"mini"

Growing up I remember my mom taking us to watch & cheer for my dad at his "mini" marathons...I absolutely luved it! We would "scout" the route & go to a couple different spots to cheer him on & I remember my mom with that BIG vhs camcorder on her shoulder recording it while all five of us tagged along for the ride! I always wished I could have run a "mini" (1/2) marathon with him, like my sister Amy did. In this picture he won the raffle after the race & received $100...he used it to buy a swing set for us. My dad use to "urge" (some might say force...) me & my sisters to run to stay in shape for sports & for health. While I strongly disliked it when I was younger (crying about it, fighting him on it)...he persisted and thus we became runners. As I've gotten older, it has become a major outlet and strength to me...it's helped me get back into shape after having my baby girls but it has come to mean more than that to me and I never feel better than after a nice run. I'm extremely grateful for a dad who "urged"...for those who don't know my dad, some might say he was a little "too" persistent & while most parents would get sick of trying to support their kids when they were so not-willing or those parents that preferred to spend their time at the country club or on cruises...my dad was always there, pushing me, teaching me, and loving me. And I'm sure he knew that one day I would be very grateful for it, and I am. I love that my girls see me running... they "pretend to go running like mommy" and I hope someday I can run some "mini's" with them!

This morning I just finished a half ("mini") marathon in the backcountry of Highlands Ranch...it was my six month goal after having Jillian. It was a trailrun, 30 degrees, very hilly, but FUN to be running with my friend Heather! While I am a very average runner (Savannah asked me last night "so are you gonna win or what???"), I luv the chance it gives me to think, evaluate, plan, reflect, rejuvenate...today I was thinking alot about jillian...my dad...and that hundred dollar bill. *cami

Heather just started running 4 months ago!
We had some great runs together this fall!

My little Jilly bean...where have the past SIX months gone...

My biggest fans...thanks Cam for watching the girls so much for me while I trained...wished you were on the trail with me!

royalty...

this past weekend my sweet friend janae came to visit me from arizona...it was so great to have her here! she flew in on friday and we had lunch at jimmy john's and just ran errands...that night we drove downtown & picked up J-Ru's yummy middle eastern food and met cam at the hospital for dinner...

i could say alot about janae (she is fun, patient, kind, light-hearted, a fantastic mom, has a strong testimony of jesus christ, understanding, determined...to name a few) but more than anything- one of her best qualities is that she is a true, loyal friend...which is very, very hard to come by. i was having a kinda hard week and to have her here for the weekend, was such a blessing. she doesn't need to be impressed and she doesn't judge. she was giving my kids baths, cleaning my kitchen, telling me what a great mom i was and was even laughing at jay leno with me at night. she has been through alot in the past year and i know that good things are headed her way because she deserves the very, very best!

ya we are posing in front of the denver temple!

i finally made it to the "royalty"...the royal gorge that is! the world's highest suspension bridge, yes i know you are impressed. i had to show janae a good time while she was in town (lol!) so i planned a day trip with some of our friends and we drove to canon city, colorado - which is about an hour & half away...it was beautiful weather and despite a slow start (two stops for gas, whoops! and jeff's walk-in order at mcdonald's...yes, the "face of all the tardiness" ha ha) the day went off without a hitch!

check out the bridge in the background...

jeff & mindy...nachelle & jay...janae...me & cam...

and all the cute kiddos of course.

...it was kinda windy...comical.

cam saw this side of the road go-kart place on the way and was determined to stop on the way home...some said it was their favorite part of the day!!!

i must admit, it was legit...

...and he doesn't get out much, above & below...proof.

checked another thing off my to-do-list in denver...luved it...you didn't disappoint gorge.

team kesler...happy halloween!

hoop player, cheerleaders, ref & basketball...game on! we had a fun nite at jeff & mindy's...chili, carmel apples, great decorations by mindy, spooky music, and of course...lots & lots of candy!!!

i cant believe miss jillian is 5 1/2 months

pumpkins out of snow...classic!

the girls giving us their spooky faces...

church trunk or treat party

the scott's family front yard spook ally was awesome! i luv this pic as we are getting ready to go in...lucy laughing and vanny terrified...