Day Trip to Idaho Falls

Our little family took a day trip to Idaho Falls to see my Swensen grandparents and Uncle Kirk. My sister, Jennie, and her family drove over from Boise to spend time there as well. We went sledding, had lunch at Pizza Hut, had ice cream bars, and overall, had a great trip!

Sydney was awake the whole 3-hour drive up to Idaho Falls and then fell asleep as soon as we got back in the car to go to the sand dunes for sledding.

My sister has the pictures of Brian and Wes on the sled, but here I am giving it a go!







I (mostly) avoided the weeds! Ta-da!

Wes was a little dare-devil and tested out the snowboard all by himself!







Wes and his cousin Lydia eating their ice cream bars. She is just 2 months older than he is, but quite a bit taller!

Great Grandpa Swensen, Lydia, Aunt Jennie, and Sydney.





Cute picture of Aunt Jennie with Sydney!

The kids with Great Grandpa and Great Grandma Swensen:

Nathan, Danny, Wes, Sydney, Ryan, and Lydia

Hanks Men: Four Generations

June 10, 2007

December 25, 2009

Christmas Day 2009

The kids woke up just after 6:00am and we opened stockings, had pull-aparts, opened presents, went to a movie (everyone but dad and the kids), and had a good time relaxing!

Sydney scoping out her stocking loot. She mostly enjoyed her new toothbrush!

Wes seeing what else was in his stocking. He was a huge fan of the little electronic Gordon train Santa brought him.





Opening presents. Wes was in little boy heaven with all the toys!

He enjoyed helping everyone (here, Uncle Craig) open their presents, but was always a bit disappointed when it wasn't a shiny new toy!

He loves the electronic train Grandpa and Grandma Hanks got him! (And the electronic tractor they got Dad.)

Kevin, Naomi, and Brooklyn (with the help of Mom Hanks) had really creative gift tags that culminated in this cool poster!

We were pleasantly surprised by a quick visit from Wes and Sydney's Great Grandpa and Grandma Hanks.

Christmas Eve 2009

We spent Christmas with Brian's family, but missed Kevin, Naomi, and Brooklyn! Christmas Eve included reenacting the nativity, a (mostly) musical talent show, and a hot chocolate bar.

Aunt Sara (angel #1), Wes (Joseph), and Aunt Janna (angel #2).

Narrator Grandma helping Joseph and (pregnant) Mary know what to do.




" Mary" riding on the daddy-donkey with "Joseph" keeping watch.

Me, Janna, Sara, and Mom singing "Mary's Lullaby".

The Ann Arbor Hanks' rendition of "Jingle Bells".

Uncle Tyler, Uncle Craig, Wes, Aunt Sara, Mom and Janna singing "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas".

The grand finale: everyone singing "Mele Kalikimaka" while Tyler played the ukulele.

Wes enjoying his yummy hot chocolate! I think his favorite thing is the marshmallows. :)

Cowtown Countdown - 9 Weeks to Go

This week wasn't the greatest training week ever, but I got my runs in and that's the most important thing! On Monday, I ran with my YakTrax on since there was some recent snowfall and the sidewalks weren't very clear. That, along with wearing my Pearl Izumi shoes, made the run harder (and slower) because my feet were substantially heavier than usual.

Tuesday's speed workout went well enough. It's always hard, but gets over quickly. My third 1600 was slightly slow, but I did have to navigate a little ice, so I forgave myself. :) Thursday's run was great because it was an easy two miles. Since we flew to Utah on Wednesday, I did my old two mile route that I ran a bunch last Christmastime just after I had started running. It was not an "easy" run a year ago. It's cool to see the progress!

Saturday's 18-miler was very hard. It started out well thanks to my father-in-law who mapped out a route for me and programmed it into my GPS watch. (He even drove the route before I ran it to make sure it would be good.) I had a little stop-and-go with some lights in the first couple miles, but then it was basically just clear running. My pace was slower than normal for me, but I didn't worry too much about it. My father-in-law met me at the halfway point to check on me and took some pictures (see above). I also drank some grape juice that Brian had sent with him. It was nice to have the support for a few miles!

Just before mile 12, I decided I needed to implement the run one mile, walk one minute idea because I just couldn't keep a "normal" pace. For some reason, my legs just weren't doing it. At mile 12, I was running along and passed some bikers and one of them said, "We know how far you've gone. Good job!" (I'd decided I must have passed them quite a bit earlier.) They had no idea I still had 6 miles to go!

Around mile 14 to 15, I stopped and walked while I ate some energy chews and drank some water. I walked for more than my usual minute and I thought for sure I'd be able to run an easy 5k after that to finish out my run. No such luck. My legs were struggling. I ran a mile and walked a minute. Then I thought, "Okay, 2 miles. So easy. I got this." Not so much. Less than a mile later, I had to stop again and walk. "Okay, 1 mile. I can run 1 mile." Nope! Half a mile later, I had to walk again. It was a crazy-hard run for some reason.

When I got home I did my normal regimen of drinking a cup of warm Airborne while I stretched. I wasn't feeling super well so I had some bread and water hoping the quick carbs would help. Then I decided to get in the shower and I just started feeling really sick. It was hard for me to stand up. I basically felt like I was going to pass out and sort of like I was going to throw up. I actually haven't felt that bad after any of my runs. Finally, after dinner, I started to feel more normal again. It was not very fun, to say the least!

We concluded that the elevation change (about 3,500 feet) was likely part of the problem. I think I may have been a little more dehydrated than normal, too. Obviously, I needed more nutrients since eating dinner made such a big difference. I'm sure it doesn't help that I've been eating more treats than normal, too! :)

Weekly Goals
Monday: 3 miles at 8:47 / mi

Tuesday: 3x1600 at 6:56 / mi (w/ 1x800 in between each)

Thursday: 2 miles at 8:47 / mi

Saturday: 18 miles at 8:47 / mi

Outcome

Monday: 3 miles at 8:56 / mi
Tuesday: 1x1600 at 6:42 / mi; 1x1600 at 6:53 / mi; 1x1600 at 7:03 / mi
Thursday: 2 miles at 8:05 / mi
Saturday: 18 miles at 9:35 / mi

Merry Christmas 2009

Love,

Brian, Natalie, Wes and Sydney

To Utah We Will Go...

We woke the kids up at 4:45am eastern time yesterday (Mom woke up at 3:45am and Dad at 4:15am), got in the car and headed to the airport. The kids did great considering neither slept on the plane!

Miraculously, Mom and Dad were able to get some little naps in while the kids zoned out watching Mickey Mouse's Twice Upon a Christmas. I'm grateful for portable DVD players!

Snow Slide

Love this picture.

Kiddos

I think my kids are cute. That's a good thing. :)

Pry into the chocolate anyway you can...

An art project Wes and I did one morning. I thought he turned out pretty cute! (Wes too.)





I'm not a fan of naked-baby pictures, but Sydney just thought she was hot-stuff walking around with these tights on. I was laughing because they came all the way up to her armpits.

Playing outside on the snowy tennis courts.

A little snow (and cold) can't keep this kid down.

These kids have a great time together. And an even better time when their dad's around.

Cowtown Countdown - 10 Weeks to Go

Running in the snow is hard - especially when it's 16 miles in the snow! Luckily, some of the sidewalks were shoveled, but others weren't. Saturday's long-run was one of the hardest I've ever done! After about 5 miles, I asked Jonelle if we should call Brian and have him come pick us up. She told me to give it 4 more miles and then see how I felt. And then she kept trying to keep me going with motivational quotes and such. She's a good friend! :) Thankfully, it wasn't actually snowing until the last 3 to 4 miles, but then it got really cold and windy. We still got 'er done though!

The rest of the week went well. It was so good to be out running again! Thursday was probably my favorite run because the sidewalks were clear and my easy pace was faster than I expected. I've tried to look less at my GPS watch and focus more on the run. It's nice to see my pace based on how I feel not so much on what I'm "supposed" to do.

Weekly Goals

Monday: 4 miles at 8:47 / mi
Tuesday: 3 miles at 7:37 / mi (w/ 1 mile warm and cool)
Thursday: 3 miles at 8:47 / mi
Saturday: 16 miles at 8:47 / mi

Outcome

Monday: 4 miles at 8:19 / mi
Tuesday: 3 miles at 7:40 / mi
Thursday: 3 miles at 7:58 / mi
Saturday: 16 miles at 8:45 / mi

The Melting Pot Birthday Dipping

Marti, Rochelle, Jonelle, Me, Andrea, Christie, and Abby

Jonelle organized a "surprise" ladies' night at The Melting Pot on Thursday to celebrate my birthday. It's always nice to get out with the ladies and get away from the kids! Thanks ladies!

Visit to Idaho

I went to Eastern Idaho for a job interview. I love visiting Idaho. My favorite part: family members that own a small military arsenal :) Note the NINE extra clips (just in case). I know where I'm leaving my food storage if I ever need help...



I also got an invitation to see Collin Raye in concert and visit with lots family. There was a job interview in there, too. I promise.

The Birthday Present(s)

With the help of his talented Mom and brother Kevin, Brian spent the last month-plus putting together these frames to highlight my running accomplishments from the last year. I'm glad he also included his huge running accomplishment in the center marathon frame!

These took the place of our BYU diplomas on the wall in the main hallway. I said that was okay since it's our most recent big accomplishment!

My favorite thing is that we have the exact same finishing time on the plaque. Perfect. I'm so glad we did that together.




Frame one.




Frame two.


Thanks Brian! (And Mom Hanks and Kevin!) :)

My 28th Birthday!

We started the birthday last night with a traditional birthday trip to Red Robin for my free birthday burger (Bonzai Burger sub Gardenburger), strawberry lemonade, sundae and balloons for the kids.

This morning, I wished my legs, heart, and lungs a happy 28th birthday by taking them for a 5 mile run with my M.F.F. (marathon friend forever), Jonelle!

Then, while Wes went to preschool, Jonelle watched Sydney, and Brian and I went out to breakfast. Ann Arbor has a ton of free birthday deals around town so we went to Angelo's since they had a B1G1 free meal. It was yummy! Then we stopped by Zingerman's Deli to get my free half dozen bagels. Then we stopped by Cake Nouveau to get my free cupcake! (The owner, Courtney Clark, has done multiple Food Network Challenges and won TLC's Ultimate Cake-Off.)

After my fun morning with Brian, we picked up the kids, put them down for naps, then Brian took a nap and I made my birthday pumpkin cheesecake! After everyone woke up, we celebrated!

Opening presents! Wes got me a garlic press and Sydney got me a mini whisk. Just what I wanted! (Pictures of what Brian made me to come!)

To top it off, I got a bunch of emails, cards, Facebook messages, texts and calls from friends and family. Thanks to everyone! It's nice to feel so loved!

Cowtown Countdown - 11 Weeks to Go

This week was really rough. I didn't do a single run. Why? It wasn't for lack of desire or motivation. It was because I had one of the worst colds of my life (or that I can remember). I kept thinking I'd wake up, be fine and could hit the road, but no luck.

I miss my running shoes! I got new ones last week and have only been able to run in them twice. They are the newest (December '09) version of my Nikes. The Structure Triax 13s. I debated on getting the shoes I already had (the 12s) because they'd be a lot cheaper, but then I compared the weight of the shoes. My first pair of running shoes (Pearl Izumis) weigh 10.4 ounces, my Nike 12s weigh 10.1 ounces, and the Nike 13s weigh 9.3 ounces! I was sold. A difference of .8 ounces might not seem like much, but over 26.2 miles, it matters. And honestly, I was surprised I could tell a difference just holding the shoes in my hands.

I think one benefit of having to take this week off is realizing that I really have come to enjoy running. I want to run. I missed running this week. What? Yah, I know. There have been times in the past where I haven't worked out for a week (or a month, or multiple months) and just kind of felt gross and lazy, and wanted to get back into it to remedy that feeling. That wasn't how it was for me this week. I genuinely wanted to run. So, even though I'm still not 100% (which is so frustrating since it's been over a week now), I will be running tomorrow. I need it. I'm addicted. (Plus, it's my birthday week so I should get what I want, right?) :)

In an effort to not look like a total lazy loser who skipped all her training this week, I won't post what was actually on my training calendar this week. Jonelle and I have swapped things around (she was sick this week, too, but did a 12-miler on Saturday) and I think we'll be okay. I just hope this coming week won't be too rough since I'm still congested (but finally coming out of it, sort of) and since last week I did zero running. So sad. It'll be okay though! We still have 11 weeks to go. That's plenty of time!

Tall Girl

Sydney is really tall. Her height lends itself to some physical abilities that her older brother didn't have at the same age. Sydney is, at 14 months, the same height Wes was at 18 months. (Wes has always been average-to-short for his age, and since Sydney's tall...)

Sydney can hoist herself up on our couches and chairs, she can reach buttons on the TV, reach the edge of the kitchen counters, see the top of the dinner table, pull stuff out of tall drawers, etc. These are all things Wes wasn't able to do until he was a little older. I didn't realize that having a tall child would create a whole different dynamic in parenting my second 14-month-old.

Granted, Sydney has a different personality than Wes and therefore is a bit more daring. Plus, the fact that she has an older brother as an example and a motivator pushes her to do things Wes may not have considered at her age. It's just really interesting to see the differences in the two kids physically, as well as mentally and emotionally.

This is Wes' boosted chair that Sydney is climbing up. Wes still generally uses the stool (Sydney does too, but not always).

She conquered the chair. This is one of her new favorites things to do. Probably because she knows it bugs me (since it's high, therefore dangerous, and she can reach things on the table).

We sure do love our tall girl though!

Let it Snow!

On Wednesday morning, Wes' wish of snow finally came true! He was so excited to get out and play in the snow once the sun came up (since our family wakes up daily at 6:15am when it's still dark outside). We put on his full snow gear: boots, snow bib, coat, gloves, and hat and sent him out in the backyard. He had a great time kicking through the snow. When I got too cold, I bribed him to go inside with hot chocolate. This kid sure does love the Christmas season!

Cowtown Countdown - 12 Weeks to Go + Holiday Hustle 2009

I was waiting for the official race pictures to come online from our race on Saturday, but it's Wednesday and they still aren't up so I'm moving on. I took my camera, but didn't end up taking any pictures.

This past Saturday, for our date night, Brian and I ran the Holiday Hustle 5k. Jonelle, Steve, Andrea, and Tyler also ran it with us this year. Last year when we ran the same race, Tyler watched the kids while Brian, Andrea and I ran it. It was a momentous race for me, because it was what started me on this running journey that I'm now on.

It was cold again this year, but at least it didn't snow! However, I started getting sick on Thursday/Friday (just like two weeks ago), but decided I wanted to run the race anyway. I'm not sure it was the wisest decision considering the state of my health now, but I'm still glad I did it. My finishing time was 21:20 - a new personal record! My pace was 6:52 min/mi.

Division Place: 3 of 106

Sex Place: 16 of 752

Overall Place: 84 of 1287

I got that sweet ornament (picture above) for finishing 3rd in my age division. Jonelle came in 4th this time around.

Just for the comparison factor, there were actually almost twice as many people at the race this year as last year and it took us 20 seconds to cross the start line. Pretty crazy. Also, my finishing time last year was 34:08 (44 of 54 in my age group). My 5k time has gotten 12 minutes and 48 seconds faster over the last year. I've come a long way! I wonder how much faster I can get?

The rest of my training week was good. It was considered an easy week. Saturday was originally supposed to be an easy 5-miler, but Jonelle and I decided to run the 5k with a personal goal of sub-7:00 instead.

Weekly Goals

Monday: 6 miles at 8:53 / mi

Tuesday: 6 miles at 8:53 / mi

Thursday: 5 miles at 8:53 / mi

Saturday: 3 miles at 6:59 / mi

Weekly Goals
Monday: 6 miles at 8:17 / mi

Tuesday: 6 miles at 8:21 / mi

Thursday: 5 miles at 8:05 / mi

Saturday: 3 miles at 6:52 / mi