Twilight GNO

Tickets are available so its time to start planning.

Looks like both Thursday night at Midnight and all times on Friday night still have tickets available. What works for people? I good either way, but I definitely want to go with YOU! (yes that means anyone reading this that is interested in going)

We talked about this long ago and now its time to get our plans in order.

Really, its the least I could do

Picture time!

I know you have all been dying to see some pictures of Kate. She is SO GROWN UP, you'll just die! (That sounded just like my mother...)

As far as updates go, she's now 16 months old, about 25 lbs and 32 inches tall. She is extremely active (as you will see in the pics) and athletic; jumping, running, and climbing on EVERYTHING. She is a darling copycat and learning new words everyday. It seems like she understands so much of what we say.

She still loves (did I say loves? I meant LOVES) dogs, but she has branched out to include all of God's creepers and critters.

We just bought her an Elmo potty and her first "big girl panties" but we aren't pushing it...just want to be ready when she is. She loves to help me do everything I do, including cleaning up and cooking.

And with no further adieu...

Our little trick-or-treating puppy!

I told you she likes to jump, right? She could spend hours on the trampoline, and gets some pretty impressive air. (See slideshow below, for more evidence)

I love this picture for the face she is making. Can you hear the "OooO" sound now? I must see this face a hundred times everyday and she explores and discovers all the exciting things the world has to delight her.

Oh man, how could anyone resist those puppy-dog eyes?

Now, because I know you want to what it's like to spend a half hour with Kate, I invite you to Nana's house.

Oh, heck yeah baby!

Yesterday I ran a marathon. The end.

I'm not dead, if that's what you're thinking

AND this is actually the 4th post I've written in the past four months, but I just thought they were all so boring so I never posted them. I know. Lame, right? Well I guess I'll post one of them for you, as it was the most comprehensive and you can decide for yourself.

Before that, I thought I would pick up where "something awesome" left of...the Top of Utah marathon. Yeah, it's this Saturday, and yes I'm still planning on running it. As you can see I have only run about half of the miles I was supposed to by this point, but I have done a couple of "long" runs (17 or 18 miles) and only one of them killed me. :D Getting that first one under my belt was an amazing psychological boost and I feel more confident than ever that I can finish a marathon! Four more days....

Anyway, here's that other post. It was aptly titled "you should blog about that"

I've heard that a lot lately. Must be because I have had a very eventful summer. Can I use this as an excuse for my absence in the blogging scene for the last three months?

Highlights since May include:

Wasatch Back Relay. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this race, teams of 12 relay 180 miles from Logan to Park City. Mike and I were part of a team put together by one of his coworkers called Command-R. It's a mac command that "runs" a program. So Command R=RUN, get it? Anyway, the race was a blast! Each person runs 3 legs of an average 5 miles each. I ran 17 miles total. My last leg--6 miles, slightly uphill most the way, at 1:30 in the afternoon which made it 95ish degrees, oh, and most significantly my third time running in about 18 hours--was by far the most difficult. Overall though, an experience I hope to have again in the future.

Kate's first birthday. We celebrated Kate's first birthday in June. We had a swimming party at my dad's house. I made her a "Woof" cake, which she picked at but never dug into. Kate loves swimming, and is not afraid of the water. I think it may be time to get her into swimming lessons. I think she would do quite well.

The whole week before Kate's birthday she was sick. When I took her to the doctor they said there were several stomach bugs going around and she most likely just had one of those and to keep her hydrated. Then the day after her birthday, she had her well child visit and got 4 vaccines. A couple of days after her party she started having a super high fever (104 degrees) so I took her to the doctor again (third time in a week) and because all her normal checks were fine with the exception of the fever and fussiness and lack of appetite, the doc decided to take some blood and urine samples. So within a 5 day period she got poked 7 times and had a nasty experience with a catheter. The urine test showed she had a bladder infection and she needed further testing to determine the cause. Poor girl. Seriously no fun for anyone.

Following the latter tests we found out that she has a grade 3 reflux, which is where the urine backs up into her kidney on one side. It may not be serious enough for surgery, and in most cases corrects itself by the time they reach age 5. But as is, we have to see a pediatric urologist and most likely have her checked out yearly for changes. Sure explains her uncharacteristically bad mood for almost the entire month of June.

School. Yuck. Summer school is never fun, but this semester seemed especially burdensome. Mike and I finally took a class together and it was a bit of a beast. Not looking forward to starting again in a couple of weeks.

Fourth of July. Due to a massive load of homework, we didn't celebrate all too heartily. The highlight for me was a run I took that night right at dusk. I got to see a couple of firework finales from a few nearby cities and ran past several neighborhood celebrations. When I was telling Mike how much fun it was, he said, "sounds like the Sandlot." Yes, very much so.

This is boring...I'm outta here.

something awesome

Team "something awesome" completed the marathon in 4 hours 5o minutes!!!

On Friday afternoon Mike and I were IMing and he was saying how jealous he was that I would be running on Saturday without him. Well, here. Read it yourself:

2:00 PM Mike: i wish i could run it with you

starting to feel really jealous

:)

2:01 PM Lydia: yeah, that would be so awesome

Mike: do you think i could?

i'd be tempted to try

i really felt like i could have gone a lot further when we ran that 5

but i know i'd really be pushing my limits

Lydia:.I think you could try

and we did 6 on Saturday, not 5

Mike: oh yeah

2:13 PM Lydia: well, I'll go pick up our registration and stuff and you can think about it

Mike: ok

Lydia: I think you could finish, yes.

it just might take you a while

2:14 PM and you would probably be in pain for a week!

:)

So, that lead to this:


That's right! We did it! Mike's dad, Rick (pictured above) ran the marathon as well. Mike ran the first half and did GREAT! He was pooped out when he got to me though, but I was SO SO proud of him.

Then it was my turn, and I was pumped. Not nervous at all. I ran with Rick for my first 7 or 8 miles and I was grateful to have someone so experienced to run with. That was Rick's 20th Marathon. Anyway, he made sure we didn't overdo it on the hills, and he gave me salt tablets to help me avoid cramps. But when it came to those last few miles I just had a bit more energy and decided to take it in solo.

I actually really liked running alone, not better than with someone, just differently. I really paid attention to my body and the beautiful scenery around me. I liked talking to strangers along the way and taking in the camaraderie associated with sharing in that challenging experience. I liked pushing myself when I thought I had nothing left; it was exhilarating!

After Mike finished his half, he went to pick up Kate from my sister's (Thanks SO MUCH again, Jenny!) and then he came down to the finish to see me in. He and Kate were waiting in some shade about two blocks from the finish line. I was so excited to see them! They jumped up and ran to the finish with me. I can tell Mike had had some rest, his pace wore me out to the point that I walked for the first time in miles! But then the crowd kept telling me, "Oh! You're so close! Keep going!" And Mike asked me if I was going to sprint it to the end. I did! Well, the last 25 feet or so. Finished strong.

I sense an addict in the making. I already registered Mike and me for the Top of Utah Marathon held in Logan on Sept. 20th. The FULL marathon this time. Oh, and I want to send out a warm welcome to anyone who wants to join in the training. It's in 4 months and you would have the perfect amount of time to train and I guarantee it will be one of the better experiences in you life. Here's a map so as you can see, it's almost ALL downhill....a great race to begin with. If you just want to do the half marathon, I still recommend it. Come join in the fun!

Wrong Place at the Right Time

Yesterday Katers and I had an interesting experience. Seeing as it was laundry day and I had about 5 loads to fold while she was napping, I decided to go get a movie from Redbox. The Redbox we frequent at our local Maverick has several parking spaces within 10 feet, so I felt okay about leaving her in the car, especially considering I wasn't going to have to wait in line and I knew what movie I was getting.

When I got back to the car I was quite surprised to find it locked....with the keys in the ignition. I panicked, of course, and then paced back and forth in front of the car thinking about my options. I could call someone in my neighborhood and have them bring a key, but my cell phone is also in the car and I don't have anyone's number memorized. I could ask a complete stranger to stay with her while I drive their car home, but I think the spare key to the house is inside, and could I really do that?? So the only thing I can do, I decided, is to call a locksmith. Oh, and Kate is crying hysterically by this point.

I walked inside Maverick to ask to use a phone and a phone book, and while I'm looking up the locksmith a man I had seen outside asks me, "Did you lock your keys in your car with a child inside?"

"Yes." I say rather frantically.

"You know if you call the police they'll come and unlock it for you."

"Really? I had no idea! Do I just dial 911?"

And then a lady in line at the register just spits out this number, 688-whatever-it-was, and said that was the number for the Weber County Dispatch. An officer was there within 5 minutes, and about 5 minutes after that I was unlocked! I couldn't believe it! And they didn't say a word in reprimand about leaving her in the car, which I was really relieved for. Blessings!

Twilight update

I saw this on another friend's blog and decided to share it, given my last post.

So Summit has a trailer out for Twilight apparently. I'll let you watch it first, as to not bias you with my opinion, but I am curious as to what everyone thinks after seeing the teaser. I'll add my thoughts as a comment later.

http://www.myspace.com/trailerpark