Epic Hash Browns

Photographic proof of the best hash browns I've ever had in my life:

Courtesy of Rob and his brother Rich and my super awesome idea to flip them all at once. That's one big slab of heaven right there. 

Ride, Ride, Ride

Seriously love autumn. We had the best day the other day. Ellie had the day off of school so we loaded up and drove to the fields to take our yearly ride in the beet truck with Grandma Marti. The girls always have a fantastic time because everyone we see smiles and waves because they love seeing these two cute little redheads bouncing along in the truck and of course Grandma always has a bag full of the best treats ever. We couldn't have asked for better weather. 

After our awesome ride in Grandma's truck we headed over to Uncle Bruce and Aunt Valerie's to ride their horse, Splash, play on their swing set, jump on the trampoline and pick pumpkins and apples. The girls were in absolute heaven. Aren't they just so cute? :) Thanks Bruce and Valerie for a super fun afternoon!

Guilt-driven Canning Totally Pays Off

A good portion of my domesticity this autumn is driven by guilt. Anyone else feel that way? I get loads of produce from family and neighbors and I feel bad letting it go to waste so this year I decided to learn how to do some canning. It has always been super intimidating to me so I started with something easy like peaches,  then my mom offered to help me do tomatoes. Everything went perfectly. Canning isn't as scary as I thought.  I also tried this recipe found HERE. So delicious and super easy - you just wash the plums, pack them in a jar, fill with a honey syrup, pop in a cinnamon stick & vanilla bean, then process. I made four quarts and after tasting them I promptly made eight more. Even Piper loved it and that kid hardly eats anything. So far I've eaten them with vanilla yogurt, warmed up over ice cream, and on my protein pancake with almond butter for breakfast. When we've polished off all the plums in this jar I want to try reducing & thickening the syrup and putting it on everything I eat. I guess sometimes it pays to feel a little guilty.

(Picture included to make my grandma proud. Hi Grandma!)

Snuggle Bugs

I love it when my girls get along and actually want to hang out together. Even better is when they want to snuggle in bed before getting up for the day. 

and when they want to snuggle during movie time

Junior Racers

Our girls crack me up. Yesterday afternoon they asked me to come outside and watch them run a race. They were very official with their arm warmers, compression leg sleeves, and aid stations. I see race directors and racers in our future!

The Slowest Race Ever

Man I really sucked it up at my first half marathon last Saturday. But I did finish and I made a new friend who walked about 9 miles of the race with me (thanks Karin!)

 For those of you who haven't heard me whining and crying for the last two weeks, I injured my iliotibial (I.T.) band on a long run two weeks ago. The pain started at mile 6 of an 11 miler. I walked and stretched until the pain subsided then ran until it came back. My walk breaks got longer and my run streaks got shorter. By mile 10 I could barely walk. I somehow made it home and collapsed in a heap of pain and tears. Boo hoo. Isn't this what people call a first world problem? I'm upset because I can't run for fun yet there are people out there who cannot run at all or who don't have food to eat or a place to live or have to walk five miles to get fresh water. I know there are bigger problems out there than mine but in my own little world, this problem is kinda big. Running has been my out. It has been my sanity saver. It has been my mind clearer and my thinking time. Plus I'm hoping it will help me not have a heart attack at age 37.  I iced and stretched and took ibuprofen for a week. I had no pain after 3 days. After 6 days I tried out a short run. After 2 miles the pain was back. As were the tears of frustration. So my training plan for my first half marathon went out the window and my new goal was just to finish. Thursday before the race I saw my doctor who referred me to a physical therapist who is also a runner and he got me a same day appointment. I spent 1 1/2 hours learning about my injury, finding out ways to prevent future injuries and I was sent home with a stack handouts full of exercises to help my IT band, high hamstring strain, and weak hip stabilizers.

The next day my girls, my mom and I headed to Boise for the race. I knew I couldn't run much of it but I really wanted to do it anyway. We stayed at my brother's house and my girls had a blast with their cousins. My amazing mom came up to support me, help with my kids, and to be available in case I couldn't finish the race. She rocks. Seriously. Thankfully I didn't need rescuing. I paid close attention to my knee and I was only able to run about 3 out of the 13 miles. The good thing about this injury is that my first half marathon was super laid back and I felt no pressure to finish in a certain amount of time. I was able to enjoy the scenery and the weather was absolutely perfect. At the finish line they had all kinds of yummy food, water, chocolate and even champagne for those who were so inclined. Crossing the finish line was weirdly emotional for me. It was a mixture of a feeling of accomplishment and sincere disappointment. I had finished my first half marathon but at a super slow pace. I had been looking forward to feeling like I had left everything on the course and had given it my all and I was sad to know that I wasn't able to do that. But things can only get better from here. I'm diligently doing my physical therapy at home and I won't be running for at least two weeks. My next half will be September 1st. I will run that one. I'm trying so hard to be positive but to be honest, I'm a terrible injured person. I'm hoping this gets fixed soon!

Clearly I need some running sunglasses!

With my first race medal! Yay!

Lessons learned from this experience:
Don't do 2 long runs in one week just to get in the mileage. Your body will hate you for it. (my rookie mistake)
Find other ways to stay active and keep your sanity.
Ice is your friend.
PT exercises make you look silly but are totally worth it.
Pay attention to your body and do not try to run through the pain just to finish a run. Swallow your pride and STOP running!
Cross train and lift weights to get stronger and become more injury-resistant.
Get a massage. It promotes healing and is super awesome.
Don't take your frustration out on your loved ones. It's not their fault you're injured.
Stay positive and find a new goal race much later in the season. 

Six!

This is the cutest six year old I've ever known. I love her enthusiasm for everything. She is so much fun to watch when she's opening presents because she is so excited about every single present. She is so much fun to have in our family and she is growing up way too fast.