Quick Catch Up

1. Went back to Mitchell for my cousin Trevis's wedding reception. While I don't have any pictures of him, I have a couple other cute ones:

Tera, Dylan, and Me

Tyson, Macy, and Maddy

2. We also went to Tera's house to hang out. I found Macy some cute pink cowboy boots at a garage sale:

Seriously, I need this girl to live with me, if only to clean.

She loves her Uncle Kyle.

Poser.

Is there anything cuter than this?

3. Dylan got a new bike:

Dork.

4. I wore the same shirt as a girl I work with:

How embarrassing! Ok, so we were the only ones that noticed...

5. I took Dylan mountain biking:

Hot. And by hot, I mean the sweaty kind, not the cute kind.

Hot. The cute kind.

Safety first.

6. The postal service finally comes through (or not):

Strange.

I called Tera to make sure she got the b-day card I sent Mike. She had, and asked if we had gotten ours. Strangely, we hadn't. (Tera is not known for sending cards.) Her reply: "The Postal Service just hasn't been the same since 9/11." and "Well, I was baking you guys some goodies for your birthday and spilled some powdered sugar on them. That probably didn't help... you know, with all the anthrax scares." So, while at her house, I noticed two envelopes in the garage, covered in powdered sugar. The photo explains the rest. I was laughing so hard I was crying. What a dork. It's a good thing our postal service just returns mail that has been identified as having anthrax, and doesn't arrest the sender. Or that for whatever reason, Tera doesn't need postage OR a complete address OR a correct zip code to send mail. Hilarious.

7. 4th of July:

Team America.
Firecracker 5-Mile. I got 2nd in my age division.

Kyle chillin' at the Winter's 4th of July Party & Badminton Tourney.
The funnest party we've been too all summer.


Watching the fireworks.

Another Run...

Gillette has this thing called the Feet Don't Fail Me Now Road Race Series. There are 5 road races this summer and if you complete all 5, you get a prize. On Thursday, I finished #3. Two more to go. This one was the White Davis Chevy 4 Mile. I finished it in 35:36. It was fun. I like to run.

Stephanie, Terra, Me, Betty, & Barb.

YIKES!

Big storm in Gillette Wednesday night. Huge. Multiple tornados, lots of hail, craziness all around. Don't worry - no one was hurt. I'll let the pics do the talking:

It's Beginning...


Holy Crap!


I think this is the 1st tornado I've ever seen! SCARY!
(p.s. This picture was taken from the parking lot at work.)


Our driveway. Not snow. Hail.


More of the same.


Robbin surprised at how much hail we had.
Or maybe that it's cold.
Or maybe I just told her to "act surprised."
You decide.

It's kind of hard to see, but I made a hailman.

Running.... and running... and running...

Yesterday was the Deadwood Mickelson Trail Marathon. I ran the 1/2 Marathon. 13.1 miles. And I finished! My goal was to do it in under 2 hours. I ran it in 1:58:41, which put me at 397 of 1139 racers. I'm pretty happy about it. It was in Deadwood, so we hung out and threw away some money the night before the race:

Kyle & I with Deadwood Main Street in the background.

Then it was race day. I had to get up at about 5am to make the trolley that took us to the buses, which took us to the race start. I was nervous, but excited and my mind was taken off the race because I kept running into people I know. I started the race near Andi, a friend from grade school and then ran the first part of the race with Kari, a friend from college that now lives in North Dakota. It was pretty exciting! I hurt my knee at about mile 10, but my running partner Jenni would not let me slow down. She was a good motivator and kept me going at the pace we needed to finish in under 2 hours. It was a really fun, really pretty race. If you're looking for a 1/2 marathon, this is a good one. And, it's mostly downhill and on a nice trail. But, it makes for really sore legs after the race. I only have one picture and it's not very good, but here it is:

I'm pretty much in the middle of the picture.
This is at mile 12, so we're almost done!

I'm so glad that it's over and I can just relax and do fun runs for the rest of the summer. I've heard that running a 1/2 sometimes makes you want to run a full marathon. That is not the case with me. I'm happy with just having run a 1/2.

Link to Race Results: http://www.allsportcentral.com/results/results.cfm?EventID=15314

ROOTIN' FOR THE ROCKIES

After the BolderBoulder, we all went to a Colorado Rockies game. We love Coors Field. And the Rockies won! It was super fun, we had club seats, which is always nice!! Oh, and even better - it was free hat day, so be sure to check out our matching Rockies hats in the pics:

Duane, Me, & Mom


Mom, Duane, Kyle & Me

BolderBOULDER!!

I ran my first 10k last weekend, the much-anticipated BolderBoulder. My mom & Duane joined Kyle & I on this trip. We had such a fun time! We stopped on the way down at the Promenade Shops @ Centerra and some dinner & the Borderita. We also "explored" Bolder a little, driving around and checking out the sites. It was super fun. We had dinner on the roof at the Lazy Dog. It was really fun!

Kyle & I (please notice the beautiful mountains in the background)

The we woke up to race day. It was literally the most fun run of my life. There is so much going on along the course that you don't even realize you are running a race. Around 50,000 people ran (or walked) the race. You finish the race in the University of Colorado stadium. It's pretty cool. I finished the 6.2 mile course in 57:29. I was happy with that. Here are some pics:

Duane, Me, Jenni, and Emily


The Finish at the Stadium


Terra & I rounding the last corner.


Me (with crazy hair) & Duane after the race


Enjoying our FREE post-race beer. Beer at 8:30 am isn't as good as it sounds.

Happy Birthday, Duane!

My step-dad turned 42 on Saturday. He doesn't really like sweets, so we improvised with something he does like:

Happy Birthday!

Please note that the mountains on the can are cold-activated. Mom & Duane came over to join us on our trip to the BolderBoulder 10k in Colorado. More on that later.

Single Track Superstars

Kyle & I got the chance to introduce Terra to our favorite mountain biking trail - Tinton Trail, just outside of Spearfish. While I only got pictures of Kyle & Terra, you can imagine how awesomely hardcore I looked. It was a really fun trail, I had one little crash, just got a few bruises.

My Mountain Man Husband

Terra kicking butt.

Spring Zinger!

I ran my 2nd road race of the year. The McDonald's Spring Zinger 5k. I had my best time yet - 26:17.4

Pretty exciting for me, we had a good time. I ran with Terra, my usual road race buddy. She always beats me at the end. She's the one wearing #35. Also in the photo are Jenny (#36) and Jenni (#44), my usual running buddies. We have put in a lot of miles training for a 1/2 marathon.

Yep, we kick butt.

twelve miles

Officially, I'm training for a 1/2 marathon. It's June 3rd. Deadwood.

Sunday, I ran 12 miles. Yes, 12. And I didn't die. YES!

SNOWED IN!

We got snowed in today! Started Wednesday night and continued through last night. I got stuck in the garage, Kyle got stuck in the driveway. I love snow days!

Kyle Stuck in the Driveway

Aerial View

One of the big drifts.

running.... or not....

So far this year, I've ran 164 miles. 95% of the miles were ran with someone, sometimes talking, sometimes just trying to breathe, and a few times pushing a stroller. This morning, the plan was to run with Jenni (my usual running partner) at 10. I woke up late and frantically called her to tell her I was on my way. No need to worry, though, Jenni had thrown her back out the previous night and wouldn't be running today. So, I did what any good runner would do: charged my iPod and checked the weather. 60 degrees, nice. So I sat down to think about what to wear.... and never actually went for a run. Instead, I did some work, did some laundry, caught up on EVERYONE's blogs, and watched a little tv. I even showered and did my hair. Why do I feel guilty? I think it's because I'm so close to my goal weight, I feel like I need to use every chance I have to work out. Weird. So, I'm sitting here telling myself it's ok to take a day off, I'll run tomorrow. But, I know that if anyone called me to run today, I'd go. I'm a social runner. I'd rather run 7 or 8 miles with someone than 3 or 4 alone. So, if anyone wants to run today, give me a call...

p.s. Sorry for taking so long to post. I'll try to be better!

Blast From The Past

Ok, I know I'm way behind in posting. I've still got a ton of Christmas pics to post. So, I better get to it. Over Christmas break, we got the chance to hang out with some of my old friends from camp:

Me, Amber, & Jodi

Amber with Aiden, Andi's baby boy

Macy, Tera, Me, Jodi, Andi, Aiden, & Amber

Me & Amber hanging out with Aiden

Have you ever seen such a cute baby boy?

Happy New Year!!

2007 New Year's Resolutions:
1. Cook more often.
2. Run 500 miles.

Wish Me Luck!

Last year's completed resolutions:
1. Lose 30 lbs.
2. Read the entire Bible.