Gobble Gobble

Phil and I had the pleasure of hosting our first Thanksgiving. Now, we didn't make the turkey so I am sure that down grades our hosting a bit but we hosted none the less. We had my family over and it was a great day.

I started out the day by running my last half for the year, Thankful13. There was only 1 week in between Ragnar and this so I had taken it easy because of my leg. The day was VERY cold and unfortunately pretty windy in Lehi where the race took place. I of course ran with Renee my running buddy and my SIL Britton was supposed to join us but couldn't because of her hip/leg injury. :(

It ended up being a nice run and although was not quite as flat as they had claimed I was able to BARLEY get my best time. I found a running buddy around mile 3. He had a Boston Marathon jacket on so I assumed he would be a good one to link up with. He told me he would help me get under 1:43. FABULOUS!

We were totally on track for that with time to spare until we hit the turn around. Our pace slowed a bit but we really had enough time banked that we were still fine. That was until mile 10.5. At that point the wind was SO bad! It was like running in place and I was having flash backs of Ragnar Las Vegas. When we turned out of it for our last mile I pushed it hard but came in at 1:45:18. Which is an 8:01/mile. I was happy to have beat my previous time(by less than a minute) but totally bummed because I REALLY wanted to get my average pace under 8. It is so so doable for me and I was bummed that some wind, a dropped (popped open) phone and too long at a couple water stops took those 26 seconds from me. And now I am done for a bit. BOO. Oh well I am sure there will  be more in the future but I am currently on a hiatus to try to get my leg better.

 Renee and I pre-race. It was seriously SO cold. 

 Post race YAHOO! We both got PR's. Don't you love our matching Ragnar gear? lol

Phil had to work on Thanksgiving day and lucky for me my sis stayed the night and was able to watch my kids and help me prepare for the festivities. First things first when everyone got there (Phil included) was a family photo. My mom has been trying to get a pic of the fam for quite some time and since my nephew Dillian was in town from Oregon this was the best time.

Not too shabby for this many people on the side of mi casa right? Also look hard and you can see how I snuck Pierce into the pic. Can't stand to have him missing in such events. :)

Then the feasting began and boy was it delish. I didn't feel so hot after or for the next couple days (haha) but it was good while it lasted. :)

So fun to spend the day with family. Isn't that the best part of the Holidays?

Also the boys finished off their Thankful turkeys. I love seeing the way Koen sounds things out. So funny and cute. They also painted beautiful turkeys to decorate the tables at Thanksgiving.

Grateful November

I loved making a list of things I am grateful for last year and I want to do it again this year. I know last year it really helped me out of the self pity mode and this year I think I just need a reminder of all of my blessings. :)

Day 1- Running. Running has been a life saver for me. Literally. When people ask "do/did you do therapy?" I tell them, I run. It is my sanity. It makes me feel strong and brave when I feel weak and scared. I know that may sound silly but it is something I can do, do well and I love.

Day 2- My house. I love my house. Like really I love it. There are only small things I would change but overall I really love it.

Day 3-Self control. This is something I am working on everyday. However I am glad I can. I am glad I am in charge of me. I am in charge of what I put in to my body (though all senses) and what I do with my body.

Day 4-Food. Whenever I fast I realize how grateful I am that we have food. We aren't starving, we can basically eat whatever we want, when we want.

Day 5-Zumba. I seriously love shakin it at Zumba! haha It is a good workout and fun to be able to dance again, even though it is different.

Day 6-Voting. This is the first year I have ever voted. Still I felt I didn't know enough about the candidates to make a total educated opinion. I am grateful that I can have my own opinion and have a say in things in our country.

Day 7-Activity Days. Have I mentioned I love my calling. It is seriously so fun! I love my partner more than I could say (she is one of my Best Friends) and the girls are so cute. We have a lot of fun.

Day 8-Costco. Isn't it great? Even though I always spend far too much. I just love it. It makes my life sweeter.

Day 9-Cars. Can you even imagine being a pioneer and dragging a wagon. Koen was asking about this the other day and dying thinking about it. As we drove to Vegas I was certainly glad we had a car.

Day 10-Amazing Bodies! Doing Ragnar I realize just how amazing my little old body is. To be able to push myself and run 26 miles with VERY little sleep is just amazing. I am so happy I have my body!

Day 11- AWESOME friends & family. When I went to decorate for Thanksgiving at the cemetery I was so happy to see Pierce had a lovely little pumpkin from his cousins. It brightened my day! While we were Vegas it snowed a ton here at home. I was thrilled to get a picture from two of my bestest friends of them with their kids building a snowman for Pierce. Laura knows how much I hate when his headstone is covered. Getting this picture brought tears to my eyes. :)

Day 12-These awesome kiddos. Seriously love them. We are making thankful turkeys for them to remember all their blessinsg. They are for sure one of my most treasured blessings.

Day 13-P man. I have learned more from him than I have really learned my whole life. Even though it totally sucks that he isn't here, I am grateful for all he taught/teaches me. I love you Mr P.

Day 14-The hubs. Did you know I don't classify myself as the easiest person to be married to? (shocking right?) However my amazing man works through  my ups and downs and makes my perfect match. I am so glad he sticks by my side through my crazies. I love him!

Day 15-GNO. Seriously not much soothes my weary soul better than a good ol girls night. It always help to get out, chat, think/talk with adults, cry/laugh about what our kids do etc. My most recent was a trip to see the last Twilight movie, which I loved by the way. It was a super fun GNO+Steve. haha

Day 16-My dearest Mother. Man she has been out of town for what seems like a year and I am dying to talk to her. I am so glad she is available when I need her, willing to help out and always keeping tabs on us. She is fabulous.

Day 17-Koen's self entertaining abilities & nap time. Really, today I planned on cleaning. However today all I can really do is sit here. My legs hurt so bad from working out yesterday and running this morning that the stairs make me want to die. Thank the Heavens Brigs has been having a nap and Koen playing with like 4 lego pieces for the last 1 1/2 hours....awe, much needed quite time.

Day 18-Church. I love going to church. Really I totally do. I love the social interaction, the spiritual boost and mostly the opportunity to take the sacrament. Even better when the kids are quite during it and I can think about my covenants.

Day 19-Beckham. Today is cute little Beckham's birthday. I am sure glad he is alive. He is Koen's best little friend. Sometimes he may as well be our kid cause they play so much and some times I just wish he was. :) (then I'd have my 3 boys and I could get on with life. ;), if only it were that simple....haha)

Day 20-Phil's days off. Phil has a very odd schedule. He works 12's and so he is either home all day or not at all. It is def something you get use to. I love when he has the day off and we can hang out or run errands together. ♥

Day 21-Sissy poo. haha I love my sister. Today she came to spend the weekend together. I wish she lived closer and I could see her more often but it sure makes the long weekends extra special. Growing up I might have thought I would be just fine with out a sister but now that we are older I couldn't be more happy to have her. :)

Day 22-Thanksgiving. Yep, I am thankful for Thanksgiving. I am glad to have this time of year to reflect on my blessings. I have a lot of them. Sometimes it is too easy to go on thinking of all the things you want and "need" and I am glad for this day I can be grateful right now for what I have.

Day 23-Family. I have the best family and the best in laws. I feel so blessed to be able to say we both have very normal functioning families  I know a lot of people have drama and issuse with theirs or their spouses and I am so glad that we can all get together and enjoy it with no drama.

Day 24-cousins. Could my kids love their cousins anymore? They had such a great time on Thanksgiving and with my sister spending the weekend here. Then we even got more cousin time on the other side this weekend. I am glad they like each other and have so much fun. I hope that we can continue making lasting relationships for them over the years. I only have that with a few of my cousins but I am glad I do.

Day 25-baby blessing. I literally never thought I would say that again, but thank the Heavens that they are enjoyable and not so gut wrenching anymore. I mostly just love them because I reflect on Pierce's. Now I can see it more as unique and special rather than wrong and painful.

Day 26-Early morning exercises. Eeer....even though I hate waking up not much beats the way I feel after and the start it gives to my day. Thanks to my hubby who gets things going while I am gone.

Day 27-online shopping. haha any of you with kids can surely know why. :)

Day 28-Friends you can just chat with. It doesn't matter about what but you can just chat. Trivial nonsense, serious stuff, and cry with (or just have a watery eye ;) I am glad I have a few friends that I can just lay it all out there with. They are a rare find.

Day 29-Supportive family. Koen had a little program at school today and it was so nice of my parents to come watch him (even though we couldn't even see him! haha) Phil's parents also try to make it to the kiddos sporting events and such. I know it means a lot to the kiddos and I am glad they are willing.

Day 30-My vision. Holy cow Phil is going through the ringer to get lasik done and here I am just seein like a champ all by myself. :) I am glad there are thing they can do to help but I am even more glad I don't have to do any of them.

And I have one extra just because. :) Grandparents and extended family. I am down to one grandparent and I sure love her even though I don't see her often. I am grateful lucky Phil has all his grandparents still and that I have been able to have them in my life. I look up to his Grandma and Grandpa Olsen so much. They teach us through their example how 2 people should treat each other. I haven't seen a better example of respect, love and charity than I do from them. We also love Phil's Nana and Grandpa. They are so generous and giving of time and means. I will always cherish the relationship Nana had with Pierce and will forever be grateful of her time and love she shared with him. I am grateful for the relationships I share with Aunts, Uncles and Cousins on both my side and Phil's.

I really love writing about all the things I am thankful for. I am so blessed. This list is only a beginning of all the things I am grateful for. What a good reminder.

Ragnar Las Vegas

When you run two Ragnar's in a year you get an extra medal. If you run Wasatch Back and Vegas you get the Saints and Sinners medal. I knew I totally needed to add that to my collection when I got done with Wasatch Back. I did however figure now was not the year. You see I planned on being prego by now, but 4 planned/failed attempts at taking the IUD out I realized we aren't quite there yet. ;) Haha so when we re-adjusted our plan for the ??? {who knows how many} time I decided to put together a team and get my medal.

Our team consisted of 2 runners from my WB team(Keri and Renee), Phil, Steve and Phil's sister, Britton (van 1) and then my brother(Ky), sis(Nae), sis in law(Kirst) and 3 of my brothers buddies where in van 2.

We headed down on Thursday night and once we got to our hotel we did a little carb loading...at midnight! haha Lucky for us we didn't start until 8:30 so we were actually able to get a decent amount of sleep.

On our way to the start line our friend, Brooke, text us and said it was snowing and freezing at the start line. We were in clear blue skies and sun....no way!

YES WAY!!!

Steve and I both had flip flops on (luckily I had socks on) and we had to stand outside to do the safety briefing. It was brutal. We all felt so bad sending Keri off in the snow but luckily she ran super fast right out of it. 

Keri handing off to Britton

I was runner 5 again. Funny but Keri, Renee and I all had out same # leg from WB. I really wanted to have one of the longest legs, just for a challenge. I ended up being able to do the longest leg (after a switch from van 2 to van 1) 26.1 miles. I was a little nervous before we left because I had been having some weird lower leg pain in my right leg since the Halloween half. I just hoped I'd be able to run all my miles. :)

LEG 1 8.2 miles HARD

I started running at 12:30 PM. It was super windy. It wasn't lying when it said 20 + mph on the weather forecast and I got to run right into it. (so did Phil and Steve, lucky us) It was a great run. I would have loved it even more if it hadn't been so windy. It was nice and flat and good road (side of a freeway) Every time I would come up on someone or some one on me we would always say the same thing "this wind is brutal" haha 8.04 miles 1:07:40 8:25/mile

sis and I at the 1st major exchange

After we exchanged with the other van (where I got to see my fam for a bit) we headed to the next exchange at the JW Marriot. After cleaning up a bit (I had SO much dirt on my face from the wind) the boys and Renee went to get some food while Brit, Keri and I rested on the lawn. It wasn't a very peaceful rest however because we listened to a volunteer scream over and over again "GET ON THE GRASS" it was a poorly set up exchange and people were walking right where the runners where coming in. It was a mess. It was also literally FREEZING!!!

Then we were off for our night runs. Keri started at dusk so we basically all ran in the dark. I was nervous for this leg because everyone kept saying "this is the leg that guy died on last year" awesome. It was also still rather windy and VERY cold. As I waited to start I was shivering profusely. My leg had been hurting a little worse after my first leg and I decided to wear Renee's knee brace because it was mostly the back of my knee. That was a good call. 

LEG 2 10.5 miles VERY HARD

This was a fabulous run. It was downhill, the wind had mostly died down but was at my back anyway, I felt great and thoroughly enjoyed running in the dark of the night. I started at 9:40 PM and ran along side a main 4 lane road. Luckily hardly anyone drove in the lane closest to me and I wasn't ever scared I was gonna get run over. :) At mile 7 I voice text Phil and said "WTH! I am at mile 7 and there hasn't been 1 water stop." Ya, there never was. I decided not to carry my belt this time and look where that gets me. Luckily 10 miles is my cut off so I wasn't dying, but apparently they were stolen. awesome. It was excellent until mile 9 we had to stop and wait for a light for about 5 min. That's never good after you have ran 9 miles (plus 8 more less than 12 hours ago) It was hard to get going again and at the point the terrain leveled out which felt more like uphill haha needless to say I wasn't sad it was .25 short. :) 10.25 miles 1:21:09 7:55/mile

While I was running my brother called and said they had got a hotel room at the next exchange, the M resort. They had showered and planned on sleeping after their next legs and we were able to go straight there when Steve finished. It was so fabulous. We all showered, got to sleep for a few hours (although I didn't sleep well, my stomach was not in a good place lol) and the room was SO nice. I set our alarm for 3 AM and right before it went off Ky text and said their last runner just started. We hurried and got ready, packed up and headed over to drop Keri off (5 minutes late, whoops!)

Britton was runner 2 and about 10 minutes into her  last run she called me crying saying that she was gonna be a while because she was in a lot of pain. She ran a marathon in October and hurt her IT band. Luckily she had two good runs and only had pain on this last run. I was instantly in tears (SO tired!) and the rest of the van figured out how we could take over for her. Trooper Renee was just gonna start where we were parked (about mile 3) and run the rest of Britton's leg along with her own 4 miler. When Britton got to us we tried to tell her this, but she wouldn't have it. Through her tears she kept saying "I'm fine, it's fine." Since she wouldn't let Renee take over for her we decided to stop again down the road and cheer her on again. She had quite the awesome hobble run goin on, but she finished and I know she wouldn't have it any other way. 

LEG 3 7.4 miles HARD

My last leg started out on trail. Phil had just run about half of his leg on the same trail and we both said the same thing about it...BORING! haha it was a steady incline and not great scenery. I started at 8:45 AM. Luckily my stomach had started to feel better once I got going but my legs were very tired. I kept thinking, this totally sucks haha. Finally at mile 3.5 we turned off the trail and on to some main roads.

 I was about to pass this guy and then realized he wanted to keep up. haha So we started chatting and he quickly became my running buddy. It was so nice. We chatted and he said I pushed him haha and it went by SO much faster. At the end when I saw my team cheering for me I ditched him and made him one of my last kills. :) Don't worry at the end of my leg they thought it would be a good idea to put a flight of stairs to run up. Who doesn't want to run up stairs after running 26 miles? I said "do I really have to go up the stairs" to my team mates at the top. haha Yes, yes I did. It felt so good to be done and I was so glad that my leg still felt good. 7.43 miles 1:02:31 8:25/mile

Phil coming in and me heading out

 Steve giving me water and my running buddy Jeff.

Stairs...for real?!?

We got a family pic at the last major exchange before the finish line! Ky, Lynae, me, Kirstie and Phil. It would have been super fun to be in the same van....their is always next time. :)

After the exchange we went to breakfast. We thought we would maybe be able to get an early check in at our hotel so we could shower but were denied. So we headed to the finish line for the lamest party ever. haha it really was though. Especially compared to WB. Plus it was freezing and still windy. We just chilled in the van and chatted, napped and hung out. 

 We also did our Ragnar tattoos, too bad it was too cold to show em!

 I am convinced I didn't have nearly as many kills as WB because I had better runners on my leg. ;) that's what I am telling myself. haha

 Saw our old neighbors Brooke and Matt at the finish line.

We met up with the rest of our team to run across the finish line at 3:27 PM 30 hours and 57 minutes after we started. We didn't even stay long at the finish line because it was so cold! Who knew? Vegas? Really? 

The Mamas and The Papas

 Saints and Sinners BABY!!! 

So wish I would have got a pic with my bro! :(

 Van 1

 Whoot whoot! Go Team!

After showering and cleaning up the girls in our van and Steve went to dinner at Olive Garden. Van 2 took Phil with them to the buffet. haha Then we totally all went to bed at 8:30. We were BEAT! It as  such a fun time. Even though Vegas was not nearly as well organized as Wasatch Back and it was less than fabulous weather. We all had a fun time! Love me some Ragnar! ( I feel like Phil needs to do his own separate post about all his runs...hint hint ;)