BolderBoulder 2010K

I had a blast running the BolderBoulder on Memorial Day. That's me waving at my cute spectators near the end of the race.

My biggest fans! They came out to cheer me on even though there were more than 54,000 racers plus who knows how many supporters and staff. It was quite the event!



Nichole and I ran the whole thing together. She could have run a little faster but she was nice enough to stay with me the whole time.


Hot Mamas!


The BolderBoulder is such a fun 10K. People run in crazy costumes, there are bands everywhere, belly dancers performing, Elvis impersonators, and much, much more. I loved the sign that said, "Sea level is for sissies", although my cousin who runs in the beach sand would beg to differ.
Next stop? The Autumn Colors 1/2 Marathon in September. Anyone want to join?

The Cog to Pike's Peak

While in Colorado Springs, we took the cog up to Pike's Peak, a 14,000 plus foot mountain, famous for inspiring the words to the patriotic song, America the Beautiful. After taking the train up, we understood just why Katharine Lee Bates was so inspired to write her poem that later became an American anthem. It was a beautiful and scenic ride, although it was VERY windy and cold at the top. We could hardly stand outside for pictures. And we were only allowed to stay at the top for about a half hour because many people get altitude sickness. I definitely started to feel shortness of breath within a few minutes of being at the top. It reminded me of the 9th month of pregnancy and I was anxious to start heading back down when our time was up. Our tour guide had told us that in the 5 years she's been leading tours, she has only seen 2 bears. Well, after our trip, she can now say she has seen 3 bears as there was a big black bear standing on the railroad. I got a picture of it after it ran into the trees. If you look closely in the last picture, you can see it.


The kids were so tired, or maybe it was the altitude, but Bella and Cali fell asleep pretty quickly after leaving the top of the mountain.

Garden of the Gods

Garden of the Gods is truly a beautiful park and a great place to hike or rock climb. The admission is free so we went twice on our little weekender in Colorado Springs.

Quick weekend getaway

We kicked off the beginning of summer with a weekend vacation to Colorado Springs. We turned the double stroller into a triple stroller whenever Bella's legs were in need of a break. I swear that stroller is like driving a train. But they sure look cute all together like my little ducks in a row.

Kindergarten here she comes...

Bella and her best friend Sophie made it through their last year of pre-school. They had a lot of fun going to a big school. Bella told me that she is glad that kindergarten is only half day. I guess she isn't ready to totally leave the roost yet. Here she is at her pre-K graduation wearing the shirt that she made the last week of school.




Some of the cutest spectators.


Bella chose to celebrate at McDonalds and Cali became a huge fan of french fries.

Brave Bella, Chubby buns on the go, and YW hike

I chaperoned Bella on her pre-K class fieldtrip to the Butterfly Pavilion where Bella held Rosie, the tarantula, with out any hesitation. Her only stipulation was that she had to be on my lap while she held the huge spider. I was happy for how brave Bella was being but inwardly I was hoping that she kept Rosie far, far away from me.



And Cali is at that stage where she won't sit still for half a second for me to change her diaper. As soon as I have her on the ground with her diaper off, she and her cute, chubby buns are on the go and off to explore. I have to practically pin her down to get the next diaper on. I just couldn't resist getting a pic of her in action.

We went on hike with the young women for a recent activity. We had fun being outdoors, getting some exercise, and eating our sack dinners in a beautiful location. I love the girls and it has been fun seeing them grow up over the three years that I've been in the YW program.

Blaine's MANcation

In May Blaine was able to get away on a weekend trip with his brothers and his dad to celebrate Wade's 40th birthday. Wade got to choose the place and he decided on Cleveland, Ohio...home to Cedar Point, which houses the biggest and most rollercoasters in one amusement park. The men had fun reliving their boyhood days of running all over an amusement park together. Blaine said the rides were awesome and he even blacked out on one for a second. The weekend was also full of gag gifts for Wade and a trip to Kirtland, Ohio to visit some old church history sites. I am glad that Blaine got to spend the weekend with his brothers and dad because apart from me and the kids, they really are his best friends.