The First Trip of the Season {Coronado}

Get ready for a picture overload! Seriously...there's like 49 pictures on this post.

Enjoy!

Trapper Days 1/2 Marathon

Taylor, AZ

May 27, 2012

Trapper Day 1/2 Marathon

Time: 1hour52min

Avg. Pace: 8.3 min/mile

I think I may have an addiction...I LOVE racing.  I really really love it. I love training and then reaping the reward. I love the challenge of a new course.

My goal after the Marathon in January was to keep my self at a place that I could run any 1/2 marathon on a whim.  I did it! I heard about this race via facebook 3 weeks before race day.  My training partner, Virginia and I did 2 long runs before race day and totally kicked it.  

Last November I finished my last 1/2 in 2 hours and 15 minutes. Shaving 20 minutes off...not shabby at all. 

I don't expect to ever get this good of time again though. We had some major environmental help.  That day in Taylor the winds gusts were said to be as fast as 50mph.  I felt like I was strapped to a jet pack.  Virginia's watched clocked our fastest pace as 4.3min/mile.  HA! Now...it's not like we kept that pace for long but we did it.  I remember going down one particularly steep hill and catching a wind gust. I was picked up off the ground and pushed forward by the wind. It was awesome!

About 2 miles before the finishing line we turned and had to run against the wind. It was a brutal 1/2 mile. I'm so thankful the wind was on our side for the majority of it! 

 Finished!

 The fam...The kids were shy - check out primes hair....nice wind gust

 Do you see our medals flapping around? Virginia is the best running partner a girl could ask for. I LOVE our runs...oh and she totally won the lottery - St. George Marathon baby! whoooooo!!....I'm so jealous! 

Some pictures from the course.

okay this next picture is gross...but I feel so proud of it. (I'm sick...)

Before doing Marathons I always heard stories about bloody toes and nails falling off and all other manner of things that are said to happen...and I've always thought, "whoa, hardcore." Now I have a story too! yeah! 

I felt my nail rubbing the first few miles but then began to ignore it until I had completely forgotten abou it...until I took my shoe off and saw a nice bloody sock.

...I was so excited! The cut was really small...but I guess with all the pavement pounding this is what happens.

Dance and Gymnastics Recital

Both kids do the dance and gymnastics program that is offered at our school.  They both LOVE it!  I wasn't sure how Prime would do, given he had only had three lessons before the recital - but he rocked it. Take a look - the kid is a natural.

 He's working the ribbon

 Just look at that balance!

 What great form

 Notice the death grip...he was not sure about this one. 

The next day was Emmie's recital. Since she is in an older class she get's to wear a uniform. 

So stinkin' cute!

Prime needed a picture of him with his dino.

Emmie dancing:

Emmie's gymnastics

 And here is her last trick...no death grip for Emmie...she's had some practice!

 

So this is totally awesome.  Ms. Sloane, their dance instructor, has been teaching at Adobe so long that she was MY teacher way back in the day. totally rad. 

Check it out....Little Elyse many moons ago.

 

put your hands up if you're excited!

Not only is it Mother's day (Happy Mother's day Mom!) BUT 6 years ago today I married my sweetheart. 

YEAH! Happy Anniversary, Matthew!

I thank my Heavenly Father each day for blessing me with a wonderful marriage and the opportunity to be a mother.

I have some crazy awesome kids....and a crazy awesome husband too.

I am a very blessed woman.

Ellie

I started a blog. Another one. I know, I know...maybe I should actually blog on ONE blog before I start a second. I was inspired by this woman in our ward who has album after album of pictures of quilts she has made.  She's given most of them as gifts but she likes to have a little keepsake of the things she spends so much time and love on.  I want to do the same. So this blog is more of a craft/idea/recipe journal.  Look in if you want. ellieforshort.blogspot.com

Clean Prime

Oh my word. Just when I think this kid can't get any cuter.

Enjoy.

p.s. That's a dinosaur he has in his hand.  He takes one everywhere with him.

Emmie at school

I love having Emmie with me at school. She is such a good hearted little girl.  She has been working really hard on writing lately.  In the past month she has perfected her name! She has also been working on mastering the monkey bars. Take a look!

She loves the yellow tube slide!

And it's a plus that Grammy is around to give her lots of snuggles and love throughout the day!

As luck would have it Emmie was "writing" (she dictates to me and then traces what I write) her first real story the day I brought my camera! Now if you don't know Emmie then you will think this story is a bit morbid...but it totally fits her. Her story was about her and daddy planting a beanstalk. When I asked where Mommy and Prime were she said we were dead. (what? I'm DEAD?) Then proceeded to point out the spot where Prime's body was. She forgot to draw my dead body but made the addition.  If you click on the picture and blow it up you can see me - I'm the circle with the scribbles on it. nice. real nice. Well...what can I say, she is her own person. I think she felt bad after she saw my face and wrote a story about her and daddy doing something again - but this time Prime and I were just simply "gone" she didn't know where. I call that progress.