The Diva Dash and other things:)

It was a strange week.  Levi spent a good part of the week at Cub Scout Camp and it's always strange for our family when 1 person is gone.  I guess we are just so used to being together.  We did a lot when he was gone...I figured it was fair, he was having fun that we weren't!  We went to the zoo, the park and splash pad, and played with friends while he shot BBs and arrows, did woodworking, and played tons of games.  It was a fun week for all of us. 

Friday was spent helping at a funeral with a dinner and then George and I went out.  We went out to eat at our favorite TGIFriday's, and then we attended a night hike at our local county park.  It was so interesting and lots of fun!  We observed a few night creatures, bats, owls (only heard them) and lightening bugs (which aren't actually bugs at all, they are beetles...who knew?).  As it started to get really dark, we went into "night vision" mode, which was interesting.  It was really dark by the time we finished, but we were able to see a bit still.  We went with some friends and had some interesting teens in our group that kept us laughing.  A fun date night.

Saturday morning arrived early at 6am. I popped out of bed to eat a banana and an energy bar so I would have the full 2 hours to digest that.  Next time, I am eating only the banana.  The bar was still too much food.  My Diva Dash (which is what they called this all-women's race put on by Curves) started at 8am.  My best friend, Becca showed up at 6:45am to go with me.  Isn't she awesome?!?  We drove over and I picked up my stuff and we walked a lap around the parking lot for warm up.  After a prayer (in which he said "divas" and "rock this race" or something equally irreverent:) and the National Anthem (during which I got all teary and now had snot issues) we started.  It was wonderful.  The race took us through a large subdivision where there was plenty of shade, garage sales to distract me as I ran by, and people standing on their lawns cheering us on.  I was good until about 1.7 miles and then became unmotivated.  I was trudging on and came upon a lady who was jogging a bit slower than my pace.  I immediately said, "She's mine" and fell in step behind her.  When we came to a place we could jog side by side, we began to chat and that saved me!  We talked about whatever until almost 3 miles.  We were getting close to the end and getting winded, so we stopped talking.  I started feeling really sick and decided that if I was going to throw up, I was going to do it on the OTHER side of the finish line.  SO I turned the last corner and thought I was done, but no...there were a couple of blocks left...the longest blocks of my life.  But then, Becca was there with a big neon green sign that said, "GO ANNA---FINISH STRONG" and I took off and "sprinted" to the finish line.

This was an awesome race.  As I ran to the finish line, there were people with clapper hands, boom sticks, and someone threw a pink feather boa around my neck and took my picture.  I felt like a "Diva" :)  I will definitely do this race again.  It was a million times better than the first one.  I also loved that the trail was very well marked with "1 mile" and "2 mile" and guys at those points told you your time.  Very nice.  And then...they fed us pulled pork sandwiches at the end.  Yeah!  That's what I'm talking about.  None of this banana stuff...real food:)  It was a fun time and I found out that the girl that I chatted with lives near me and is my new running buddy!  Yay!

The day went on with volunteering at the Kate's Kart Ice Cream Social.  This is a non-for-profit organization that gives free children's books to any child that has to be in the hospital.  They serve 16 area hospitals.  Awesome!  The event had free ice cream, rides, bounce houses, games with prizes, face painting, and entertainment.  It was very hot, but fun for everyone! 

After that, there was a baptism at church (yes, I had time to shower, since I had like, 3 layers of sweat dried on me-nasty!) for a good friend of ours so Levi and I went to that.  Dinner when we got home, baths and kids to bed.  I am exhausted but need to finish my YW lesson for tomorrow.  Busy day tomorrow too! Thanks for reading!

Hustle for Hunger 5K

Me on the last leg with my "personal trainer", Aaron York.

May 19th was the day of my big race.  My first 5K!  I have been training since January and felt fairly ready, though I still hate running:(

That day was also the day that me and two of my good friends went out to celebrate our birthdays.  So, we got mani-pedis in the morning and then went out to eat.  We ate Mexican (the prego lady chose) and I knew that wouldn't be all that great for my 4pm race, so I just cut a little off my quesadilla and boxed the rest up.  But I didn't stop before I ate a pile of chips and some really spicy salsa.  What was I thinking?!?

We ate way later than we thought so I had only 2 hours before the race.  I went home and got nervous.  I was going to go alone, but I was so nervous that I wanted Geo to come so I had to call around and find a babysitter.  Luckily, a friend's husband was home and offered to keep them:)  So Geo and I hurried to the race and we were later than I would have liked.  So, I didn't do much warming up and I had to go potty a couple of times because of all the water I drank because of the hot salsa I ate, etc, etc...The kicker?  It was 91 degrees.  91 DEGREES!!!  Misery.  Seriously.

 I started down the first leg of the race and wanted to die...and then the road turned and went uphill!  No shade at all.  Plus, people were stopping to walk right and left and I was not mentally prepared for that.  My brain was screaming at my body to keep going, but that only worked for 1.5 miles.  I walked for a bit after that.  When I hit the water table (probably halfway) I took some and asked the other 4 kids to throw their cups on me.  That helped a little, but I had already walked some and was not motivated to run the rest.

  I did start running again, and at about mile 2, maybe a bit later, the nausea kicked in (darn Mexican food!).  It was horrible.  I decided that it wasn't worth it to me to puke on the side of the road, so I walked some more.  I had about a half-mile left when I hit what I thought was the end, but it turned out you had to go a quarter of mile past the finish and then double back.  This is not good for me.  My brain sees the end and shuts down and that's it.  I continued on walking and then a friend of mine (not in the race) came up and said something like, "You can do this!  You are still below your time.  You can make it...run with me!"  So, I ran with him to the end and finished in 36:47.  I believe I was 92nd out of 125.  I didn't achieve my goal of running the whole thing, but I did come in under 40 minutes, which I was hoping for. So, all in all, it was ok (though I would not have said that right after the race!).  I decided this was going to be my warm up race and my official 5K is on June 16.  This race is at 8am so it will be cooler AND I will run it on an empty stomach (like I do every morning I run)!  I hope it will be better.


I have signed up for a 10K(6.4miles) in September and am now questioning my sanity.  I still hate running.  And I really don't want to run any farther.  I am comfortable running 2 miles when I run (it's fun to say that!) and I can't decide if I want to train for longer.  I need to decide soon, though, so I can get on it. Or not.

I'm walking past the "finish line" to finish the race.  I was so done at this point.  I don't even look like I'm in the middle of a race.  What a weird picture.

Wanting to blog...

The desire is *totally* there...it's the follow through that's killing me!  And that is the story of my life:D

But, I did want to tell everyone that we are alive and had a great month of May.  Thought I would recap some of it and try to post some pics.  I got a new camera though, and have yet to transfer any pictures onto the computer, so we'll see if that really happens!

• Got to see my SIL, Shanon at the end of April and that was fun!  She and I met in Muncie and just let the cousins play.  We were warming up for the family reunion later in May.
• Early in May, I spent some time with my wonderful girlfriends at a cabin just outside of Shipshewana and had a great time there eating, playing games, and doing a lot of talking:)
• School has been busy with field trips this month...we aren't the only ones ready to be done!  We also studied seeds and plants and tried our hand at gardening.  Even with the help of our nearby friend who is an amazing gardener, I think we managed to kill 50% of the plants already.  Seriously?!?
• George took 2 days off in the middle of the month and we went to Kalahari Water Park  on a Living Social Deal and it was a blast!  They had so many things to do for all ages of kids.  Seth and Sam even went down water slides that were scary for me!  I rode a wet roller coaster and the 2 older kids and Geo did a surfing thing that looked crazy!  One of the best parts was the room.  A 2 room family suite.  This was the first time we actually did well in the hotel.  Maybe it's because Seth is finally old enough to just lay down with everyone else and go to sleep instead of standing up in the horrible hotel crib (if you are lucky enough to get one) and talk to everyone all night.  We ordered a huge pizza that night and let the kids eat pizza in bed and watch cartoons.  They thought they had died and gone to heaven:)  We were exhausted when we got home, but it was one of the best trips we have been on as a family.  I also realized that we should do vacations just as a family, in addition to the ones where we go on vacation to see extended family.  It felt nice to just be together and not paying attention to anything else.
• My birthday happens to be in May and I got an awesome birthday present.  George bought me a Canon Rebel T2i.  That, my friends, is a really nice camera.  I have taken lots of pictures and most of them aren't all that great, but I am learning.  I really would like to take a class to learn how to use the camera better.  I am reading a few books and taking tons of pics of the kids.  It's fun!
• We went to see the TinCaps in May.  Fun game!  Fun night with Grandma and Grandpa Lyon.  The weather was perfect, though a bit chilly for the kids.  I loved it.  We took all the kids (I think this was Seth's first time) and didn't get home until about 11pm.  Good times!  
• Spent some time with Linda doing a garage sale.  I think we both realized the effort is not really worth the gain.  I really appreciated that she was willing to do it at her house and get everything hauled away at the end:)
• May 19th was the day of my big race.  My first 5K!  See my other post for details:)
• Got a haircut before the big family reunion and I don't love it yet.  I have a bandana on my head as I type.
• Family Reunion in Maryland!!!!! Yay!  Can I just say that family reunions are my favorite things EVER!  So, I will blog about it on it's own, hopefully with some great pictures from my new camera:)
• Last thing, we are on the tail end of the stomach flu.  It started with Natalie in Maryland, it followed us back to Indiana, and hit everyone else, except George.  How is it that he avoids sickness all the time?  It's a good thing, I just wonder why both of us can't avoid it? :)

So, the month of May was busy and I was crazy with prepping things and trips, doing laundry, doing school, cleaning, garage sale prepping, etc.  I am glad it's finally June and things are a little calmer, though the stomach flu has not really helped.  2 more weeks of school and then 6 weeks of freedom!  Or 6 weeks of time to plan all the unit studies for next year!  I do love that part:)  Life is good.

Couch to 5K

Does anyone know what this is?  It's a program that will get you from being a couch potato to running a 5K in 8 weeks.  In January, I decided I wanted to RUN a 5K(3.2mile) race this year.  Since I wasn't really exercising, I decided to walk at least 3x/week for the month of January and then start the running program.  I purchased an app for my iPod touch and went to it.  The app started me walking a minute/running a minute and then up from there.  Loved that the app would let me listen to my music, but would bust in and tell me to run or walk and for how long.  It was good for me.  Took me up slowly so I didn't get injured or anything like that.  Today, I am able to run 20 minutes straight.  Pretty amazing, really. 

I also purchased some expensive awesome running shoes that I am sure have helped me be more comfortable with the running.  It's hard, but I am super motivated to get up on running days.  I like the thought of being a runner and I like the feeling after I am done.  I don't love the doing, so much.  But that sounds pretty normal, from what I hear.  I am doing a 5K in May and then a 10K in late September:)  My goal to actually RUN them both. 

My one beef is that I have not lost weight at all.  In fact, I have put on a few pounds.  Everyone says, "That's just building muscle" which is great, but I would really love it if all those pounds would just fall right off.  I am working out 4-5 times a week for over an hour!  It seems like it should work!  It's not that big of a deal, just a wish.  I don't want to change my eating habits, so if I exercise that should work, right?  Not so much.  But I will give it time and see.  If not, I feel better and feel like I look better.  Clothes fit better and I know I am healthier because I can run without my lungs feeling TOTALLY on fire!  It is fun and very rewarding.  Come and cheer me on!

Happy 10 years to us!

 Don't we look happy?  Because that's what we are!  It's was 10 years ago on March 9th that we got married in Chicago in the Mormon Temple and we have been happy ever since.  So thankful that Geo asked me to marry him on that busy street in Lafayette early one Sunday morning.  To celebrate, we left the kids with Harry and Linda (a million thanks!) and went up to Pokagon State Park for 2 nights.  We loved it.  It was completely relaxing and we did just what we wanted...which was pretty much hang out:)  These pictures are not fabulous as they are all taken from way too close or too far away, or I have too many chins, a red face, etc, etc....but it's fun to document our time together so here you go!

 We brought Geo's guitar and he played a little.  It's definitely become George's way to relax.

 We spent a few hours putting a puzzle together that some other Inn guests had started and we actually finished it.  Fun!  And while we sat there, some deer came right up to the window and we had a great time watching them.  We also chatted with lots of people as they walked by.

 This is George writing on the box (and actually marking with an X where they were missing) that there were pieces missing.  We tried to start a new one, but it was the dumbest puzzle ever and we got frustrated and gave up.

 This was us in the Inn room.  It was pretty big and really nice.  We got a great deal as they run a 2 for 1 deal through the winter.  We spent a lot of time in our room watching the Star Wars Episodes 4-6.  We finished the last one 1 minute before we checked out:)  Sounds exciting, eh?  We loved just hanging out and watching movies and eating junk food!

 These 2 pictures are from the lobby of the Inn.  I liked the carved eagle and the fireplace was nice as it was a rainy and a bit chilly.

We really enjoyed our time away and felt pretty lucky to have Harry and Linda willing to watch the kids, especially because Sam ended up with the flu on the last day.  So sorry!  We enjoyed a few restaurants, went swimming and hot tubbing, ate junk food, slept in, went shopping at Goodwill (got shoes and a breadmaker :), and just had a nice time.  I highly recommend Pokagon...the 2 for 1 deal lasts until the end of April!

Stress...

Blue and Gold Banquet tomorrow.  Need I say more?

Hair Pictures:)

 This is kind of a scary picture, but it shows my curly hair and that's what I was looking for.  Turns out, there just aren't very many pictures of me around.  And if there are, they are not good hair pictures!

 This needs to be documented!  Every day for 2 years, I have "plopped" my hair in a T-shirt for most of the morning.  This was the look!  I even went to Tom's Donuts with Levi with my hair up like this.  Levi said he didn't mind.  Wonder how long that will last:)

This is the new hair, after the Keratin treatment.  Don't George and I look tired?  9am church will do it to you!