Rock n' Roll-Chicago Half Marathon

A week ago Sunday, I embarked on a challenge I had committed myself to at the start of 2012. I have to admit my motivation for signing up to run a half marathon was to hold myself accountable to run, run to lose the rest of my pregnancy weight. I knew that if I signed myself to run a half marathon I would have to get out and run, no excuses! There was some doubt that I could even run one, which gave me more motivation! I started out running 2 miles on our treadmill at the beginning of January. I took my time picking up my mileage, and by Spring I was loving my weekend runs. Yes, I just said that "I was loving my weekend runs!" I enjoyed getting out in early Spring for some cool, brisk 3-4 mile runs, and by late Spring, I had picked up my mileage and enjoyed "my time". Accomplishing this half marathon felt great on a number of fronts. My training went great, I did all my long runs on Saturday mornings at 5 a.m, loving the quiet, early morning runs. It really was therapeutic in so many ways.  My longest run prior to my half was 10 1/2 miles. I felt great during that run and went into the run feeling good with fresh legs. So why was I disappointed? I hit a wall at mile 11 and the last 2.1 miles of my half marathon were grueling. It was disappointing to me because I felt so good going into and I was hoping for a more rewarding finish, rather than painful, ha! It won't keep me from another. I am signed up to run the Medtronic Twin Cities 10 mile run in October.

I have received many questions on my training, etc, and my inspiration to anyone is that I started with a 2 mile walk/jog in January. It took time and motivation, but in the same sense it made me feel good in many ways.

Thank you to my sister in law Kate for agreeing to run this half! I don't think it was ideal for her, as she had already run two this season, but she did and I am so thankful for her guidance and calming my pre race nerves!

Look how much fun it is at mile 6!

Kate eyeing the finish line on a very hot & steamy day! Not ideal for a 13.1 mile run:)

I am so thankful for our biggest fan! My hubby was so supportive during this entire thing. From the day I said I was going to do it, he was my biggest supporter. My training would not have been possible without his support in taking care of the boys and his encouragement on my long runs. I would come home each Saturday to the boys enjoying their "pancakes with Dad"! The weekend of the race, we enjoyed a quiet, relaxing weekend in Chicago which was so nice to enjoy prior to the run on Sunday morning, just the two of us. My parents kept our boys that weekend at the farm and then drove them down so they were waiting for us when we got home Sunday.

Feeling good at Mile 6

"I see the finish line!"

I completed my first half marathon Sunday, July 22nd in Chicago in 1 hour 57 minutes.

Summer Fun!

It is so hard to believe that next week is August already! The summer months have flown by, but not without lots of summer fun with our two little boys! We have really enjoyed a low key summer, with a few eventful weekends thrown into the mix lately. Our next few weekends have us coming and going, but all with summer fun in the plans! The boys are enjoying pool time on the deck, visits to Nannie & Bop's farm, popsicles on the porch, running through the sprinkler (sometimes with just underwear!), trips to ghuerties, fun in the park, visiting the zoo, playing with friends, and Ben learning to walk!!! Yes, Ben is walking, well I should rephrase that, Ben is running!!! He doesn't care to walk much, he wants to get where he is going...in a hurry! These first few pictures below are from Ms. Judi's son's wedding back in June. The boys (Luke) had so much fun dancing with Ms. Judi and he talked about it for days! We were so happy to share in this very special day for Ms. Judi and her son Robert.

 The boys with Ms. Judi

 Dancing fun!

 my boys at dinner

 So much fun playing with a spoon!

 We enjoyed a very hot & steamy 4th of July parade with our good friends, The Tracy Family!

Luke, Kyle, and Ryan (Ben in the back) waiting for the parade to start

 Ben's 1st parade, Coralville 4th of July parade

 Luke waiting for the parade to start

 Mitch and Kolbi joined us for the parade

 Luke watching all the trucks, tractors, horses, and firetrucks!

 Ben loving his Mr. Freeze

 Last weekend we visited St. Louis to attend a birthday party for Sean's niece. We made a day out of it and took the boys to the St. Louis Zoo. They both loved all the animals, despite the hot temps!

 Luke checking out the zebra

 Ben eating a sucker, as he looks for the lions below

 Camels

 Giraffes

 Elephants

Our family enjoying a hot day at the zoo in July

wild boys

I am missing my boys terribly as I am spending the week in Memphis for work. I found myself going through pictures on my phone today and realized I had some pretty good candid shots to show you "life with the Merricks as you know it"! Sean is holding down the fort at home and it sounds like my boys are having a great time together. Nannie is coming to the rescue tomorrow to spend a few days helping out. Ben is walking more and more everyday! Monday before I left he took 14 steps to me...it made my day because I was so afraid he would take a big leap in the number of steps while I was gone. So at least I got to see him walk and that it wasn't just a few steps from one thing to another! I do enjoy my phone conversations with Luke while I am away. It is so funny how random and yet so meaningful they can be!

 

Last week Sean was gone for a few days, Luke and I had strep, Ben had a runny nose, so after dinner this is what went down at our house...my boys playing naked=happy little boys!

 One morning after I had "made" our bed, I went out to the kitchen to do a couple of things while Luke & Ben played. I heard lots of giggles and this is what I returned to...they had taken off all the covers and were rolling around in our blankets...it sure is the simple things that bring a smile to these innocent little boys

 A couple of weeks ago, we were making our first family trip to Costco...Tough Mudder ensemble n all!!!

(the head band stayed in the car, but it was fun humor!)

 Sean had just commented on how Ben was such a good eater and wasn't throwing food off his tray like Luke always did...he spoke too soon, just like big brother! I guess Ben didn't want his potatoes for dinner, he literally picked every piece of potato off his tray and threw them on the floor.

 Dual purpose icing

After one of my long Saturday morning runs I needed to ice my knees, Ben found it to be a great remedy for teething!

 Our two sweeties love to eat popsicles on the porch! This was one of the few days the boys could enjoy an afternoon outside when it wasn't 100 degrees! This has been one of the hottest, most dry summers we have experienced in a long time! We are praying for rain daily for all the farmers, especially my dad and uncles!

This past Sunday Sean joined up with some friends in the Iowa Games Basketball tournament. He really enjoyed competing and having some fun with friends, and bringing home a gold medal! 

10 months old...a week ago!

My oh My...Ben is 10 months old and this mommy is in complete shock that it has been 10 months already that we were blessed by the gift of this sweet little boy! Ben, you add so much happiness and complete joy to our household. You are always smiling (Daddy's calls you Smiley), you have the cutest little mischievous chuckle, and the most adorable raspy voice! You are wanting to be heard in our crazy household and fit right in at the dinner table...making your presence known! You love to watch Luke and follow his every move. You are definitely a mommy's boy, but you are beginning to reach for your daddy more and more. You are a tough little boy, taking lots of bumps and bangs while playing with your big brother! You love to wrestle and are quite feisty! You have begun throwing a few tantrums when you don't get what you want! Sweet Ben, you joined our family 10 months ago July 3, 2012 and each day has been one with great joy! You make us smile and you light up our lives!

 Benjamin David

10 months old

July 3, 2012

 You are becoming such a big boy, and rarely sit long enough for a picture!!!

 Uncle Mitch brought you a balloon and you love chasing it all over the house

 Ben's first 4th of July celebration

We attended the Coralville Parade with our friends the Tracy family and later went to their house for a BBQ with many of our close friends

Ben's latest...climbing up on the furniture

Ben, at 10 months old, what are you up to???

-wearing size 4 diapers

-mostly wearing 9-12 months clothing, having a hard time with onesies cause you are getting so big!

-you are eating all table food, no more baby food. Your favorites are macaroni, blueberries, watermelon, potatoes, and chicken. You are a really good eater!!!

-you are getting 4 bottles a day

-taking two good naps, usually 1.5-2 hours, morning and afternoon

-you are ready for bed by 7pm each night and have been sleeping til 630-7a.m.

-taking lots of steps lately, have taken up to 6 steps on your own

-love to walk along anything you are able to

-you are climbing up on furniture

-you crawl up the entire flight of stairs

-you have been swimming a couple of times at the big pool and you love it!

-you love to stand up in crib and jump up and down when it is time to get out!

-you are saying mama, dada, baba, and mooo

-when we sit at the dinner table and Luke is talking away...you will start to scream to get everyone's attention
-you wave bye-bye
-started blowing kisses

Growing up

Our little ones are growing up...way.too.fast! It has occurred to me over the past couple of weeks all the milestones these boys are reaching that I have lacked to document, not for any other reason than, I am soaking it all up! These two sweeties make us laugh so much, we are thankful, and we feel so blessed to walk in this journey as a family experiencing all these wonderful memories. I remember growing up and truly enjoying every ounce of summertime, late bed times, Popsicles on the porch, ice cream sundaes, chocolate malts, the pool, sprinklers, drinking from the hose...the list goes on. I find myself thinking of so many great memories as a kid as I watch my little boys run around with little to no clothes on, in and out of the pool, eating Popsicles on the deck, staying up a little later than normal, Luke running through the sprinkler with his clothes on, spraying us with the hose, memories that will last a lifetime! The boys are at such a fun, (busy) age, and I wouldn't have it any other way. Luke is talking up a storm, repeating way too much, and really thinking about his sentences. A few of the latest: "daddy, you are my best friend", "mom, this is Nannie's room, but no Nannie in it", "Mom, should I say Benjamin David, he is not listening?" "Luke going to Nannie Bops two days". Luke has recently named one of the baby kitties on the farm, Pokey. He says nightly prayers "Dear God, thank you for my health, family, my friends, thank you keeping me safe." He is still as social as ever, hollering out to the neighbors any chance he can get, announcing his arrival at school, saying "hi" to everyone he passes, and loves all of his friends! We are working on transitioning to a big boy bed and he is pretty excited. Lately, we have been keeping his crib tent open for all naps and nighttime, he is doing great! We have several middle of the night awakenings, but he just walks back upstairs. Most of the time he will walk down in the middle of the night and say "miss you mommy"! We love watching Luke think about what is going on around him and we just never know what words are going to come out of his mouth.

Little Ben isn't so little anymore...growing up so fast. I can't believe in 2 short months we will be celebrating his first birthday. Ben has the cutest little chuckle, raspy little voice that he loves to be heard, and a smile that will brighten the biggest of rooms. Ben is walking all along the furniture, kitchen cabinets, and taken 6 steps on his own. I have a feeling it won't be long before those 6 steps are 12 steps! He loves to wrestle anyone that will lay on the ground and he is constantly going after Luke. We have started to notice when Luke is not around, Ben will look for him and I think he really misses him during the days when he is gone to Ms. A's.

I have taken a few days off last week to spend the long weekend home with the boys, and it was so much fun just hanging out, watching them play together in Ben's room after they both woke from naps. I've really enjoyed "slowing down" and just taking it all in. I feel like so many times I am in a hurry and trying to hurry them along, so it was nice to not have a whole lot going on and just enjoy/savor the times together.

 We love our sweet little boys more than we knew was possible

Luke trying to give Ben some brotherly love, Ben enjoying the attention from Luke

Backyard project

A couple of weeks ago we finished up our backyard project for the summer of 2012! We could not be more happy with how it turned out and thankful for the great work by our good family friend who did the work and countless hours Sean helped at night to get our backyard functional, usable, and remarkably beautiful! This weekend my parents came down to help us landscape, mulch, and plant countless shrubs and perennials. It was not the most ideal weather conditions, but we managed and we are again, so thankful for my parents help! I am sure this is not how they would have chosen to spend their Saturday in 103 degrees, but without question they were here to help and we are grateful for their helping hands and my mom's expertise when it comes to designing landscape. We couldn't have done it without them. We are really looking forward to getting our lawn seeded in, the play structure up, and the many bon fires & smores making evenings as a family and share with our friends. This morning Luke and I were out watering the landscape and I caught myself smiling, it was so peaceful and I could just picture sitting out on patio drinking our morning coffee while the boys played! 

This is the BEFORE picture

AFTER (an amazing transformation)

BEFORE: (in progress) leveling out the play area

 The AFTER (a level area for us to put up a play structure)

 We are still waiting on the caps for the pillars

 Patio and firepit that we are anxious to use (maybe if the lows hit the 80s we will get it going!)

BEFORE

 AFTER

AFTER: level area outside our patio doors leading to the steps

BEFORE: watch out for drop off!!!!