Aaahhh... Finally a chance to update my blog (& get through emails & Facebook). Things have been busy around here! It started with a nice Thanksgiving; going to my Aunt & Uncle's house. They have a Christmas tree farm, so we always take hay rides through the fields & cut down our trees. It's a fun tradition! Here's a picture of part of our group (some aunts, uncles, cousins, parents, siblings, nieces, nephews...)

We've also been really busy with basketball & swim meets. Zach made the traveling basketball team, so every weekend we are driving an hour here or there to watch him play tournaments all weekend long. Then we're also trying to get Sean to his basketball games (near home) & Lauryn to her swim meets. It's been such a blast to watch them play & compete. We've also been fortunate to meet some great friends on their teams. Here are a few pictures of them enjoying their winter sports:

Last weekend was such a wonderful weekend. All of Jim's siblings came to visit & were all here at one time. It's been 3 years since they were all together at the same time. One sibling flew in from CO, one from NC, one from WI, one from NE, and then he has one sister who lives here with his Mom. Jim's Mom turned 75 this year, so we planned a surprise birthday party for her. Even one of her siblings & a niece came to come celebrate with us! Then on Saturday we had a baby shower for Jim's sister who is expecting her first. We also celebrated the Collins Family Christmas. The kids enjoyed every minute they had to spend time with their cousins that they don't get the chance to see all the time.

Jim's Mom & siblings

6 of the 10 cousins on the Collins side

Then, while we had all our family here, we celebrated Zach's 10th birthday. I can not believe he is 10 already! Zach has become quite the little adult & grown up so much. He is almost as tall as me & weighs about the same as I do. He is growing like a weed! He is enthusiastic about everything he does, so he was so excited to have his cousin John here to celebrate with him. Here's a great picture of the two (& yes, they are the SAME age!):

Now it is time to relax & enjoy the holiday season. I am done with all my Christmas shopping & all my wrapping. The kids are done with school for the holiday's & so we plan to do some baking, more traveling basketball, and spending time with friends & family. Merry Christmas!

Family photos

So I took the kids out today to get some pictures for our Christmas cards. What a great day for it! We really had a good time and some of the pictures turned out pretty good. Here are some of my favorites:

Halloween 2009

We had a great Halloween this year. Jim & I enjoyed a couple Halloween parties with friends and then the kids all enjoyed trick or treating with their friends as well.

Zach is the Joker, Sean is a ninja, Lauryn is a vampire:

Jim is a jailbird, I am a cop:

Miley Cyrus

Last week I took the boys & Zach's friend, Jack, to the Miley Cyrus concert. We had a good time. Here are just a couple shots...

Marine Corp Marathon

Since Jim served in the United States Marine Corp, it has always been talk that we would one day run the Marine Corp Marathon. And this was the year! What an amazing marathon. First of all, it is the 9th LARGEST marathon in the WORLD! So, imagine running as sardines for the whole 26 miles. There is not a moment where the pack breaks up and you have some room. But, besides that, there were so many soldiers out there running. Many in their uniforms and running with their sacks on their backs. Some with gas masks on. Then there were some wounded soldiers that RAN the marathon. It was just amazing. And the course... We ran all through DC and past all the monuments. It has got to be the prettiest marathon we have ever run.

On the flip side, Jim and I were pretty tired. We had just ran a marathon 3 weeks prior and felt like we hadn't fully healed nor put in the right amount of training runs between. Then, with putting the 12 day vacation before the marathon, we ate terrible and didn't get the right kind of sleep. With all that said, we both kind of crashed after hitting about mile 20. But we had a blast doing it together and just taking it all in.

Here we are in our shirts again. They were appropriate for the Marine Corp run, since Jim is considered a "good man"!
Our good friend, Pam Baker, also traveled to DC & ran the marathon as well. Pam and her husband have also served in the military. So it was very meaningful for her as well!

The start of the race was cool. We had 2 Bell/Boeing V-22 Osprey do a flyover. Then, there was a canon that shot for our starting pistol.

Here Jim & I are at mile 19, just seeing the kids:
Our cheer team: John, Lauryn, Sean, Zach, Carol, and Annabell

Road Trip...

We had a wonderful 13 day trip to Washington, D.C.; with many exciting stops along the way!

Day 1: Decided to head out bright & early so that we could avoid morning rush hour & the sleet that was coming. We also thought it would get us through Chicago, avoiding rush hour there as well. So, we are about 30-45 minutes along our way & all of a sudden, Jim realizes he forgot the tickets to the Penn State/Gopher football game. We had to return home & grab them. So now we are driving with morning rush hour AND hit Chicago's rush hour at 4:00. Needless to say, our 8 hour drive became an 11 hour drive to South Bend, Indiana.

Day 2: We spent the early part of the day touring Notre Dame's campus. It is absolutely beautiful this time of year! Here is our family in front of Touch Down Jesus: After this we were back in the truck for another 8 hour drive. As we drove through Pennsylvania, we went through the Mountains. With all the leaves changing colors, it was incredibly gorgeous. We could not have picked a better time of year to go. We got such a kick out of some of the signs they have up on their interstates!... "Watch out for Aggressive Drivers"... "Keep your eye out for D.U.I Drivers"... "We have a beautiful state, don't litter"... "Don't Tailgate"... We're not in Minnesota (nice) anymore, are we???

Day 3: We had rain & snow all day. Of course this was the day we went to the Penn State/MN Gopher game in Happy Valley. We were freezing during the game. But Zach LOVED it! He has become quite the little football fan. Sean decided he was so cold, he curled up in a ball & fell asleep on my lap. Kept me warm, so I didn't mind. Gophers ended up losing 0-20. Here we are at the game: (notice all the snow in the bleachers)Day 4: Headed out of Happy Valley and on to Gettysburg. This was amazing. We all found it really interesting and just another beautiful area. We walked through the Museum and then drove through the battlefield. I guess I never realized how large of an area it is. We took pictures of many of the monuments throughout the drive:

After leaving Gettysburg, we only had a 2 hour drive in to Washington, D.C. Once we arrived, it was getting dark, so we walked around DC & enjoyed some monuments all lit up.

Day 5: And the gorgeous weather begins!!! We walked and saw so much this day. Here's our list: National Museum of Archives, National Museum of Natural History, Washington Monument, WWII Monument, Korean Monument, Lincoln Monument, Vietnam Monument, The White House, tour of Ford Theater and the house Lincoln was carried to & died in. The Crime Museum. And a great dinner at the Chop House.

Day 6: More sight seeing... We went to Iwo Jima, Arlington Cemetery, Tomb of Unknown Soldier (saw the guard exchange), Washington's home in Mount Vernon, Jefferson Monument, and Franklin D. Roosevelt Monument. We all really enjoyed our time at Mount Vernon though!

Iwo Jima/Marine Corp monument:

Mount Vernon:

Day 7: Hot & sunny today! We went to the Capital and got a tour from Erik Paulson's office. We also got to sit in at the Supreme Court and the Library of Congress. The topic on this day was the proposed health care plans. Then we headed to the Holocaust Museum. The kids did great here, as we were worried it might be a little too graphic for them. But very educational! Then we went to the National Museum of American History.

Day 8: Another favorite of our tours... The Annapolis Naval Academy! We toured the campus and learned all about the schedules and hard work these students put in. Here's a picture of formation, before they are served lunch:

Once we were done touring the campus, we went down by the Chesapeake Bay. What a beautiful area.

Then, on our way back to DC, we went to the National Cathedral, drove by the Vice President's House and ate dinner at an amazing steak house: Charlie Palmer's Steak House!!!

Day 9: Jim & I spent a good amount of time at our marathon packet pick-up. Jim really enjoyed all the marine corp souvenirs. Around lunch time, Jim's sister Carol and her kids arrived. We all enjoyed walking through the Air & Space Museum. Then we just hung out on the mall and allowed the kids to run and play football, while a few of the girls went on the merry go round.


Day 10: What an interesting day to say the least! We knew it was going to rain today, so we decided to go to the Baltimore Aquarium. Jim's sister and her kids all piled in our truck and off we go. Well, as we got on the interstate, the truck was not able to drive faster than 30 MPH. So we had to drive in to a service repair shop. Turns out the transmission went out. Originally they told us the truck would not be ready for 4 more days (well, our plan was to leave DC the next day). So we put a little pressure on them to agree on 2 days. So needless to say, we had to rent a vehicle (and one that seated 8 people). Thankfully we were still able to enjoy the aquarium and dinner at the ESPN Zone. Baltimore is beautiful too!


Day 11: Marine Corp Marathon day! Jim & I ran while the kids stayed back with Jim's sister, Carol. They did more walking & seeing more monuments. Then for dinner, we were able to connect with Jim's Aunt & Uncle and a cousin that live in the DC area for dinner. It was sure nice to connect with them since we rarely get the opportunity to see each other.


Day 12: Well, now since we have an extra day to enjoy, we decided to make the most of it and head to the National Zoo to see the panda bears. Gosh, they are cute!

Day 13: The long 18 hour drive home! We were all ready to get home and back to "normal"! It was an amazing, well needed vacation.

Taylor Swift

Oh, wow! We had an amazing time at the Taylor Swift concert last night. She is quite the little performer. Of course we all love her music, so it was easy to have a good time. This was her last night of her tour, so the opening acts (Gloriana & Kellie Pickler) & Taylor had a great time with it. I think we actually lucked out because of it. I guess Taylor is a prankster & so all the tour members had a fun time playing jokes on each other throughout the concert. It was quite funny at times. We got home around midnight last night & now today all five of us are dragging. Well worth it though!

The group: Jim, Sean, Zach, Lauryn, & her friend, Maddie

And for all you Vikings fans... guess who sat RIGHT in front of us??? Jared Allen!
(you can't tell by this picture, but he is HUGE)

And here is a little clip of her Love Story... (Sharon, this one is for you!)

(pause my music player first)

Twin Cities Marathon

Ahhh... Another marathon down for both Jim & I. It turned out to be a bittersweet day. Sweet, because Jim did amazing during the marathon. He hadn't planned to, but ended up doing many of my long runs with me and training hard. Well, it sure paid off. He had his personal best yesterday, finishing at 4:48! He had never been under 5 hours before, so he was very excited. I loved it when I saw his smiling face coming through that finish line!

I, on the other hand, had a very miserable run. I have been suffering from hip problems and a minor back injury. Along with that and possibly over training (causing more aches than good), I really struggled through my run. I had a goal of 4 hours and felt that I was prepared to make it, but didn't. By mile 18 I started cramping really bad in my right leg (the leg with the hip problems) and ended up having to walk the majority of the time to the finish. In fact, I could not even get my leg to run the last few yards to the finish. I had to walk it in. It was so hard for me because I have never experienced a run like this, EVER. But it was humbling and I have learned a great lesson. So, for now I am working on trying to still be proud of just finishing a full marathon.

And coming up... We are heading to Washington, D.C. to run the Marine Corp. full marathon in 3 weeks. But this one will be for fun. We are planning on running it slow, stopping and taking pictures, taking in the scenery, enjoying the crowd, honoring all the military men and women who serve for our country, and finishing with no time limits. Sounds like a great plan to me!!!

Twin Cities Family Events

This past Saturday, our kids participated in the Twin Cities Family Events. Lauryn and Zach ran the 5K (3.1 miles) and Sean ran the 1 mile. They all did great. To help prepare them for their runs, they trained hard after school through Generation Endurance. We were proud of how well they all did!

My Faithful Running Companion

So I calculated how many miles I have put in since I started training for Twin Cities marathon & came up with 773 miles! Of those miles, Jim & I had many wonderful runs together... I got to run with many different friends... my brother-in-law, neighbors... the kids biked with me... But through it all, there was only ONE companion that was with me for all my runs... Libby! She has been the best running partner. It's amazing how much she loves going for a run and how well she runs along side us. There is not a moment where I can put on my running shoes without her getting all excited & sitting by the garage door, waiting to go with. It's such a bummer she can't be there with me on the big day. On Sunday, Jim & I will be running the Twin Cities Marathon. This will be Jim's 4th marathon and my 5th. We both are trying to get through some aches & pains. But we'll be out there, hoping for the best!

Girls Weekend... Chicago... P!nk...

This past weekend, 3 girlfriends and I flew to Chicago for a fun time away. We enjoyed Millennium Park, shopping, trying new restaurants for every meal and eating AMAZING food, fun bars, and of course... the P!nk concert. Wow, she puts on a wonderful show. Besides loving all her music, she is just an amazing performer. We're hoping she'll add Minneapolis to her US Tour!

Jen, Becky, Tiffeny, & Me

Jen & I had to show off our new shirts

And a peek at "So What"... (pause my music player first)