A different sort of Rock n' Roll

For the past 3 years, I have run the Seattle Rock n' Roll 1/2 marathon.  Each year my times have improved and I (sort of) looked forward to the race.  Training for it gave me a very specific goal.  The course itself is beautiful.  It starts off in some beautiful older neighborhoods, winds along the beautiful Lake Washington, and ends near the sports arenas of Seattle.  This year, however, I was not able to run.  I have a heel spur, or something.  (I self-diagnosed with the help of web.md)  Even walking hurts, so I wisely decided that running for 13.1 miles would not be helpful.  So instead, I was a volunteer.  I chose a time that would let me do my work, and finish so I could cheer on my friends and family that were running.  

4:30 is early people!

 

Here is the start line before the 22,000 runners showed up.  

My first job was helping hand our t-shirts and goody bags to other volunteers.  After that, I headed over to the start corrals and held signs that marked the corral times.  Once the race actually started, I made my way to the finish line and started unwrapping the finisher medals.  22,000 of these. 

Well, I didn't unwrap all of them myself.  But man, that is a lot of heavy metal!  Each one was individually wrapped in plastic and a small cardboard box.   While I was unwrapping medals, a woman from Competitor.com asked if I wanted to record times of finishers.  Basically, I stood feet away from the finish line and as a runner came in, I entered their bib number in a calculator-looking device, and as soon as they crossed the finish line, pressed enter.  It was a way to double check the accuracy of the timing chips.  It was a fascinating way to watch the race.  Being so far back in the pack in years past, I never saw any of the elite runners.  Ever.  And this year I got to see each of the top finishers, for both the half and full marathons finish.  These are some serious runners, people.  The guy that won the half-marathon basically sprinted the whole way - he was running near 5-minute miles!  I was able to see my friend Amy finish.  That was pretty cool.  After my hand cramped from holding the calculator, I moved to passing out medals to the finishers.  That was probably the best part of the day.  It was great to see all the different expressions of the runners: relief, disbelief, joy, pain, but a lot of happiness.  I really enjoyed volunteering.   I may do it again sometime!   - April

Snowman Army

Every once in a while, I do something that makes me think my time as a stay-at-home mom has been ultra-productive. I don't really count laundry or keeping the house clean, because those things would need to get done even if I worked outside of the home. And since Abby and Caleb are in school most of the day, a lot of the day I am alone. So, when I do something like make this army of snowmen for Caleb's class party, I feel ultra-cool. Wouldn't you?

Random catch up

In September, for a friend's birthday party, we went here:(Great Wolf Lodge)

I was trying to be cool (my first mistake), jammed my toe on a kiddie slide (within the first 5 minutes of arriving), and did this:What you may or may not be able to see is a chip above the second joint of my second toe. Yes, it hurts. No, it will never fully heal. Yes, it is still purple and swollen. No, I never want to go back to Great Wolf Lodge.
A few weeks later, Dave came home from work with this beauty he found on the floor of his shop:Now that I have taken a picture of it, and documented its' place in our family history, I can finally get it off of the kitchen counter, and throw it away.

13 Years and counting...

13 Years ago, on a day very unlike the one we're having now in Washington (it was scorching hot that day), a boy and a girl woke up at the crack of dawn and their adventures really began. Well, first there was a ceremony here, in the Bountiful, Utah Temple. And then there was this.
One of our favorite pictures taken that day.
And one from our reception. The cakes were my favorite part of the reception. There were 6 different flavored cakes, of which we each only got one lousy little bite.
I can't believe it was 13 years ago. I'm looking forward to the next 13; and the next 13 after that, and well, I think you get the idea!

TOFW

I just spent a fantastic 36 hours with my younger sister, Rachel.
We stayed here:


We ran here:

We dined here:

We were fed spiritually here:
I had a great "Time Out". - April

Super-duper day

I had a great day today. I met with a child psychologist who will help us with Caleb, and I left his office feeling lighter and more hopeful than I have in months. Plus, the sun was shining! Cold, but still sunny. I had the fastest 3 mile run I have ever had. 26:26. Not as fast as some of my friends (G and Am-dawg), but I am over the moon about it! Then, this arrived in the mail:



My friend Amy had a giveaway on her blog a few weeks ago for a gift certificate to CSN, and I won! That website has everything. Seriously. It took me quite a few visits before I settled on the above cookset. I love the Circulon we have, but it is starting to show it's 13 years. BTW, the yellow matches perfectly with the walls in the kitchen. Not that I cared, it was the cheapest set they had! Now, to break them in with some good cookin'!

Glen Albert Gilyeat

I took this picture from a collage of pictures from my childhood. The only one I could find with my Grandpa Gilyeat in it. Even though this was roughly 35 years ago, he hadn't changed much my whole life. Except for losing the plaid pants and non-matching plaid jacket. He passed away this morning. It is bittersweet. He truggled with Alzheimer's for a while and decided last week he was done fighting - he stopped eating. I'm glad he didn't suffer long. And as the type-writer note says "We love Grandpa!" -April

Harlem Globetrotters

Last Friday Caleb, Lael and I went to Key Arena in Seattle to watch the Harlem Globetrotters.  I had never seen them before and I was maybe more excited than Caleb was at the outset. 

Never having watched a 'real' basketball game, I don't think he knew quite what to expect.  They didn't disappoint!  
 Our seats were kind of high up, so at half-time we moved closer to the floor where there were many empty seats.  That is when Caleb really got into it.  He was able to see a lot better and at times he was laughing hysterically!  It was great to see him enjoying something so much.     


Afterwards, Caleb chose a basketball over a t-shirt.  I bought it for him on the condition that he practice dribbling that ball every chance he got!  I didn't want it to end up in a bedroom somewhere!  He agreed, and true to his word, he dribbled it all the way back to the car.  Well, with a short break at Dicks for a milkshake & fries!  It was a great night! - April