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)

A weekend of sports

It was a weekend filled with sports. On Friday, all the cdaa football teams got invited to get in free at the Champlin Park High School football game. Every football player wearing a jersey got to form the tunnel that the high school kids ran through before the game. Then, Zach's team got asked to play during half time. So he was excited to wear full gear and play some football. Saturday, Jim & I were up early to do our training run (we each put in 703 training miles for this marathon!) and then off to more games. Sean had a football game while Zach had baseball practice and an evening football game. Then Sunday Zach had two baseball games. He had one tough game, where he got hit in the mouth with a line drive at first. I think he was more upset about not getting the guy out at first! But he kept the ball in front of him, recovered well, and almost made a play at second. Needless to say, it was another busy weekend.

Sean... they tied their game

Zach... they loss, but it was an excellent game!

Sean enjoyed having some fun during Zach's football game

Zach's team won the first game and lost the second game

And Howie enjoyed playing in the dirt....

First Day of School... Bittersweet!

This morning I shipped Lauryn off to 6th grade (I can hardly believe that), Zach off to 4th grade, and Sean off to 1st grade. I had mixed feelings as I watched them all walk off with their friends. There is something wonderful about the feel of back to school, new beginnings, Fall starting, the holiday's approaching, etc... But we really had a fun summer this year and I enjoyed having them home with me. This was the first summer that I still had my freedom even with them out of school, but when we were all home we kept busy in the pool and spent fun time together. They are also such great helpers around the house with Howie! So I was sad to see them go this morning. Then, this year I was told by Sean that he is now too old for me to kiss him good-bye. It's hard to watch them grow so quickly.

To wrap up summer, we had a wonderful Labor Day weekend. Our family started it off by Friday going to the State Fair for the day. I think we ate everything in sight. (making my Sat. morning run miserable on my stomach) Saturday Jim slept out in our back yard with the kids and Libby. They set up the projector on the house and watched movies back there and slept under the stars. All three kids had a blast and wanted to do it the next night as well. Jim declined, as he said his back needed a break! Sunday my family came down and we spent the day in the pool and grilling. Then that evening we were invited to a bon fire and spent some time with friends. Monday (our last day of freedom), we all slept in. Then Jim & I went for our run and invited some neighbors over to swim as well. The weather was just perfect this weekend, which made it all the more fun. Until next year now...

Ragnar Relay 2009

Another amazing experience of running the Ragnar Relay with awesome friends! We started in Winona this year, crossed over in to WI, then ran back in to MN through Stillwater, and home to MN - at Boom Island Park. We managed to cover 193 miles. The race started on Friday morning and we ran (relay) straight through until Saturday around noon. We ran on little sleep and little food - making the experience all the more rewarding. We have such fun stories and memories that will always make Ragnar an experience of a life time!

Jim, running one of his legs:

Me, starting my night shift:Jim & I at the finish:
Kari, Jim, Me, Carol, Todd, & Pam - what a team!

Kids Triathlon

Lauryn & Zach completed their first triathlon, Miracles for Mitch, this weekend at Lake Ann in Chanhassen. Jim & I were so amazed to watch all these kids accomplish something that many adults will never even consider doing! We were lucky to have a training group through school, so the kids both had friends that also raced; making the event all the more fun for them. Both worked hard, finished strong, and had an experience of a life time. Zach swam 100 yards, biked 3 miles, and ran .5 miles. Lauryn swam 200 yards, biked 6 miles, and ran 1 mile. We are very proud of our little athletes!

Zach raced for Cole - Lauryn raced for Sara (both kids with cancer). Sure makes us appreciate that our children are healthy and able to participate in this wonderful event!

Lauryn raced with good friends; Rylie, Ceci, (Lauryn) & Brooke

Zach raced with his good friend Jack (here they are getting ready to start)Here Zach is during the swimming part:
Lauryn's heading out of transition & on to the biking:

Zach biking:
Sean, Jim, & Howie are cheering them on... Lauryn just crossed the finish line!
Lauryn & Zach - an amazing accomplishment!