Easter with our East Coast Family

We were so happy to be able to spend Easter with Taber's cousins who live in New Jersey. The timing of my race worked out perfectly with the celebration of our cousin Nancy's 60th birthday. Everyone was getting together at Hal and Betsy's house, so we came too and were able to spend the rest of Saturday with them and enjoy a fun Easter egg hunt and delicious Easter dinner before we left on Sunday.

Taber with his cousins, Nancy Rigg on the left and Betsy Maxwell on the right.

They are his Dad's brother's children.

We were welcomed with loving arms and were made to feel at home right away. Even though we hadn't seen them in over 6 years and they'd never met the kids, it just felt like home. Teya completely accepted them as family and was right at home snuggling up to Nancy and playing like best friends with her second cousin Evan.

We ate lots of great food from Nancy's birthday party and then we got to go color eggs with the kids.

Teya and Evan were peas in a pod, She was especially excited when she found out they have the same last name : )

We tried helping Brinley dye her eggs but she kept saying, " I muhself!! muhself!"

So we let her do it herself.

And shortly after this picture was taken there was green dye everywhere. : )

I loved seeing how at home Teya felt there. At one point she decided to entertain everyone with some original song compositions and interpretive dance. Everyone gave her lots of applause and she ate it up!

Another highlight was the pool that Betsy and Hal recently put in. It wasn't heated yet and the water was cold, but the next day the kids found it pretty hard to resist.

They started by just lounging in front of it.

Soon though their shoes were off and little feet were dipping in.

Then they were actually standing inside it.

And before long everyone was in their swimsuits splashing around, cold water and all : )

Luckily they were able to dry off quickly in the warm sun.

We couldn't have asked for better weather that weekend.

After they were all dry they set out for an Easter egg hunt in the front yard.

Family shot after the egg hunt

We ended with an amazing Easter dinner and then we got on the road for the drive back to New Hampshire.

It's so wonderful to know we have family out here. Even if they are 5 hours away, when the rest of our family lives across the entire country, 5 hours feel pretty close : ) Thank you Betsy and Hal for having us!

Hope everyone had a Happy Easter!

New York 13.1 Half Marathon!

Running season has officially begun and my first race was a huge success! After weeks of training it all came to a climax at the beautiful Flushing Meadows Park in Queens New York. (Home of the 1939 and 1964 World's Fair) The course took us around the Arthur Ashe stadium (venue of the U.S. tennis open) passed the New York Hall of Science, the Queens wildlife center and finished in the shadow of the Unisphere.

The night before the race I had nightmares that I slept through my alarm and missed the start. They were so vivid that when I woke up I seriously thought I had missed the race! Luckily it was just a dream but I was definitely nervous getting ready.

Why do I get nervous for races? I have no idea. But my stomach was in knots and I had to use the bathroom like 50 times before it started. Anyway, I woke up and ate my favorite race day breakfast, a peanut butter and honey sandwich. Then Laura and I caught the shuttle over to the stadium to pick up our packets and get ready. We pinned on our numbers, tagged our shoes, stretched, and visited the port-a-potty's. Soon it was time to line up in the chute.

There were about 3000 runners on the course so it took us almost 3 minutes to cross the starting line. That first mile was so congested, I must've gotten elbowed like 5 times! My goal for the race was to finish under 2 hours and I knew I needed to keep around a 9 minute pace to do that. It was really frustrating in the beginning trying to weave through all the slower runners. At one point I glanced down at my pace on my watch and freaked out when it was 10 minutes +! I used up a lot of energy spurting ahead, getting stuck, weaving around, and navigating the crowd on that first mile. I lost Laura in that big shuffle but was thrilled at mile 2 to see Taber and the girls cheering for me on the sidelines! They were shouting "GO MOMMY!" and I heard a lady behind me say "Wow! That would definitely keep ME going!" And it did.

I also got a chuckle seeing how the kids looked knowing that Daddy had gotten them ready. Teya was donning Tabers jacket and Hat and clutching onto her Elephy. Seriously put the biggest smile on my face : )

By mile 3 the congestion had cleared and we were back in business. At that point I turned on my iPod and pushed my pace to around 8:30 to make up for lost time. Miles 3-6 were pretty fast
Taber and the girls were at mile 5 (where this picture was taken) and it was great to see them again. But by mile 6 I was starting to feel it. I knew I was close to half way there but the fast pace I'd been keeping was taking it's toll. I slowed down at the water station and took a gel. Nasty! Then I went back at it. The gel helped with my energy but by mile 8 I was really starting to get tired. We had to go climb a big hill to get over a bridge and it really sapped my energy. Halfway through mile 8 I looked at my pace and it was 9:30. I kept trying to push it back to 9 but I just couldn't. It was really disheartening knowing that I still had 5 miles to go and I was already so tired. At mile 9 I hit a wall and just really starting giving into my doubts. I was running around a 9:15-9:20 pace and I just felt like my chances of reaching my goal time were gone. I felt like giving up and just walking at that point. But then I snapped out of it and thought, "You know what, I may not set a new PR or even break 2 hours but I'm NOT GOING TO WALK!!" So I stopped looking at my watch, forgot about my pace, and just focused on running. Who cares how fast I do it?! I'm just going to do it!

I saw Taber again at mile 10 and he took this lovely unflattering video. I like it though because it shows how I felt. He asks how I'm doing and I can hardly talk but I give him a big fat 2 thumbs down! (yeah, really nice right?) It's sweet though because he is so positive and encouraging. After I left him I DID feel more motivated and was so happy he was there cheering me on.

Mile 11 I was still just plugging along when I totally rolled my ankle and almost face planted! I caught myself before I fell but I let out a big yell and limp jogged for a few feet before I realized I was okay and kept running. I'm sure I scared the people around me though. : )

At mile 12 I looked up and saw that my gun time was just over 1 hour and 50 minutes! I could hardly believe my eyes! I only had 1.1 miles to go, surely I could do that in 10 minutes! Knowing I still had a chance at cracking 2 hours motivated me like nothing else. Even though my legs were super tired and I was so done running I forced myself to power through. I kept saying, You got this, you got this, you got this!

That last mile was SO long, I kept thinking, it's gotta end soon right? Finally I saw the finish and Taber and the girls were there cheering for me! I used everything I had left to kick it in to the finish and when I looked up at the clock I knew I had broken two hours!!

They gave us water, gatorade, bananas and bagels in the finishers chute. As I was coming out I saw Taber jumping up and down and pumping his fists saying, "You did it! You did it!" Seeing how happy and proud of me he was was probably one of the most rewarding parts of that whole experience.

He took this picture right as I came out of the chute. iPod dangling off my waist, banana in hand and sweat all over my face, but at least I'm smiling!
After I got done I stretched and ate and then we went to watch for Laura to finish. We cheered extra loud when we saw her. This was her first half and she did awesome!

Once we were all settled I started getting really anxious to know my official chip time. I sent Taber to go find out and when he came back I was dying from the anticipation.

"WEll?!" I asked

"Well," he said, "I saw your time."

"SO WHAT IS IT!!"

"I sent you a text" (little devil!)

I scrambled to find my phone opened it up and there was the text: Official Time: 1:57:48!!

I let out a big WOO! and gave him a hug! I guess the fast miles in the beginning made up for my slower miles at the end. I also think it really helped when I stopped looking at my watch and just ran. I must've been going faster than I thought!

I was so happy that I set a new PR and finished strong. Here are my stats:

Official Time: 1:57:48

Average pace: 9:00 min pace

675 out of 2103 finishers overall

237 out of 1180 females

65 out of 302 in my age group 25-29

So there you have it! After a winter off of training I was able to work hard, come back and have a great race. LOVED having Taber and the girls there and the girls really loved my pretty new "necklace" : )

New York City!!

We're back from New York and the weekend was so much fun! New York is a crazy crazy place, not sure if I could ever live there but it sure was fun to visit!

We got into Queens (where the race was) around 4 pm on Friday and after checking into our hotel we hurried to find a cab to take us into the city. We knew we only had a few hours before the kids expired and we wanted to take advantage of it.

We headed straight to Central Park and WOW! What a cool place! It's the perfect little oasis in the middle of the crazy city. There were still tons of people there but it just felt much calmer than the fast paced hustle and bustle of the streets.

The girls collected rocks, chased squirrels, ran around and got some energy out of their systems after the 5 hour drive down from NH. The weather was perfect and we really enjoyed being outside together as a family.

There's an ice rink in the middle of the park and Brinley got a kick out of watching the zamboni smooth out the ice.

The girls got hungry so we grabbed some hot dogs and popcorn. Teya begged us to let her eat her hot dog with the popcorn on top. She was so set on doing it that way and finally I just thought, "well, it all goes to the same place in the end." Guess she started a new trend: Pop-dogs!
After we fed the kids we walked down to Times Square. Teya's eyes were bugging out over all the tall buildings. I just couldn't believe how many people were on the streets! We went into a big Toy R Us store and got some things for the girls, then we went back out to take in the sights and sounds of Times Square.

The whole fam in the center of all the insanity!

Around 8 o'clock the girls were fading fast so we caught a cab and took one of the scariest rides of my life back to the hotel! Seriously, I think cab drivers have their own rules on what is or isn't legal to do while driving. I'm just glad we made it back safely!

Teya conked out in the cab and was so passed out that I got her to go potty, change into her pajamas, and drink some milk without ever opening her eyes or fully gaining consciousness. I love this picture because she looks like a rockstar who partied a little too hard and then passed out on the hotel bed : )

Obviously we didn't even scratch the surface as far as all the things you can do in New York, but I was so glad that we got to see the city and experience some of those sights with the kids.

Friday Foto: They grow up fast!

Brinley with her Easter stuff 2009

Brinley the week before Easter one year later

They grow up fast.

Treadmill Triumph

Yesterday I had to run 12 miles for my half marathon training.

Several things came up and I wasn't able to do it outside.

So I ran 12 miles on my treadmill.

Normally I would post this sort of thing on my running blog but then I thought,

12 miles on a TREADMILL?!

I just had to share that triumph with everyone : )

p.s. and I think I burned enough calories to justify the giant chocolate texas sheet cake a made for myself tonight : ) mmmmm....

Friday Fotos: Homemade play-doh and 6 fingered mom

The other day my friend Laura came over to watch the girls so I could go for a run. As I was walking out the door Teya said, "I want to play with play-doh!" "Sorry" I responded, "You guys left the lids off and now it's all dried up. No more play-doh"

Then I walked out the door and forgot all about it. When I came home however, what did I find on my counter? A tupperware container full of bright blue homemade play-doh. Laura decided to be the awesome babysitter of the year and make the girls some homemade play-doh! They were pretty happy, and I was inspired to be a better babysitter!

I love this 2nd picture because it really captures what my girls hair usually looks like. Teya with her scraggly fly away hair that never stays in a pony tail and that she generally refuses to let me style. Brinley with her own little fuzzy mop that requires a spray bottle to tame but often doesn't get it because she's too busy with other stuff to get her hair brushed. I swore if I had girls they would ALWAYS have their hair done, slickly combed, styled, and accessorized. HA! As if....

And now, a little gem. Brinley is learning to count and I got a clip of her counting my fingers. Apparently she saw one more on there than I normally do. I thought it was pretty cute : )

Little Chefs

When I was in Utah my crafty friend Melinda made these adorable aprons for the girls with their names embroidered on them. I had mentioned on my blog that I wanted to find little aprons for them so she just went ahead and made them!! I thought it was the sweetest most thoughtful gift and the girls LOVE them. Especially Teya who wouldn't even take hers off last night until it was time to get in the bath tub!

With their little aprons we have been inspired to do some kid friendly cooking.

We made the very hungry caterpillar pizza one night.

And last night we decided to make mummy hot dogs.

Probably more of a Halloween type meal but the girls didn't care! They were just happy to be cooking with their mommy.

Thanks Mel for the awesome gift! They are being put to good use!

Brinley's first birthday party

Last week Brinley was invited to her first birthday party for her little buddy William who was turning 2. I don't know why but if felt like a big moment for me, like she was being asked on her first date or something! I guess it just made me feel sentimental so I kept the invitation for her scrapbook : )

it was the cutest little Elmo party, the kids played pin the crayon in Elmo's hand and Elmo bean bag toss.

They also got to paint and play with play-doh, which were huge hits with the Brinster

Best of all there was a little mini bounce house for all the little tots to play in

Brinley had a blast and once again I was reminded that babies sure don't stay babies for very long.

Sidewalk Chalk and my first iMovie!

Here's my first attempt at using iMovie. It's actually really easy and so much fun! I'll probably start putting more videos up now that I can edit them with such a neat program!

This is a little montage from the girls favorite activity lately, sidewalk chalk. The last 3 days the weather has been gorgeous, and we usually find ourselves outside at least a couple times a day chalking up the driveway.

They love to have me trace their bodies and Teya loves tracing mine and Brinley's. Teya also taught Brinley how to do hopscotch. I don't know why but the first clip of her hopping with both feet is just the cutest thing ever to me. She just seems so little to be doing that already! Anyway, hope you enjoy!

Sidewalk Chalk - March 2010 from Rigg Family on Vimeo.