The Darley Reunion

This Trip was an exceptional one except for the traffic I had to drive in- it was totally worth it though and you'll see why.
One of the first things my kids did when we got to grandmas...

 Then it was on to the toys which were out the entire trip, this old whistle toy being one of them

 The Darley Reunion-The last of the several reunions we've had this summer. It's been a good summer at that... The Darley reunion was So much Fun!! Lizzie went a hundred miles all day, never stopping to take a breath. She made a friend, Charlie, and they remained attached to the hip the rest of the day.

 This is them going down the blow-up slide.

 Lincoln with his sunscreen hairdo

 Just chillin with the rest of us

 except when he was checking out the goat

 and chasing Addison around

 That is until she started hugging him

 Awww!!

 Here's some people you may recognize

 Go Grandma Lizzie!!!

 Grandma Great is Awesome!!

There's Us: Lizzie, Jas, me and Lincoln

 Oh, don't forget the bouncy house

 Love this picture!

 Lizzie said she wanted to buy this goat.
Now some fun pictures of the barn-so totally cool and a bit creepy

 This is a cat skull.....we found the body across the barn. the CREEPY part.

Such a Fun trip!! So glad me and the kids went.

Running

Some of you may already know this but training for the red rock relay has Not been easy by any means. Two kids, adult responsibilities and life tend to make Training more difficult. I say Training, because I don't mean Running. Running is easy for me. When I want to do it, I do. But Training is something else...especially training over an extended amount of time. I started this training many months ago and honestly, I burnt myself out. It started out great, the first few months, I saw real progress in leaps and strides (no pun intended). But I also started seeing major negative effects to my training which put some things in perspective for me. To become disabled in any way at my age just wouldn't be worth it to me. So, I took a few weeks off to see if my body could recover a little. I didn't stop some of my other exercises (the not so strenuous ones) but running was put on hold. I also really wanted to see if the "Desire" to run would come back to me. It did!! That was a relief. I love running but on my terms not any one else's (something I've learned). I need/want that sudden urge to go for a run just because. For those that don't know, that negative effect I refer to is the problems I started having with my knee, mostly just one, probably the result of how I run. But it was affecting me in my every day living which throws up a red flag for me, hence the three week absence.

The nice thing is, I went for a run yesterday. It was hard but nice. I run wouldn't be a true one if it didn't come with the thoughts to stop, can't go anymore, it hurts too much. My run came with all of those but I pushed through it and felt good at the end of it aside from the heat I was dealing with. And even better, I felt good the next day too. My knee has been fine, considering it all. I'm hoping it will last. I still plan to finish out my training, I just plan to do it differently from here on out. It's on my terms now!

I'm not giving up any opportunities to run this relay. I want to say that I did it! I don't need any record times, just the completion of a goal I set out to do. I'm excited for that much. This has been a great learning experience for me, but I'll save all that for another day. One more month- that's it! I can't believe how fast it's come.

Made some Changes

Rick has been working on vehicles A LOT these days. First, my car, which unfortunately gave up it's ghost and now his truck. He fixed the fuel pump here in these pictures. My hero and handy man!

I love a greasy, hard working man. Haha!!

Lizzie tried out a dance class to see if she liked it. I think it was more fun for me to watch her. Her aunt Jennie was teaching the class so it was even more fun. Lizzie really liked it!

This is a short video clip of one section of the routine they learned.

Here's a little longer one where the painters (the girl's with streamer paintbrushes-Lizzie being one of them) painted the statues. 

Also, even more exciting ...I GOT A NEW CAR!!

I know this is a weird and random post but it was quick and in the middle of doing like a hundred other things, so a new phone, new car, and new adventures...I wonder what's next.