Half Marathon

I always seem to have this knack for getting myself into things that I don't really have time for....but then I love doing them and as soon as I'm finished I am planning the next thing. This year it involves running! As soon as I got back from my honeymoon my friend, Christy, started raving about how great it would be to run the Denver Half Marathon. So while relaxing in those last few weeks of summer with nothing to do but run, sleep late, and hang out with my new husband I thought it was a great idea! Then a month later school had started, my master's class had started, coaching vball had started...and I realized that maybe, just maybe I had made a poor choice. However, not liking to back out on commitments I stuck with it....here's the proof. It was 40 degrees and rainy, but there are still smiles on our faces!


So get excited because not only have I foolishly signed myself up for another race, I have signed the rest of you up as well!! Hopefully the weather will be nicer!

Slides, hoses and corn

These pictures were taken over a month ago now, however, as I was browsing through my pictures I realized that I should share some of these. As you know I don't have my own kids to blog about so I will frequently borrow my sister's for blogging.

This summer was obviously jam-packed with activities but thankfully I was able to get away for one last trip with my mom, sister, Will, Emma, and Charlie. It was great to spend some quality time with them after the wedding but before heading back to school. It is always so great to see them and reminds me of all the reasons I want to move back to the Midwest. Thankfully though winter is on its way which will of course remind me why I dislike the Midwest so much :)

In these pictures we've got various groups on the slide at Diane's, Charlie and Emma with the hose (I actually think I have the exact same picture from 2 years ago when the kids were 17 months), Will in sunglasses and the boys enjoying their first experience with corn on the cob.

Wedding Pictures

So, Anne and I are extremely pleased with the whole week. The ceremony was great and the reception was perfect (except that Anne nor I had a bite of the desserts). We have also decided that if you didn't have fun it was because you didn't try to.

Here is a short synopsis of each picture starting at the top:
1)In this first picture, shortly after the ceremony, we are both really happy, but my boutonniere is not.
2)Great looking family save for Lulu's awkward holding of Riley.
3)Flowers, apparently, are a great way to hide yourself...Emma!
4)Charlie is either fascinated by above said flowers or by my handsomeness.
5)I, of course, giggled when Craig wanted me to promise quite a long list of things to Anne.

We are so privileged to have had your company at the very start of our new lives together as Anne and Jon Thurmond. We hope and encourage you to come and see us. We have space for 1 large family or 2 small. See you when we see you.

Love,
Me

Best Wedding Ever!

I'm sure everyone says that but I do have to say the Thurmond/Leibman wedding will be hard to beat. Jon and I had a blast and everything went so smoothly....thanks to everyone who helped out and contributed. We don't have our wedding pictures yet, but we have lots of Hawaii pictures. Here are a few to make you all a little jealous. In order they are: our view in Kauai, hiking in Oahu, Jon and me at Waikiki, our view from the condo in Maui, Jon and me after an afternoon of surfing, at a Luau, hiking somewhere along the road to Hana, and a picture of our Hawaii license plate!

We should have wedding pictures soon we will post some of those as well.

Our Weekend Getaway

A few weeks ago, Jon, Guinness, Christy and I ventured out for a weekend in Moab, Utah. In hind site we probably would not have traveled 6+ hours in the dark after work on Friday to hike and camp in the cold and rain to turn around about 36 hours later to make the same long drive. However, looking back at our pictures we must have had a blast, we saw some pretty amazing scenery and got to hang out with friends. Along for the trip were our friends Mike, Sasha, Bun (their 9 month old baby), Ingo (their dog) and a whole bunch of other people.
Utah is an incredible place...we literally drove for 70-80 miles without seeing a single sign of inhabitance, however all of a sudden we made it to Moab and we were surrounded by tourist attractions, lots of people, and national parks. We hiked in Arches National Park to see Delicate Arch (which is the famous one...on the license plate) and around our campsite through this huge canyon. Guinness had such a blast playing with all the other dogs, going hiking, and swimming in the canyon river. Things have been so hectic for Jon and I with school and wedding planning and trips this was a great way to get away and just enjoy each other and friends for a few hours before heading back to real life. These pictures are just a few of our memories from a great weekend.

Kids and dogs

Anne and I are in that time in our lives in which we have no kids to post cute little pictures about (which my siblings are easily able to do). We don't have memorable wedding moments...yet (which my siblings are easily able to do). We don't have a house of our own...maybe never (which my siblings are easily able to do). However, we do have each other.

Ha! That makes me think of song lyrics. Name the sitcom:

Show me that smile again. (Show me that smile)
Don’t waste another minute on your cryin’.
We're nowhere near the end (nowhere near)
The best is ready to begin.

Oooohhh. As long as we got each other
We got the world spinnin' right in our hands.
Baby you and me, we gotta be
The luckiest dreamers who never quit dreamin’.

As long as we keep on givin’
we can take anything that comes our way
Baby, rain or shine, all the time
We got each other. Sharin’ the laughter and love.

First correct response gets a swift nick in the kuts.

Jonarado

I was walking Guinness the other day...oh, wait...no, I haven't done that in a while. Let me start over. I was letting Guinness out the other day when I realized something so profound, so real that everything else going on was leveled to a trivial plainness of existence. I realized that I am a pretty big deal around here. It was not a complex maze of thoughts that helped me come to this. Rather, it was my version of 'seeing Jesus in a grease stained napkin at McDonald's.' I saw my profile in a puddle of water in a pothole on the street in front of my house. It was unmistakable. You would agree it was the handsomest accumulation of snow melt and dirt ever to have torn up a road through cyclical thawing and freezing conditions. I knew it couldn't have stopped there so I raced back inside, then back out (I forgot about Guinness), and back inside to Google my name. Excitedly, I wanted to see what would pop up. After what seemed like hours of searching (really about 2.5 minutes), I regretfully gave up and decided to look for the nearest McDonald's on Google Maps. My id was yearning for a Big Mac and my ego was hoping for a grease-stained likeness. I hadn't realized that my name was still in the search bar upon pressing the link for Google Maps. The above image is what was produced.