Big Sur Trail Run

This weekend Jason, his Dad and I participated in the Big Sur Trail Marathon, Half Marathon, and 5 mile run. We are lucky to have parents who all made an effort to come along with us and support us. We left Friday afternoon for the 2 hour drive south to Big Sur. Along the way we stopped in Monterey to enjoy some fresh produce, and some amazing scenery. Friday night we stayed in and made delicious spaghetti in our little cabin.

Race Day: Jason, John and I left a little early to get there and get ready. This is a REALLY small race (limited to only 300 participants) so it was pretty laid back compared to some of the races Jason has done. John and I ran the 5 mile distance, while Jason ran the half marathon. He was slated to run the marathon but opted against it since he is doing a Half Ironman Triathlon next weekend (I think he made the right decision). Jason started the half marathon around 9:25 and we started our race around 9:30am. We were told ahead of time that this is an extremely tough course...ummm understatement of the century. Jason had over 300o feet of climbing on his run and John and I gained about 1,000 feet of elevation on our 5 mile run. It was BRUTAL, for those who have lived in Provo imagine running up and back from the 'Y'. The first half of the run I was cursing Jason's name for not warning me appropriately (although I don't think he really understood either). I had to walk a little which I was disappointed about until I saw everyone around me walking too. The second half was AMAZING. I felt great, and I actually enjoyed the scenery and being outside. It was really nice to finish with my parents cheering me on. It was a great first race. My next goal is a 10k (or 7.3 miles).

I won't post our times here, because due to the difficulty of the course they don't sound very impressive and they are definitely longer than the goals we had set for ourselves. But I will still do a little bragging :) Remember this was a very small race. But Jason is so amazing and came in 7th out of the 170 people who ran the half marathon. He also came in 3rd for his age group, so he will be receiving a medal. John (Jason's dad) came in 7th out of the 50 people who ran the 5 mile race, and he was 1st in his age group. I came in 14th out of 50 and I was 1st in my age group so I get a medal too!! I was pretty excited considering it was my first race. Obviously we never thought we would actually win something so it was kind of fun to do well. I think I will only run small races in the future :)

The fog off the ocean was so thick here, it looked like we were above the clouds. Ollie was SO loved with both sets of Grandparents doting over him all weekend.

Family picture.

Ollie had a lot of fun playing in the cooler.

Jason and I before the race.

All the runners, Saturday morning before the race.

Ollie loves to sit on the couch like a big boy.

Walking up to start our races.

Jason starting.

Ollie sitting on Poppa Wursten's shoulders.

John finishing up.

Ollie napped with Grandma Miller. This is how he was when I finished....so excited to cheer me on :)

Right after I finished (hence the really red face, which I inherit from my Mom, thanks a lot).

All of us at the end, feeling good.

So I am sometimes a little slow and while packing I grabbed two different black flip flops, both for the right foot, I wore them anyway.

Hanging out at the little creek by our cabin.

Ollie loved it (although you can't tell by his face).

On a walk with Grandpa.

Saturday night we went to this cool restaurant with an AMAZING ocean view, it was beautiful and the restaurant had a really cool vibe. After dinner we came back and played Taboo, it was fun, the girls won!

My parents.

The whole group.

Ollie loved playing outside in the dirt and climbing up and down the cabin's front steps.

Leaving Sunday morning. It was a great weekend. A big triumph for me since I am not much of a runner, and so fun hanging out with our families.

Ollie asleep and worn out from a long weekend away. He is such a funny kid.

Phoenix

Over Labor Day weekend we headed to Phoenix to visit some of our favorite people, the Evers family. It was Jeff's birthday on Monday so we were lucky enough to be part of the birthday festivities. Luckily for us it wasn't TOO hot, in fact the first day we were there they had a huge thunderstorm, we loved it.

Ollie playing in the rain, it was still so warm in the rain.

Ollie and Laney

All the kids, it was impossible to get a pic of all of them looking at the camera.

We walked to the park and played on the swings.

Ollie and Laney taking a bath, Laney is so happy, Ollie is so serious.

Jeff and Kelly and the delicious candy bar.

Saturday we ate at this cool olive mill, it was delicious.

Kelly's delicious cheese ball and pasta salad.

Love my hubby.

Kelly's friend made the coolest cake, and delicious cupcakes.

Monday we spend some time at the pool, it was so nice.

Ollie loves swimming. His newest trick is jumping to us, he loves it.

We had a great time with the Evers, and we are never ready to go home. We love them!

Jason's Birthday Weekend

We had a relaxing and fun weekend as just our little family, celebrating Jason's birthday. On Friday Ollie and I picked Jason up a little early from work and we headed to the Infineon Raceway in Sonoma. The Indy Grand Prix was being held there this weekend and Jason wanted to check it out. The main event was on Sunday, but we still got to see some fun stuff. We stayed in Santa Rosa and on Saturday we headed to Bodega Bay. We played on the beach for a little while, but it was COLD. Ollie isn't use to cold beaches and at first he wouldn't stand on the cold sand, it was really funny to watch him (he is use to our nice Santa Cruz beaches...spoiled kid). Eventually he toughened up and had a lot of fun running around. At this point our camera broke :(, BUT Jason fixed it :), BUT not until that night so we don't have anymore pics from the day :(. We spent most the rest of our day in Petaluma. We walked around the cute downtown, ate lunch, visited the farmers market, Jason dropped me off at the outlets for some baby free shopping (such a treat) etc. It was a fun day. Sunday we slept in (even Ollie a little) then headed home so we could make it to church. Here are some pics from the last couple weeks and our weekend.

Last weekend we went on a bike ride and Ollie fell asleep. He was so out and we didn't want to risk waking him up by transferring, so we kept him in his seat and set it in his room, helmet and all. He stayed asleep for about 30 mins.

This kid is entertained by the funniest things. He played with this box for a long time last week. Jason and I just sat and watched, it was hilarious. The funniest part is the last 10 seconds.

Here is another video of Ollie, here he is cooking one of his shoes for dinner.

Auntie Letty came to visit us since she is leaving for college soon, :) for her, :( for us. While she was here we went and saw my friend Carlie's dad's tortoises. This one is only a few weeks old, it was SOOO cute!

This is Al, he is almost my age, crazy huh. I guess they live to be well over 100.

Carlie watches Ollie when I work and she took this picture of him on Gus. These tortoises are seriously so cool.

Ollie at the raceway. It was REALLY hot that day (we have been spoiled in the bay area). His poor little face was so red and dirty from all the dust.

Jason and Ollie, check out the cars "drifting" in the background.

Jason and Ollie watching.

Ollie sitting in one of the cars.

We kind of wanted to get to the race ASAP on Friday so we didn't get gas along the way. So leaving the raceway, we had 8 miles until empty and the gas station was 7.2 miles away. We also hit a little traffic, plus we went up a hill, so when we filled up we put in 18.2 gallons and the flex has an 18.5 gallon tank! Needless to say I was a little stressed. Speaking of cars, Jason's main birthday present was an amp and subwoofer for the Flex. He is excited to do the wiring and install of everything, I am excited to get a little bump in my trunk. So those of you who live near us, if you hear someone "bumping" through the neighborhood, it is me. I have already compiled a playlist solely for this purpose :)

Ollie and Daddy at the beach.

Ollie and Mommy

Token family picture at the beach.

Such a cutie pie.

Running to dad.

Yoga at the beach. I swear he makes me want to actually start doing yoga.

Little footprints.