I Did It!!!

I. Don't. Run. Did you see the period at the end of that sentence? Because it was a pretty declarative statement. I remember the fourth grade, being the second to the last person to finish the one mile run--and I'm pretty sure the other kid was walking. I have never been able to run. Whenever we did those Presidential Fitness programs in school I always counted on the "sit-and-reach" and "arm hang" (girls didn't have to do chin-ups) to make up for my truly embarrassing running times. When I learned in health class that certain people are more "white meat" muscles and others are more "dark meat" I just assumed I was the one who couldn't run.

I moved to Arizona last year, which happened to be only an hour and change from my little sister, Stacy. I was talking to her in January when she mentioned she was running a 5k in October. I decided to do it with her. I was extremely nervous, but I thought I had ten months to train so I could probably handle it. Being a new SAHM, I needed a goal to work towards.

When I first started running I could run exactly .2 miles, from our house to our park. That's it. Embarrassing, right? I hadn't run a mile in over 15 years, and had never run more than a mile in my entire life. But I started slow. And kept at it.

In May Stacy and I ran a 2 mile race in Prescott. We came in at about 22 minutes and were extremely proud of ourselves. To be fair, it was a very hilly course. I started working towards three miles, buying a treadmill so I could run inside during these awful Arizona summers.

Then I got up to three miles! Awesome!

(Stacy and I getting ready to run the Anthem Turkey Trot 5k.)
(Me, Stacy, and others from the Eyecare Associates of Prescott team, running the October Fight Against Diabetes 5k.)

A funny thing happened one night in August as I was preparing for our October race. I ran four miles. I realize that to my awesome running friends this is a nice warm-up; but to me it was incredible. I began to get the feeling that maybe I really could run. I decided, as I was running and had nothing to do but think, that maybe I could do more than I thought. I decided to run a 10k in December. I called my father-in-law, Ray, and asked him if he wanted to run with me. He is amazing and jumped right in.

Over the next two months Stacy and I ran our two 5k races and I slowly worked up to my 6.2 miles. When December came I was able to run a nice race, I didn't feel winded or tired, just happy to see everyone.
McKay ran up to meet Ray, who promptly picked him up and ran him across the finish line. Logan joined in soon after this was taken. Cutie!
I finished with a time of 1:01 and change. Had I known I was that close I would have picked it up a little more!

So why the long post? Because I have told myself for 20 years that I can't run. And I can. It might not be fast, and it might not be pretty, but I can do it. So what other things have I told myself that I can't do? I learned that while I may not have innate talents in certain areas, that doesn't mean that they are impossible. It may take a whole year to do it, but it can be done. Now I'm trying to decide what to do for next year.

What have you told yourself you "can't" do?

Thanksgiving!

A holiday for eating? Count me in. My Mom flew down to hang out with us for a week, and Stacy and Lilly came to join the fun. The kids enjoyed playing with each other:

And they especially loved all the extra attention they received from Grandma!

We took the boys to the Train Park, where they got to take a ride and play on the equipment.

Of course they thought they should climb on the roof:

I'm not really a fan of pumpkin pie (gross), so I made some alternatives:

Loren cooked a delicious turkey, after participating in a hard fought turkey bowl. Stacy, Mom and I thought it would be a great idea to go to the Anthem Outlets at 10 pm on Thanksgiving, which was insanely crowded. We stood in line for two hours, and the interstate was backed up an hour as well. After getting home at midnight we thought it would be great fun to get up at 4:00 for more shopping! Three stores and we were home by 7 to greet our waking kiddos! Um. Perhaps not my smartest move ever. My best purchase was 30 batteries for $3.50. Maybe next year I'll pay extra and sleep.

What a great week!

Logan is Four!

I cannot believe our little guy is four already! Sometimes it seems as though we've always had him, and other times it feels as though we had him just yesterday. Logan is such a good kid. He is pretty mellow and low key. He is also shy until he warms up. He is so funny in that sometimes he is afraid to show his excitement, and the happier he is the smaller his smile gets. Logan will still cuddle with me, and want to be carried. He really likes to "fix" things with Daddy, and bake with Mommy.

Logan loves Lightning McQueen, he has worn out our copy of the video and consistently asks for McQueen related presents. Here he is blowing out the candle on the Lightning McQueen cake my Mom made for him (notice I took their shirts off before giving them cake--I learned a few things in these four years).

For his birthday we had his Grandma, Aunt Stacy, and cousin Lilly come over for dinner and presents. He has so many people who love him! We also brought cupcakes to park day and preschool, and went out to McDonalds with a friend to celebrate.

In his new Lightning McQueen bedroom, complete with a Cars bedspread and pillow (courtesy of my mom).
The other night while Logan was saying his prayers he mentioned "and thank you to my loyal fans." We sure do love our little guy!