Signs of Spring...

It's been feeling like Spring lately! I am so glad to know that summer is right around the corner. I love hot weather, swimming, and playing outside.

Spring also means Easter outfits. Next week we will have General Conference which means this is the week for dressing up during church if you've been itching to get your kids in matching outfits ;).

I took the few shots below (Jeff had to work so we missed him) but I like seeing how the kids are growing each year - it goes by so fast!

Happy Spring!

The Half Marathon In Which At Some Point I Should Stop Posing And Do Some Running...

This is a little late race report for The Texas Half Marathon, my first race of 2010. At some point in December when I ran my first half marathon, a fellow ninja runner was ramping up to accomplish her own awesome marathon goal and we thought it would be a good idea to enter the Texas Half. So we got to training. And training was tons of fun!

During a particularly chilly (18 degree) run, we both showed up in pink shirts and black pants and the Pink Ninja Running Club was born. (Even the boys want to join because of the very sheik pink ninja shirts.) We even stumbled into a race and photo-bombed the official race pics:

And then...I injured myself. A recurring theme in my life. Left knee (my good knee!) pain and instability during a 9 mile run. Hobbled the last three miles back to the car.

After a week I tried again, kept it slow and felt good. So on to race day I went!



Now, I don't consider myself a 'runner'. I'm a solid BOP'er. Sometimes I even border on average. So for me...one of the best things about races is photos. I am always on the lookout for the camera!!

Hello camera guy!

This race was solely about a fun run with a friend. So we kept things pretty easy. Or I should say my PNRC partner kept things easy for me! Maybe we took it a little too easy. Around mile 6 we saw another photo op and I guess we had a little energy.

Isn't this supposed to be a race?

Apparently I decided to do the chicken dance.

Now I am about to just lose it.

My Dad braved the cold and came out to support me (thanks!) so it was nice to see a familiar face waiting for me! A little after mile 10, my left knee injury had returned with a mini-revolt. The last 3.1 miles took forever. Thankfully, I was pulled through by stories of hurling at Disney. Nice. No really, a big super thanks goes out to the PNRC for a very fun race.

Finishing...and I have decided I will run for President...in Nixon style.

Time: 2:33:00.

Not a PR, but better than walking. And really it's all about the photos. Someday I shall learn the 'running' part.

One more medal for the trophy case. Ha!

Afterwards we enjoyed a de-li-cious breakfast and savored the taste of victory. But not for too long as an ice bath was calling my name!

Overall I think this is a fun little race. The course is very flat so it's a great little training run or nice first-timers course. The small field makes it easy to do your own thing and the volunteers were all great. I give it a thumbs up and hope to be back next year with a healthier joint. Although you better believe I will still be on the lookout for the photographers...

Snow! again.

I like living in Texas. One of the reasons I like it here is that it is warm. We lived in New York and it was cold in the winter, slushy and icy.

Not so warm in Texas today.

The kids were so excited to see the snow. Of course since it takes longer to get to work and school on days like this we didn't have time to play in the snow. Bummer for them.

I only like snow if I can stay indoors and snuggle up. I don't care much for playing in it, driving in it, basically being outside. I hate the cold worse than I hate the heat. Usually Texas helps me out here. Freezing to death is one of the worst things I can think of. Except for being eaten by a shark (an unnatural fear of mine). Hopefully it would be quick.

Luckily it was only slushy so it won't make much of a difference getting to work. I hope you are all keeping warm!

Christmas & New Years 2009

Yes, this is a very creative post title. At least you know what's coming! Christmas was a whirlwind as usual. We enjoyed so many fun things and visiting so many of our family and friends. Thank you everyone for sharing your time with us! It snowed on Christmas Eve this year which was a very unexpected surprise. The kids were so excited, they could hardly wait for Christmas to get here.

The Sunday before Christmas we wore our 'Christmas outfits'... I like to call it. Then I realized I left my camera at someone else's house! So we made do with cell-phone pics this year. Still love the kids in their matching prints!

My family and in-laws joined us on Christmas morning for presents and Christmas breakfast.

The kids could hardly wait to see what Santa brought!

Gingerbread man pancakes! The kids (and I!) thought these were a hoot.

I had little treat boxes for visitors. Be sure you come visit me during the Holidays to get a treat!

And Jeff and the kids had a snowball fight.

Then we enjoyed a Christmas Eve 'make-up dinner' at our in-laws house.

I love this picture of the Sabin cousins... Steven, Hunter, Margaret, Tristen, Ethan & Sydney

And the adults....looking nerdy.

For New Years we enjoyed the bounce house and partying at our friends! The kids were so tired they barely made it to midnight!

Check out the slide show below. We hope you had a wonderful time as well.

White Rock Lake Half Marathon 2009

During the 'off-season' I decided I need to work on running a little more. See, I mostly dislike running. I'm glad to get it done, but I don't like it as much as other things! So the challenge was to complete my first Half Marathon. Luckily some of my triathlon friends helped me train for this.





Now I can check that off!



The results - I am pretty slow, but I did run the whole way. We didn't cross the starting line until 15 minutes into the race; luckily with chip timing that is no big deal.

The website has these nifty little tools to show you how you fared. My little guy seems to be lagging behind...ha ha


BUT I will make you pay for going out too fast - check out that bottom right corner in the above photo...I passed 372 people in the last 5k. That's what we call a strong finish! :)

Here is where I was when the winner finished...not even to mile 5! Thems some fast people!

It was a great experience to complete that goal. My friend Robert and I never would have imagined at the beginning of last year that we would make 13 miles in 2009. But thanks to friends and supportive family we did!

Here's to a strong 2010!

Turkey Day 2009

The end of 2009 became very busy...



Steve, Matthew, Jazmin and Olivia came to visit over Thanksgiving. Steve did some great 'popping' the kiddos on the trampoline. (Photos blatantly 'borrowed' from Jazmin's blog.)

Turkey placemats for the kids. Gobble gobble! Plus cookie favors - yummy.

We had two tables of folks for Turkey Day. Here is table one with some appetizers, along with napkin rings made by yours truly.

We did a little Christmas decorating over the Holiday. Here are the letters I made - they are sparkly! But the photo didn't come out very sparkly...boo.

Tristen and Sydney decorate their own tree in the family room.

The kids love when Matthew and Olivia come to visit!