4th of July Weekend!

Fireworks and Family Fun!

We were lucky enough to spend the 4th with friends (thanks Gary and Kelly for hosting a party). We had lots of good food, pool time, and fireworks.

Sunday was suppose to be a HOT day, so we decided to head up to the Grand Canyon. We stopped off at Bedrock (Valle, AZ) before getting up to the big hole in the ground.

Ella's first reaction after seeing the canyone was "Wow! This is really pretty!" I was so glad that she liked it after making her sit in the car for 3+ hours.

We headed down to Flagstaff for some dinner and a bed. I was amazed at how different Flagstaff was from the last time I was there. Then I remembered that it has been almost 10 years. Monday we woke up and headed down to Sedona and Oak Creek Canyon. The 30 mile drive took us almost 2 hours because we kept stopping to hike and look at the sights.

Back up the hill and to Lowell Observatory. I loved it, Ella and Kevin got a little bored with all the talking. It was pretty cool to see the telescopes and the camera used to discover Pluto.

Our final stop was the Black Bean, which was as good as I remember it being from my college days. A good weekend out of the 110+ heat!

Seattle Summer Vacation

This past week we headed up to Seattle for some cool weather, a half marathon, and a summer vacation. Nate's family lives up in Seattle so we were able to stay at their condo on the beach instead of a hotel. The view was amazing and having our own kitchen was great also.

We headed to the aquarium and Pike's Place the first day there.

Ella loved the aquarium and Amy hated it. Hey she does not like fish, so this was not the best "touristy" type of thing for her.

Pike's Place was an adventure! There were so many people and great things to look at and taste. We had fresh baked scones, cherries, cheese kurds (YUMMY!), and meatballs. It would have been easy to have had at least a half a dozen other treats, but we resisted. Nate and Dad picked up some fresh seafood from the famous guys who throw fish. It was a mad house around their spot at the market. Everyone wants to see them throw the fish.

Nate and I ran the Seattle Rock and Roll half marathon on Saturday. It was a beautiful course (5 miles of it was around Lake Washington) and AWESOME weather. I saw a bald eagle and found 2 pennies. I finished in 2:14:25 (my personel best) and Nate finished in 2:50 (which was better than my 1st half marathon). After the race we headed to Crab Pot for lunch....so much great food.

Then back to the condo and low tide to find treasures!

We hit the Underground Tour of Seattle and the Space Needle on Sunday.

We had a great time. Kevin and I are looking forward to planning another vacation soon.

Summer fun!

Donkeys and Fry Bread...two things that don't seem to have much in common unless you are in Oatman, Arizona.

A few weeks ago Kevin and I decided to take Ella up to see the donkeys. She had fun feeding and petting the donkeys. I was a little scared...I did not know that they would head butt you trying to get more carrots.

Yummy Fry Bread, something that neither Kevin or Ella had ever tried before.

Our next weekend trip will be up to the Grand Canyon and Sedona. Can't wait for some cool weather!

Summer break is finally here. Actually it began a few weeks ago, but I was still busy studying for my National Board test. I finally took that on June 6th. I am happy it is over with, but now comes the waiting game. I will not find out if I passed until November.

Ella took College for Kids the first 2 weeks of break. She really loved it. She is also still busy with gymnastics and wakeboarding. She finally got up!!!

Nate and I are busy training for a half marathon in Seattle. We leave in about 2 weeks. It will be fun to run someplace cool and green.

13.1, PR and Stress Fracture!

So last weekend I ran another half marathon in Phoenix. My 2nd attempt at PF Changs Rock-N-Roll. I must admit, I did awesome. I finished 31 minuts faster than I did last year, even with stopping to use the restroom and running by myself....2:19:05! The only down side, is the stress fracture that I now have in my left foot! I guess I will be taking it easy the next few weeks. I can't stay off of it for too long, I have another race to start training for. A group of us from Nautilus are planning on running/walking as a team for the Havasu Half Marathon. The proceeds are going to the high school for a new all weather track!

I am not good at this...

Well, it is already 2009 and I realized that since I started this blog I have only made about a half a dozen posts. Hopefully, I will be able to keep up better with this blog during 2009.

A lot has happened since my last post. One of the most important things is that Ella turned 6. It is amazing how quickly she has grown up. As soon as everyone left her birthday party she asked if next year could be at the bowling alley! Of course...that is a lot less work for me and probably just as much fun for her and her friends.

Ella and Aidan being goofy and Ella's Pirate Birthday Party.

Super Mario Cart for Wii!

I ran the Turkey Trot again this year with a group of women from my running clinic. I improved my time by 4 minutes, which I was happy about. Sara Park is a tough race, so I think any improvement is good.

Here is Ella running along side of me. She says that she is going to run the Turkey Trot next year. If she wants to try then that is fine with me.

Here are the girls from the running clinic.

I ran my second half marathon in Las Vegas the first weekend in December. I finished in 2:17 which is 35 minutes quicker than my first half in Phoenix. In 2 weeks I will be running again in Phoenix.

Here we are before the race started. I actually liked the fact that the race starts at 6 am.
Here I am eating my ice cream after we finished. Jackie and I ran the entire race together. I was glad to have someone to run with, even if you don't talk to each other.

And here is our after picture! Yeah, we all survived!

Christmas was a lot of fun this year. Christmas is almost entire month long in our house. We host our annualy Children's Christmas Party, Go to Sosey's Hay Ride, check out the lights, and have Christmas Day. Ella really appreciated and was thankful for all of the gifts. Santa heard her wish and brought her Play Dough. Oma and Papa got her a tether ball and us a Wii Fit. We have had plenty to keep us busy over break. We also went to Phoenix to watch the Cardinals play the Seahawks. Overall, I would say Christmas was a success.

Sitting on Santa's lap at the Children's Christmas Party that we host each year.

The annual Hay Ride at the Sosey's.




I hope that 2009 brings as much fun and excitement as 2008!

Halloween Fun

It is hard to beleive, but Ocotber just flew by. Ella was very excited about Halloween this year. She picked out the perfect pumpkin from the grocery store. A few years ago we had a pumpkin patch here in town. That was a fun way to pick out a pumpkin. Maybe next year.

Ella and Daddy carved the pumpkin. She was a little afraid of putting her hand in the pumpkin, but she did it.

She drew the face on a piece of paper and then I copied it onto the pumpkin. Two eyes, a nose, and just 1 tooth.

I think that pumpkins look best when they are all lit up.

She decided months ago that she was going to be a puppy dog. Of course it was not just any puppy dog, it was suppose to be like our neighbor's dog. Well, I did my best.

We went to McCulloch this year and it was very overwhelming. There are just too many people and some of them are not very nice. I don't think that we will go again next year. We did our regular houses too...Oma and Papa's, Amy and Nates, and Mark and Michele.


Another year of successful trick or treating fun!