Lilypie First Birthday tickers

Merry Christmas!

Wednesday, December 26, 2012
Merry Christmas!! A white Christmas for 2012!!
 Sweet kisses in the snow! 
Celebrating our 4th Christmas together!! 

Preston ready to open presents!

More pics to come later! Enjoy the holidays!!

My first Marathon!

Tuesday, December 18, 2012
My first Marathon!! The Dallas Marathon Dec 9, 2012!!
Ross and I carpooled with mom and dad to downtown 
Dallas bright and early Sunday morning! Mom was
running the half and Dad came along to cheer
her on! Ross came to my very first
full marathon to cheer me on! They 
were both great supporters the entire day!

 Ross and I before the race! 
I was really excited and nervous about the
marathon and eager to see how my
training would pay off!
 Dad and Mom before the race! 
Dad and Ross took good care of us making
sure we had our change of clothes
and plenty of water after our races!!
 Mom and I before the race!
I am always so excited that she is involved with the
Luke's training and coaching program with me and that I 
get to see her bright and early on Saturday morning training
runs where we both give each other looks of 
"what are we thinking!!" This was her 3rd Dallas
Half marathon!! She rocks the 13.1 distance!!
 Mom, Jennifer and I! Jennifer
ran with mom to pace her for the half!
They kept one another going the entire time! 
Jennifer is also coaching with us in the spring time!
She is so graceful when she runs!
 Ross took a photo of me crossing the finish line!!
Wahoo!! It was a tough day out there for sure!
The humidity made it tough to breathe and
then I hit a wall mentally which was no fun at all...
I cried...walked some...jogged some...and
eventually finished my first full! 
I will definitely say that I learned a lot out
there on the course of 26.2 miles and as crazy as it
sounds will train for another one!! 
The bands and the crowds of family and 
friends cheering everyone on at every mile
marker were great and really kept me going!! 
 Mom and I in front of the christmas tree near Sprinkles!!
Once I finished the race I said now off to Sprinkles 
cupcakes!! I had just completed 26.2 miles 
and all I wanted was a cupcake to top off the day!
 We went to Sprinkles were the nice ladies congratulated me on
the full marathon and added fun stickers to my cupcake 
box which totally made my day even better!!
 Luke's Celebration Party!!
 Jessi and I at the party! We are always chatting it
up with the latest stories at work and on our runs!
Jessi ran the 13.1 rock n roll half in Vegas and had
a blast!! I told her next year I will head out there
with her to run one! We always enjoy our runs and
hanging out at shops at legacy in our down time!
 Monica and I enjoying the evening! 
Monica can some how talk me into any 
crazy trail run or long distance run just for fun!
She ran the marine core marathon in DC! 
She is a hardcore runner and I really enjoyed
training with her this past season! 
We would get together at 4:30 am to
start running in order to get our long runs in!
Monica is always a positive influence and
if you can get up at 4 am to run with someone that
someone is really special!!
Ross was my handsome date at the party!
A great supporter and encourager with
all of my running adventures!!

Puppy Love

Monday, December 3, 2012
 Preston
 Parker
They just love the camera!

The State Fair of Texas!

Monday, October 22, 2012
 This year we were invited by our friends 
Staci and Joseph to the state fair!
He is a teacher so he gets free tickets from his school!!
So Sunday morning we met up at the dart station
to head off to the fair!! It was the last day so we had to
pack in all the fun and excitement we could handle into 
the final day! We had a blast people watching, eating 
everything fried, and laughing with our friends!
 Joseph and Staci ready for the fair!
 Amber and Brendan came too!
They were meeting friends there later but 
I talked them into coming early to enjoy
it with our crazy bunch as well!! ha!
 The girls waiting in line for a Fletcher's corny dog!
 The car show was in two building and we walked
through both of them to see all the latest
and greatest cars! Ross picked out a few
dream cars along the way!! haha!
I really liked the vw beetle with the Texas 
flag, map and of course big cowboy hat!

 Staci found a lovely swing for their new
home to put on the porch to relax after a long day!
 Everything fried!! This year the winning item was
fried jambalaya followed by fried bacon cinnamon roll!
 We had the fried P.B. and J. with a fried cookie dough ball!
They were both amazing!! Ross and I enjoyed every
bite of the fried goodness!!
 Found a funny sweatshirt! It says
You had me a fried! haha!!
 We went through the children's barnyard
area to see all the little animals! It was
really packed to we tried to walk as quickly as we 
could to see all the animals and get out
of the craziness of the small building!
I liked the little giraffe! He was just so cute!
 We all laughed at this sign and wanted
to put it on shirts and on office doors at work! ha!
 We walked through some market 
areas and checked out jewelry, flip flops, saunas, 
trampolines, kitchen demos, and listened to
Hawaiian music!
 Ross and I ready to hit the Ferris wheel!
 It was a perfect ride! We rode with Staci and 
Joseph two times around on the giant ferris wheel!

 Our view from the ferris wheel! 
Looking at Dallas!
Staci, Joseph, Ross and I after
the long day at the fair! 
We hit the taffy stand and headed to
the dart for our ride home!

Preston

Friday, October 19, 2012
Preston is our little english bulldog! He loves walks, toys, sleeping in doggie beds, and cuddling! Here are some fun pics from yesterday!



A race a month keeps the Dr. away?!

Tuesday, October 2, 2012
 The Allsate 13.1 race on Oct. 27, 2912 is a benchmark race for our Luke's fit program and is a different course than just running around white rock lake! It will begin in downtown Dallas in the arts district and then go into the katy trail! We ran on the katy trail this weekend and I really enjoyed the nature and calm environment amongst the trees! I am excited to be running this one with my Luke's buddies and happy to cheer them on for a successful 13.1 race! 
Hoping for cool weather and a flat course for sure!

 In November my mom signed us up for The Turkey Trot! This one is local and will be held in Frisco so we will not have to travel into downtown Dallas on Thanksgiving day for a fun and festive Turkey Trot! This one will be a 10k (6 miles) and should be a lot of fun!! Up early on a holiday for a nice run followed by cooking in the kitchen 
with the family and a nap to recover! 
I always enjoy the race t-shirts from fun holiday runs! 
They are just so adorable!

In December I have the big one...my marathon!!! Wahoo! I am excited and nervous all at the same time! I am really preparing myself for the mileage right now and not so much on the time! I am working on increasing my mileage weekly and then working on my speed to make sure I can have a steady pace throughout the entire marathon! Since it will be my first one I am focusing on finishing, running the entire time, staying injury free, and really listening to my body! 
I will wear my finisher shirt with pride once this one is complete!!

Who knows what 2013 will hold race wise......
a trail run, a princess half, or maybe
even a near years eve double?
Sunday, September 23, 2012
I have officially signed up for the Dallas Marathon on Dec 9,2012! Training is under way and I am excited to be gearing up for a full marathon!! This will be my first full marathon! I can't 
believe it! I have done 3 half marathons and I really like the distance 
and fun atmosphere that the halves have so I am hoping for the best out of my first full! 
The countdown is on!

Fall Bucket List

Tuesday, September 11, 2012
A few fun things are in store this fall!!
  1. Go on a fall picnic 
  2. Go on a hike
  3. Go to a pumpkin patch
  4. Bake pumpkin spice bread
  5. Enjoy apple cider
  6. Send Halloween cards
  7. Go on a trail run
  8. Go to the fair
  9. Decorate a pumpkin 
  10. Bake chocolate chip and pumpkin brownies

Happy Fall Yall!! One of my favorite seasons!!

Mexican food and friends!

Sunday, August 19, 2012
 Last friday before I headed off for a week long trip on a lovely island we met up with our friends Amber and Brendan for a yummy mexican dinner! We met Amber and Brendan
at our sunday school class and have hit it off ever since!
Ross and Brendan like the comic book movies and Amber and I 
enjoy shopping and having a great time!!
 Amber and I at dinner!
Always smiling or laughing at each other! ha!
Amber and Brendan being sweet! ;)

Blessed

Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Blessed by a ladies bible study and an amazing 
married sunday school class. 
I just wanted to share a few scriptures that have been 
on my heart lately.

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power 
and of love and of a sound mind. 
2 Timothy 1:7

Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the 
desires of your heart.
Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him,  
And He shall bring it to pass. 
 He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light,  
And your justice as the noonday.
Psalm 37:4-6 

Commit all things to the Lord and let go. 
Allow him to be in control of every situation.

Summer Bullet points

Thursday, August 2, 2012
 Ok so I have not blogged in forever....but I have been taking pics 
of fun events and enjoying the 100 degree heat! haha! 
My brother had a birthday
at the end of June and so we all headed over to our favorite
seafood spot Papa Deaux in Plano!!
 Me with the boys! Ross, Tyler, 
Me (the short but older sister) and Dad! 
Tyler is 3 years younger than me and it's crazy how
time flies! He is enjoying being a volunteer fireman in frisco
and helping my dad out with the pool business on his
off days! He is always the center of any gathering 
and has turned into a great little brother!! I am so proud of him!
 Ross and I at Jon and Meg's wedding!!
Jon and Meg were married on 7-27-2012!
Ross and Jon are like bff and ever since he
started dated Meg we have really enjoyed
going on double dates with them as often
as we can!! They are a very fun loving couple
and laid back too!!
 Ross, Finch, and Austin. I sat with the boys to make sure their speeches were kind 
and that they acted as civilized as possible!! haha!!
 Jon and Meg walking to the dance floor for the first dance!
 They were about to kiss before cutting the cake but with my awesome photo skills I got this!
Meg had an outdoor wedding complete with mason jars, chalk boards, and amazing
desserts! We took home a yummy jar of jelly as our favor!
Here we are with the happy couple!!
Congrats Meg and Jon!!