Oregon Rail Heritage Foundation

Upon Grandpa's suggestion, we took the kids to the Oregon Rail Heritage Foundation.  Owen & Lindy had a great time checking out all of the trains, and so did Grandpa Bradstreet.  I was quite amazed by the size of the engines and that they were housed in such an amazing indoor facility.  

If you are ever near Portland, OR, I highly suggest going to check these trains out.  It was good free fun.

Cold & Rainy Run

I am just slow, slow, slow right now.  This is my first run this week.  It was cold and rainy, and I only did 2.5 miles.  The way I look at it, though, 2.5 miles is more than 0 miles.  I have also gotten in one weight training session so far this week.  Woo-hoo!

Dancing Queen

Lindy loves to sing and dance, but she is quite particular to which song she wants to dance to.

Week One of Half Marathon Training

Unfortunately, Week 1 of my half marathon training did not really happen.  Owen & Lindy both came down with a stomach bug on the 14th (a Friday).  They were sick for 4 days, and Owen took a few mare days after that to really get back to normal.  I was sick with the bug from Sunday - Wednesday.  The stomach bug knocked us all out pretty good, and left us all scrambling to get everything prepared for Christmas.  This meant I only got 1 run in for the whole week.  Luckily, I've built in two extra weeks to my training plan just for occasions like this.  I am a little scared that I used up one of my extra weeks so early, but this is life.

My one run this week was a 3.5 mile run this morning.  It was decent enough weather, and I actually got to run at 8:00 am (instead of my usual 5:00 am runs).  I was pretty dehydrated still from my stomach bug so I was moving pretty slow.  I had also noticed some tightness in my right hip earlier this week.  I think it stems from holding my daughter while walking around the house.  I think doing some stretching this week should help resolve this issue, but it made my run today a little harder then it needed to be.

Next week's training looks like this:

Monday, 12/24/12 - 3 mile run

Tuesday, 12/25/12 - Rest

Wednesday, 12/26/12 - Weight Training

Thursday, 12/27/12 - Interval Run (total of 3 miles)

Friday, 12/28/12 - Weight Training

Saturday, 12/29/12 - Rest or Possible Run with Ryan & the kids (2.5 miles)

Sunday, 12/30/12 - Long Run (total of 5 miles)

I am optimistic about my training this week, even through I will have a lot of Christmas festivities to contend with.  I just need to stay focused, and remember that every workout will make me that much more prepared for my race.  

And this Mom keeps runnin', runnin', & runnin', runnin'

Some of you may be aware that over the past year I have become a runner.  People who have known me for a long time may find this hard to believe because I was not all that athletic for the first 22 yrs. of my life.  Anyway, I would still not consider myself to be an "athlete" because I feel that an athlete is someone whom participates in sports that involve balls in some way, and I still duck and cover when anything is thrown at me instead of trying to catch it.  However, I really do like running.  I think my favorite part about running is that I am able to push myself to do things I never thought were possible.  Forever, I have thought of myself as the awkward adolescent girl I was in middle school, and running has really taken that feeling away from me.  Running has made me realize that I am capable of anything I put my mind to, and that I am an important person with some pretty great ideas and attributes.  

I began running last year when my kids were 5 months old.  I started doing it as a way to get back into working out and start shedding my baby weight.  I did that Couch to 5k Plan, and I ran my first 5k at the end of October 2011.  In the next 7 months I ran five more 5k's and one 8k.  All this running really helped me start to feel like me again, but more of a new and improved me.  I took a break over the summer, but at the end of August I put back on the running shoes to train for my first 10k.  Now, I plan to run a 12k in February, a 15k in March, and half marathon in April.  My training for my half marathon begins this week, and I plan to keep you all posted on my training as it progresses.  

I know the training process will be tough at times, but I think writing about it every now and then will help me out.  I just need to remember that running makes me feel like a lean, mean, fighting Mama!  I can't wait to share my journey with you (and I hope that my running posts don't bore the socks off of you).

To wrap up this post, here's a pic for your viewing pleasure.  It's from my second 5k.  I did it with Ryan and the twinners in November 2011.

Now, here's to many more!

When you can't find the words

A terrible tragedy took place at Sandy Hook Elementary School today.  It was hard to understand why things like this happen.

A friend of mine posted this quote from Mr. Roger's on her facebook page, and I thought it was a way to put things into perspective:

"When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, "Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping." To this day, especially in times of "disaster," I remember my mother's words and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers – so many caring people in this world." -- Fred

I hope I can remember these words one day when my kids are old enough to understand and ask me, "Why?".  There are a lot of terrible things that happen in our world, but I really do believe that the majority of people out there are good people.  

It's Beginning to Look a lot like Christmas

It's official that the holiday season is upon us.  We've been busy buying presents, making lists, putting up Christmas decorations, and this weekend we got our tree.  It has been so fun to experience Christmas through Owen & Lindy's eyes this year.  They are really getting into the spirit of things and everything we do seems to amaze them.  

Here are some pictures of our Christmas tree outing this year.  We always get our tree from a nearby tree farm.  We get to cut down the tree ourselves, and we've made it a tradition to do this with Ryan's brother Brandon and our awesome sister-in-law Trudi!

Owen taking in all the scenery (and wondering why his coat is so enormous).

Lindy loving life and the tree farm.

We found our tree!

Owen helping Uncle Brandon cut down their tree.

Lindy helping Ryan cut down our tree.

We decorated our tree the next morning.  Owen & Lindy got a kick out of doing this.  I think the ornament may be moved many times by their little hands.  They are just fascinated with all of the sparkly things on the tree.  It will be interesting to see how long we keep the ornaments on the lower branches. 

Owen inspecting an ornament.

Lindy on ornament inspection duty.

Owen adding a sparkly branch to the tree.

Lindy adding a star to the tree.

Thanksgiving Fun

So this is a little late for my Thanksgiving post, but better late than never.  We had the family over to our house for Thanksgiving, and we had a great time.  We started our day with a walk to Joe's Donuts, and then we all got home and enjoyed an egg bake, our donuts, and mimosas.  Then we got the turkey prepared, cooked a lot, ate a lot, and then relaxed.  Below are a few pics of Owen & Lindy enjoying their turkey dinner.  Their favorite part was the candy turkeys (go figure).  

We have a lot to be thankful for this year.  I think that most of all I am thankful that I have such a happy healthy family.  It's cheesy to say, but everyday I remind myself how lucky I am to have such simple things like being married to someone who I am absolutely happy to see each day, kids that are pretty freakin' awesome, a dog that really is the best dog in the whole world, a sister who is my best friend, a Mom & Dad who love me unconditionally, and a family that makes me smile each day.  

Okay, that is the end of my sap fest!  I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and you are able to be thankful for something each and every day.