One of our Best

We went camping to Palisades Creek last week. It was an incredibly gorgeous time of year, and the weather could not have been better!!! We got a prime camping spot, which NEVER happens for us (we usually aren't looking until 9:00 on a friday night.) We arrived at the campground, gathered some wood, got the camper all set, and I made Italian Stew for dinner. It was delicious, and the kids loved it! The next morning we had pancakes and eggs and got ready for the big hike! This picture of Cooper and Brandon was near the lake on our hike. Cooper was so cute! He kept copying whatever Brandon did...

This lake (lower lake) was our hike destination. We hiked a little ways towards it last year, and have had the goal to make it all the way there. It was an 8 mile hike when all was said and done, but the kids did so great!!! You would not have believed little 6 year old Cooper's stamina. He was the leader all the way down, and he kept us going at a pretty good pace!

The leaves were incredible! I was carrying the camera and kept getting behind because I had to stop and take pictures. The pictures on here are a fraction of the pictures we took. I'll have to post some more sometime.

The whole hike was breathtaking. There was not an ugly sight to be seen! Both sides of the canyon were covered in color.

Aubrey picked up tons of different colored leaves. She kept getting behind too, because there's always another pretty one! She'll love that I posted this picture of her bum.

The kids "took turns" with the binoculars during the hike. You might call it "fought over" the binoculars. Of course the last half of the hike nobody wanted them anymore, and guess who got to carry them the rest of the way down? Yup, mom. Who needs binoculars? I can see that it's pretty without 'em!

Aubrey and Cooper at the campground. On our way home from camping it started to rain. How's that for timing? Last year when we tried to camp here, it rained like crazy...during our camping time! We stopped in Swan Valley on the way home for a square ice cream cone. The perfect ending for our perfect camping trip!

Sick!

I've run 4 miles this week. 4!!! That's it! I've had this nasty cold, and other stuff that you don't want to read about. I've run before when I'm sick, but I just couldn't do it this week. Next week...I'll tear up the road.

Which Jane Austen Heroine are You?

Take the Quiz here!

This is the Stuff...

That Brandon takes pictures of. That's his job...lights, lights and more lights. We went to the Parade of Homes and he was so proud of every house that he did the lights in. It was fun!

Our First Camper Campout

These are pictures from our first camping trip in our "new" camper trailer. We went by Table Rock campground. It was a lot of fun...except for the mice that got in our camper. Brandon kept jumping out of bed all night and pounding on the walls. He didn't know how I could possibly sleep with the sound of mice in the walls, but I said, "I'm tired, there's nothing I can do about it, so I would like to sleep." I could've slept through the mice, but not through Brandon's shenanigans!

Aubrey, Tyler, and Cooper by a fence near the campground.

On our little hike.

Here it is! Our new "home away from home"-- a 1987 Wilderness trailer.

Go Figure

Why can I run 10 miles and feel great, but struggle all the way through a 4 mile run? I don't really feel like I get in the groove until about mile 3, so I think that's why I enjoy the longer runs so much more. When I've been running around an hour, I feel like I could do anything. The problem is, I don't have an hour or more to run every day. I guess I'll have to struggle through these shorter runs, so I have the ability to do those longer runs.

Hiking

I went camping with the family this past weekend, and we ended up going on an 8 mile hike. It was gorgeous breathtaking scenery, and a fun hike. I was quite amazed by the different muscles it took, though! I know I can run 8 miles without much of a problem, but I was TIRED by the time we got done with this hike. I'm a little stiff today, too. Maybe this means I need to do more cross-training?

Jason and Dallas

Jason and Dallas's wedding day. The place they had it was beautiful. As you can see, Ashley and Olivia looked cuter than cute, and Olivia was hilarious as the flower girl. Congratulations, Jason! I still don't know how you snagged such a girl! ;)

Here's the whole fam damily. Don't we look good? Tyler was not allowed to stand in the front. His mother accidentally packed the pants that were WAY outgrown. I don't know how he walked with those pants on. It was extremely embarrassing for his mother.

Ah, the food was to die for! Here we are pigging out like crazy.

Dad and Mindy chatting on the floor. Yes, there were chairs...

Grandpa and Grandma Howell... it was so nice to see them!!!

Dad and Mom walking down the aisle... don't trip!

Mindy, Kevin, and Brenda looking cute for the camera.

Here's the cuter than cute couple, Jason and Dallas! It was fun to be there for their wedding. Dallas looked beautiful, as always, and Jason looked like himself! ;) (Which is extremely handsome, of course!)

Dallas's bridal pictures. Jason took them...aren't they great? Although it's easy when the person you are taking pictures of looks great so easily.

Tanner and Leisha

Tanner and Leisha coming out of the temple looking gorgeous!

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!

I wish I knew what they were making this face at!

And they're going to live...happily forever after!

What the rest of us were doing....

We had to keep ourselves busy somehow during Tanner and Leisha's Big Day. Josie is dancing on the floor. It might have been after the incident with Cassie's skirt coming down...

This was before the deskirting of Cassie. She might be worried about it happening, though....

My goofy smile.

But not as goofy as Holly's....

The "girls"... Sheri, Lynda, Grandma Jarvis, and Renee

Oh, don't cry, Trey...it's okay!

Miss Model Girl, posing for the camera. Work it, Melissa!

This is Miss Model Girl's daughter. Can you see the resemblance? (Josie and Tyler)

Hannah and Mom. Aren't they beautiful?

This is Miss Model Girl's sister. Enough said. ;)

Fishing in Canada

Brandon and I got to go to Canada on a big fishing trip this past summer. It was SO beautiful!

This was the boat we spent our days in. I got a wee bit of the seasickness...

Brandon reeling in a big one! (Or maybe just another darn rock cod!)

Isn't it a beauty? Not me, silly...the fish! The guy behind me was our guide.

These little deer just ran around the lawn of the lodge. It was really crazy at first, then you just got used to it. They had no fear of people.

This was the helicopter we came in to get to Queen Charlotte Lodge...it was that remote!

And here it is Queen Charlotte Lodge. Can you believe we got to stay here? It was incredible.

Foot Obsession

I'm sitting here admiring my matching blisters on each foot, made even more beautiful today by my 9 mile run. I don't really remember ever thinking about my feet as much as I have since I started running about a year and a half ago. If I stub my toe, I think, "Oh no! Is that going to affect my running this week?" The other day I dropped a plate on the top of my foot, and it hurt like the dickens! I got a bruise from it, and yes, I worried that it might affect my running. I think about the shape of my feet, my arches, my toes, my toenails.... it's ridiculous.

So, all of this thinking about feet causes the obsession to spread to shoes. Before I started running I thought I wore a size 6 shoe, and a running shoe was a running shoe. Now, if you're a runner you're totally going to understand this shoe thing...if you're not a runner, you'll think I'm crazy. I found out I don't wear a size 6 running shoe, and not even a 6 1/2. (6 1/2 was okay until I ran a hilly half marathon. My toenails are still not fully recovered over a year later.) No, I wear a monstrous looking 7. I bought a pair of Mizunos, and suffered for 3 weeks before I took them back. Then I was talked into an even MORE expensive pair of Asics. Disaster! My feet were dying! So, somehow I lucked out and worked out a trade with another runner on a discussion board, and she was the proud owner of a nearly new pair of $130 Asics, and I was the proud owner of a nearly new pair of New Balance 1060 size 7. Amazingly enough, they have been the best shoes I've ever tried, and the Asics worked great for her. I was also convinced to buy a pair of Sauconys by an "expert" at a shoe store. They work okay, but I have to live through 4 miles of calf pain before I can enjoy the run. So, I wear the NB's most of the time..even though they cause blisters.

So, that's what runners do. We obsess about shoes. We spend more on a pair of running shoes than we'd even THINK about spending on another pair of shoes. But, there is a plus to all this shoe obsession... now I'm obsessed with cute dressy heels! I've got to show off my gorgeous runner's legs, right? ;)

Unbelievable

I found out that people actually read this blog. Wow. ;) So, I guess I should be more diligent in updating, so those couple of readers I have don't get extremely bored and quit looking. :)

I Can't Do it Yet

Today when I got back from my run, I thought I'd maybe try the cold bath thing and see if it really did help with the muscles. So, I started running the cold water...got all undressed...dipped my toe in and said, "Uh uh, no way, NOT going to happen." The toe was enough. I'll stick with warm baths, thank you very much. Maybe someday I'll get brave enough, or sore enough, to give it a try, but today was decidedly NOT that day.

Ummm...how far is this?

I decided today to have Mr. Blue Eyes drop me off approximately 10 miles from home on his way to work. Then I can see new things, the whole run will be heading towards home... sounded like a great idea. So, he's driving...and driving....and I'm like, so that's been about 5 or 6 miles, right? And he looks over, sly grin on his face, and says, no....3. Three!!! So, I'm trying to act all tough, like this is nothing, and he keeps driving. I finally dared say, "Maybe 8 would be okay." He is really laughing at me at this point. It really freaks you out when you realize how far you are really running! So, at the stop sign to get on the highway, he stops and says it's as far as he'll take me. 8 miles from home. Now, I've run 8 miles before many times. I ran 10 last week! It just seemed so much farther for some reason! But, I got running, and it actually flew by, and before I knew it, I was in familiar running territory. In fact...I might just try that tactic again sometime!

What is WRONG with me?

I have been running...I've just been slacking in the posting. Sorry for all of my regular readers. Okay, fine, so I don't have any regular readers. A girl can pretend, can't she? ;)

Anyway... today is my day off of teaching violin lessons. Yay! These days go by WAY too fast. So, I decided to go run some errands, go shopping a little bit, you know, a day "in town". I went to my favorite place, Target, and looked around. For a very long time. I saw a cute skirt, and found my size, picked it up, held it for awhile...and put it back. I found some comfy looking pants, found my size, looked at all the colors, picked it up, thought of trying it on, and put it back. I looked at some hats... conductor style, black, camo, white... tried every one of them on, and put them back. I looked at makeup cases, because right now I'm using my daughter's old scripture case for my makeup. I picked them up, unzipped, unsnapped, unlatched, looked inside, envisioned my makeup inside...and put every one of them back. I picked up lip plumper, mascara, eyeliner, and put them back. I looked at workout clothes for running--thought about how I'd like a shirt a little bit warmer, debated about the colors...and walked away. Finally, I went back to the hats, grabbed one, and held on to it. I had to fight myself every step of the way, because that voice in my head was telling me that I didn't need it...I should just put it back. But guess what? I won. I got the hat. So there, little voice in my head.

Gratitude

10.3 miles today...
Thank you for my legs, for their strength, and reliability. Thank you for my lungs, that can breathe easily for over 1 1/2 hours. Thank you for my heart that keeps on beating and getting stronger the longer I go. Thank you for my determination, endurance, and will to do things that make me feel good about myself. Thank you for giving me the ability to run, and making my body able to strengthen and renew itself. Thank you for the beautiful sunshine and cool breezes today. Thank you for the smell of crisp fall air, and the feel of tingling skin. Thank you for the blue sky and for the beautiful trees, fields, and mountains. Thank you for letting me see that cute house with the inviting front porch. Thank you for my daydreams and excitement for life. Thank you for not letting any dogs bother me today. Thank you for my faith and love for You. Thank you for another beautiful day, and thank you for sharing my run with me.

The Extra Mile

Today I ran...the extra mile! Actually the extra 2.5 or so. I ran in a new place... the greenbelt around the river, and it was very pleasant! It's so nice to run in new places, and see new things, and most of it was really pretty. So, I made it back to my car in 40 minutes, and I stopped, and then thought, heck, why not run another one of the loops? So, I just started running again and ran another 25 minutes. I was proud of myself, because usually I just run the planned amount and stop.

National Stupid Dog Owner Day

Dear Fellow Idahoans,

If you own a dog, please read the following. I realize that we live in a somewhat rural area, but nevertheless, you have neighbors, and lots of them. You live in an area where people like to run, walk, bike, scooter, and enjoy the roads. You may think that it's just fine to let your big dogs run free, because they like it, and they don't bark at YOU. You may think OTHER people let their big dogs run free, so you might as well do it too. I am letting you know that it is NOT okay. It is not courteous, not being neighborly, and not being smart. Do you know that if your dog bites me and causes a problem, I will sue your a$$ so fast? Do you know that your dog could bite and seriously harm a small child? Do you CARE?!! When I go for a run and I have 8 dogs run out at me, 2 or 3 at a time, it is not fun, it scares the shiP out of me, and I'm sick of it. If your sweet pooches think it's okay to run into the middle of the road and run after a defenseless runner, who is nearly the same size as your sweet darlings, and they won't back off until a car comes and forces them to the side and waits until the defenseless runner has gotten away before driving off (thank you thank you whoever you are!) then it is NOT okay to leave them unfenced and unchained. Put your damn dogs away. You're not the only one who lives here. If I am forced to, I will buy mace and I will use it on your precious dogs without mercy, and I will not feel sorry.

When the Going Gets Tough

I was out of town for Labor Day weekend, but I still managed to squeak in a 3 mile run on Monday. I got Mr. Blue Eyes to go with me, and Grandma and the kids came along for a walk/ bike ride. It was fun! Almost like playing... especially since Mr. Blue Eyes decided to start out too fast and I kicked his bum in the end. I gave him a nice informative lecture on racing. It's all about the strategy, baby. He is getting faster, though, and I know if he was consistent, he'd be able to get faster than I am (which is oh-so-fast!).

I also had a few very stressful moments in my weekend with family...and all I wanted to do was get away and run. It made me realize how much of a stress reliever running is for me. I don't notice it much in my everyday life, but when the going gets tough, that's what my body wants to do. I didn't think going for a long run in flip flops in 100 degree weather without any water would be a good idea, though. I should pack an emergency running bag and carry it with me at all times...just in case!