Ripened to the old age of . . . four

Right now, and for the last year or more Kate's dad has been one of her very favorite people. Her birthday is unfortunately timed, though because since it's in August high school sports practices are in full swing and keep him away from home for lots of hours since schools are not yet in session. This year was a little different, though. With all of the fires that were going on at the time, it's gotten pretty smokey in our little valley. So much so that games have been cancelled, and practices were rescheduled to be completed in the part of the day that was likely to be least smokey. So for this birthday, dad got to be home more than we expected. And Kate got to hang out with him at work (which she enjoys). She had a pretty good birthday.

This one just cracks me up!

With her birthday haul. :)

Happy birthday to Princess Kate!

Run a Marathon by the time I'm Thirty: Check!

Phase three of my plan is complete! I actually didn't get crazy nervous before it started. I had done the training, there was only one event to worry about and it was mainly a test of my mental endurance. It's certainly hard on the body (my walking looks a little ridiculous two days later), but it's really a mental battle. I think I managed my race well. I wasn't very fast, but I did finish strong. I actually did run the last couple of miles, and I even picked up my pace when the finish was in sight . . . I was SO desperate to be done. hahaha
At the halfway point I was feeling pretty good. I called my husband and told him that I thought I probably could finish as I had expected, which was in around five hours. A few miles later I changed my mind. :D
My strategy was to run 4 miles, walk five minutes for as long as I could. I did that through mile 16, and felt decent enough that I was hopeful I would be able to do it through mile 20. Between miles 18 and 19 I decided I couldn't quite pull it off, so I modified to running 2 miles and walking 5 minutes. I really didn't want to modify to running 1 mile and walking 5 minutes. Had it not been for my sister's appearance around mile 24, I probably would have done it anyway. She saved me! It buoyed me up so much to see her that I found the strength to run the rest of the way; my stride even improved a little. Ha! A little bit after that I heard a spectator comment, "She doesn't even look tired!" hahahaha
Here is the breakdown of my crazy long run. :) I was 86th in my division but the main detail is that my final time was 05:28:49.3. 

Pre-race with my friend, Emily (on the right) and her friend and running partner, Brittani (left).

The end is in sight!

Feeling like I can't get there fast enough.

Almost there!

I made it! The time here is the time it took me to get to the finish after the gun, but I didn't get past the start line for a couple of minutes. There were a lot of people, and I knew I wasn't going to be fast so I figured I should be near the back of the pack. :D

My cute little . . . girl?

This is an old pic of Kate that I never got around to posting. She's probably about 2 1/2 here. Makes me laugh every time I see it. She apparently decided to dress up in her big brother's clothes. hahaha Just put some boxers underneath those pants, tug them down a bit and she looks like a punk teen boy. Except for really cute. :)