Exciting News!!!

This week was CRAZY! We have been going going going ever since MATCH DAY and it has been an incredible adventure so I need to break down what has happened!

First: We matched in Orthopedic Surgery at Scott and White (through Texas A&M) in Temple, Texas!!!! This was our very 1st choice out of 11 interviews. Even though all of the other programs were awesome and in cool cities (hello, San Francisco!) we truly felt that Temple was the right place for our family to be while giving Ben the best training and surgical experience. Here are some awesome things about Temple:

 1. Lake Belton=lots of family outings boating, skiing, swimming, in crystal clear water only a few min drive from our house
2. Tons of families=so many chances to make friends in a strong religious community
3. Small Town Texas=southern charm, southern hospitality, and great BBQ!:)
4. Super close to Austin, Waco, Round Rock, Dallas=all the fun, Texas-y places to go
5. Great outdoors/running community=I can *hopefully* find a running club to join and we can go camping on the weekends (something Ben has really missed living in Houston)
6. Clean, Safe, and No Traffic!=i'll finally feel safe again (i'm tired of inner city chaos!)

One other thing about Temple goes right along with our EXCITING NEWS....We are BUILDING A HOUSE! We may seem really crazy, but trust me we did our research:) We'd known that we wanted to go to Temple for over 2 years so we literally researched a good part of 2 years. We talked to several realtors, watched home sites like Trulia and Zillow very closely, and went out to visit Temple a handful of times to see houses. We also talked to other Residents in the area, other medical couples and found the exact neighborhood we wanted to move in to. After looking at pricing, we decided to go for our dream and build! Our little house will be 4 bedrooms, 2 baths and on a 1/2 acre lot so our backyard is HUGE for Kaden to run around! 

This week we drove out to Temple to take a peek at the progress of our house! EEK! By the time we left all that is done is the framing (they've had crazy rain spells) but we are crossing our fingers that it will be done in time for us to move in! It might get a little too close...but we are hopeful!

After spending a couple days in Temple we had to drive back to Houston for a day for Ben to tie up some loose ends. We also lost our car keys, had issues with our storage unit, and almost didn't make it out to Austin on Friday. Good thing we did because I had an amazing Half Marathon experience at the Hyatt Lost Pines Resort in Bastrop, TX. The race was super super HILLY and I mean literally the first 9 miles had steep hills. I about died...but still pulled out a good time with an average of 7:31 per mile. I got fourth place and was bummed because 1-3 place got prizes:) haha I'm remarkably competitive and though it pushes me, I also need to learn to be satisfied with my victories. 

For anyone who ever wants to visit the most beautiful scenes in TX, go to Bastrop or Austin. It is simple breathtaking there! Also, Kaden got to pet a Llama and as you can tell was terrified:)

The rest of our days were spent eating delicious Texan food, lot's and lots of coloring, and finding the biggest rock we could!:)

We have 4 weeks left in Houston and then off to DisneyWorld, Oregon, and then Utah to play school-free while our house is built!! We will miss our Houston friends but are SO excited for the next chapter in our lives!!

That one time I ran a Marathon...

March 7, 2015
3:34:19 Marathon!

So, yesterday was one of the hardest. longest, and most fulfilling days of my life! I accomplished my new year's resolution and not only ran my first marathon but I got a Boston Qualifying time as well! It was an incredible experience so I thought I'd share some thoughts on my journey. (P.S. I don't know why I'm standing so pigeon toed in the above pic! haha)

Here are some things I learned along the way:
#1) Make sure you get to the starting line on-time! We were running a little late and all the roads our GPS was telling us to go on were blocked off for the course!!! I ended up sprinting a mile to get to the starting line just as all the runners were starting! Talk about STRESS and adrenaline! This really messed me up mentally as I felt like giving up before I even started because I was in the very back of the race. Luckily, I caught up:)

#2) "Swish and Spit". My stomach can't handle a lot of gatorade on my runs or else it cramps up. I used this technique my friend taught me where I would sip water but only swish and spit the gatorade instead of swallowing a lot of it. This worked really well. I of course used my Gu gels, but with water only, and saved myself a tummy ache and that sloshing feeling of too much liquid.

#3) You might feel terrible the days before the race...and that's ok! Don't freak out! I felt terrible on my last easy, tapered runs of just a couple miles and it really messed with my head! I started to doubt my ability to run a good pace, or complete the race at all. I found out though,  that I can do hard things and that I accomplish what I set my mind to. This gave me a huge confidence boost and a memory I'll call upon in other situations in life where I feel inadequate or scared to try something new.

#4) Don't go to the Medical Tent just for a bandaid. I had a huge blister on my heel that I had felt from about mile 18. I knew we didn't have any bandaids back at the hotel so I wandered into the medical tent to get a bandaid, and maybe some tylenol. All of a sudden I found myself on a stretcher with 2 interns, a nurse, and the overseeing Sports Physician testing my vitals! I kept trying to assure them that I felt fine but they insisted on making me lie down and they asked where I was sore. After a massage, wrapping my legs in ice (see photo below), and a closely monitored bottle of water intake and salt pellets, they finally let me go. Was it nice to be so fussed over? Yes:) The worst part though? I left the medical tent forgetting to grab a bandaid!:)

#4) Lastly, Go to IHOP post race!!! Um, running makes me so hungry---I can out eat Ben! Easily. (That embarrasses us both, actually:)) Nothing hits the spot quite like IHOP. I probably ate enough to cover most of my caloric expenditure! (At least the pancakes were whole wheat, right?) Seriously though, this was so good!

Anyway, today is Sunday and i've been settling into the "Post-Race Blues". I'm tired, sore, hungry, and all I want is to run again:) BUT I am excited to give my body some rest and focus on other things for awhile. Thanks for reading!!!

I'm not the only one who likes to run around here:)

Kaden is 20 months, rankings are submitted, and now The Wait.

I'm in continual doubt about how old my baby boy is getting. Like, he is in serious toddlerhood now!!! He is so much fun and everyday my heart burns with how much I love this boy! Here are some updates of what he can do:

Says these new words:
mama, daddy, baby, basketball hoop, drink, choo choo train, hot dog, table, "Nummy" for any food item, apple, backpack "pac pac", please and thank you, and of, course he can say "SPIDERMAN"!

He also says a few sentences of jumbled words that sometimes we can understand! It is so fun to see his language development and I'd say he has a pretty good vocab for his age!

His favorite things to do are still play with balls and he can even verbally distinguish the different types of balls. He'll correctly label "golf ball, basketball, baby ball" etc. But he also LOVES playing with toy animals and toy cars/trains. He loves to read books and has recently discovered movies and is constantly begging to watch How to Train Your Dragon.

This boy also does Karate moves all around the house (courtesy of Big Hero 6 movie) and roars like a Dragon all the time. He also suspects a dragon lives under the bed and in the closet and I've found him tossing raisins aka "nummies" into the closet because he is trying to feed the dragon like he saw happen in the How to Train Your Dragon movie! His imagination is already coming to life!

He is also the sweetest and most empathetic child I've ever known. The other day I bumped my head on the cupboard corner and Kaden kept pointing to my head and saying "Mama Bonk! Mama owie!" and kept giving me kisses. My heart melts! He also has learned to hug and will squeeze so tight!!!

Ben and Kaden have also gotten closer than ever as Kaden already looks to his daddy as a superhero. Every night they wrestle and play dragon and Kaden has even helped Ben with his "projects" he's been making.

So yes, Ben has had a relatively light schedule that has allowed him to create some things we needed. First, he built this kitchen table from scratch.

We just found the look we wanted on Pinterest, Ben went to Home Depot, bought some planks and went to work! And yes, he did this on the balcony of our 3rd story apartment:) No neighbor complaints so far!

Then I mentioned that I have wanted a cream colored ottoman for our living room. After hours of online and in store shopping we couldn't find one we liked under $3000. So Ben went to work. This one cost around $150 to build and is prettier than anything I could've ever imagined. The best part is the top lifts off and we can store books and blankets inside. And don't worry, we made the fabric spill proof with several cans of Scotch guard!!

Ben will probably do a few more projects--its good for him to keep busy as we anxiously await March 20th!!! We are so excited to open our letter that will tell us where we move to and live for the next 5 years!!! So much is wrapped up in that day! Fingers crossed we go to a top choice!!

Also this week my sweet sister in law Rachel had her baby boy Weston...5 weeks early!!! Little Wes is so cute and is doing really well...we are praying for him to come home from the NICU soon! Check out how much Wes and Kaden look alike! (Wes on the left, Kaden on the right)

All in all we've been better than ever. Life is exciting and full of adventure! Thanks for reading!!!:)

18 months, late Christmas and New Year's Recap!

This kiddo is 18 months old!!!!

We had a wonderful Christmas! Kaden was so spoiled and definitely got tuckered out by opening all the presents! He mostly received gifts of balls, trucks, building blocks, and books=perfect heaven for this energetic boy!

As predicted, Santa scared him pretty badly. He just cried out "Mama!" while sitting on his lap. 

Throughout the holidays we got to catch up with a few old friends from my Ballroom dancing days when I danced on the Ballroom Dance Company at BYU. A lot of my best friends from dance have babies now, most of them are the same age! (we are missing some of the babies in this pic)! 

My mom does an incredible job of keeping fun family Christmas traditions alive…like crazy Christmas Eve Jammies!

Ben and I also got to celebrate our 5 year ANNIVERSARY! We went to Color Me Mine and ate way too much decadent chocolate. We also truly embraced the snow before we head back to texas…

We had a great time going up to temple square and seeing the lights. Kaden can say "Jesus" (kinda) and loves to fold his arms to say prayers! 

On New year's day Ben headed on a 2 week Interview craze. He's had 11 interview offers now and it has been really exciting to imagine our future in 11 different places across the U.S. We had to turn down one interview offer because of a scheduling conflict and now Ben has done 8 interviews with San Francisco, California and Gainesville, Florida left to do at the end of this month. Then…back to normal life in Texas:(

Here are more updates about the squirt:

Loves bathtime, especially after getting his new bath basketball hoop for christmas. He is actually an excellent shot. His vocabulary is growing more and more, but is most frequently screaming ,"Help me up!" in reference to needing assistance with ANYTHING, especially climbing on the couch, table, chairs, etc. He is a serious monkey! 

When he is hungry he asks for a "yummy" and says "thirsty" when he needs a drink. He also discovered candy this christmas and devours m&ms! He is such a happy, social, guy and truly loves to make people laugh. He shows off by dancing around, doing somersaults, and throwing his ball as far as possible. He only gets grumpy when he needs a nap, and still is pretty attached to his "mama". 

We had a scary ER run this past month. Everything was ok, he just got severely dehydrated and had fevers of 104 for a couple of days. We also checked his heart while we were at it and that looked good so my worries were dissipated. Dang Utah winters get us sick every time:)

At 18 months Kaden is growing into such a strong willed, but kind hearted little man. He is my best bud and I truly love to spend my days playing with him. I can't believe how fast time flies!!

Happy 2015!!!

17 months and Thankful for Thanksgiving!!!

After 5 weeks apart, Ben finally finished his away rotation in Gainesville, Florida and joined us in Utah!! To say we are excited is an understatement…this was the last big chunk of time we will have to be apart. All that's left is 10 interviews in the next 8 weeks. WHAT? Yes, TEN interviews in TEN different cities all across the U.S. to see where we will match for residency. Ben will be traveling a lot and I hope to join him for some of the interviews that we are really excited about. We have an interview in San Francisco, California; Portland, Oregon; Two in Pennsylvania; Three in Texas; then Florida, Michigan, and Nebraska. This means a lot of flights, hotels, rental cars, and decision making. It's so STRESSFUL but also exciting to try to analyze all these different places and try to get in to the best program for Ben's surgical training but also for our family. After interviews, Match Day will soon be upon us and we will open up a letter indicating where we are to live for the next 5 years! Crazy. 

To be honest we've been so Thankful for all the time we've been able to spend with family. I can't foresee another time in our lives where we will have the luxury to just go to the park, eat dinner, and do fun activities with BOTH sides of our family. Its been a really great blessing to reconnect before potentially moving across the country!!

Kaden is 17 months! Almost a year and a half! This sweet, sweet boy grows more tender and fun each minute. He is a little chatterbox and SO CREATIVE! Give him a crayon and paper and he's in heaven. He loves to be read books too, (mostly the same books over and over called Pingo and llama llama, red pajama) and loves to be in the bath. He is still crazy about balls but it has spanned out to include bubbles and marbles. He's also really into "Tractors" which is basically all motor vehicles including cars and trucks. He also loves to "Roar" like a monster/dinosaur and is constantly insisting that I draw a dinosaur and a truck over and over again on his paper. He says "bubble, ball, drink, mama, daddy, Maddie, Bompa (grandpa), hot, and tractor" very clearly. He also has a word for "Grandma" that we all understand but not sure how to spell it here:) He is so happy-go-lucky and such a people pleaser. He LOVES to dance and show off for his cousin Claire and will go down any slide, no matter how high.

He loves hanging out with daddy. Their special thing is that they love to go swimming together. Its fine with me because I'm not a huge fan of swimming…in the winter. Kaden is shockingly tolerant of cold water and cold weather! 

That blonde hair, though…

Thanksgiving was with Ben's family this year and we had a great feast! I was especially hungry after running the Thanksgiving Point Turkey trot…I was freezing even after I finished:) There is nothing that motivates me more to run hard than a big slice of pie to look forward to after the race!

Now…to get ready for Christmas!!!! Thanks for reading!