Huntsville Marathon

Yesterday we had a blast running the first ever Huntsville Marathon. We heard the course was fast, and were excited for a fun downhill race. We knew that most of the big competition was competing the week before at Top of Utah Marathon, and next week at the St. George Marathon, so we were also excited for a low key race. 

The race didn't start until 10am, which means we got to sleep in until almost 7. Which is unheard of on a marathon day. The girls had a sleepover at Grandma and Grandpa Harvey's, so we were able to get ready and head off to Huntsville. 

 

(We are in the front of the line, lower right hand corner)

We met up with some friends at the starting line, and at 10 we were headed down the road. The first half was fast! We were running down a 4% grade downhill, and it was hard to hold back. My goal was to go out and run 7:30 pace, but the first 13 miles were just over 6:30 pace (I ran the first half of this marathon faster than the half marathon race we ran a few weeks ago). Which absolutely killed me for the second half. The sad thing is, I knew exactly what I was doing by going out too fast. You would think after all the years of running I would learn! Cam was able to run with the front pack for a good portion of the race, and he hit the wall a little later than I did-around mile 19. We both held second place in the men's and women's until about mile 24. We both got bumped to third. 

Cameron finished with a time of 3:02:54 (6:58 minute miles), good enough for third place. The first place male ran slightly under 3 hours, so Cam was just a few minutes behind. I finished in 3:26:04 (7:51 minute miles) for third place as well. We got to each bring home a few metals and a trophy cup. We were well off our PR's (2:54 for Cam, 2:59 for me, but we knew we probably weren't in that kind of shape anyways.)

We were only slightly disappointed because we had heard it was going to be a super fast race, and we were expecting fast times. It was a super fast first half, which killed the legs and made most of the field run slow the second half. Even though Cameron and I had very slow second half races, we only got passed by 2-4 people, which means everyone died. The heat caught up to us a bit as well. But it was so fun to enjoy 3 hours of fall leaves in a quiet canyon on a beautiful fall day. 

For more details on the race, visit our running blogs: 

http://camharv.fastrunningblog.com/blog-Huntsville-Marathon/09-29-2012.html

http://lesley.fastrunningblog.com/blog-Huntsville-Marathon/09-29-2012.html

Weber State Football

Cameron got called off for a few hours last Saturday night, which allowed us to go to Weber's first home football game. So glad I didn't attempt going alone. Both girls were very worn out and tired, and we barely made it to halftime before we decided to head home. Weber got a new outfit for the mascot, Waldo. Aubrey now thinks he looks a little scary (he definitely does compared to the last one), but she was still brave enough to go give him a hug and a high five. 

 

Ada and I at the game. 

 

Aubrey and Daddy. 

 

Kate and Jordan met us at the game, and it was fun to see them. It is amazing how little we see each other even though we live a mile apart. They are busy! Aubrey took the picture if you couldn't tell! Didn't manage to get a pic of Jordan.

 

The new field and track look great. The only downfall is that the track is no longer open to the public. Meaning we can't go run a few laps or do stadium stairs. 

Hoping to make it to at least 1 more football game this year- maybe to go and see the Montana Grizzlies play Weber in November.

Neighbor Party

(Hailey, Taylor, Taye, Marlee, Jaycee, and Aubrey)

 

Monday evening after visiting the temple, we had a neighbor get together. Some of our good friends and their little girl from our building are moving to California, so we wanted to have a get together one last time. We chatted about it on Friday or Saturday, decided to do it on Monday, and tried to get the word out to as many people as we could. And we had a great turnout. It was a blast to meet people that have lived on the other side of the building for 2 years that we didn't know, as well as get to know new and old neighbors better. 

We decided to have a few barbeques, and have everyone bring their own meat to cook, as well as a salad or dessert to share. We had a great variety and way too much food!

 

The party just getting started!

 

It had been raining on and off throughout the day, and right before the party there was some loud thunder. I was worried we were going to have to move the party inside, but was so glad that the evening turned out beautiful. We still got sprayed by the sprinklers at the end of the party, but the kids loved getting a little wet. 

 

So fun to see these little friends run and play together. Aubrey was excellent throughout the night. Usually at things like this, she is attached to my hip. But she ran around and played with everyone all night long. 

 

Ada decided that the plates on the ground were all for her, and went around stealing cheetos and chips. 

 

The fudgcicles were a hit with the kids. 

 

Ada gets the biggest kick out of feeding Aubrey, and will laugh and laugh. Aubrey thinks it is great that Ada loves sharing her popcicle. 

We will sure miss Dayna, Brandon, and Hailey when they move to California in just over a week!

Brigham City Temple Open House

Our church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, builds temples all over the world. Temples are important in our religion because we believe the work performed in the temples allows us to be a family not only here on earth, but throughout eternity. Once a temple is dedicated, only members who have recommend are allowed into the temple. 

There was a new temple being built about a half hour away from our home, and the past few weeks they have held an open house to let anyone who wishes to walk through the temple. We took advantage of the opportunity to take our girls and enjoy the new building. It was a perfect, warm, overcast day.

They had us park a few miles away, and then get on a bus to shuttle to the temple. The girls loved the bus ride. 

 

Me and my girls outside the temple.

Our family. 

 

The new Brigham City Temple. 

After the temple we went in search of some more peaches to eat and can. We found a great little booth and bought a box to can and a bag to eat.  The next day I canned 12 more jars, and this time around I felt like a pro and it took no time at all!

Our Eater

We loving having a little girl who loves to eat! It is so much fun to give her food and actually have her starting wiggling with excitement. When Aubrey was this age, she would get a piece of something squishy on her hand and insist that it be wiped away. Ada just sits and eats and eats. We can now add lasagna to one of her favorite foods. She ate pasta salad with mushrooms, tomatoes, and olives, and hasn't been too picky yet. And she honestly needs a bath after every meal. She has a habit of running her sticky fingers through her hair.

I have to laugh because we will be sitting at the table eating and I will be feeding Aubrey her food to try to get her to eat, while Ada happily does it herself. Ada will not let us help her- so we are trying to introduce the fork and spoon so that she will start to eat applesauce and softer foods like that again. 

You can tell she feels so cool when she gets her own fork.
 

I took a picture of Ada eating and Aubrey says, "Take a picture of me eating too." Ha ha. I do have to say that although Aubrey isn't a big eater, she also isn't a picky one. She will eat most things if you can get her to put them in her mouth.

Hogle Zoo

We didn't do much on the actual Labor Day holiday, we are spoiled that Cameron has weekdays off, and we avoid crowds on weekends and holidays. Running the half marathon a week ago kind of made us realize what we signed up for at the end of September- the full marathon. We decided we needed to get a long run in before it was too late. So Monday I headed out at 6 am for a 20 mile run, and Tuesday Cam headed out for a 23 mile run. I tease him that he just wants to say he ran more than me! I think it made us both much more confident for the marathon. 

 Tuesday morning we had the television on for a few minutes and saw an elephant commercial. We didn't really have plans for the day, and have been wanted to take the girls to the zoo, so off we went! 

Aubrey was excited and kept saying she wanted to see the monkeys the most. Probably from watching Curious George. We invited Grandma Harvey, and it was so fun to have her with us. Aubrey got whiny in what seemed like minutes after we arrived. Grandma saved her with ice cream, and the rest of the visit was great. 

The elephants put on quite a show for us. They were hot so they were rolling in the mud, and sucking up mud/water into their trunks and spitting it out all over themselves. Both girls loved it.  

Ohh!

The carousel is always a hit. Ada was so excited about it as we watched it go round and round as we ate ice cream. She kept squealing and walking to it. Aubrey was trying to not act too excited, but you can tell she loved it!

Drinking from the Lion water fountain. 

Giraffes!

They had a new bear/polar bear/sea lion/seal exhibit and it was great. The sea lions were the best. We watched them jump in and out of the water and eat fish. 

Aubrey had also talked about seeing the gorillas, and we almost missed them. We did see one lying down with his feet against the wall, and one sitting and eating straw. Aubrey thought they were pretty funny. 

We took a ride on the train before heading out. We went to a fish and chips restaurant on the way home. Both girls were exhausted, but stayed awake until we got home to put them to bed. 

It was a fun, hot day!

Sugarland

We were able to go to see Sugarland on Saturday with Leigh & Todd, Kate & Jordan, and Kathy. Bryan was so nice to stay with the girls so that we could enjoy the concert and being out. The only problem was that it poured! Thankfully Kathy was prepared and had plenty of ponchos for all of us. We were excited because there were 4 passes to meet and greet the band. Cam, Kate, Leigh, and Jordan were all going to head back. Unfortunately the band decided they didn't want to get close to a bunch of soaking wet fans, so they gave everyone a t-shirt instead (They sell those things for $35 at the concerts). I felt bad because Cameron has never met anyone and I have met 3 or more stars, but we will have more chances I am sure.

 

Before the concert. Luckily it was still somewhat warm outside. We kept fairly dry and warm most of the night. 

 

The concert was delayed a bit, but the opening band was actually pretty good. Canaan Smith. 

 

6 of us had tickets in the 'Sugar Pit' right next to the stage. We also had a number of tickets a few in row 3, so it was nice to be able to have a seat at times. Here is Cam and his mom. 

 

Staying dry!

 

Lauren Alaina, last year's American Idol runner-up, was the second band. They were okay. 

 

Jordan and Leigh making faces. 

 

Our view of Sugarland. She is expecting a baby in mid-November, and looked so cute! She was so fun to watch. She is very animated and has an incredible voice. They put on an excellent show. 

 

We are so spoiled to get to see and experience these great artists. Thanks Kathy and Deb!