A Home for the Holidays

  Good Morning Lovelies! You'll never believe how crazy last week was. We heard from our insurance adjuster and he told us to get the fifth wheel "dried out" as soon as possible. We started calling around and the mobile techs told us that it would take a while to dry out the underbelly of our rig and it wasn't ideal to have the insulation removed from the kids room, while it dried out . Our weather in Golden last week was mainly a high of 40. This is exactly what we had predicted. While I don't think the damage is too severe, we want it to be taken care of to prevent any warping or rotting of the floor. Meanwhile we can't leave the bottom of the flooring exposed to the outside and expect our kiddos to stay toasty warm....so we're spending Thanksgiving in a house! YAY! Take a moment for a happy dance....
            The fact that we were even able to secure a house this close to Thanksgiving was a miracle. I started looking last Wednesday and the last one I could find on vacation rental by owner was taken that very day. I was trying to stay out of a hotel, because I still wanted to cook and I was really excited about the idea of spreading out for a few days. The insurance told us our housing allowance set in our insurance coverage and said we could use it however we wanted. A friend told me about www.airbnb.com You have to check it out! It's basically a site, where people rent out part or even their whole house to you. So this house is completely furnished and we have it for 2 weeks. You guys, we were so flipping excited. Three bedrooms, two bathrooms ( a bathtub...say what???) laundry inside , a dishwasher...my head was spinning. So we moved in on Friday. We immediately started breaking things (mainly Waylon) ok , just a pantry door and I melted a knife in the dishwasher so far, whoops! Just having space has been amazing. The house has wifi so Wrex has connected his ipod to it and has been face timing family members. Did you know  you could do that? Our wifi in the trailer is expensive, so this is a whole new privilege fore him. He is constantly texting Grandma and walking around the house on facetime. It gives us a glimpse of our future.  Houston is obsessed with the fire pit outside. He really wants to have a bonfire and make smores. Waylon loves the bathtub and tells me that he doesn't take showers anymore. He only takes baths.  I was on the phone with my bestie yesterday  picking apart the house and all of its details. The pictures online are gorgeous and in real life, it actually reminds me of home. It's just those "do it yourself" imperfections that my eyes are so keen on. Just to be in a house, with all of it's imperfections and noises is such a comfort right now . It is fricking windy out there this morning! I have a lot to be thankful for. Today the boys and I are going to drive up to Boulder to fill the freezer with Trader Jo's goodness. Usually we have to be so choosy in what we can fit in our freezer, we plan on going all out. I'm going to bake up a storm this week and enjoy that big kitchen. We have the house for two weeks. I'm pretty confident our trailer will be dry by then. If not....we'll cross that bridge when it comes. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family!

Here's a few pics of our home for the next 2 weeks...

Keeping it Real...How home schooling is REALLY going!

   

     Hey all! I've been wanting to update you on how school is going but I've had a hard time finding a moments rest. The first day of school started with a bang! We sat down to begin and soon realized that we had some visitors. Wasps had made a nest inside one of our slide outs in our trailer . I killed as many as I could swat,  maybe 5 or so and I got the kids in the car and drove to Home Desperate, I mean Home Depot. We bought the most expensive wasp spray ( hoping that if I spent enough the problem would go away) and made a B- line for home . I kept the kids in the car and ran inside to face our new nemesis. They were mainly in the master bedroom so I sprayed as many little buggers and we vacated the premesis. We played at the park and went out to lunch before returning . I only found 2 after that and Ian killed the nest when he got home. It was an extraordinary first day of school. Not at all as I had planned , which has been a theme this year .

First day of School!

      It was an adjustment for my oldest to homeschool out of books.  He has been accustomed to work on a computer . His early weeks were very long school days. Math was taking us for.....ev....er. My magical Algebra book that I was so hyped on, didn't work for us. Turns out we weren't ready for Pre- Algebra. The curriculum magazine told me we were but that was a lie! It was hard for me to accept at first. I thought maybe he had forgotten things over summer, or he was just trying to torture me. I finally found a free placement test online for Saxon math.
 http://www.sonlight.com/saxon-placement-tests.html
        I was able to get him a new math program a few weeks into our school year. I was bummed that it didn't work out with that other curriculum  but I am really happy with how he's doing now in Saxon Math. It still is the subject that takes him the longest but it has gotten so much better. Latin has turned out to be his favorite subject. Which has given us an opportunity to learn how to make flashcards . That's one of my favorite parts about homeschooling. Finding practical things to teach my kids, like study skills. 

     Teaching two kids out of books is still hard for me. I feel constantly torn between the boys but something that has helped immensely is coming up with a lesson plan for the week and giving it to the boys Monday morning. It has helped them to be more self sufficient . Another homeschooling momma gave me this idea. So they know what pages they have to complete this week and when their test will be. They can get ahead if they're feeling ambitious and they don't have to keep asking me "what's next?" Also, they color in the box when the assignment is complete. I think that's actually their favorite part of the lesson plan.

 

  I think we're definately in a groove now . But there are moments when I want to tear out my hair . Things I have to repeat constantly are " Yes you have to write in complete sentences." Or " Yes you have to do all the exercises ." or " Why did you skip this?" or " Capitalize you're sentences." or "Where is the period?" My favorite answer that has come up so far in the school year is this one.......

See the 4th question down. Poor kid even spelled butt wrong

      Then there was the devastating day when my son got a 60% on his English test. He didn't even attempt to study. If your grades fall below an 80% average in this house, video games are off limits. We were headed to a friends house for a Friday - homeschoolers video game day. Oh he was so upset. Tried to strike a bargain with me, pleading and begging. No luck,, he missed out that day and his friends were just as disappointed as he was. You better believe he studies for his English tests now. How do we figure out grades? I'm glad you asked! Around here, we do a lot of bookwork. All work is checked and corrected immidiately. So they can't just slop answers down or they will be redoing it all day long. Since they put so much time into their bookwork, they are graded on classwork and then I average their test scores in with their or daily work score. 

  On top of this school mania we have started soccer 3x a week and fall baseball once a week. Then we started up guitar lessons because I have been thinking about it for 2 years. So we finally  signed up for that too.  Of course Awanas has started back up  on Wednesday nights and we have to do that because it's date night and we parents love our date night! We've even squeezed in a field trip to the Denver zoo. So that in itself has kept us off our rockers , busy.

Linewives at the Denver Zoo

 

     We were hoping to leave Denver at the beginning of November but it looks like we'll be here a bit longer. So we signed up Waylon for preschool . It's only a few hours, twice a week, but he loved it. That one day he got to go before catching some sort of sickness from preschool. Oh well. We look forward to the time that he goes . We got so much done those 3 hours that one day. Cuz in the end, I'm not anti-school . I'm pro- happy kids and whatever it takes to make your children happy with their learning career. I'd do it.

Running into Preschool as fast as he can

 

Where do you even start? How do you start off homeschooling? " I wanted to look behind me to see who she was talking to

    

       A blog post is way over due. I see so many pictures on Facebook of the first day of school but we are not there yet! I woke up before dawn today and took my older boys to the airport where they flew to grandma's for the first time as "unaccompanied minors." They have been looking forward to this all summer and I have been trying not to think about putting my kiddos alone on a plane. They made it there safely and now me and the little guy are finding ourselves bored without them. This gives me the time I need to get ready for our next school year. We start as soon as they come back home .... enjoy your last few days boys, school is about to begin.
     Homeschooling has been a mixed bag for me. It was something I never had a desire to do. Even today at the grocery store, the cashier quizzed me on when my kids start school  and I kinda cringe when I say we homeschool. I cringe because then she goes on to say how she's not structured and she's better with summertime. As my neighbor here in the mobile park said to me this summer  " If I home schooled my kids, they'd be dumb." So I cringe, because I feel like people are putting me and my kids into a box, but I'm not shy about it. The weirdest change, is that I am excited about it. I searched out and sorted through curriculums. I've looked online and went into stores. I had all of my books put on hold and then purchased them on a day when I knew everything was 20% off. When I checked out, the gal at the counter asked me " Where do you even start? How do you start off homeschooling? " I wanted to look behind me to see who she was talking to! It's frickin crazy to me , that I'm going on three years of independent schooling . Other people are asking me about it too, what I am using and how I do it. I am really excited about this year. It's the first year I am really taking things into my own hands and it's a little scary but really exciting.
    The first year, we went through a charter school for both boys that was completely online. It was great because I felt so insecure in my teaching ability and I didn't want any responsibility for my kids education....but that's not really how it works. Even when you have a teacher in an online format, the parent is still there everyday making sure every task is accomplished and scanned in. There were areas that I found lacking and some tedious projects enhanced. When it came to 6th grade and there were multiple teachers to email and scan to, it got to be too much and we looked for something else. Our second year homeschooling, I paid for a private online school for my 6th grader and I found a great homeschooling resource in Colorado called CHEC. I purchased all of my 2nd graders curriculum through them. I felt that my second grader wasn't being challenged with the online format and his handwriting was a joke, since he was on the computer all day. So last year I got to experiment with a few books and see what worked for us. You will find what we used under "My Homeschooling Research" on this blog. At the end of last year I felt like I knew what books worked for us and what didn't. I got the hang of how classrooms are run online and through traditional books. This year we are only homeschooling through traditional books. I have always been the one that wanted someone to tell me exactly what to teach in each grade, but this year I made all of my own decisions and I'm so eager to see what's in store for us. I purchased most of these books from Mardel Christian Book Store or through Veritas Press. I will tell you how or why I came up with each item in hopes that it will help you someday...or so I can remind myself in 3 months when I am saying "what the heck was I thinking?" This is what I have come up with :

3rd Grade

Saxon Math 3- I have always heard homeschoolers speak highly of Saxon Math. I was really happy with our Math book last year but apparently they don't make one beyond 2nd grade. Saxon is notorious for repeating concepts. This bothered me when I picked up the enormous book and realized that we have already gone over half of this stuff. When I looked at the next year it was a bit too advanced. So I see that each year seems to be a lot of review but this is the thing that I have come to realize. That is what school is. Each year we review the same things and build upon them. Sometimes, we review the same thing with even more detail. This is how we learn.

Science- LifePac by Alpha and Omega   Last year my youngest wasn't given a lot of material to work with in his Science books and my oldest struggled with his Science online. I randomly picked up this curriculum and it turned out to be identical to what his very expensive online school taught. LifePac's come in unit studies. It comes in a box with 10 small books, that are each unit studies. Each small book has lesson reviews, experiments and Tests included. I loved this arrangement for Science, not all of their subjects. So everyone is doing LifePac's for Science.

History Heritage Studies 3- This book is by Bob Jones or BJU as the homeschoolers call it. I found this one the old fashioned way by comparing every history book in the aisle. I loved the pictures, which I think history books should have plenty of. It came with a workbook which I like for reinforcement. Also, it had a test packet. Very handy.


English 3 Writing and Grammar by BJU We used the second grade version of this book last year and I was really happy with it. This year I went a step further and bought the test packet to go with it for both boys. I didn't know they had a test packet last year. Live and learn and moving on.

Spelling Grade 3 by Purposeful Design- I'm a softy for colorful textbooks that we can write in. I chose this one by comparing it to other options and it looked like something I knew my kiddo would like or at least not fight me too much on.

Explode the Code 3 1/2 - This is a phonics book. Nothing was wrong with our last years book but the boy disliked it greatly. This one seems the same but looks different. I'm hoping to trick him into liking phonics.  I did like that they had 1/2 years. Year 3 looked like ground we already covered so I opted for year 3 1/2.

Handwriting without Tears- WE....yes we  worked really hard last year on handwriting. We went through multiple books and free worksheets. I was referred to Handwriting without tears from a kindergarten teacher and I'm really excited to try it out.

7th Grade:

Elementary Algebra by Harold  Jacobs- I found this book in a magazine called Veritas Press. Parents raved about how simple the concepts of Algebra were presented in this book. Then I found out it was out of print and that kinda thing really sets off my inner geek. I must posses those treasured textbooks that are irreplaceable. Of course Veritas Press is apparently buying all of the copies they can get there hands on, so I ordered through them. I will let you know if it's all it's cracked up to be. I even went on half.com and read some pretty amazing reviews about it there too. I ordered the enormous textbook, the test packet and the answers to the tests ,which apparently have the work to show how the answer was reached. That sounded invaluable to me, but it hasn't come in the mail yet.

Science- LifePac by Alpha and Omega- see notes above

America the Beautiful by Charlene Notgrass I started using this book last year to supplement the boys learning because I felt they were both saturated in World History and knew nothing about American History. Eventually my enthusiasm dwindled because there was real school work that needed to be done. What drew me to this book was again the amazing pictures that I believe all history books should have. Less Words and more pictures or at least 50/50. I want to visualize it y'know? Also this book has a map workbook so the kids can locate the area they were learning about and draw things indigenous to the area . I like that to reinforce and picture which area of our country we are studying. This year I bought the lesson  review book too. I also realized that this book is broken up into 30 units. Even though this is actually two enormous books we are going to get through it by doing 1 unit a week , 1 lesson a day. They really mapped it our beautifully for me.

English Writing and Grammar 7 by BJU- see Notes above


Reading Detective B1 by the Critical Thinking CO.- This book was referred to me by someone who apparently has a brainiac child. It reminds me a lot of state testing. It has reading passages and questions to answer. The promise of this book is to develop independent thinkers. The answers are not word for word in the story , the child will actually have to use their mind. I will tell you how it goes.

Vocabulary from Classical Roots A by Norma Fifer and Nancy Flowers- My seventh grader is an awesome speller, so instead of a spelling book, we are learning Latin. Hear me out! He's the kind of kid that reads books way above his grade level but then he will pronounce a word he read completely wrong. So we are learning roots of words, which I am hoping will help him for the rest of his life. He will not be speaking latin but he will know where some words come from. Lesson one starts out with the word mono- meaning one : think monologue, monarch, monopoly etc.

Health from Horizons- I had every intention of teaching my son a health class last year and since I didn't , we will do it this year.

Typing: I have heard of www.typingweb.com but I haven't really looked into it yet

I am also armed with my amazing planner, " A Well Planned Day" It has room to plan your lessons, track attendance, grades, shopping list. It was my saving grace last year. I actually purchased one for the 7th grader too. I'm not sure I'll get my monies worth out of that one...

      So that's what we will be tackling next week. When I put it all down, it makes me want to take a nap. If you're thinking about homeschooling , talk to some homeschool moms. We come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. We have some very different ideas of what school should be like. That doesn't mean that it's not for you. I have taken small steps to get here, but I'm glad I'm here. My goal is to have educated children, who think for themselves and like to learn(or at least don't hate it.) I may have accidentally wandered into homeschooling but I am intentional about their learning. Good luck and may the odds ever be in your favor.

Summertime! Who's coming to Denver?

    

  Summertime! There is quite a lot happening over here in our trailerhood. I have been so excited foer Summer for the pure reason of warm weather and no homeschool but after 5 days of it, I gotta say Summer is exhausting! I'll take ya full circle on our shenanigans. Yesterday, we had to move to a new trailerpark. Which is actually a mobile home park Dun, Dun Dun! We moved to Denver last summer and discovered how insanely hard it is to find a monthly spot for a fifth wheel in the summertime. Denver is actually having quite a boom and even the rental market is extremely difficult to get into here. Yes, there are a lot of workers, family vacationers, snowbirds but there's just a lot of people! Did you know that I have met quite a few families that are from Denver, living in fifth wheels? It's just not an option I realized people were taking. Choosing to live in a fith wheel , in your home town. Anyway, it is very hard to have a spot for the summertime so I started looking in January. That's right, and even then people told me they were already booked, but try back to see if anyone had canceled. I was on waiting lists at several places. The park we stayed in all Winter and Spring doesn't allow monthly campers in the Summer. Two weeks at a time is the maximum stay. Then you have to leave for at least a day before you come back. This did not sound like a good plan with Ian's work schedule. It kinda made me resentful at all of these vacationers. "Go sleep in a hotel, this is my life, not my vacation!" I realize that it's silly to be frustrated with them. I hope to be one of them someday. But for now they are a great source of entertainment. People camp differently when they are on vacation as opposed to living in a fifth wheel. Sometimes they lock up all their storage and give you the evil eye, sometimes we are serenaded by people singing around the barbecue. One of our favorite activities is watching young couples back up their rigs, it's very funny to see the frustration , when it's not you. Okay so my point is, I had to find a somewhat crappy park to move into for the Summer , while all the campers had some of the best parks in Colorado at a maximum for 2 weeks at a time. Then I had an epiphany, if you can't beat them, join them. I decided we would move around to all of these parks all summer long! Ian reminded me how much work that would be and how frustrating it could be if something went wrong and we ended up sleeping in Wal Mart's Parking lot so we came up with a compromise. I booked 2 trips to Colorado State Parks in the Denver area for 2 weeks each. We also got a spot at this Mobile home park that will be our spot the whole Summer and we can come and go as we please. Yesterday we moved into the mobile home park and it was a lot of work, moving. Ian is usually right. I am excited we have little vacations to look forward to but it was very wise to have a place to land. Even securing this spot was like trying to get the management to release a nugget of gold. It is seriously ridiculous over here in Denver.
    On another note, Ian has about 6 more months until he is able to test to become a Journeyman Lineman. So from what my family tells me, this will most likely be our last Summer in Colorado. So I have a list of things I want to do. It amazes me that we have been in one area this long, (knock on wood everybody....no seriously) The advantage is that I actually have had time to form a list of things I want to do, instead of just being overwhelmed at being in a new city.
 Here's my  list:
Waterfall Hike ( I don't know where it is, but I saw it on Pinterest)
Narrow Gorge train Ride
The Incline
Train Museum in Golden
Children's Museum in Denver
Buffalo Bills Museum with a picnic on Lookout Mountain
Denver's Aquarium
Water World
Pirates Cove
Bowling
National Sand Dune Park
Mt Rushmore - It's only 5 hours away, will I seriously ever be closer?
The Elvis Movie theater- I don't know what this entails but I already bought the Groupon
Slip N Slide
Public Pools
Library Program
Sleep over for the boys
Rockies Game with a trolley ride
Heritage square Park
Picnic in Wash Park

Quite a list right? Here's the exhausting part. In the past 5 days we've already:

Had a picnic with friends
Went to a water park
ate Ice cream out of the cartons
Made a homemade volcano and watched it explode twice
Had a water fight
Went to the History Park in Golden where we : walked on stilts, played with a bean bag toss, used slingshots and panned for gold
watched Ian at work setting poles with a helicopter
Walked to town for an ice cream cone
went to the skate park and the  batting cages
and of course we moved which includes a deep cleaning of the trailer

So yeah I'm tired and I'm not sure my list of things to do is going to quench my kids voracious appetite for adventure but today we start with Houston attending a Kayak Summer camp. Is that not the coolest thing you've ever heard of?

First day of Kayak camp

 

our very own volcano, this kids is always down for anything

Keep checking on me, I'm gonna need a whole lot of coffee to get through Summer

More Details Than You Probably Wanted to Know About the "COLFAX MARATHON"

         Here it is! The post that at least one of you have been waiting for! It has been such  a wild week . The Saturday before the marathon I went to run 8 miles but by 6.75 I was not feeling it and I just went home.  It was a sunny day and my kids were outside and when I ran past the trailer I just wanted to be with them.  Wrex asked me the question I had been thinking in my head, "Mom if you can't run 8 miles, how are you going to do 26?" The  following Tuesday was  my last run before the race an easy 4 miles. But I felt nauseous and I didn't finish that run either. In fact I felt nauseous all week and I wasn't sure if it was nerves or if I was getting sick. I told myself not to be nervous, that I was just going to go out there and do my thing, but I couldn't help it. Friday morning I got to pick up my mother-in-law at the airport. She escaped the San Diego fires to come help me with the kids on my marathon weekend. We realized two weeks ago that Ian had school this weekend and she valiantly came to our rescue. We picked up Grandma at the airport and went immediately to the runners Expo.  This is where you pick up your race bib and t-shirt and get to look at different vendors. It was held at the Bronco Stadium and it was so exciting. The air itself had energy in it, or at least that's how I felt. They opened the expo a few hours early for the Marathoners, and  I had elite status, which I've never had in my life. You see, this race had not only Marathoners but they had a half marathon, a relay race ( where a person ran 6 mile increments for their teams) and a 10 mile run. We all ran the same course but we started at different places.

My Racing Bib and my finishers Medal that I received at the end

        I was carbo loading on Friday and Saturday so I ate a lot, Between these two days I ate bagels, ensure shakes, OJ, pasta, bread, tomato soup, chicken gyros, dried mango, oatmeal with almond milk, lentil soup, sourdough toast, muffins, chicken Parmesan and lots of Gatorade. One of my books recommended eating 7-12 grams of carbs per kg of your body weight. So I was aiming for at least 400 grams of carbs in a day. Soooo filling, I still feel bloated.

My last supper
 

      I felt stuffed to the max both days. On Sunday morning I woke up at 3:30am, I put on sunscreen and my race outfit. I made myself a cup of coffee, a bagel and I downed another Ensure shake ( they have 50 grams of carbs in those things ) and a Gatorade. We arrived in Downtown Denver while it was still dark. I was in desperate need of a bathroom and there was a long line of fresh port a potties. Unfortunately, they were all zip tied locked.    I know, what's the deal? But  my manly man took out his pocket knife and unlocked that port a jon for me and the other potty dancing girl next to me. What would I do without him, my hero.
    The race started at 6. They had grouped us into "Corrals" organized from A to R. I was in corral E. Ian stayed with me until I left. He told me later that  I actually ran off with the "D's" I was a little too excited I guess.

This is Corral E and all of my photo bombing fellow racers

       Miles 1-13 were a breeze. We ran past the zoo, down the streets of Downtown Denver , through a fire station, into the Broncos Mile High Stadium. It was a blast. There were water and Gatorade stops every 2 miles. There were tons of spectators ringing cowbells and holding up funny signs like      "Way to go Dad, can you run by the store and bring home some milk on your way home" or "Run faster, I just farted." Our names were on our bib so every now and then I was cheered on by name which was actually very nice.  The racers weren't as talkative as I thought they might be. Most people had earphones on. I decided not to listen to music so I could take it all in. I wanted the complete experience and didn't want to miss out on anything.
         A lot of people passed me. I didn't let it bother me, I had a plan. I was sticking to my heart rate and walking at the water stations. I mean who can drink on the run? Not me. The relay runners were along side us the whole time. Some of them would pass you and then you'd realize that they had just started their race and you were already 15 miles in. But some people would pass me and then I would catch up and pass them. It was fun. I started feeling sore around 13 miles. We ran through a really beautiful neighborhood and there were people handing out strips of bacon and donuts. I thought it was an awesome idea but didn't think I could stomach it. There was a part around here where we were able to see runners behind us on the other side of the road and I counted 11 marathoners, so I knew I was in front of at least 11 and that was good enough for me. I thought that 5 hours was a reasonable finishing time for me. I would love to make it in less than 5 but 5 seemed reasonable. I did decide at some point that I needed to go all out. I tried to pick up the pace, but really I think I just picked up the effort. I didn't want to finish with any energy, knowing I could have done better. So I thought I picked it up from mile 13 to 18. I did have to stop twice to use the bathroom which were near the water stations. I suppose I was overly hydrating but better that then becoming dehydrated. Also, I stopped at mile 17 for a selfie. Two firetrucks were hoisting up the American flag in Downtown Denver and I thought about my brother Nate, the Naval Corpsman and I had to have a little  momento.

always time for a selfie

      Between miles 17 to 20 I started passing a lot of Marathoners. At this point I recall wanting to tell you all this. My shirt said " Train like you were picked for the Hunger Games" I was ready for my interview which never happened BUT, if I ever was interviewed, and they asked me which character I was most like in the Hunger Games this would have been my answer. "I think I'm most like Fox Face, because I have a strategy and I'm sticking to it. I've held back conservatively with my energy and now I'm passing by the people who started out too fast. Yes I know, I am quite clever and we both have red hair. ( and that's how I would combine my nerdlife with my running life. For you non nerds, FoxFace dies by stealing Peetas poisonous berries. Ah yes, pride comes before the fall)

This is Fox Face

      By Mile 20, I was hurting and exhausted. I couldn't imagine 6.2 more miles. I looked at my GPS watch and realized if I didn't run 10 minute miles, I wasn't going to make it under 5 hours. I decided that I had run the whole marathon,( I thought originally I would have to walk more of it)  besides the water stops and that I had to keep running, at least I would know I gave it my best. At 23 miles we ran uphill, it was cruel, and I had to walk it. At this point police officers were holding back traffic on certain roads and I can imagine the drivers frustration being held at a stop while the worlds most slowest Marathoner put puts on by. When I crossed 25 miles I really ran all out, which wasn't any faster than before! My head was that over heating type of hot, when your ears feel steamy and I had to pee but that was just going to have to wait. I ran back around the zoo and I saw Marathoners walking back to their car and they cheered me on telling me "It's just around the next bend, and I thought " LIARS" But I didn't care, I ran because I just wanted it over with. I ran through the finish line with purpose passing one more guy on my way in. I didn't cry, I certainly didn't keep running. I stopped in my tracks, threw my hands up  like " TAKE THAT sucka" and then I looked over and saw my friend Tarrah and her 4 kids cheering me on. Her son asked if I won and his mom said " yes she did." I walked through the rest of the vendors who were giving away free stuff because lets face it, I love free and I earned it.  Tarrah took pictures, I was just glad I didn't die.

 Ian and Tarrah's husband met us shortly after. I hobbled the rest of the day and my mother in law and Ian took care of me, making sure I ate and re-hydrated. I was so thirsty but had no appetite. Of course I still ate an amazing sandwich from D'deli and a Burger from Bob's Atomic Burger. Yeah, I know, not hungry right? Today I am still so sore. Everything hurts, but only when I move. The two stairs to get to my room feel like climbing Everest. Am I glad I did it? Absolutely. It was so much fun and I gained so much more respect and pride in myself. Things I didn't know were missing.

       I absolutely loved reading all of your comments and support on my facebook page. Thank you so much for following me on this experience. It shows me more and more all the people who love and care about me. I just wanted to say thank you because every comment or like has cheered me on to be the best me I can be. Thank you.

 

 

 

My Finishing time was 4:59:47 just 13 seconds under 5 hours and I couldn't be happier 

I placed 986 out of 1323 "finishing Marathoners" not everybody finished.

I placed 343 out of the 554 Females that competed

In my age division of 30-39 I placed 128, not sure of the total of people in my division.

So basically I led the way of the last 1/4 of Runners. I don't think I can ask for any better than that. I am seriously proud of myself

 

Legend of the Marathon....4 days left

      Well, it's only four more days until my marathon. My runs have gotten shorter and shorter as I taper down in preparation to run 26.2 miles. The night before last I had a dream that I was disqualified for running through peoples backyards. Last night, I fell asleep at 7 o'clock reading my marathon book.  I suppose I am literally obsessed at this point and even though they don't admit it I'm sure my family can't wait for this run to be over. Although, everyone is very supportive and can't wait to see me cross the finish line. Logistically, I still have no idea how my whole family is supposed to wait for me to run for five hours. What to do with 3 kids in downtown Denver for that long.... I am assuming that's how long it'll take me. I will be ecstatic, if it is any shorter! Hopefully you've seen by now that there will be a link on Facebook updating on my progress on Sunday. It's supposed to give live status updates so... we'll see how that goes. I don't have much else to say at this point other than I'm nervous, but I thought I would share a little history of the marathon mystique.

    This is an excerpt from" Marathon The Ultimate Training Guide" by Hal Higdon. " How far is this marathon? The fact is that technically speaking all marathons are precisely 26 miles 385 yards. Anything longer and the race is considered an ultra marathon. Anything less and either the course was mis-measured or something else. The first event to be called a marathon was held in 1896 at the first modern Olympic Games in Athens Greece. This long-distance  race was staged at the end of those games to re-create and commemorate the legendary run of Pheidippides in 490 BC.
     In that year, the Persians invaded Greece, landing on the plains of Marathon on Greece's eastern coast. According to the legend, and Athenian general dispatched Pheidippides , a hemerodromo, or runner messenger, to Sparta  (150 miles away) to seek help. It reportedly took Pheidippides two days to reach Sparta. The Spartans never did arrive in time to help, but the Athenians eventually overwhelmed their enemy, killing 6,400 Persian troops while losing only 192 of their own men. Or so it was recorded by Greek historians of the time. Some historians dispute those numbers, suspecting they are the typical exaggerated claims of the victors. Then there is the question of whether the messenger dispatched to Athens with news of the victory was the same Pheidippides, who ran to and from Sparta. ( okay here's the really important part) A hemerodromo by that or another name apparently did run a route that took himself along the coast and up across the series of coastal foothills before descending into Athens, a distance of about 25 miles from the plains of Marathon.  According to legend Pheidippides announced "Rejoice. We conquer! " As he arrived in Athens then fell dead . "

   And that's the legend of the marathon . Run til you die. But if it was the same running messenger. I might argue that the first 150 miles might have don't him in , not the last 25. So based on that story, the race of Pheidippides was recreated for the Olympic Games in 1896  by running from the plains of Marathon to the Olympic Stadium in downtown Athens. At which time the winner was a Greek Shepherd . The Boston Athletic Associaton team manager was present that day and he was so impressed that he decided to sponsor a similar event in his hometown in 1897 . Thus the beginning of the Boston Marathon. Which remains the oldest continuously held Marathon. Did you know that to race in the Boston Marathon you have to qualify?

    Yes friends I am soooooo far away from that. But as I go out on Sunday and give it all I got, I'm going to stick with the goal of  "don't die, like Pheidippides" wish me luck ! 

My 20 mile Run

     

      I've had two phone calls from my family today asking me about my run. I am overjoyed to hear about you guys staeting up couch to 5k programs. That is exactly where I started in October 2012. Go you! I can't wait for new running partners. This weeks long run was solo and I could've used some company.  Twenty Miles is my longest run before my actual marathon. I was worried about that in the beginning. The difference between 20 and 26.2 seemed enormous, but really at that point you might as well keep going.  I know that sounds ridiculous, but when you've been running that long, you might as well just keep going.
        The 20 mile run is sometime referred to as the  "race stimulator." Basically it's a dress rehearsal for the big race. It is recommended that you wear what you're going to wear and eat what you're going to eat on race day. You should also test your plan for hydration and nutrition. This way,  if something isn't going to work, you can find out in advance. So that is what I did.
    One thing that was really worrying me is having to pee in the middle of the race. I always  have to find a bathroom around 7 miles. I usually run a 7 mile loop and use the bathroom at home. The thing is I HATE porta potties. I would rather squat in a bush but I really don't want to be arrested for indecent exposure at my first marathon. Also, I don't want to wait in line in the middle of the race. So these were some of the things I wanted to test

1. Bagels for breakfast
2. 12 oz of Gatorade with breakfast
3. Stop intake of fluids 1 hour before running
4. Take 400 mg of Advil before the run
5. Take 3 Cliff Shots (one serving size) every 3 miles
6. Carry my own fluids

        I was actually really nervous about this run. I set my alarm for 5:30 so I could eat breakfast and drink Gatorade an hour before I planned to leave the house. It was one of  those sleeps where you keep waking up because you think you've overslept.  Ian had class that day, so the boys and I were on our own. Wrex was babysitting but I was long gone before they switched on those cartoons. (I paid him well for this day) I left the house at about 7:30 am I had my lil fanny pack and I bought a special amphipod water bottle that straps to your hand.

surprisingly easy to run with and I'm so glad I had water, it was a HOT day

 I started out with Gatorade but I really craved water when I was running. So I took the cliff shots every 3 miles which was my nutrition plan to intake carbohydrates for fuel as I ran. The thing is cliff shots and Gatorade are so sweet together that I switched to water in my bottle when I looped back home around 7 miles. I filled this 12 oz bottle 4 times while I ran. (3 times with Gatorade which helps with electrolytes and carbs and once with water) I ran the loop twice and then I ran circles in downtown. I was tuckered out and bored around 14 miles. I thought of  how easier it was running 13 miles in Maryland with Nate and I cursed the altitude for a while. Then I time warped to 17 miles. I don't remember what I was thinking about but I looked down and my miles were getting faster than when I started which is perfect! Ideally marathon runners want to run negative splits, which is when you run the second half of the race faster than the first. That is definitely a goal I have and it can  only be achieved by holding back at a slower pace in the beginning. I'm not saying I ran fast because I didn't, but I stuck to my plan of running at my targeted heart rate instead of a specific timed pace and the result was, I could still pick up the pace at the end, so that impressed myself. My toes started to hurt and my quads hurt but at that point of tiredness, if I had to run 6.2 more miles I would just do it. You might as well , once you've been running for 4 hours and 20 minutes! Yep that's how long it took me. You might as well just keep going.
  I remembered hearing about people taking an ice bath after long hard workouts and I envied people with bathtubs. Then I realized I had a freezing cold creek behind my house. So the boys and I got our suits on and we braved the creek. It was so cold that it hurt to be in the water longer then 7 seconds, so I settled with dumping a plastic bucket of cold water on my legs. I chatted with my gals in my trailer hood for a while and then went inside for another bagel. I then settled down for another "Downton Abbey" Marathon where I was in and out of consciousness. I was so sore when I got up I asked Ian if we could eat out, I couldn't imagine cooking. The next day I was still sore. I'm feeling much better today and pretty proud of myself too.
     Thank you to all my friends who suggested new running songs for me, they were very motivating until the iphone battery ran out. Thank you to my family who checks in on me to make sure I'm still alive and kicking. Thank you for liking my running activity on Facebook and letting those cowbells ring in my ears. Thank you for reading this and keeping me accountable. I know I am so close, just 19 more days.

25 Days until the Marathon

   I believe a marathon post is due! I didn't post one last week because ....I was sulking. That's the truth.  I was going to attempt to put a positive spin on it, but there it is. So my last long run was suppose to be 18 miles. My running schedule was all off, I had rested my knee the week before and my foot started to hurt out of nowhere and I just knew that the right thing to do was get back on schedule. So I ran 7 miles on Friday and by the end of the run my foot pain had gone away. It was suppose to snow that Sunday, so I decided to get my 18 miles in on Saturday. The loop I run in 6.75 miles long and I usually do that twice and then run circles around town. During the first loop, every time I put my foot down it was like "ow, ow, ow" It hurt but I definitely felt like I could run through it. After the loop, I stepped onto a trail to switch it up a bit and the pain intensified so much that I decided to call it a day. I walked back to the campground. I was so disappointed in myself, I felt like I should have pressed on, but I convinced myself  that  the  18 mile triaging run was not my goal. My goal is to get to save myself for the marathon. I went straight to a Dr Scholls Machine and bought myself a fancy insert, hoping that would fix me. It didn't. That day the pain got worse and as I hobbled around a baseball tournament , I was convinced I was done for. Very upsetting. So I googled everything and looked up podiatrist in my area....In the end I diagnosed myself.
Peroneal tendonitis- Peroneal tendonitis is inflammation of the peroneal tendons which run behind the lateral malleolus or the bony bit on the outside of the ankle causing and swelling on the outer ankle.

The red is where it hurts

   So basically there is a tendon that connects the leg and the foot and it was angry with me. This is an overuse injury that people often trying a new sport or increasing  their activity level repetitiously end up with. The advice was to rest, ice it and stretch it. I of course thought the world was so unfair because I had a schedule to keep. Resting last week would mean that I never raised my mileage past 17 miles before my marathon and that scared me. Would I even be prepared? Then a few things happened.
    I went to the running store, again. I made a close friend with a gal whose name I never thought to ask . She poured on me a wealth of experience and knowledge. I ran on a treadmill while she videotaped it and I was relieved to see that I actually have good form. I'm not doing anything funky with my ankles, not running pigeon toed or inverted . So she sold me moon shoes (at least that's what they look like) They are basically anti- injury shoes that she said people with stress fractures have actually ran races  in them. I have not paid this much for shoes since I wore Creepers in high school and the last pair of Creepers I bought were for my wedding. So I came home with these magical, ugly shoes and renewed hope. She explained to me that with my schedule modified , most likely my body was starting to heal and healing hurts. But she thought I was spot on with my diagnosis and she said even if I didn't run any higher mileage I would still be ok for my marathon.  I had hobbled around  all week and I decided to rest a few more days even though I have my magic shoes which are called Hoka' s. you can read about them here http://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-gear/footwear/Sole-Power-Nicolas-Mermoud-Minimalist-Running.html


No one mistakes me for a fashion icon, but this is a tough look for me to sport

    The other really cool thing that happened is that I realized that I miscalculated my training schedule and left otr a whole week before the marathon. This means that I found a whole 7 days extra to train. So even though I missed out on last week, I can still run 20 miles this weekend before I taper my mileage down to rest before the marathon. I was amazed at this oversight!It was so unlike me to make a mistake like that on a carefully , color coded schedule! But  I was OH SO Grateful!
    Last week was rough. I iced my ankle and the whole trailer smelled like tiger balm. I should have done something helpful like cross train or work on my abs but instead I ate a lot of candy and started watching Downtown Abbey. That's what made me feel better. On Friday I ran 4 miles and Saturday I ran 5. Then I rested. I'm hoping to get back into my schedule this week but I'm going to take it easy. My ankle does feel much better and I really do want to run 20 miles this weekend. I wish I had a better update but as of now I am counting down the days til my Marathon and hoping for the best.
That's my little story but how about those runners in Boston yesterday. AMAZING! Talk about inspiring. We all start one mile at a time though, right? Are you going to get out there and get your mile in today? I am.

I'm turning 30 and it's a Pinterest special!

    

    Tomorrow I turn 30. Is it silly to say that I never pictured myself getting older? I am ready for this new decade, but as I stare down this new year I can't help but reflect on what I have learned about life so far.  Are you ready, it's a Pinterest special people, filled with sentiment and cheesiness.
     I deeply understand this quote from Pinterest and feel it is so fitting because I have fought to become who I am. There was a time in my adolescents when an author wrote about me in a chapter of her book. I was her example of what bitterness looks like.  Ouch! Most people who meet me today don't select bitterness as my top most personality trait. I am grateful for that because I have worked hard to remove it. I'm not about to claim perfection but I will claim to have come a long way from where I've started and I'm proud of that change.

   Another important little gem I've learned in life is to watch other people and try to add to your life the attributes that you admire in theirs. Life is not a competition especially against other women! Learning different ways of living this thing called life from other people, keeps them close to me even when we're separated by distance.
        I guess one of the most important lessons I have learned is that the hard times in your life or the really crappy days, make the good times so much sweeter. A crappy day can make a normal day glitter because when you've been in the ditches of life a pothole is really not that bad. Know what I'm saying? Hard seasons in life teach us gratitude. This lady says it so much better, seriously what would we do without Pinterest?

 

 

 So if I have any advice for gals in their 20's  this is it:
1. Write letters to your family, they really appreciate it.
2. Keep pictures, time flies when you're not in school
3. You're no good to anybody if you don't take care of yourself , so get on that
4. Never say never for instance " I  would never homeschool or I would never live in a trailer... yeah never say never"
5. If you think you have parenting down, don't judge other parents. Have more kids! They're not all the same.
6. There is no room to grow in your comfort zone, remember that one
7. Give other people a break. Everyone has a little pain in their life, everyone's got a back story, give a little grace, the world would be so much better if we could all do this
8. Do the best you can until you know better, then when you know better, do better -Maya Angelou
9. Enjoy life while you can because tomorrow is promised to no one
10. This one is so important it deserves a pinterest picture...

Week 8 of Marathon Training

    Once again, I veered from my training program this week. That's not necessarily a bad thing, it just proves to me that I have a hard time listening to directions. I really want to run the show! But a few changes were necessary for my schedule. I had wanted to run a half marathon this last weekend but I realized early in the week that Ian would be at school and that it simply wasn't going to work. I've read that you should have a few races under your belt, just to see the flow of things and get use to the jitters and stuff before your big race. It makes sense to me, but I think I'm just gonna have to wing it! It's kinda funny because the only race I've ever ran in (as an adult) was a small town 5k. I was in the back of the pack of about 11 people and the junior high girl totally kicked my butt. If you want to refresh on the story, here it is http://linewife.blogspot.com/search/label/Heritage%20Days So the marathon will just be a whole mess of firsts for me. So! Since I didn't run the Half I decided to run two smaller runs on the weekend. This was suppose to be a taper down weekend, where you run less than the week before so your body can re-coop and get ready  for the next big increase in Mileage, this is what I ran last week:

Monday: Rest
Tuesday : 4 Miles
Wednesday: 6.7 Miles
Thursday: I could not get out in the cold so I did some fine toning exercises in a video...OMG...it took my legs 3  days to recover, YIKES!
Friday: Rest day
Saturday: 6 miles on a treadmill
Sunday: 11 Miles

   So guess what?  I got my Garmin watch! I ordered it off of ebay from another runner, saved about $50. I was so excited to use it on Sunday. Turns out, it was identical in accuracy to my Nike running program on my Iphone. Oddly enough , this means my sensor in my shoe was off. If you recall my shoe sensor was telling me I ran more than a mile than the GPS. Didn't see that coming. So, as far as modifying my training, I think what I am going to do is stick with the Intermediate schedule BUT I am going to take out the long run on Saturdays and only have the long runs on Sundays that increase in mileage. The novice program is scheduled similarly, but I have already passed some of the high mileage milestones that the novice program hasn't hit yet. So I'm savoring that accomplishment but allowing myself more rest day to work up to the new challenges and not injure myself at the same time. OK, one thing, I realize that I appeared obsessive about the Garmin watch but I have to tell you, it's still really good that I have it because, although it showed me that the Nike app was spot on, my phone usually dies around 10 or 11 miles This Sunday I will be running 17 miles, so I'm glad I've got the watch to track it!
  
   I've been trying to be mindful of nutrition and fuel my body with what it needs. I'm asking a lot from these legs and I want to give them all the love they deserve. So I've been eating lots of omelettes with spinach and tomatoes. Salads with beets and quinoa for lunch and I usually just eat whatever with the family for dinner. But I've added some new treats because I love snacks and sweets. Here are a few of my favorites:

http://themarathonmom.com/granola-energy-balls.htm

Granola Energy Bites! So great to have in the fridge for a snack or before a run. Also, Who doesn't love chocolate and peanut butter?
 

http://dashingdish.com/recipe/triple-chocolate-chunk-muffins/


These are a knock off recipe version of Vita Top Muffins from Whole Foods, so good and I feel healthy when I eat them and the 2 year old can't get enough.

 

http://www.gooddinnermom.com/carrot-and-quinoa-muffins/

Ok so no one was pulling on my skirt begging for one of these but I loved them. You can see carrots , quinoa and walnuts in them. They were addicting.

So good. Make one of these recipes this week and tell me how it goes. I am going to go eat a chocolate muffin...And then make my kids work through Spring Break. I'm such a mean mom, but we're pushing Spring Break a week until we get to Grandma's house ;) Wish us luck

I admit I'm horrible at this!

I have to tell you, I have such blogger guilt. There are so many times when I'm taking out the trash or folding laundry and I write up a post in  my head. The thing is I never sit down in front of my computer anymore. Our little guy doesn't take 2 naps anymore so that has cut down on my free time. The other thing is our oldest boy uses this computer for school. He's reading right now so I am bringing you an update in the 15 minutes that I have! We're getting ready to spend Christmas in the trailer. Last year we went to see family on the East Coast but this year we plan on staying put. Can't wait to see how that goes. We had a really fun November, Here are some of our highlights...

Halloween! Okay it wasn't November but I love this picture , so I'm including it. It was so cold and windy Halloween. We trick or treated from 6 to 7:30. Everyone looked at us like we were  loony because we were the first ones out in the neighborhood but it was so flipping cold that I'm glad we started early! The boys mocked me for bringing gloves but soon they each had one of my gloves on each hand...So silly these Californians!

Then we had a visit from our California Grandparents! It was so fun to have family visit us and show them how we do things in the trailerhood. We went to red rocks amphitheater and explored and of course we had to take them to our favorite ice cream spot. We didn't realize how much we missed home until they brought a little bit of home to us.

I took the boys to Garden of the Gods. I would love to spend more time there. It really wasn't what I expected. If you didn't know, it is an amazing free National Natural Landmark. It was free because at one time it was owned by a private citizen and he gifted it to Colorado Springs on a condition that it would remain a free park. How cool is that. We took a picnic and did a little exploring. It was amazing to be looking up a crazy narrow red rock jutting out of the earth and then realize there's a person rock climbing up at the top. It gave my boys wild ideas.

This would bring us to Thanksgiving. We decided to smoke a turkey on our Weber. Ian did and amazing job. It was a huge turkey and not a small task. He spent hours outside basting it with butter. In the end it had an amazing smokey flavor and we had enough food to feed a small army. Which we did. WE had our friends over which meant 6 kids and 4 adults in our trailer. It worked out perfectly , it was a memory I will always treasure. Oh yeah! Also, the day before Thanksgiving I got my act together and we cut out hand prints and wrote down things we were grateful for and made a Thankful Tree. I'm keeping it up for a while. We're working on teaching our kids to be grateful for what we have. It's probably going to take us their whole childhood to drive in that point, but with Christmas coming, its worth trying to reiterate it. Also, I really like our thankful tree.

Okay I know this was short and sweet, but that's a bit more practical for me. I'm going to try to work on a home school resources page. I would love to get that going. Our homeschooling takes up most of my time these days. Its a lot of work but it's also very rewarding. Hope all is well in your hood. P.S We are getting tons of snow today.

We also made snowflakes out of coffee filters, so it's snowing outside and inside.