March 28th
It's a coffee, Jesus rap, getting some some stuff done kinda of day! Love this kid and his moves! Love my shirt, check out more of my friend Brittany Frey at Truth Ink here.
March 30th
Bribing isn't always bad, right??!! Candy for a picture sounded like a good trade off.
I love my Corby and Mama days!
Matilda Jane shoot
Charley and I had another opportunity to take part in a little Matilda Jane shoot showing off the new release. Mel Conner took some amazing pics once again and of course it helps to have adorable girls and fabulous clothes. If you are in the DFW area and need a trunk keeper Jackie Smith jackiesmith@matildajaneclothing.com or Carrie Taylor carrietaylor@matildajaneclothing.com are you're ladies.
March 31st
One of my besties Kara and I got to spend the day together in Canton today. It's not often we get one on one time so I loved every minute of it.
Loving my new crazy hat and it will be the perfect accessory to a little girl's party that has my mind already churning.
April 1st
How can it already be April???!!!
I
got to volunteer in Charley's class this morning and Corbs just jumped
in like this was his class. Centers, circle up, and snack time, I had to
drag him out of there, he did not want to leave!
April 2nd
I'm pretty positive she would win the cutest, most fashionable catcher ever award!!
They get softball stickers after every game. So how her sweet coach finds one they great each girl did that game and gives them a sticker for that.
He is a little obsessed with anything both his big brother and sister do or like.
April 3rd
Oh my boys!
April 4th
Rangers Opening Day
For years Ryan has had season tickets so going to the games was something Brady and he did all the time! This season and last season Ryan chose not to do tickets so last year not sure they ever made a game but he didn't want the craziness of life to keep him from making those memories with Brady this season so he had me pick up from school so he could take him to the game today. To say Brady was surprised would be a understatement.
While it was Opening Day for the Rangers it is also Opening day for the Colorado Rockies. Why is that important you ask? Mallie, a former student turned sitter, who now has really just become part of family and a precious friend, boyfriend is making his MLB debut today as starting short stop and we couldn't be more excited for her or him! We have gotten to be along for a little tiny snip of his long journey to get to this point and we are beyond excited! Brady and I stayed up way past our bedtime to watch the game! And what a way to say hello to the Big Leagues, at his 2nd at bat he hit a 3 run homer and 3rd at bat another
homer!!!
We were blowing up Mallie's phone up, we couldn't hold our excitement!
We can't wait to see him play in person come August when he come to Arlington or sooner maybe!
April 5th
STRETCH
me for Your Kingdom!!!! We are all called to be stretched! Our Father
desires to stretch us in all areas of our lives, it may be scary at
times, forcing us to have to step out of our cozy zone but He reminds us
there is no need to be afraid b/c He will be with us wherever we go! We
must have Faith, Be Strong, & Courageous and let Him Stretch us for
His Kingdom!!!
I
think I found the perfect shoes for the night leg of my relay next
week! Wait until you see the rest of my reflective gear, I promise no
one will have any trouble seeing me.
April 6th
Almost a month of 4:30am workouts 3days a week and my friend/workout partner/trainer Brittany is still kicking my tail.
April 7th
Kite Day
One of the reasons I love Matilda Jane besides the fact the clothes are super adorable is the longevity. You can see Charley wearing the exact same out for Kite day last year too!
Last year vs. this year
Corby was pretty excited about Kite Day too!
Showing off his kite he made at school today!
I had to run up to their school today and happened to walk in right as Charley was in the middle of dance class. I was able to get a quick video before she told me to stop, lol.
He loves to sing and I love to hear him sing!
April 8th
Just some pretty uneventful morning, a little Bible journaling and hanging out with my monkey, that was until we picked up Charley from school. Poor girl was running and thought she lifted the latch on the gate at her school playground but ran right into with her tooth/gums!!! She cut her gums pretty good so we took a quick trip to the ER to make sure she was ok. I can not tell you how brave she was. Thank the Lord, she just cute her gums and it just required a little numbing and a snip. If you don't like bloody pics this is your warning.
We were able to get out of there just in time to get to Ft. Worth to take pics of Ms. Maeggy, another former student turned sitter/friend/adopted kid. She will be graduating from college next month and we could't be more proud.
April 9th
I DID IT!!!! I got over my 3mile hump!!! Thank you Jesus for a great run, motivating playlist, and beautiful weather!!!
Now for some softball/baseball...
He is by far the cutest little fan of both his brother and sister!!!
No tee needed!
Waiting out the rain in the car and parking illegally so we can still watch Brady play!
April 10th
Sunday Vibes-Jesus and Pockets!!!
April 11th
I
couldn't have planned this any better! Sick kid and its raining but I
still got groceries without having to drag him around and without
getting wet, double win, woo-whoo!!!
Not too sick to help mama clean, lol.
April 12th
Blessed Beyond Measure!!
"All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ." Ephesians 1:3
"All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ." Ephesians 1:3
I love that he loves to play! Getting ready for his recital coming up.
I mean really, lol this kid has us rolling all the time! And if you're wondering, yes we went out in public like this, choose your battles. I love this crazy kid!
April 13th
"He
will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more,
neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the
former things have passed away." Revelation 21:4
Heaven received an amazing man yesterday, Ryan's uncle Dennis lost his battle with cancer. Though we are sad not to have him here on earth with us any longer we are so very thankful for the promise His word tells us.
This guy is feeling better but the other two are down with the bug now too!
April 14th
Thankfully it was just a 24hr bug and Charley and Brady are feeling back to normal. Getting the car washed it always a highlight for kiddos. Getting me and car ready for my relay tomorrow.
Obnoxious
bright reflective gear that yes, of course matches✔️ ☺️, headlamp ✔️,
running cap✔️, strobe light✔️, water belt✔️, sunglasses✔️, headphones✔️,
running shoes ✔️, and because it's me, glow in the dark nail polish
✔️!!! Ragnar Relay Austin here we come! 12 runners, 2vans, 179miles,
2days, 1 night, let's do this!!!!
April 15th
Ragnar Relay Time
We arrived last night in Fredericksburg and we're up and at the start line by 6:15am this morning. I have never done anything like this before so I am filled with mixed emotions, excitement and nervousness to name a few.
Before I get into how our relay went b/c I had never heard of it I thought you might want to know a little bit more about what it is.
Teams cover 200-ish miles of
running from point A to point B, on sidewalks, backroads, bike paths,
paved trails and road shoulders. Form a 12-Pack team with 11 of your
friends, family members or co-workers. Or you can form a 6-Pack team
(open during regular registration periods during all Ragnar Relays), and
we’ll pair you with another 6-Pack team to form a full team of 12
runners. For those looking for an even bigger challenge, form a 6-person
Ultra team and conquer the course with half the team members.
Pile teams into vans or SUVs and tag team 200-ish miles, day and night,
relay-style over two days and one night. Only one runner hits the road
at a time. Each participant runs three times, with each leg ranging
between 3-13 miles and varying in difficulty. Runners average about 17
total miles, with some of the shorter runner positions totaling 11 miles
and some of the longer runner positions totaling 24 miles. Ultra
runners take on 6 legs each, and average a full marathon (26+ miles).
While one person is running, the rest of your teammates are on support
duty in your race vehicles. Teams of 12 require two vehicles (Runners
1-6 in Van One and 7 -12 in Van Two). Van One's runners will cover the
first six legs. As each runner begins, the crew in the vehicle can drive
ahead, cheer their runner on and meet them at the exchange point to
pick them up and drop off the next runner. After the first 6 legs, Van
Two gets their chance to shine and starts putting in the miles.
Once your van’s runners finish the six legs, you can enjoy downtime,
get food, maybe sleep, and then drive ahead to the major exchange point
to wait for your other van to finish their six legs. All that stuff
above? Yeah… you get to do it two more times.
This one is actually from our Austin Relay this year.
Just to add to make this a little more
crazy, I really had no idea what I was getting myself into, sometimes I
think the less I know the better I am. I had done little research on how
this entire thing worked and I didn't really know anyone I was going
with. My neighbor is the one that invited me, but we are backyard
neighbors so before this weekend we might have had just a couple of
conversations. I knew one other mom from Brady's school that I was a
room moms with but other than seeing her at parties this year I didn't
know here very well either. Again just to clarify how crazy I am, I had
no idea what I was getting myself into and would be on a team with 10
other people I didn't know. I would be stuck in my car with 4 ladies,
basically strangers, with little or no sleep, sweaty, nasty, exhausted
and would not just be running 3x times in 24hrs but 4x, b/c our 11th man
had to back out due to an injury and I thought I'd be kind and offer to
take an extra leg. Doesn't that sound like fun,lol????!!!
As
crazy as all of that sounds, I had an amazing time! My team was
amazing, my car was even more amazing! There is no way a group of
strangers, especially ladies, under these conditions could walk away
from this experience feeling like they made lifetime friends without
God's hand being in it! I have never bonded so fast with a group of
people or felt like I had made instant friends so quickly ever in my
life. If it weren't not for them I know for a fact I would not have been
able to do this!
Our Course...
Our start time was 6:45am, our first leg just being a little under 2miles and then I was leg 2. Stephanie was so fast I wasn't completely ready to start running which didn't allow me much time to focus on our super nervous I was.
My fan at the start line!
Fixing to get started.
It's my turn...
Beware of Cattle Crossings, lol! Which are no joke by the way, you basically have to walk over them
You can see the course map and elevation.
I'm not going to lie, my emotions got the best of me! There is just something about running at sunset and hearing a worship song come one, it gets me every time, so I might have cried just a little bit for just a second, lol.
I survived my first leg and didn't do to bad, past 5 people (means btw means kills) and got us in first place.
I finished in 41:32min, 8:15min per mile
Waiting for Bonnie to finish her leg
Stephanie entertaining us!
Bonnie marking her kill!
We survived our first set of legs and handed it over two the second van.
Ready for our second set of legs.
It was hot and I learned very quickly that running 5miles just a few hours after running another 5miles on hills was not something I trained for. This leg seriously kicked my butt! I was hot, tired, my legs were cramping, and my mind was on things back home (I'll fill you in on that in another post). Running is so mental and I let my mind take off. I finished and still in a decent time (9:25 min mile) but it took some help from my teammate to get to the end. I was very disappointed with myself for struggling so much, having to stop and walk, and not getting my best time but I realize I'm really hard on myself and to do a race like this is challenging and I should be extremely proud so I'll suck it up and focus on the fact I did it!
At our second exchange, Stephanie starting us off...
We finished our second legs around 7pm and hung around to see the other van for a minute before heading to the hotel. Most people that participate in the race either just sleep in their car or camp out we decided a hotel room was the way to go even if we were just there a few hours.
Quick Shut Eye
We got to our rooms around 9pm and by the time we got showered and settled it was 10:30 before I got in bed, sadly I couldn't sleep a wink. I just tossed and turned until 12:20am when we had to be up, to leave by 12:45am. Yes, you heard me correctly, 12:45am!!!!!
April 16th
2nd day of Race
Stephanie had our first leg this morning which was a 9miler, she rocked it! I was next with just a 3.31miler which just happened to be mostly on the shoulder of a highway, not sure if a narrow two way road in the middle of no where is better or this.
I started running around 4:30am and I made up my crummy last leg on this run, I finished around 27.5min, about an 8:23min mile.
FYI, no van support means that at no point during this run my car could stop to help. Most of the time vans can stop every so often along the leg to cheer you on, give you water, etc. Because this leg along the highway there was not enough shoulder to pull over.
I know it looks like I am wrapped in Christmas lights but this was just the reflective decor from my jacket.
My extra leg was just a few hours later around 6:45am. Besides almost getting sick off the smell of Shipley's donuts,lol, due to an empty stomach and I'm sure exhaustion and no sleep played a part too I finished strong, not as fast as my normal run but still under 9min mile. This was our last leg for our van, we would let the 2nd van take over and meet them at the finish line later today.
Me finish our last leg! I know I look extremely silly!
Celebratory Breakfast
My stomach was a little uneasy and had been all weekend but it was still nice to get some real food in my tummy.
After breakfast we decided to stop by Quack's bakery for a yummy treat!
We ate at Mi Madres in Austin.
It started raining at breakfast we were so thankful we weren't fighting the rain during our runs!
A stinky car selfie waiting at the finish line.
I got another kill on my last leg, so had to document me marking it!
My van peeps!
Running with our last leg through the finish line!!!
Selfie with the entire team after finishing the race!!!
WE DID IT!!!!!
We finished in 32:03:15 average pace 8:59:33.
We finished in 52nd place out of 75 in the Open Mixed category and 111th place out of 154 in the Open Overall category. The fastest team finished in 23hrs, wow!
All of our medals put together completed the puzzle!
My van peeps showing off our medals!
The other van showing theirs off!
Look who made a Ragnar Relay Ad, my awesome teammate and van leader Allison!
Look who made a Ragnar Relay Ad, my awesome teammate and van leader Allison!
I sent this to Ryan to show the kids!
We stayed and celebrated at the finish line with the other teams for awhile and then went to the hotel to rest for a minute and clean up for dinner in downtown Austin.
After dinner we went back to the hotel and visited with some of the girls from the other van b/c honestly you don't get to interact very much with them and as you can imagine we crashed pretty fast.
April 17th
We got up did a little sight seeing, grabbed coffee and then headed back home to see our families!
Seriously this was such an amazing experience and has crazy has it sounds and was I WILL DO IT AGAIN!!!!
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