No more vomit, please!

For the past four weeks, someone in our family has been sick. First Greg had a cold with the cough that lasts for weeks after the initial cold is gone. Then I had vertigo. Yeah I know, weird. I felt like I had been on one too many carnival rides for two consecutive days. After the dizziness subsided, Taylor came down with the stomach flu and has been spewing for 5 days. A friend told me her nephew had the stomach flu for 2 weeks! I guess we can consider ourselves lucky.

I am looking forward to having a normal, boring and uneventful week. No coughing, no snotty noses or sore throats, no headaches or disabling dizziness, no waking up at all hours of the night, and absolutely no vomiting on mom, couches, beds and floors.

I will happily endure fights over stuffed animals, whining and complaining about eating vegetables, meltdowns before going to bed, arguments over who says the prayer, tantrums about who gets the pink plate, and listening to "I had it first!".

I will gratefully and humbly accept loving hugs, wet and sometimes sticky kisses, snuggling during story time, scribbles and stick figure pictures, ticklish toes, soft cheeks, tiny pink fingernails, singing concerts in the shower, excitement about peeing in the potty, and hearing the words, "I love you mommy!".

yummy lipstick!

Greg made blackberry milkshakes for the girls last night. As you can tell from the pictures, they really, really loved them. Morgan said that she and Taylor have lipstick on. I only wish lipstick tasted that good.

Morgan has one more day of school before the summer break. What to do this summer? Hopefully I can get Morgan and Taylor into swim lessons or tumbling classes. They need some kind of activity to burn off all that energy. I just picked up a flyer for AYSO soccer registration. I fondly remember the day my dad took me to register for soccer when I was 5 or 6 years old. Now AYSO accepts kids as young as 4. I cannot wait for Morgan to start playing soccer. What would I do if she didn't like it? That's not possible, she will love it because I said so. Actually, if she really does not like playing soccer, we will just find something else for her to do. She has lots of energy and a spunky personality. I am sure there is a future for her in something. Just as long as it is soccer.

Whiskey Row Marathon

I did it! I completed the 1/2 marathon in 2 hours and 15 minutes, 15 minutes under what I anticipated finishing. I had a great experience. My college roommate, Lacy Mayberry, ran the race with me. We stayed in Prescott Friday night and ran the race Saturday morning at 7:00. It was a little bit chilly when we started running, but after the first mile we were warmed up. The weather was perfect for running, sunny and cool. The scenery was beautiful and the town of Prescott quaint. We found out the night before that the first 6.5 miles were uphill. Brutal! The second half of the race was obviously much better. Surprisingly I felt great after the race. My knee started hurting Saturday evening, but by Sunday the pain had been replaced by soreness in my legs. Today I feel fine. I had so much fun with the whole experience that I have decided to run a full marathon sometime later this year. I know that I said I would never run a marathon, but after finishing the race I feel like I can do it. I am so lucky to have a supportive husband. I could not have done this without Greg's encouragement and love. I also have to thank Morgan and Taylor for encouraging me with their mantra, "I think I can, I think I can!". Now I know that I really can.

Obsessed

So the 1/2 marathon has completely taken over my life. (Ok, not really). I feel like it is taking over my life. Running is all I think about and as the big day looms closer (3 days), I am getting nervous. I was sick last week and the maximum distance I have run is 10 miles. I hope I can bust out a 13 miler on Saturday. My biggest concern is fueling my body enough for the race. I want to eat enough, but not too much. I cannot wait until this is all over.

Last weekend I met my Mom and sisters in Las Vegas for a girl's only weekend. We had a blast. We saw "Mama Mia" at Mandalay Bay and it rocked! Thanks Mom! I have the best Mom and sisters ever.

Last week Morgan went to a Princess Birthday Party. She wore a beautiful purple dress, but the moment she got to the party she changed into a different one because it was too itchy. That's our little princess.

Hopefully after this race I will be more consistent with this blog. I just have to keep chanting, "I think I can" over and over again so that I keep my spirits high. Wish me luck!

New link

For those interested in learning about my progress for the 1/2 marathon, checkout out the link on my page titled: "really running a marathon". I usually post something once a week. I have about three weeks until the big day!

Killer Bees

Last night Greg discovered and small swarm of killer bees in a tree in our front yard. We called a bee removal service and they told us there is good chance they will move on in a couple of days. Apparently they are looking for a place to colonize. Hopefully they will not find a place on our home to colonize. For now we are using the side door to enter and leave our home and I moved the dogs to the other side of the yard.

Fun with Grandma and Grandpa!

Grandma and Grandpa Channell visited with us last week. Morgan made a list of things for them to do while they were here. They were successful in accomplishing all but a couple of things on the list. We went to the zoo and fed the giraffes and we also visited the botanical gardens. We walked to the park a couple of times and Morgan showed them what a fantastic bicycle rider she is. Morgan and Grandma baked chocolate chip cookies and both girls helped Grandpa squeeze oranges for orange juice. One day Grandma painted kitty faces on herself and the girls and they had strings attached to their pants for tails. Needless to say, the girls kept Grandma and Grandpa busy. We had a wonderful time visiting with them and they girls cannot wait to see them again in July.