I wanted to share a photo and a couple of videos Rick was able to send me last week while on my trip. The new iPhone 3G S has the capability to take video and we have been able to capture so many cute moments having a camera so handy. I love getting a little piece of home to enjoy while I'm away!

Snack time!

Cooper getting a little bath time in... I watched this one over and over after Rick sent it!

The kids saying "Goodnight!" to me... such a treat!

Marathon Training: Week 4

This was an interesting week in my training...

Tuesday- Normal run, 3 mile route near the house. I'm beginning to enjoy how easy the 3 mile runs are... I will miss them. (30:56)

Thursday- Knowing I would have to do a treadmill run Friday, I was stuck searching for a route near our airport hotel. I did a couple of trips back and forth behind the hotel for the first 2 miles, then went the other direction for the last 2 miles. Between the boring route and the quiet of no iPod, it was not my favorite run ever but I got it in. I also realized how much I rely on and enjoy music while I run, thank goodness the Portland Marathon is MP3 friendly. I will DEFINITELY make sure the iPod is charged and ready for that day!! (42:32)

Friday- Treadmill run in a hot, smelly, hotel gym. It was like a sauna in there, nothing good on TV to help distract me, and I got stuck on the treadmill right in front of the mirror- UGH! It was so bad in there that the first officer I was flying with was running on the machine next to me and was going to do 3 miles, but stopped after only a mile... wimp. :) (30:32)

Sunday- Starting to add a mile each week for the "long run" on the weekend, so this was a 6 mile run and the furthest I've run since Cooper was born. In order to allow Rick to get a few things done while the older kids napped, I took Cooper with me. I chose to run along the Springwater Corridor, a long paved trail about a mile and a half from our house, because it's flat and fairly straight- easy for the jogging stroller. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, but a little hot at 2pm. And Cooper did awesome! (61:12)

Sorry for the weeklong absence in blogging... I vow to do better this week.

Disneyland!!

What a FUN, FUN, FUN, vacation!

Highlights:
Going on all the "big" rides
Not pushing a stroller through all the crowds
Our 3 mile run through Downtown Disney
The Monte Cristo at The Blue Bayou
The giggles I got after California Screamin' and Tower of Terror
Beating Rick at Toy Story Mania and Buzz Lightyear :)
Hanging out with one of my favorite people in the whole world at one of my favorite places in the whole world.

Lows:
The prices and fat/calorie content of the food
The crowds
Realizing how small Sleeping Beauty's castle really is compared to Cinderella's castle
The fireworks stopping halfway through because of winds
Missing the kids

I felt like a little kid on Christmas morning waiting for the rope to drop and the madness to begin. I love Main Street!

Waiting for the park to open.

I just love the entrance to California Adventure.

Mostly with the kids in mind, we had to get our photo taken with Mater and Lightening McQueen.

Maybe I should try and become a pilot instead of a flight attendant, the look suits me, right? :)

Probably one of my new favorite rides is Toy Story Mania at California Adventures, so fun to interact with a ride and compete with Rick. We were rockin' the 3D glasses look.

Our scores from the final time we played... mine is the higher one. :)

Our first morning at the park, I ran Rick ragged on one fast ride after another... not good for his stomach. So, there were a couple of rides he had experienced in the past and decided to sit out on this time around. California Screamin' has a single rider line, which was perfect! He got a great spot on the railing to watch, too!

Although I'd been on it before many years ago, it felt like the first time- I LOVED it! So fun. I hadn't done Tower of Terror yet and I was WAY more nervous for that one. But, still SO fun. The couple next to me were really patient with me and how nervous I was!
We took a picture of the picture they take... I just look like a girl having fun, don't I?

Waiting in line for Grizzly River Rapids, where we got pretty wet. Fun!

We also really enjoy the Buzz Lightyear ride!

Our last trip down Main Street, I love how it's all lit up at night.

We took a couple of minutes up at the train station to soak in all the sights one last time... I think I wore Rick out a bit. :)

I can't wait go back again... someday! :)

Marathon Training: Week 3

Week 3 was a decent week, finally able to run a few new routes. The highlight of the week was my 3 mile run on Thursday. We checked in at the hotel, changed clothes, and went for a run from our hotel, through downtown Disney to the Disneyland Hotel, and back again. It was the perfect way to take in Disney for the first time, even if we did look a little weird running along Downtown Disney with our ear buds in.

I did indeed skip my Saturday run, but seemed to get a TON of other walking done. I was hoping to run Sunday when we returned but didn't do that either... so, not the greatest week, but memorable. I'll be doing some serious shifting around for week 4, trying to fit all my runs in without having to run after a long day at work.

Miles: 10
Days missed: 1

Happy Father's Day!

Wishing a Happy Father's Day to 3 of the best dad's I know!

My dad

My stepdad

My amazing husband!

And a Happy Father's Day to all the other dad's out there!

Off to the Happiest Place on Earth!

Looking forward to sharing lots of fun photos and stories from our vacation when we return!

Here is our send-off post and photos from our trip to Disney World last June with the kids to enjoy in the meantime!

The Flight Attendant Chronicles: Part 3

Temptations

Temptation #1: Soda
A couple of months ago, I wrote about giving up soda, something that wasn't as difficult for me as I thought it would be. I still miss it occasionally, but considering I'm surrounded by it on a regular basis at work, I don't feel the urge to cheat- EVER! Before the commitment to give up soda, I would easily pour a little Diet Coke here or there. I mean, it was going to be thrown out anyways, right? Now, I just dump away. I can't bring myself to drink any of the fruit juices, because they have more sugar and calories listed than the regular Coke does! So, my new drink of choice on the plane is club soda with a lime... and water of course! I never thought in a MILLION years that I would like a snotty drink like club soda with a lime and I would NEVER order it as a passenger. But, when I can squeeze in my own lime and sip away in the galley, I love it!

This is what our galley and trays look like, all step up and ready to begin pouring drinks and delivering them to passengers... Look at all those shiny cans. If you were surrounded by those all day, wouldn't you start sipping on soda every once in a while, too?

And here is the tray, all set up and ready to be delivered... lots of water and fruit juices on this one!

Temptation #2: Snacks
The other temptation I seem to face on the plane are all the carb-loaded snacks we serve on our longer flights... Ritz cheese and crackers, graham crackers shaped like little planes (my personal favorite and the kids love them, too!), Animal crackers, Oreo 100 calorie packs, Wheat Thins 100 calorie packs, and of course, pretzels and peanuts! As long as I have a good food bag packed, I seem to do alright, but sometimes I just can't resist the bags of empty calorie goodness! When I worked at the movie theater, I couldn't resist all the popcorn either, so I guess not much has changed! :)

Here is what our baskets of peanuts look like, just before we walk through the aisles passing them out. Right now we have the honey roasted kind- yummy!

Temptation #3: Bar Food
The last temptation I seem to fail at most often while on the road is the food. Specifically, the hotel bar food. Even more specifically, the hot wings and chicken quesadillas. I usually try and buy one meal a day while on the road. Unless there are some good restaraunts to walk to around the hotel, you're usually stuck eating at the hotel restaraunts, which are either WAY over priced and not that great, or the bar menu of greasy, yummy foods. Oh sure, there are salads and stuff too, but those just never seem to sound as good. At one point in my flight attendant career, I could have told you which hotels had good wings or quesadillas, because that is all I ever ordered. Well, with all this running I've been doing, I have sort of figured out that eating greasy bar food is not what my body needs or actually wants lately... weird. So, last night I turned over a new leaf and ordered the grilled chicken salad!! We'll see how long it lasts! I'm not swearing off wings just yet, because I just love them too much, but having them as an occasional treat and having them 3 nights a week for dinner are two very different things. I also walked to the mall food court up the street from the hotel today and picked up a Subway sandwich for dinner while flying later tonight... although, I did have a Chick-fil-A sandwich for lunch- YUM!!

So, there you go. A few of the temptations I face while traveling this great country of ours as an extremely glamorous stewardess. Soda, carbs, and bar food... Watching too much TV and not working out used to be a temptation of mine too while traveling, but I seem to have temporarily cured that.

Marathon Training: Week 2

So far, so good on the training. I know I'm still in the "easy" weeks of the schedule, but I feel great so far. Well, except for the shin splint working its way into my right leg and the little pain I'm feeling in my right foot... minor things. Although, minor things that could turn into major things if I'm not careful. So, when I get home from work on Tuesday morning, I'm going to try out a place called Pace Setters in Portland that has you run on a treadmill and will tell me which shoe would best support my foot based on my form. I'm looking forward to it, I think the Nike's I've been wearing aren't the most supportive considering all the running I'm doing.

I found it pretty easy this week to find time to run, but I know it's going to get more and more challenging as the summer progresses and I have to work on 2 of the week's training days. After my 5 miler yesterday, I had to shower quickly and head to the airport to commute to work and then fly 3 legs, which made for a long day. I really enjoyed my 3 mile run on Thursday. I ran to a little park in downtown Gresham and Rick drove down there with the kids, so when I finished my run I was able to play with the kids at the park. It gave me something to look forward to during the run and also provided me with a new route- I'm quickly boring of the routes around our neighborhood. Man, are there A LOT of hills around our house. Hills are slowing becoming my running nemesis... although I suppose they will help with my stamina and endurance later on.

Now, the big challenge this week will be our trip to Disneyland. I am suppose to run 3 miles on Thursday, the day we fly out at 6:40am, and run another 5 on Saturday, our last full day there. I will be figuring out how to work them in without taking away from our vacation time. Maybe shifting my 5 mile run to Sunday evening, after we return, will be the best idea.

Total Miles: 15
Days Missed: zero!! :)

Feeling guilty

Our tickets for Disneyland arrived in the mail yesterday and as excited as I am to leave in just one short week, I'm feeling a little guilty for going somewhere I know the kids would LOVE, LOVE, LOVE... and we are leaving them at home! We took them to Disney World last summer and it was equally fun and stressful, as almost any vacation would be with a 1 1/2 year old, a 2 1/2 year old, and a pregnant mommy. We had so much fun experiencing Disney through the eyes of our kids and our vacation had a much slower pace to it, spending more time in the kid-oriented areas and waiting in line after line to meet characters and princesses. Totally fine since I was pregnant and couldn't do the "adult" rides anyways, but I felt bad for Rick who could ride them and didn't because he felt bad for leaving me waiting or didn't want to ride alone. Poor guy!

Now, the kids are a year older and love anything Disney even more than they did last year. They love to look at our vacation photo album from last year and a trip to the Disney Store at the mall is an exciting event... Riley actually thinks it IS Disneyland! I look forward to seeing their faces again someday when we walk down Main Street and see the castle waiting at the end. But, for now, it's time for Rick and I to get away for a few days ALONE. Thank goodness my sister, Robyn, is willing and brave enough to come and watch the kids, making this whole trip even possible.

I suppose we could have gone somewhere more romantic or by a beach or less "kid" oriented, but I love all things Disney, especially any vacation involving Disneyland or Disney World. I think it may stem from the multiple family vacations we took to Disneyland when I was a kid. We were lucky that my mom worked for an airline (PSA), so we flew for close to nothing, got great discounts on our hotels and tickets, and my dad traveled to Orange County often for his work, so we would just combine trips with his. To this day, if I had my choice of almost any vacation, I would choose something Disney (obviously)- Rick on the other hand, would probably not choose something Disney. He would prefer something "relaxing", like Hawaii or Mexico on a beach or exploring other cities. My post-pregnancies body is not a big fan of the beach or swimsuits in general. I get too hot, don't like to sunburn, get irritated by all the sand, and honestly get a little bored after a while. A day trip to the beach sounds nice every once in a while, but a vacation revolving around it just doesn't appeal to me- maybe I'm just weird.

Rick and I have never been to Disneyland together and I think we need a chance to just have fun together, without having to focus on the kids at all. I'm also going through ride withdrawls after spending 5 days at Disney World last year and not even stepping foot on anything fast and fun- although, we did have SO MUCH FUN riding Buzz Lightyear with the kids over and over!!! I can't wait to ride Indiana Jones, Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Splash Mountain... you get the idea! I'm excited to see Fantasmic! again and watch the brand new fireworks show! We're also looking forward to exploring California Adventures together, he's never been and I've been once and only went on two rides: Soarin' and California Screamin'. Those will be fun to experience again with Rick!

I know we will constantly be thinking about the kids while we are there and how much they would love this or that, but I also know that Rick and I are going to have a blast together and the kids are going to be just fine at home. I'm also sure we'll have many fun "treats" for them when we return! I think it's normal to feel a little guilty, right?

Our Disney photos from this year will be a little different than this... no squirming kiddos, no pregnant belly, and probably not many photos posing with characters! :)

Haircuts

Tyson got his first "scissor" haircut on Saturday, something he badly needed. We've shaved it in the past, but he's terrified of the clippers and we didn't want it that short this time. So, off we went.

Riley: "Tyson, will you hold my hand?"
Tyson: "Ok!"
All the ladies in the salon: "Oooohhh. So, cute!"
This was the general look on his face throughout the whole process, but he sat still and did awesome! Look how long the hair was over his ears!

The "after" shot... much better around the ears! It's amazing how, with just one haircut, your child can grow up before your eyes!
Riley also got a trim, mainly for her bangs, but she was excited about the "Princess Hair" the woman gave her- complete with sparkles and a butterfly clip.
The post-haircut treat: a Dum Dum sucker and a first haircut certificate.

Rub-a-dub-dub...

Three kids in a tub!

The kids and I had so much fun today! We ran errands, played at the park, met Rick for lunch at his school, made it home for naps, then took off again after naptime for Target, and more fun at the park, including a picnic dinner. What better way to cap off the day than a bath with all three kids? Rick had conferences after school and is just now getting home, which usually makes the day at home with the kids seem really long, but today just seemed to fly by.

Days like today I feel like the luckiest mom in the whole world!

Look who's crawling!

It's time to re-baby proof the playroom!

Sorry the video is a little (ok, a lot) shaky. We got a new little Flip hand held video camera and I'm still trying to get used to it. But, it's been great for quick moments like these, to just grab and shoot! Rick and I are also realizing that most "first" moments we've tried to capture of Cooper have included Riley and Tyson making lots and lots of noise in the background. In this video, they are fighting over Cooper's toy at first, then you can hear Tyson singing along to the A, B, C's.

After about a week of taking a couple of steps forward here and there, yesterday he just took off. Cooper was 7 mos, 5 days old- right in the middle of Riley (7 mos to the day) and Tyson (7 mos, 2 weeks).

Marathon Training: Week 1

In addition to keeping up with my training each week on the sidebar, I'm going to attempt to write a little weekly review each Sunday. It will be nice to have a record of how I felt with each week of running and be able to look back in 4 months to see how far I've come- assuming I make it the whole 4 months!

This week started off really well with my 5:30am run (3 miles) on Monday and a very hot 5:30pm run (4 miles) on Wednesday night. I couldn't bring myself to get up early on Thursday morning, so I was going to wait for Rick to get home and do another evening run... then came the "severe storm warning" and rain and wind and funnel clouds and lightening, around 4pm. I thought my Thursday run was going to have to be sidelined for weather reasons, but the skies cleared up after we put the kids to bed and I laced up my shoes for a cool 9pm run (3 miles).

Friday was a "rest" day and I didn't do any running, but I worked my butt off around the house, cleaning like crazy. Sometime that evening, while we were attending our nephew David's graduation/18th birthday celebration (Congratulations, David!!), I started to feel really crummy. We got home and a full-blown head cold had won the battle against my tired body, it was even bad enough to cause me to call in sick for my 2-day trip on Saturday morning. Flying with a head cold and plugged up sinuses is never a good idea and even though I was packed and had my uniform on, ready to walk out the door, I decided I would be better off resting at home and not infecting hundreds of others on the plane. Long story short (too late, I know), I also decided to give my body a rest and not do the "long" run of 5 miles yesterday. Three days of rest will be better for me in the long run (pun intended), and I will pick up with training again tomorrow morning, repeating week 1 from my 16 week schedule.

Total miles week 1: 10
Missed days: 1 (Saturday) :(

Little Buddies

Hands down, one of my favorite photos right now- matching jammies and all!

Today, while Tyson was saying "goodnight" to Cooper before his nap he said, "I love him!" He gets a kick out of sharing a room with Cooper and knowing he's just in the crib next door.

This photo is pretty great, too.

I love these kids more than words can describe... and I'm glad they love each other, too... for now. :)

One time I am happy to be wrong!

Alright, I totally miscalculated the weeks to go until the Portland Marathon, there are 18 weeks to go rather than 16 weeks. I was on the Portland Marathon website today and their suggested 18 week training schedule started on June 1st, what I thought was 16 weeks out and I'm really happy to be wrong about it! I've been worried about whether or not I would be ready enough for the rigorous (okay, it's rigorous for me) training and this gives me a extra couple of weeks under my belt. I don't want to be crawling across the finish line or injure myself, which is why I'm taking the training pretty seriously. I've committed to my goal and I will do all I can to stick with it.

On my sidebar, I will update the training miles each week to help keep me accountable. The only problem I may run into some weeks is the long run being scheduled for Saturdays. I typically work Saturdays, but I'll work it out, possibly having to do a few of the long runs on Sunday instead. I've decided to stick with the 16 week training schedule I found on marathonrookie.com, just repeat the first week three times and then pick it up again on after that. So, weeks 1-3 will be exactly the same and then I will increase my mileage each week after, following the training suggestions. I'm happy Rick will be home all summer, giving me more flexibility in when I can run... Monday I did a 5:30am run and it was wonderful, tough to get out of bed, but great once I got going. Yesterday, I was lazy and slept in, leaving my 4 mile run for the evening... NOT a good idea in the hot weather we've been having. I will be planning a little better in the future!

Wish me luck... and if anyone is interested in training "along" with me and running the Portland Marathon too, let me know! I would LOVE to have a few familiar faces in the crowd of many on that cool Sunday morning in October! :)

I got the following quote from marathonrookie.com... seems to apply perfectly to this sort of thing!

"Now, if you are going to win any battle, you have to do one thing. You have to make the mind run the body. Never let the body tell the mind what to do. The body will always give up. It is always tired in the morning, noon, and night. But, the body is never tired if the mind is not tired." - George S. Patton, U.S. Army General and 1912 Olympian

Two days of birthday fun

I had a wonderful birthday, thank you all for the kind messages! Since my birthday was on a Monday and Rick would be at school all day, he decided it would nice to do our celebrating with the kids on Sunday night and leave Monday night for a date night. While I was away doing homework for the afternoon, Rick and Riley made me a birthday cake- a yellow Betty Crocker cake, with chocolate frosting, my favorite!!

Knowing I would want some for the blog, Rick took a few photos of Riley's cake making skills!

After I came back from my afternoon of homework session at Cafe' Delirium (my typical Sunday afternoon routine), we went to Red Robin for a birthday dinner- a free birthday cheeseburger!

The kids get a little excited about the balloons... this is Tyson saying a very enthusiastic, "BALLOOOON!!!"

Riley looking cute and me smiling too big, making my eyes squinty! :)

Then it was back home to enjoy the cake that Riley made for me... with a little help with the frosting from daddy!

The kids were pretty silent once they had their pieces of cake in front of them... and of course, leftover milk from Red Robin!

Cooper couldn't enjoy the cake, but he still enjoyed the evening!

Rick and I... okay, mainly Rick, spent the rest of the evening, after putting the kids to bed, setting up the Wii and Wii Fit. I can't wait to get a chance to use it, the last couple of days have been a little too busy (new air conditioning quotes, homework, class, finishing Breaking Dawn, etc.). Today, while the kids nap, I will be exploring all things Wii!!

The morning of my birthday just happened to be Day 1 of my 16 week training countdown to the Portland Marathon. So, alarm at 5:15am and I was out the door by 5:30am for a 3 mile run- a great way to start any day, but especially my birthday! Rick went and got me a Starbucks Iced Tea before heading to school, so the morning started out really well! After school, Rick and went to dinner at the Ram and had every intention of seeing the 7:15pm showing of Star Trek... but, we both decided we probably wouldn't have been able to stay awake for the movie- we're getting old! :) Instead, we ran a couple of errands and stopped at Cold Stone on our way home for some ice cream. All in all, a very special two days of birthday celebration! Cooper even crawled a couple of steps forward the morning of my birthday, which was fun- but we're not declaring him "crawling" just yet. Super-close, though!

Thanks again for all of the birthday comments, here and on facebook!

31

31 years ago today, I was born.

In honor of the big day, I have compiled a list of 31 things you may or may not already know about me. Hope you enjoy!

1. I love In N’ Out Burger! (No surprise here...)
2. My favorite color is blue.
3. I sometimes wish I lived back in the Tri-Cities, closer to my family and friends there, but I also love our lives here in Gresham.
4. I will celebrate my 10-year anniversary with Southwest Airlines on August 18th.
5. I still get little butterflies in my stomach on every landing, especially since having kids.
6. One of my guilty pleasures is reality TV… Survivor, Amazing Race, Idol, Dancing with the Stars, the Bachelor, and the Bachelorette (to name a few).
7. I was a cheerleader in high school. Also played golf, was the Features editor for the school newspaper, on the yearbook staff, and played Margot in ‘The Diary of Anne Frank’ my senior year.
8. I attended WSU for one year, as a freshman, before coming home and finishing my AA at Columbia Basin College.
9. Finally got my Bachelor’s degree from Warner Pacific College last year, three weeks before my 30th birthday. I will graduate with my MAT (Master’s in Teaching) three weeks before my 32nd birthday next year.
10. I get grumpy when I don’t eat… which is why Rick doesn’t think I would make it on Survivor!
11. I like beer… this may shock some of you, other’s it won’t.
12. I have three beautiful children; Riley (3), Tyson (2), and Cooper (7 months).
13. Thirteen is my lucky number!
14. Riley and Tyson are 1 year and 2 days apart… yikes!
15. I gave up soda in mid-April and have only really wanted it on two occasions- at In N’ Out Burger with my combo a few weeks ago and a couple of weeks ago at the movie theater. Thank goodness for Iced Tea.
16. I met Rick on eHarmony.com… funny, right? Maybe I’ll write a post about that someday… We were married less than a year later, on March 5, 2005.
17. I have a thing against even numbers, or I prefer odd numbers, I’m not really sure which one it is.
18. I worked for Regal Cinemas for 4 ½ years, before quitting to become a flight attendant. Started off in the concession stand and eventually became General Manager. I loved that job- especially putting together films!
19. I don’t take a shower everyday… gross, right?
20. I was named Miss Congeniality at the Miss Tri-Cities pageant in 1997.
21. I DVR Jeopardy! everyday and watch it when I can find time... I love to learn new things or see how much I already know!
22. One of my all-time favorite shows is Alias and I hope to someday own the entire series on DVD so I can watch it whenever I want to. I secretly wish I could be Sydney Bristow!
23. My favorite books are the Harry Potter series… with the Twilight saga coming in a close second.
24. If I can stay committed to the training schedule, 16 weeks from today I will be running the Portland marathon! Wish me luck, I'm going to need it!
25. Rick and I are going to Disneyland in 3 weeks… and leaving the kids at home! I can’t wait to enjoy a fun weekend away with my amazing husband.
26. I am now the proud owner of a Wii and Wii Fit… thanks Rick for a great birthday gift!
27. Back in 2001, I cut 10 ½ inches off my hair and donated it to Locks of Love. I’ve tried twice since then to do it again, but lost patience and cut it. (Most recently shedding an extra 3 inches, so it’s just above my shoulders now!)
28. I would love to sing the Star Spangled Banner at a sporting event (preferably a baseball game), but I just don’t have the vocal talent- Simon would not approve!
29. I drink way more Starbucks than I would care to admit…
30. I still have about 10 pounds to lose before I will fit into my pre-Riley-pregnancy wardrobe (from 3 years ago, that is completely out of style by now), but hoping to get there soon with all this marathon training and my new Wii Fit! Maybe then, I'll buy some new, stylish clothes!
31. I really enjoy keeping up this little blog, so thank you all for continuing to read it!

Cooper is 7 months old today, so he's celebrating a milestone, too!
Here is mommy and son, the night before our big day...