Nils and Katrina do 13.1... again

Remember last time we did this, and I wanted to quit the last mile (but I didn't, by golly), but then when it was over I wanted to do it again and see if I could figure out how to not want to quit the last mile? You do? Aw, how sweet of you.

We ran the Utah Valley Half Marathon on Saturday. It is a fab race. I use the term "race" loosely, since I don't hope to beat anyone. 7 miles down beautiful Provo Canyon, then six down University Ave. in Provo- pretty nostalgic for li'l ol' me. The weather was perfect, it was shady for 99% of the canyon run, and even running down University was pleasant because of the cool, but not cold temperatures. 

Facts:

• We beat our last time by over 2 minutes. Hoorah!
• At mile 10, my quads started to cramp and charly horse. I really felt good besides that, so I prayed for the last 3 miles. I prayed and prayed that I would be able to keep going and my legs wouldn't knot up. They had spasms the rest of the way, but didn't knot up. Overall, I felt waaaaaay better than last time, I just have to figure out all of these little annoyances that slow me down.
• Gu does not give me a stomach ache! Hoorah!
• Nils felt awesome the whole way. So awesome that when we got home, he signed up for the Deseret News MARATHON on July 24. I will not be participating with him.
• It's dorky to wear your race shirt on race day, but seriously, I'm not going to wear it around town so I don't really get that. Anyway, we're dorky so whatever.
• Nils is nice and runs slow with me, so I'll be curious to see how fast he runs the marathon.
• As we were getting close to the finish line, all these people were cheering like crazy, because the winner of the marathon was coming right by us. It feels good to get lapped by 13.1 miles. No it doesn't, that guy is a FREAK! But really, ya know, good for him.
• I was sick all week with the stomach flu, and Friday night I was cursing myself and my lack of intelligence in doing this stupid thing, having to wake up at 3 in the morning, etc. Why is this sort of thing appealing? Why? Anyway, I didn't want to NOT do it, because I paid 70 bucks to torture myself and roped Nils and my friend Jenny into it. So lame. 

Okay, so overall I'm pretty pleased with how it went. I really felt like complete crap all week, and I didn't do very well training for it. The longest run I did was like 8 1/2 miles, so the fact that I felt stronger and beat the last time is pretty swell. And yeah, I want to do it again, but I really can't figure out why. 

This race is really awesome. It was very well organized and the course could not be better. I recommend it to anyone who is interested in this sort of nonsense.

Right before the start. I like to call this, "We got three hours of sleep and we're idiots!"

Don't know what's going on with my hand, but I was semi-delirious, so I need to not be judged.

Mr. "I don't need to train for a marathon." Unbelievable. 

I get weepy for teachers

Ah yes, another school year has drawn to a close. My goodness, I can hardly believe it. This year has been just plain fantastic. The last couple of weeks of school I kept feeling all weepy and gratitude-filled. Anders and Addie both had teachers who went above and beyond, and I just can't get over it. The time and energy it takes to simply show up and teach every day is astounding, but these teachers obviously spend countless hours outside of school planning, preparing, and investing personally in each of their students for no extra money. Man, it makes me weepy just thinking about it. Thank you to these wonderful teachers, for helping my kids love school and love learning. What a gift they give.

Addie and Mrs. Richins, who sent Addie a postcard during Christmas break, and then dropped by our house the day after school got out to bring Addie her pumpkin plant...I could go on. Seriously, I love her.

Anders with his last day of school mohawk, and Mrs. Burgon with her last day of school colored hair. I don't even think they coordinated that- what a pair! She is the kind of teacher that every child would have in a perfect world.  I can't say enough!

 Here is Aani's preschool class. They're so freaking cute, I can't even handle it.

Off to kindergarten next year. WHAT?!

Now we just have to figure out how to stay happy and busy for the summer! So far the kids have art camp and karate during June. All I can say is they better have their black belts by the end of the month, or I'm demanding a refund from those community ed people. Word 'em up.

The Day I Met My Internet Friend

Over 4 years ago, I met Mary Ann, from Rochester, NY through ye olde blog. She left a nice comment on a post I had written about one of the best books ever written, These Is My Words. I figured that if she liked that book, she had to be a nice person. So we've become friends via blogging for the past few years. Pretty cool, right? She called me a few months ago and told me she was coming to Salt Lake to go to the Family History Library, but I know the REAL reason she came was so we could meet and spend a day together. Tee-hee!

She agreed to let me pick her up in Salt Lake and drive her all over tarnation. I mean, what if I were a psychopath? I picked her up and we went to church. Then she had the guts to go to my mom's house for a Vander Werff family dinner. Wow, what a gal! I have to say, she is one of the nicest, loveliest people I know. I felt totally comfortable with her, like we've been friends for years and years. We chatted away in the car; actually, I'm pretty sure I just blabbed my head off the whole time. Nils and the kidders took to her right away and were sad when I had to drop her off that evening. It was a fun day that went by in a flash.

Thank you, Mary Ann, for trusting that I wasn't a sociopath and spending a lovely day with our crazy family! We look forward to seeing you again and again.