I Should Have Listened....

Why, oh why, didn't I listen to my mom when I was younger??? She always preached to me to wear sunscreen. But I didn't listen. Well, I'm now paying for it. Not quite a year ago I had a little spot on my forehead. At first I thought it was a zit (gross). But it didn't go away. I knew then what it was. But I ignored it. The kids had things they needed done first. And Ray was working so far away and was hardly home. Well, about 2-3 months ago when Hazel was coloring my hair her nail caught it and it started to bleed. And by the way, by now it was bigger than when I first noticed it. After her nail got it, it never healed up. That's when I decided to get into the Dr. They took a biopsy, and yep, sure enough, it was cancer. Basil cell carcinoma. Well after that Ray was able to come home, for good. Thank heavens because to remove this cancer they do surgery and I'm such a baby and hate to go alone. Not like a sedation surgery. They just numbed it, but it's still considered surgery. I had it done on the 27th. It went really well and the dr.'s were all very nice. But as we were leaving I got sick. But I have one of the weakest stomachs ever (thanks dad). I tried to take it easy that day. Not easy for me. I like to always be on the go. Then the next morning I had to get up and shower and get ready for work. Uh, showering with stitches in your forehead is no easy task. Have you ever realized how many facial expressions you use when you talk and it moves your forehead? Or when you have long hair and you get it wet how heavy it is and it pulls your scalp and your forehead? Anyway, showering was not easy and I got sick again. (Dang stomach anyway.) But I was able to get to work and put in my 8 hours. Anyway, each day gets better, but I'm really paying for not listening to mom. And I should have gone in when I first noticed it. Now I'm going to have a 1" plus beautiful scar. There are 15 stitches in that incision. That is not how big it was before they cut into me. But the cancer is gone and hopefully I've learned something.

Who's Car??? :)

This is Keanna. Remember, Keanna is now 16.This is Keanna's official new driver's license. (Dang, sorry about the closed eyes. I should have checked the picture.) This is Keanna with the key to DAD's car, that Keanna gets to drive. (lol) Remember, DAD's car, that Keanna gets to drive.This is Keanna with DAD's car, that she gets to drive. Isn't she a lucky girl.?!! She is such a good girl and as long as she continues to keep up the good work she gets the privilege to drive DAD's car. We just can't keep up with her busy schedule anymore. Ray had to keep leaving work to pick her up and take her here and there. And she now works at Michael's with Ambrea and I. This should help out a lot.

...Eating...

I'm eating, again,.....my words that is. I woke up Sunday, the day after the marathon and said "I want to do it again". I know, I'm nuts. But I want to prove to myself that my body can do a little better and not let me down again (I felt like it let me down because I was sick and the leg cramps made me walk so much at the end).

"16"

Happy Birthday Keanna (yesterday). Wow, can't believe you're 16. You're growing into such a beautiful young woman. You were our hardest baby, until you crawled. But you are such a good girl now. You are always so full of life and love to have fun. You light up a room when you walk in. We love you girl and are so glad you're a part of our family.

Toe Nails Are So Over-rated...........We ran our first marathon.

Today Ray and I ran our first marathon, the St. George marathon. There were a lot of people we know who also ran it. It was great seeing people you know on the course. Especially because there were almost 7,000 people who ran it. It was also great seeing people you know at the end of the course cheering you on, as you are wondering how the heck you are going to run just one more mile. And thanks Ambrea, Keanna, Josh and Holly for being at the finish line. It means a lot.

As you know I'm addicted to running. I've been running seriously again for about 1 1/2 years now. I've done I think 5 half marathons, the Lake to Lake relay race and the Ragnar relay race. I've been training for this marathon since the spring. Now Ray on the other hand has had a hard time getting any training in. As some of you know he has been working 850 miles away. Where he has been is very rainy. At one point it rained 40 days in a row. Well, all the rain has made it very hard for him to get any training in.

So I felt I was fairly ready for this. I had set a goal, which I now realize was kind of high this being my first marathon. Well, I did really good for the first 15 miles (a marathon is 26.2 miles for anyone who didn't know this), but then at mile 15 I start to get cramps in my hips and thighs. And this time at about mile 8 I got a gut ache. One of a runners worst nightmares. So up until mile 15 I was doing fairly well, but the cramps hit and it just makes it hard to run. So I would walk a bit, then run. Back and forth trying to still keep ok time. Needless to say I didn't make my goal, but I still didn't do horrible. I'm just frustrated and discouraged. I had hoped to do better and I want to figure out the gut and cramp problem. I took all the advice that 2 experienced runners had given me and applied it in my training and today, so I just question where it went wrong. I did it in 4 hours 27 minutes. Ray was able to do it in 5 hours 18 minutes which I think is great considering the farthest he has ran in the past 3 month is 10 miles. (Since he is back home I put him in some serious marathon training for 2 weeks :) ).

Right now we are saying we will never do a marathon again. I will probably eat my words though. I had said I would never do a marathon period. Boy, I ate my words on that one. But seriously the half marathons are a lot of fun. Just long enough for a challenge (13.1 miles) but not so long that you kill yourself. But maybe if I get figured out what I'm doing wrong I won't kill myself on marathons.

It another check mark on out bucket list though. Something new and different we experienced. We are always looking for some kind of adventure. It keeps life exciting.