On Saturday my friend Nicole, and my new friend Stephanie {her sister} ran a very fun 5K through the railroad tunnels at Lake Mead. During the construction of the Hoover Dam a railroad was built from Henderson NV to the dam. This rail line delivered supplies to the dam area, and when they were finished constructing the largest man made structure ever made, they ripped up the rail road tracks.
The race followed the graded road where the tracks used to be, along the shore of Lake Mead, and through the tunnels blasted in the rock to make way for the railroad. The scenery was amazing, the tunnels were massive, it was a great place to run!
Here we are getting ready for the race. The race starting line was about a mile hike straight downhill. So this is actually us getting ready for our
pre-run hike. Once at the starting line we realized that we were very
under dressed. There were people dressed up like
leprechauns, green wigs, green tights...there was a lot of green!
All 400+ of us lined up at the starting line, and listened for the race gun to sound...I never did hear the gun, but I did hear the bagpipers. I always thought that the bag pipes were more a Scottish thing, but apparently they can be used to start a race with an Irish theme.
With about one mile to go we were feeling pretty great. Maybe a little too great. This is how serious a runner I am!
On the way up the trail about one mile into the race, I dropped my water bottle. I couldn't stop to pick it up because I was afraid of getting trampled. So, I just left it. On the way back down the trail at about the same place I dropped my water, I found it! It was perfect timing. No one kicked if off the trail, and Green Peace didn't throw it away, so it was awesome! A little water was all I needed to finish this bad boy!
Nicole and I crossed the finish line right around 27 minutes. Which, apparently isn't too bad. I finished 10
th in my age division and 95/425. I still don't feel totally inspired to get out there and pound the pavement every single day, but will probably add a weekly run to my workouts. I will say this, running a race is WAY more fun than plain old running. I think it helped that I had my best friend with me!
Here we are at the end. That one mile hike down before the race, was also a one mile hike UP at the end of the race. You can't beat 70 degree weather next to a lake, through beautiful terrain with great friends, and good music. Make running this fun all the time and I will do it all day every day!
On the way home from the rec center, Carter and I spotted three antelope just chillin' on the grass. Naturally, I let him out of the car to chase them. Isn't that what you're supposed to do when you spot wild animals? That, and take semi-crappy cell phone pictures of it!
Several months ago we decided to visit my sister Jayna who lives in Washington state. She and her husband Mike have lived there almost two years, and with his graduation from graduate school fast approaching, we decided to make the trip before they move on to their next adventure.
Caleb {almost 18 months old, but we're going to count this as his one year old pictures...photographically challenging, yet cute}
I LOVE these yogurt places where you can pile up your yogurt, toppings, and then pay by weight. Rumor {and the sign on the building} has it that there is going to be on such joint in RS very soon...I'll see you there!
I'm already planning a July birthday trip for her to come to the country. I think we should make it a early thing. Vegas in March is perfect, and by July Rock Spring's 89 degrees is going to feel pretty awesome!
Yesterday Carter's preschool teacher bravely conducted a field trip with both of her preschool classes. The kids had a great time at the Western Wyoming Community College Museum. There were dinosaurs, fossils, and stuffed wild animals.
Caleb stayed in his stroller for the whole adventure, and was pretty amused by the whole thing. He tried to jump out of his stroller to get his hands on a stuffed wolf, but other than that, it was a good day for everyone.
On Saturday morning we drove to Castle Dale to enjoy a weekend filled with family bonding. We forgot Carter's shoes and I brought one black boot and one very dark brown boot. So things started off pretty well. Nonetheless, it was a beautiful day in Castle Dale Utah! The kids got to spend some time outside at the park with Grandpa Neal, and I got to sit around and visit with my mom. It was a win win for everyone.
Carter also mastered some moves. He learned how to do the monkey bars for the first time. He is a very determined little thing, and wouldn't leave {or even think of leaving} until he could go from one side to the other without falling. There was cheering and clapping and lots of praise, we were all proud! We also purchased some new shoes for him at the local Alco store...The new shoes gave him a lot of "running power" so that may have helped as well.
And if that wasn't enough weekend excitement for one family, we still had more family togetherness with the Pollastro side of the family. That post and pictures {courtesy of my sister in law or any other family members that I can steal them from} will be forthcoming.
Some people have hunting season, Christian is crazy for baseball season, but we have Girl Scout cookie season. Yes, it's an actual season. It starts when we order our cookies, and it doesn't end until the very last box has been devoured. This is me, just enjoying my very first {of many} thin mints of the season.
After being very sick for a couple days, Cali found a cure for her illness, cookies of course. She was on a strict sprite, cracker, banana diet for about 48 hours, but once the cookies were in the house she made a miraculous recovery. It was amazing.
Carter can't get enough Samoas he asks every hour if he can have one. Let's see, one an hour, he will easily finish off a box a day by himself. That's my boy!
And we can't forget Caleb's very first Girl Scout cookie. He was much too young last year to enjoy the deliciousness, but he's catching on quickly.
Looks like I ruined their reading by trying to snap a few pictures. It only takes one glimpse of the camera and Caleb tries to grab it out of my hands. Here's the last picture I got before he pounced.
Now that I've been sleeping in a giant grown-up bed, I think it's time I invest in some grown-up bedding. Here are just a few of my top favorites. I really like a splash of color here and there, but for some reason my eyes are drawn to gray tones...I think it's because gray is the color of sweats.
Carter is taking his Tae Kwon Do class very seriously. So seriously in fact, he can almost make it the entire hour without taking a break and running around the gym like a maniac.
