WASHINGTON D.C.

Wow! What an awesome trip this has been! We have had so much fun! I'm actually still here, in Washington D.C. as I post, but Brett and our friends went down to the hot tub. And I don't really care to soak in boiling hot water, so I opted to stay up in our room and do some blogging before we come home! Washington D.C. is amazing! There is so much to do in this little city. Really, it is so small, but there is just so much of everything, everywhere!

First I have to start off by thanking my wonderful parents! We couldn't have gone on this trip if it wasn't for their love and support. This was just a trip for Brett and I-- he had a medical conference for a few days, and then the rest of the days were going to be dedicated to seeing and doing all that we could see! My mom volunteered right from the beginning to watch our kids the whole 8 days we were gone. She even arranged her whole piano schedule around it all. The kids were super excited about it all, and she was excited too! Little did we know (this was in November) that in March I would have 1 brother going on a mission to Chicago North, spanish speaking; 1 sister going on a mission to San Jose, California, spanish speaking; and 1 brother getting married on March 28 (the week after this trip)!!!! All of these things happened after the trip had been planned. Mom and I were nervous about it all-- she still had so much to do, plus, the kids are still in school, she was going to be staying out at our house, away from everything. But, she made the best of it (except for the cell phone in our toilet) and had a great time with the kids. The kids just loved having grandma there with them. They couldn't believe that she was there with them day after day.
Also, thank you to Marla (Brett's mom) who took the kids for the last few days so my mom could get ready for the wedding and tie up any loose ends. I know they have been thilled to be with Grandma Marla, too! Thank you, mom's!!! You are both so wonderful and we love you so much for helping our family! Brett and I have had a GREAT time!

So, with that said, let's get back to the trip. The weird thing about Washington D.C. is that the city and it's buildings it that some parts are so nice and very contemporary, yet others are old, trashy, junky and sometimes scary. There are huge, high-rise condo's and hotels going up everywhere that are very posh and sleek looking. Then right next to these condo's and hotels are these run down old buildings and restaurants and businesses. It's really weird. Our friends have a great view of the city from their room and can even seen the Washington mounment from their room. This is the view from our room.
Isn't that just beautiful? When were were home, we just kept the blinds closed most of the time. Anyway, a very interesting city.


We rode the Metro (the city subway) around everywhere. This is the most complex subway system I've ever seen! You go underground and there are 3 levels of trains down there! They go to all different parts of the city and really are so convenient. Once you figure out the system and how everything works, the Metro is great! But, people are not very patient with tourists and no one was very helpful, but we finally figured it out. Anyway, we have a ton of pictures and I'm going to post them all.

This is our first picture we took in Washington D.C. We had just left our hotel and were walking to the metro station. Right in the middle of the city is this huge arch from China, called "The Friendship Arch." This arch was erected to celebrate friendship with Washington's sister city of Beijing. According to the plaque next to the arch, it is the largest such archway in the world. Anyway, if you look closely, under the dark brown building on the left-hand side of the picture you can see a group of people dressed in black gathering. This was right infront of the Metro station we had to go to. I'm not sure what the name of this group is- but it was something akin to the Black Panthers. They did not like the 'white-man' at all. We walked over there and the only thing I heard them yelling was, "Where ever the white man goes, he brings with him, death and destruction!" That was enough to scare me a little. Luckily, we did not see them the rest of our trip. We just loved the arch, though. What a neat thing to be in the middle of the city!

More Race Pictures

The official photographers from the race sent these to me. I liked them a little better than that other harfy one I posted earlier. These are of me and Amy after she crossed the finish line!

Am I CRAZY?

Guess what I just signed up to do?

Notice it does say MARATHON.....not 1/2 marathon. I think I am crazy. Any training tips will be greatly appreciated!!!!!!

THE RACE!

All right, friends. Look at this picture. I have to be totally honest with you. I almost didn't post it. I look absolutely hideous! Seriously! But, then I thought, how should I expect myself to look after running 13.1 miles? Oh well, at least I am standing and have a smile on my face, right? This is me with my sweetie, Brett and my SIL Amz. This was Amy's first 1/2 Marathon ever. Amz has a 10 month old (her 5th) and she only trained for 2 months. She hasn't ran since her Jr. Olympic days in Jr. High. So, it's been a long while for her! Anyway, she finished and I was so proud of her despite her injuries and temptations to only run the 5 mile race-- she pushed through and did the whole thing! I was so proud of her!

Anyway, this was a great race for Brett and I. I felt GREAT the first 7 miles. I was even running a sub-10 minute mile. The scenery was gorgeous and the air was crisp and I was feeling good. Brett and I were having a great old time people watching and just chatting. By the way, Brett is so good to stay with me during our races. He could go much faster, and finish sooner but always opts to stay with me because, he says, that is why he is running, to be with me. Isn't he sweet?! I'm so glad he enjoys running too, it's a great thing for both of us. Anyway, at this point in the race, I decided to take a shot of "GU". If any of you are not familiar with this substance, it is just what is sounds like: gu. It's this jelly/jam-like substance that is "specifically formulated to energize your body during exercise. Using GU during your regular workouts will keep your mind alert and active, and your muscles going strong. GU Energy Gel contains the optimal balance of carbohydrates for the body during exercise to deliver a quick rise in blood sugar and maintain that glucose level for up to 45 minutes during exercise. GU also contains essential amino acids, anti-oxidants, muscle buffers and herbs." Anyway, I don't know why, but I decided to take a few swallows of this stuff. I never train with it, and never really use it at all, so I don't know what possessed me to eat it, but at the time it seemed like a swell idea. About 10 minutes after I took this stuff I started feeling yucky. I felt like I had rock the size of my fist in my stomach. I had to slow down a little bit and for the rest of the race I felt that rock in my tummy. I don't know if it was just because I don't train with the stuff or what, but I will never take this stuff again, and I will not be taking any sponsor offers from Clif! :o)

Needless to say, we did finish in 2 hours 11 minutes! And, a whole 5 minutes faster than my time last year! So, I was happy with that.

This is a picture of the back drop for about 11 miles of the race. This picture was not taken this year. This year it was cold and the sky was gray, but you get the idea of the red cliffs and walls that surround you as you run through the canyon.

This is not a picture of me, but you get another idea of the scenery.

This was a great race overall! I only came away with 1 injury.......I think I'm going to lose 2 of my toenails from running!!! I know, gross! Brett says not to worry, that it's pretty common for runners!! So common, that I found a toenail necklace made by a ultra-marathon runner. Click here for photo, if you dare! Anyway, I can't have missing toenails!! That just wont do! Especially since we're coming up on flip-flop weather! I am so bummed!I 'm hoping they'll stay on! I'll keep you posted. Well, not literally. I don't think I'll post a picture of my foot with 2 toenails missing. I'll just write about it.

Arches

What a fun trip this was! Our family took a little adventure trip down to Moab this past weekend, not only for the Moab 1/2 Marathon, but for some FABULOUS site-seeing. We had so much fun! Brett's whole family came with us-- all his siblings and their families, except Steve, were there. And the best cheerleader of all, Marla, (Brett's dear mom) came too. Total, we had about 30 people. It was a riot! We left later in the afternoon on Thursday, and stayed at a hotel in Green River that had a pool. That was the ONLY reason we decided to go on Thursday and the only reason we stayed in Green River, Utah-- the pool. Well, we were sorely disappointed! The pool wasn't even heated! The river would have been just as well! We spent most of the time in the hot tub and then went up to play Guitar Hero and the kids played Game Cube. They were in 7th heaven! After we met up with the rest of the fam on Friday morning, we headed into Moab and went to our first stop, Arches. This place is seriously amazing. It is just breath-taking. The pictures above and below are of us at the trail head of Double Arch and right at the Double Arch. It is incredible.







The kids had a BLAST climbing and exploring all over in this wonderland. There were little caves and lots of heights for them to conquer. Some of them made this mama a little nervous, but overall, I did ok.

Here we are at Landscape Arch. Landscape Arch is in the Devils Garden section of Arches National Park. It has the greatest span of any natural arch so far documented and is unquestionably one of the world's greatest wonders. Landscape Arch is an arc natural arch eroded in Entrada sandstone. Arc natural arches are considered old and near the end of their lifecycle. It is hard to believe that a piece of rock like this can exist. In its thinnest section the arch is only 6 feet thick, yet it supports a span of rock 290 feet long. Indeed, this arch could collapse at any time: any day, any year, any decade, or any century. On September 1, 1991, a 73-foot slab of rock fell out from underneath the thinnest section of the span. The rock that fell was probably not structurally important to the arch. In fact, by reducing the weight of suspended rock, the arch is probably now stronger. (This info taken off the naturalarches.org website).

Here are the kids with their Rushes t-shirts on (perfect for the race) infront of Delicate Arch. The famous arch that is on the Utah license plate. What sweet kids and what a sweet view!

Goblin Valley

This place is a little known gem called, Goblin Valley. Goblin Valley State Park is located in Emery County between the towns of Green River and Hanksville. Wind and water have carved fantastic and unique goblin-like sculptures out of rock, creating an outdoor playground that inspires the imagination. We probably spent 4 hours here, hiking, climbing and exploring. This is a must see if you are ever in this area.

Connor holding on for dear life!

Me, striking a pose. Just a note- this seemed a lot higher to me than it looks in this picture. I had so much fun climbing around and exploring. I couldn't help myself climbing all over just like the kids. I love this kind of stuff.

McKay and Makenna in their "secret house."

Me talking with Michael.

Connor hiking with Tanner

McKay atop a hill he was so proud to get to the top of.

Cabela's

Last Friday night, Brett had to work. The kids and I were feeling a little stir-crazy, so we decided to go to Cabela's. If you have never been, you have got to go (unless you're Amz). Anyway, my kids LOVE this place. There is a huge fish aquarium, tons and tons of taxidermy'd (?) animals, and the kids favorite-- a shooting range. When you walk in, someone is usually standing there, handing out free tokens. It's kind of like going to a museum, all for free. We had a good time and it passed the time away until my sweetie came home. We had a great time!

McKay and Makenna infront of the huge aquarium


All the kids with a huge, stuffed moose!