Cross Country team

This fall, our kids joined a cross country team. They have been running every Monday and Wednesday evening. Their workouts are intense and they are doing great. My daughter has a competitive side and she is determined to beat her little brother.

They had their first meet last weekend and it was pretty exciting.

 

This whole running gig has energized me to put my Asics back on my feet and start running again. Besides, what else am I going to do at the team practices while the kids are running?

 

Suddenly, I feel this fire burning in me; I want to do the Quadzukilla in November.

Cosmo 7K Run

It sounded like such a great idea to have cosmopolitans after a race! Besides, the race was in my neighborhood. So, Tami and I signed up. The funny thing is that the line for drinks after the race was so long that we walked away and didn't get our cosmos! Oh, well. Maybe we will try again next year.

Vacation

I'm not running, but I did find time for a vacation!

First stop, Paris.
We spent a week in the City of Light. We did a home exchange with a couple in Paris and stayed in their apartment for free! There was so much to see. We visited cathedrals, museums, gardens, and monuments. We ate crepes, croissants, and gelato. Unfortunately, it was cold the week we were there, and we had only packed clothes for warm weather. So, we had to go shopping! We bought pants and jackets to stay warm.

I have been to Paris 3 other times and have never visited the Eiffel Tower at night to see it sparkle. I am so glad we did it this time because it was a festive event.

The Louvre

And a visit to the Mona Lisa.

View of the Seine River and the Louvre from the top of the Eiffel Tower.

View of the street from our balcony.

 

Versailles Palace and Gardens

The Hall of Mirrors at Versailles.

Boating in the Grand Canal at Versailles.

Second stop, Rome.

Next, we flew to Rome to see the ancient city. I had never been to Rome so I was very excited to go. We visited everything but the Vatican museum and gardens; they were closed all of the days we were in Rome. We ate pizza, bought a selfie-stick, and went letterboxing.



Vatican City

Front steps of St. Peter's Basilica.

 

Trevi Fountain

Inside the Colloseum.

 

 

 

Next stop, Tuscany.

After Rome, we headed north and met up with my daughter's first grade teacher, Ms. Longo. She lives part-time in a small hilltop village named Fivizzano in the Tuscany region. Ms. Longo took us to a medieval festival on my daughter's birthday to celebrate. I think we were the only Americans at the festival.

 

Village street



At Ms. Longo's home, built several hundred years ago.

 

At the medieval festival.

 

Last stop, the Cinque Terre.

After touring big cities and small villages we took the train to the Cinque Terre, five small towns in the cliffs along the Italian Riviera. We spent a few days hiking on the trails between the towns and cooling off with swims in the Mediterranean Sea. It was very relaxing and my husband loved it!

 

The town were we stayed, Varnazza.

Hiking on the trails.

 

Hiking through vineyards.

Swimming in the sea.

 

Sunbathing on a granite bolder.

We flew home from Paris so we took an overnight train from the Cinque Terre to Paris. It would have been a really cool experience for the kids on the sleeper train, but my son caught a stomach bug and had a fever and was throwing up all night.

 

I won't lie, traveling with an opinionated pre-teen was hard and I swore I would not travel overseas with her again. But, as I write this, I am already thinking of our next family on a trip . . . to Spain!



It's spring on the farm!

We can't help but enjoy this spring with Tamra. She is such a good sport with the kids.

Hot Chocolate 15K

 



I can't say for sure what made me do it. Maybe it was because it has become a tradition. Or maybe it was the lure of the huge gold finisher's medal and chocolate at the finish line. I ran the Hot Chocolate 15K for the 4th time this weekend. I don't even like the course that much, but the medal sure does look pretty!

Winter running

I've been trying to get out of the house for a few miles here and there. It has been hard to do between work, the horse, and home schooling. Did I mention we started home schooling our son last fall? He is in the 3rd grade and it has been so wonderful spending time with him and being his teacher.

Hero has completely recovered from his surgery last October. His personality has really bloomed. We can see now that he was uncomfortable all of the time before the surgery. We are so glad that we had it done.

Wet and muddy. Typical northwest run.

Stoneman 14K

Headed to Phoenix at the end of January with to visit a friend. I attended the Scottsdale Arabian Horse show while I was there. I have always wanted to go to the show, and bask in the sun while the most beautiful Arabians in North America are parading around the ring. The show has been an annual thing since 1955! About 2,400 horses are shown each year. It was an amazing experience. I absolutely have to come back again every year for the show. Someday, it is my goal to bring a horse and show at the Scottsdale show. Here are a few videos from the show.

Halter class in the sun.

 

Western pleasure class.

 

Hunt Seat Pleasure class.

 



Before leaving Arizona, I  ran the Stoneman Trail Run. It was advertised as a 10K but it was about 8.5 miles long. It was a very pretty run in the dessert outside of Scottsdale. The morning started out cool, just right for a run.

 

I paused for a scan of the horizon.



The clouds broke up and it turned into a beautiful day!

 

Tami, Lesa, and me after the race.

From Phoenix, I flew to Palm Springs and met up with my dad. We hopped in his car and spent the next 3 days driving home to the Pacific Northwest. Along the way we stopped by Las Vegas for lunch. Then we detoured to Zion for a short hike. The rest of the trip was pretty mundane until we hit some snow in Oregon. I got up early each morning for a 30-60 minute run which felt redeeming since I was sitting in the car for so many hours each day.

Quality time with Dad.