Just say "NO" to peer pressure

I was peer pressured into running the half marathon on Saturday. Yep, it is still 13 miles long. I was really wishy washy as to whether I would actually do it in the 2 1/2 weeks of notice of time from when my good friend (whom I shall keep annonymous :) had signed me up without my full consent. No, I had not been running regularly. In preparation, I topped out at a 8 mile run with a good 10 minute break in there - so I really wasn't too prepared to go 5 miles further with no breaks.

But we finished and I made my goal of running the whole thing - minus an EMERGENCY - and I mean emergency- bathroom break where we were conveniently passing through a park that had an open, dirty bathroom. (Thanks for waiting for me Mary. ) The last 3 drink stations were out of water and we were forced to drink Gatorade. Which normally would be a joy for me, but that doesn't settle well when you give a shock to the body and run for almost 2 1/2 hours straight.

We ran along the Columbia River and the view was nice and the weather was pretty good although it started getting warm on the way back. My knees are still paying the price 2 days later, and I did buy myself some cupcakes for a self-celebration. It was a good time and officially I will not be running any more marathons....unless I get peer pressured into it again that is.

My First Tag

My sister Carrie tagged me....thanks for that and for allowing me to try to think of 5 things to share. Brad says good luck finding something I haven't already told everyone. Which then led to a conversation (lecture) about how I am TOO open with my thoughts and comments. Whatever. Well here is what I came up with...


Here are the rules: Write five things about yourself that nobody knows or that is unique to you. Then tag five of your friends.



1. I have Restless Leg Syndrome. Sure, it is a self-diagnosis but I am pretty positive that I have this disorder (along with a few others - I'm sure). You may have seen the commercials. And the first time I saw the commercial, Brad and I looked at each other and we both knew that it was describing my condition. The "sudden urge to be moving" when I am so tired. A crazy and very uncomfortable feeling that makes it very hard to fall asleep when that is what you want most. It is not every night, mainly when I am overly tired. But I get it bad and often when I am pregnant - just another joy of pregnancy. Are there any other RLS survivors out there?

2. I have an obsession with keeping mine, my boys and especially my baby girl's toes, fingers and ears clean from all forms of debri. This includes lint, wax, dead skin and what have you. And I find myself constantly checking these crucial areas for any potential invasions. I know it's strange.

3. I have an automatic gag reflex directly connected with nose picking and the treasures associated with that. I am guessing it comes from a little boy named Ronnie who sat at my round table in Kindergarten who was often found picking his nose and eating it. In fact, I was teaching Sharing Time in Primary one time when I spotted a child knuckle deep in their nostril and I gagged in front of everyone. I have not out grown it - It is disgusting! And I have no control over the gagging that will follow.

4. I was once a dare devil. I attribute this to being raised closely behind my older brother and the drive to prove myself. This has caused painful wedgies cliff jumping at Goose Lake on the highest cliff in order to out jump my boyfriend at the time who was too scared. This has caused a broken collar bone as I was out to be the first girl to ride an innertube sledding down a hill and off of a man-made jump that the boys had just finished. This has caused a Sherriff to show up at my door for wrecklass driving. This has caused many thrills climbing hills while snowmobiling or whatever else I was willing to try to keep up with the boys. After a concussion snowboarding during finals week at BYU, I really tamed things down. Now that I am a mom, I have tamed things down even more and am queen of mellow. I am also plagued with my mom's constant reminder that I have kids to raise. Maybe it's because she doesn't want to have to raise them for me.....hmmm.

5. A trip down memory lane: I went to Hershey Track Nationals in Pennsylvania to compete in the standing long jump when I was 10 years old. I got to fly on a huge airliner and watched the in flight movie "Wild Hearts Can't be Broken" while eating Mentos (a new and still favorite treat for me to this day). I was the Regional champ from the Northwestern States. And I was one of the very few white girls on the team. I learned some black lingo as we stayed together in College dormatories for the week. We went to the Hershey Amusement Park and toured the countryside. It was a great experience and after all this, I got 8th place in the nation. Thing is.....there were only 8 entries in the standing long jump. I got last.

I tag Rachel, Lisa, Becky, Brooke and Charee (since I see she has not shared hers since Carrie tagged her)

Is August really over?

The month flew by. Here are some of the highlights:

• We began with our 8th Anniversary (which was previously blogged about) What a romantic rondeavu!
• We blessed Macey Blaire. Here is a quick photo before changing a huge blow out. Oh the memories! Her dress is beautiful - special thanks goes to Dede May for such a gorgeous creation.
• I also held a memorable birthday on 08/08/08. That really was such a great day for me. (You can read my old blog for Olympic details)
• We also journeyed back to Priest Lake for the Walker Family Reunion which we wait all summer for - it never disappoints. Good relaxing times. Here are some picts:

  Missing something?

The boys have a new love of tubing on the "Big Momma"

This is our Big Momma

Riding in the boat

Macey's super cute swimsuit.

It only got wet when I had to ring it out from another blow out. She never touched the water in her swimsuit - much like many of the Walker women.

How the adults enjoy the beach - eating and chatting.

How the kids enjoy the beach - digging in the sand and getting sand in every crevice of their bodies.

• After Priest Lake we made a great step forward and only attended the Benton Franklin Fair for one day - rather than 5. (Brad instead headed to the Oregon State Fair without us.)
• Carrie and Eric came up to WA for a visit and we had a lot of fun - hopefully Carrie will post some pictures as I apparently didn't take any... We went to the Moses Lake water park, ran a Walker 5K, wakeboarded, and ate well. Good times!
• The Olympics ended. This was bitter sweet as I looked forward to watching, cheering and monitoring the Olympic games. This also made me feel like I too could do anything. Watch out - the next time I get on a high dive, I am quite sure that I can recreate a handstand double back twist and a half. Beat that. The good thing about them ending is that I finally got to bed before midnight once they were over. Whew!
• Kaden finished up the month starting the 1st grade. We didn't quite prepare him for the LONG days he will now have, which brought some tears home those first couple days. But we have all adjusted quickly. (Only two kids at home during the day - Yeah!) Kaden also started soccer - we'll see how that goes.
• I'm just glad to get back to a regular schedule and for things to slow down a bit....See ya later August!