Crazy Runner People!

So my crazy boss is on this major health kick and he's dragging all of us along with him. It's been good and bad. Good because any move in the right direction is a good one as far as health goes, bad because I've kinda been dragging my feet. I just haven't found "it" since I had Cash. I have participated in 2 biggest loser competitions and done my best to stay motivated, but it still hasn't happened....I just try not to think about the number on the scale. It's kinda scary. One good thing about my body though is that I've always been able to run, run, run...with or without training. So, I was on board when my office decided to do a 5k just 5 weeks after I delivered. Probably not the best idea, but I did great and felt fine. :)

So, next thing he dragged us into was a half marathon. Now this I wasn't too sure about. It's been a long time since I ran more that a few miles, but Erin (the office manager) and I signed up thinking we would have plenty of time to train. Of course we didn't train, but we did survive the race. I finished in 2 hours 37 minutes, which is A LOT slower than my pre-baby half marathons, but better than I thought I would do, so I felt okay about it.

Funny story: So, anyone who has ever participated in a race of any kind knows that there are spectators galore who bring signs and balloons and whatever else they think will motivate their runner. Well, there was a sign I passed that said, "GO CUBBIE GIRL!" At first glance I thought the sign said, "GO CHUBBIE GIRL!" I was so excited to have a fan club and was proud of the other chubbie girl running a half marathon behind me. :) I just had to laugh.

I have another half marathon coming up in a few weeks that I'm running with my hard core mom and beautiful sister...a girl power race, if you will. I've heard the Ogden Marathon is BEAUTIFUL so it should be a good time. Race day always is. There's always something in the air, endorphins floating around or something, but it just feels good. Hopefully I'll shave a few minutes off my time and eventually work up to this again:

This photo was taken after my 2nd full marathon, the Top of Utah in Logan. Still smiling (and standing) after running 26.2 miles. I finished in 4 hours and 20 minutes and hope to do it again someday...or not. :)

Cash Daniel

This is my first real video project...I have a lot to learn but I had a BLAST with this! Cashy's 4-6 months old in the video. Now I have to do one for his newborn days which sadly, are long gone. I can't believe how old he is getting and every stage is absolutely amazing. We think he's the greatest. :)

Time to relax

WHEW!!! We're all moved. I can't believe what a whirlwind that last few weeks have been. So, we got an offer on the house...but it turns out it lost a lot of value since we bought it 2 years ago. (stupid stupid economy!) Anyway, we would have had to bring about $20,000 to the table just to meet the full appraisal amount and sell. NOT happening, so we decided to rent it out and immediately felt great about it once the decision was made. YAY! I listed it on KSL and within about 30 minutes had someone coming over to look at it. Applications were filled out, contract was signed and deposit and first month's rent were cashed within just a couple of days...apparently it's very easy to rent a cute, little house in Murray. :) Not only do we have a great renter, but we have 5 others in line that want me to let them know if it becomes available.

We found the perfect little townhouse to rent in Bountiful, right off of main street and can I just say... I LOVE IT!! I thought it would be really hard to rent again after owning a home, but it has been so great. I love that I can walk to the grocery store or the Yogurt Stop or the Post office. I love that we have Jake's awesome brother Jed and his cute little family (including Cash's BFF/cousin Gaige) right around the corner, I love that I can run to the cemetery or up on Bountiful Boulevard anytime I please, I love that we have Jake's family and my lovely Aunt Sue right here in Bountiful and my family just an hour and seven minutes away in Logan. It's also great living just minutes away from my Sarah and my favorite small, town sandwich place in the world, SPANKYS!! (I've been there atleast 3 times a week since we moved.)

I couldn't be happier to be a Bountiful resident. And to top it all off, Jake only has 3 1/2 more weeks till he's done with his MBA and he absolutely loves his new job. He thinks being the boss is pretty great. Oh, and he comes home for lunch! How cool is that?!

As of right now, we are pretty happy with our situation. It's amazing how the tables can turn. We were thrilled when Jake got the job, but then reality set in when we put the house on the market and realized what had happened to the value. I went through some very dark days thinking about how much money we were going to to lose and wondering how we were going to recover. It's so hard not to think of all the should-haves from the past. I've actually learned a lot from what we've been through and am very grateful for the companionship of the Lord through all this. It's nice to finally be settled. We've decided that we won't be buying another home for at least a year or two. We want to feel out our new surroundings for a while...we're perfectly content for now.