Summer Odyssey 2010 - Grand Forks to Salt Lake

The first leg of our summer road trip took us near De Smet, South Dakota to visit the Laura Ingalls Wilder homestead and museum. Due to a major storm system (tornadoes touching down all over the county) and a meeting in Fargo, we got a late start and drove into De Smet around 11:30 p.m. We were planning to camp at the Ingalls homestead and had only gotten vague instructions on the phone, so it was quite an adventure to find it and set up camp in the dark. We were c..o...l...d... out there on the open prairie, and heard coyotes howling at an uncomfortably close range, but the stars were stunning and the sunrise one of the best I've ever seen.








Haley and I have been reading the Little House series this past year and were very excited to check out the museum and homestead. We were not disappointed. We would HIGHLY recommend a visit - you can even reserve a covered wagon to sleep in. Westward, ho!

From the top of the viewing tower.

View from inside the dugout house.

Sweet little "Olden Days" girl.

They could have stayed to "wash" clothes all day.

Driving the covered wagon to the old school house.

This is Jake during the lesson....

...and this is Haley. She was SO in her element.

Jake's turn to drive.

We thought this was pretty funny - modern day wagon train!

From De Smet we drove south and spent a night in Nebraska, then headed west through Denver to stay a night in Aspen Valley, Colorado. Rob and I took turns running that morning, taking in the stunning mountain views before starting the last leg of our drive into Salt Lake City. We were all SO tired of driving by this point, and while Haley and Jake were perfect little travelers with their DVD players, Alex was not. We stopped at a convenience store in Duschene for bribes and I fed Alex bits of Reese's Pieces all the way into the valley. Were we ever glad to get to the cousins' house!

Spring Photo Shoot

We headed to a local park to take some pictures. Despite a thick coating of bug spray on us all, we were eaten alive by the mosquitoes. Fortunately we still got some good shots.

Spring Into Summer

Spring is such a busy time for us, it always seems to fly by. Some highlights from the last few months:

Jake finished out his soccer season - let's just say they had a rough time of it. He liked going to practice sometimes but was often frustrated that he wasn't as good as he wanted to be. We're not sure if he'll play again, but we're proud of him for sticking it out and he sure looked cute in his jersey!




Haley finished FIRST GRADE! Can she really be that old already? She was so sad to be leaving her teacher, Mrs. G., as well as her friends. She is not sad, however, that she gets to stay up late and sleep in for the summer!



I celebrated yet another birthday...the kids made it so fun with decorations (thanks mom!) and cake. I felt very spoiled and blessed to celebrate with them.

Alex has discovered the joy of playing outside. So much room! So many things to explore and taste and grab and climb! So many pine needles in the grass that poke his hands and knees!


If you come over to our house and notice that in every bathroom the rolls of toilet paper are on the counter or back of the toilet...THIS IS WHY. He loves it.

Half Marathon - Part II

Whew! I did it. I finished the Half, and ran the whole thing. It wasn't my fastest pace ever, but you have to start somewhere. Race weekend was a lot of fun overall, with Haley and Rob and friends running the 5K on Friday night (Haley's first "real" race with a bib and everything!), and the Half on Saturday morning. Despite the rain and crowds, everything went smoothly and I got off to a good start. By mile 6 the runners thinned out a little and I could just focus on running instead of on avoiding the elbows and feet all around. I felt pretty strong until about mile 11, at which point I zoned out and just tried to stay ahead of the 11-minute-per-mile pace group behind me. Crossing the finish line in the Fargo Dome was an amazing experience, and I was so happy to just be done.

With almost 20,000 runners participating in the events, Fargo was THE place to be and it was thrilling and inspiring to see so many runners and their families. All of us are already talking about which events we'll do next year. So I guess I'd better still Run, Mama, Run!

Above: The sign the kids made to cheer me on. Love it!

Jake was oh-so-sad that he couldn't participate in the 5K. I told him when he can cross a parking lot without complaining of being tired then he can run one! I love his pouty pout.

Haley, pre-race.

Go Haley, Go!

Half Marathon Finisher!

Half Marathon - Part I

A lot can change in a year. Twelve months ago I was 7 1/2 months pregnant and growing more enormous every day. My legs and feet were so swollen that I could hardly walk to the park and back with the kids, and I only had one pair of flip flops that could fit on my feet. To get me to run any distance would have required my childrens' lives to be in danger or someone dangling a gallon of Haagen Daaz peanut-butter and chocolate ice cream in front of me. I had gone to spinning classes off and on throughout the pregnancy but by early summer I was just too huge and uncomfortable.

Fortunately I was able to return to spinning when Alex was a few months old, and it wasn't long after that when I began daydreaming about finally training for a half marathon, which has been a goal of mine for some time now. I decided to follow a 14-week program and run the Fargo Half Marathon, which meant that my training started in February. I trained on the treadmill in the basement, on icy sidewalks and flooded Greenway trails, in snow and wind and rain (cue Rocky music). On Saturdays I would peel the baby off my hip and wave goodbye as I went out on long runs, then come home and jump right into the regular weekend routines - soccer games, yard work, errands.

I certainly couldn't have trained for this without the incredible support from my family. Rob is my #1 fan, cheerleader, coach, physical therapist, and shoulder to cry on. The kids have cheered me on too, bringing me water during my long runs and acting astounded when I told them I ran 8, 10 , 12 miles. I can't wait to see them all as I cross the finish line; I'm sure I'll be a teary mess.

A lot of people like to compare difficult accomplishments to childbirth but I've never quite agreed - childbirth happens to you, and besides managing your pain you can't just decide to quit in the middle of it. So I will say: Training for this race has been the hardest thing I've ever chosen to do. There were many times I wanted to stop in the middle of a run, and training did not always go smoothly. I was sick a few different times, have a sore hip flexor muscle from an old injury, and had to deal with knee and IT band pain once I got into the longer runs. I came to realize the amount of mental strength that is required for something like this and often surprised myself with how strong I really am. I'm a very different person than I was twelve months ago and I'm excited to see what else I can accomplish in the future. I can't imagine running a full marathon, but who knows?

The race is in 33 hours and I'm full of nervous energy. I'm getting over a cold and the forecast for race day is for wind and rain, so I'm sure my time will be slow, but I'm excited to get it done. Watch for pictures and results, and wish me luck!

Uh-Oh!

I'm calling it: Alex's official first word is "Uh-Oh!" It's not really surprising, given the amount of mischief he's getting into lately. At 10 1/2 months he is a speed-crawler and a master mess-maker. Thank goodness for baby gates because he could practice climbing up and down the stairs all day long. I've been trying for months to get him to say "mama", but he just laughs and blows raspberries or shakes his head "no." What a little tease! So instead we have "uh-oh," which he says now whenever he drops his cracker, sippy cup, pacifier, toy, or washcloth (his favorite thing to carry around and gnaw on). I'm excited though - let the communication phase begin!