Surprise!

I have this friend. Her name is Lyndsey....

She is always smiling, full of optimism and Joy. A great example and ALWAYS willing to help out others. The kind of person that you just feel good to be around.

We all love her!!

Unfortunately....we missed her birthday when she was in Canada on July 1st.
We knew we would plan something for when she returned because she MORE than deserves a party, but time just kept flying by.
Thankfully Lacey used her sneakiness to plan a fun dessert party at Papa Haydn's for her on Thursday!
Lacey used the excuse that she needed to pick up a text book from down town that Aaron bought off Craigs list...despite Lyndsey's many questions and stupor, Lacey pulled it off!!! she arrived at Papa Haydn's to find us all waiting for her! and BOY was she surprised!!!

I was glad I could play a small part by pulling off my own sneakiness.

We knew Lynds would appreciate looking extra dolled up that night but how could we tell her to make sure she looks great if she was only going to pick up a book? SO....I told her I really needed to practice some new makeup techniques and asked her if she wouldn't mind if I did her makeup on Thursday afternoon. She agreed and so I went over during nap time to do it.

Little did she know that I planned to use all the makeup on her face that I had bought to give her for her birthday that night:) it was fun....she liked it ( I hope ) and she looked Dang hot!! lol

Anyway...I know you're all dying to see pics...so here ya go!

She was so surprised and overwhelmed she kept yelling "You Jerks!!" but then didn't even remember saying it afteward!! lol...it was quite hilarious

finally smiling for me after she gained her composure....

opening up her new makeup...

Nachelle, Becki, Holly

Julie, Sabrina, Moi

Lacey, Lynds, Val

Me, Lynds, Val...we thought it was cute that us 3 blonde girls all ended up wearing white shirts an baby blue jeans! too cute..

the Whole gang

Glad you had Fun Lynds and way to go Lace...you were too funny with how you pulled this off, I wish I could have been a fly on the wall of your truck on your way down town, good times, good times.....


Happy Birthday Girlfriend!

Is there such thing as a polite thief???

Maybe.

today we went to the river with the girls. we only had 30min so we locked up our car and headed down...it was SO much fun...the girls LOVED it...there was a wading pool area and Megan and Erika were seriously in heaven! I really want to go back on thursday.

Well...we got back up to the car and lo and behold...broken glass everywhere! they smashed our window..i guess in hopes of finding something? did they not get an idea from the 3 slurpee cups and 2 carseats that we were not the type of family to have anything valuable they would want?. ugh.

the POLITE part was that they smashed the corner window beside erikas back seat window...we were thankful they didn't smash the big window. Thanks guys!;)

anyway...we sat there picking glass out of erika's carseat before we could load up and go home.

Steve's solution: Castrate them!

This is his solution for EVERY crime mind you...he's a LITTLE harsh I tell him...but when the crime is fresh, there is no convincing him otherwise lol.

nothing like an adventurous day.

p.s we've lost count how many times our car has been broken into and stolen since we've been married....it's like we have a thief magnet on our car....or perhaps its the "Toyota" decal?....hmm.

Half Marathon: Check!

So today was the big day. I thought since i'm terrible at writing in my journal I should try to document the experience and my feelings here.

I have always loved running. When I was 6 my mom put me in a track club and I loved it! I love the race more than anything. There is this adrenaline that is just thrilling. I'm very competitive with myself so I really enjoy the race itself....more than the training. I haven't run since high school but for some reason always had on my life goals to run a marathon some day. ( half or full).
Anyway...I ran very lightly last summer (2mile runs a few nights a week) and then found some wonderfully experienced girls (Sabrina and Valerie) in february to motivate me to start running again. Me and My friend Natalie started running with them and it has been so much fun! I've really come to love these girls and appreciate their friendship and support SO much! They totally belive in me and are ALWAYS encouraging me which means A LOT to me! thank you ladies!!xo

anyway, after our 12K run on May 9th, we decided we wanted to do the Sauvie Island half marathon together (in 6wks time!). So...we started training. these girls are so great! they totally get my butt out of bed 3 times a week at 6am to run and I love it!

Anyway....long introduction. So today was race day. In my training I had 5 long runs: 6 miles, 7, 8, 9, and 10miles. one each week. I was nervous about running 13 as I'd never done it before! My goal was to try to run it at a steady 9min mile pace and finish in 2hrs. I was scared though b/c I just didn't know what my body would do past 10miles........

My problem is, when that buzzer goes off and the race is on, I just can't control myself.....My adrenaline kicks in and i'm off! I kept looking at my garmin forerunner and I was running at a 7:45-8:30pace......(too fast to keep up for 13miles i thought!) by mile 5 I got a burst of energy and ran that mile at a 7:46pace,but by mile 7 I was questioning whether I had pushed myself too hard and if I was going to burn out by mile 10.....I was pushing and pushing but too afraid to go that extra mile b/c I didn't know how long I could keep it up for. at mile 9, a group of 4 women passed me. my pace was at about 8:30 but I just didn't feel like I could go ANY faster....I was scared but decided to test my limits and see what I was made of, so to speak. Risking that I might burn out, i pushed a bit harder and got down to about a 8:15mile. by mile 10, my legs started to go numb. My feet were blistering and I was nervous.....

"You can't quit, you're NOT a quitter!" I told myself over and over. "this is the hardest thing I've ever done" i said to myself, only to hear myself respond back, " no it's not! you birthed a 10lb baby naturally, you can do this Nicole!" (LOL). A few times I actually had this weirdchill run through my body that gave me goose bumps and had to hold back tears. I knew I was pushing myself harder than I knew my body was capable of and I was SO tired. I just wanted to stop and walk.
I have run 4miles before at a 7:45 pace but running at a fast pace (for me) for 13 miles is a totally different story!!

by mile 11 and 12 I had to start running with my arms. It's hard to explain but I had to really pump my arms to keep my momentum going and to keep my legs moving b/c I just could'nt feel the muscles in my legs anymore or control them. I dropped to a 8:45mile for miles 12 and 13 but I didn't quit and I was REALLY working to stay below a 9min mile at that point.

when I was about a quarter mile from the finish I saw Steve and Megan and Erika, Megan's eyes were big as saucers and I waved and yelled out "Hi baby!!" as I rounded the corner to the finish.
I saw the time and somehow sprinted those last 50feet! I thought my legs were going to give out after I crossed the finish line...but they didn't!
My goal was 2hrs, UNDER 2hrs, even if just by a second. My actual finishing time was:
1hr 49min 24sec
My average pace was 8:21
I placed 109th out of 1162 women!
and I placed 29th out of 236 women in my age group (30-34yrs old).


I certainly exceeded my own expectations and yet within 10min was already wishing I could have done it faster! that is the competitive side of me. I always want to beat my last time:)
I know, however that I pushed as hard as I could at that time those last 2 miles. I really don't think my body could have gone any faster. I feel optimistic though....my goal is to eventually be able to run that at a steady 7:30 or 7:45 pace and I think if i train, some time in the next few years I can accomplish it:)
I'm glad that I took a risk. There was a big chance that by pushing myself that hard I WOULD burn out, but I did it and when my body WANTED to burn out, I just wouldn't let it. I'm learning as I get older that I really can do anything I put my mind to. The human spirit is a very powerful thing. I did pray while I was running too I should mention:) and I prayed before my race and I know the Lord helped me accomplish my goals.

It feels good to check a life goal off my list but I'm not done with running yet:) The race will keep calling me back for more:)

I STILL don't have that yearning to run a full marathon. running 26miles? hmm.....MAYBE in a few more years and after a few more half's we'll SEE. No promises Val!!;) haha.

Here are pictures from the race: (our computer is broken so I don't have a calibrated monitor and have no idea how the color will look on your end, so sorry!)

Here I come:)

I see my family...what a relief!

waving at Megan

sprinting to the finish!!

Valerie, me and Sabrina. WE missed you Natalie!!!
*Natalie injured her knee and couldn't run. we were so sad!

With our medals for completing the race

I love you girls!!!

Lee, Valerie and baby Jackson

Kevin, Sabrina and baby Kaleb

Me and my girls

Me and my best friend in the whole world!
* can I also say Thank you to my wonderful husband for always getting up early and trecking 2 little girls by himself to these races...it is NOT an easy job, I love you Steve!