life lately

I always seem to accumulate so many pictures that I forget to post here or on FB. I having this blog as a space to keep a sort of record of our daily lives, it helps me remember things later when I'm going through my old blog posts and I have fun reading about what life was like 'then' and looking at pictures. I also plan on printing some blog books when I find a good coupon as sort of a family journal, which I know will be a special treasure to me. I love reading old diaries and looking at old pictures, and things I think I'll remember always seem to fade away until I look at and old picture or read some words I quickly recorded on my iPhone or here on my blog.

So anyway, I apologize if these photo-heavy blog posts annoy anyone, but ultimately my blog is for me - I guess what I'm saying is "sorry, not sorry" haha.

Mother's Day

We had such a fun day on mother's day, except for one thing...I didn't get any pictures with my 'real' camera! So dumb haha. But we did get a few fun (and blurry :P) pictures on my iPhone.

I was so thrilled to spend the day just hanging out with both my guys. Riggs was extra cuddly and I was so happy to get his kisses (or licks in some cases) and hugs. 

 We went down to the river in the rain and had fun throwing the ball for Tutka

and watching the four-wheelers and side-by-sides racing around.

Riggs looks somewhat sad in the pics but he was having fun! promise! ha

When we got home from the beach/river, my mom texted and said she and Beka were going to come out for an evening visit. I was so happy that I got to see my own mama on Mother's day!

Monday
My sis and Noah came out for a visit. It was so fun to see them and for us to just be able to hang around the house. We went outside and blew bubbles and pretended it was warmer and sunnier than it really was ;)

Tuesday
Sarah came and picked me and Riggs up (thank you Sarah!) for a trip into Anchorage after both our babies had their naps. We ran errands and had lots of laughs together, it was such a fun day!

Riggs got a little cheeky with Lyla - so cute! 

Wednesday
It was one of those days were we just hung around the house with no plans and nothing we had to do. And it was one of those days that I thought over and over about how much I love our house and where we live.

We went out into the yard to get some fresh air, and Riggs started walking down the driveway with his turtle-walker-thing. And he didn't stop, so me and Tutka just followed him down the road and around the corner until we got to the paved loop, where we turned around and headed back to the house. One car passed us the entire time we were slowly walking down the road, and they stopped to wave and smile at Riggs.

we had a bunny sighting when we got back to the house, which Riggs was very excited about.

we love our little bunny neighbors! 

we also got the bubbles out

bubbles are so fun

I think Riggs could watch them float by all day long

I also sucked it up and went out for a long run in the afternoon (despite the wind and how cozy it was inside my house ha). But I'll cover that in my weekly running 'update'.

Thursday (today)
We woke up early, and both me and Riggs got to see Steve before he left for work, which was really nice. But when Riggs gets up early (today it was 6am instead of the usual 7:15-7:30) he needs an extra nap, usually by 8:30 or else he will be in total meltdown mode all morning.

I put him in his crib at 7:50 and he literally laid down and went right to sleep. I decided that my own bed sounded pretty nice, so I snuggled in and attempted to look at Pinterest for a few minutes before I fell asleep myself. Neither of us woke up until about 9:45. It felt sooo good!

When we woke up we were both in much better moods. We played around the house a bit before getting dressed and setting out for Palmer via bike and buggy. I listened to Dead Ever After on Audible while I rode, so the 35 minute trip flew by. We saw a moose on the way, which was literally one of the first moose I've seen in our neck-of-the-woods since last year, other than the one that got his by the fuel truck near Maud Road earlier this year. I think they're a little scarce in the neighborhoods because there are so many off-leash dogs wandering around.

we stopped on the way into town to look at the cows

since Riggs is actually old enough to be able to notice them now

the little calves were so cute!

we went to Fred Meyer to pick up some groceries

our little bike buggy can hold a lot of stuff!

Only the spinach and spring greens had to go up in front with Riggy

there was a really strong headwind on the way back 

so it was slow and hard going

also pretty cold, my hands were freezing!

I kept them balled up in a fist to keep my fingers warm

I will definitely bring little gloves next time

these were the stats from the trip back to the house

my battery had died over the winter in my bike computer

and I didn't remember to get another battery until today

the trip to Palmer only took 35 minutes

the trip back took about 50 as you can see - dang wind!

overall the trip was about 16.8 miles

When I got home I made these amazing brownies and now that I'm finally done with this post I really need to go start dinner! I'm so glad tomorrow is Friday, I can't wait for the weekend with Steve home. I'm really dreading the week that he starts working Saturdays too, we miss him so much when he's only home one day a week :( But I am very thankful he has such a great job with the opportunity to work so much overtime.

running: second week of may

I'm really happy with how last week went as far as 'training' and working-out goes. I accomplished my goal of running four times and I managed to squeeze in cross-training on the other days. There were actually a lot of really nice days too so it was a real pleasure to spend lots of time outside.

Sunday

:: no running or cross-training workout. we did walk to church if that counts for anything haha lol, it's about a 15 minute walk one way. 

Monday

:: 2.04 miles

:: 19:59 minutes

:: this ended up being a really stressful run. I tried to bring to Tutka off-leash on the run with me on the bike-path next to the Old Glenn closer to the Palmer end. He did good the first mile and then started to get a little too close to the road for my peace-of-mind. Usually he stays right with me when he's off the leash so I hadn't thought it would be a problem. But I couldn't focus on my run at all while trying to keep an eye Tutka. Then he actually did go up onto the shoulder of the road, and I just couldn't handle it anymore and I booked it back to the truck. So it was basically a run-fail.  

I need to get a waist halter for myself to attach Tutka's leash to so I can still push the stroller and bring along the dog once in a while. 

Tuesday

:: 3.05 miles

:: 26.33 minutes

:: This was a great run. Steve was home sick from work so I was able to go out stroller-free during Riggs' nap. It was a really good opportunity to focus on running and do a few intervals towards the end of the run. 

I walked about a half mile before I started running, and then ran about a mile and a half to warm up before I started intervals. For each interval, I just chose a starting point and a point that I would run to and I ran at a hard pace, about an 8.5 on a scale of 1-10. Then for the last interval, right at the end of the run, I ran as hard as I could as if I were finishing a race. I really like to do that on all my runs, it just feels good to stretch my legs and end on a fast note. When I finished the run, I walked about half a mile to 'cool down'.

walking back down the road to my house after my run :)

Wednesday

:: no run on Wednesday, I was busy with yard clean up. It was a completely gorgeous day, full sunshine and about 62 degrees the entire afternoon. I raked the whole yard and cleaned up all the little bits of trash that somehow manage to get scattered around the property during the winter. I also collected the cardboard from our storage area and took it down to the burn pit for having a fire later this month. It was a really productive day and it was so nice to get the yard cleaned up so Riggs can crawl around and explore.

Thursday

:: 4.09 miles

:: 41:53 minutes

:: I went on a long easy run with my little sister - it is so much easier to run for a longer distance when you have someone to run with! We weren't running very fast because we were talking (I can't run faster than 9.5 minute miles and talk at the same time ha) but we did buckle down and do three or four short intervals at the end of the run. 

Friday

:: 6 mile bike ride

:: 25 minutes (with stops to check Riggs and to get a drink at the Green Store)

:: I skipped a run today and went on a bike ride instead. It was overcast when I started but really bright and I could see the sun starting to shine through the clouds. And it was warm (comparatively, about 60 degrees) and towards the end of my ride I had to take off my hoodie and finish in just a tank-top. I've been waiting so long to wear just a tank top outside and it was marvelous!

thought I'd take a picture of the Green Store since I talk about it so much ha

fancy, eh? 

I biked a loop out that's really close to my house and pretty quiet with barely any traffic. It goes right by the Jim Creek parking lot for those of you who know where that is. I also like to bike the Bodenburg Loop which is about 5 miles and has lots of cute little farms and horses to look as you bike by. Lots of good places to bike out in the Butte!

Riggy loved biking but wasn't so sure about the kisses ;)

so happy about tank-top weather! 

Saturday
:: 2.3 miles
:: 22:02 minutes
:: 1 hour cardio class
:: Saturday was a great day for working-out. I got up early for cardio class at Edge Fitness - I even brought Riggs this time and let Steve sleep in - so nice ha. It was a really hard class too!

My legs and the sides of my butt were so sore, I decided to go for a walk later in the morning to sort of stretch them out. I walked for about a mile and then decided to just go for a run. I went pretty easy, stopping a few times to stretch, and it made my muscles a lot less sore and achey.

another sunny, 'warm' day - definitely sunscreen and tank-top weather for me!

total mileage for the week: 11.5 miles

Overall it was a great week for me and I was happy that I achieved my goal of running four times. This week I'd like to run four times again and up my mileage a bit to do at least two four mile runs. I'd also like to do two runs without the stroller if I can manage it. I really prefer to run first thing in the morning before I eat breakfast because it gives me great energy throughout the day and it just feels better on my stomach. But I think I might try running at night once a week after Riggs has gone to bed once Steve gets home from work. Then I can do one run on the weekend when Steve is home to leave Riggs with in the morning. I don't think that will be an option for much longer however since Steve is going to start working six days a week again really soon.

If you're a mom who runs, how do you fit in more 'serious' runs where you can really focus? I have such a hard time really getting the best workout possible when I have to hold onto the stroller with one hand. I mean I still get a pretty good workout but I'm just not able to run as well as I would by myself. Any input or advice would be really appreciated! :)

well....

Holy cow it has been a long time since I blogged last. I've been pretty busy; busier, in fact, than I think I've ever been before. Ever. So that's why I haven't blogged. But I have the day off tomorrow and can do homework then, so I decided I could squeeze in some blogging tonight.

Lots has happened since I last blogged. My niece was born, which was pretty exciting. She was born at 7:31am, Tuesday, September 7th, 7lbs 6oz - Morgan Serena. She is so beautiful and perfect and I got to fly down as soon as I heard the news and spend some time with the new family, trying to help out as much as I could. She is now three weeks old today, can't believe how fast time flies.

Steve with week-old Morgan

The happy family the day after Morgan was born

Things have been super crazy at work, since we are in the process of switching over from our summer stuff to winter, which has been fun despite the craziness. The "official" day of the switch it snowed on the mountains and little baby flurries even floated around in Anchorage. I was and am so excited! I love winter, it's by far my favorite season. It's cold so I get to wear lots of cozy clothes and drink hot cocoa. Plus all the best holidays are in the winter, and it just feels like the best time of year. I love playing in the snow, skiing, biking, snow angels, whatever. And there is nothing, seriously nothing, like walking in the winter, feet crunching loudly in the snow, breath clearly visible, but other than the crunchy feet there is almost complete silence, like the world is a wonderful, peaceful place and you just smile and smile. (Can you tell I love winter?)

In other news, I've started knitting! I am very excited about it and have a page on Ravelry where you can check out my projects and other cool stuff. I've knit two hats so far and am in the process of knitting up some baby legs with stirrups which I know will be very cute.

Infant hat I just finished. It's even my own pattern!!

Me at the Zoo this past weekend with my nephew, Noah. He's wearing the hat I made him for his birthday and the sweater him mom (my sister) knit for his bday.

Schools been CRAZY and I just can't wait to be done, so that's all I'm going to say about that. I don't even want to think about it until I have to tomorrow when I work on the multitude of reading and writing I have to do.

What do you all love about winter?? This is a positive post, I don't want to hear any complaining!!!! So if you comment you have to mention something you love about winter :)

rainy weekend

mileage: 7/23 - 15

average mph: 18

total July mileage: 105 (haven't been keeping track daily on the blog, sorry)

Saturday was the only day that Steve and I had off together, and we made the most of it. It actually turned out to be a total "bike" day. We did the maintenance both our roadies had been sorely needing. I re-wrapped my handlebars (the white I did a few months ago was nasty already - I got blue/black this time), lubed everything, swapped out my touring pedals for my Shimano clipless pedals, fine tuned my seat height and adjusted the tilt of my handlebars. Steve had lots to do on his Trek 400. He picked it up at a bike swap a little over a year ago for cheap and hasn't had time since then to give it any TLC. It needed adjustments to the dérailleur and lots of lube. We also put my touring pedals on it until he can get a clipless set up. Tonight I'm going to rewrap his handlebars since his is worn through and torn in some spots.

After getting the bike ready to hit the road, we stopped at REI to do some bike related shopping, and ended up getting some new Vittoria Randonee touring tires for his bike. He had some 700x25 inverted tread tires on and they were pretty unforgiving on the bumpy, rooty bike paths around town. The new ones are 700x28 which makes a huge difference for him. I grabbed some new Pearl Izumi bike shoes and we messed around in the parking lot for 10 minutes as I accustomed myself to riding with the clipless set up. I only fell once and it was a pretty clumsy moment. I was riding around in circles, smile wide as I thought about just how much more efficient this set up was going to be. I decided to stop, and I decided not to get out of my pedals until I had already stopped. I got my right foot out before I tipped over, eyes growing wide as I hit the ground on my left side, my foot still attached to the pedal and my hand still on the handlebar. Steve ran over as I started laughing at the ridiculousness of the spill.

We headed down to the Chester Creek trail system and headed towards Goose Lake. We decided to explore the trails around the college so I could figure out timing for commuting to school in the fall. I bike a lot last year, but never went all the way on the trail. I'd usually get off at Lake Otis and ride alongside the road. But I prefer to avoid the roads surrounding the college if at all possible, especially in when the snow flies.

We stopped at Goose Lake after looping around the various roads and bike paths that connected the two sides of campus to eat the tuna sandwiches I packed as a light rain started to fall. It looked like there were various single-tracks forking off of the main paved trail, and I couldn't wait to explore them later. That is one of the reasons I want a cross bike in the summer - it's would be perfect for commuting on paved paths and for a little off road action.

We saw a couple moose across the lake right as we were about to head back home, and we stopped to watch them for a minute or two. Watching animals in the quiet of their natural habitat always fills me with a warm sense of peace. I could watch for hours, it's often hard to tear myself away from the tranquil scene and bike or hike back to the often hectic real world.