A Bit about Birthdays

So since today's update post was going to be about my 30th birthday, I felt I should also include a bit about this little fellow. He turned 7 yesterday (December 7) and I just have to give him a little shout out here on the blog. He did celebrate his Golden Birthday, after all! I will blog more about his festivities later, but must say it kills me every year when his birthday rolls around. It's crazy to think that he is already 7 years old! In so many ways, it feels like it was just yesterday that I came home from the hospital with him, but in other ways it feels like an eternity ago since I simply cannot imagine life without him! He is about as good and pure as they come and is constantly concerned about making good choices and doing good things. He is smart and silly. He is caring and kind. He is a wonderful big brother. He is a thinker. For the last month, he has been saying that he felt like he really wanted to bear his testimony in church (for the first time). So on Fast Sunday (December 4), he was nervous, but walked all the way up to the pulpit by himself without hesitation (poor kid--we were sitting WAY in the back too!), and gave a simple but sweet testimony and I couldn't help but tear up. This boy is good down to his very core and makes me want to be better every day. Happy Birthday, Tyler! We love you to the moon and back a million times! As Grandpa Thalgott would say, you are one fine boy!

(as luck would have it, Tyler's school was having a "Muffins with Moms" breakfast on his birthday, so I was excited to go with him. I made Garrett take a picture before we rushed out that morning!)

And now going back several month, to the end of April to be exact, here is a little bit about how I turned 30. When I turned 29, let's just say I wasn't too happy about the way I was feeling and the way I was looking. I was tired all the time and felt run down at the end of every day. I had tried to start several different exercise regimens, but nothing stuck. I knew that if I felt like this when I was 29, I was doomed. I knew something had to change. So shortly after my 29th birthday, I started running. And for some miraculous reason, I kept running. I had never been able to stick with it before. But this time around, I was actually sort of enjoying myself! Of course, I had good months and bad months, but overall, I had actually stuck with it for about a year! My 30th birthday was approaching and the same weekend was the Crescent City Classic 10k race (Saturday April 23). I knew I had to do it. I couldn't think of a better way to turn 30. It would really be a fitting way to bring on my 30's! So, I upped the mileage and trained for my first 10k!

And as the weekend approached, Garrett was being put back on his work assignment which required him to work Saturdays...ugh. I wasn't sure what I was going to do with the kids and how I was going to get down to the race and park and all that headache! This race is HUGE and parking is an issue every year and I was starting to stress over how I was actually going to be able to do it. But Garrett worked things out to have someone cover for him on Saturday so he could be there. It was SUCH a huge relief! I was so glad he was there!!

So, I think I mentioned that this is a HUGE race, and here is the proof. Here is a shot near the starting line after the race began (photo courtesy of the Times Picayune). Just me and 22,000 of my closest friends! It took me 5 minutes to even cross the starting line! It was incredible. And I must say, it also made it VERY challenging to run with that many people. Most of the time, things thin out after the first mile or so, but this was packed from start to finish. This race is always held on Easter weekend, so since Easter was so late this year, the race was also late in the year. Which ended up meaning one thing--it was HOT! It didn't' start until 8:30 am and it was already pretty toasty and by the time we finished it was well into the 80s (if I remember right, it was 86 degrees with a heat index of 92). This was something I was not prepared for at all. In all of my training runs, it had been great weather, and this was really the first weekend it had been hot. It made it so much harder for me! By mile 5, I was just so hot, I wasn't sure how much more I could do. But by that time, I also knew the end was getting close! So, I just kept going. And finally crossed that finish line...sweatier than I've ever been in my life! My time was 1:13:39 and I was 6845th place. :) All I could think about was where could I get a drink of water?! And where are my husband and kids? I finally found both water and my family and I was a happy camper!

A cell phone pic at the end. And just like that, my first 10k was in the books and my 30th birthday was 3 more days away. Bring it on!

The boys each wanted a turn with my camera. Here's Sam's attempt. Notice I wasn't the only sweaty one...Tyler and Sam were as well. It really was HOT!

I came home and put my race bib on the fridge. I guess I was kind of proud of myself, what can I say? I just kept thinking of where I was at just one year before and am so happy to be where I am now. Being healthier and stronger has made such a difference in my life!

So now, onto my actual birthday (Tuesday April 26). It was a fairly low key day. Tyler was out of school for Spring Break. (and you might notice that I finally took the time to give my boys a haircut the day before...I took advantage of Tyler being out of school that day. Finally!) The boys had been shopping with Garrett for some gifts the night before and since Garrett was up and out of the house well before they were up, the boys had to be put in charge of wrapping the gifts. It made me smile. Tyler totally took care of that task!

They were so excited to give me my presents. Some new shorts and some bubble bath. Garrett gave me a running watch/heart rate monitor. We celebrated with strawberry shortcake that evening once Garrett got home. Quiet and low key...just the way I like it! All in all, a great day and a great way to turn 30! Good bye, 20's!