I did it!

 I did it...I ran a 1/2 marathon.  In case you don't know, that's 13.1 miles...of running!  The best part was it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be!  I ran the Halloween Half Marathon through Provo Canyon...it was the prettiest run I have ever run...absolutely beautiful! 

 I was lucky enough to have some friends running the race also, which made it even more fun!  Thanks ladies for making it so fun.

I woke up bright and early...I don't even remember what time I woke up because it was so early...I think it was 5:00 and of course, I didn't sleep well the night before because I was nervous about the race, nervous and about not waking up on time, etc.

We parked at University Mall and then got bussed up to Sundance and waited for the race to start...it didn't start until 9:00, but we wanted to get there early to be sure we had enough time to take plenty of potty breaks, eat some food, chat, and have fun!  I am so glad we got up there so early and weren't stuck waiting 45 minutes for a bus at University Mall!

When the race finally started...it was about 10-15 minutes after 9:00, but that's ok...I was totally stoked!  The first about 5 miles was all downhill...like seriously downhill!  I don't know why, but when I run downhill, I tend to hold back a bit and don't run as fast as I know I can.  I did that a bit this time too, especially because I didn't want to start off too fast, then be dead by mile 10...I wish I would have pushed myself harder though because I totally could have gotten a better time!

I felt great the whole run...it wasn't hard...it wasn't miserable, it was fun!  The weather was perfect...it was fun watching people I passed and people who passed me that were dressed up in Halloween costumes and think, "How in the world do they run in that!"

There were SO many times while I was running that I wished I could stop and take a picture, it was SO beautiful!  But alas...I wanted a good time, so I didn't!

Jason was a trooper and got the kids ready and drove down the see me finish the race.  Jaxon thought it was so cool that I was in a race...actually my second race, but he liked this one because he could see me finish...my other he couldn't because it was in St. George.  Anyway...Jaxon asked Jason if I won the race...Jason told Jaxon everyone who finishes wins...I like that theory!

These were the best pictures Jason could get at the finish line...I can't blame him...I can only imagine what a nightmare it was trying to keep track of three kids and the insanely busy finish!  I am the one in the pink shirt and black pants.

 Right after the race...nice picture, right?  I look terrible, but hey...I just ran 13.1 miles...what do you expect?  We didn't stick around too long at the finish because I was kind of crazy busy and we didn't want to lose the kids!  We hung around long enough for me to get my medal, eat some fruit and drink some water...then we were off to start the fun Halloween festivities...which by the way, included a quick trip to WalMart, eating lunch at McDonald's (jealous huh?), finally showering...I was pretty nasty, trick-or-treating at SoDa Row (a little retail place here in Daybreak), eating dinner, then heading out in the freezing cold to trick or treat. 

 I was really pleased with my time.  I was hoping for anything less than 2 hours and my time was 1:53:07.  I was very pleased with that, although I know I could have done better if I had just let go on the hill, but oh well...I learned for next year, right?

In case you were wondering...My feet escaped with minimal damage...I got two blisters that weren't too bad...not fun, but not bad.  That day I wasn't too sore, but the next two days I was SO sore...oh my goodness was I sore!  I guess that's what a mostly downhill 1/2 marathon will do to your quads...trust me, it hurt, but it was so worth it!  I would do it again in a heartbeat!

By the way...if you are thinking about doing something 

like this and think you can't...you can!  I wasn't a runner before this and I would hear people talk about how running is totally mental and I thought they were crazy.  Well...it's SO true!  It's totally mental!  Your body can do it, it's your brain that tells you to stop and that you can't do it anymore...I promise...try it..you can do it!

Trick-or-Treating

 Trick-or-treating this year was awesome...aside from the freezing cold wind and rain, but beside that it was great.  Want to know why it was so great?  Well I'll tell you...it was the first year we didn't have to carry a child, or a child didn't have to ride in the stroller.  We took the stroller along just in case one of the kids pooped out and needed a ride, but no one wanted to use it until Brynn got too cold and wanted to be covered up.  It was pure heaven!

They had so much fun!  They all ran from  house to house and knew exactly what to do.  Jordan was a trooper...he didn't want to get in the stroller toward the end, but we made him because it was so cold!  It was so much fun to watch them having so much fun!

I should mention...I did get a picture of them all together in their costumes before we left, but it is on Jason's phone, so these are the best I can do :)

For the record...Jaxon was Buzz Lightyear, Brynn was a princess,

and Jordan was Stitch (from Lilo and Stitch)...not to be confused with Eyore...everybody thought he was Eyore...eventually I got tired of correcting everybody and just told them said, "Yes, he's Eyore."

Carving Pumpkins

 Pumpkin carving...I have to admit...not one of my favorite traditions, but I do it for the kids :)  Jaxon asked everyday for about two weeks when we were going to carve pumpkins...when it was finally time, he was so excited! 

I love Brynn's face in this picture...she actually didn't mind the "guts" too much and did a great job cleaning out her pumpkin.

 Jaxon loved his pumpkin and insisted on having a two-sided jack-o-lantern.  I had to carve a face on one side and a ghost on the other...he was happy with the finished product.

 Jason carved our traditional Mickey pumpkin...nothing too fancy this year...we kept it pretty simple!

 Jordan had fun coloring on his pumpkin for the first little while.  Eventually he had fun trying to scoop out the guts.  Then he was very specific how he wanted his carved.  He told me what shapes he wanted the eyes and nose and I took it upon myself to decide what kind of mouth to do.  He thought the whole process was pretty cool!

 Love the concentration on his face...so cute!

 Jaxon's pumpkin was the toughest pumpkin to carve...literally...it was so hard to get the knife in and out of it!

The finished products...Brynn was being a butt and being grumpy for pictures...isn't she sweet!

Witches at Gardner Village

 Jason was out of town for about 5 days (which felt like 5 years in case you wanted to know!) so to kill some time, I decided to take the kids to Gardner Village to see the witches.  The kids thought it was pretty cool and especially liked the witch riding the bike in the sky...they still talk about it. 

 I will admit...it was a little crazy trying to keep all three of them together, happy, and alive while we were there, but I did it...well, they were happy most of the time :)

And this picture pretty sums up every picture I try to take of my kids together...I can never get one with all of them looking...but oh well!

Pumpkin Patch

 Another fun trip to the pumpkin patch!  We look forward to this every year and had just as much fun this year as we have the past couple of years. 

We let each kid pick out their own pumpkins...the rule was they had to be able to carry it themselves and put it in the wheelbarrow.  Brynn picked one she could barely carry.

 Jaxon's had "freckles" on it...which translated means bumps.

 And Jordan's was just his size!

The kids had fun playing on the tractors, but I will spare you from looking at all the other pictures I took and just finish up with this one of our family...not the best, but it's pretty hard to get everyone to look at the camera at the same time :)