The Cancer Challenge 10K

Friday, my buddy Darcy and I drove to Springdale for the weekend. We registered for our second 10K together (my 4th overall) in Springdale at The Cancer Challenge. It was amazing! There were tons of people and it was HOT! I actually was able to finish with my best time so far - but it's still pretty slow. I'm really proud of myself because since Jackson has been sick most of the last month, I haven't been able to go to the gym and run, so I really haven't run at all in the last month... so running 6.2 miles wasn't really something my body used to be able to do without much training... so maybe my body is slowing adjusting to running and accepting it instead of rejecting it! Anyway, my brother's girlfriend Katie Hogue ran it w/ us and I'm stoked about that! She and I did almost the entire race side-by-side. We're definitely doing this again together... possible in October!!

Before the race!

HERE WE GO! :-)

Darcy opted for the 5K option (it was REALLY hot!) so Ray didn't catch her coming thru the finish....

Here I come!! FINALLY!

This is me telling my brother that Katie is right behind me so get a picture!!

Katie is a rock star! She didn't train whatsoever!

Awh... it's over now!

Katie and I cooling off in the mist booth! Felt so good!

No More Sick Baby, Please.

Well, it seems that ever since Jackson turned 1, he's been sick more than he was for the whole year before! More recently, the day after I got back from the trip, he woke up that morning with a fever... we decided to head home immediately after my dentist appt on Monday since J wasn't feeling so great. Then on Tues, I took him to the doc and they checked him for an ear infection and strep and said he was clear - must have a viral infection... that night, he woke up screaming with a 104.5 fever! 2 hours later, he woke up screaming and it was 103.7. He just wanted to go back to sleep... he woke up several more times, but went back to sleep on his own. Then woke up screaming at 530am w/ a mild fever... but then! He ate a 1/2 banana and then he wouldn't eat ANYTHING the rest of the day - despite that his tummy was growling loudly! He just wanted to cry and be held... well, this continued all night long. Again. This time, the only thing that would make him happy was when Ryan held him and he laid his head on his shoulder and Ryan paced the room until he fell asleep. He did this several times through the night. Then this morning, he was up bright and early and still hungry and fussy and refusing to eat. I called and made an appt to get him in to see the doc at 1130am. I got him to eat just a few bites of scrambled eggs and some yogurt melts. Then he FINALLY took a nap... for an hour... and when he woke up, he ate a yogurt (I was almost in tears, I was so happy). Then the doc checked him out - took some blood work to check his WBC. That turned out normal but his lymphmatic count (don't know how to word that) suggested that the doc was originally right - he just has a bad viral infection and due to the date it began, he was almost over it. She was so sweet and felt very confident that he was behaving like his throat is just sore (it has been red and swollen all along) and that's why he doesnt' want to eat. Fortunately, when we got home, he ate 2/3 of a turkey dog and some applesauce and some strawberries. Again, I was so happy! He also took an hour/half nap. His eyes are still puffy and he still acts like he doesn't feel good... mostly just wants to be held (only while standing and walking though). I'm just thankful that he seems to be getting better! It has been quite a rough few days. I'm exhausted. I'm praying he sleeps thru the night tonight and wakes feeling like normal tomorrow! My sweet baby boy...

On Monday, I had the PRIVILEGE of going to lunch with my amazing friend Sarah and her peanut (due 12/22). :) It was so great to see her.. she's just glowing! She will be such an amazing mom!

What would I do without my Aunt Janet? She watched Jackson on Monday while I went to the dentist... Problem is that he was VERY sick when I dropped him off... There are not very many people I would have felt confortable leaving my sick baby with to see the dentist - but I knew she would take good care of him..... I feel so blessed that I have people in my life who GENIUNELY love and care for me and Jackson the way my mom and my aunt do. I am very blessed. This is my favorite pic of the 2 of them!

North Carolina Vacation!

Ryan and I had our first vacation sans baby j this past weekend! Our very good friends Andy and Ashley got married in the Outer Banks of North Carolina on Saturday, June 20th. Ryan and I, of course, documented the whole wonderful 4 day/ 3 night trip with tons and tons of pictures!!

This is Ry and I at the airport on Thursday, 18th.


We were ever-so-fortunate to have a Kia Rio as our rental car!! haha... I was the driver. We flew into Norfolk, Virginia and it's about a 2 hour drive into the Outer Banks. The Outer Banks consists of several small beach towns like Kill Devil Hills, Duck, Nags Head and across the bridge further is Manteo - which is the area where they had the reception, so we decided we'd make that our hotel spot...


Ryan in our room at The Tranquil House Inn in Manteo.



Our good friends Chris and Rachael Meachum were there for the wedding too and stayed at the same hotel as us. We had dinner on Thursday night at Barefood Bernies - and it was yummy! After dinner, I snuck this peak of the sunset over one of the MANY stunningly beautiful homes in the Outer Banks.

Andy's best bud from high school, Daniel and Dan and Ryan at Ashley's parents' house - where we spent a lot of "hanging out" time...



Our friend Josh Tomlinson and his gorgeous family! I fell in love with beautiful little Alice (10mos old) while we were there... she made me miss Jackson even more!

At the rehearsal, Ryan was a mack daddy groomsmen hauling 2 ladies around!

But everyone knows I CLAIMED my man! :)

Wilder sported a lovely green mohawk for the wedding... I told him I was very thankful that he did NOT sport this at Ry/my wedding. :)

Chris, Wilder, Dan, Ry and Josh

The rehearsal dinner was at Penguin something... but it had an awesome view of the sea!




Wilder, Chris, Josh, Ryan, Daniel, Dan and (can't remember his name) and our cutie-pie groom Andy!

Me and Wilder at Ashley's parents after rehearsal dinner.

The next morning, Ry and I got up and after breakfast we decided to make use of the free bicycles and cruise around Manteo! I hadn't rode a bicycle since our honeymoon 7 years ago, so it took me awhile to get steady... but it was fun!

This is the view from our hotel balcony!

On the morning of the wedding, Chris, Rachael, Ry and I went parasailing.. Ryan and Chris's first time to parasail!







The captain was a lot of fun and he liked to dip us in the water! Ry and I loved it!!!

Because of our weight differences, Ry kept having to lean over so we came in straight! haha...



When we were coming back after parasailing, we found a swarm of dolphins!! The captain let me and Rachael jump in the water, but the dolphins didn't come up by us... darn!



After parasailing, we went back to the hotel and Ry and I each had a pint of Corona and we just sat on the deck and relaxed for awhile before it was time to get ready for the wedding... It was really the perfect trip!

Ryan being silly at the hotel...

Keisha Hang Gliding

While we were on vacation, Ryan and I said the ONE THING we both wanted to do, no matter what, was go hang gliding! The Outer Banks is the hang gliding capital of the world, so what better time!? The actually designer of the hand glider is 95 years old and still lives in the Outer Banks!

The hang gliding class was the first hour and then for the next 2 hours, we took turns gliding. This was before the class...


When we finally got to the top of the dunes before we suited up...


Our team leader was Doug Johnson and he was very patient showing us!



My first hang gliding experience did not go so well... I basically face planted into the sand! There is actually a lot of thought that has to go into this and your hands have to be gently on the bar and that bar actually determines where your wings go... well, on this one, I accidentally pushed the bar way down and that pushed the nose of the glider down into the ground too.... Oops. :)

This picture is me trying to get the guts to try again!


This was my best flight.... (4th flight)

My final flight... I never actually figured out how to land on my feet, but I did get better each time. This was the only time I got caught by the wind and flew off to the left...


Ryan, waiting on his turn...