December

December was an adventurous month for us. God had some trying times for all of us, but I think in the long run we will all be stronger for the things we went through. I have always heard the saying that God will never give you more than you are strong enough to deal with and it seems that was the case for us even though I wasn't sure at the time.

As soon as Zach was out of school for Christmas break we packed up the Blazer (and I mean packed! Seriously I don't think we could have fit another thing in there if we tried!) and headed out to New Mexico for Christmas. Our first stop was Kim's house. Wendy didn't really get to spend much time with her our last trip.

We did the usual things in Albuquerque, ate yummy food, bought stuff at World Mart, at yummy food, bought wine, ate yummy food..... Anyway, you get the picture!

After a few days in Albuquerque we headed to Farmington to spend Christmas with Wendy's family. They were very excited about our trip because it was the first time in a few years that all their kids had been home. It was also Zach's first trip there. We had a great trip and couldn't have been blessed with a better Christmas. Our time there was spend hanging out with family, a sledding trip to Durango and a visit to the Aztec Ruins.

While we were gone Oklahoma City had a major snow storm, over 16 inches at our house. I'm thankful we had asked a friend to stay at the house and watch the Emma and everything for us. Casualties from the storm included the skiing polar bear and Zach's fort in the backyard. I guess the fort collapsed from the weight of the snow. Orin was nice enough to come by and gather up the pieces. Once the weather warms up for good he is going to help us put humpty dumpty back together again.

Here are some pictures from our trip. Hope this post finds all of you healthy and happy so far in the new year.

Seriously?

Seriously? I haven't posted in more than two months?? Man, I have really been slacking off. I guess with the travel over the holidays and other struggles that were going on kept me busy. I'll do my best to catch everyone up over the next couple of days.

It seemed like all I did was blink an eye after coming home from Cancun and it was already Thanksgiving. Jeanie invited us to come to her house which as Zach put it meant I got "double Aunt Jeanie time" the month of November.

Thanksgiving was so much fun. Logan's family was there along with Melissa's boyfriend Tyler, Aaron, Amanda and Bailey. We relaxed, catching up with each other, played games and enjoyed each other. We couldn't have asked for a better Thanksgiving. We are truly blessed for the time we had with our family.

Saturday evening we headed out to a Thunder hockey game. Tyler used to play hockey with the Thunder and still knew most of the players, so after the game he took Zach back to the locker room to meet some of the players. Although he was shy while he was there, it was the first thing he told everyone about our trip.

Wendy has to fly out on Sunday morning for a work trip so we took her to the airport and Zach and I headed home after lunch. Before we left we had an early Christmas and exchanged presents with my sister's family. Here are some pictures from the weekend.

Cancun, Mexico!

My wonderful sister Jeanie won an all expense paid trip to Cancun, Mexico through her work and she was kind enough to invite me to go with her. I drove to Wichita November 10th and the next morning we were on our way. We were staying at the Mariott Casa Magna and after checking in we headed out to the pool / beach patio area for a drink. I think any good trip to Mexico should include at least one drink with a piece of fruit on the rim and we managed to enjoy several of those on our trip. After settling into our room we spent the evening at a sponsored happy hour and dinner.

Thursday we went on a sponsored tour to the Tulum ruins and then onto a resort for snorkeling and relaxation. Our tour guide made the trip so much fun. H was very knowledgeable about the Mayan history and on top of that he was pretty funny! Here are the pictures from the ruins.

Thursday night we took the bus down to the bar area and had Hard Rock Cafe for dinner. We had a slight detour on the way back (bus was going the wrong direction!), but eventually we made it back to the hotel.

Friday was a free day, so we decided to check out the Mercado 28 to see if we could find any good deals. I wound up buying a few things and got a pretty good deal on a pair of earrings. After our shopping adventure we headed back to the hotel to have some lunch and head out to the beach. We played in the ocean for a bit, laid out in the sun and then had another drink with fruit on the rim!

Friday night we had a planned dinner with the group. Dinner was fabulous, we had lobster bisque, grilled shrimp and creme brulee for dessert. The restaurant was very nice, located right on the water. After dinner we went out to the deck to enjoy the view. While we were standing there a crocodile swam right up to the edge of the deck! Apparently there are three of them that come up in the evenings and the employees at the restaurant feed them. It was pretty cool to watch.

Saturday we went on a jet ski "Jungle Tour". There wasn't much jungle, but we did have a good time riding on the jet ski. We went out about 45 minutes and then got to snorkel for about 30 minutes. We saw some beautiful fish and even a squid while we were snorkeling. After the jet ski tour we went parasailing. It was pretty amazing getting to see the hotel area from up in the air. Here are some pictures from parasailing.

After parasailing we cleaned up and went to the local sports bar for lunch. We had one of the best burritos I think I have ever had! Jeanie decided to grab a quick nap after lunch while I walked down to one of the shopping center. I found a few more souvenirs and then headed back to the hotel to sit on our balcony and enjoy the weather while I read. Saturday evening was the going away beach bash, but the weather didn't really cooperate. It was really windy and we wound up leaving right after dinner.

Unfortunately our trip had to come to an end on Sunday. After breakfast we boarded the shuttle to the airport, had a quick lunch at Johnny Rockets and then were off to Wichita. It was late when we got back, so I spent the night in Wichita and headed back to Oklahoma Monday morning. Jeanie and I had a fabulous time!

Putnam City Classic

On November 7th Wendy Zach and I participated in the Putnam City Cancer Classic 5K walk at Lake Hefner. This walk is a fundraiser for the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation. It was a beautiful day and we had a great walk. Our friends Dan and Susie were also out there, but they decided to show off and run! Here are some pictures from the day.

Halloween 2009

Yeah, its been a long time since I wrote anything. I'm going to do my best to catch up by the weekend.

Halloween came quick this year. About two weeks before Halloween we decided to hit the pumpkin patch for some fun and to find some prime carving pumpkins. We went to TJ Farms and enjoyed feeding some ponies, a pony ride for Zach, a quick trip through the corn field maze and a tractor hay ride. After that we ventured out to the pumpkin field to find our pumpkins. Carving pumpkins is always fun. This year Wendy and Zach decided to design their own while I went with one of the stenciled designs. They all came out great. Afterwards we baked some pumpkin seeds for a snack.

Zach thought he might be too old to trick or treat this year, so we decided he could have some buddies over for a Halloween party. Nathen and Jason came over early Saturday afternoon and we started the festivities by going to see The Vampire's Assistant. This movie is based on a series of books that Zach has been reading. All the boys dressed up and wore their costumes to the theater, which was pretty funny.

After the movie we picked up the pumpkin shaped pizzas from Papa Murphys and headed back to the house for dinner. After dinner the boys decided to trick or treat for a bit and went out for about an hour. They came home loaded with candy and settled down on the couch to play the video game they had rented. All in all it was a successful party. Check out the funny pictures below.

October 2009

In Honor of Bailey

For those of you that don't know, my great niece Bailey was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis when she was about a week old. Luckily her symptoms are relatively minor so far. She is now almost four month old and doing great. Because of this, I am doing the Great Strides walk in Stillwater, Oklahoma on October 31st. This organization raises money to fund research for this disease.

I would appreciate any donations you could make. Please check out my donation page. Thanks!

Great Stride - Grace Ebaugh

Aaron, Amanda and Bailey - I love you guys!

Weekends of Running

Running events have been key parts of the last two weekends. October 4th was the Spirit of Survival race in Lawton. This is the half marathon that I have been training for. I was nervous going into this race because I hurt my knee in the last half marathon in April. Unfortunately the weather was not the kindest to us and we ran almost the entire race in the rain. At some points it slowed to a drizzle and at others it was definately harder. By the end of the race I could barely keep my shorts up because they had gotten so heavy from the rain! My time was about four minutes better this race, but not under the 2:30 mark that I was shooting for. The most important thing is that I felt great after the race, my knee didn't bother me at all. Noel and Dan both had personal bests for that race too.

This weekend Dan and I did the 5K Race for the Cure here in Oklahoma City. This was a great event and a huge crowd showed up to participate. There was no rain, but man it was cold! I was shooting for under 30 minutes and wound up just under 29 minutes, so I was really happy with that. Dan had an awesome time, just over 25 minutes. He told me that the older he gets the faster he gets! lol

The next event will be a Cystic Fibrosis walk/run in Stillwater on Halloween weekend. I'm participating in that one in honor of my great niece Bailey. I'll post my link for donations in a few days and I would appreciate any donations.

The next big running milestone will be the full marathon at the Oklahoma City Memorial run in April.

Hope everyone is doing well and staying warm as winter starts to sit in... Obviously this doesn't apply to you Cora! I imagine its still plenty warm in Tucson!