Bronze Award

Rachel is finishing her sixth year of Girl Scouts. That means she has been a part of Girl Scouting for over half of her life.

Last night she was awarded her Bronze Award. It is the highest award a Junior Girl Scout can earn. Each girl was presented her Bronze Award by one of her parents. The parent presenting the award had to give a brief speech about what their daughter has taken away from Girl Scouting. Of course, P.K. was conveniently out of town, so I had to stand up in front of the crowd and talk. One of my worst nightmares.

I spent much of the week leading up to the ceremony trying to figure out how I could get out of speaking. Then I started thinking about what Rachel has learned from all the time she has spent with her fellow Scouts. Rachel is very self confident. If someone asked her to stand in front of a crowd and speak, she would do it and assume from the beginning that she could do it well. She does not get that from me. Her experiences in Girl Scouts have nurtured that trait in her. She has been given countless opportunities to try new things. She isn't afraid to try something new. Given the opportunity she will never say, "I can't." She will say, "I'll try it." Usually she tries and succeeds. When her leader was introducing the girls she said, "Rachel makes being smart cool, she is kind and very self confident."

The next big award is the silver award which she can earn as a Cadette and then it is onto the Gold Award which she can earn as a Senior. Senior Girl Scouts can also earn college scholarships.

Here's to Girl Scouting and my Bronze Award recipient!

100,000 Miles 100,000 Memories

On a recent road trip, my car reached 100,000 miles. I am a bit sentimental about such things. A couple years ago I burnt up a mixer around Christmas time making divinity. The mixer was a wedding gift and it had traveled the country with us. I wasn't sad that the mixer died. I was just thinking about all the memories.

I've probably mentioned my love of road trips and my tendency to be a bit of a control freak. Those two things combined mean I am the one who has driven most of those 100,000 miles.

The story of this trip began right before Aaron was born. We were a one car family and had a black Saturn we had purchased the first year we were married. We were living in California and P.K. had to go to San Diego for some medical tests. He, Rachel and I piled into our little Saturn for the trip. Rachel would have been about 18 months old so there was a lot of baby gear to pack for an overnight trip. By the time we loaded everything in that car, there was room for the three of us to sit and that was it. I mentioned to P.K. that if we were ever to take a trip after the new baby came we would have to have a larger vehicle. The Saturn had many, many miles on it at the time as well. It had made many trips between Boston and Evansville, Evansville and St. Louis and of course the cross country drive to California.

We began our search for a mom-mobile and purchased a used minivan from another officer on base. Lemon from the beginning, but it lasted until after Hannah was born. It was a four cylinder. Any major shopping had to be done "down the hill." Which is what you had to drive to get down to Palm Desert, Palm Springs, etc. If I got behind a slow moving vehicle coming back up the hill, I couldn't get past 35 miles an hour. The van really needed a good running start.

We actually brought Aaron home from the hospital in the van. I remember Rachel running out to meet us and I thought she was excited to see me. She ran right past me and climbed up into that van to find baby "An-non."

The van was not running correctly and I tried my best to convince the mechanics on base that something was wrong. They assured me it was fine. After Hannah was born, I took a road trip up to Monterey to visit my friend who was stationed there. I had a weird light on almost the entire trip. I was sure the van was going to die while I was in the middle of nowhere with an infant, two year old and four year old. When I got back, P.K. took the van in and I was right. There were some major problems that were going to cost thousands of dollars to fix. P.K. called me and and said, "We are getting you a new car. Choose what you want because you are going to drive it for ten years." No problem! I knew what I wanted. A Ford Expedition with a factory installed DVD player. Nothing more, nothing less.

Just after Christmas we made one more trip "down the hill" in the van and traded it in for a gold 2004 Ford Expedition with a factory installed DVD player. We (the Expedition and I) have been in love ever since.

We have criss-crossed the country together. California to Virginia, Florida to Wisconsin. I have crammed in friends and their kids for many fun outings. I have listened to Barney, Dora, Bibleman and High School Musical more times than any sane person should have to endure. The kids have laughed, cried and thrown up in there. The Expedition has carried us to SeaWorld, Legoland, the Grand Canyon, Florida beaches, the nation's capitol, Lake Michigan and of course took me safely to and from my half marathon. It has been to weddings and driven in funeral processions. The kids have been driven to and from school, Scouts, soccer practice, sleepovers, birthday parties, taekwondo and swimming lessons. I drove it through the blur of tears as we left 29 Palms and my heart broke. I yelled with excitement in it when my friend, Becky, called to tell me she was expecting a new baby. The kids immediately told me, "Mommy, it is not safe to yell in the car like that." It has worn a license plate from four different states. The windshield has taken rocks and been replaced three different times.

If you look deeply enough you can probably still find sand from the desert of 29 Palms. The amount of survival food (french fries and M&Ms that have dropped under seats and can't be reached, but in an emergency could be accessed somehow) in the crevices could probably sustain us for days if we are ever lost in the wilderness.

If I can squeeze another 100,000 miles and another 100,000 memories out of her, I will.

Faces Painted

Third Grade Field Trip

Aaron's class had their field trip to a science museum to learn about fossils. It was a very enjoyable trip. The day before, Aaron came home and told me his teacher let him choose the kids who would be in our group during the field trip. I have to admit my first thought was, "Great. Who did he choose?"

I have been on many field trips the past six years and because I spend a lot of time in the classroom the teacher has often said, "I put Little Johnny (name changed to protect the not-so-innocent) in your group because I know you could handle him." Little Johnny is usually the least well behaved child in the class. That means the entire field trip is spent trying to make sure Little Johnny doesn't escape or cause bodily harm to himself or anyone else.

This is Aaron with the friends he chose for our group. I am very proud to say they were all on their very best behavior. The entire third grade was awesome! I made sure I emailed Aaron's teacher and the principal to let them know how wonderful I thought the kids were.

Aaron and his buddy on the bus.

Aaron digging for fossils.

Aaron and me.

The Real Deal With the Easter Bunny

The night before Easter we got the kids tucked in bed as early as possible. The Easter Bunny still had baskets to put together and eggs to hide. Plus the Easter Bunny in this house was ready to get to bed.

Aaron left a picture for the Easter Bunny and the Easter Bunny left him a note to thank him. I know our time of Aaron "believing" is so short.

Hannah got a note. There is a close up of the note she left later in this post.

I walked upstairs and noticed Hannah was awake and writing something. I asked her why she was still awake and she said she was writing a note to the Easter Bunny. She thought there was just one Easter Bunny, but she read a book that had five Easter Bunnies, so she wanted to get the real scoop from straight from the bunny's mouth.

The note reads, "How much Easter Bunnies are there?" The red "over" is from the Easter Bunny indicating the answer which is one Easter Bunny with many helpers was on the back of the note.

War Trophies and Lost Toenails

This post has been a while in the making. I had a long drive all alone in the car by myself to meet up with my friend, Christine, for the half marathon. It was nice to listen to what I wanted on the radio, not have to pass stuff back to anyone and stop when I wanted or not stop. It also allowed some prayer time and reflection on the past few months. The Lord showed me how training for the half and walking a Christian life have many similarities. I've spent the last two weeks trying to compose those thoughts into a blog post, but it wasn't coming together. Maybe the lesson was just meant for me. Maybe I'll share another time.

I don't think I have ever worked so hard for anything in my entire life. Sleeping in after a rough night was not an option. Skipping the gym to be somewhere else earlier was not an option. Waiting until the last minute was not an option.

Cramming for exams or pulling all nighters in college was not this hard. Giving birth to children was not this hard and I labored with two of the kids before having an emergency c-section. Moving from place to place and leaving friends behind was not this hard.

While training, Friday was my day to do my long run. For those of you who have never done anything like this, you gradually add distance to that long run until you reach your goal. The day I first ran nine miles, I came home and two of my toes felt a little funny. The long ones right next to the big toe for those of you who must know. They didn't really hurt, just felt funny. They looked fine and I went on. The next week when I did my long run those toes were bothering me again. Upon further examination I noticed there were blisters under my toenails!! How in the world did that happen? I didn't think my shoes were too uncomfortable. But if you read a previous post where I mentioned that P.K. took me to a store that specializes in running shoes, you found out that my old shoes were a size too small.

The toenails eventually turned black and this past weekend while camping the first one fell off and my first night back home I lost the second one. I have joined the club!!! Just in case running a half marathon didn't qualify me as a runner, surely loosing toenails due to running makes me a runner. I was so excited! The kids and P.K. really didn't want to see the toenail or where the toenail had been. They totally missed the pride of the moment. I really felt the need to put them under my pillow and see if there is a Toenail Fairy. Maybe instead of money, he would leave a special pill that helps shave a few seconds off of your time. You will be glad to know I resisted and threw away the old toenails.

I totally digressed with the whole toenail story, but admit it. You are glad I shared.

Back to the half....I made it! I ran (jogged...shuffled...non-walked) my first half marathon!!! I met my goals. I finished, I wasn't last and Christine and I crossed the finish line together. Truth be told, she could have left me in her dust, but she is a great friend and drug me along. After all, this whole thing was her idea and I told her all along that I am s...l...o...w.

Another one of my friends, Bobbi, was there to cheer on her husband and daughter. Bobbi's husband, John, and P.K. were at the Coast Guard Academy together. Their oldest daughter who is thirteen ran her first half marathon. I was so proud of her! Christine and I were glad Bobbi was there because she was nice enough to cheer us on and take some pictures!

I think we are probably at about 5 miles here and looking pretty strong.

This was just before the last mile and I was tired. Christine was a bit ahead of me at this point. I kept telling her to just finish and leave me behind. But being good military spouses we know it is unacceptable to leave a man behind.

Several explanations are needed for this picture. Look in the background and toward the left. Those are some of Christine's co-workers who came to cheer her on for the final stretch. Notice the man is carrying a box of donuts. Talk about motivation. Because they were nice and Christine introduced me, they cheered for me too. I don't know if the picture shows it well, but it was an uphill to the finish line. I am not holding my stomach. We really were just steps from the finish line and someone was looking for our numbers. I had my jacket tied over mine so Christine and I are both trying to see what it is. As if it couldn't have waited until we crossed. It isn't as though we were running neck and neck with the leading pack.

This is me at the end with John and Olivia. It was really windy if anyone is wondering what is up with my porcupine like hairdo.

And finally, some happy faces! We did it!!! Yes, those are the donuts from Christine's friend.

I had a blast and Christine and I are going to run another one in the fall. I can hardly wait!! It is so addicting.

These Shoes...

were made for runnin'!

I'm running my first half marathon this coming Saturday. I'm a little anxious and excited all at the same time. I keep asking myself questions like, "Could I have trained harder?" "Should I have tried harder to lose at least 10 more pounds before the race?" "Should I wear a long sleeve shirt to run in or will that chafe my arms?" "Should I wear a tank top and my jacket while I am running like I usually do?" "Will I be able to take my jacket off mid-race if I get hot or will I have a number on it which will be too difficult to move during the race?"

I just talked to my friend who is running with me and she has been having the same kinds of questions. She even told her husband she doesn't know why. It really doesn't matter. We are doing this for the fun of it. We just want to finish and are already talking about training for another half marathon in the Fall.

To answer those questions...Yes. I could have trained harder. But there is always room for improvement. I think I have trained well for a first time runner. Yes. I should have tried harder to lose 10, even 20, pounds before the race. But I have maintained my weight and lost inches. My body is toned and I am in better shape than I was when I got married. I'm in better shape than I was in in high school for that matter. No. I probably should not wear a long sleeve shirt. I will probably just wear my running tank top. Once I get through the first mile, I will be warm enough. We have worked hard and we will finish.

Back to the shoes. P.K. took me to an athletic store that specializes in running shoes. It was fun. They video taped me running on a treadmill to see which ways my legs turn when I run. Then I tried on a half a dozen pairs of shoes. I found out that my old running shoes were a size too small. That would be why I had blisters under two toenails. The new shoes and I have already been together for over 40 miles. I have run in them, laughed in them, cursed in them (yes, cursed in them...not really bad curses...you try training for a half marathon in a thunderstorm in shoes that you paid more for than any cute pair of shoes you have ever owned and see what you say)and cried in them. On Saturday I am going to be very proud in them.