May all mothers missing their babies find peace today.
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Friday, September 30, 2011
Drawing
I should probably be embarrased or convicted or something, but really this drawing makes me laugh. A lot.
Smartie is reading in the middle. Sweetie is on the left asking if she can read, too. I'm on the right with a twin in each arm, very angry eyebrows, and yelling "No [Sweetie]! It is not time!"
Smartie is reading in the middle. Sweetie is on the left asking if she can read, too. I'm on the right with a twin in each arm, very angry eyebrows, and yelling "No [Sweetie]! It is not time!"
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Any Way You Can Half Marathon
Last weekend, my rinky-dink hometown of 2000 put on a half marathon. It was a fundraiser for the Lutheran church. They dubbed it the Any Way You Can Half Marathon: Half the Run, Twice the Fun. The flier announced, "Run it, walk it, bike it, golf cart it, any way you can." I couldn't resist such a fun race in my hometown.
There were 8 people on foot, 4 runners and 4 walkers (counting myself as a walker), 20 or so on bikes, a couple on scooters, and one guy driving his lawn mower with the grandkids riding behind on a cart. It was very casual--no official time kept, no medals, just a t-shirt and a post-race lunch. When I got there, I found out the course wasn't actually a half-marathon. Andy (who organized it) thought going from the church in town to the cemetery in the country and back would be pretty close, but when he actually measured the course it was only 11 miles--too short. A longer route heading west out of town was 14 miles--too long. Taking the longer route out and the shorter route back put it at 12.5--pretty close but still a little short. He ended up deciding the official course would be the longer 14 mile route, but that people had the option of taking the shortcut back and saving 1.5 miles. This was fine with me. One of my goals for the summer was to do at least two 14-milers. Turns out I was the only person on foot to do the full 14 miles. I finished in 3:32:35, which was pretty close to my goal time. I was happy with it even if I was the last one to finish (the 3 walkers behind me gave up around mile 8 and were picked up.)
My dad biked the full route, then walked back out via the shortcut to meet me and walk me in. He ended up doing about 8 miles walking. It was nice to spend time talking with Dad.
The route took us past my late best friend's childhood home. It brought back a lot of memories of laughing, crying, sharing secrets, and singing (LOTS of singing) together. Lisa loved to bike and liked to walk. She would have been just as tickled as me at the idea of Roanoke having a half marathon. I could see us walking together chatting the whole way. Of course, Lisa's death of leukemia was what motivated me to start endurance racing in the first place. If she had never had cancer, or had survived it, would I even have been walking it in the first place?
There were 8 people on foot, 4 runners and 4 walkers (counting myself as a walker), 20 or so on bikes, a couple on scooters, and one guy driving his lawn mower with the grandkids riding behind on a cart. It was very casual--no official time kept, no medals, just a t-shirt and a post-race lunch. When I got there, I found out the course wasn't actually a half-marathon. Andy (who organized it) thought going from the church in town to the cemetery in the country and back would be pretty close, but when he actually measured the course it was only 11 miles--too short. A longer route heading west out of town was 14 miles--too long. Taking the longer route out and the shorter route back put it at 12.5--pretty close but still a little short. He ended up deciding the official course would be the longer 14 mile route, but that people had the option of taking the shortcut back and saving 1.5 miles. This was fine with me. One of my goals for the summer was to do at least two 14-milers. Turns out I was the only person on foot to do the full 14 miles. I finished in 3:32:35, which was pretty close to my goal time. I was happy with it even if I was the last one to finish (the 3 walkers behind me gave up around mile 8 and were picked up.)
My dad biked the full route, then walked back out via the shortcut to meet me and walk me in. He ended up doing about 8 miles walking. It was nice to spend time talking with Dad.
The route took us past my late best friend's childhood home. It brought back a lot of memories of laughing, crying, sharing secrets, and singing (LOTS of singing) together. Lisa loved to bike and liked to walk. She would have been just as tickled as me at the idea of Roanoke having a half marathon. I could see us walking together chatting the whole way. Of course, Lisa's death of leukemia was what motivated me to start endurance racing in the first place. If she had never had cancer, or had survived it, would I even have been walking it in the first place?
Thursday, July 28, 2011
At The Zoo
Witten
By: Smartie
One day, Smartie, Sweetie, Mama Runner, Papa Runner, Sassy and Monkey went to the zoo!
They saw bears, snakes, monkeys, lions,
Tigers and ellafints.
They saw cats, groundhogs, bunnys, zebras and dolphins. They saw a park.
They went on the zoos swings. They went on dolphin rides. The zoo-olagists said it was okey. The zoo-olagists said “
Would you like to help feed the dolphins, too?
Papa Runner and Mama Runner looked at each other.
Please mom and daddy, please? Begged
Smartie, Sweetie and Monkey! Then Sassy changed her mind! May I feed them, too? Asked Sassy!
Oh, allright! Said daddy, still in thought, I tell you! Okey! Said Mommy, still a little worried! But stay out of their mouths. She continued, still a tiny bit less worried, I tell you.
The zoo-olagists said “ Great, and that will be 1 cent, so, which means you have to give us 4 cents. How is that?
The Runner Family thought about it for a minit! Then they agreed. Sure! Said Smartie, Sweetie and Mama Runner. Fine. Said Papa Runner. Okey! Said Sweetie, I tell you!
At the time to go home, the kids said “
Thanks for the rides. Bye-bye monkeys.
Sweet dreams cats! They end.
By: Smartie
One day, Smartie, Sweetie, Mama Runner, Papa Runner, Sassy and Monkey went to the zoo!
They saw bears, snakes, monkeys, lions,
Tigers and ellafints.
They saw cats, groundhogs, bunnys, zebras and dolphins. They saw a park.
They went on the zoos swings. They went on dolphin rides. The zoo-olagists said it was okey. The zoo-olagists said “
Would you like to help feed the dolphins, too?
Papa Runner and Mama Runner looked at each other.
Please mom and daddy, please? Begged
Smartie, Sweetie and Monkey! Then Sassy changed her mind! May I feed them, too? Asked Sassy!
Oh, allright! Said daddy, still in thought, I tell you! Okey! Said Mommy, still a little worried! But stay out of their mouths. She continued, still a tiny bit less worried, I tell you.
The zoo-olagists said “ Great, and that will be 1 cent, so, which means you have to give us 4 cents. How is that?
The Runner Family thought about it for a minit! Then they agreed. Sure! Said Smartie, Sweetie and Mama Runner. Fine. Said Papa Runner. Okey! Said Sweetie, I tell you!
At the time to go home, the kids said “
Thanks for the rides. Bye-bye monkeys.
Sweet dreams cats! They end.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Happy Birthday, Ian
Three years ago today, my precious Ian was born. He was a little less than an inch long, but had recognizable arm buds, leg buds, and the beginnings of eyes. I labored mostly alone for a little over 24 hours, and gave birth alone in the bathroom. I love you, sweet baby.
July is a hard month for me. Not only did I lose Ian on the 26th, his sister Grace's estimated due date was the 11th. She would have turned 5 this summer.
July is a hard month for me. Not only did I lose Ian on the 26th, his sister Grace's estimated due date was the 11th. She would have turned 5 this summer.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Our trip to Mexico, where we almost killed someone
Our anniversary trip to Cancun was really awesome. We spent four days mostly relaxing on the beach. We did take a day trip to Chichen Itza, which was really cool to see, but the goal of this trip was relaxation. We did have one scary incident. After arriving late Friday night, Papa Runner got up Saturday morning and went out onto the balcony to take pictures. Here's one:
Moments after this picture was taken, Papa's knee gently bumped against the glass front of the balcony. The bracket holding the glass in place snapped, and the glass shattered and fell. Nine stories. Onto a walkway where two men were standing. The hotel staff were great about it. They had medics on the scene within minutes. One of the men needed stitches and was taken to a local hospital. He was back and playing on the beach by that evening. We were moved to another room, and throughout the rest of the trip we could see maintenance men inspecting all the balconies. Our first room with the glass missing:
Thank God there were only minor injuries. And thank God we didn't have the kids with us. I can just picture Monkey running out to the balcony, leaning against the glass, and dropping 9 stories.
After that rough start, we really enjoyed the rest of our trip. We had massages at the hotel spa on Sunday, then the trip to Chichen Itza on Monday, and some time on a jet ski on Tuesday. The temple at Chichen Itza:
The only pics of us together are on Papa's phone, so I don't have them available to share. We really enjoyed the chance to relax and reconnect.
Moments after this picture was taken, Papa's knee gently bumped against the glass front of the balcony. The bracket holding the glass in place snapped, and the glass shattered and fell. Nine stories. Onto a walkway where two men were standing. The hotel staff were great about it. They had medics on the scene within minutes. One of the men needed stitches and was taken to a local hospital. He was back and playing on the beach by that evening. We were moved to another room, and throughout the rest of the trip we could see maintenance men inspecting all the balconies. Our first room with the glass missing:
Thank God there were only minor injuries. And thank God we didn't have the kids with us. I can just picture Monkey running out to the balcony, leaning against the glass, and dropping 9 stories.
After that rough start, we really enjoyed the rest of our trip. We had massages at the hotel spa on Sunday, then the trip to Chichen Itza on Monday, and some time on a jet ski on Tuesday. The temple at Chichen Itza:
The only pics of us together are on Papa's phone, so I don't have them available to share. We really enjoyed the chance to relax and reconnect.
Monday, July 18, 2011
Nine years together
Papa Runner and I celebrated our 9th wedding anniversary at the end of June. One of the things I love about my husband is that he's a planner. Retirement, college education funds, the week's grocery list organized by aisles, my man is on top of things.
This year Papa Runner spent 4 months planning our anniversary trip. We went to a Cubs game in Chicago on Thursday, spent the night at the O'hare Hilton, and flew to Cancun via Atlanta for a 5 night stay. (Lots of airline miles and hotel points racked up. He knows how to get awesome deals.) The kids went to my parents for the week.
On the Sunday before, I asked my mom if we could drop the kids off Wednesday afternoon so we wouldn't have to get them up so early Thursday morning. When Papa Runner found out, he decided we should be spontaneous and spend Wednesday night in Chicago, too, so we wouldn't have to get up early for the game. He then spent the next 3 days researching the best hotel to be spontaneous at. Yep, only three days of planning is very spontaneous for us!
I love you, Papa Runner. Looking forward to many more well-planned years together.
This year Papa Runner spent 4 months planning our anniversary trip. We went to a Cubs game in Chicago on Thursday, spent the night at the O'hare Hilton, and flew to Cancun via Atlanta for a 5 night stay. (Lots of airline miles and hotel points racked up. He knows how to get awesome deals.) The kids went to my parents for the week.
On the Sunday before, I asked my mom if we could drop the kids off Wednesday afternoon so we wouldn't have to get them up so early Thursday morning. When Papa Runner found out, he decided we should be spontaneous and spend Wednesday night in Chicago, too, so we wouldn't have to get up early for the game. He then spent the next 3 days researching the best hotel to be spontaneous at. Yep, only three days of planning is very spontaneous for us!
I love you, Papa Runner. Looking forward to many more well-planned years together.
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