Here, there and everywhere

Well, the daily updates have not been happening. Surprise, surprise (:

Below is a quick photo update from our spring travels. In March, we took a couple's golf trip with neighbor friends to Cabo San Lucas. We stayed at Dreams Los Cabos, an all-inclusive resort. The golfing was beautiful, weather was perfect and time with hubby priceless.

Over Memorial Weekend, we got away for a few days to Las Vegas with several other couples, including my bestie in Atlanta - Amanda. We had a blast hanging by the pool, trying our hand at the cards and checking out some great restaurants. 

The weekend after Vegas, I flew back east to join my girlfriends from high school for our 6th annual Girls Beach Trip. They picked me up in Atlanta and we headed down to the Redneck Riviera - Panama City Beach! Good times were had by all before it was time to head home and settle into our summer.

I know, I know, you are probably wondering where the children come into play with these travels. Well, they didn't, but don't feel too sorry for them. We have plans to head to Aspen over Labor Day Weekend and we are all super excited for our big family trip this Thanksgiving. We are taking them on the Norwegian Epic cruise, where we will sail to St. Maarten, St. Thomas and Nassau. Until then, we plan to enjoy the beautiful summer weather here in Colorado doing all the outdoor activities that we love so much, swimming, biking, running, hiking and golfing!

Sunset cruise in Cabo San Lucas

Golf course view in Cabo

Pool side post golf

This is the life!

Vegas with Friends!

Girls Beach Trip 2011

Rockin' and Rollin' Vegas Style

You see it all in Las Vegas! And the Las Vegas Rock 'n Roll Marathon was no exception. From run-through wedding chapels to running Elvis', we saw a little bit of everything. I'm pretty sure we saw quite a few people who had not been to bed from the night before, as we were heading out to run 26.2. I had to laugh because I've been there, done that!

The weekend started with me and my little Camryn heading off to the airport fairly early Saturday morning. We arrived in Vegas ahead of the rest of my group so I could get her situated with Nanna and Pappa before meeting up with everyone. Once she was settled, I headed over the Expo to browse and sample while I awaited the arrival of the Beans. Expo was great, lots of great vendors to peruse! Once the Beans showed up, we headed back to our hotel - New York/New York - to get checked into our rooms and freshen up for dinner. I had booked reservations for this fabulous restaurant I'd been to with my in-laws, Ferraros. The pasta is made fresh and service/atmosphere are top-rated. Our party of 11 loaded up for the big race we would be running the next morning.

Sunday morning came earlier than I had planned. I think we got to bed around 10:30, it was hard to quiet down two adjoining rooms with seven giggly ladies! I started to wake up around 3:45 and forced myself in and out of sleep for the next hour. By 4:45, I was anxious to get up and get the show on the road. Dressing was a bit of a debate, since the forecast was to be below freezing at the start and only get into the low 40's by finish. We decided on shorts, with our cool Got Vegas? shirts, plus a pullover and gloves we could ditch on the course. Our plan was to be in the lobby by 5:30, I think we made it down by 5:45, only 30 minutes before race time. We walked less than a mile from our hotel to the race start, checked bags, hit the potty and got in our waves.

And we waited. And waited. The music was going, fireworks were blasting. We were inching up to the start. Finally, about 20 minutes after the first wave, we were off. Mandy and I planned to run together, with three goals in mind. Definitely break 4:20 (which would be a 30 minute marathon PR for me), possibly break 4:00, and anything under that would just be icing on the cake. First 10k flew by. We were enjoying the crowds, bands, sights - and pacing at 8:49. The pace felt perfect, not fast, just a fun, easy run. We were taking our walk/water breaks at every mile, thankful we had carried our fuel belts. The next 4 miles went pretty much the same. We were starting to warm up, and by this point, both of us had taken off our overshirts. Mandy ditched hers, while I decided to just tie mine, in case I got cold again. Ended up being a good call at the finish line since we couldn't find our friends with our check-bag and it was FREEZING.

The next few miles, we cooled our jets a little bit and tried to stay relaxed and settled in our pace but still keeping a decent clip. At mile 17, I was feeling great! I honestly felt like I could run forever. I could tell my legs were well rested from the taper and my mind was calm. Mandy had struggled with potty stops and then sprints to catch up with me. I tried to keep chugging along without going too fast and losing her. I knew I had to keep moving though because when I stop, that's when my bowels decide they need to get busy. I was excited to pass mile 18, because I knew I would soon see Camryn with Nanna and Pappa. They were waiting at one of the gates into their neighborhood that we ran right by. There they were! I waved, they cheered me on.

And then, I started to feel my feet. Ugh, my feet. I was trying to just get past mile 19, where we turned around and soon hit mile 20 with only a 10k to go. At this point, Mandy's second wind kicked in. She was feeling better and ready to keep me lifted up for the remainder of the marathon. Once my feet started to kill me though, it got in my head and I started to doubt myself. I took extra walk breaks, but when we hit mile 20 at 3:04:18, we knew we would conquer this beast, so we just tried to enjoy the emotions. I felt on the verge of tears, Mandy had already cried and we just kept pushing to the finish. We crossed the finish line, holding hands, at 4:06:37.

I was so happy to be finished, it was emotional! Coming off of last year's flop in Atlanta, where I barely finished under 5:00 on an injury, I couldn't have been more pleased to get a full marathon training cycle under my belt - with NO injuries. My legs were tired after the race and needed some good stretching. I DO need to figure out what is going on with my foot. My toes were going numb during the race and afterwards, my big and second toes stayed numb for two days afterwards. But, I'm already trying to decide what marathon I want to run next year!

The remainder of the weekend was also a blast! On Sunday, after cleaning up and getting some rest, we grabbed some dinner and saw La Reve at The Wynn. Monday morning, we all hit the spa. Most of the ladies had massages, but I opted for the pedicure. I've been neglecting my poor feet since it's winter so it felt great to get them cleaned up, massaged and made pretty again. After my pedi, I hit the pai gow poker tables for a bit before we all got ready to go out. We had a limo pick us up and take us VIP bowling at Red Rocks Casino. One of the girls had a sweet hook-up, so we got to bowl, dance, drink and eat for free. It was the most fun I've ever had bowling, EVER. Once I get pictures from that night, I'll post a few. We got to bed around 2:30am, way past my bed time. Luckily, we could all sleep in the next morning before heading home.

One more thing to leave you with. I don't know that I will ever run another marathon.....without super-duper cool shirts. I can't express my thanks enough to Kathleen for making our shirts for us. We had SO many cheers for Lindsey and Morgan along the course. And, even at the finish line, as you can see from our finish line clip.  http://las-vegas.competitor.com/features/finishreplay/ - search Lindsey.

Where dreams come true

Magical. Yep, that sums up our vacation. Aside from being a little tired on our first day at Magic Kingdom, we had an absolutely wonderful trip! I'm so happy we grasped this window of opportunity to take the girls at their current ages - 3 & 5, seemed to be perfect timing. It was also nice to get the trip in after spring breaks and before summer breaks. Since Emma starts school this fall, this was our last chance to take advantage of scheduling around school breaks. Although, I'm sure Disney is never "dead", the lines were not bad at all, as we could see from the expanded line queuing that was NOT in use while we were there. The weather was beautiful during our entire visit - mid 80's, light breeze, lots of sunshine!

Day 1 was spent covering part of Magic Kingdom. We got to see Mickey and Minnie, Cinderella, Aurora and Belle. Rode the teacups, bumper cars (Camryn is a crazy driver), Goofy's roller coaster, It's a Small World. Since we stayed at a resort off Disney grounds, and did not rent a car, it was not convenient to travel back to our condo for naps ~ so we ran the girls until they just couldn't go any longer. We all crashed early that night!

Day 2, we're headed to Sea World! Everyone woke up refreshed and ready for a full day. The girls could not stop talking about seeing Shamu, and they were not disappointed. Emma rode the big Atlantis water ride with Daddy and we all played on the smaller rides after taking in the animal exhibits. We got to two shows, the dolphin show and Shamu show - both were superb! Everyone had enough energy left at the end of the day to hit the resort swimming pool for a little bit before dinner. Our kids are very typical from what I hear from other parents ~ we could have stayed in town at a hotel with a swimming pool and they would have been just as happy!

Day 3, finish up Magic Kingdom. When I booked this trip, I knew it would take two full days for our little people to make it all the way through Magic Kingdom and I was right on the money. Upon our arrival on Friday morning (which was a little more crowded than Wednesday), we went straight to Ariel's Grotto so we could see her before the mad rush of the day. She was our last character to see. After that, we explored Tom Sawyer's Island, my big girl rode Thunder Mountain roller coaster with Daddy, we took the Safari Boat ride and hit a few other rides. The day finished up with our mouse ears purchases and we were headed back to the resort for another short round of swimming.

Day 4, final day in Orlando. We purposely planned this as a no parks day. One day to play at the pool, feed the ducks, take naps, and rest up before heading home. We also got to pet a decent sized turtle that had wandered from one of the little lakes on the resort grounds, fun stuff for the girlies. The girls swam for 5 hours straight - from breakfast to late lunch, when we eventually had to drag them out to eat and a rest. Little fishies.

Wonderful, wonderful vacation. All of our pictures are now up for the months of March and April, so feel free to browse. Now we have just two weeks to get normal life situated before our next travels. Looking forward to seeing friends and family in Georgia. And very grateful we don't have a trip planned to Mexico any time in the near future - craziness with this swine flu! One of my coworkers was supposed to leave this weekend for a trip her husband had earned at work and they just re-booked to head to Jamaica instead. Scary stuff, definitely wouldn't want to be taking children down there right now.

Girls just wanna have fun

And that's exactly what we did! Girls Beach Trip '08 was F.U.N. Yes, that's a boy you see below. That's our token 9th member of the posse. Dale has always wanted to be one of the girls and managed to find his way down to Myrtle to hang out with us a bit!

Highlights of GBT '08:

• Dueling piano bar at Broadway. Sandi danced on stage, they served jello shooters in huge plastic syringes and 80's music!


• Official beach trip shirts (worn above) that Leigh Ann monogrammed for us. Fabulous!


• Weather, it was beautiful every day. The beach was hopping.


• VIP treatment at Senor Frogs. Not sure how we swung that one, possibly Nichole's rack (she's the tall blonde)? We were hanging out at Fat Tuesday's and some guy invited us all, which meant no line to stand in, no cover charge, reserved area seating and free drinks all night. We were the only group in VIP, rock on!


• Speeding ticket on the way home, ouch! The state patrol just wasn't willing to cut 8 women some slack.


• Most of all - Wonderful friends!!

I miss these ladies so much. Of course, their solution is for me and family to just move back to Georgia, but I just don't think that is going to happen. We love our life out west, so maybe I can convince all the ladies here - haha! Ah well, 'til next year.....we are talking about trying a new destination, possibly a 4 day Mexico cruise.

Tried to load a slideshow of my favorite pictures (we took over 500!) but it didn't quite work. Anyone know a nifty way to share slideshows? Put a new album up to the right, check it out!

Where in the world?

This map Nancy's blog caught my eye. Brian and I were counting our "states" on Emma's puzzle map this week. Started to complete one for the whole world but it looked pretty sparse. I haven't really done much international travel. Overseas once to France, other than that, Mexico, Canada and lots of the surrounding Islands. Hope to keep filling that one up though, starting with our trip this summer!

I've made some rounds in the states though. Thanks to being born and living 10+ years in Texas, living 10+ years in Georgia and now working on 10 years in Colorado. Looks like we need to hit the Dakotas, which is on our list of road trips with the kiddos. We've also been wanting to get up to Coeur D Alene, Idaho, that will take care of a few more for me!

http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/map.php

Journeys of a thousand miles

With our year winding to an end and travels complete, it's time to revisit the places we have been this year and look forward to where the beaten path will lead us next.

Family trips!

We managed to get in three flights with both girls this year. Camryn has one more free flight in her, which we'll be taking in January before she turns 2. After that flying with 4 will become a little more pricey but rest assured, that won't keep us grounded.

This year, the family headed to Keystone in February for some winter-weather fun, Topeka in March for my grandfather's 90th birthday, warm-weather Phoenix for Easter with family, Seattle/Vancouver in July to visit with friends, Aspen in September for a family wedding and Mexico in November for our week-long family vacation. After Mexico, Emma was ready for our next trip so now she has visiting Nanna and Pappa in January in sight!

Girl trips! Brian and I both try to get away at least once during the year with our friends. This year, it was more like two escapes for both of us. Vegas was the ladies destination in January, where I got to have some fun with some mommy friends and then Myrtle Beach in June with seven of my high school buddies. Both trips were so much fun!

Guy trips! The boys had a really big trip this year. Brian's college buddies do a golf trip every year and being that this year was their 10 year golf trip anniversary, they headed to Scotland to play on some of the oldest courses. I never posted any of his pictures, so here are a few. There is also a group of friends that try to get to Vegas at least every other year for March Madness, so he got his Vegas trip in as well!

Couple (no kids) trips! We were able to get away a couple of times this year for some quality couple time. Early in the year, we got a night away to Denver to watch Georgia Tech play in our bowl game with the Denver alumni club, then headed to a nice dinner and hotel stay. May was our annual trip up to Boulder for an overnight stay and the Bolder Boulder 10k the next day. And Labor Day weekend, we jetted off to Chicago for a weekend that included watching GT vs. Notre Dame football (Go Tech!) and Cubs baseball. We already have some fun things in mind for next year, including a January trip to Vegas (girls will go but stay with Nanna/Pappa) and our 10 year anniversary trip.

We are still putting together our plans for next year, but here are some things we are tossing around: definite trip to Vegas next month, Julie trip to Atlanta in March, Brian golf trip to Mississippi - early May, Bolder Boulder getaway in May, Julie's beach trip - summer, Anniversary trip - August, family vacation (possibly back east). Look for more as our plans evolve, but it's sure to be another great travel year!

Unsung Heroes

Single parents! A big shout out to ya, 'cause I honestly don't know how you do it. Same to those dealing with a deployed spouse or a spouse that travels frequently for work - you have all my respect. It is HARD.

Yup, I'm ready for Brian to get home. It's only been three days and we have three more to go. Thankfully, one of my best friends from college, Debbie, and her family are getting into town this weekend for a visit. It will be really nice to have the company.

Back to missing my hubby - man, it's got me in the dumps tonight. He's having a great time in Scotland, playing the links but he calls and emails every day saying how much he misses us. I'm missing my morning workouts, that has me blue too. I sleep better when I'm exercising and when he's home. I eat better. I'm less stressed. The last time we went this long apart was over seven years ago when he had to move a month ahead of me out to CO. It's way harder this time around, especially with the kiddos.

Looking forward to Sunday....

Late Night Babble

Good news for me: I get to go to Myrtle Beach next month to hang with my girl friends for four days.

Even Better news for Brian: He gets to go to Scotland for a week to golf with his guy friends!

It's only fair, right? I have to be nice, since I promised him tonight that I wouldn't be bitter about him going. (psst, so I'll discreetly complain to Jennifer next time we run). But when are my lady friends going to plan a European trip?? (Bueller? Anyone?)

We just decided this week, with the trip a month away, that Brian would head to Scotland for the annual guy's golf gathering. They go somewhere every year - this is the first time overseas - and Brian has not attended the past several years. Originally, wives were going to attend and we didn't think we could swing both of us going right now and leaving the girls behind. But the wives bailed, so now that it is just down to the guys, we can manage.

And last before I head off to slumber, a picture of me and Amanda last week :)

You can take the girl out of the South

But you definitely can't take the South out of the girl! Nice visit in Atlanta this week. I had an opportunity to attend work meetings for a few days - and jumped at it. Brian was onto me though, he knew it was going to be more of a "vacation", since I would make time for visiting with old friends (oh, and a little shopping mixed in there too!). I miss spring time in the South. Everything is so green and lush. It's humid as heck - don't miss that - but it's warm and beautiful this time of the year. Don't be looking for us to be moving back any time soon, I love where we live now, but there will always be things I miss about the old stomping grounds.

Anyway, didn't start this post to ramble on about spring down South. Now that she's shared the news, I can post about it as well. While in Atlanta, I had a delicious dinner with my dear old friend Amanda. Her new home is lovely. Anyone that knows the architecture in the South knows what I'm talking about - crown molding, big sitting porch out back (rocking chair included), wainscoting, plantation shutters - it's beautiful! But.....the best part of the visit - finding out Amanda is joining me in the world of motherhood - yay! Very exciting news!!

Night before was spent having a late dinner with another friend in town - Dale. We've known each other since the 8th grade, when he used to coordinate his polo shirts and matching socks, oh- and don't forget the polo shoes to go with. I kid him about this all the time, so it's ok to say here - he can always throw the big hair back at me and make fun of me for confusing the words conjugating and congregating, I once said "haha, we are conjugating in the parking lot". I love Dale, he's a true friend that I'll always stay in touch with. Dinner was fabulous, we hit an old restaurant that Brian and I used to go to when we lived in the area, and I got to meet Dale's friend, Perry. I was hoping to have pictures from both visits but since I didn't have my camera, I'm dependent on folks sending them to me, so maybe they'll come later (hint, hint).

Check out the latest book list, I decided to add an "optional" read into my list since book club has a wider time gap in between meetings this time around. Picked up the latest in the airport and it's been a fun read so far! I need to go back and look up some of the references the author makes to other books/authors since she does this a lot.

That's all for now - hope everyone is having a fab week!