Fun Mini-Vacay!

I haven't been so good about blogging about Mike's races this year. In fact I haven't been so good about blogging in general. I think I have done more blogging on the Mustang Restoration blog than this one. Anyways I figured this little mini-vacay deserves it's own entry.

Mike and I just celebrated our 3 year wedding anniversary on Monday (Sept 12th). We went out to dinner and Mike surprised me with the confirmation page for the Anniversary Inn in Logan for Friday night (Last night). We needed to stay in Logan anyways for the Top of Utah Marathon, but he was sweet enough to pay for a room at the Anniversary Inn. I have always wanted to stay in one of their rooms.

Anyways the room we got was called Joanie's Diner. It was awesome. We had so much fun. It was a 50's diner theme and even came complete with a Jukebox. We had so much fun playing with the jukebox. We also got lots of good food like banana splits, hot dogs, and drinks. It was fun.
This is the bedroom area. It was like taking a step back in time. There was lots of flowers and pink, but it was fun. They had some neat antiques in there as well. Of course this room had other nice amenities like a big flat screen TV as well as jetted tub and a huge shower!

One of the best parts was that it was literally a block away from the finish of the marathon. So I got to sleep in while Mike ran this morning. Then I wandered over to the finish line to watch him come in. It worked out well for him because it meant he got to come back and sit in the jetted tub for awhile and also get cleaned up and relax before we had to check out. It was nice!

This is Mike after finishing. He did awesome! His parents surprised us by being at the finish line. It was fun having them there. Mike did really well and got a PR. He did it in like 3:09. He made a good improvement and was in good spirits. It is funny now because he has made a lot of running friends at all of these events. So he is very social at the finish line and has lots of people he chats with. It is neat seeing him chatting with so many people and that people are starting to know him. Its just fun.

This is not the best picture but it is the only one I have of him coming in. Apparently my picture taking skills are still not up to par. Oh well.

Overall, It turned out to be a fun experience. I know it was just an overnight thing, but I honestly feel like I just got back from vacation. I had a blast! I really enjoyed getting to spend the time with Mike. I honestly have so much fun being with him. I am also so incredibly proud of how far he has come in his racing. He has come so far and never ceases to amaze me. He is truly an incredible Man. I feel VERY lucky to be married to him.

50 Miles...yeah, he's crazy!

I have been saying for awhile now that Mike is crazy. Well this confirms it! He ran the Buffalo Run 50 miler on Antelope Island yesterday. No, that was not a typo, he really did run 50 miles... on his own two feet. It took him 9 hours and 22 minutes (which actually put him in the first 3rd out of all the other crazy 50 miler people). The furthest he had run prior to this was 32 miles two years ago on the Antelope Island Buffalo Run.

He is such a warrior! You wouldn't know it in this picture, but this picture was taken about 25 miles in. He sure doesn't look like he had just run 25 miles!

Anyways we got up at 3:50 a.m. to head to Antelope Island. Mikes race started at 6 am. I managed to sleep for about an hour in the back of the SUV before I woke up freezing! I felt so bad knowing Mike was out running in the cold (although he said he never noticed the cold until he stopped running). I then met up with Mikes friend Stefan, who was going to pace Mike for the last half of the race. He helped me setup a nice little base camp where I could hang out all day. I had brought my computer, movies, books, puzzles... anything I could think of to entertain myself. Interestingly enough, I didn't really have much down time. I kept pretty busy the entire day. The 50 miler course looped around and came back through the start at mile 18. So I was able to see Mike run though, grab a few things from him, and get a kiss before he took off again. I then went to drop Stefan off at the 25 mile mark. I waited there until I saw Mike and got another kiss from him. Next I drove up 8 miles to the ranch (which is a turn around point) and waited for him. So it was nice seeing him there (which was mile32), and being able to get yet another kiss.

The Ranch (32 Miles in)

Then I headed back to the start/finish to wait for him. I really only had like an hour and a half that I sat in the car doing puzzles before heading to the finish line to wait for him there.

Here he is right before the finish line

I ran and gave him a big hug and kiss when he finished. I am so proud of him. I was super nervous for him to run this race, but he did awesome! He was even in better shape after the race than he is at some marathons. I LOVE this picture. This is after the race. He laid in the back of the SUV for a little while to recover before driving us home. I just think he looks so cute in this picture. So anyways, it was a good race and he did awesome. So proud of him for accomplishing something so big. I asked him while he was laying there, if he was going to do the 100 miler next... but he said no....but a few minutes ago he turned to me and said he is thinking he does want to do the 100 miler. So I guess he is a bit more insane than I originally thought. Alas, I will be there to support him in whatever he wants to do, no matter how crazy it may seem!

Yup, I fell off the face of the Earth...

I use to be so good at this whole Blogging thing.... but for some reason, I one day woke up just not feeling it anymore. So I have not posted since September.... which is sad because a lot has happened that I can't remember. So I will try my best at remembering.

The last post was about the Mesa Falls half Marathon.... well I did another Half marathon in October. I did The Other Half, which is a half marathon in Moab. It was a lot of fun. We had a big group of us that ran it. Mikes Dad ran it, along with his sisters Holly and Heather. We also had Heathers girlfriend Julia run it. So we all ended up renting a house in Moab which was actually a lot of fun. It was a tough race but we all finished so that's good.

October 25th I started a new job with a new company. It was scary leaving the company I had been with for 6 years... but I needed out of the position I was in. So I am still in training with this new company, but I think it will be a good thing. It seems like training has been using up my entire brain so I'm pretty well brain dead at the end of each day. I forget how tough it is to cram a ton of info into my head each day.

I survived the one year anniversary of losing my mom. I actually took that day off work because I wasn't sure what type of condition I would be in. I spent the entire day with family... so it was nice. We had a nice turkey dinner, visited the cemetery, as well as worked on the M&M tree.

The M&M tree is the tree we are donating to the Festival of Trees in honor of my mom. So we have been scrambling to get as much M&M themed stuff as possible. So far it is coming together well. We have two - 2ft M&Ms that will be standing next to the tree. One of them we are thinking we will pose so they are hanging an ornament. We also got some colorful tin M&M ornaments and I was able to find clear plastic ornaments that were M&M shaped. I stencilled the M on them and we filled them with M&M's. So that's what we have so far. We still have not bought the actual Christmas tree... but we know which one we want to use. We still have a bunch more we want to buy for this tree. Its getting a little stressful actually, but it will be neat. I am excited to see if the tree will sell and how much it will go for. I think its neat we are doing this. My mom LOVED M&M's so its just so perfect for her!

I think we are about caught up. I know a lot more happened, but I really cant remember. I need to get back into blogging, but I tend to keep myself busy with other stuff. Hopefully I can get back into the spirit of blogging. I also need to get working on my blog book for last year so I can get it ordered and printed up. Maybe that will be today's project... we'll see.

I've taken up running, but still can't keep up with life...

I suck at keeping up on my blog. Life just gets crazy and then I get lazy. Ok so really life hasn't been that crazy, I am really just lazy. So I am still running. Its tough, but I have seen some good results weight wise. I am still signed up for The Other Half half marathon in Moab in October. I am rather scared about the whole deal. The mileage is fine.... I know I can do the mileage. What scares me is the speed factor. This race has a time cut off which is going to be a little bit of a stretch for me. I am hoping I can finish before they close the course. I guess we will see how it goes.

I have been doing a lot of job hunting and interviews. Since they relocated my office to West Valley, it has turned my commute into a half hour commute which really sucks. So I need to find something close to home. Oh and it will be nice to have a job that doesn't drive me nuts, and possibly a job I may actually like.

Its getting close to the one year mark of my mothers death. I can definitely tell. Its almost like the leaves changing reminds me of losing her. So I have had her on my mind a lot lately. I'm not sure how I am going to be able to handle the 1 yr anniversary. That's going to be tough. I am also a little nervous about going to St. George this weekend for The St George Marathon. That will be the anniversary of her getting sick. Its crazy to think how she was fine one minute, and the next minute she was sick... and then gone. Sometimes I still have a hard time believing she is gone.

Anyways.... I need to be better at writing posts, but I wont guarantee that I will be. Especially since I am going thru a tough time of year. I don't know if I will feel up to it, but I will sure try!

Mesa Falls Marathon

For Mikes birthday, I decided to register him for the Mesa Falls Marathon in Ashton, ID. Mesa Falls in a gorgeous area and I knew it would be a really pretty race. Plus this takes care of Idaho on his goal to run a marathon in every state. Little did I know at the time I was registering him for it, that I would end up running the Half Marathon.

We headed to Ashton Thursday night and lounged around Friday. This morning (Saturday) Mike headed off to the buses a couple hours before I needed to head out. They started the full Marathon 2 hours before the Half. I was really nervous and had not done very many long runs prior to this, and had not been running as much due to health problems. I decided at the last minute, that I really did want to do this. I knew I would kick myself if I didn't. I figured I would end up coming in last, but decided I would go for it. What better place to do your first Half Marathon, than a gorgeous area like Mesa Falls... that I have loved since the first time I took the Mesa Falls Scenic Byway. Plus this race did not have a time cut off. They would keep the finish line open until every person came across. So I wouldn't have to stress about not making it on time.

So I am up at the start of the Half Marathon with all the other 280 runners waiting for our race to start. We were all cheering on the full marathoners as they went past. i figured Mike had already past before I even got up to the start line so I didn't think I would see him. Suddenly he comes running past scanning the crowd. He looked at me, told the guy he was running and chatting with that he would be back, ran over to me and gave me a huge hug and kiss before continuing on his way. The crowd LOVED it! A big cheer went up. Plus I had tons of people comment how cute it was and how amazed they were he still had that much energy half way thru a marathon. It was cute and it made me feel loved that he would stop running in the middle of a race just to give me a hug and kiss.

So finally the Half Marathon started. It veered off onto a trail for the first couple miles. Apparently, I am not a good trail runner because I tripped on a rock and scraped up my leg pretty good. See picture below...

It hurt pretty bad. I got up, took stock and decided I could still run. I was determined that I would not get a DNF (Did not finish) on my first Half Marathon. So I ran it all. It was hard... and very painful. The salt from my sweat hurt every time it would drip down my sore leg. Plus every time my foot pounded down, it sent jolts of pain up my leg. Suddenly, my goal of not coming in last changed to a goal of just finishing the race.

Mike meanwhile, did really well which surprised us both since he had just run Park City Marathon last week. two marathons a week apart is crazy! He managed to come across at 3:13 and was 5th overall... 2nd in his age group. He had a really good race. I am soo incredibly proud of him.

He finished, went back to our little cabin we stayed in and packed up and checked out (since check out was prior to when I was going to finish). He then headed back to meet up with me. He met up with me around 3 miles from the finish line. He could not have come at a better time. I was dead! There had been a horrible hill thatilled me. So I was down to walking. Part of that was because how painful my leg was. So he walked (with little spurts of running) to the finish line with me. It was so great having him there for support! That meant he did a total of 32 miles today. I was very happy to see him and he was very supportive and understanding when I was having problems running.

The finish line was finally crossed, and then I got some wipes and wiped down my leg. It hurt like heck when Mike started scrubbing the dirt out of it, but I survived. We then went and got our free Huckleberry Milk Shake and headed to West Yellowstone to finish out our vacation.

It was a hard race, and it sucked scraping my leg like I did, but I am glad that I did it. I am glad I can say I have run a Half Marathon, even with a bloody leg. I am glad its over though. I managed to do it in 3:48:18 which is a much better time than I expected. Especially since I did a lot of walking this race. That makes me feel much better about cutting my time down to 3:30 by the Half Marathon in Moab in October. I honestly think I can do it!

Utah Valley Marathon

Mike ran the Utah Valley Marathon yesterday. We headed to Provo Friday night and spent the night in a motel. Its always a treat to stay in a Motel because we get to watch Cable. We don't have any TV channels at home and have to watch our shows online(since we aren't usually big TV people anyways and have never wanted to spend the money on cable). Its fun being able to watch shows I don't normally watch, and being able to flip thru channels. So that was a highlight for me.

We got up at 3:30 to head to the finish where Mike got on the bus to take him up to the start line. I got to sleep in the back of the SUV for a few more hours. We have a nice bed made back there so it wasn't bad. I almost felt bad for Mike out pounding the pavement while I slept... but then remembered that he actually LIKES doing it. Also there was some rain and some downpours I woke up to, but Mike seems to find rain the be ideal for running conditions.

Mike has a new strategy that he tried with Ogden and then this race. He goes out slow and gets a negative split. It has greatly improved his time and he seems to be in really good shape when he comes across the finish line. He came across in about 3:08 which was good enough for him to qualify for Boston yet again. The cool thing about this race is they give shirts to those who qualify on their course that say "Boston Qualifier". Mikes goal was to get one of those shirts which he succeeded in getting. He did really well this race and felt pretty good at the end.

This morning we got up to do an 11 miler. At about mile 9 I decided to turn it into a Half Marathon (13.1). It about killed me! I now know what it feels like to "hit the wall". I got to the point where it took all I had to even keep my legs moving when I was walking. It was a relief to finally get home. I headed straight to the couch and laid with my legs elevated. My legs have never hurt so bad! I honestly did not think I was going to survive that run. It took me 3:54:49 which is slow. Its ok though because it is faster then I thought I would do for my first half marathon distance. I still have a few months to work on speed. The cut off time for the Half marathon I am doing in October is 3:30 so I have to shave about a half hour off. I think I can do it. I just need to start focusing on speed now. I have mainly tried to focus on getting the distance in and figured once I got to the distance I wanted... I would work on speed. I do think I want to get up to 15 miles before I start working on speed though. So a couple more weeks and I can change my focus. I am glad I got the distance in... but it about killed me. Hopefully it will get better for me though.

Ogden Marathon

Friday evening after work, Mike and I headed to the great city of Ogden. This was his 4th year doing the Ogden Marathon. As you recall, we have special ties to this race since he proposed to me at it 2 years ago. I wont get into the specifics of it but if you go back to 2008 in the month of May, you can read all about it.

So we got to Ogden after suffering on the freeway in stop and go traffic almost the entire way. We hit the Runners Expo where he picked up his packet. Then we headed to Fazoli's for the traditional Night-Before Pasta Dinner before heading to our Motel for the night.

I love watching Discovery Channel when we stay in hotels or motels. Nothing is more relaxing then just laying there staring at a TV. I would say its because we don't have cable here so the only time I get to watch Discovery Channel and TLC is when we are on vacation. So I was really looking forward to getting some good "Deadliest Catch" watching done. Well I was flipping thru channels and came across Forrest Gump which was just starting. So Mike forced us to watch it. It was rather nice laying with Mike watching in the movie, although I would have rather watched Deadliest Catch than Forrest Gump, but it was his weekend so I thought I would let him have his way.

So the next morning we were up at 4 am to head to the race. I kissed Mike goodbye and wished him luck before climbing into the back of the SUV and going to sleep on the nicely made bed in the back. It was pretty comfy. So while my husband was out pounding the pavement and suffering thru 26.2 miles of pain... I was sleeping all nice, warm, and comfy in the SUV. I finally dragged myself out of bed at 9 am and headed to the start line to wait for him.

Mike did really well on this race. He had just wanted to beat 3:20 but he managed to do it in 3:09:34 (GPS time, we don't know the official time yet). He felt really good about that, and I was very excited for him. He qualified for Boston again... even though he doesn't have any plans to run it again any time soon. Just nice to know he still improving his time. We are thinking he might stand a chance of breaking 3 hrs at St. George this year.

All-in-all it was a good race. He did better than he expected, and I was very proud of him. After the race we spent a few hours at a car show at Thanksgiving Point before going for my six mile run. The six mile run just about killed me. I didn't eat very well that morning so I was running on Empty. I thought I was going to die the last mile and a half. I survived though. I think I am getting the the distance where it really matters the foods I eat prior to running. So next Saturday when I tackle the 7 mile run, I will make sure to watch what I eat prior to running so I can have the energy to do the mileage. On the plus side... I am almost half way to being able to run the Half Marathon.

Boston/New York Trip

This is going to be a long post, but I want to make sure I record as much of the details as I can about our trip. We flew out to Boston on the 16th so Mike could run the Boston Marathon. We spent all day of the 16th at the airport and on planes. It was nice when we finally got there. We then drove up to Danvers, MA (which is really close to Salem) and spent the night. The motel we stayed in had bad reviews but it was honestly really cute and quaint. I think it was our favorite out of all the places we stayed.

The 17th we got up and drove to Salem where we took the commuter rail into Boston. We met up with his parents and went the the New England Aquarium. It was really neat. I really enjoyed watching the penguins. I could have sat and watched them all day. After the Aquarium, we went and had lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe, then headed up to Salem to spent the rest of the day. I am totally into Salem. That is where the famous Witch Trials took place. We also got to do a Ghost Tour in Salem. That was a lot of fun. I managed to forget my camera this first day so Mike had to take all the pictures on his camera.
The 18th we headed into Boston and Mike was able to pick up his race packet. We then headed on the Course Tour which was basically a tour that took us along the entire Marathon Course. I was surprised because it was really scenic. I had pictured the whole race taking place in the heart of the city, but it starts outside of town. After the course tour we went on a Duck Tour. That was a lot of fun. They were buses that were also boats. So the tour takes you on land and in the water. I really enjoyed it.

That Night we met up with his coworker and his family for a Pasta dinner. It was neat that his Coworker was there to support him. It was funny though because we randomly ran into his coworker the night before in Salem of all places. He happened to be at the same Museum/Gift shop we were at.
This was at the start line in Hopkinton.The picture below is of the Duck Tour Vehicles we rode.



The 19th was the day of the Marathon. I had to get a picture of Mike before the race and after the race. We were in Framingham watching for him. I couldn't believe how many runners there were. I ended up missing him and not seeing him. His parents (who were across the street and down a little ways) got to see him. I was kind of bummed I didn't see him. We then rode the train to the finish line although we could not get anywhere near the finish line. We got to an area where they had a big screen setup so you could watch people on the screen cross the finish line. Also you could see them running past (but a couple blocks away). So we watched and his sister and I both saw him run past. He ran it in like 3:21. We then went to the family meeting area and met up with him.

One thing that was neat was the shirt he ran with. It had my mom and his cousins pictures on it and said "When someone you love becomes a memory, that memory becomes a treasure." Then it said "In Loving Memory of Ian Bonavita and Connie Bone". His cousin died at age 7 of Leukemia and the day of the Marathon would have been his 18th Birthday. It was fitting to have my mom on there since she got sick the day he qualified for Boston. It was neat he ran with that shirt. He said he got a few comments from people saying things like "Ian and Connie are both proud of you." I know they were honored that he ran with that shirt. His mom made up shirts for the rest of us that were green and said "Team Mikal" and "Kickin' Asphalt". It was fun!

One of the interesting things Mike said about the race was when he got to Wellsley College. He said there were tons of girls holding signs saying "Kiss me, I'm a Senior" (or Junior or whatever). Anyways he said a bunch of guys threw on the brakes and ran over and kissed the girls. He also said that there were crowds the entire way and there were so many people and runners. Oh and he also said when he rode the bus to the start line, he ended up sitting next to, and striking up conversation with a fellow Utahn. Crazy how that worked.

The 20th we got up and headed to New York. My moms cousin lives in New Jersey (right across from New York) and invited us to come stay with them. So we geared up the GPS and headed out. It was pretty scary driving thru New York trying to get to their house. We really relied on the GPS. What was hard was when we were in the middle of New York when the GPS lost its signal. Somehow we managed to make it ok and got to their house. They were nice enough to take us into New York and give us a little tour. I got rather car sick while weaving in and out of traffic. The drivers in New York are crazy! I couldn't believe how crazy it all was. They then dropped us off at the Empire state building. We went up to the top to their observation deck. It was incredible seeing New York from that perspective.

We then wanders to the site of the World Trade Center towers stood. They have a little tribute museum sort of place. It was neat going and see all of that. They are rebuilding stuff there but we got lots of pictures from the construction site.

This was pulled from the rubble and is part of a plane window. It was crazy some of the things they pulled from the rubble that was still partly in tacked.The 21st we headed back into New York. We walked thru Time Square and then walked the whole length of Central Park. Time Square is just so incredible! We even went into the M&M store as sort of a tribute to my mom. Central Park is huge and very gorgeous! It is hard to believe there could be such a park in the center of such a huge city. We spent the night of the 21st in New Haven, CT. We were a little nervous of our hotel since it had bad reviews, but it turned out to be rather nice. Its funny because one of the hotels we stayed in had good reviews but when we got there our sheets had hair and dirt in them, like they had not been changed. It was late so we slept there anyways. The next day I called to have them change the sheets so we could sleep in clean sheets that night. Well I was told the housekeepers had left for the day and that the front desk guy would not have time to change them. So we ended up picking up clean sheets from the front desk and making our own beds. It was ridiculous! I was so mad at that place!

Anyways so we got up the morning of the 22nd and headed back to Boston. We then met up with Mikes parents and did the trolley tour and a harbor tour. We also went to the top of the Prudential Center to their Observatory.

The 23rd was the day we all headed home. Mikes parents and my Dad were on the same flight leaving at like 6:30 AM. Mike and I didn't fly out until 5:25 PM so we had the majority of the day to wander around Boston on our own. We had breakfast and lunch at Quincy Market. That place is unbelievable with all the food choices. We also wandered to the Holocaust Memorial and over to Haymarket, for the Farmers Market. That was neat to see. We also finished the rest of the Trolley tour that we didn't get to see the day before. As well as headed to Mike's Pastrys. That place is good and very popular. Every time we would try to go it had huge lines going down the block. This time we went fairly early in the morning so there were not lines yet. It was good!
This is a picture of the Holocaust Memorial. There is steam that periodically rises from the grates and up thru the glass towers. The glass is etched with millions of numbers that Jews were assigned. It was neat.

All in all, it was a good trip. It was nice having Mike's family there and also my dad. I am very proud of Mike for his accomplishment of running the Marathon. It was a neat experience all around. I am very glad we got to go!

Halloween

We started out our Halloween by getting up at 5 am to head to Provo for a Halloween Half Marathon Mike ran. We made a bed in the back of the SUV for me so I could sleep for a few hours before he would be at the finish line. The race was suppose to start at 8 am so I figured I would get to the finish line by 9:10 so as not to miss him. So I wander over there at the said time and noticed the clock only showed them running for 12 minutes. They then announced they had a really late start. So I headed back to the SUV and read for another hour before heading back.

Mike did really well. His time was 1:24:01 which was a PR (Personal Record) for him. I thought he came in ninth but apparently I need to go back to preschool to learn how to count again. He actually was number 10 out of 727 runners. He was also third in his age group. It was a fun race. There were lots of people in costume. We saw some interesting costumes, like Balloon Boy, and Bill Gates. It was fun.

I don't know if you can read his shirt but it says "This is my Marathoner Costumer"
We then headed home and took a nap an relaxed most of the day. We did end up going shopping in the afternoon but it was crazy. Everyone and their dog were at walmart. I hate crowds so I was just anxious to get done and get out of there.

Halloween night came around and we ended up adding some neat decorations to our grave yard scene. We took some fire wood and piled it up and put a big black cauldron on it. We then put orange lights under the fire wood so it looked like fire. We also put some white garbage bags in the cauldron with an orange light in side so it looked like it was liquid inside bubbling over. It was cute. I was so proud of our work. Sadly we didn't get any trick or treaters except Mikes niece and nephew and Linda and Shelley's kids. That was only because I called Linda and begged her to bring them trick or treating to our house so they could see my cool yard. It was rather disappointing no one else showed but part of it was our porch light wouldn't stay on. I figured that was probably the biggest reason.

On the plus side... Mike and I got to watch The Lost Boys. I love that movie. Its a fun one. So we watched that and ate dinner and then called it a night. It was an ok night but I still wish we could

have had some trick or treaters.... but oh well. I guess Halloween isn't what it use to be.

We tried to get pictures of our yard but it was hard to get any good ones in the dark. So this is the best we could do.

Mikes niece and nephew Saleen and Dallas

Boston, here we come!!

Mike ran the St. George marathon this morning. He finished in 3:06:13 which means he qualified for Boston! Its a good thing he qualified since we already have our hotel reservations. I am very proud of him and am so excited that he was able to reach that goal.

Today was one of the most stressful days of my life. Not only was I worried about Mike doing well on the marathon... but my mom ended up going in for emergency surgery today also. My emotions are already out of whack from Clomid...but add emergency surgery and Mike qualifying... it was not pretty.

Yesterday my mom was not doing so well. She couldn't keep down any food or water. She kept throwing it back up and was in pain. Well this morning Mike left at about 4 am to catch the bus for the Marathon. about 10 minutes later my dad decided he was taking my mom to the ER because she was in severe pain. I was a bit freaked out!

Anyways I suddenly found I didn't have a ride to the finish line to be able to watch Mike finish. Luckily my cousin saved me (thanks soooooooo much Cassie!!!! You were a huge help this weekend!!). She picked me up and drove me to the finish line. Anyways I watched Mike finish the race and was very excited he qualified. I ran over and gave him a huge hug (which I usually don't do since he is always so sweaty after a race). I even teared up. Mikes first words he said to me was asking how I was doing. I should have been asking how he was doing but he was concerned for me since I called him shortly after 4 when my mom left for the ER just in tears. anyways I couldn't believe that he had just qualified for Boston but was more concerned about me.

A short time later I got a call from my Dad about my mom. They were going to do emergency surgery. I ended up crying on the phone with my dad. Once again... Mike was there to hold me. I was nervous for her and wanted everything to be ok since they didn't know what was wrong. They were going to cut into her and hope they found something.

I ended up going to Breakfast with Mike and his parents, and then being dropped off at the Hospital. I waited with my dad so he wouldn't be alone. She was in surgery for 4 hours! They found the problem and got her all sewed up. She seems to be doing much better. Mike eventually joined us at the hospital after he got all showered and cleaned up. He was a good sport sitting at the hospital for 5 hours.

We then went out to dinner with some old friends from high school. It was a blast seeing everyone again. It is crazy to see Kristin with Kids... and to hear about Sarah and all that she has done. It was really a ton of fun. I am glad I got to do that.

Either way... it was a very stressful day. I am just glad I survived!

P.S. I had a shirt made for Mike which I gave him at the finish line.

Front

Back

Top of Utah Marathon

Mike ran the Top of Utah Marathon in Logan this morning. He was crazy enough to run only a week after his last marathon. Anyways he finished in 3:19:39. He came in 104 out of 2600 plus runners. I think he also was like 17th out of his age group. He managed to shave off 20 minutes from the last time he ran this marathon 2 years ago.

We went to Logan last night and picked up his running packet. Then we went to Jenny and Rogers and spent the night. This morning we got up at 4 am so we could be in Logan in time for Mike to catch the bus to the start line. I had made a nice little bed in the back of the SUV so I went back to sleep until about 7:30 am.

Anyways... Mike did well on this race. He tried to take it easy because he doesn't want to mess anything up before St. George in a couple weeks. We are hoping he will qualify for Boston with that race. Mikes parents also came and watched him finish along with Bob and April from the Mustang Club. It is always nice when Mike has a cheering section... especially since I am too shy to really cheer for him. I also remembered to put batteries in the camera so I got pictures. Woohoo!

Our Honeymoon

So I am going to do a little remembering session about our honeymoon since I apparently never posted it. So here goes...

Our wedding night we spent in a nice condo in Park City Thanks to my brother in law Dave. It was very upscale and even had a hot tub on the patio. We didn't end up using the hot tub though. We actually didn't get up there till late so we pretty much just went to bed.

In the morning we headed to Cody, Wyoming. I had never been there before but Mike had. It was neat. We stayed at this motel where they had a bird in the office. We got a picture of it on Mikes head. It was a cute bird. It loved to talk.

We wandered around the Ghost Town. I think that they were old buildings from all over that they moved to Cody and created a little town. It was interesting though. I LOVE ghost towns so I was amused.Next we went and did some shopping in Red Lodge, MT before heading to our little cabin in Absarokee. It was the cutest little cabin. It was one room and so rustic looking. I enjoyed our stay there. I wish we could have spent more nights there.We then headed over the Beartooth Highway towards Yellowstone. That was an adventure because my car over heated. So we had to pull off the side of the road and sit around for an hour while it cooled down. I got some good pictures in the meantime.

We spent a few days exploring Yellowstone and then we headed to Ennis, MT. Ennis is like 30 minutes outside of Virginia City and Nevada City. Those are both really neat places to visit. While there we went to the Brewery Follies in Virginia City. They put on a little comedy act. It was rather entertaining. I quite enjoyed it. This is a picture of inside the old Brewery.

We stayed in some little cabins in Ennis as well. They were nice but not as cute as the Absarokee cabins.

After Ennis we drove to Bannack, MT. That place is incredible! It is a ghost town which they have preserved but not restored. So they have all the buildings in the town you can walk thru. they are empty buildings that aren't in the best of shape but they are still sturdy. One of the highlights was the Meade Hotel pictured below. It was big and very neat. I loved Bannack and would suggest it to anyone. It is by Dillon, MT and well worth visiting.

Then we went to the Lewis and Clark Taverns. Those were neat. We ended up getting a private tour because no one else had showed up yet. So it was just Mike and I and the tour guide. It was neat. It was hard to get real good pictures in there but this one turned out ok.

After the caverns we headed to Bozeman Montana where Mike ran the Lewis and Clark Marathon. He ran that marathon in 3:33:48 and I believe he came in 10th place. It was neat he got to do an out of state marathon.

After Bozeman... we headed back to West Yellowstone and spent the night before heading back home. It was an awesome trip. We were able to see and do a lot. One thing I will never forget is driving back to West Yellowstone. We were going thru a gorgeous area. It was raining off and on so the clouds were covering the tops of the mountains all around us in a thick haze. The fall colors were so vibrant. We listened the to the song "The Answer Lies Within" by Dream Theatre which I felt was so fitting. There is a part that says "You've got the future on your side. Your gonna be fine now. I know whatever you decide, Your gonna shine". It was so true. I felt that the future was on my side and felt like I was going to be fine. So that song forever is associated with our honeymoon. Plus I had a little addiction to Cotton Candy Blizzards from DQ. I think we had to have gotten at least 5 of them throughout the honeymoon. They were delicious!

Anyways I wanted to make sure I recorded some of the honeymoon. I am determined I will find where we wrote down more details on this. I really thought I had done a post about it but I cant seem to find it now. Oh well. It was a neat honeymoon and a great way to start out our marriage.