Galena Girls and the Sawtooth Relay... Take 3!

After two years of Sawtooth Relay.... I thought I was done! But then a fun group asked me to join and I figured, "why not?" Great decision, because as it has been in the past, it was a BLAST!

I was the lucky one to get the summit. Almost 6 miles, 1300 feet elevation gain. And it was snowing. BUT, it turns out that having a run a marathon a couple of weeks prior, it was actually easy!

Our fierce and furious hand offs. I'm certain we won the race.

And by winning, I mean drinking melted jello shots between legs.

The views are just incredible... Sadly a 2:45 am start time and the weather didn't cooperate with us seeing the Sawtooth Mountain range in her full glory!

See that snow in the background? But happily, this sign let me know the climb up the mountain was about to end!

During my leg and unbeknownst to me... The team decided to celebrate my birthday. Such a great group of ladies!

Post race, I think many people were taking pity on us? Or maybe they realized that we literally hadn't had a wink of sleep Friday night after having adult beverages and then starting the race... But for whatever reason, pretty much every person at the after party gave us their drink ticket. So then this photo shoot happened. Naturally.

Gina and me. Blue steel wonders.

April and Gina. Between legs when it was actually warm enough to be out of the car and not be running.

Carissa, our trip mom. She herded us cats like a champ. Even after she stayed up ALL night Friday drinking champagne. She STILL herded us!

When the team names, What the Hill and Hot Mess Express were already taken, Galena Girls it was....

Beer has really never tasted so fine.

I think as the years have passed, the costumes have gotten better and better. Murica!

 Jello shot packing.... This woman is something! Entertained us for HOURS!

 2:45 a.m. start time after driving over an hour from Sun Valley. Ain't nothing.

 

We had such plans for Saturday night. Not to be missed a Metallica cover band and all....

But then the reality of having not slept AT ALL Friday night, running all day long in the snow, drinking the world's best tasting beer all afternoon in a park.... And it was lights out. Sawtooth, you wooed me back again. Ladies who can laugh at each other and themselves all day long, yes, please, I'll take another!

Foster boys!

We were so lucky to get a fun filled weekend with Jon and Max! We missed the Foster girls like crazy, but we had a great time with two of our favorite "West Siders."

A Kear-Fo dog pile. Max could not be a sweeter guy. We just love that little man to PIECES!

Unfortunately, not many pictures taken... But that doesn't mean there was a lot of great fun happening...

Even old guys can play with fidget spinners...

Aidan and Max, a solid buddy duo. Max is such a sweet cousin to Aidain, or "Aidee" as he lovingly calls his friend. They were stuck together like glue.

Baylee enjoyed having another opportunity to try and get someone to pet her...And she wowed them with her laziness and lack of interest in exercise.

Max on a hike... Aunt Sarah and crew just can't get enough of this world's cutest boy!! Thanks for a great weekend guys!

Forest Gump Takes On Pediatric Cancer....

You know how there are causes out there that just get to you? Pediatric cancer is that to me. I don't why,  but every time I get on facebook, there's another picture of a little babe battling this horrible disease. Cancer for adults is bad enough, but babies? And when I think what cancer has done to my poor mom's body, well, like I said, it just gets me. I have no talents, people. But I can run. So run I did! And luckily for me, this cause gets to my people too. So run WE did! I completed my LAST 26.2! I'd like to say it was pretty, the race wasn't too bad, but the recovery lasted days and I felt like I had been beaten up... Even my ears were sore.

We formed a team to raise money for Strong Against Cancer and ran in honor of our friend's daughter, Hannah, who passed away shy of her 10th birthday.

We set a goal for $10,000 and literally as we were riding a shuttle to the starting line, I saw this message. YEAH BUDDY!

Training takes a toll on the body. I ran so hard, I got bloody. Or a sign jumped out at me.

Part of our team! Some not pictured because they did the 5k and one not pictured because we lost her to the porta potty land pictured in the background. The backdrop is ironic. Mile 2 and the runner's gut/GI issues began. Only 24 miles of you-know-what. Insert grimmace face.

Pictures compliments of Chelsea.

Also photos compliments of Chelsea. I'm not talented enough to photo and run.

In a world where you are constantly bombarded by "bad" news, where it seems the world is going to a hell in a handbasket, there are these people beside me who are the bright spots. It makes my heart so happy to know these ladies and to witness their kindness, their dedication and their love. To all who donated, who supported, who listened to my endless talks about "you know this run I was on" and who cheered us on, thank you just doesn't seem to be enough! While my marathon running days are over, stay tuned, my pediatric cancer fundraising is not.... XOXO

Soccer time!

I've been delaying the inevitable soccer post, so that my loyal readers would think for half a second that we are a well rounded family. But who am I kidding. If you were looking for us this spring and didn't check out a soccer field, then you weren't looking that hard...I joke that we were in "soccer jail," but I loved every second of it!

Last game with Coach Shane! Also known as Morgan's favorite coach. Um.... Your dad used to coach you, so yeah, ouch.

Such a really great group of girls, who played their hearts out! Such a fun season!

And Director's Cup Finalist. Although the score didn't reflect a win in the championship game, I think each parent and kid felt like this was a champion team. It was unbelievable! And in the word's of a really excited 10 year old, repeated over and over, "THAT WAS THE BIGGEST COMEBACK IN RUSH HISTORY!"

These boys and their families... So excited for next year!

Finalist in Performance Cup. But again, such a good showing!

Poor Aidan. Can't even get a medal pic without dad and sister....

While Ryan and Morgan were at a tournament in Nevada, Aidan and I relocated to Eagle, Idaho for a the Nova tournament. And so had to kill lots of time at the Village between games....

Loved having a weekend with this guy!

And a Championship win!

For some reason, I have a billion pics of Aidan this season... I think I was making up for all that time that Ryan coached him and I was at Morgan's games.... So proud of this guy!

Twin Falls Tournament Finalist. It was a constant tournament battle between Rush and Nationals! But so much fun was had! See you in a month soccer. Yeah, seriously, we get a month off!