I have been trying to find new and fun ways to exercise. I love to compete in races, cross country and track in high school, 5K races throughout the years, Race for the Cure, the Sprint Triathlon last year.....so this year, I am already committed to do the Tri again, but I feel the need to do events that are out of the ordinary of the 5K race.
Enter Run the Republic (which is now called Anthem Fight for Air Climb). Run the Republic is a "race" that is held in a high rise building downtown. Run the Republic is sponsored by the American Lung Association, which raises funds for lung disease. Lung Disease, by the way, is the 3rd highest cause of death in the United States. The stairwells of the Republic Plaza are opened to the public for this one day so you get to climb the 56 floors to the top and then take the elevators back down! Doesn't that sound like so much fun!?
I have been "training" for this for a week now, and let me tell you, it isn't fun! I have convinced a girl that I work with, along with my wonderful husband and parents to do this with me! I can't wait. My parents have been working out for so long and have talked about wanting to become more active outside of the gym walls, so I figured why not open them to this!
I am sure that all four of them are cursing me out every time they walk up a flight of stairs, but at the end of the "race" I'm hoping that they have a newfound respect for themselves - that they CAN do anything, and that even the most painful thing - like climbing 56 stories can be fun if you're doing it with people you love, and for a great cause!
If you are interested in learning more about the Anthem Fight for Air Climb; or to join the race yourself, please visit their website at: http://www.lungusa.org! See you at the top!
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Countdown
As a kid, I would take trips out to Illinois at least once a year. I LOVE it there. I love my family and all of the memories that I have created with them. Wearing Grandma's wigs, sleeping in the living room and hearing the grandfather clock "dong" that it was midnight (gasp that Cori and I were up that late!!!) and then hearing Grandma yell down the hall, "girls, time for bed" because we couldn't stop giggling. As we all got older, the trips out were harder (college, new jobs and a lack of finances). Despite not being able to see my family out there as often as I would like we have done and are doing really well in keeping the updates on life current.
I want the kids to know the family in Illinois just as well as the family here in Colorado, so we talk a lot about the family out there and look at pictures and talk about who is who. Haylee loves the whole family and has stories about all of the fun things that she has done with each member of the family. Cori it's the acorns they found in the front lawn, Great Grandpa it's the tractors and how she gets to ride them, Great Grandma it's the Frosty the Snowman book (which we read ALL THE TIME!) Diane, its the selling cookies and making lemonade at the garage sale...things like that. So, I told Haylee that Aunt Diane and Cousin Cori are coming out to Colorado for a visit...she got so excited and started jumping up and down...then she said she wanted to make Diane and Great Grandma and Great Grandpa a craft.
One of the crafts we made was a countdown chain......We hung it up in a place where we could see it everyday, and make sure that we rip off a part of the chain every morning before we leave the house....Then we took a picture of the kids standing next to it! As you can see, Carter was more interested in the light switches than he was for smiling for the picture!
So, let the countdown to Aunt Diane (and the rest of the family) coming out to visit begin! T-Minus 8 days! We can't wait!
I want the kids to know the family in Illinois just as well as the family here in Colorado, so we talk a lot about the family out there and look at pictures and talk about who is who. Haylee loves the whole family and has stories about all of the fun things that she has done with each member of the family. Cori it's the acorns they found in the front lawn, Great Grandpa it's the tractors and how she gets to ride them, Great Grandma it's the Frosty the Snowman book (which we read ALL THE TIME!) Diane, its the selling cookies and making lemonade at the garage sale...things like that. So, I told Haylee that Aunt Diane and Cousin Cori are coming out to Colorado for a visit...she got so excited and started jumping up and down...then she said she wanted to make Diane and Great Grandma and Great Grandpa a craft.
One of the crafts we made was a countdown chain......We hung it up in a place where we could see it everyday, and make sure that we rip off a part of the chain every morning before we leave the house....Then we took a picture of the kids standing next to it! As you can see, Carter was more interested in the light switches than he was for smiling for the picture!
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Renovation Realities Part 2 - Reconstruction
So today marks the start of week 7 of our bathroom remodel. I am happy to report that I went though my "I'm over this project, over the house being messy, we should have paid someone to do this" phase two weeks ago, and we are now about 85% done with the project!
Here are some pictures. B doesn't want me to show too many pictures that will give away the final look, so this is what you get!
We have had our ups and downs with things going according to plan, and then not. It took 6 weeks for our tub to finally get here, when it did, we discovered that the air pipe was on the wrong side of the tub, and they had already laid the tile on the floor. Thankfully, the tile guys popped that tile up and you couldn't even tell that the air pipe had been there. It took two guys 125 hours to lay all the tile, but it looks amazing and was well worth spending a week at my parents house and not having B do it all! The crown molding took 5 hours to do - and we only messed up one piece (not bad for the two of us who have never done crown - oh and if your thinking of doing it - hire some one....it's a pain!) The doors and trim have all gone from oak to painted gloss white, the brass fixtures are gone and have been replaced with polished nickel or chrome....things are coming together and our year of planning is finally coming to light...it looks amazing and I can't wait to show you the final product!
Here are some pictures. B doesn't want me to show too many pictures that will give away the final look, so this is what you get!
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| Shower pan installed - so pretty and CLEAN |
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| Getting ready for shower pan |
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| Time for paint! This was my job |
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| Installing Crown Molding - NOT FUN! |
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| Finished Crown - Looks beautiful - NOT FUN INSTALLING! |
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| Mosaic tile being installed |
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| Wall tile with mosaic installed - so pretty! |
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| The long awaited tub!!! |
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| Floor Tile being installed |
We have had our ups and downs with things going according to plan, and then not. It took 6 weeks for our tub to finally get here, when it did, we discovered that the air pipe was on the wrong side of the tub, and they had already laid the tile on the floor. Thankfully, the tile guys popped that tile up and you couldn't even tell that the air pipe had been there. It took two guys 125 hours to lay all the tile, but it looks amazing and was well worth spending a week at my parents house and not having B do it all! The crown molding took 5 hours to do - and we only messed up one piece (not bad for the two of us who have never done crown - oh and if your thinking of doing it - hire some one....it's a pain!) The doors and trim have all gone from oak to painted gloss white, the brass fixtures are gone and have been replaced with polished nickel or chrome....things are coming together and our year of planning is finally coming to light...it looks amazing and I can't wait to show you the final product!
Monday, January 10, 2011
Ahhh.....to be a 1 1/2 year old!
I am always fascinated by my children. They find new ways to play the same games, their imaginations are endless, and they find some things funnier than others. I love, absolutely LOVE it when my children belly laugh...that deep down, pure joy, you can tell that they are laughing from the depths of their bellies laugh. Byron and I caught Carter in one of his belly laughs this weekend.
It was snowing outside and the kids were going insane in the house. I couldn't take it anymore, so I suited them up in their snow suits and we all headed outside.
Haylee wanted to have a snowball fight, so I was making snowballs for her when I decided to throw one at her stomach area. Carter saw, and started cracking up. I then started throwing them at him, and well, see the videos for yourself! I was laughing so hard I had tears in my eyes!
It was snowing outside and the kids were going insane in the house. I couldn't take it anymore, so I suited them up in their snow suits and we all headed outside.
Haylee wanted to have a snowball fight, so I was making snowballs for her when I decided to throw one at her stomach area. Carter saw, and started cracking up. I then started throwing them at him, and well, see the videos for yourself! I was laughing so hard I had tears in my eyes!
Here is another one!
So cute and so much fun! I love my kids and how much fun they are!!!
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Where's The Snow!?
Up until December 30th, we had NO SNOW! It was a brown and fairly warm Christmas. So the weekend before Christmas, because there was no snow at our house, and our bathroom and house were chaotic and messy, my mom asked me if I wanted to get out of town with the kids for the weekend. I jumped at the chance to get my kids out of the house and into a new environment.
We headed up Friday after work and stayed until Sunday mid-day. Technically this wasn't Carter's first time seeing snow, but the last time he saw snow was when he was 4 months old, and he didn't really do much. This time, we had a new snow suit, boots and let the kids have fun in the snow. It snowed over a foot in 24 hours! It was so peaceful to be up in the mountains where the big fat snow flakes were falling, no wind in the air, and the only noise to be heard was the laughter of my children as they went sledding. I wish that Byron could have been there with us because I know that he could have used the escape; other than him not being there, it was a great weekend.
At first Carter wasn't so sure about the snow suit or the snow, and he would just stand with his arms bent in the air. Eventually he got to the point where he would toddle around and smile and have fun with the snow. Haylee - little miss daredevil...she would only let me sled with her twice before she was asking to go down by herself. She has no fear, and didn't cry all that much when she went flying off the side of the sled slope and landed in two feet of powder!
We headed up Friday after work and stayed until Sunday mid-day. Technically this wasn't Carter's first time seeing snow, but the last time he saw snow was when he was 4 months old, and he didn't really do much. This time, we had a new snow suit, boots and let the kids have fun in the snow. It snowed over a foot in 24 hours! It was so peaceful to be up in the mountains where the big fat snow flakes were falling, no wind in the air, and the only noise to be heard was the laughter of my children as they went sledding. I wish that Byron could have been there with us because I know that he could have used the escape; other than him not being there, it was a great weekend.
At first Carter wasn't so sure about the snow suit or the snow, and he would just stand with his arms bent in the air. Eventually he got to the point where he would toddle around and smile and have fun with the snow. Haylee - little miss daredevil...she would only let me sled with her twice before she was asking to go down by herself. She has no fear, and didn't cry all that much when she went flying off the side of the sled slope and landed in two feet of powder!
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| Standing on the back deck. |
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| Carter not so sure about the snow! |
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| Beautiful Snow Angel |
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| Go Carter Go! |
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| Haylee was going so fast! |
These are some of my favorite pictures of the kids!
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