Update! Update! Update!

Well hello again......... I feel as if I've fallen off the face of the blogging world..... Here's a quick recap of the last six months (YIKES! That may be --sadly-- a new record for time before posts)

In April....

We spent a weekend in Louisville for their big festival.

The fireworks are simply amazing and vibrate your insides!!!

We did the festival, fireworks and then Fourth Street in the freezing cold!

In May...

 We spent Mother's Day at our momma's favorite--- Texas Roadhouse.

Karter ate on our side of the giant booth,
so of course we had to get a picture with him :)

This was the first tough holiday to deal with since losing Grandma.

That "Grandma" section of the cards really got me.

I was to start a maternity leave with only three weeks of school left,

but I unexpectedly got a phone call (in mid-March) to start six weeks prior to that.

I jumped into a classroom that I had only spent three hours in that year

for a teacher that I hadn't yet had the chance to meet with about her routines and expectations...

So it was a bit crazy!

On the last day of school, my family took off after everyone got home from work to get a hotel room 

before our early morning flight to Colorado to see my brother. 

(Talk about a stressful last week of school--- 

assessments, report cards, field trips, packing for vacation,
cleaning and packing up a classroom AND I lost my voice completely!)

Cam nor Kart had ever flown before, 

so it was exciting to get to watch their excitement and nervousness!

When we landed in CO, we met up with  my brother, 

got our rental car and headed to the Royal Gorge.

My mom had read about it and got us all interested in it too.

It was once the highest suspension bridge in the world!!

The place was amazing!!!

.
Cam was kind enough to carry my purse, but had to joke around about it.

*Hand on the hip

 We are SO thankful that we went because two weeks later, most of the park burned to the ground.

The bridge is still standing but pretty much everything else was a total loss.

Source

We also went through most of the places that were destroyed by the flood last month. 

So sad.

My brother took us to some amazing restaurants...

Everything we ate on the trip was AMAZING.

 This is The Sink-- a restaurant where Robert Redford once worked.

 The ceilings are a bit low.

 Outdoor breakfast.

Chad took some of us for a trail ride.

The mommas and Karter didn't join.

I was very nervous about this adventure because Cam and I were both in a wedding just days after getting back home. I was scared to death about cuts, scrapes, broken bones, bruises, etc.

But we survived!

Speaking of the wedding--- I made some fashion faux pas for the sake of tan lines on this trip!

The boys got haircuts at Floyd's Barbershop.

What a neat place!

We watched the Bolder Boulder. 

I had wanted to run it, but wasn't trained for it--- especially not in high altitude .

During the run, my dad went walking up the sidewalk, which isn't unlike him.

He saw a gap in the runners and started walking down the route holding his drink and waving!

It was hilarious!!

We spent time playing around with Kart.

We went up into Rocky Mountain National Park again.

What a beautiful place!

 This was at the highest elevation that we could go!

We also stopped at the Stanley Hotel (The Shining and Dumb and Dumber) for Cam.

It was really neat.

In June....

Cam and I had the pleasure of being in a wedding for two dear friends...

In July....

My sister sent a text one morning that she was in labor more than a week early. 

I started getting ready for the day and packing up my things that I would want. 

Shortly after, she sent another text that they were headed to the hospital already. 

Within thirty minutes of walking through the front door, Kenna was born.

 The teeny tiny thing weighed only 6lb 1oz and was jaundice

so she spent a week and a half in the hospital.

 Uncle Cam came down the flu the day she was born (I ended up sleeping at my parents' for a few days!) so it was almost two weeks before we felt it was safe for him to see her.

She's now a chunky little thing with a great big brother!

In August....

My brother came home.

We sealed our parents' deck.

 Took a family photo.

First one without Grandma :(

Cam and I met up with friends for dinner.

 We attend some festivals...

And we spent time with family

In September....

 I ran a second half marathon...

 

 And attended some more festivals....

spent more time with family and friends...

 and started a bunch of home projects...

I've painted doors and trim

Stained our bathroom vanity and medicine cabinet

Attempted board and batten

Spray painted our door handles....

 

And in the middle of all of that--- 

I got a call on a Sunday evening to start a medical leave the next morning.

I was going to be in a classroom and school that I had never stepped foot it.

I was very nervous but everyone was so great and accommodating.

I soon felt right at home.

But speaking of home--- I let our home projects take the back burner 

and now I have so many unfinished projects to complete.

In addition to everything else in the last six months,

 I have fully trained for a full marathon..

Yes. You read that correctly.

Full marathon. 

I just finished that medical leave and also my tough weeks of marathon training, 

so I'm in taper and back to working day-to-day....

 Which means that it's time to find the door knob screws that I lost,

hunt for the door jam plates that have to be here somewhere,

put the poly coat on our vanity,

finish the paint job on our doors,

figure out what to do with the board and batten that I hate because my boards are too thick 

(anyone able to plane my boards to half their thickness?)

and put away all of the clutter that has accumulated in the last month or two.

I cannot believe how tired and lazy marathon training has made me. 

Ok....let's be honest--- I've never been a good house keeper, but this is to its extreme.

It's even embarrassing ME! haha 

There have been days that it's all I can do it to get a shower in after a full work day

followed by an eight mile run. 

I am exhausted but amazed that this is really happening.

I'm three weeks away from Marathon Day

and ready to have some time back to finish this never ending to-do list.

Until Next Time...

Krista