tons of pop! It was a memorable and magnificent day!

 

We spent the next day all hiking up Bell Canyon! It was incredibly beautiful and a fabulous day! Good thing we were hiking with little legs as mine were pretty tired! :)

I think a future trip to Goblin Valley has got to be in the future, but maybe without the torture of a 31+ mile race in the heated desert to accompany it! :)

A New Little Brother

Somewhere there along the way we all managed to convince Justin to let us get a puppy. I think He had surrendered to the idea a long time ago that he eventually would have to give in. So when our friends dogs had puppies it just seemed like it was time.

We had a few visits with the puppies trying to pick the one we wanted.

I kind of wanted a girl but we decided to get this little guy to give Justin at least one other "male" in the home! 

He was the runt and he was adorable!

The girls couldn't stop asking when he was finally going to come home and live with us.

While we waited we distracted ourselves with lost teeth:

Cadence was pretty distraught about this. She thought she looked funny and that people would make fun of her. Oh what am I to do with this sensitive child? I think she got over it the next morning when she saw what the tooth fairy had left her!

 

We distracted ourselves with the school fun run.

Remember last year? Well we were way more prepared this time! I think our summer track workouts really helped! :)

I ran the entire thing with Sage and Cadence went off on her own.

Sage survived this time WAY better!

We crossed the finish line and I was going to run back to find Cadence. Luckily a friend of mine mentioned that she had seen Cadence cross the finish line already. What?! How did that happen!? She totally beat us! And she couldn't have been prouder!

She said it was hard but she just kept pushing herself! Afterwards she told me as she was pushing towards the finish line she almost started to cry. I thought it was because it was so hard, but she said it was actually because she felt awesome and was "about to win!" That's my girl!

As you can see from these "runner high" expressions it was a success for both the girls.

 

We distracted ourselves with Daddy daughter dates

 

And then two weeks before we were technically supposed to take our little puppy home we had a "playdate" with him at our place.

 

 

And I"m sure it's no surprise that instead of taking him back to the breeders that evening we went to Pet Smart and bought a collar, a kennel and some dog food.

He was here to stay. 

And the girls couldn't have been happier!

And because Justin didn't want a dog to begin with (and I was struggling narrowing it down) we let Justin name him.

Welcome to the family

Dantès!

Sage's Baptism

October 5th 2014 was an amazing day.

Justin and I were able to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary by watching our oldest get baptized. What an amazing way to celebrate our marriage! 

We have been so proud of Sage as she has learned and decided to follow Christ by being baptized as he was. She couldn't have been more thrilled!

We had debated whether she should be baptized in Colorado in our ward and near friends or in Utah near family and friends. 

In the end she decided she wanted her cousins there! But not only her cousins there but to have a double baptism with her cousin Charlotte, just two weeks her younger!

The program was awesome and spiritual and touching! But it was the love that we were surrounded with that really touched me! We had most of my family there, great friends, and even Sage's Primary teacher drove all the way from Colorado just so she wouldn't miss it! Now that's going above and beyond!

 

The gospel of Jesus Christ brings so much joy and strength to our lives. I'm so happy that Sage has chosen to be a part of this gospel and that the gift and companionship of the Holy Ghost will be a directing force in her life. She has such a strong moral compass and a gift of compassion and care I know all those in her life will be touched by her huge, loving heart!

And as a parting gift here are some of the baptism photos I took of Sage for her special day!

Ten Year Anniversary *marathon* Trip

Many of my friends have taken luxury vacations to celebrate their 10-Year Anniversaries. Not us.

Instead we had on our schedule a trip to Utah; First to run the St. George marathon again and then to have Sage's baptism near family.

We made the beautiful and LONG drive to St. George from Denver.

The first 5 hours were spent counting how many yellow cars we could see along the way. I think we got into the 200's before we lost daylight and had to give up.

The first morning there we hit the marathon expo and enjoyed the chaos of all that event has to offer!

We hung out with family and got to bed as early as possible for the next days race!

I really do love this race. So well organized and they think of everything!

The issue I had going into this race was that I was actually training for an ultra-marathon later that month and the St. George was supposed to just be a long easy training run. I felt like I was between a rock and a hard place. If I ran it full out it might affect my training for the bigger race I was actually training for. But how could I really hold back during this race and just make it easy? If anyone knows me they know I pretty much give it my all, all the time. Yet even if I did race it how could I really expect my best results seeing as I hadn't tapered or rested my legs up for the race and was at the peak of my training for an ultra? I debated back and forth up until the week of the race, until I finally decided that I would give it my all (was there really any question?) even if it would be affected by my training program. I didn't think my ultra was going to be about time anyway.

Given this situation, I didn't have quite as much anxiety going into this race as I did on my last marathon since I didn't really know what I could realistically expect from myself. I knew I was ready to give it my all - whatever that looked like.

Off to the start early in the morning

We enjoyed the fires and the enthusiasm of the pre-race waiting area. I was pretty excited and ready to get the race started.

Off we went each of us running our own race but in it together!

I had awesome cheerleaders waiting at about mile 8 and I saw them in a flash as I ran by!

The race went pretty well for me.

I was more prepared for the downhill pounding and more mentally prepared for the two big up hills that can catch you off guard.

I settled in and just rolled along. I was glad that I had been training at altitude this time for the race (as opposed to the last time we ran this). But altitude training or not, one thing that was reinforced again to me was, you need to train fast to run fast. I didn't run this as fast as last time, but close enough!

I knew that this is a "lonely" race, especially in contrast to the Boston marathon. There aren't a ton of spectators and doesn't seem to be much conversation between runners. But I kind of looked forward to the solitude of running, being in my own head, and trying to take in the amazing scenery around me. This is one of the most beautiful races I've done, and I wanted to see it all this time!

So I did.

I felt really good for most of the run. My quads started cramping just like they did last time and I stopped to get rubbed down with Icy-Hot a couple of times. Other than that though, things felt good and I was hanging in there and feeling strong. What's 26.2 miles when you're training for 31? haha

It wasn't until about mile 21 or so thought that I thought I was going to die. haha My legs were hurting so bad by this point that I didn't know how I could keep going. I wished that I could use the downhill to my advantage but it just hurt too much to let loose and haul down the hill.

The last 4 were excruciating and as I came across the finish line you can definitely see the pain on my face. There was no energy or state of mind that could make me smile for a photo at this point. 

I met my goals? I guess! I ran my second fastest marathon, enjoyed the view, gave it all I had, and hung on for the entire thing! I'd call that a success! I was pretty pleased with myself.

 

Justin also had a good run. He was all in for this race and wanted a certain time of course. But training is so hard when you often times have to work 80 hours a week. He did the best he could for the training that he was able to do.

 

 

He was feeling pretty good for most of the run, but the heat didn't do him any favors. He's really affected by it. I mean just look at how soaked he is from sweat!

 

Just like me he started to feel things with about 4 miles left (who doesn't though?). And he kind of started to crash and burn.

He didn't make his time goal but I think he feels like he ran this smarter than usual and is still happy with the outcome.

Hey he finished a marathon! How could there be no joy or pride in that? 

I'm proud of him. Here's my guy who said he would never even run a mile with me for our first 4 years of marriage, let alone a marathon, and he just completed his 6th marathon! Now that's awesome!

 

I waited for Justin at the finish line and after he got past the pain that comes rushing over you after you stop running we actually could pose for a photo. I know that sounds weird but that's really how it is. You're in pain while you run obviously, and especially as you finish a race, but a different kind of pain comes flowing through you as soon as you're not required to run anymore. It'a like once you're not placing such a physical demand on your body any more it's like "oh you're done? Good! I'm just going to shut down now, thanks!" It takes a bit to get past that.

We ate and drank, tried not to puke, found our family and celebrated our accomplishements!

We rewarded the kids patience and heartfelt support in cheering us on all morning with an afternoon of swimming and huge ice cream cones! Then we hopped in the car and made the 4 hour drive up to SLC for the big day that awaited us in the morning!

 

Warm September - well until it wasn't

Gina had come into town to Sage's birthday (we love it when family comes to visit for birthdays! We love it when family comes to visit period.). So naturally with Gina here we had to get out and have some extra fun!

We took the kids to Manitou Springs Indian Cliff Dwellings (Did I just say "Indian"? Well that's what it was called the last time I went there like almost 2 decades ago)

None-the-less, it is a lot of fun there and we ran around playing until it started to rain!

 

 

One special treat when visitors come into town is that usually Justin and I actually get to go on a long run together (I miss being able to go on runs with him). I had been look forward to this in an extra way because I had recently discovered three new flavors of Gu, one of which is Justin's favorite flavor in the world! It sounds nerdy runner-esque of me but it was fun pulling out a new and exciting flavor every 6 miles or so to surprise him! I think it helped him survive the 19 mi run we were on!

We took Gina on the trails by our house and did some apple picking! These apples aren't quite to par with the ones we picked in MA but hey it's free and it's right down the street from our house! How fun is that!?

Just before Gina had to leave to go home she surprised Cadence with granting her her wish to get her ear pierced (we were going to make her wait until Christmas). That's what Gramma's are for right? 

Cadence was awesome and afterwards told me that she was trying to not cry to prove to me that she could be brave. I'm still trying to figure out if that's a good thing or a bad thing! What I DO know is that she is thrilled to have pierced ears now!

When Gina comes to town we all certainly feel loved and spoiled and we always look forward to her next visit!

 

As September winded down we dressed up like pirates for free donuts

 

I did a REALLY long run all the way from my door step to Lower Downtown Denver, and I LOVED every second of it!

 

 

We hit the corn maze and had a fun, and very warm day at the Denver Botanic Gardens (Chatfield).

 

And then wouldn't you know it, like a week or so later we got hit with this INSANE hail storm!

It was at this point I had to admit that warm summer weather was pretty much on its way completely out.

Naturally we coped by getting slurpees.

 

School Pictures - My Way

And as far as my version of the other girls school pictures is concerned, here you go...

 

 

And of course I had to get a couple of all of my beautiful daughters together.

Eight is Gorgeous

Especially when it comes to Sage.

 

These photos double as her school pictures (I hate paying for those atrocious things). 

I just can't stop staring. She is so beautiful, inside and out.

She continues to be a positive energy with so much resilience. She is carefree and happy. She shows so much maturity yet is so innocence and pure. She has a honest, deep-rooted desire to do good, to do what's right and true. She has a sensitivity and and a sense of sincere remorse. She wants to be the best she can be. She is an absolute joy to have in this family. Her spirit, well, I can't imagine our family without it.

 

FAVORITES:

Color - Red

Food - Mac n Cheese

Dessert - Chocolate Ice Cream

TV Show - Jake and the Neverland Pirates

Song - Dark Horse (Katie Perry)

Book - Pout Pout Fish in the Big Big Dark

Movie - The Never Ending Story

Thing to Do - Ride bike

 

Sage is 8. Seriously?

Seriously. And this freaks me out in a major way!

EIGHT?

But what a great 8 year old she will be!

We had one of the easiest friend parties ever and went to the Rec Center to swim. Fun for everyone and easy for me! 

 

And the cake was the easiest ever, by far! Sometimes going into making a birthday cake I convince myself that it will be easy and then it never is, but this time it seriously couldn't have been easier!

Little cakes that look like slurpees! How much better does it get?

Happy birthday to the best 8 year old I know and my favorite Sage in the whole entire world!

The End of Summer

I love summer. I just absolutely love it! I love how the days are long and the weather is warm. I love the rain that puts a musty smell in the air. I love the water that is cool and refreshing and endlessly entertaining. I love playing with my family and being carefree! I just love summer.

And as our summer came to an end we did so much of what I love about summer.

 

We played and explored in the creeks near our home

 

 

 

Which included mermaid races of course!

 

We ran at the track

 

We morned the death of "Sticky" the caterpillar

I love our sweet and loving Sage. Her heart is so so big and so so willing to give love. 

 

We cuddled in bed

 

And one highlight was going with our friends to their family cabin.

Can I just say it was amazing? Just look at this place!

I think the kids played in this pond and rowed in this boat for two days straight.

 

 

 

The morning runs were to die for as well!

Can I have an awesome cabin in the mountains somewhere, please?

 

And then, though summer was not technically over, it officially was because school started.

Why does school start in August here? I guess because it ends in May!

So off to school the girls went!

Sage in 2nd grade, Cadence in 1st, and Nouvelle in Pre-K. They were excited, so was I, but I was also a bit sad to lose our fun days together.

 

But we managed to continue to enjoy "technical summer" for as long as we could with,

walks in the creek

 

Trips to the mountains with Wendy when she came into town, including

hikes in the magnificent Rockies

and the best salted caramel ice cream ever!

 

We made zoo trips

 

and saw hot air balloon festivals

 And then that was it...the real end of summer.  A fun summer.

Have I mentioned that I LOVE summer?

Utah Family and Weddings

Fun events took us to Utah this summer. We typically like to go to Utah in the summer to see family anyway but this time it was also for extra special events!

But July hit and we hit the road!

 

We got the trip started off bright and early for a 4th of July 5k!

It was fun to run another little 5k with Justin and my bro Alex and I actually managed to do ok!

We spent the rest of the day with holiday festivities and had a great day eating waffles, drinking coke, swimming, lighting fireworks and watching the big ones in the sky!

I just really really love the 4th of July!

 

We spent a day with Grandmere doing science things and goofing off at the park

 

We did hikes with Gramma Gina and Uncle Alex and fully enjoyed the cool mountain air.

 

Of course no trip to Utah is complete without friend time, oh and a splash pad; and these friends, well they are some of our favorites!

 

 

Another fun day at the Tracy Aviary with Crazy Uncle Nick.

How lucky that Nick was in town for the wedding too and that we were actually be able to steal away some of his time!

 

Of course we had to enjoy the best day of the summer by getting free slurpee after slurpee after slurpee!

Oh thank heaven for 7-11!

And that night the family crashed the would-be Bachelor party and threw a Brown/Rytting version which always has to include fun games, junk food, and crazy amounts of laughter and fun!

 

 

And what a beautiful, magnificent, amazing day we had when Alex and Lydia got married!!

 

We are so happy for Alex and so lucky he found someone as awesome as Lydia!

They made a beautiful bride and groom.

But these girls were pretty spectacular as well!

 

This was one of the funnest weddings we have ever been to! I don't know if it's just that it was such a cool wedding/reception or if it is that our kids are actually at the age where we can start to enjoy these types of things! :)

None the less I could have watched these girls dance and sing the night away forever!

Sage was like a hippie girl dancing in her own crazy little world!

Cadence was a delicate little princess.

And Nouvelle was too adorable for words, as she stood and mimic the band singer! 

What a memory! What a night!

 

It was a fun fun trip! Always great to see family and friends. And always great to get back to our home in Colorado too!

Justin flew from Utah to a business trip  and Melinda's husband stayed behind for work in Utah so we caravanned from Utah to Colorado; just us two single mom's driving our cars full of crazies, stopping for peaches, lunch and bathroom breaks all the way across the Rockies!

Favorite Things Party

In June I threw a Favorite Things Party.

It was such a fun night! 

I should have taken more pictures but got distracted with all the conversation, good food and fun gifts. 

We took this quiz and we filled the entire night discussing in depth each question.

I enjoyed getting to know these ladies better and sharing our favorite recipes and some of our favorite things.

 

I've got to do this again soon!

The Summer Routine Begins

Home from my long trip the summer routine was now in full swing: swimming had already begun. And this is some serious swimming we are talking about. 5 days of practice and a swim meet on the weekends. It's a huge commitment but I knew that the kids would be amazing swimmers for all of the sacrifice and time.

Things started out kind of slowly (and chilly)

But their skills improved rapidly

and Nouvelle got really good at waiting around in the kiddie pool for everything to be done and showing off her adorable belly!

 

We also got our hiking for the summer started

And that was just the second half of May!

 

June started with homemade popsicles

Then more ice cream

But this time was for a seriously fat lip, caused by some numbing the good dentist administered.

Can you say OUCHIE?

But ice cream can sure make a lot of things better!

 

As I was reviewing the kids summer homework activities and found this hilarious one. At first I was confused by what Cadence was doing. What kind of squares were those?

Ohhhh! Squirrels! haha After she freaked out because she hadn't done every single one right, we went back and added boxes for the squirrels to make it "correct."

 

June started with, guess what?

That's right.

More swimming.

 

But we managed to have fun in other ways as well.

Justin and I went the The Fray concert at Red Rocks, in the rain.

Rain or shine. This place is definitely the best place for a concert!

 

We had a few "mishaps."

This one resulted in bright pint polish all over my bathroom, rug, and favorite shower curtain.

 

This one hiding every piece of "play" makeup we own. I still can't remember where I hid it...

 

 

We had a friend (former missionary when we lived in Needham) come into town for some small little test called the MCAT, so we made use of having fun with the guy!

Went downtown

 

and naturally had to go up to the mountains too

 

And spent a windy day down at Garden of the Gods

 

 

And what fun summer outing is complete without a slurpee, especially with a mustache straw?

Their expressions are perfect. Especially Nouvelle!

 

 

We attempted to invigorate our minds this summer with some art projects as well as a little girls book club.

Aren't we so refined? haha

 

June wrapped up with swimming and more swimming

Cadence won a rubber ducky at one of her swim meets and couldn't have been more thrilled! 

They are both becoming great swimmers and I'm impressed that they can both do the back-stroke and free style and they are starting to learn breast stroke now.

Cadence became more and more competitive as the season went on, and often looked like this if she didn't win...

Sage went about swimming like she does everything else - just to have fun!

And Saturday swim meets left us all EXHAUSTED!

 

As tiring and as demanding as the swim season was, it was well worth it. The girls have great swimming skills and a love for swimming!

I just have to pull them from the team before they get TOO serious about it. I don't think I can do swim-meets for the rest of their childhood!

When I Chaperoned an Old Lady to Bali and Singapore

A long while back my mom had mentioned that she had two confirmed tickets to fly anywhere Delta flies. This is a treat for those of us who have spent years traveling stand-by. Confirmed tickets!? I claimed them and told her that she had to let me be the one she took!

But months and even years passed and we never had a time that was working for us to go.

The expiration date on those tickets started approaching so we had to pick a time and a place. There were places on my bucket list that my mom of course had already gone. Since I was just happy to be going anywhere at all I told her to pick the location from the next three places on HER bucket list. So as random as it may seem to some of you (she had already been to China, on an African safari, to Australia...you get the idea), Bali it was.

So I think an exotic, exciting trip to the other side of the planet was a good reason to miss three of my kids performances *gulp*.

Off we went!

 

The Tokyo airport was so cool!  I bet the rest of Tokyo is pretty cool too, but we only got to see the international gates. Maybe one day I'll make it out into Tokyo!

What a blessing for our longest flight was got Business class that has fully reclining seats! I have never slept so well on a plane!

 

We got to Singapore in the middle of the night and we were planning on heading out into Singapore for our long layover. That turned out to not be possible, so we toured around the airport instead. And let me tell you, this is one incredible airport! Indoor ponds, amazing art, a terrace of sunflowers, movie theaters, swimming pools, a hotel, and on and on. We made the most of our layover in Singapore before heading to Bali.

 

Our first night we stayed in this gorgeous oasis!

The next night we moved into another amazing place. This time is was a Home-Stay, like a Bed-and-Breakfast, with the cutest little Balinese family!

 

 

Despite a 14 hour time difference and serious jet lag, we hit Bali running that night by seeing a typical dance and chanting show. This ain't no Bali-wood routine here people! This is serious, pure Bali stuff! And it was amazing!

Kecak dance performed by many male dancers. A whole lot of chanting/singing.

 

The next day we got to see and learn even more about their culture with,

more Bali Dancing - Barong dance represents the eternal battle between good and evil.

 

the magic of making sarongs. What a labor intensive and captivating process! This is the original and unique to Bali Batik. These ladies draw with wax by hand on each piece of fabric. Dye the fabric then start over on the same fabric. Repeating over and over again with wax and color until you get the perfect and unique piece or wearable art.

 

The breathtaking artwork, the painstaking jewelry making

 

and the hand carved art pieces.

 

We made our way to what is known as the Mother Temple of Besakih. This is the most important, the largest and holiest temple of Hindu religion on Bali. The timing was perfect. We arrived just as a worship service was getting out. This was a special service as everyone was wearing white sarongs. What a spectacle! What a beautiful spectacle! 

 

This temple is an extensive collection of 23 separate but related temples with the largest and most important being Pura Penataran Agung. It's built on six levels, terracing up a beautiful slope.

 It was intriguing to learn a bit about the intricacies of this culture and religion.

 

Then we went to another temple - Titra Empul - where they do their washings and purification in the holy water. Another interesting temple to see!

 

Somewhere along the line we heard about these fruit that are well loved in Bali: The Durian Fruit. We heard it was a gamble as most foreigners don't like it. But naturally we had to try it! So we stopped by a street vendor and purchased one. 

My mom's face almost says it all. This is the most disgusting thing I have ever eaten in my life. EVER. The only way to explain the taste and texture is to compare it to what I would imagine eating a dead, rotting body would be like. I couldn't finish my piece, and we certainly couldn't finish the entire Durian. Our cabbie was more than happy to take the rest home to his family; and we got to smell the "rotting flesh" wafting in from the trunk the rest of the day.

 

We did try some other new things that weren't to appalling.

We had also hear of a fruit that looks like snake skin - Salak. We found some at another vendor and gave that a try. This one was way better, and weird enough, the peel looks and feels exactly like snake skin!

 But nothing was a great at the fresh papaya and fresh squeezed watermelon juice!

 

We say many beautiful rice terraces along our drives, which as you can see are works of art all on their own!

 

Another temple, but as unique as all the others we had seen was Gunung Kawi with it's 10 rock-cut shrines. Magnificent!

 

And another amazing rock carved shrine was Goa Gajah, or the Elephant Cave. It had beautiful grounds surrounding this small cave shrine.

There were many temples we didn't visit, not to mention the hundreds of temples that we drove past - as every village and every HOME has their own temple! Each is unique and beautiful and impossible to capture on film.

 

Of course we couldn't miss the famous Monkey Forest. We loved it so much we went a few times. It was so close to our Home-Stay that we couldn't help ourselves!

Talk about a trip? All these wild monkey's that literally attack you if you have ANYTHING resembling food.

It was all fun and games until I got bit by one!!! Luckily he didn't break the skin or I could have come home with Herpes B or Rabies as a souvenir! 

 

But look at how spectacular this monkey forest is! 

 

One morning we work up at about 3 am to head to the base of Mount Batur where we hiked to the top of it's active volcano. And by "hike" I mean me pushing my nearly blind, *old (*see title of post) mother up the entire mountain. Our hiking guides helped pull from above and as a team we got her to the top without killing her. She was a serious trouper. She's one tough Grandmere. But seriously, mom, I think your days of hiking volcanos are over! 

We got to the top in the still pitch dark. We started to freeze from our sweat exerted bodies, but were able to warm up and rejuvenate our tired muscles with a glass of delicious hot chocolate. It was a relatively short wait for the point to the entire trek - to behold a spectacular sunrise!!!

 

Thanks mom for appeasing my one request of the trip. Something adventurous! Then a hike back down through the clouds to the van.

 

We relaxed one afternoon at the black beaches of Bali. These black beaches are way better than the ones I'd been to in Hawaii. This sand is soft and subtle and sparkling!!

We swam, made sand castles, and goofed off for awhile. And I was finding black sand in everything for awhile after that!

 

As luck would have it our trip was planned smack-dab in the middle of a Balinese holiday! Galungan marks the beginning of the most important recurring religious ceremonies. We watched the Bali people work on their Penjours all week, and the hoist them up on Galugan. Each one different. Each one beautiful. I compared them to our Christmas trees. Everyone had one, and each one symbolized something sacred and meaningful to them.

We spent some time that day walking the streets and taking in the beauty of their culture.

 

We also went to the local temple to witness the worship services of the day.

I admire their dedication to their beliefs. Though this day's worship was a bit more special, they pray daily as a village and as a family. I respect that.

 

Our last day in Bali we headed to Tanelot, which is a temple on a "floating island." A lot like Mont Saint Michele it becomes an island as the tide rises and falls throughout the day.

We relaxed and even had a delicious dinner as we waited for the sun to set behind this awesome temple.

 

We headed home with a nearly full day lay-over in Singapore. So naturally we checked our bags and headed out on a serious tourist marathon of Singapore. We ran, literally, for most of the day from one site to another - which was no small feat considering it was like 200% humid and like 500*! Ok I'm exaggerating *slightly. But man I wished I could have been wearing something different! 

We started out on the subways then quickly abandoned them for the streets so we could see more as we made our way around town!

Temples and mosques, and strange futuristic buildings, and fountains, and colors! It was a very full day!

 

At one point we were going to cut through a botanical garden called Gardens by the Bay that I think was still under development.

This Garden alone made me want to move to Singapore and let my kids play there every week!

And then in the garden we came up these weird man-made trees! Unlike anything I have ever seen! Breathtaking during the day and hypnotizing at night - with a choreographed music/light show to go with it!

Also unreal were the Domes. And I truly have no way of getting anyone to even slightly grasp the magnitude, magnificence and extraordinariness of these three Domes we went into. 

One replicates a mild, dry climate and features plants found in the Mediterranean and other semi-arid tropical regions in the most pristine manner possible. It actually seems unreal, yet it isn't!

Another Dome is over 138 ft high with a 115 ft indoor waterfall. It is graces with more flowers, greenery than I can name and as you descend the floating sidewalk around the structure each level has a different theme!

I seriously want to go back to this place and spend at least 2 days there! And I want to take my kids because they would go crazy over this stuff!

We continued through Singapore by night, riding the Flyer, which made Singapore just brilliant!

I knew there was at least one 7-11 in Singapore and it was my goal to get a slurpee in another country. Well there was a whole lot more than one! And we took pictures of them all and got slurpees at like half! And I don't know if it was the 200% humidity or the 90* weather but that apple slurpee has to be one of the best flavors I've ever had!

We made it onto the last subway of the night going to the airport, got about 2 hours sleep on the cold floor before checking into our flight home. 

It was a long, long flight home - no business class this time!

What a great trip! What a great time! What a great bunch of memories we made to add to the many years of trips we've taken!

Thanks mom, aka old lady, for letting me be your travel companion and fellow adventurer again!

Dance, Dance, Dance and a few other things

The beginning of May was packed full. With the end of school and all it's field trips, parties, and final activities, we were crammed. But on top of it all we had a few extracurricular activities that were great too.

Cadence continued on with her dance studio and they had a magnificent spring show. It was called Seasons where the students were all different things from the seasons. Cadence was a summer daisy and in my opinion the most adorable one of all!

 

After her first show she told me that she wasn't nervous performing on stage in front of all those people anymore because she told herself that all the people come to watch them dance and it makes them happy so she wasn't nervous any more! What a  perspective and what a cutie!

I have loved watching Cadence improve with her dancing and am so glad that she has something that she enjoys so much!

 

We had been dealing with this hair of Sage's for months now (coupled with tantrums every morning when brushing was demanded).

So we took Sage and had her hair chopped again. I do wish we could keep it long because it's so thick and beautiful but it sure makes our lives easier when it's short.

 

The other girls were at dance in their small studio as well and both had performances as well.

This semester of dance has been a trial run. If Sage could go the entire semester without complaining about dance practice she could join Cadence's studio (which is significantly more expensive). Ever since she saw Cadence in the Nutcracker she has been wanting to join. Well, the good news is she succeeded! She'll be joining Cadence next year at her dance studio!

 

I get giddy when I see the joy on Nouvelle's face when she dances! She absolutely loves it! And I must say she seems like a natural!

 

Cadence also had another performance at her school. This time a choir concert. She's coming out of her shell more and more.

Well, my admission is that I actually missed the last three performances I just mentioned because of an international trip I took with my mom! But that's coming up in my next post!

A Thing Called the Boston Marathon

After running the Boston Marathon last year, amidst all of the chaos and trauma I felt a little jipped of the full marathon experience. I knew that I would want "redemption" on the experience. But with Justin being unemployed and our finances being a huge consideration it was a hard commitment to make. When it came down to the ultimate point of no return Justin still was unemployed. Family and friends convinced me to at least do it, but the decision was made I would travel there alone. Justin would stay home with the kids and instead my best girl friend, Wendy, would come with me for emotional support. (Ironically just a month before the race is when Justin got a job and it turns out he could have come with me after all, but by that point plane tickets were ridiculously expensive).

So April 16th came and off I flew to Boston.

I was glad Wendy was able to meet me there. It wouldn't have been quite as fun completely all by myself! We had fun for a few days before the race. Trying to take it easy but still seeing things around the city as well as out of the way fun locations!

I missed my family though! Some of the things we did were even new to me and I wished I had those cute little girls of mine there to experience the fun! But Wendy and I still managed to have fun without them. We always do!

What's up with all these little doors everywhere? 

 

It was hard to not do too much walking so we forced ourselves to relax by this lake for a day. I know. Tough life hu?

 

The expo was out of control but still as organized as ever. We had a blast spending HOURS there! Man I love that expo! It really helped to get me pumped up for the race too!

 

This sign we got in honor of Justin and memory of my Mt Desert Marathon.

"I hate it when you say that!"

 

The night before the race I was in hysterics on the phone with Justin. Considering I was still working myself back form my injury and in physical therapy, my training had started late and I hadn't been able to train as I normally do. I just felt fortunate that I had actually hit most of my long run milage and most of the weekly runs. Another set-back was that I also had been suffering from some tendonitis in my foot for the weeks leading up the the race. I had killer amounts of anxiety; which is not typical for me. I didn't know what my goals were and I didn't know what I could expect from myself. 

Talking things through with Justin and Wendy they tried to convince me that the only goals that mattered were to run the race, finish it and enjoy it as much as possible. I agreed....but then again I do have a VERY difficult time not expecting more from myself (surprised aren't you?). I knew there was no way I would PR on this race but I really wished that I could at least run it as fast as I did last year.

I went to bed pretty upset. What a wreck.

I woke up bright and early and felt a bit better. I tried to keep telling myself that really this was just about enjoying the race, and after my injury I should just be grateful to be running again at all.

 

I hitched a ride to the Athlete's Village near the start with some friends from my old running club. We sat and relaxed taking in the mass crowds and wicked amount of energy! There were moments of silence in the memory of last year and cheers of excitement for the opportunity of being here now, running this great race in this great city.

 

I felt pretty proud of myself for qualifying with a fast enough time to be able to start in the first wave of runners (though towards the back of the wave - I'm not THAT fast). But I was thrilled for the opportunity and knew that IF I ever, somewhere WAY down the line would EVER run this race again, I most definitely would not be starting in the first wave again. I just tried to take in the excitement and ignore my feelings of inadequacy.

 

The beginning of the race has some downhill and I knew not to let myself get off to fast. But when I realized I was expending more energy holding back than just going with the decline I just let myself go. I knew my pace was too fast. Whenever that happens I usually just tell myself that I've made my bed now, and I have to lie in it and try and ride it out for as long as I can. 

I knew that the crowds would be even more intense than they normally are (which is already quite crazy) but I seriously could not have expected such insanity! It was truly epic. There wasn't one spot of that entire 26.2 mile course without masses of people cheering madly for all the runners! Try holding back with that amount of energy surrounding you! It propelled me forward the entire race!

How invigorating! The cheering was so loud the entire race that any time Justin tried to call me to check up on me I couldn't hear a word he was saying!

 For the first 8 miles or so I was running in pace with a guy who was like a mad-cheering-man! As he ran through intersections he would whoop and holler, throwing his hands in the air, and the spectators would go even more insane! Seriously, what a thrill. (I think that he expended too much energy doing this because once I passed him and never saw him again.)

I consciously made an effort to enjoy ever single moment of this race. I tried my hardest to take it all in: The crowds, the cheering, the energy, the beautiful scenery, the amazing towns with their fabulous buildings, the strength of the runners surrounding me, the beat of my heart and the air in my lungs. It consumed me so completely that at times I became emotionally overwhelmed.

I felt physically great for the first half of the run, and it wasn't until about mile 14 or 15 that I noticed some of the cramping in my legs beginning to form. But I willed it away. Any time I felt pain or faint I would remind myself of the people who were affected by this race last year; especially those who's legs were taken from them. I ran for them. I ran for their loss, for their strength, for their memory. I ran for those who can't run anymore.  And I ran out of gratitude that I am capable.

I pushed myself through those Newton Hills all the way up Heartbreak Hill. I dug in deep and gave it my all. It was warmer than I would have liked, but still pretty pleasant, and I focused on the fact that my lungs felt great! All that altitude training in Colorado this past year really was noticeable. It didn't help me go faster but it made my lungs and muscles feel better!

I handed some water off to Wendy near the top of Heartbreak Hill and plugged on into what I knew would be the hardest miles of the race.

This was the point it became more difficult to concentrate on remembering and experiencing every single thing about the race. I kept reminding myself to enjoy this. And I feel like I really did. Yes those last 5 miles were tough. They should be. But I enjoyed ever second of them. 

As I turned right on Hereford I knew the race was almost over and I knew after those two blocks on Hereford I would turn left on Boylston street where I would see the finish line, and hear and literally FEEL the roar of the crowd, and I would feel even more like an Olympic athlete than I had for the previous 26 miles! I wanted to remember the sounds the sights and the feeling. I wanted to feel the power and memory of last year propel me across the finish line.

It did.

and the powerful memory of completing the Boston Marathon again will stay with me forever.

Gratefully this year there were no bombs, no rush of police to the scene, no injured, no death, no tragedy to overshadow the wonderful experience of completing a marathon - the Boston marathon - no less.

 

Just after I finished I snapped this photo of myself

Then I sat down and looked back towards the finish line. I couldn't help it; I was overcome with emotion. Maybe part of it was just the emotion of finishing a marathon, but mostly I think it was the gratitude I had for running this race, in this town that a part of my heart belongs to; Emotion for last years events that still hang heavy in our mind and hearts; Emotion for those lost and affected by that tragedy; And maybe also partly it was knowing that I this was most likely the last time I'd be in Boston for a long while. I allowed myself to weep for a bit then tried to pick myself up, which was next to impossible because by then my legs had seized up!

I found Wendy and we "celebrated" my victory with chocolate milk (Cocoa Metro no less!) in the Boston Public Gardens.

I ended up finishing faster than my last years time. So I guess you could say this race was a HUGE success on all levels! All goals met: Finished the race, beat my last time, and enjoyed ever single second of it!

 

p.s. how in the world did this old guy stay in front of me for 23 miles or so!?

 

 

We stayed in Boston for a couple of days after the race. We went to Rhode Island with some friends. I love that place!

We enjoyed the company of friends and great people who let us stay with them, we went downtown one last time and ate some more delicious Boston grub.

It was hard leaving, not knowing when I'd be back. I miss a lot there, especially spring and fall in New England.

I have great memories here, and this trip was just the icing on the cake!

 

I'm so proud to be BOSTON STRONG.

 

And when I got home, as if a gift from heaven, I was greeted with SPRING!

And loads of pink blossoms, which are some of the things I love most about Boston Springtime.

Ah thank you Colorado for the beautiful welcome home!

April Snow? Showers

On Nouvelle's birthday I think the best part was our friends coming into town and getting to spend some time with them. 

It's always like no time has passed and no distance exists when we see the Draschil's. I love friends like that!

Now if only we could get them to settle down in Colorado with us for good! ;)

 

Sage finally became a "lisper" as she lost her two front teeth within two days of each other. She couldn't have been more excited! But seriously what doesn't make her excited? This girl is just happy about everything!

 

This year we celebrated Easter a week early. See the Easter bunny will do that sometimes if you send in a special request. This was a special circumstance as I was going to be out of town on the real Easter. We didn't think he was going to come but when we got home from church there were bunny prints all over the house and plastic eggs hidden all over the yard! So out in the SNOW the kids went for an Easter Egg hunt. Thanks Easter bunny for making this exception for us! ;)

 

And in true girl Easter tradition the girls got new Easter dresses and were very excited to finally get to wear them! 

And what's better than a new dress than one that TWIRLSSSSS!!!!!

Photo shoot - Attempt 2 - Grey Skies

The day we went out for Cadence and Nouvelle's annual birthday photos was a disaster. Their hair looked amazing! Their clothes completely in tact, unblemished. everything was set up to make for a great shoot. We drove 40 minutes to the destination I'd been looking forward to shooting at since we moved back to Colorado a year earlier! I was anticipating those beautiful cobalt-blue skies as a backdrop...and as we pulled up it started to pour rain and hail!!! And it didn't look like it was going to pass soon as in typical Colorado fashion.

Photo shoot bust.

Understand, finding time and making everything happen to get ready for these photo shoots is no small feat. So we took the very next moment that we could find to attempt it again....only to arrive and have grey, gloomy, dark skies. No rain at least this time, but man, no gorgeous Colorado skies either. But there were no other days coming up for more than a month that we could attempt this photo shoot, so this is what we had to work with.

I still like the photos, but can you imagine how much better they'd be with the contrast of that characteristically blue sky? Maybe another year....

Here are some I got of all three girls and of Sage as a 7 1/2 yr old!

 

 

A Sunny, Smiley, Silly Four Year Old

Photo shoots with Nouvelle are getting slightly easier as she gets older but she still is a challenge just because she is always acting so goofy and silly. And forget getting her to hold still. Most of the time her pictures come out blurry. That's our little Nouvelle though. She is a ball of exuberant, joyous energy!

I can't get enough of this little girl! She is just the best! Yes she drives me crazy sometimes, but she gets away with it because she is so gosh darn adorable. She loves her big sisters and still thinks that she should be able to do everything that they can do. She adores them, and they adore her right back. How could you not? Every day, without fail, she will sing, jump on you, hug you, throw a tantrum, find something funny, light up your soul, make you laugh, tell someone she loves them, and say something absolutely adorable or hilarious. 

Yes we are hoping that 4 finds us well out of these terrifying three's, but at the same time I just never ever EVER want her to grow up!

Here's to our entertaining, silly, loving little four year old!