Batter Up!

Wesley had his first T-ball game last week, and boy was he cute! I have been anxiously awaiting Spring to come so we could sign him up. Wesley loves playing all sports, but I think baseball is his favorite. Here are some pics from his game:

Team huddle before the game

(Becket so badly wants to be part of the team!)

Isn't he so handsome in his uniform?

Wesley with his buddies Chase and Braxton

GO DODGERS!

Who knew?

That I would miss running as much as I do?

Three weeks ago today I injured my knee. It was a bizarre incident and I have no idea how it happened. It all started when I slept through my alarm, which meant I missed running with my friends. I NEVER sleep through my alarm! I must have been extremely exhausted or maybe everything happens for a reason. I decided that since it was super windy when I woke up and I didn't have anyone to watch the boys, that I'd head to the gym. Even though I absolutely hate to run on the treadmill, I planned on running 5 miles. That is a serious triumph for me, considering the fact that I have never pushed past 4 miles on the treadmill. The whole run felt great! I was in the mindset that I wasn't going to give up until I hit 5 miles. There was an interesting movie on in cardio cinema and I had my running tunes. It was going to be a piece a cake! And it was...that is until I got home. My knee started to ache a little bit which was not the norm. I didn't think much of it until it starting get worse and worse as the day went on. By 5pm, I knew something was definitely wrong.

I decided to call an Orthopedic Surgeon the following day (which was Friday) to schedule an appointment. They were able to fit me in on Monday, and my heart sank knowing that I wouldn't be able to run the 10 mile run I had planned that Saturday. I went to my appointment and didn't get the best of news. There wasn't anything seriously wrong, the doctor thought I just had inflammation under my knee cap. He recommended a cortisone shot (which I did), anti-inflammatories (which I take), and physical therapy (which I'm doing). During the first two weeks after seeing the doctor and before going to PT, there was no change. My knee was still in pain no matter what I did. The doctor had told me I could bike, swim, or anything low impact, but my knee still hurt.

Finally I made the appointment with the PT and boy am I SO glad I did! The PT restricted me to zero exercising except for upper body. That was extremely hard for me! I love to workout and to be told that I wasn't allowed to was almost crushing! The PT reassured me that if I followed his advice and stopped exercising, my knee would heal faster, and I would be back out running in a shorter amount of time. I listened and was amazed that after just a couple of days of resting and not aggravating my knee, it started to feel better. Some days I don't have any pain at all, and others there is minimal pain.

I am still not allowed to run or do any other form of exercising, but I think I'm finally ok with that for now. I was extremely depressed and bitter (which are both an understatement) when I first got injured. Mainly because I really wanted to run the Salt Lake Half Marathon with all of my running buddies. I was extremely crushed when the doctor told me in wasn't a possibility what so ever! I finally feel like I have found something I love and something that I can actually accomplish. I have never felt that way about anything in my entire life. I've also realized that running is a major stress reliever! I have been much more irritated, stressed out, and impatient the past few weeks than I have been in years! I definitely miss running and hope that within the next couple of weeks I will be able to run again and plan for my next big race.

Who knew...

That turning 27 would make me feel SO old!

Monday was my 27th birthday. Although I normally don't feel any older on my birthdays, this one was a little different. I am officially out of my 'mid 20s' and have hit my 'late 20s'! I don't know why I am having such a hard time it. 27 just feels old! I had an amazing birthday! It was the best day I've had in a LONG time! I spent most of the day with my bff Jess. We went out to lunch and then hit the mall for some shopping. The best part? Leaving the boys with my mom and my niece. It was such a quiet and peaceful day! I loved every second of it. I ended the day with my family at my favorite restaurant Robintino's. We ate a delicious dinner followed by my Mom's delicious eclairs!

Pictures from my bday:

Thank you to EVERYONE that made my birthday wonderful! I love you all and I am so grateful to have you in my life!

Canyonlands Half Marathon 2010

This past weekend, we headed down to Moab with our good friends, so Jess and I could run the Canyonlands Half Marathon. We left all of our boys at home and made a couples weekend out of it. It was one of the funnest weekends I've had in a LONG time! We got into town Friday night, picked up our packets, and headed to Pasta Jay's to load up on some carbs! I ordered the most delicious thing on the menu, Chicken Pesto Tortellini! It was so delicious I scraped my plate clean! To top it off we ordered pesto cheese bread that was just as yummy! After we were all put into carb induced comas, we headed back to our hotel for a good nights rest. I was a little nervous of how the night would go, mainly because I got zero sleep the night before my first race. Luckily, I didn't have any issues this time and woke up Saturday morning feeling well rested!

Jess and I before the race

Rob and Jonny had to find something to entertain themselves during the race. They went golfing for free at the golf course, off-roading, and even had some moob male bonding time! Here are a couple of pictures from their adventures.

Saturday morning was freezing! Race workers were saying that it was one of the coldest race mornings ever! We got bused up the canyon to the starting line, but had to stand in the freezing cold for another hour and a half! We thought we were going to die from hypothermia! By the time the race started, I couldn't feel my fingers or toes! It was a weird sensation to run on feet that you didn't have any feeling in. Jess and I had made a goal to try and finish the race in 2:25-2:30. We knew we had to run around an eleven minute mile to finish in that time frame. We were very optimistic that we could do. Once we crossed the starting line we took off! We finished our first mile in 9:40! After that we slowed down just a little bit, but averaged about a ten minute mile up until mile 8. Jess and I had completely different races. Jess was struggling with a painful knee from mile 3 -8, while I was feeling good up until mile 10. When Jess got into her groove right after we hit 8, I was starting to go downhill. At mile 9 there was a horrible hill. I thought it was going to be the end of me, but luckily we made it to the top and it was downhill from there to the end of the canyon.

Once we came out of the canyon we only had about 2.5 miles to go. This is where I lost it! I had a major physical and emotional break down. My legs were so tired and wanted to give up completely! The sun was beating down on us and I thought I was going to puke. I had to stop and walk for a few seconds to regain my energy. Luckily, Jess was there to encourage me to keep going and finish. I honestly don't know what I would have done without her! Even though I got a little testy with her a couple of times towards the end, she stuck with me and continued to push me. We stopped at the last water station at mile 12 to re-hydrate. We looked at the time and knew that if we kept pushing forward we would beat our goal. Slowly but surely we crept towards the finish line. With less than a half mile left to go, the finish line was in view! Jess offered me her hand and we bolted to the finish line! Our husbands were there to cheer us on and I couldn't have been happier! We finished in 2:21:55! A whole 33 minutes faster than our previous race!

Approaching the finish line

Rob and I

Jess and I - SO happy to be done!

Finishing that race in the time we did really proved to me that I can do anything I set my mind to! Jess and I had some really rough training runs. 3 out of our 4 longest runs took place in blizzards. Our training times were so slow because the snow kept slowing us down. We had no idea if we were going to make our goal time because we never had any good training runs. We were so happy with the out come of the race. Special thanks to Jess for sticking with me and pushing me to the finish line! I owe you big time! Up next on our race list...hopefully the Salt Lake Half in less than 4 weeks! I'm not sure if I am crazy enough to run two races so close together. The torturous memories will be so fresh, I don't know if I could handle it :)

The rest of the weekend was so relaxing! We just hung out, ate food, and laughed! Mainly at our dorky husbands! They had some hilarious stories to tell of their crazy adventures. Sunday morning we all slept in and then headed into Moab one last time to grab a bite to eat and hit up Arches National Park. This was my first time to Arches and I've lived in Utah all my life. It was absolutely beautiful! We decided to hike up to Delicate Arch before hitting the road. I don't know if that was the smartest thing to do since Jess and I were sore from the race, but I think it was worth the pain!

Balancing Rock

Delicate Arch

The husband and I

Jonny and Jess

Petroglyphs

It was a great way to end the weekend! Thanks again to Jess and Jonny for making the trip so memorable! Rob and I had a blast!

What do YOU do when you're bored?

This is what WE do...

And last but not least, my favorite!

Now that is just scary!

Happy Birthday Beckett!!!

Yesterday our little Beckett Man turned 2! I can't believe how fast time is flying by when it comes to my little men! We had Beckett's party on Sunday night, since Rob had school on his actual birthday. We invited both of our families over for dinner and had cake and ice cream afterwards. Beckett was being so darn cute that day! He kept yelling "Opening presents!" and "thank you" in his cute little voice after each present. It was ADORABLE! We had a lot of fun and Beckett got SpOiLeD! Thanks to everyone for coming!

Here are some pictures from the party:

Me and the Birthday BOY

Rob's Mom with Baby Yoshi

This is my FAVORITE picture from the night...Beckett with Ty Ty

The Spaz and Mindy

The Wee Man playing with his balloons

Lynette and TJ

Brady and Jenny

Playing catch

The cake

Blowing out the candle (Look how cute his little lips are!)

The Lovebirds

I have no idea what this picture is all about!

Beckett with Grandpa and Grandma Beck

Playing hoops with Uncle Brady

Daddy and the Birthday BOY

On Beckett's actual birthday, I decided to take the boys swimming that night and invited some of our family to come with. The boys had a blast! I don't think I've seen bigger smiles on their faces in a LONG time!

Thanks to everyone for making Beckett's birthday special! (Now it's time to get corny) Beckett has truly brought so much joy into our lives! He is a sweet little boy and our family wouldn't be complete without him! His cute little smile and smirks put a smile on my face! I love that he always want to be held and snuggled with! Although he has his naughty moments here and there, it's extremely hard to stay mad at him! We feel extremely blessed to have Beckett be part of our family! Happy Birthday Beckett Man!!!