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Running Big Mama

We have a hill in our area that everyone calls, “Big Mama”. She is a beast that eats runners for breakfast. It is the challenge of every runner to take her on.

I finally felt ready to give her a try. Joined a run within the running club that had ‘big mama’ on the 4 mile route.

I was able to run up about 2/3rds. Walked and ran the remaining 1/3rd. Felt great for the accomplishment! We completed the run at a lovely country club and celebrated with dinner and drinks!

The brave soles/souls before…
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…getting started…
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…this is end of of Big Mama. Photos do not do her justice. You can’t catch the whole hill in one photo…
IMG_2387   IMG_2375Thumbs up at the top!
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Celebrating with dinner and drinks after…
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Cute deer eating the rose bushes…
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MRTT Buddy Run 2016

I belong to an amazing running club called ‘Moms Run This Town’. It is an international organization, with local chapters. Our chapter is one of the larger ones, with over 1800 members.

Every year, our group has a  couple of Buddy Runs. A veteran runner partners with a new runner and they run together. This gives the new runner a chance to ask questions and get immersed into the group.

I served as a cheerleader for this run. It was a gorgeous morning and we had so much fun!

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What? Do my eyes deceive me? Am I seeing Amy Grant, Nichole Nordeman, and Ellie Holcomb all in concert together? At our church? What???

I was going. It did not matter if I had to go by myself, with David, or a girls night, but I was going.

Turned out to be a beautiful girls night out with Stacy, Crystal, and Kristine. We had dinner at Zocalo’s first, then the concert.

Amy Grant’s music was a big influence in my early walk with Jesus when I was a teenager. She sang some of those early songs. Songs I have not heard in over 20 years, but my heart remembers them like yesterday. I went to at least two of her concerts, and her music was there when David and I started dating.

Nichole Nordeman’s music was a big influence on us as new parents. We listened to her music when Alex was born. Her concert was the first time we left him with someone else so we could go out on a date. (He stayed with my aunt Annie and uncle Art.)

Both of these women have songs that I consider lifetime favorites.

Ellie Holcomb I did not know, but enjoyed listening to her songs, and her heart, during this concert.

Amy Grant came out and sang the first song. We looked at each other and said, “she’s opening for Nichole? really?” In the world’s eyes, Amy Grant should be the headliner.

After the first song, the other two women joined her on stage and they all took turns singing, alone, and together. There were no fancy lights or camera shots of them. It was all very simple, and precious. The focus was on worship, and that never wavered.

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Run Rocklin 2016

Half marathon #2 for the year. The great thing about this race is that it is literally right in my neighborhood. Although the route does not cross in front of our house, it does six houses down at the intersection. A part of the route is the route my friends and I run multiple times a week. We run it when it’s still dark though, so it was fun to run and see it in daylight.

The boys ran the 5K with their martial arts team. This was the day after the colorfunfest and martial arts bootcamp, so they definitely got a good workout this weekend!

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This course is hilly, and this photo was taken at the top of the hilliest part. My friend, run buddy, and next door neighbor, Keri, is on the left, with the pink hat. She is training for a marathon and ran 21 miles the day before. She did not sign up for Run Rocklin because she did not think her body could run that distance the next day. But, she wanted to support me and decided to run a few miles up the hill with me and back down the hill.  She ended up running the whole thing with us! AMAZING!!
Henna is my other friend who ran with me. We only get to run together every once in a while because she lives in Sacramento, so it’s extra special when we do get together.
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Some of our MRTT (Moms Run This Town) sole sisters cheered us on. Melissa is in the middle, and Kelly brought her kids in the stroller to help cheer. This is at the intersection that is six houses from our house, so David came by with the puppies to cheer as well.
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Another nice surprise was another sole sister in the group, Valerie, cheering at mile 10. Having friends along the course is a huge encouragement. It gets you out of your head.
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I really was slow from miles 9+, but had reserve to sprint to the finish.

Yummy frozen treats at the end!
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Henna and me with our medals.
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Almost all the ladies in our run club that ran Run Rocklin this year!IMG_2298

Tim and his boys come down every year for their Spring (or Memorial) break, and spend it with us. It’s tradition. We have been doing this since 2009 0r 2010!

Tradition #1: Beeline for In N Out burger. This year, their flight came in at 11:30P.  Good thing In N Out does not close until 1AM!
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Tradition #2: Have Fun! This year, we all ran the Sacramento Colorfunfest. Tim brought his girlfriend Kelly and she dovetailed right in perfectly. We all had a blast! They also brought us the gift of a game called “Carcassonne”. It’s a cool strategy game and we were all able to play together. We also spent an evening at Dave and Busters, playing video games. Oh yeah, and we watched a couple of big basketball games. I know one was Golden State. I don’t recall the other.

Tradition #3: Adults: Plant thyselves on a lounge chair and soak up the sun.
Kids: Play video games and make movies.

Another great year in the books!

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Dave and Busters
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They boys earned tokens and turned them in for scalp scratchers…IMG_2315

All the guys!
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I co-hosted a baby shower with our mutual friend, Melissa, and Crystal’s grandma, Vi. A lovely brunch with a lovely group of women!

Melissa’s vision was a victorian tea party. She did an amazing job decorating; very feminine.

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This is a diaper cake a friend made for Crystal’s first shower when she had Zoe. She still had it, so we used it for this shower.IMG_2166 IMG_2167

I love these tutus and the way the light came through the windows. On the menu was baked french toast, chicken apple sausage, fruit salad, quinoa salad, and a variety of baked goods that Grandma made.IMG_2168

My good friend Kristine. I met her at Crystal’s house years ago and we became instant friends.
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The beautiful Crystal. I wish this weren’t so blurry. Baby girl #2 is due May 12th. They think she will be named ‘Aria’. See the sash she is wearing? Melissa made that for here. Handmade roses with pearl centers, glued to a satin ribbon, with a little tag that says ‘due May 12’. It complemented her outfit perfectly!
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Easter 2016

We had a sweet surprise for Easter. Our honorary nephew, Ricky, was on a road trip and decided to join us for a few nights!

Al three boys received a bag full of goodies. I could not find Easter grass, so ‘R’ offered to cut up green tissue, then decided to add blue and make it Seahawks grass.

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Ricky’s sister and our honorary niece, Christina, flew down for a night and drove back up with Ricky. We had a day together and went to putt putt golf with my friends Julie and Shanti and their kids!

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Hard to say goodbye. Sweet time together.IMG_2123

My goal for 2016 is to run 6 half marathons. I had planned to train for six months and run the first one in June. But, the medal for the Peace, Love, Run swayed me to move it up to March!

A lovely course along the river in Sacramento. Weather was great, and shared the run with an awesome running partner, LoriDawn. A few of the ladies/friends from the running club I belong to (Moms Run This Town) ran as well, and it is always a treat to see them on the run.

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12!! What?! 12!!!

The day started with our tradition of the birthday boy eating whatever he wants for breakfast.  ‘R’s choice this year…
Little Caesar’s Bacon Wrapped Pepperoni Pizza and Shirley Temple. Ugh. He was very happy 🙂

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We went to Studio Movie Grill for lunch and saw Batman v. Superman, then cupcakes for dessert!
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‘R’ and I went for a walk to our neighborhood park and spent a while walking around and taking photos. I loved watching his process and his eye for photos. Here’s a sampling of what he took…

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We have quite a few ground squirrels in the park…10399803_10209000447952756_8631304314375425166_n 12107717_10209000447592747_6757041593636891904_n 12523861_10209000447032733_3522012117320539386_n 12800361_10209000447912755_7215591087881581779_n

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