Happy Halloween!

I was so happy to have the kids this Halloween and was bound and determined to make it a good one. Friday we decided to take the kids to Shaun's wards Trunk or Treat. They had dinner starting at 6:30 and then the Trunk or Treat started at 8. So I decided to make dinner at home and then we'd head over right at 8. We got all ready and headed over...we pull in and notice cars pulling out. We headed to the trunkers and then really noticed that everyone was really leaving! We saw one group of people sitting on their trunk so we walked to them dodging the cars that were pulling out...got a piece of candy...and that was pretty much it! Needless to say my kids were not too happy. Kai and Lucy got over it pretty quick...but Zoe?...this picture says it all...

We packed up everyone back in the car and headed back to Shaun's. I said, "how bout we have you trick or treat to Shaun's house" just trying to make it up to them for the lame trunk or treat experience. I pulled over the car 2 doors down and said jump out and wait until you see us go into Shaun's house so we can get ready and then come to the door to trick or treat.
So everyone jumped out of the car...and Zoe b-lined it to the door of the house that I dropped them off in front of! I started panicking saying No No! Don't go to their house (since it wasn't actually Halloween). Shaun was laughing and said, Don't say anything...just let her go to the door! HA!
I guess Zoe was a little confused about what we were trying to do.
So...we drove down to Shaun's ran in and were ready...
Then here they came...

Zoe eventually got happy and we had a great night on the ACTUAL Halloween night. Boy oh Boy they looked so cute!

Nike Women's Marathon Recap

I wish SO bad that I was able to blog along the way of my race....it would for sure be more insightful than blogging about it 2 weeks later. I had the RACE OF MY LIFE that day. Even though it comparably wasn't the fastest of marathons...it was perfect for me. So here it goes...

We started the morning by heading down a couple of blocks to Union Square in San Fran..I've done this race before so I knew just how crowded it was going to be. I told Nicholle and Cody where to meet us which is where two years before I met up with Mandy and Brandie...about a block back from the starting line. It was warmer than I had anticipated. I was SO excited for this race to start. My first time around the block I remember being nervous and not knowing what to expect. This time, I already had decided I was going to have a great race and just ENJOY! No worries along the way was my outlook going into this race. I did have a goal of finishing under 4:20...but it wasn't set in stone. I had no idea what was reality for me to do since all of my long runs were on trail and gave me NO indication of what I could really do on a road. I felt very trained based on distance...but unsure of my speed. So the plan was, just go with what feels right.

Kristin, Shaun and I met up with Cody and Nicholle and waited for only about 20 minutes before the race started. I got VERY excited and all pumped up when I heard Joan Benoit come over the loud speaker...she is VERY inspirational to me. For those that don't know, the first year women were allowed to run a marathon in the olympics was 1984...and she brought home the gold for the Americans. A HUGE moment in Olympic history...and she paved the way for women's marathons. Anyway, sorry about the side note...Youtube her olympic finish...you wont be disapointed. She gave some great words of encouragement and it got me even more excited.  The music was pumpin and it was a total party! Then the gun went off...it only took us about 4 minutes to get to the starting line. But then to find out later from Shaun, it took about 30 minutes to get all 25,000 women accross the starting line! SHEEZ!

So this isn't a marathon that lots of FAST people come and do. Dont get me wrong, there are some very fast ladies, but it isn't the majority of the participants. AND the ladies that do this aren't necessarily race savy. Meaning...the slow slow ladies were right at the start of the starting line...so when the gun went off we were weaving our way through masses of people that should have been further back, and yes...there were walkers right at the start of the starting line. REALLY LADIES!?

I was so excited to be at this race with my friends Nicholle and Kristin. It was both of their firsts...Nicholle's first marathon and Kristin's first half. I was just so excited for them to finish this awesome milestone and that I got to be here with them.

As I got going, the miles seemed to be moving along quickly. I was keeping a close eye on my Garmin to make sure that I was staying below my goal time, but not pushing it too hard. I had some great tunes and felt pretty amazing. I was nervous that some pain was going to set in later so I was cautious. I hit the BIG ole hills and ran up every one...no walking was my goal. It's pretty evident that I SUCK up hills, although I was running, I was getting passed and passed and passed up those things! I didn't really care too much because I knew I could pass em all down hill...and I did! Just sayin:)

I decided that I was going to smile and enjoy this race...every step of the way. When it started to feel hard, I would smile and just feed off of the energy of the spectators. It worked better than I had expected. There were big sections of spectators that were cheering along the way, I would have LOVED to see someone I knew there, but knew that Shaun and Cody were most likely going to just be at the finish line. So I decided to pretend they were in the crowd and that made me happy enough. I was so so excited to see them eventually...having someone cheer you on just makes all the difference in the world...well I think at least.
I got to start thinking of how very lucky I was to be able to run and feel this great. I felt SO blessed and got very spiritual and said a few prayers of gratitude. What a feeling! I made a couple of friend along the way, we talked about our outfits and where we got em...and stuff like that. HaHa!

Early on...around mile 5 the 4:05 pacer caught up to me. She had a little crowd with her and was running at my pace so I just decided to hang. I spent nearly the whole race with her in view, either a little ahead or behind. It was seriously messing with my head....I kept thinking...I am NOT a 4:05er! I am a 4:44er! I was so elated beyond all belief that I was actually keeping that pace and feel so great. But I still had about 10 miles left and didnt know how those would be. I got teary eyed even, thinkin, "I am actually doing it! I cant believe I am running with the 4:05 pacer for this long!" I knew that she was a little behind and would be kicking it in gear in the end. The pace that we were running was actually more of 4:11 pace..but still! I was doing it!

I ran out of Golden Gate park and onto the Great Highway, and thats right where I saw Shaun and Cody...YAY! It was like heaven seeing Shaun there! All I could think of saying was telling him what pace I was running and when to expect to see me at the finish. So I yelled...4:15!!! 4:15!!!! He kindof laughed and gave me the keep going motion with his hand...

Immediately I thought...CRAP! Why did I tell him that! Now I have to do it! What if I cant do it! Oh CRAP! I let it bug me for a couple miles...and then I realized that I still was doing it and if anything it pushed me to keep my new goal. Then the run around the dreaded lake...it was never ending I swear. But the chocolate mile with some Ghiradelli chocolate was a nice reward. Once I got back onto the Great Hwy...I knew it was almost over. Only a few more miles...this is where pain started setting in. It was SO hard to keep going those last two miles. I could see the finish line clear down the road and it didnt seem like it was coming any closer.

Finally! I hit 26 miles...just .2 left! I saw Shaun and Cody...gave em a thumbs up and then I ran through the finish line at 4:15:30!!!

Now...this race...the BEST! Once you come through the finish line you are handed your little blue box with your Tiffany's necklace in it...by a handsome San Fran firefighter in a tuxedo...on a red carpet. Then they hand you a bag...a cute bag...then they just start chucking it full of food and drinks and chapstick and your finishers shirt and more treats and bars and water bottle and swag swag swag. For what you pay for this race...you get your money's worth! The support along the way is awesome too! There were sections that just had crowds and crowds of volunteers, the aid stations were awesome and every volunteer treated you like you were amazing! I have never done a race quite like this before...and I have to say it is one of my most favorite races.

After I got loaded up, I went strait to the bathroom...which was my one and only pee stop that morning. I did a marathon with no potty breaks?! Who am I? Not typical for me at all. I loved it! After a stop at the pot, I headed down to meet up with Shaun and Cody to watch Nicholle come in. As we were standing there, I said, "I LOVE marathons. I want to do that again!". Shaun said, You still have some runners high going on:). We were looking for Nicholle, and I thought I saw her a couple of times, but then as the person got closer it was an Asian lady...both times! Which was very ironic and funny considering a previous statement that Nicholle had made the night before.  I finally got it right and spotted her. She looked mad at first, but then when she saw us she got happy.  The first words out of her mouth were, "I want to blow my FREAKING LEGS OFF!" I know that feeling all too well! She did awesome and I am SO proud of her!

We met her at the finish line and SLOWLEY made our way over to get Kristin who was shivering to death at a gastation since she had finished a couple of hours before us. She was all seized up and frozen solid. She did awesome too. It was perfect running weather...a little rainy, misty, and cool...but it was crappy spectator weather. I am so thankful for Shaun...he was a great spectator and supporter that day and actually on the whole trip.


All in all I could not have asked for a better race or felt any better. It was simply awesome! Now...my next goal...Marathon under 4:00. I know I can do it now! I am no longer a 4:44er!

St George Weekend/Marathon

We had a great little jaunt down to St George this past weekend to go support Shaun running the St George marathon.  First of all...if you ever want to go down to St George...rental houses are the way to go! We got the sweetest house for as much as a hotel room. Pedro and Carol came down with us and shared the house. This house had the coziest bed I've ever slept in! It is for sure in the top 1 in regards to the comfiest bed ever! Not to mention the pillows! Oh heavenly! I stripped down the pillow cases to even check out the brand but stupidly forgot to write down the brand. Oh well...

Anyhow... the kids were in immediate heaven when we pulled up. There was a killer tramp and playground in the back yard. It made it such a great weekend for the kiddos to play and not get "bored" like they would be in a hotel room.

We went to packet pickup...and to be honest...I was SO sad that I wasn't running. I still feel that way actually. I wish I would have registered! I am the WORST at having race envy. I've just learned that I better register and do it so I don't feel jealous of those running. The expo was pretty awesome...got myself a great running racer back tank...Black of course! I really need to branch out.

The next morning the boys headed out super early... this is the point where I have NO race envy:) Carol and I headed to the finish line, while the kids were already asking for snow cones at 9:30 in the morning. We got a pretty good seat right at the finish line in the bleachers which I was happy for since I was worried about Carol, she wasn't feeling very good with some morning sickness and nausea. It started getting HOT fast! And man oh man was it crowded. We watched some of the top runners come through...they make it look so easy! Shaun said he would be coming through at about 3:30...which I knew meant probably around 3:15 so we were ready and waiting. Then at 3:05...there he is! He always underestimates is races by a LONG shot and then kills it! I was so impressed and proud of him. I mean...3:05!! That is so freaking fast...about a 7 minute mile average. I can't even imagine being in the 3's let alone being so close to the 2's. Jealous!

I ran over to the exit of the athlete's corral thingy and gave him some great CONGRATS!!! He was drenched in sweat... it was really hot by this time. It was time for some snow cones! My kiddos deserved it...they were being so good and it was a dang heat wave.

Now time for Pedro...while we waited for him we watched some great finishes...and some very scary finishes. It was amazing to me how people would get 30 feet from the finish line and their legs would give out to the point they would fall right to the ground. Then they would try to get up...and nothing! They litterally couldnt get up...their legs were just not working. It is a true testament to the power of the mind. As soon as they would see the finishline and were almost there...they were DONE! Their mind carried them through until the finishline...or 30 feet before or after the finishline.
One girl in particular was hard to watch...she fell and couldnt get up. She was embarrassed and people were just yelling for her...saying "you can do it"! She just couldn't get up. Finally the national guard volunteers came running out and helped her up. Once they got her up...she still tried to use her legs and they were just dragging. That ended up being a pretty typical situation as the day went on.
We saw lots of our friends come through and got to cheer them on. Pedro came through at 4:35...which was fantastic for his first marathon! Nice job Pedro!
We got some more snow cones...and then headed home to Sandhollow. Oh what a beautiful lake! It is officially one of my favorite lakes...no I have never been to lake Powell:)

Shaun talked me into doing a little open water swim accross to the big island thing...it was SO refreshing and nice! The water was crystal clear and beautiful. My kids had a GREAT time exploring and rowing around our little raft. It was hillarious to watch them try to figure out how to manuver it around.
I dont have a life jacket for Kai so he had to use one of the girls pink barbie jacket. While Zoe was rowing him around, he said "Dont go on the other side of the rock, I don't want the teenagers over there to see me in this pink life jacket". HAHAHA! He was totally ok with us seeing him in the pink lifejacket...but by damn those teenagers better not see him!

All in all it was a great weekend of relaxing...watchin movies...eating good food...playing...and just enjoying life with the kids:)
We drove home to Shaun's house and was met with a hot yummy dinner from Ryan and Mercedes! What a treat! Now time to get my butt in race mode for my San Fran marathon in two weeks! SO excited and have goals in mind!

Amy...the Master Aesthetician!

So...for many of my past posts I have gone on and on about being in school and how long it took me. Well the day finally arrived in April...and I graduated! I could barely believe it myself. I was able to complete 100% of all of my state boards and tests prior to completing my hours so that when I walked out that door...I was done! I passed my boards which seriously I had my doubts. They were more nerve racking than I had thought. I am SO relieved to be done and licensed. This is something that I have had on my "bucket list" for many years and to actually accomplish it...you have not idea how great it feels.


So yes...I am finally a Master Aesthetician! Now...to find a job!

Kaiizen Mexico Orphanage Trip

I was so lucky to be able to go with a group... Kaiizen... to Mexico to visit an orphanage and play with the kids. This was an adventure for sure...first off never have been to Mexico except for a little 3 day cruise that was as Mexican as TacoBell.
We caravaned down...stopping outside of Vegas at Whiskey Pete's for a night to break up the 12 hour drive. Next morning we headed out for Ensanada Mexico. Now... before I begin...every person that I told about this trip prior to leaving made sure I knew that there was a chance that I could get beheaded by the drug cartel and they were targeting Americans. Just GREAT! I was pretty uptight about it...and ready to kick some drug lord ass if I got messed with. HAHA..ya right!

Anyway, I digress...

So we headed to the border and was told by Josh ...whom I will refer to as Shosh or Yosh depending on which Orphan was saying his name...to stay right behind the white van they were driving when they got pulled over at the border and then to just follow them into the city. And if we took a wrong turn it would take us to downtown TJ. Shaun was driving...and just as suspected...the van we were following got signalled to pull over to be inspected...Shaun didn't pull right behind them, but rather chose to just keep going and find our way on our own. I PANICKED!!! As soon as we crossed that border...I couldn't understand one traffic sign or street sign...Spanish everywhere...understandably of course, after all we now were in Mexico. I was very surprised at the major difference from one side of that fence to the other. Such poverty, filthy, trash everywhere, shacks instead of houses. It was pretty drastic so quickly. Shaun started asking me if I remembered which way we were told to go...I freaked out! Saying...we were told to stay behind the white van!! You're on your own now! He just laughed...I realized he was saying that to strike even more panic in me...luckily he knew which was we were supposed to go....after he acted like we were lost a few times more...just to see me have a breakdown.

We pulled into an Office Depot...yes..and Office Depot that was next to a Walmart...and Old Navy. Huh...who knew:) We waited for the van to meet up with us after they made it through the border...right then I realized that I had not gotten any cash. I was thinking that you could just find an ATM and pull come cash out...not quite that easy. The line to the ATM was HUGE...so we decided to just get it later. Which I will say I never was able to get to an ATM for then entire trip as there are pretty much NO ATMs in Mexico! No wonder the line was so long!

As we were waiting in the parking lot I was very jumpy and not sure what to expect thinking back to what everyone said about American getting kidnapped and beheaded...I saw Shaun look toward my window so I turned and a man holding a fistful of cell phone chargers was standing right at my window...I jumped and yelped a little bit. I think I scared the poor guy more than he scared me...he quickly walked away. Damn jumpy gringa!!

Another interesting thing was that as soon as we crossed that border...Shaun turned Mexican! Saying everything with a cool little Mexican accent and busting out his Spanish skills in which I'd never heard before to that extent. Very handy to say the least!

So we headed to drop our stuff off at the place we were staying...Shaun's time share. We pulled in to this beautiful resort, dropped our crap off and followed the rest of the crew to Yosh's (Josh) beach house. We pulled down this long very steep dirt road and headed to the house. It was pretty much right on the edge of the beach...very cool location!

The house was very humble and had no showering facilities...and no electricity. Guilt IMMEDIATELY set in considering our place was SO nice and accommodating compared to where all 11 of the other people were staying. We decided right away that we had extra room and needed to share. We got to have Rusty and Laura come to our place... SO happy that they did. They were so fun and it was so great to get to know them better. Laura is the cook for Telos and the cook for the Kaiizen trip...so she deserved some time at a nice time share...she'd payed her dues for sure!

Off to the orphanage!

We headed to the orphanage...when we pulled in the kids came running smiling yelling! They were so excited to see their amigos from America. They were amazing little kiddos! Just handing out hugs and loves left and right. A few of them came up to me and shook my hand and introduced themselves. They had a basketball court and play area that was pretty run down. Yosh took us on a tour...it was such a humble place. He showed us where the sewage would run from the toilets in the open air down to the septic tank. They have since had that covered up, but you still can not flush any toilet paper or it will back up the septic tank. It was a pretty eye opening experiencing to see how these little angels lived.

We had dinner at the orphanage that night which was a pretty yummy potato concoction, beans, and tortillas. We sat with the kids and I made a feeble attempt to talk to them and ask their names in the limited Spanish I knew. We then played the candy bar game...which I guess is pretty universal because these kids knew how to play it right away.

I started noticing some of the kids in particular. Silvia...an angel of a girl! She had a little limp which made it more difficult for her to walk. She had the best smile! I was so drawn to her as well as little Miriam and Johanna. The surprising thing was how I would ask how old they were and was shocked to find they were easily a couple of years older than how they looked. This little Johanna was 7! And she easily looked 4 or 5.

Shaun had decided before to put together a race for the kids. He brought extra bib numbers, and finishers medals. The orphanage directors were concerned about the kids running on on the road...which was dirt and had maybe 1 or 2 cars coming down in every hour:) So it took us a long long walk with all the kids to find the best route...we had to cross little streams that once were roads. Well actually thinking about it...they are still roads. I did see a few cars go through it. Finally we came to a field that we decided to just have them run laps. We got everyone's number pinned on them and they LOVED that. They looked so official!

We had the kids go in three different divisions. Older boys, Older girls, and then the little kids. It was AWESOME! Those boys took it so seriously...one boy in particular had his eye on first place and ran his heart out until he won the race! He wore that medal around along with his loot for first place forever. It was awesome to see the kids cheer each other on as they came across the finish line. They would chant each others names as they got closer to the finish line and get the whole crowd yelling...SIL-VI-A...SIL-VI-A...over and over again. Silvia was the little darling that had a hard time walking let alone running. She came across the finish line holding hands with one of her friends helping her along. She was ALL smiles!

Little Axel who was the littlest of all made it across the finish line holding hands as well...he LOVED it....especially his medal.









We also took them to the movie one of the nights. It was a big deal for the kids so they all got dressed up in their cutest clothes with their hair combed and all cleaned up.


We had a couple of the older boys ride with us...they were typical 15 year old boys...chatty and goofy as can be. We decided to take them to Clash of the Titans... we got them a CRAP LOAD of pop corn, drinks, candy, nachos, and whatever was in the concession stand pretty much. And may I say...the popcorn...was AWESOME! They had carmel popcorn at the movies! We gringos are getting jipped! So I was thinking the movie would be in English with Spanish subtitles...ya not so much. It was pure Spanish...not English subtitles. I sat next to Johanna and Miriam. They were puttin' down that popcorn like it was nothing. They were so sweet to keep offering me some. I didn't take any...but every few minutes they would tap on my arm and offer me more. Finally to make them feel better I dug in. YUMMY! There was a part in the movie that the dad, mom, and sister die in the water...I looked over and Johanna had huge crocodile tears in her eyes...we call em the blinkers in my house. She had a major case of the blinkers. She was trying to hide the fact that she was crying. It was sad...she just looked so heartbroken over it. Gave her a little squeeze and she was ok:) So as I'm watching this movie...since it was in Spanish I tried to figure out what it was all about. I had created a story line in my head and thought I was pretty right on...until a few weeks later I took my kids to see it and it was like seeing a whole new movie! It wasn't even CLOSE to the movie that I had thought I had seen. The story was totally different than what I thought was going on. Two movies in one is what I'd like to think:)

Along the trip...my keys got locked in the car...which let me tell you, these Mexicans do NOT know how to break into a car. They jacked the CRAP out of my car trying to get it open for us. They were SO nice and tried so hard...but finally we just called a lock smith and had him open it for us. He opened it and we went on our way to the orphanage...YAY! When we went to get back into the car at the orphanage, my key wouldn't unlock the car manually and my keyless remote stopped working a long time ago. We tried and tried and TRIED to get into the car with my key...no luck. So...the great guys at the orphanage called another local lock smith. This guy came rolling up on a motorcycle with a slicked back ponytail and seriously looked like a major bad ass. Actually... a major SCARY bad ass! I WISH I had a picture of this guy...it was awesome! He opened the car in a jiffy and said that the earlier guy was an idiot and pretty much disconnected the cable inside the door. So we couldn't lock the car for the rest of the trip...in MEXICO! Luckily it all worked out and no problems from there on out. We just had to remember...DON'T LOCK THE DOOR!

We had a few great days at the time share as well....went on a run along the beach...which I don't know why but I thought I was going to die. There was the CUTEST little sea lion on the beach. It was a baby with the cutest little baby face. I tried to get it back into the ocean but it just looked confused. I was concerned cuz it was going the wrong way, I said...SHAUN! Pick it up and put it back in the ocean! He just looked at me like...You're crazy woman! He encouraged me to leave it alone and keep running. FINE! Along the way...I had some of that Mexican food hit me like a ton of brick and I had to GO! I nearly had Charlotte's Sex and the city moment...So i yell to Shaun ahead of me...I've gotta go!!! We found a bathroom on the beach and as I tried to go in, two little Abuelas sitting by the door said, Bano? I said...SI! They said...cinco pesos. HUH!!!!??? I had to pay these crazy ladies to take a poop? I was so mad...told Shaun the news...he negotiated with the ladies in Spanish letting them know that we didn't have any money with us and I HAD to go. She let me go...and let me say, it was the NICEST beach bathroom I have ever seen. No wonder they charged to use their facilities. They were dang nice and worth every peso...if I had paid:)

Thank you little old Abuelas! You saved me from a seriously horrible experience!

While on that subject...the food...OH MY GOSH! The food was pure heaven. Not to mention the coke. They take their coke so seriously there and I just LOVE it! Every time you ask for a coke...they ask you if you want it in the can, bottle, or plastic bottle. Three options? Now that is just cool!!!! Of course, you MUST choose the bottle and it is simply delicious. No high fructose corn syrup...but delicious sugar cane baby. YummY!

The whole thing was an incredible experience...The kids were more amazing then I could have ever thought. They lived so simply but seemed pretty happy for what they had. It makes me sad for what these kids don't have in their lives though...a mom and a dad. A parent to teach them and love them and just take care of them. I wished so bad that I could do more...Josh told us that to adopt a child from down there is near to impossible because of the corruption. So sad! But being there made me feel so sad to be away from my kiddos. I wished that they could be there with me to meet these kids and be friends and serve. I am so lucky to have my kids...and for the first time I realized how lucky my kids are to have me. I'm not a perfect parent, but I sure love them and try to teach them and will be by them forever no matter what.

I'm looking forward to taking a trip back to see my new amigos some time in the near future!