My First Half Marathon

I never would've dreamed that I would WANT to run 13.1 miles.
Its really crazy when I think back on it.
But...when my best friend's sister Cassie asked me if wanted to do it, I couldn't say no.
It worked to her favor that it was at the happiest place on earth.

Who can say no to Disneyland?!

Cass enlisted not only me and her sister Julie, but a few other friends.

It was going to be interesting...and fun.

It would Me and Julie's first time running a half marathon. Good memories would be made.

That's what I kept telling myself anyways. :)

The race was announced in April 2011 and the date was set for January 29th 2012.

Amazingly, I almost missed the registration because it was completely full before the end of August..and I have a tendency to procrastinate.

I guess there was a max on how many people could enter the race. I think on race day they announced there was 900 something men registered and just over 12,000 women registered.

(That's a lot of estogren roaming the streets of Anaheim at 5:45am). :)

Luke and I drove down Saturday afternoon so we could pick up my race packet from the lobby of the Disneyland Hotel before 5pm. The kids stayed behind with Grandma and Grandpa Hogue. 

We ate an early dinner at the Cheesecake Factory, then met up with Julie and Cass at Downtown Disney. We walked back to the Hotel and I was in bed by 9pm!



We met at Corral D at 5:15am. It was cold!The race was scheduled to start at 5:45am and there were 5 corrals to start from. It was after 6am by the time we crossed the starting line.





 







The kids made me a sign and sent me a text when the race was over.



After the race.

Cassie, Julie and me





I don't know who this dude was, but I liked his tutu and booty shorts! :)

The race was fun. There were so many people to stare at and watch make fools of themselves, that time really did seem to fly by. The first few miles were in Disneyland then we hit the streets of Anaheim. The roads were blocked off and their were bands, cheerleading squads, dance teams...you name it. There was lots of people to keep you motivated.

I was in a lot of pain afterwards, but I would do it again. Considering the amount of time I was able to put into training I  know I could do better next time. Unfortunately, Jules hurt her ankle as a result of the race and she sprained her ankle. Ouch! I gotta her her healed by next January. Maybe we could make this an annual tradition!

Maybe.

Sinus Surgery for Bubba

Bubba was lucky enough to have sinus surgery when he was in Kindergarten. Exactly four years ago they went in to clean out the lower sinuses and expand them. This time around they needed to go into his upper sinus cavity to remove polyps. They also cleaned it all out and put tubes in his ears.
Sounds like a lot of fun to me. His nose sure is a lot of maintenance considering he can't even smell out of it. :)

He was very nervous about the IV. I had to take him to get blood work done earlier in the week for Pre-Op and was very brave.
Of course, I didn't get to see it in person because Bubba wanted daddy to take him.
I stayed home with the other kids and just waited by my phone for pictures and updates.
Before surgery:

Tubba and Wiggy and made nice pictures/signs to hang for Bubba when he returned.

Cousin Natalie even made a picture for Bubba and emailed it to us. Bubba liked knowing that all of our family was praying and thinking of him.

Getting ready to go in for the big show!
Grandma Baer sent him some money to get something to "console" him during/after surgery. So he used the money to buy the Skylanders game on his 3DS. He brought the game with him while he was waiting.

Luke said when Bubba woke up he was looking around and said," What happened?"

They prescribed Bubba some Tylenol with Codeine for the pain. We gave him half of one dose to try it out. He threw up a few hours later, but it was mostly blood. Hard to know if it was medicine or everything he swallowed after surgery. So, we didn't give him anymore.
Bubba's best friend came over that night to check on him and brought him a drawing too. It was very nice.
The next day Grandma Hogue and Aunt Jenny had some cupcakes delivered and his appetite slowly picked up.

His best friend and his mom dropped off a bunch of Tutti Frutti for Bubba. He was so spoiled!! They were in heaven!

My custom sign that got hung up for Bubba on the shower door before he got home from surgery.

Christmas Day 2011

I love when Christmas falls on a Sunday and I also strongly dislike when Christmas falls on a Sunday.
I was thankful that church didn't start until 11am though, so it gave us some time to do the Christmas morning chaos and still have a decent amount of time to eat breakfast and get to church on time. There was no mad rush or having to open gifts, yank them out of their hands and head off to church.
The kids slept in until 6:30am....ALL OF THEM.
It was a Christmas miracle. Its like all of my Christmas wishes were granted.
I felt like Tiny Tim!
In fact, I think the boys had to wake Wiggy up.

Santa's loot.

Bubba and Tubbs each got air rifles, ammo and Ninjago Spinners.

Wiggy got a big Minnie Mouse and some Minnie Mouse shoes that light up.

My friend Sarah found me a Cabbage Patch doll with the same name as Wiggy. She is so cute. I sent her a check and she shipped it to us. Thank you Sarah!

Tubbs and Bubba each got a swim parka for swim practice/meets. Very toasty!

Daddy got some front "tube doors" for his Jeep from Grandpa Baer. What a pleasant surprise!

Tubbs got the Kermit pajamas he really wanted. WHY? I have no idea. This kid likes the strangest things.

Daddy got Bubba a CO2 gun. They had some fun in the back yard after church.

Some lemon bars for daddy from Linda's Bakery. Mama's idea...and we were all happy to share the goodness.

Wiggy got a Minnie Mouse phone and she kept getting phone calls after church. :)

Luke's family came over after church for dinner. It was really good and it was nice to have everyone together!

 
Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve 2011

Christmas Eve!
This year we did something a little different. We usually spend Christmas Eve at our house and go look at Christmas lights before bed. This year we headed up to Luke's parent's house for an early "breakfast" dinner and time with family.
Pajamas was mandatory and we were very happy!
Grandma Hogue made pajama bottoms for the kids and we all had matching shirts. We were looking pretty stylish! :)

The boys opened up their gift from Grandma and Grandpa and were pretty excited.