God Bless America

While out and about today, we saw someone parachuting from the car. I pointed him out to Josh. Exciting. About a minute later, Josh saw another one and says, " Look, there's another one and he has a flag. He's one of our guys! He's another American!"

So there you have it folks - America is alive and well and the guys on our side can parachute.

I Did It!

(You have to say the title like the boss from Mr. Mom when he wins the race - I couldn't find the clip but check this one out here. It's a funnier clip anyway.)

Anyway, back to the post at hand. I totally ran a half marathon. And I mean ran - not run some, walk some then run some more - I mean I ran the whole thing.I was so amazed that I was able to accomplish this feat. It all started back in September when my sister MBD asked me to run a 5k with her and our other sister on Thanksgiving in Arizona. I was not a runner but I decided I was up for the challenge. I began using the Couch to 5k program and man, that first day of alternating walking 90 seconds and running 60 seconds, I thought I was going to die. I ran my first 5k on Thanksgiving Day 2010. I think my time was just under 50 minutes. So I use the term "running" very loosely. Well, I continued my running with the Bridge to 10k program. I never officially made it to the end of that program. When I got to running about 5 1/2 miles at a stretch, my knee started bothering me. I went to the doctor and he told me that it was nothing major, just some weak thigh muscles. I could still run as long as I could stand the pain.

I continued to run 2-3 miles 3 times a week. I started officially training for the half marathon in March. Things were going really well. I had increased my running speed to about a 12 minute mile. So I was pretty excited. But the excitement didn't last long. On my 7-mile run week, I was going to map out a run outside but it was still pretty chilly in the mornings and I figured I would just run on the track at the gym. The track at the gym is pretty small - we're talking 9 laps to a mile. So 7 miles is 63 laps. That's a lot of laps. And a lot of turning on the side of your foot. The next day my foot was hurting pretty bad. I decided to ice it and rest it that week so as not to create any major problems. By the end of the week my foot was feeling better but my body decide it was a good time to get sick. Boo. So for the next 4 weeks - yes, I said 4 - I was sick. No energy to make it through the day sometimes, let alone exercise. After a week and a half, I was prescribed an inhaler and that loosened everything up in my chest a little too much and another cold started. Another week after that I had to start training again. I did what I could and tried not to over do it.

A week before the actual race, while still sick, I decided that I had to go for a long run as a trial to see if my body was going to be even close to handling this. I mapped out about a 7 mile run and decided that I would walk when I needed to, bring my inhaler and my phone in case I need a ride home. I ran and ran and ran some more and felt great. I ended up running 8.34 miles that day. The next week I took it easy again.

The day of the race came. Tim got home from work and we headed down to Provo. Tim stayed at a hotel with the boys and I stayed at another hotel with two of my sisters and one of my brothers that were running as well. Lights went out at about 10pm but I don't think I fell asleep for at least another hour and then was up off and on until the alarm went off at 2:45am. Yup, that early. We had to get picked up by the bus at 3:30am so we would be all ready for the 6:00am start time. Crazy.

On the bus at like 3 freaking 45 am. Way too early of a start time if you ask me. But I guess you get done sooner then - still not fun.
Waiting for the race to start. Upper photo - brother James, sisters MaryBeth, Sarah, me, Katharine, brother-in-law Greg, nephew Hayden. Lower phote - just the siblings.
At the starting line. The sun finally came up!
Still feeling pretty good while running. Wahoo!

So I started running and I kept running all the way to the end. Sometimes I was definitely running super slow, but it was running. Towards the end, my feet were hurting so bad and I just wanted to walk. But I had come so far that I pushed through with every last bit of energy I could muster. The volunteers and people cheering were great throughout but especially the last mile - lots of words of encouragement for everyone.
Sprinting to the end with every last bit of energy.

So, with an official time of 3:01:09, I ran my first, and quite possibly my last, half marathon. It was an experience I would never trade and will never forget.My sister MaryBeth - she totally rocked it out. With a heel spur and everything she finished!
My sister Sarah who got roped into this thing and is now hooked on running.
Bill O'Rielly. Just kidding, my brother-in-law Greg, who is going to start training for a full marathon - crazy.
My brother James who did amazing. He left us all in the dust.
My sister Katharine who started us all on this running thing. I don't know whether to thank her or kill her.
My nephew Hayden - best action photo of the bunch - good job Tim.

Sewing Projects

Tim got me a sewing machine for Christmas last year. I have been wanting one for a while but always talked myself out of it because I wouldn't know what to do with it once I got it. I brought it up again this past Christmas since I am a stay at home mom now, I figured I would have some more time to figure things out. A few weeks after Christmas it was still sitting in the box. I think Tim was a little disappointed that I hadn't made him a three-piece suit yet. So I opened the box, read the manual and signed up for a beginning sewing class at Joann's. The class was really basic but I learned a ton and it gave me the confidence to start trying things on my own.

Here's a pic of my machine and the little bag I made at my class. I made a slightly larger bag for my niece and sister-in-law and then another one for a baby shower for diapers and wipes. Fun practicing. I also made some bean bags for the boys to play with. No pics of those though.

With those little projects under my belt, I thought it was time to search the internet for little things I could make. I have been wanting placemats for our table but really haven't found anything I liked. I mentioned possibly making some to my mother-in-law and she sent me a link for some tutorials. Here's how they turned out.

I chose this tutorial here since it seemed easy and would work nicely with our plates. Here is the main site that will link you to tons of free tutorials.

Then I decided I wanted to make a rag quilt. I found another tutorial online and went to work. There are so many tutorials out there and each one is a little different so no links. You can pretty much just google "rag quilt" and a million come up. And here is my first rag quilt.

I made it really big for cuddling up while watching tv. It's nice and cozy. Although, after making a second one, there are a few things I changed and I like the second better. I made this next one for a baby shower I am going to on Saturday. I don't think Amy reads this blog, but if you do, surprise!

I made the squares smaller on this quilt and placed an additional layer of flannel in the middle of each square to make it fluffier. I also didn't wash the flannel before sewing. I seriously wish I was pregnant right now with a little girl so I could justify keeping this quilt for myself, I love it so much. Oh well. My time will come soon enough.

Okay, last sewing project (for this post anyway), I promise. I found the cutest spring scarf here and figured I would give it a try. It turned out pretty cute if I do say so myself. This site links you to another site where you can download a pdf tutorial. I searched around that site and found a couple other things to make as well. But those will have to wait until the next post. Anyway, here's how my scarf turned out.

This has been a super fun present and I am loving every minute of it. Although, with as much money as I have been spending on fabric, I think Tim wishes it was still in the box!

Wait, What?

This is Josh and my conversation coming up the stairs after school.

Me: No, Josh you can't borrow toys from your friend's house.
Josh: When I have kids, I'm going to let them borrow toys.
M: That's fine.
J: I'm going to have two kids. Will I have two kids?
M: That's up to you and your wife.
J: I'm not going to have a wife.
M: How are you going to have kids then?
J: Mom, you are going to have a girl baby in your tummy when Benj gets older.
M: I want to have a girl baby.
J: Yeah, you need a girl baby so then I can have a wife and have kids.
M: Wait, what?

I guess I need to clue this kid in on how that's not okay. I don't even think they do that in West Virginia.

Really?

Most of the TV the kids watch is on PBS. Sometimes lame, but mostly educational and no adds for the Better Batter Baseball. Dinosaur Train is on right before we leave to take Josh to school. It's a show about talking dinosaurs that ride on a train through time and space to meet and learn about other dinosaurs. The main family consists of pteranodons and an adopted t-rex that hatched out of the eggs the mom was sitting on.

Okay, so I know you probably don't care about all that but you have to have the background for Josh's comment this morning. I'm putting on Benj's shoes and Josh is watching Dinosaur Train. All of the sudden he says, "Hey, dinosaurs don't wear hats!"

Really? Out of all the things dinosaurs "don't do", like talk, ride on trains, time travel, etc, you point out that they don't wear hats?

Personalized Rubik's Cube

Tim really doesn't have any pics of the fam at his desk at work. I thought making a personalized Rubik's Cube would be a fun way for him to show off his family. I found a tutorial on a blog and tweaked it a little. Here's how I did mine.

First, I measured one little colored square on the cube. If you are using a name brand Rubik's Cube, each square is 16mm x 16mm. I then made a row template 16mm x 48mm (48mm comes from multiplying the the 16 by 3 since there are 3 squares across and down.) Then I picked out 6 pictures for the cube and cut them into a 48mm x 48 mm square.


Next, turn the picture face down and draw out a grid like a tic-tac-toe board using the 16mm x 48mm template.

Cut out the little squares and glue them onto the cube. I used a sticker maker to do this part but a glue stick will work just as well. My cutting was a little off but no big deal.


After all the picture squares are on the cube, use modge podge, or something like that to keep the stickers from peeling up. After sealing each side of the cube, let it dry. Once dried, turn each section a few times to break up any glue residue.

You can actually use the cube to play with or just keep it for show. Some cubes come with a stand to put it on. The picture below is my favorite pic on the cube I made. Have fun!

Thanksgiving Crafts

While I had many intentions to blog other things between these two posts, it didn't happen. So here are a couple of fun things to do with the kiddos.

These ideas come from Disney's Family Fun magazine. I recently got a subscription from my Disney Movie Reward Points. Wahoo! Free stuff! It was fairly simple to make, but it was a little time consuming. Click here to download a template and instructions. Here's how mine turned out.


Pretty cute I think. I made two sets of food so it can be a matching game. My sister is going to attach scriptures or quotes about thankfulness to each piece of food for Family Home Evening.

Here's the next one. I made a set of these years ago when I worked at a before and after school program back in MD. This activity is a little time intensive too and works best with older kids. Some people on the site said they used these as centerpieces for over 10 years. Wow. Anyway, click here for measurements and such.Hopefully these will keep your older ones busy for a little next week. If you don't like these, there are tons more ideas on Family Fun's site. Have fun!