Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Running a (1/2) marathon while pregnant...

... is SO rad.
That's why I did it: because I'm rad.

The weekend before Halloween I went to Utah to visit with my sister and her husband, and to run with Lisa while she ran her first 1/2 marathon EVER. This wasn't any race. This race involved costumes, getting up at 5:00 to be bussed to the top of a ski resort so we could wait around for an hour in the freezing cold temperatures, only to start running once completely numb for 13.1 miles.
I can't imagine a better first race. However, if there was hot chocolate along the way, it could have been better.



 Lisa and I made our own costumes. We got super creative and made those tutus that are all over the internet right now. Lisa was a spooky ballerina and I was a spooky witch, as evidenced by our color choices, obviously.

Clearly the pink and white is for the ballerina, and the green, purple and black is for the witch. 

 We spent hours at JoAnn Fabric trying to figure out how much of what materials we needed, and wouldn't you know it? The line was also quite staggering. But, it moved pretty quickly, and then we got to eat some lunch. We went home afterward and made our tutus. Lisa sewed the elastic together, and I cut the fabric. Then we watched a movie while we tied the fabric around the elastic.


She's so excited to be all crafty, can't you just see it?







This is us before leaving the house in our finished costumes. I'm sitting on a broom, not just squatting. It's hard to tell. Lisa is posing as quite the fancy dancer. The ribbons lasted about 2 seconds.

Lisa, Jana (dressed as a baseball player), and I waiting for the shuttle to take us to the top of the mountain.
Again, still waiting.

Here we are, nearing the end of the race. We look happy, be we aren't. We want to be dead.

Crossing the finish line!!! (9 wks pregnant. Oh, and Lisa later found out she was pregnant, too!)

Here we are, dying at the end of the race. I could not walk for like 3 days after this. But we did it!!


Jack and I
The race was really fun! It was downhill for a large majority, but there was a sneaky uphill part in the middle that inclined for a good mile to mile and a half. By the end of the race, my body felt like rubber, and I could barely put one foot in front of the other. I supposed it really does pay to train appropriately.

Fortunately no one was injured. Except my toenails got a bit of slight bruising. 

 After the race was over, Lisa and I mainly recovered for the next few days. We did some fun things together two, with Evan, her husband laughing at us every step we took (because we walked like 9 month pregnant 85 yr olds).

I was lucky enough to see a couple friends while in Utah, and I'm so sad about the others! I will be back in Utah next summer, most likely, so try not to hate me until then, and I'll be able to visit.

Jack and Lisa. 

It was good to see my little sister. We missed Robin, as she moved quick as lightning to California as soon as she found out I was going to be visiting. I may have to pay her a special visit and drop in unannounced so she doesn't try to leave again.

Happy Halloween!

Kruger Farm family tradition

Last year one of the very funnest things we did in October was to visit the quaint little Kruger Farm on Sauvie's Island. We played in the corn maize, ate corn on the cob, had candied apples, went on a hay ride, and picked out our very own pumpkins for carving.
We thought we would do it again this year, only in 6 inches of mud and with friends!
We didn't really go through the corn maize due to possible mud pits to which one would lose one's shoe, but we did spend more time in the little farmer's market area. The produce was ginormous. Cabbage heads bigger than MY head. Not even kidding. We also went with a slice of pumpkin pie instead of a caramel apple this year. It was pretty good, but I like my mom's better.

I wasn't kidding about the produce!
Here I am, wearing sea bands, eating corn on the cob. It seems food was the only thing that helped at that point.

 We had planned this trip weeks ahead of when we actually went. We planned it when the weather was absolutely gorgeous, and by the time the appointed weekend came around, it was absolutely iffy.

 We (Bradley and I, as well as the Ashley, Nate, and their kids) decided, despite the high chances of showers to go to the farm anyway. As we were driving there, it started to kind of sprinkle. Oh well, we can handle a little sprinkling. As we got closer, it started to downpour. Rain cats and dogs. Buckets. Etc.
I saw a patch of blue sky, and we said, move on! We are Pacific Northwesterners, are we not???
Then, when we got to the farm, well...Look at the picture to the left! The weather was beautiful, right over the farm. We could see in the distances surrounding the farm the gross, gray clouds, dumping rain everywhere else. But we were in a little haven of loveliness.
Hay ride!
 This is Ashley, Nate and their baby. Ashley was my bestie in high school. Nate's her husband. He's ok.


The hay ride was pretty fun. Here are the highlights: We saw some people we knew, family friends (this is part of the tradition, because last year we also bumped into familiar faces), I got mud all over my sweater boots, the little girls both fell in the mud, and whilst someone was getting back onto the ride, they smeared their nasty, muddy boots all over me. It was a good time.
Love this boy!

A little froggy.
Aren't they the cutest???
 The girls found a cute little critter! They wanted to take it home.
Punkin pie.



butterfly face
She got a full on mask!


The girls also got to have their faces painted! They held really still, and took it very seriously.










Overall, we had a great time. It was fun to be with friends, planned and not planned, and it was cool to have the weather miraculously clear up, just so we could have a good day.

We'll probably do it again next year, only this time with Little Bean in tow!

Little Love Birds

 SQUEEZES!
So happy
These were taken in the beginning of September. Just thought they were cute. Looks like Brad still likes me. Can't say I'm surprised at all...
Have I ever mentioned that I like him, too?

The progression

Brad insists on taking a belly picture every week. You know, cuz my belly is supposed to get bigger. There is a baby the size of a PLUM in there, after all. (Go, ME! Made it to 12 weeks!)
Anyway, I thought that my body hadn't really changed a whole lot, but looking back on week 4?? I looked good! And happy! And not like I want to die!!
I'll let you take a look see. :)



See? The above pictures I have no idea what I'm getting into. Week 6 and 7? Fake smiles.




Week 8 I wanted to punch Brad for making me get up and pose for the dang picture. Week 9 and 10, you can totally see a little pooch!



First trimester is pretty lame. It had better be worth it. I hear it is.

Friday, September 28, 2012

Ellensburg

We have some friends! And, not only do we have friends, we actually went and hung out with them for Labor Day weekend. Dan and Tamarah Parker, and their two little girls all invited us to their grandparent's home in Ellensburg, WA. For those of you who don't have a clue where it is, which is probably most of you, it's close to Yakima. If that still isn't ringing any bells, think middle-of-nowhere, WA. It's actually quite pretty. Dan's grandparents have a house with some property out there, and it was sort of a halfway point between Portland, and Spokane (where they live), so we met up there.
We had a blast with them. There was a state fair complete with a rodeo (who knew short shorts and tall cowboy boots was the thing?!?), rides, funnel cakes and SCONES. There were fruit trees with ripening peaches and apples. There was a Model A car, and a WWII jeep to be driven. There were blackberries to be picked and made into jam. It was just a charming weekend.


At the state fair. We didn't realize we were in the senior citizen lounge until it was too late. But come on, the ONLY place that had shade was reserved for the older generation? Total ageism.
This is my favorite dress. Only worn on special occasions.
Yeah, we rode in this...
This jeep really was driven around during WWII.
Aw, so cute.
Janie had just woken up. That isn't so much the weird part. How the heck do you fall asleep riding a 70 yr old jeep on mountain trails?!?
The blackberries we picked.
The jam we made. We still froze a TON of blackberries though. Didn't even come close to using them all.
Millie turned one!! Happy birthday! Remnants of the cupcake are scattered about.
This is the town of Roslyn, but this mural was in a show or something awhile back about a small town in Alaska...? We went to the town for their famous pizza place. Yum!


 We had a fantastic time. Brad wants fruit trees.




One year of fabulousness: August 27, 2012

Monday, August 27, 2012, marked a great and historic day. This day we celebrate the day Bradley McNeil Johnson made the best decision of his life by marrying Jennifer Beth Jackson (me).

Brad went to clinical and I had work, but we were able to celebrate that evening by going out to dinner. We didn't even use our phones (except to take pictures) the whole night. It was lovely.

This is actually on the day of our wedding. We didn't dress up like this and pose with a wedding bouquet on our anniversary. That would be kinda cheesy. And weird. But! I totally still fit in the dress.
 We did exchange a couple gifts and stuff. Our trip to Mexico was our big thing. The thing is, Brad is so nice to me all the time, that every day feels like we are celebrating something. I really got lucky with this one. He is kind and considerate, makes me laugh, works hard, and I feel like he puts me first. We are pretty darn happy. And he's cute. It's ok. You can be jealous. ;)
Thanks for marrying me, Bradicus! And, you're welcome.

Evidence...

...that I'm a nice person.

Lookie what I did!! I made delicious clam chowder (even I thought it was delicious, and I'm a little slow to give out the compliments where clam is involved), salad, and orange julius! I even made that bouquet of fake flowers you see there in the background. It was a surprised for Brad, and I'm pretty sure that was like our 11 month anniversary or something... not sure. Actually, I think it was just because I'm stinkin' nice.

Heaven's sake!

I did it. I took a long break from blogging. Not on purpose. There are a combination of reasons, that I could list, but I won't. Ok, I will list one: I haven't had the gumption required to download, edit, and organize the pictures I want to share. The funny thing is, the longer you wait, the more daunting the task seems to get. So, might as well get to it!

Let's talk Mexico.

This is the first time we went, courtesy of my mother and father (well, and Brad bought the tickets I think) in 2011. At this point we were engaged, and look how young we are!!!

We went this year in June during one of Brad's breaks from school. It was our one last hoorah before clinical days, kids, student loans and reality had to hit, so off we went! I guess it was also to celebrate our one year anniversary a little early. 
We met a fun couple from Beaverton, OR in the clear, warm, beautiful ocean one day. We were trying to dodge some tropical fish, and the plethora of Europeans, and happened to bump into a couple of Oregonites, Amber and Peter. We started chatting, and figured out we happened to not only be from the same country, but the same CITY even (pretty much). So, we spent the remaining days of our vacation hanging out with them. They had been there every year since they were married (4 I think) and really knew the ropes. They showed us the cool snorkeling places, got us a fishing tour for cheap, took some cute pictures of us, and even lent us some snorkel gear at Akumal to see some giant turtles.

And here we are again, one year later. Seriously, so OLD.

So, Mexico was a good time. We went to an all-inclusive resort, which made things very simple. It was on the PERFECT beach. It is one of the resorts that are outside the actual city of Cancun, and more nestled in the jungle. We saw some fun little animals every day on the stroll from our room to the breakfast restaurant. If you feed them, they actually climb up onto you. They are not scared if food is involved. We had hot sunny weather most of the time we were there, but did happen to be right in the middle of a tropical storm for a couple of days. We read, and tanned, and swam in the ocean and the pool. We went snorkeling, running, sea-kayaking, wave-runnering, catamaraning, and fishing. Oh. And we ate and drank (non-alcoholic beverages) a LOT. Brad also made friends with 2-3 waiters because he speaks Spanish. And tips. In fact, one of our waiters noticed we kept eating mangoes, and had his wife go to the store and buy us a few really big ones. He was pretty cool.

 Amber and Peter. These people, I swear, are part fish. Peter dropped their camera into the depths of the ocean, and Amber dove into the water after it, without goggles, and retrieved it before it was lost forever. I was impressed.
We were supposed to act like we like each other...? Anyway, looks like paradise, no?

This little pond was on our way to the lobby from our building. That dense jungle surrounded us on all but one side, and that side had an ocean.
Here are the little guys that were always begging for food!
Presh. They had 3 hot tubs, cool, warm, and hot. During the two days it rained, we spent a lot of time in the hot hot tub.
Wittle Wabbit!
Sun...rise? Yep, rise. Wait. Yes. Sunrise.
I actually was nibbled by a fish while in Mexico. This experience changed me.
Our fisherman guide!! He caught that grouper, and then I reeled it in.
Our grouper about 30 minutes later. Circle of life, people. Don't hate.
Sea turtle. Duh.
And another.

Water aerobics. Can I just say, after a week there, I NEVER want to hear another Shakira song again?
Aw... :)
Dinner one night. The one time I did my make-up while there.
At the airport going home. I don't know why he is smiling.

Getting home was tricky. You see, our flight was delayed about 45 minutes when we arrived at the airport. However, since it looked like we would still be able to make our connecting flight, the airport didn't switch us to a different flight. By the time we went through security, etc, our flight had been delayed another hour. Then it was delayed another hour. By the time we got on the plane to Denver, there was no way we were going to make our connection. I was freaking out because, I HAD to be at work the next day. And Brad had clinical, but I didn't care about that as much as work. I'm selfish like that. Anyway, by the grace of God and a little help from the elements, our next flight happened to be delayed TOO. Completely unrelated reasons. The first flight, there were some technical difficulties (some light on the dash wouldn't go off) and the second flight was delayed because of a storm! Long story short, we ran through customs, security, and to our gate right as they were boarding our plane!!! We were soooooo lucky!
I went to work the next day, and wished I was in Denver.