I Ran a 5K!

Ever since Kelli ran in Des Moines last year, I've felt inspired to run more. I challenge anyone to go hang around a marathon on race day and not feel inspired to be a part of it. The people are so genuinely encouraging and happy for one another. It's awesome.

I made it a goal to run a half-marathon this year at some point. I practice in spurts. I do well for a month, then get lazy. February and March were great! April, not so much. I picked it back up a little in May but by the end of the month, had gotten busy with other things. Maybe it was just eagerness to get out on a golf course once school ended.

Our friends from Down Under, Dave and Kara, were planning a visit in June. Kara runs all the time. She has run multiple full marathons (26.2 miles!) and she wanted Kelli to run the Sturgis Falls Half Marathon with her. Kelli didn't feel up to it but offered me instead. Having never run an official race before, I thought the 5K sounded better. Start small.

Dave and Kara stayed with us Saturday to help celebrate Kelli's 29th birthday. Kara helped Kelli prepare for a get together with friends during the day while Dave made a new friend in Charly. We had a lot of fun Saturday night, celebrating Kelli's birthday with friends, but didn't settle down until well after midnight. We were up bright and early yesterday morning (5:40 am) and out the door (6:30) for our 7:00 runs.

My hope was to finish in under 30 minutes. A 5K translates to 3.2 miles. Thankfully, I accomplished this small goal. Kelli snapped a photo of me crossing the finish line around 27:27 (above), but we have to wait and see what the official results say.

Kara was awesome. At this point in time I can't imagine staying focused long enough to complete a half-marathon, let alone run one while on vacation! If we ever find a way to swing a trip to Australia, I don't foresee a race as part of the itinerary!

It was great to take part in a run like this and even more awesome to do it with friends we never get to see anymore.

My support team (Charly refused to take a picture with me)

My running mate (sort of, she ran a lot farther than I did)

My photographer (and hired muscle)

Rain Delay

When Kelli and I watch baseball, rain seems to find us. Of course, in the Metrodome we never had to worry about this. But one summer we followed the Twins to Kansas City and sat through rain while Johan Santana pitched them to victory and later that same summer, with Marty and Melissa in Colorado, we watched a thunderstorm literally roll in off the Rocky Mountains while sitting in the centerfield "rock pile" of Coors Field for a Rockies/Cardinals game. We found shelter in some unused and covered seats for the majority of the rainy game, but still, we decided then and there that we were meant to watch outdoor baseball wearing ponchos.

We had great luck last year at Target Field, in its inaugural season. We attended two games, the first of which was a gorgeous night game and the second of which with Shawn and Kali and was sunny and hot. Both games were won by the Twins. This year, I bought tickets to five games. Last Tuesday was the first game Kelli and I would have attended together this year. Hated rival Chicago was in town. I had never seen the Twins battle the White Sox in person. I still haven't.

We drove through pouring rain near Medford and the sky cleared up some by the time we reached the Twin Cities. We arrived at Target Field at 6:00, an hour before the start of the game, and the tarp was on the field. We watched an episode of Twins Live tape with host Roy Smalley and when 7:00 came around, the game was officially in a rain delay. We walked up to where our seats would be and talked for nearly half an hour with a retired usher whose niece teaches at North Butler. He offered us his house to stay in that night and we told him we had friends near the city. Funny thing was, neither of us think he was merely being polite. If we wanted to, we seriously could have stayed the night at this man's house!

We wandered into some areas of Target Field we had never seen, primarily the Delta Sky Legend's Club and the Metropolitan Club, and a little after 8:00, it was announced that the game had been postponed. We waited out the rush of exiting fans in Hrbek's bar and got a drink in before they tossed us out, then we drove back to Cedar Falls. We thought of staying with Kali and Shawn but with the game not getting made up the following day (our tickets will still be good for the makeup date), and with a daughter sleeping peacefully at her grandparents' house, a full night of sleep in our own bed sounded like the perfect way to cap off the rained out night (sorry DeBoers).

Speaking of Charly, we should have followed our instincts. Charly came down with the start of an ear infection (her first ever!) late Saturday. We got her to her doctor early enough on Monday and by Tuesday morning, she was acting pretty good. Our doctor thought we had warded it off. We contemplated not going and just sacrificing the tickets. Ironically, they'd still be good anyway! Suffice it to say, we went ahead. All in all, it was still fun to road trip together, hang out in Target Field surrounded by other Twins fans, and at the end of the day, I suppose I'd take a rain out over sitting in the Metrodome any time.

Here's hoping the weather cooperates next Tuesday when we go up to watch the Twins take on the Dodgers!

Happy Father's Day

Big Heart...you always put our family first and love me so much

Big Smile...you are always in good spirits and content which makes me the happiest girl in the world

Big Shoes to fill...you are the best daddy in the world and nobody compares!!

You are my hero, my world, and I thank you for being my daddy!

Love your little girl,
Charly

Thanks for making our little family the happiest it can be! We are so lucky to have you in our lives and look forward to all the memories we will make together!

Love,
Your girls

Friday Favorites: Food

Kelli and I love to eat out. For the most part, we love simple things. Nothing too wild and crazy. So, this Friday, our favorite things to eat in the Cedar Valley:

Jordan's Favorites:

1. Chicken Burrito at Pablo's (with rice and no beans)
   
2. Chicken of New Orleans at Mulligans (sadly, no longer on the menu, but their Californicated Chicken is close)
3. "The Local" at The Pita Pit (buffalo chicken pita)
   
4. Seafood Lasagna at The Brown Bottle
5. Five Cheese Pizza at The Other Place

Honorable Mention: Buffalo Chicken Wrap at Toads

Kelli's Favorites:

1. Cheese Cannelloni at The Brown Bottle
2. Seafood Lasagna at The Brown Bottle
3. Chicken Salad Croissant at Soho
4. The Philly at Mulligans (with chicken, not steak)
5. The Original at Mulligans
   

Honorable Mention: Oriental Wrap at The Pump Haus

Fun With a Hose

For a little while now, Charly has not been the biggest fan of her bath time. When water gets in her eyes she squeals and rubs them vigorously with her soapy fingers, which actually only makes matters worse. She's enjoying them more as she gets used to water running down her face, but suffice it to say, we've been a little worried that come summer time, Charly was not going to be a fan of water.

The other night I was watering some repaired spots in our yard and Charly became very interested in what I was doing. She was mesmerized by the stream of water coming out of the hose and just had to try and grab it! Lets just say we're no longer worried that she may not like the water this summer. We had a blast playing around for nearly 20 minutes.

Trying to grab the water.

Waiting patiently for more.

Holding her breath in anticipation.

Soaking wet and loving it.