Hello Bathtub

One of the most exciting parts of moving into the house was the very large and deep bathtub in the master bath. The girls finally got to check it out. After running 6.25 miles in the middle of the night I also took a swim before bed. What a great way to end the day.

A River Runs Through It

Now that we are out of the box we had our first official dinner with our families. The guys all made their way to the river behind the house to fish. My brother, Dylan, got a huge monster that he could barely land :) See pic. Even though we had showers off and on it was a great afternoon.

Back To School Dash 5K

Today the whole family participated in the Back To School Dash 5K Run/Walk. Dean & Nicky were signed up so they could walk it with Makinley. Jason and I were ready to run it with Makenna. I figured whoever kept up with who the best would stick together. When the race started Jason and Makenna shot out in front. They slowed down though and I was able to pass them. I kept expecting to see Makenna again at any time since her first 5K last October she finished in 30 minutes. A very impressive time for someone her age. The race didn't start until 9:30am which is pretty late. They normally start anywhere between 7-8am. Of course after all the rain we had a beautiful day which was great but it was already getting pretty hot. The course was out and back and I passed all my family members on the way back. They all seemed in good spirits except for Makenna. Her new shoes weren't working out like we had hoped and were causing her some pain. She just wanted to run. I made it to the finish where they barely had anything left to drink. My time was 36:15 which didn't seem like a good time at all. It was only supposed to be a 3.1 mile course. Eventually the rest of the family made it to the finish. The people who were flagging the course had stopped and there were a lot of runners who had trouble getting through the last intersections, which included the dreaded Wal-Mart intersection. Scary enough in a car let alone on foot and with so many children running the course. I wasn't too happy with the whole experience. It was supposed to be a family event that was a run/walk and there were so many people who they didn't even give an official time. Also to pay an entry fee and not even have refreshments and food at the finish was not acceptable. I talked to a few people and voiced my unhappiness about many of the problems. I'm hoping that they can remember this and try to make the event more successful next year.

FYI-I also drove the course and found that it was well over 3 1/2 miles instead of 3.1.

Me & My Girls

Just a couple pics of me and my girls this morning.

Brian's Slideshow

It's Official

I had pretty much decided that I would run the Portland Marathon again.  For some reason I still hadn't registered.  Every year I seem to put it off.  I really don't know why.  I decided to check out the web page tonight and saw that they were down to the last bunch of entries.  First come, first serve.  I panicked and immediately registered.  So it is now official that I am running my 3rd Portland Marathon.  I'm really excited but I also have that nervous feeling that comes with doing something this big.  26.2 miles is a very long way.  I'm very proud of the fact that I have already accomplished it twice.

The past two years I have ran as a charity runner to raise money for different causes.  The first year it was the Make A Wish Foundation.  Last year it was the Children's Cancer Association.  I dread asking people for money but both times it was for a great cause.  I'm even more excited about this year.  I will be running for The Conrad Family.  They are our wonderful friends.  Brian was in an accident on March 15th which changed their family forever.  They are the best people who would do anything for anyone.  That is why I am running the marathon this year for Brian.  I'm going to see if I can get the word out to get some sponsorship and to raise money for their family.  This year it's way more personal.  I hope I don't let them down.

Roller Coaster Girls

Makenna & Makinely were finally able to go on some rides today at the Southwest Washington Fair. They loved it. Makenna even went on the Zipper with me. I'm so proud of her. Here are a couple shots from the caterpillar roller coaster. Kinley cracks me up.