White Rock Half Marathon!

Well, we did it! The weather could have been better, but, hey - now we have a little bit of "half marathon in the rain" credentials to add to our files. We made it there on time, and got all our doings (potty, bag drop, etc) done on time.

It was cold and the temp just kept dropping the whole time. It was around 51 when we started, and it was 44 when we finished. The wind wasn't too bad, though, so that helped a lot. Carla and I ran together for the first nine miles, and then we were ready to split up. She made it the whole way without any Ipod, and I enjoyed a little IPod pick-me-up for miles 10-13.1. I got a little emotional (in a good way) on mile 13 and was just soaking it all in - that's the only reason why I can figure that I slowed down so much, b/c I was feeling really good at that point.

We saw some great things along the way. Lots of people cheering on friends and family. I saw the same guy at three different points with a huge sign for his daughter - it was so sweet. We ran for awhile behind three guys in wigs, 70s polyester pants, and capes and vests made out of Crown Royal bags.

Our hands were FREEZING at the end - I think that was the coldest hands I've ever experienced. After getting our pictures made (will post when I get them) and something to drink, we went and had Mexican food and a margarita!

Now the weird part starts where I go back to everyday life where most people have no clue that I ran 13.1 miles for the first time ever this weekend. Or if I tell them...they stare at me like I just spoke in a foreign language.

Anyway...my times:
1 - 11:22
2 - 10:51
3 - 10:38
4- 11:28
5 - 11:07 (55:29 chip)
6 - 11:19
7 - 10:48
8 - 10:59
9 - 10:59
10 - 10:61
11 - 11:01 (2:02:47 chip)
12 - 11:01
13 - 12:00
.1 - 1:30ish

Total Time: 2h25m6s

Getting ready to go. This race is lots of fun b/c they put your name right on your bib, and people cheer for you buy name.

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Carla in the car while we were organizing all our gear.

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There was a lot of organizing to do!

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We wore trashbags before the race and for the first mile to keep the wind and rain off of us. They got too hot after that.

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Our little signs we wore on our back. We got lots of great comments on this - lots of fun...very entertaining!

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Injuries! Our blisters from our waist wallets.

Carla:

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Holly:

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A Merry Little Christmas Decorating

In my continuing quest to simplify, simplify, simplify...we kicked the huge tree that Todd and I both hated to the curb and bought a small 4' prelit for $20 at Big Lots. We needed to put it up high anyway so we wouldn't have to put up gates to keep Henry away. WE LOVE IT!!! No hours of stringing lights...and the most important part...no stress and happy decorating! Leo had a wonderful time putting up ornaments this year.


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Checking out Santa in the Bathtub:

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And a little video. Sorry it is sideways - I held the camera the wrong way and I don't know how to turn it.

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Henry's Favorite Pastime

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Leo Funny of the Day

"Look, mommy, there's a car in the graveyard. Somebody must be dropping off a person that's dying."

Leo's first Santa visit

Leo has always been terribly afraid of most Santa stuff...mall Santas, blow-up Santas, Santa dolls...so we've never been to sit on his lap. In fact, we don't even go to that part of the mall at Christmas, and just last year was the first time we could do decoration stores like Garden Ridge.

I asked him yesterday if he'd like to sit on the man in the Santa costume's lap this year and tell him what he wanted. He said "yes" and I just about fell over. So this morning we went up to Stonebriar after a mommy acquaintance said he was a good guy.

We got there a little early - Santa shows up for work at 11 this week - so we killed some time. Leo has become very aware of mannequins, and he doesn't like the headless ones or the blank-faced ones. He's hiding from the blank faces in Macy's.


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You can ride lots of escalators in an hour.

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We got in line about 10:50, and Leo wanted to leave as soon as Santa came out. So we got out of line.

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I asked him if I could go around to the front b/c I hadn't seen a man in a Santa costume in years. He reluctantly said ok.

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Then I asked him if he would stand by the wall, and he said "ok." Santa had shaken the hand of several other kids w/o biting them, so it seemed pretty safe.

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When Santa saw him, he looked at me, and I said..."This is as close as he's going to come." So he walked down and posed with Leo, who said he was ok with that. What a NICE man! And what a brave boy!

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This happened really fast, and Henry was on my back...so, oh well. But they DID have on coordinating outfits.