44 Hours of Driving

All right, well I promised a blog update so here it is. Unfortunately I have not taken any pics of our house or anything like that, so all FL pics will be in the next post. This is our trip across the U.S. in pictures. It took 6 days (we stopped in AZ for a few days to visit family) 44 hours of driving, soooo much junk food that I am still working it off and counting calories like a crazy person, and about 10 stops total counting over nighters. But we made it. Here are the pics I took with my phone as we drove along.

First, we had to pack up the house. That isn't nearly everything but some.

Then we were off! Within a couple hours of leaving Provo Sophie fell sound asleep. She didn't really sleep the rest of the trip. booo.

Our last pics of UT ( I think, I don't think we had hit AZ yet but maybe) While in UT we reached nearly 8,000 ft elev. & several feet of snow.

Then came down to this. Ugh. How ugly. Sorry AZ. You aren't so pretty.

Some bridge and muddy water. It looked cool. probably because it was the only water we had seen in hours.

Then we came across the cactuses which were very cool. My kids went crazy about those things. They thought it was so cool how old those things are. We got up close to one and we all decided it would not be awesome to run into one of those things. By the way, is there anything in AZ that doesn't have prickly something on it?

YAY! I am with my best friends. My brother's James & Jay. Obviously they had been in sunny AZ, and I had been in cold wintery UT. I think I could be a vampire I am so pale in that pic. Wehad so much fun visiting them. I was SO glad we went to Tucson to see them before we headed out. James & Em, you guys are seriously the funnest people to visit, thanks for all the great food and entertainment, we love you!!!

Harrison & James were pretty excited to have some toys to play with after being cooped up in a car for 12 hrs. Harrison is a knight here. He and James love their cousin Wes & Henry and had the greatest time playing with them.

Um, yeah, we are weird. But you know that already.

After a few days in AZ we were back in the car for the lang haul. Harrison decided a green tongue was much cooler than a real one.

James went for blue. They've just got airheads in their mouths, it entertained them for about 10 minutes.

This is what we stared at for that whole day. Nothing. absolutely nothing.

except these trees every now and then. wow, I am boring even myself.

As we drove through El Paso I was looking out my window and thought "holy crap what a crappy city!" THen I realized I was looking right into Mexico. Then I was very very sad for those people. How would it be to have the USA just a few feet from you and you couldn't get in?

I have to say, the second half of TX was beautiful. I loved the green hills and farms spread out everywhere. I couldn't get enough of all the green simply gorgeous. I am total sucker for beautiful green country.

We spent our first night in Ft. Stockton, then stayed the next night with my Aunt just outside Houston, TX. She was so great! Thank you Aunt Glenine for letting my boys destroy your house and run around! Thanks for the great dinner and bfast, it was so much fun to see you and your home. Thank You!

Oh, & here is Houston and we drove through it.

We Left my Aunt's home very early, before then sun was up. And here is the sun as it came up that morning.

We started to head into the swamps of the south. So cool and mysterious.

Then all the great rivers.

And Sophie had her way with a marker, a couple times actually.

I actually have no idea what city this is. I was driving at the time and all I was thinking was "faster faster faster, just get there!!!"

But there was this cool Navy ship just outside the city. So I told Ben to take a pic.

Okay I was driving at this point too, so I told Ben to take another pic for me. This is Northeren Fl and is gorgeous. It was by far the prettiest country we had seen. Green green green with fields and blossoms great trees everywhere you looked. I seriously loved it.

We were just about to Tallahassee, that was where we were supposed to stop, but I wanted to just get there and be done with it all. So we kept going.

another 4 hrs and we were in ORLANDO! We drove 16 hrs that day, it was awful, but we made it!!! It was too dark for pics, but the next day we drove to our new home and knew we had found the right place because we found this street not too far from our house.

"Sophie"

Yep, this is the place!

Yeah Right, Like We Would Move to Florida....

That's what I said when Ben called to tell me a company in Orlando, Fl had contacted him & was interested in interviewing him. It was MGM Studios in Disney World that originally called. I'm not going to lie, it sounded a little bit excited and it definitely had my interest. But, it was in FL. We weren't going to pack up and move across the country just for a different job. Ben had a good job already. But here I am. Sitting at my computer. The last thing left to pack. Every little thing in my house is boxed up, labeled & taped shut. Pictures have been taken down from every wall. Paint patched. Suitcases packed. Goodbyes said.

I guess it all started & ended with the new house. We had found our dream home last fall. And when I say dream home, I mean dream home. It was perfect. It was exactly what we had both wanted and had been looking for. We immediately signed the papers, paid the first deposit to secure the lot for us and put our house up for sale.

2 months went by. with not one showing. we kept dropping the price, still no shows. With the possibility of not selling our house we started to look for other ways to buy the house. We looked into other loans and got approved for both homes, but our new home was $10k off the approved price. We didn't know what to do. Whether to just lose a ton of money on our current home, get a cheaper home somewhere else that we could get approved for, or just stay where we were. We were really confused and didn't know what to do.

Fast Sunday in Feb came and we both fasted and prayed to know where we should go. What we should do. Where our family was meant to be. I honestly prayed that the answer would be so obvious we couldn't mistake it.

Two days later, our dream home fell through, the builders refused to budge on the price. 5 minutes later Ben got the call from Orlando. A job at MGM studios. That sounds like fun, go ahead and interview, but just for the free trip to Orlando. We're not moving that far away.

Oh wait, another job in Orlando? it pays more, and is permanent? (the MGM one turned out to be a short term thing) Eh, go ahead and interview there as well. It doesn't hurt, and once again you might as well get a free trip to Orlando, but we aren't really moving there.

First interview. Went really well. Ben says it seems like a good company. Second interview comes around. Very very long. Hours. By the end, they were extremely impressed with Ben. They were going to fly him out for another interview.

I think I will forever remember that night. I had secretly planned a date for Ben. We went to SLC and ate at the Roof Restaurant. I have this image forever stuck in my head. As I looked out over SLC I remember just knowing that our time in UT was done. That whatever we were supposed to gain here and learn, had been done. That it was truly time for us to move on. So I told Ben. He was thinking the exact same thing. It was at that point we both knew we were leaving UT.

Ben hadn't gotten an actual offer yet. But let me tell you this. He has been offered every job he has ever interviewed for. I knew he would get the job. And I knew we would be moving to FL sometime very soon.

This all happened within one week. It was so fast.

That weekend was very emotional for me. I hadn't really told anyone we were actually moving to FL. I knew it was right and I knew it was the answer we had been looking for. That same week our old Bishop, Bishop Edwards, passed away. The funeral was Sat, Ben was leaving Mon and I knew he would come back with a job offer. As I worked with the people/sisters in my ward to prepare for the funeral and was surrounded by so many people I love so much, I couldn't help but just cry. The tears just wouldn't stop. How could i leave? How could I leave my family, my friends, my neighborhood & everything I had known and loved so much for the past 30 yrs? We knew NO ONE in Orlando. Not one person. I couldn't do it. But I knew it was what I supposed to do. I knew that it was right for our family. But still, could I actually leave?

The next day, Sunday, there were talks given about the Lord's hand guiding their family at times and how it was hard but how it had blessed their family so much. Then in RS the lesson was on Sacrifice. Women spoke of how when you sacrifice something, at the time it seems unbearable, but if you could look back and see the big picture and the blessings that come from that sacrifice you would do it in a heartbeat. And how at times they have had to sacrifice things and really wondered if they could do it, but then did it, and in the end wondered why they ever questioned in the beginning.

I am so grateful for the strong testimonies I heard from people that day. They all gave me my answer and they all gave me strength. As I left RS I KNEW we were meant to go to FL. I KNEW that it would be okay. I KNEW that the Lord was truly guiding our family and taking care of us. The sadness went away, and I was 100% confident in our decision to move to FL.

Ben went to FL, loved it. Loved the company. Loved the area. Felt confident. He was given an offer and we took it. We needed to be moved out in 2 weeks to make it to FL in time for him to start his new job.

I am not going to go into all the details of everything we have done and gotten together in the past 10 days. But we have found another town home in a great neighborhood in East Orlando. WE are just renting for the first 6 months and then hopefully buy before the next school year. The schools the kids will be attending are great. (Only 12 kids per teacher). We have listed our home for rent and have been getting regular calls on it, I am sure it will rent before next week. We have hired our neighbors to manage the rental while we are gone. I have had sooo many nights out with friends and family to say our good byes, and have enjoyed every one of them.

And now, the house is packed. THe movers are coming to put everything on the truck and drive it all out to Orlando. The company is paying for all relocation costs, so no worries there. We are spending our last nights at Grandma's while we get the house cleaned and ready to rent out before we leave. Harrison already had his last day of school, James' is Friday.

At this point I am just excited. I am excited for this new adventure our family taking. I am excited to live in a new place and see new things and meet new people. I can't wait to attend our ward and meet the other members there. I can't wait for James and Harrison's first day of school and hear about their new school. I can't wait to get to our new home and get all moved in.

I'm not dumb, I know there will be hiccups along the way. I know it is going to be hard. I know there are bugs and I know that I hate bugs. That is why there is such thing as pest control dear friends. I know it is going to take time to make friends and make a new life out there. But I also know that this is where our family is meant to be, whether for 2 yrs, 10 yrs, or forever.

So dear UT, your winters are terrible, I hate the cold. The snow is wet and makes a terrible mess. But it is so beautiful on that first snowfall. And there is nothing like seeing the bright red leaves in the autumn, hearing the roars of an evening thunderstorm, seeing all the beautiful tulips & blossoms in the spring, and enjoying the hot summer days barefoot in the soft grass.

I'll definitely miss you. But it is time to say good bye, I'm off to spend some serious time on a warm sandy beach. Doesn't that sound nice?

Harrison & Basketball

I completely forgot to write about Harrison playing basketball throughout Jan. It is what we call "itty bitty" ball, and it is for 3 & 4 yr olds. Harrison Loves it though. And not to be a braggy parent, he is pretty good at it. I mean look at this kids making the shot.

Typically he actually tossed it in, but I have to say, he made it in most of the time. He was so cute, after his first day he came home and asked ben how to dribble. "Dad, how do you bounce the ball? I don't know how to use my arm, is it like this?" and he moved his arm up and down. o cute. He got really good at dribbling and making the shots in the games. That's my Harrison!

Playing a Game

And getting ready for another game

The two boys on the left are friends of Harrison. It was fun to have a few of us together.

Team pictures. Yeah that's right, I won't pay the $20 for them. Just go take a snapshot. ;)

And here they are playing with the beach ball, which I think was the kids favorite activity.

Giving Back

I have to admit, I am really glad January is just about over. Not because it is has been a horrible month or anything, I just really need spring and summer to come. I am tired of being cold , of opening my window to gray skies, and I am oh so very tired of sick kids.

I don't think my kids have ever been as sick as they have this winter. It started in October, we got colds that all eventually turned into sinus infections and/or ear infections. Then we got the flu, the real flu, not stomach, then more ear infections and sinus problems and coughs that never seemed to end. Poor Sophie has not been well in 3 months! That is a long time for a baby to be sick. She has been on 3 different rounds of antibiotics, and over Christmas we started a much stronger medication to try and get her better. She seemed to improve for about 5 days, and then caught RSV. It was just this last week that I finally got my happy healthy little girl back, and James came home that day with a temp of 103. Where's the love?

I am happy to say though, that once again (please knock on some serious wood!) we are all feeling good, and back to our "normal" routine.

Look at my cute family. This was taken just after Christmas.

So now here we are at the end of January. Everyone is working on their new years resolutions. When Ben and I started talking about things we wanted to change or do differently this year, he told me that I needed to "stress less". Work out less, clean house less, not freak out so much about things going a little wrong. (I think he just knows he can't compete with my awesomeness so I need to come down to his level). :) No, he actually was right. I have been cleaning less, spending more time with kiddos and him and not stressing out about all those little things. And guess what? I am happier. Much. Isn't it nice to have someone point you in the right direction?

But, besides doing less, I really did want to make some goals for this year. I thought about several different things and they just seemed to bring more stress in my life. That's no good. Then I was wasting time on facebook one afternoon (someone please tell me I am not the only one that does that). And I came across something one of my very good friends did the week of her 31st birthday. She did 31 acts of service during that week and had posted each and every thing she did. It truly inspired me. I generally try to help people out when I can, taking meals, watching kids all that goodness. But she did many random little things that made people's day. Taking flowers to someone for no reason, giving people gifts cards in stores, writing thanks yous and leaving a small gift etc. It was amazing all the little things she did that brought SO much joy to many people.

I thought about last year, (it was rough, that is all I am going to say) and all the people that helped us out when we needed it. And I realized something, that this year was going to be about giving back. We have been so blessed in every way, so now, it is our turn to help out. I thought about my friends list of things she did and I copied her. I decided I was going to start right then and there. I was just about to go grocery shopping (with all 3 kiddos, awesome). So we picked up a box of heart shaped doughnuts, paid for them. And waited by the front doors until a little family came walking through. We gave them the doughnuts, wished them a Happy Valentine's and went, happily, on our way.

My kids loved it, and I loved it. I realized that this is what I need to do this year, it truly makes me happy, no matter what other stresses are going on. And it is fun! This is what I need this year, this is what I am changing. Small acts of service, everyday. I have started sewing a couple different quilts and am making some really cute onsies to give to Primary Children's. I also have a list of people I am sending thank you cards to that I really should have thanked a long time ago. I am excited for this year. I am excited to Give Back.

Admit it, she is the most beautiful thing you have EVER seen.

Now, about these adorable pictures of Sophie. While all the kids were home this week, and I was really tired of just cleaning house all day. Sophie and I played dress up. She LOVES to wear mascara and eye shadow. She asks for those every day. She calls mascara "tickle". I love it.

I love that she is sucking on the pearls, she used to always grab them off my neck when she was a baby and plop them right in her mouth. Still does.

I really wish you could see her beautiful smile here, she was being so funny.

I told you I was absolutely blessed, look at that gorgeous girl? How in the world did I ever get her?

Christmas Pictures

Here are a few pictures from last month's fun. I have more but they are on Ben's phone, so probably won't be posting those. We had a great month and did TONS of fun things. Christmas was fabulous. We didn't overly spoil our kids, they each got 3 presents, one big 2 small, and they had a great time anyway. The cap guns were the winners though. Why didn't I know that a simple $5 gun would bring so much entertainment? And Why did I buy anything else? ;)

James and Harrison with their chocolate suckers we made.

They did a really great job with the chocolate molds. James was so careful with the different colors, I honestly don't think I could have done any better.

Christmas morning. James checking out his candy.

Harrison sitting on the "wooshie pooshie" (that's what he calls whoopie cushions)

He thought it was hilarious.

Sophie and her cute new jammies. She didn't care too much about her presents once she saw the candy. In fact, she didn't even open her presents until late afternoon when the boys finally made her go open them.

Harrison and his Train from Santa. It actually is a pretty great little train, and has gotten Ben hooked ! He is now buying and looking at train things at every hobby shop and has some serious train table plans for the basement in our new home.

James and his HUGE lego set. He put it together pretty much by himself that day. I was impressed.

Sophie and I at Temple Square. I love this picture.

Here we all are at Temple Square, the lights weren't as amazing as past years, but we had some hot cocoa and donuts so it was still a fun evening together.

Thanksgiving and Then Some

Wow. I haven't blogged in long time. I think I say that at the beginning of every blog though. Oh well. Probably because I feel like I have been running around crazy for the past month and a half. So since there is so much to catch up on I am just going to give a list of the highlights, and when I find my camera I will post pics to go with it all.

NOVEMBER

-my little brother Jay had a 2 week break from Med School and came to visit. It was SO great to see him. When I saw him at the airport I was screaming with crazy excitement. Yeah I am one of those people. We had tons of fun eating whatever (He's a starving student, I had to fatten him up) Running crazy runs & working out together, Playing games and kicking his butt in Monopoly deal, seriously I am pro at the game so watch out if you ever play me. We just had an awesome time together & I was really sad to realize that he would probably never live by us again and it would always just be these visits when we get together. boo. He's been my best friend forever, and been there for me through the hardest times of my life. I love that kiddo. And I am excited to see him in just a few more days for his Christmas visit. (it is short though, only a couple days) sigh.

-Thanksgiving. Was really fun. I made the yummiest rolls ever, my apple pie wasn't the best ever, but still pretty good. We went over to Gma Robertson's this year (we take turns each year) And we helped get everything set up, cooked and ready to serve. I felt like the hostess just a bit, and then I realized that I really want to host Thanksgiving. So I informed everyone that next year I would be hosting the Dinner in my new house.

-New House. yes our new house. We are once again building. We stumbled upon some really cute homes while going for drive (we had all been sick for weeks and needed to get out). So we called on them, walked through the model home and Ben and I just knew that this was our new home. before we knew it, we had picked out the house, the lot, the upgrades, signed papers and put the first chunk of money down. Wow. It is amazing though I will tell you that. If you want to go check it out here is the builders website new house plans And if you click on Tour the Model those are pictures of the model which is the same as the home we are building and will look basically the same. Isn't it fantastic? We are building in Pleasant Grove, just southeast of the American Fork Temple on a half acre lot. I love this house. It really is my dream house and I can't believe we are getting it. I love that it is big enough that we can just stay there forever and raise our family and grow old together there. So, our home right now is for sale (yeah good luck right?) We'll drop the price until it sells, and so I am sure it will eventually. Our home won't be done until end of April first of May so we've got a few months.

-Black Friday. Was awesome. We spent the night at Target. Yeah we did. Crazy huh? We didn't even have anything we NEEDED to get. Just wanted to do it for fun. We ended up with a big TV and all of our Christmas shopping completely done in one big shopping spree. Ben literally had to fight to get the TV. Okay not fight, but people were pushing him over and taking TV after TV away from him, so he decided to just go for it. He muscled his way in grabbed one and didn't let go. It was hilarious. I will never forget that mound of people fighting for those things. Even though it was FREEZING cold all night and I thought my toes would fall off, we are already planning on spending the night again next year. Oh the joys of the Holidays.

DECEMBER

-Family Activities. At the start of the month we sat down with the calendar and planned out the entire month of all the different things we wanted to do. Before we knew it, every day was filled and we have been busy with fun-ness ever since. This is what we have done so far.... Got a Christmas tree and decorated the house, made gingerbread houses, paper snowflakes, christmas chains, went light looking around several neighborhoods, Temple Square, Thanksgiving point lights, made peppermint ice cream sandwiches, helped the kids make spritz cookies, saw santa, made friend presents, had a nativity play, went to James' school choir concert, got tags off an Angel tree, hmmmm, I think that is all for now. We still have to take around all our friend and neighbor gifts, go sledding & ice skating, we have watched most of our favorite Christmas movies, but still need to see A Christmas Story, oh and we have stuff to make Chocolates for all the kids cousins. Whew! busy month!

-RS Christmas dinner. It's done. Done, & Done. Thank heavens. No it really wasn't that bad, just glad I don't have to stress about it anymore. We have over 200 sisters in our RS and didn't have very much of a budget left for this dinner. But with lots of volunteers and good people to bring this and that, the food was absolutely amazing, the program was excellent and I cried several times when I saw all the people that were helping me out to make it all come together. THank you everyone who helped, you are seriously so wonderful, THANK YOU!!!

-Kids. Things they have said or done that makes me laugh.

Sophie saying "missmiss whites" every time she sees any Christmas lights.

Harrison opening James' presents. (yeah he knew they were James' that's why he opened them).

Harrison sharing his Elf treat every morning with James. So sweet!

Finding a love note from James to his sweetheart Lexi. He has liked this girl since we moved in over 4 yrs ago. It said "Lexe, I luv you. Do you play Baseball? I play baseball. We can go to BYU. (picture of them holding hands and BYU written above it with hearts everywhere) last page "I will give you a present for Christmas" picture of him giving her a present with more hearts. (how is that not the cutest thing ever?)

James passed off all his requirements in Gymnastics to move to the next level! I was so proud of him. He really does have a natural ability and talent at it. I am excited to see him continue to improve.

Harrison is in Gymnastics as well. and he LOVES it. He is a goof the entire time and just loves to be running around with other kids, but that is all he needs to be doing. Just enjoying it.

Sophie going to Harrison and saying "sorry Dee dee sorry" (yeah that is her nickname for him) after she hit him. The she hugged him. How is she growing up so fast?

Had a super fun day with the kids yesterday. Picked James up early from school so we could go visit Santa before Gymnastics, Saw Santa, James asked him how the reighndeer fly, then we played at the big tree for a while, went to gymnastics, made them their favorite dinner Spaghetti and Meatballs, watched a movie together, ate popcorn and oreos and then had a sleepover together. Ben is out of town this week, so it was nice not to be alone in my room. We had such a fun time together, and man I was tired at the end of the day. Love those kids though.

All right, I think I am done. That is all I can think of for now. We are excited for this weekend as ALL OF MY FAMILY is coming for Christmas. We haven't been all together in over 7 years. it is going to be insane, but SUPER fun! We are so excited. So chances are that I will not blog again until after everything. So, until then... MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

What I've Been Missing

This Last weekend Ben and I ran the Provo Halloween Half Marathon. This race started up at Aspen Grove and ended at the Riverwoods Mall. Neither Ben or I had been running very much this month, I had been recovering from St. George & had been cross training throughout the month. Ben hurt his knee at the start of the month, and so had taken some time off as well. We were in good shape to run 13.1 miles. HA!

We stayed at my parents so they could watch the kids, I put together a little costume for myself, a tutu & wings, and at 6:30 am we were on the bus to the race. Only our bus missed the turnoff to the canyon. He decided to go up and over the American fork side of the Alpine Loop, and tried dropping us off at the Timpanooke Campground, then admitted he had no idea where we were going. We got him in the right direction, and some of those tight turns were a little interesting in a huge yellow bus. We made it though, had time to see people's costumes and hang out. It was a lot of fun to see everyone so excited to run a race. It was so different from any Half Marathon I have ever done. It didn't seem one bit competitive, just like a fun run.

The course was extremely downhill and I thought I could easily PR on this one. I really wanted a time in the 1:30's. So I got in line with the 1:35 pacer and just decided to stay with him as long as I could. Ben however, got in line with the 2:15 pacer. Part of me really wanted to just run with him, there was this serious internal struggle of getting a PR, or having fun & running with Ben. I decided to PR. Race started, and we took off. Seriously. THe first 5.5 miles drop drop drop in elevation. It seems we lost about 1500 ft in those first miles, and I was flying. 6:50 min miles the whole way down, I knew it was too fast but I could stop my legs from just carrying my down that mountain faster than I wanted to go. I kept looking at my watch and being shocked that I was running so stinkin fast! I would for sure PR in the race, but..... I was alone. And I wasn't having fun at all. My legs were hurting, of course, my lungs were started to burn just a bit, there was no one to chat with, to race with, to enjoy the course with. I was bored. really really bored.

I knew I could push myself for another 5 miles and get the time I wanted, or pretty close to it anyway, but I didn't care. The only thing I could think about was Ben. And that for once we were both running the same race, and weren't running together. So just before mile 8, I turned around and started running back up the trail. Can you imagine the looks I was getting? Oh yeah. I didn't care though. I turned off my watch and went to find Ben. When I saw that tall handsome husband of mine I couldn't help but smile to see him, he smiled back. He was happy I had come to find him.

He was in great condition and really wanted to get a time under 2 hrs. He had done a half marathon the month before and had gotten a time of 2 hrs 3 min. So he really wanted to break the 2 hr time. He was holding a great pace, even 9 min miles and we had so much fun talking and enjoying the race together. Those last 5 miles flew past me. I didn't even feel like I was running, just enjoying time with my sweetheart. We weren't sure what our time was, I had turned off my watch and wasn't sure how off it was from the clock time. So I really tried to pace him well and hold just under a 9 min mile. The last mile we picked it up and really picked it up when we saw the finish. It was a race to the end and I just prayed that the clock would say something under 2 hours. We rounded the corner and I saw the clock just as we crossed the finish.

1:53:25

We did it!!!

I was so excited when I saw that clock. I hugged Ben as hard as I could and just about started crying I was bursting with Joy for him. I have never been so happy about a time in all my life. Seriously, I was just bursting with pride and bragged to everyone about it. We had so much fun as we hung out at the finish eating about 1000 orange slices, drinking water bottle after water bottle and just being happy to have run a great race, together.

My mom took these pics in her basement real quick before we showered and changed. Don't you love our medals? It's the best one I have gotten so far.

It was then that I realized that I had been missing something all summer long. That for the first time all year, I had run a race, and 100% enjoyed it. I hadn't cared one bit about my time, but I had had fun! And I enjoyed just running, because I love running. I love running with people. And it doesn't matter how fast I run those miles, if you push your body to its max at every race, trust me, you get burned out really fast. Every run I did this summer I pushed myself as hard as I could. Yeah I got faster, but how much fun did I have? The funnest runs I did were not my fastest ones. They were the ones that I ran with friends and family.

At the start of the season I ran a half marathon and got a PR time of 1:42, this one was 11 min slower. I never look back at that first one with fond memories. It was miserable. and I had zero fun, and I wasn't even proud of the time because it wasn't exactly the time I wanted. Sheesh. However, this last race, was by far the funnest race I have ever run. If all races were like that, I would run one every stinkin weekend. So from now on, I don't care what my time is. I don't. I am just running for fun these days. I'll run with a friend and just have a good time.

I knew I loved running, and this race just reminded me of why I love it so much. It is not the time I get anymore, but it's the people I run with, and the race itself. It's seeing the sea of people ahead of me, filling the road and moving forward. It's the joy of seeing so many other people enjoying the sport I love so much. It's enjoying the country and areas I am running through. It's cheering others on, and helping them to finish the race. It's feeling my feet land on the pavement and carrying me forward. It's knowing that my body is strong and can run for miles on end. I am once again excited about all the races planned for next year, but for completely different reasons. Instead of planned finish times, I am planning on what friends to help train and and run the races with. The greatest joy I have felt in all my running to my great surprise, was not my PR, but seeing Ben get his PR time of 1:53. Great Job Ben. So so proud of you and can't wait to run race after race with you.

Oh, we got some pictures from the photographers that were there. If you would like to see them they are posted HERE Just type in Morrise and you will get Ben's and my pictures. It is fun to see us running together.