Friday Photo Favorites

We didn't take one, single picture on Easter.  So, last week I took some fake Easter photos of Brenna.

This charade is OVER, Mom! 

Sneak Peak! Sshhh!

 Emily did a wonderful job capturing our family's love and made us look dang good, too!

Christmas Dresses

When Brenna was born, my mother gave us a collection of special clothes and shoes that were mine as a little girl.  Sadly, we forgot about them for awhile and before we knew it, Brenna was too big for a lot of the really cute summer dresses.  We put her in one of my favorites tonight for Mass and had a short photo shoot after.

Enjoy!

Friday Photo Favorites...

...that I can't wait until Friday to post!

 

Brenna just loves being outside exploring.  Hope you're all enjoying the beautiful weather as much as we are! 

Beach!

We had our first outing to the beach a few weeks ago!  Two of our best friends are training for an Ironman Triathlon and wanted to get some experience swimming in the open water so Chris, Brenna, and I went with them to Grand Haven and had a nice walk down the pier while they swam.

Piggies Grilling Piggies

Brenna and I grilled some teriyaki pork chops last night.  Let the grilling montage begin!

  Proof that I wasn't just making an excuse to have a beer.

Proof that grilling is better with a beer and Pistons Coozy.

 The grillmasters!

Sampling my work :)

Here's to summer grilling!

First Snow

Victory in the Fall

As a lot of you know, yesterday I ran the Grand Rapids Marathon for the second time. It turned out to be a really nice day after the forecast predicted rain and 20 mph winds. I had the best cheering section on the course: Ruth, Mom, Dad, Karlie, Mom Blaxton, and Dad Blaxton. Here is are some the highlights (and lowlights) of the race:

Miles 1-5 -- My friend Nate ran the first 5 miles with me on his way to doing the half marathon. It was great to have someone to talk to for at least a portion of the race.

Miles 10-12 -- This part of the race was in Millennium park, which is absolutely beautiful in the fall.

Mile 15 -- I panicked a little bit at this point in the race. I was starting to feel bad and compounded that with thinking "I still have 11 miles to go." After another 10 minutes, things got better and I found a good rhythm again.

Mile 17-18 -- I got to see my cheering section twice during this section of the race as it was an out and back portion. It was so nice having them out there to keep me going!

Mile 21 -- My feet started hurting terribly at this point, a problem that I ran into while doing long runs during my training. I tried to just gut it out and they actually started feel better by mile 23. It was also at this point that I got passed by a guy in basketball shorts, which Ruth keeps reminding me about.

Mile 25-Finish -- This was the best part of the race, I felt pretty good considering I had been running for over 2.5 hours. I got seventh place overall with a time of 2 hours, 44 minutes, 16 seconds. After the race, Karlie had to put my pants on for me which was quite amusing.

Overall, it was an awesome race. I was hoping to run a bit faster and maybe have a chance at winning but I just didn't have it. This is only my second marathon so I am not disappointed, I can only get better.

Finisher Medal


The man with his arms raised in the maple leaf is titled "Victory in the Fall"

It is the logo for the GR Marathon


Awesome shirt thanks to Mom & Dad Blaxton

Sorry, there are no action shots because no brought their camera as it was supposed to rain the whole time.

I am enjoying a day off from work today to recover. Ruth and I are quite the pair now that my legs basically don't work and she is 8 months pregnant. Let's just say we aren't quite as mobile as we used to be.

I am hoping to run the Chicago or Detroit marathon next fall, so I will be training again before you know it. Thanks again to all of my great cheerleaders and thanks to everyone else for your prayers!

Yay, Fall!!

Fall is seriously the best season, in my opinion.  The sports in the fall are fantastic, the weather is beautiful and refreshing, the food and drinks that are abundant during this time of year are delicious.  Plus, in Michigan (especially northern Michigan), we get to watch the trees transform into breathtaking colors before our eyes.

Emily and I went adventuring around Aquinas' campus the other day to take some pictures of these great fall colors.  Our timing wasn't the best and we'll probably have to schedule another outing in a week or so when more of the leaves have turned, but we did get a few good shots.

Combine romping around taking these pictures with my best friend, and Chris bringing home some pumpkin cinnamon/sugar doughnuts from the apple orchard, and that makes for a pretty dang good week :)  And to top it off, Chris is running the Grand Rapids Marathon on Sunday!  He's been training so well and he's in fantastic shape.  We're so excited to see how the race goes!  Say a prayer for him at about 8:00 on Sunday morning and maybe he can bring home a little hardware! 

Mackinac...or is it Mackinaw?

This past weekend Mom and Dad Blaxton, Tim, Jessica (Tim's wonderful girlfriend), and the two of us went to Mackinac Island for a day trip.  Chris and I were SO excited to go and it couldn't have been a better day!  The weather was perfect, 72 degrees and sunny, there were not too may tourists yet, and of course, great company!

We were a little worried when first pulled into the harbor to board the ferry...Mayflies were EVERYWHRE!  Every single car in the lot looked like this white one so we all made sure to breathe through our noses (at least most of us...Chris usually has some trouble with that).

After lunch on the island, we rented bikes - 4 singles and 1 tandem - and rotated throughout our ride.  Chris and I were the first on the tandem.  It's still up for debate as to the reason I didn't particularly enjoy riding on the back...either Chris really IS that bad a steering a bike, or I just couldn't handle not being in control :)  

We stopped and skipped some stones.  Who do you think has the best form?

Mackinac Island Public School Class of 2011 had six graduates.  Six.

Tim and Jessica were next on the tandem.  I have to say, as much as I didn't like Chris being in control of the steering, at least we didn't crash like Tim and Jessica!  I'm laughing right now just thinking about Tim on the back, "Whoa, whoa!  I'm not doing ANYTHING!"

Eventually they got the hang of it and smoked us all.

Mom and Dad were pros at the tandem.

I couldn't leave a post about Mackinac Island without some chocolate...

It was such a wonderful day!  We are so blessed to be able to spend time like this with our families.  Plus, it was a much more relaxed visit for Jessica compared to last summer during the wedding craziness!

Stay tuned for a baby update :)