There Is No Place Like Home

Good morning!  

It is a really good morning because we are HOME!  We drove all day Friday and were at our house by 8:00, I think we made pretty good time!  The weather all the way from Montana through Washington was great and as soon as we hit the Oregon gorge here came the rain.  

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We got lucky with our kids and they are great travelers.  They sleep a good portion of the morning and then are happy to just color, look at their books and watch a movie.  Can you tell how much stuff we had packed in our car?!  I shipped home 7 boxes and we still have 4 suitcases and 2 new bikes for the girls.  Their Uncle Jerady bought them their 1st bikes for their birthday back in January.  There was no way we were going to leave them behind.  Somehow Jess got everything to fit in the Tribeca, love my car!  

I can't take a decent picture to save my life but I love Portland's sky line.  

When we came inside and started unloading the car we were so surprised by our homecoming!  Our good friends and neighbors took care of our house while we were gone and completely set us up when we got home.  They stocked our fridge with the basics so we wouldn't have to rush to the store in the morning and even made us chocolate dipped strawberries!  My girlfriend drove from the next town over to line our walk with the cutest orange daisies, so sweet.  We were definitely feeling the love!

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I was able to sneak out for a run yesterday during a break in the weather.  Mentally it was awesome but physically I was struggling.  I don't know if it was because it was outside or I was dehydrated I can't really pinpoint the exact reason.  I pushed through 4 miles and they felt like 10, just not a fantastic run.  I stopped and walk at least 3 different times and never found that groove.  I am still glad I got out there even though it was more of a slogging (slug+jog) than a run.  

Now I have to face the music of a 3 month hiatus from my life...just a few things to do.  You know laundry, organizing, taking down the Christmas cards, it is only the middle of April.  I also need to get our garage cleaned up so I can pull my treadmill down, need to make sure my baby still works after 3 months of neglect.  I should probably get to it!  Enjoy your Sunday! 

No questions again today, my mind is going 100 mph.  We will be back to business as normal tomorrow!  

Planes Trains and Automobiles!

Good morning!  

I am taking another run rest day today, although it'll be plenty active.  We are I am in the midst of getting everything packed up and there seems to just be more to pack.  Luckily I am an all star packer, yes it is true.  I could start my own packing business at this point in my life.  I am also good at letting things go and realizing the cost to ship doesn't equal the cost of personal value to me.  Many things will be on their way to the Goodwill tomorrow and it'll be glorious!  We sent 2 boxes here and I have close to 6 we are shipping home, ugh.  Plus it was still the Christmas season when we left and I never got a chance to go through old toys versus new Christmas toys.  THEN we celebrated the girls birthday while in Montana before setting off for Michigan, so needless to say I see a lot of purging in my future.  Kids just don't need that many toys, especially with the nice weather we'll be getting once we are back home.  They'll be outside playing and annoying our neighbors, they'll barely touch most of their toys.  

I have one suitcase completely packed and the girls' clothes are 90% packed.  I have to pick up another box today for a few odds and ends and some of Jesse's dress clothes.  I only wear running clothes so my stuff can be shoved anywhere, I wish I was kidding.  I am so excited to get on the plane on Friday, sooo excited!  Plus the girls completely understand what is going on and know we'll be on our way home very soon.  

I thought I would share some simple tips to keep sane when planning a trip, especially with young children. 

- My biggest piece of advice is know ahead of time there are going to be bumps in the road.  The easier going you are with everything the better everyone around you will feel.  Try hard not to stress over little things that come your way.  Traveling with family can be hard, especially with little ones, relax.  

- Be prepared as much as you can, but don't over do it.  Everything you pack has to be unpacked and put away once you are home, keep that in mind.  Remember there are stores and you are allowed to go in them.

- Don't wait till the last minute to start getting things ready.  If you know ahead of time about the trip and its needs start right away.  Pick up items you know you'll need as you are doing daily shopping.  This way you don't have a huge chunk of money to put out all at once right before your vacation.  Spread it out and pick things up as you come across them.  

- Pick up your house and vacuum before you head out.  I know it sounds weird, but trust me coming home to semi-clean house after a trip is so refreshing.  You'll be tired and have enough to do post trip, it'll be nice to have a clean template to start with!  

Sorry no pictures in this post!  I realized I don't have any worth sharing, I assume you all know what a suitcase looks like.  

Do you travel a lot with your family? 

- We do, a lot.  Well, more than I thought we would I guess.  Jesse's family is all in Montana (which is nice) and my mom currently lives in Northern California.  Although I have a feeling she might be closer, she misses her granddaughters pretty bad.

Please tell me about your runs, I had a dream I was running on the beach last night.  I am going through withdrawals!  

How To Make An Early Morning Run Successful

Good morning!  

I am trying to figure out why getting up at 4:15 is easier than 5:30, Katie says it is because my body is so confused.  What Katie doesn't realize is my body is confused 75% of the time.  Regardless I was able to wake up pretty easily this morning and got started on my 14 miles.  Sadly I only made it to 10, boo.  At mile 5 I noticed the back of knee was feeling weird so I stepped of the treadmill to stretch.  At mile 8.5 I noticed it just wasn't fading and seemed to feel worse when I slowed down to walk and drink some water.  I told myself I would go to 10 and decide to continue or be done at the point, well the rest is history.  I stretched and foam rolled before calling it a day.

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  To drown my sorrows I headed to Starbucks, as I was walking in I could feel it and it hurt just walking.  Well this can't be good...do you think it needs to be amputated?!  I kid.  Kind of, I really am freaking out a little bit.  

So instead of sharing my stellar 14 mile goal hitting run with you I'll share a couple tips for being able to get out of the door by 4:30 to attempt that run! 

- The first step and probably most important is to go to bed a decent time.  I can't function very well if I don't get at least 6 hours of sleep.  My alarm was set for 4:15 so I headed for bed last night at 9:30.  Not exactly 6 hours, but Tosh.0 was on.    

- Before you go to bed get yourself set up so in the morning you don't have to remember anything.  I lay out all of my clothes from socks to hair ties so I am not looking for anything in the darkness.    

- I put certain items I tend to forget in a place that I can't miss, like my body glide on the back of the toilet 

- I do everything I need for my coffee so all I need to do is push the button  

- I know beforehand what I am going to eat and make sure I have everything so I have no surprises in the morning.  My usual is ezekial toast with butter or avocado and chia seeds.  

- I also like to have my game plan for after my run, once I walk in the door it is game time for me to be mom.  I know ahead of time what my post run fuel is going to be.  At home I love to make smoothies but I don't have a blender to use currently so I bought a few of these the last time they were on sale.  If you are usually bombarded when you get home have something quick you can fall back on.  Have some hard boiled eggs in the fridge you can eat in a crunch, it'll hold you over till you have a minute to make something else.  You can have your protein/recovery drink already mixed and waiting for you in the fridge.  

- Since I've been using the gym at Jesse's office I have been giving myself the extra time to stretch after my runs.  Once I am home and doing my runs around Sherwood again I am going to do my stretches in the garage before I walk in the door.  It is so important to stretch before and after your runs, cannot stress that enough, stretch!  

-Basically be as prepared for your pre, during and post run as possible.  The less you have to think about the less of a chore it'll feel getting out and back into the door.  Also have back up plans and be flexible, not every run is going to go as planned.  Sometimes you'll walk into kids throwing up all over the place and you don't get to sit and eat until dinner time.  It is all part of being a (mother/father) runner, rolling (running) with the punches.  

Today is packing up day!  Hoping to make it to the post office to ship at least a couple of our boxes.  I am trying to get everything done a little earlier than needed.  The less I have to do next Thursday before we fly out the better.  

This is such a sad sight 

We found out yesterday Jess has to fly back here (Plymouth) on the following Monday after we leave, confusing yes?  So I'll be staying in Montana a couple days longer than planned, hoping we'll get Spring weather while we are there!  We will eventually drive home that following Saturday, super excited to be back in my house and in my own bed.  OK back to icing and packing and repeating.  

Tell me about your run today or your future run this weekend!  

What are your plans for Easter?  

- We have an Easter Egg hunt tomorrow and then the Easter Bunny will be visiting us on Sunday! 

Any ideas on what might be going on with my leg?!

      

Final Chicago Post! Day 2

Good morning!  

I was woken up by the train this morning, won't miss that!  Luckily it was good timing and I dragged myself out of bed and headed to the gym.  Weird to think in 9 days I'll be transitioning back to running outside, so excited!  Although basically having a private gym has been pretty awesome, no complaints there!  I ran a 5 mile tempo run with an average pace of 9:30, I am happy to be getting stronger as a runner.

  You know it is a tempo run when it looks like a heart monitor at a hospital 

Today is my last post on Chicago, you can read about our 1st day here and here.

On our 2nd and final day in Chicago we decided to head out for breakfast and asked the front desk for a good family spot.  They recommended Eggsperience on Ontario and it did not disappoint!  While we were walking there we passed by RPM Italian which is Bill and Giuliana Rancic's restaurant, I was super excited!  Sadly it did not open until 3, but yes I did peak in the windows. 

When we first walked in the lobby of Eggsperience it was packed and we figured it was going to be a really long wait.  The host immediately got our name on the list and we were seated in less than 10 minutes.  The service was awesome and the food was really good and not very expensive, I would definitely go back.

Love them 

After breakfast we checked out of the hotel, grabbed our car and headed towards Wrigley Field.  Our friends have a personalized brick at Wrigley Field and in addition to seeing this landmark I really wanted to find their brick.  It took a little while but I finally spotted it!

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Once we were done freezing our noses off at Wrigley Field we headed towards our last stop, The Museum of Science and Industry.  It was included in our City Pass and it had the word science in it so there was no way Jess was skipping this one.  We go to OMSI pretty regularly in Portland, but this place is like OMSI on steroids.  There was so much to see and do there, Jess was totally in his element.

I was excited to see their Naval exhibit with an entire submarine on display.  I wish they would have had those 2 posters in stock, I think my brother would have really liked one of them.  

We were finally kicked out at closing and Jess was super bummed.  I think we'll definitely go back when we are in town again.  It was almost 6 at this point and we had a good 4 hours of driving ahead of us!  So we piled in and headed home.  It was hands down one of our best family trips to date, all 4 of us had such a good time and there was never a dull moment.  I am already saving my pennies for the 2014 Chicago Marathon!  

Tell me about your run today, are you training for an upcoming race?  

What is your favorite trip to date?  

Do you collect things when you travel?  

- I have just started to recently collect Starbucks' mugs from the different places I've visited.  I have to really like the place though, those mugs aren't cheap!  We also collect magnets from every new place we visit.  We keep them on our fridge in the garage and it is a fun way to remember all the  places we have been.  

Chicago - Day 1 Part 2

Hi!  

I ran an easy 4 miles this morning on the treadmill and then headed to the grocery store, seriously out of everything.  Luckily we don't need much since we are heading home in 10 short days!  Crazy how fast it has flown by, although there were days where it couldn't go fast enough.  

I shared the first part of our weekend trip to Chicago here, so as promised here it the 2nd part of our day.  

After our boat ride down the Chicago river my Uncle Tom grabbed a police car and took us to meet his wife  Debbie and their daughter Dani at the Shedd Aquarium.  We basically were escorted all over Chicago like we were something special, it was amazing!  

  

The aquarium was packed and the line to just get in wrapped all the way around the courtyard.  I would guess it was at least an hour wait.  Since we knew we were going to be seeing a few of the museums while we were there we bought the Chicago City Pass.  The pass included the Willis Tower Sky Deck, Shedd Aquarium and the Museum of Science and Industry, which were all places we had planned on visiting.  We realized when we got the aquarium that Debbie and Dani weren't going to be able to by-pass the line like us and we sort of panicked.  Jess being Mr. Resourceful asked the friendly girl behind the City Pass booth what our options would be and she gave us 2 free wristbands for the aquarium!  FREE!  He walked back over to me in shock, he couldn't believe our luck, I couldn't either.  Honestly every person we ran into while we were in Chicago was over the moon friendly, such a great city.  

After the aquarium we all headed down to Navy Pier.  As soon as we walked in we saw a Thomas train and the girls were so excited to go for a ride.  

       

They also had to get some ice cream, I somehow resisted.  I honestly do not know how I walked out of there without a cone myself.  Self control at its finest.  

While we were at Navy Pier the girls caught eye of the Easter Bunny and actually requested they get to sit with him.  SHOCKED!  I jumped at the chance to get them in line and have their photo taken.  They never want their picture taken with Santa or the Easter Bunny.  It turned out pretty cute considering I had no chance to do hair or put on a pretty Easter dress.  

Another picture of a picture, boom! 

While we were doing the pictures Debbie went to get us some popcorn.  I am thinking regular movie style popcorn in the red and white bag, you know what I am talking about.  Ya, I was wrong, this popcorn was insane!  It is from Garrett's and she bought us 3 different styles, traditional butter, Chicago Mix and Chocolate Covered Caramel Crisp, dying.  We were inhaling the stuff on our drive home Sunday night, now I have to learn to live without it.

It was finally time to meet up with Tom, his other oldest daughter Megan and her husband Matt.  Tom and his family took us for traditional Chicago style pizza at Gino's East in downtown Chicago.  UH-MAZING.  I know I am not going to be able to go back to regular pizza, Chicago style pizza is hands down the BEST pizza I have ever had, there is no debate.  Don't bother trying to sway me, we eat a lot of pizza!  

Even better is this is the same pizza place he took my mom when she was a kid.  I still can't believe how much I loved this pizza.  Yesterday I was looking up Chicago style pizza recipes and what sets apart Chicago style from other styles of pizza, it is becoming an obsession.  

After dinner we headed over to Tom and Debbie's house to hang out and spend some more time together.  Jess, I and the girls called it a night around midnight, said our goodbyes and started to head back to hotel.  I am so glad I had the opportunity to spend the weekend with my family and they had the chance to meet Jess and my girls.  I cannot go on enough about how gracious and sweet they were to my little family, it was like we had known each other our whole lives.  Chicago is an amazing city, but it was the people who really made our day so wonderful!    

Stay tuned for Part 3 tomorrow!  

Chicago Day 1 Part 1

Good morning!  

We got home late last night from Chicago and while we are beat, it was the best weekend hands down.  As soon as we drove into downtown Chicago off of the expressway I was smitten.  It was 10:00 at night and the streets were filled with people and cars, not something this girls sees in Sherwood!  Sarah and Katherine were both mesmerized by all of the tall buildings and it was so fun hearing them oh and ah over everything.  We stayed at the Marriott Residence Inn in downtown Chicago and it was a really nice hotel, we even had a view!  

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Saturday morning we got up and ready for the day and our first stop was the Willis Tower, formerly the Sears tower.  I was nervous about doing the tower because long elevator rides and heights aren't usually a great combination for me.  I didn't want to miss anything my girls were doing though so I sucked it up and I am so glad I did.  The views from the 103rd floor were incredible!  I think we got lucky because it was a clear day and we could see everything while we were up there, I could not believe how far we could look out.  I also can not believe my girls were able to do this.

It still makes my feet tingle just looking at this picture.  

Plus I somehow worked up the courage to have this picture taken. 

I was desperate for a family picture of us up there!  And yes that is a picture of a picture, I roll pro like that.  We are actually on a plexi-glass clear floor, that isn't Photoshop and it is freaking me out the more I look at it.  Totally worth the panic attack though, the picture is pretty cool and I would have regretted not doing it.  

This is the building we were in, Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower) 

And this is me zoomed in so you can see where we were standing, yikes!    

After we did the Tower it was time to meet up with my Great Uncle Tom (my mom's uncle).  I talked to his wife, my Great Aunt Debbie, on the phone and she said he'd be meeting us around the tower.  We decided to walk towards the river since that was where he would be coming from and as soon as we walked by each other I just had a feeling it was him!  I have only met him one time prior at my Grandfather's service 12 years ago but just knew it was him.  

He works as a Chicago Police Officer in the Marine Unit and he took us for a ride down the Chicago river in one of the police boats.  It was amazing!  He and his partner let the girls drive the boat the entire trip down the river, they were so gracious.  It was a beautiful clear day and part of the river was still green from the St. Patrick's day festivities the week prior.  I can now check that off of my list, I have always wanted to see the Chicago river green and couldn't believe I was actually on it while it was green!  I actually teared up...what a dork!

When we reached the end of the river we docked at his "office", could you imagine this is where you work everyday?!  The job is a challenge though I can only imagine...Chicago cop, hello?!

The view of the Chicago skyline from here

No words, breathtaking.  

This was all by 1:00!  It was the longest, quickest, best day in a long time.  I am going to have to break our trip down into 3 different parts because I don't want to leave anything out.  Mainly for my own record, I do not want to forget anything.  I promise this will become a running blog at some point again :)  I can also tell you the Chicago marathon WILL happen next year, Katie has already agreed to it!  

Have you ever been to Chicago?  

- Tell me about it!

What did you do this weekend?  

- Besides a lot of walking, no running actually occurred.  Tell me about your run instead!

      

   

Off to Chi-Town!

Hi!  

This will be short and sweet since we are heading off to Chicago in just a few hours!  

I wish I could fit my boots in one of those bags, oh well!  My general rule for packing us for a trip is no more than 2 bags for the 4 of us.  Usually Jess and I share a bag and the girls share a bag...but my hair dryer tends to find its way with the girls stuff.  I am going to do a post next week on how to pack for a family.  I've been traveling with the girls since they were 6 weeks old and have learned quite a bit in the last 4 years.     

We are driving so I am wearing my favorite Pro Compression socks.  I usually wear them for long road trips and when we fly, I notice they keep my feet from swelling up.  I tend to eat a lot of salt on road trips, ahem... 

I have been looking forward to Chicago since we arrived back in January.  My Grandfather grew up in Chicago and lived there his entire life until he joined the Air Force.  His brother and family still lives in Chicago and I am really excited for him to meet Jess and my girls.  I feel like I'll have a connection to my Grandpa for a few days and that is exciting.  He passed away suddenly when I was 16 and I was really close with him my whole life, so this trip will be special.  Plus it's Chicago with my husband and kids, going to be amazing!  This is our last big trip and when we get back it'll be time to start packing up and heading home.  

I packed my running gear and our hotel has an awesome fitness center so I plan on using it.  This week has been lacking in that department, but that is how life goes sometimes.  I was dwelling on it until I realized that is life and I'll just have to pick up where I left off.  Sun is shining in Michigan today and it is Friday, what more could I ask for at this very moment?!    

Since I don't have a workout to share, tell me about your best workout this week!  

Where is your favorite place to visit?  

Any big runs or races planned for this weekend?  

  

Niagara Falls

Good morning! 

I am starting to feel so much better, that virus really took it out of me for a lot longer than I had anticipated.  I really thought it would be a day or two thing and my stomach is still sensitive even this morning.  I haven't ran since last Tuesday which threw a wrench in my training plan.  I had to miss my long run last week because I was still feeling off and we left for the Niagara on Friday.  I brought all of my running gear except for a sports bra so that idea went out the window, I let it go and just embraced the time with my family.  

Not exactly a Kodak moment 

We stayed at the Howard Johnson in Niagara Falls and spent all of Saturday exploring the falls.  We bought the Magic Pass which gave us admission to Journey Behind the Falls, Butterfly Conservatory and Niagara's Fury, plus a 2 day pass on the We Go transit system.  I have to say it was really nice to just jump on a bus to go from place to place.  We didn't have to bother with parking, loading in and out of the car and trying to find directions.  Niagara Falls was beautiful, but I was actually surprised it wasn't as majestic as I thought it would be.  I really thought it would be a lot taller, I think if we had a chance to do the Maid of the Mist I might have gotten the whole experience.  

On Sunday we checked out of the hotel and drove to Niagara on the Lake which is a 20 minute drive from Niagara Falls.  A friend of mine mentioned she had loved it there and we had never heard of it.  Let me tell you how bummed out I was when we pulled into this adorable little town!  If you ever go to Niagara Falls I suggest you stay in Niagara by the Lake and just make the drive into Niagara Falls.  We drove down the main street looking for a place to eat and passed the most adorable little Starbucks I have ever seen! 

We had breakfast at the Stagecoach Cafe and Katherine had a big ol'cup of hot chocolate.  

She gets her manners from her mother

After lunch we walked around all of the cute shops and headed down to Lake Ontario to take some awkward family photos.  Jess says he doesn't like Lucy...but his actions speak otherwise ;) 

Even Sandy knows a good photo bomb when she sees it 

Niagara Falls was neat, but the town was a little too carnival for me.  I wouldn't recommend the Magic Pass, I didn't think any of the attractions were all that exciting.  I suggest staying outside of Niagara Falls and exploring Niagara on the Lake, we walked by some of the cutest little Inns and Bed and Breakfasts.  

Have you ever been to Niagara Falls?  

Tell me about your run this weekend, I am jonesing to to get going!

Are you racing this weekend?  

- I have my first of the year on Sunday, so excited!