13.1 miles

I have been running for awhile now and decided that I needed a 1/2 marathon under my belt to make it official. This past weekend I ran the City of Trees Marathon. I felt prepared enough and the weather was perfect for a run. I ran, and ran, and ran. I can honestly say that I felt really good at mile 8....mile 9...and mile 10. I started thinking..."Piece of Cake!" "I've got this!" "I'm actually going to finish!" Ha ha. Then I hit MILE 11. Miles 11-13 were the WORST!! My knees started to ache and I was ready to nap. But....I pulled through. I will tell only you faithful blog readers (and ok anybody else who asks) that I finished in 2 hours and 4 minutes. I am OK with this time. I really wanted to do it under 2 hours, but I am super happy that I FINISHED!! I did it, and I didn't die. I was pretty sore the afternoon after the race but I have been feeling really good since!! I'm definitely ready to do another!!!

My camera battery died at the finish line so Thane had to take a picture of me after we got home. And...Ethan claimed my medal. He has been talking non-stop about when he is going to run a 1/2 marathon!!!

~Monkey Dooz~

Well in no way did I ever expect for us to celebrate Alexis' b-day with a lot of makeup, hairspray, frilly stuff and a whole lot of glitter....but that is exactly what we did!! She has NEVER been a girlie girl but she decided she wanted to have her b-day party at Monkey Dooz, a local child's salon. We gathered up 3 of her best girls and headed out (unfortunately one of her best friends let us know she couldn't come about 10 minutes before the party started!! GRRRRR. But...I digress.)

Our party package included hair, nails and makeup. It was really fun to listen to the girls tell the stylist what kind of hairdo they would like, and most of the girls picked orange (Yes - ORANGE!) for the color of their nails.

Alexis getting her hair done..

Cute Maddy waiting for her turn...

Megan chilling

Zoe being "proper"

Almost done with hair!!

Goofing off

Maddy was going to the BSU game later so she went for the blue and orange hair...so cute!!

All done!!

Megan had to leave a little early for a soccer game, but we got a quick snapshot of her before she took off!!

Aloha!!

These girls are just beautiful! Fun filled party!

Alexis Jayce is NINE!!

Nine years ago my sweet baby Alexis entered this world after 36 (THIRTY SIX) hours of intense labor!! She arrived sunny side up which I now believe was because she had to see where she was going and not just be looking down!! :)

We had a great day - starting out with the opening of presents. There wasn't one stand out item that she wanted this year so she got a lot of fun little things.

Grandma Beckstead sent her this blanket to finish...she finished it up and LOVES it!! She got spoiled by Grandma Henze who took her shopping a few weeks ago!

Ethan thought it was hilarious to pile the wrapping paper on Dad...

After presents we were off to have Alexis' favorite lunch: Alfredo Pasta!! Mmmmmm Carrinos. It was delicious!!

Isn't she beautiful?!?

After lunch we went to see Toy Story 3 (super cute and made me cry!) and then headed back home to relax and play. We made cupcakes in anticipation of her b-day party tomorrow!! (But I'm sure that will be another post altogether!)

NINE fun facts about Alexis!

1. She has an amazing sense of right and wrong

2. She has great self esteem

3. She is an R.F. (Rule-follower!)

4. She is a great big sister and example to Ethan and Brylee

5. She LOVES to read

6. She is a wonderful student loved by all her teachers

7. She's great at gymnastics

8. She loves to do crafts

9. She is still a Daddy's girl :)

HAPPY 9TH BABY GIRL!! WE SURE DO LOVE YOU!