Grands Week 2019

Another year brought another wonderful Grands Week with Papa and Gigi in Sacramento. I've said it before and I'll say it again, any vacation that starts with an excel spreadsheet is my idea of perfection! We adventured far and wide with a home base of Palm Drive and had so much fun making memories with each other. Uncle B was the official photographer so I don't have pictures of everything that we did, but the ones I did snap are so cute and I'm so grateful for all the time and resources that went into spoiling us rotten for a whole week. Thank you Papa and Gigi, this family time is always a summer highlight! 

Monday: Fairytale Town and Funderland and Swimming, oh my!

This picture of our crew makes my heart pitter patter with happiness and gratitude. 

Spencer and Quinny, always jumping off anything and everything!

Uncle B had them spinning so fast I honestly thought they might take flight.

Neither of these girls are all too fond of pictures these days...but goggles, those are the best!

Tuesday: Quarry Adventure Park and Leatherby's

The only picture I have of this awesome adventure is of scaredy-cat Coco who thought the bumper boats might go too fast (spoiler alert: they were soooooo sloooooow and she was totally safe with Auntie Care). She was pretty much scarred by the dragon ride at Funderland the day before. 

The black and tan is where it's at!

Those long arms come in handy more often than you'd think.

Game night with Uncle B and Chaya.

Wednesday: Coloma

T has been learning all about the gold rush this year and was SO EXCITED to see Sutter's Mill. 

Talmage was talking with a guy down by the river who was panning for gold and before we knew it this man gifted T with his pan. I am often touched by the kindness of others and this was one of those moments. 

Oh, I love that baby Blakers so much.

Panning for REAL gold...and finding it!

Papa panned with Quinny until he nearly broke his back in two, bless him!

We struck it rich.

Saying goodbye to Honey's home on the Mountain.

Thursday: Safari in Santa Rosa

This. Was. Incredible. We went on a two-hour private safari in Santa Rosa and saw all sorts of African animals. Giraffes. Zebra. Elk. Rhinos. Honestly, we may as well have been in Africa on this adventure, it was amazing! 

Coco being cuddled by Auntie Care because she was scawed.

I'd totally take him if I could. Like, in an instant.

It's hard to see but if you look over the top of baby Cheetah you will see a REAL cheetah! Everyone else was long gone and Quinn just couldn't stop watching Sahara, even if she was just laying there. She also had to say goodbye to her three times! She learned this trip that taking care of animals is a real job she could have and her mind was blown...but she's still leaning towards being a police officer. Gigi and Papa planned this adventure knowing that Quinn would love it and they were right on track. She was in heaven!

Thank you again Papa and Gigi for such a wonderful week. You put so much time into these trips and the details did not go unappreciated. We love you!

My Half

I was extremely prepared for my June 15th Sugar Daddy Half Marathon in Santa Clarita. I trained consistently for five months and I never missed a scheduled run--not once! I put in the time and effort and energy because I wanted to know that I gave it my all. And I did, there's no question there. But I guess that's why it shocked me so much that my race was so hard. Like, so hard! I finished and my time was 15 minutes faster than my last half marathon six years ago so that's all good, but boy were miles 10 through 13 torture. My body doesn't handle mid-run nutrition very well and by that I mean, my body doesn't handle it AT ALL, so I think I was just depleted by mile 10. After I finished I swore I'd never do that again but I'll be honest, I want to get this nutrition thing figured out and run another one. I'm a glutton for punishment, I swear.

The biggest story of my half marathon was that Ashleigh, Logan and their kids drove all the way from Utah on Friday and surprised me at my parents hotel room so that they could see my race. I wish I had a video of my reaction because I started screaming and stomping my feet and waving my arms and then I just bawled like a little baby. And lest you think this was a quiet sort of surprise, I made such a ruckus that my parents got a note from their hotel neighbors asking us to quiet down...or else. Whoops! I know a half marathon is really not that big of a deal to so many people but it meant so much that my parents and sister cared enough to be there. James mentioned later that my family is really good at showing up, and isn't that the truth?! We are here for each other and I love them so much.

Runners Club, feeling strong pre-race!

I love these race photos from Ash. I told her she should be a photojournalist, and I'm not kidding. She's great at capturing the real moments and cool shots.

 Some of my cheering squad!

 After the race I stayed like this for a good five minutes. People were trying to hug me and touch me and I honestly felt like I was going to die or blow up or pass out. It was ugly. It took me a little bit to snap out of it. I wish I could have finished and been happy and bubbly but this was my reality, and I'm ok with it.

Painted my nails from my bed the night before because I wanted them rainbow to match the race. One of the best decisions I made that weekend, haha!

So, so, SO grateful for all of my family who came to cheer me on. 

Rainbow nails and rainbow bagels.

WE DID IT!!!

I'm the least among these ladies and love them so much. Marathoner on the right, Ironwoman in the middle, and happy halfer on the left.

Loved this sign my Mama made me.

Oh my goodness these two are amazing. So grateful they drove from Sacramento (for less than a 24 hour stay) so they could watch me run. I've been blessed with the very best of parents.

A few pictures from the pool/beach during our surprise day together:

This right here was all my body wanted on Saturday late afternoon!

I'm a good runner.

A few months ago I told someone I had only just met about my recent return to running--the early mornings, the cross-training, my grand goals. Unbeknownst to me he had been a collegiate cross country runner and although he meant no harm, the first words to leave his mouth were, "You know, you're really too tall to be a good runner."

I've thought about that exchange countless times since it happened. Oh how I wish I would have said something other than my mumbled, "Yeah, um...I am really tall." Why did I agree with his assessment of my body? Or the limitations he put on my abilities? Why, even for a moment, did I buy into his definition of a "good runner." 

That's not the only comment I've received in the same vain, all meant with the best of intentions. 

"You're not that fast." 

"You might not improve." 

"Maybe you should find a sport you like more, or you're better at." 

While I never took offense from them, these comments forced me to be introspective about my decision to run. If I'm being honest, these comments forced me to be introspective about so many different choices in my life--religion, motherhood, service. Why, I have found myself asking, do I do the things that I do?

My introspection led me to this running realization: I may never be very fast, I will always be ridiculously tall, I may never adore running and I might not improve. In essence, I guess they are all right. 

But my introspection also led me to this realization: I am a runner. I am a really good runner. I am rocking this whole running thing and I'm prouder than I've ever been of what my mind, body and soul can accomplish. Because my definition of success has nothing to do with my time or my posture or even my enjoyment, my definition of running success has to do with finishing. I set goals and accomplish them. I put time and energy into improving. I work hard. I'm dedicated. I'm positive. I start with a head held high and regardless of what happens next, I finish.

And is it hard? Yes, it's hard.

And do I like it? Only when it's over, and sometimes not even then.

But being hard or not liking it, those things don't rob my running or any other decisions in my life of their meaning. In fact, accomplishing things that are particularly difficult, sometimes unpleasant and push me outside of my comfort zone tend to be the most meaningful. And so it is with running. 

A few weeks ago I ran my half marathon and those pictures and words are for a different post, but a few days after my race I woke up early, laced up my Asics and went for a run. It's the first time in my life I've ever continued running after accomplishing a race goal and that's when I realized that I've graduated. I no longer just run, but I am a runner. A good runner.

A few recent running snaps:

I fell on mile four of a six mile run and got up with skinned knees and a bloody palm but just kept going. It's a long way down when you fall as a 6-footer and I'm so grateful that the worst of my injuries could be calmed with a band-aid. 

During my half marathon training I literally never missed one scheduled run and I'm so proud of my consistency. One day James pulled an all-nighter and was still gone in the morning so I couldn't go on my run. It would have been easy to use this an an excuse but instead when the kids got home from school I packed them in the car, drove to the UCLA track, and did my scheduled run while they cheered me on from the bleachers. I love this little team!

Sweaty, post-run pic!

These last two are from Ash's visit just this last week, which was the greatest. I wish we could always go on our morning runs together!