girls' getaway

Just a few weeks ago, my MIL, Patti proposed a girls' trip with her daughters and daughters-in-law.  I certainly didn't want to miss out on that action, and our plans came together pretty quick.  I drove to LA (invited my friend Brooke to catch a ride with me to visit her sister) on Thursday evening and stayed with Alisa at her host family's home in La Canada (amazing property).  On Friday morning I said a prayer (or two) and made my way to LAX to pick up the gang flying in from Portland and SLC.  This drive was the only stressful part of the weekend, so I was glad to arrive without incident and to let JaneAnne take over the wheel!  LA traffic is a little crazier than I'm used to, for sure.  I probably shouldn't be taking a photo while driving, but I was stopped:

 The only bummer of the weekend was that Julie (the only other sister-in-law) came down with a nasty virus/stomach flu and couldn't make it.  We really missed you, Julie!

We stopped for some Thai food and went to an elementary school in the valley to see Alisa sing with the LA Opera in "The Prospector" as part of their education program.  The kids were darling as the chorus (would love for my kids to have that opportunity), and Alisa was fantastic.  (I'm borrowing this photo from my SIL, who borrowed it from LA Opera).

 After the show, we left Alisa to another gig and rehearsals and the five of us headed to LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art).  We had a great time exploring around and enjoyed the wide variety of art.  It was such a fun day and very out-of-the-ordinary for me.

We had gorgeous weather, for sure.  A cute shot of JaneAnne, Sue, and Jana (loved this exhibit--fun to see it during the day and at night):

(Tri) Self Portrait:

I'll admit that some of the modern stuff was a bit "out there" for me, but it was awesome to see such varied and cool things that I can't imagine creating!  I wished my boys could have seen this next one...we saw it twice as we wanted to go back when the cars/trains were turned on.  It certainly put all pinewood derby tracks to shame :).

This next pic is one of my favorites.  I couldn't resist trying to re-create a "Ferris Bueller" moment:

We took turns imitating various sculptures:

We took a break for dinner and ate at the restaurant (Ray's) at the museum.  It was one of the major highlights of the trip (thanks again Patti and JaneAnne for treating!) and will be a treasured memory for me. You can't beat great food, great service, and great company!

Back at it:

Couldn't resist photo bombing Jana's photo (then I had the nerve to steal her photo even! See her post about the weekend, with lots of great photos here):

We headed to the hotel and played games before going to bed.  I slept like a rock (and past 7:00am, thanks to the hotel curtains)!  On Saturday, we got ready, ate breakfast and went to two different opera performances (both sing-a-longs).  Here is a photo the opera company took during the first show:

I am normally such a rule follower, but snapped a couple of 'forbidden' photos of Alisa (only because I never heard or saw it written that I wasn't allowed to)!  Alisa made us feel so proud.  Once we saw Patti shedding some tears during an amazing high note, then the rest of us joined in.  Alisa rocks!

 After the shows, Alisa was free to join in on the fun.  We went to a great build-your-own pizza place and grabbed some 'za' and salad.  Yum!  

 (Jana and I often took turns taking photos...can you tell?)

 

We spent Saturday night at the Getty --two art museums and three opera performances in one weekend? Oh, the culture! Here are the four sisters on the tram up to the museum (das cute):

 The architecture and grounds were my favorite part.  I wish we had had more time to explore in the light, but it was pretty amazing to catch the sunset and see the ocean from the balcony.  Wow!

Jana was able to get this next great photo (my iphone just wouldn't do) of the cool tree structure made with an (iron?) base with bougainvillea growing up out of it.  Would love to do this at my house!  So cool!

They had a room where patrons could sit and sketch, so we enjoyed watching our favorite art teacher do some sketching.  What a talented family I married into.

We stayed at the Getty pretty late and didn't grab dinner until about 10pm (p.s. I was reminded that you pretty much need a reservation in LA and that people eat late!).  We headed back to the hotel and enjoyed the (huge) hot tub and more games before crashing.

We took it easy Sunday morning and tried to sleep in a bit (late night!).  We went to church (right next to the LA temple) and then grabbed some lunch before saying our goodbyes.  Patti drove home with me to AZ (we got home close to midnight) and Alisa took everyone else back to the airport. What a fun trip!  Thanks for making it happen, everyone!

Our final meal together and the only photo taken of all six of us.  Thanks for including me, girls!  Love you all!

ragnar del sol relay 2013

My race was last weekend.  The boys made the sweetest cards for me.  I crawled in bed with Tosh on Thursday night to visit with him before bed and he told me, "I hope you win the race, Mom!"  He couldn't understand how I just knew that I wouldn't win.  I promised him that I would do my very best and that was all that mattered.  

I was in Van 2, so we were lucky enough to get a better night's sleep and later start.  I had major nerves for a good 24 hours before I started racing.  Waiting ALL DAY to run made for an anxious day.  I was runner 11 out of 12.  Our van consisted of Alecia and Rob Lundell, David Cope (Alecia's brother--the guy that goes all out for our roller skating party), and Paul and Briana Dommer.

We got all checked in a met up with our Van 1.  This next photo was taken right after Paul started his first leg.  Van 2 included Chris and Christy Berereton, Christy's sister Hayley, Chris's sister Jessie, and Jen Maclay and Sue Yocum.  Tara Reading was the driver for Van 1.

We would generally 'leap frog' with each runner and would drive ahead a few miles, cheer each runner on, and then drive ahead until we met up at each exchange.  Doesn't running in the desert look fun?!

We did  A LOT of laughing over the weekend.  The 'being really tired' was only part of it.  David and Rob are too funny and kept things entertaining.  Here is David stretching out for his run as we waited for his exchange with Paul:

Alecia had the longest leg of anyone on our team.  Her FIRST leg was 13.5 miles!  That is over a half marathon--and it was mostly all uphill.  She rocked it!
About an hour after her run, right as I was about to run my first leg, Alecia started feeling really sick and almost passed out.  I had a moment of panic as she lost color, but good thing that Paul is an ER doc and stayed super calm. Between the hours of 5pm and 9am all runners are required to wear reflective vests, head lamps, and blinking lights on our backs.

On my first leg (7.5 miles) I watched the sun set and then ran in the dark for about 40 minutes.  I was feeling really great and was probably running a little too fast to begin with.  Unfortunately for some reason, my right knee really started hurting around mile 3 or 4!  It was the only problem I had for the entire race (I stayed very hydrated, and never had any cramping).  I was so bummed about my knee, but still did very well and averaged around 10 minute miles over all legs.  After we had all finished, we exchanged with Van 1 (they were about 20 min. late--woops!) and then headed to grab some dinner and we went to a hotel to sleep for a couple of hours.  We were back up around 1:15 to get ready for the next exchange.  It was very cold (high 30's) and dark for our second legs.  My knee was so cold and tight and it took about two miles for my knee to warm up and to start feeling a bit numb and better while running.  The second two miles of my four mile run were uphill, so I was grateful that running got a bit easier once I felt warm.  The sun was just starting to rise as I finished my second leg.

So happy to have completed two out of three!

After Leg 2, we grabbed some breakfast and went to the hotel again to sleep.  I wasn't able to sleep at all which was so frustrating!  My right knee was a little swollen at this point so I iced it and at least rested for a few hours.  Saturday was a gorgeous day (high 60's) and felt very warm while running.  At the end of the race we were running through Scottsdale and ended in Tempe.  There sure were quite a few hills!
 

One of my goals was to stay hydrated.  My team laughed at how much I used the porta-potties (every single exchange and often twice!).  I never quite got passed the nerves, but it got better.

Briana, Alecia and me right after Alecia's last run:

Our 'baton' was a wrist band that you would snap on the next person to go.  My last exchange with Rob:

And I'm off (with a little limp):

My last run was about 5.5 miles.  I was really hurting on the first mile and was doing this crazy shuffle any time I had to go downhill so I wouldn't have to bend my knee.  The team stopped to give me water with about two miles left and I was feeling better (numb knee) and running strong!

Aww, cute married couple.  Briana on the very last leg!  


Our entire team was at the finish line and jogged in with Briana at the very end.  It felt like a great accomplishment, and so fun sharing it with awesome friends!

My first medal--ever!  :)

Twelve people, 202 miles!  Team "And I ran...I ran so far away" at the finish!!!

my little valentines

This was the first year that all four kids took Valentines to school to give to friends.  It was interesting that they each knew what they wanted to do.  Burke-candy only.  Hewitt-homemade cards with a Hersey's kiss. Tosh and Liv- store bought cards (Avengers and Cinderella) with a Dumdum sucker.  They actually shared boxes so Tosh could give the girls in his class Cinderella Valentines.

I have never been able to get Liv to wear a headband in her hair and finally got her to do it by selling it as a "Valentine gift" :).  She looked so sweet going off to preschool.

 I had to laugh out loud when I saw her after school!  Maybe she isn't quite ready for a headband?

She thought it was so fun to look at all of the cards and get all of the candy.  She is funny with candy, because she will have a few licks then throw it away and go to the next thing.

 I thought it would be fun to go to Intel to have lunch with Rob on Valentines Day.  I thought that Liv would be thrilled to see where her Daddy works (we've never been there!).  We got checked in with our visitor badges and had lunch in the "Bon Appetite Cafe" together.  We had yummy (any way you want it) pizza and shared a huge cupcake.

 We then went to see Rob's desk and Liv got TONS of attention from several of Rob's co-workers.

For some reason, Tosh has been on a kick about wanting to change his name.  A few weeks ago he wanted to change his name to Jacob, and lately he wants us to call him Tosho.  He even wrote Tosho on all of his Valentine cards...

Tosh came home from school with a bag of Valentine cards and three special "Fire Grams" from some cute little girls (these were sold for 25cents each and came with candy attached).

 I found Hewitt's Valentine bag a few days after Valentine's Day.  It made me laugh out loud:

Hewitt asked me for a journal/diary that he could have.  I have a cool Traveler's journal (got it before my DOD tour) that I've never used so I gave it to him.  I've always been a fan of Hewitt's writing--I think he was tying to write like the "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" style here.  Makes me laugh.

 I noticed this in the kitchen last week...ummm, Liv?

Hewitt reads NON STOP!  I told his teacher that he probably spends two to three hours reading every day and she told me that it's probably more than that because he usually reads all through recess (and on the bus and all through every meal if we let him...).  It was cute the other night after showers that Burke sat down next to Hewitt and they read a book together (it was one Burke had never read):

Burke and Hewitt are getting braces!  They both have a cross bite (opposite sides) and need some space created for their adult teeth.  They've been to see the orthodontist a couple of times and will have the braces on in March.  The elastics they have in haven't seemed to bother them at all.  Hopefully this whole thing won't be too painful and horrible.   I wanted to get some "before" shots before I forget:

The boys have really gotten into roller blades lately.  Tosh wasn't interested last year, but is really getting good!  Love the 'tongue out' concentration:

Three cuties: