The Day After...

The morning after the race I woke up and could successfully hobble around the hotel room.  That told me that I was good enough to go sightseeing.  Jeremy really wanted to see Fenway so that was our first stop.  Had I been healthy enough to remember we could have gone to the after party there the night before and had our pictures taken with the winners trophies!  Rats!  As it was the 11:00 tour was full so we had to content ourselves with walking around the exterior taking pictures of the park. 

Our next stop was the Public Garden.  Years before I had found the "Make Way for Ducklings" statues and wanted to take pictures of them for the girls.  It seems like every child in Boston also wanted their picture taken on the back of each little duckling.  Believe it or not we sat there for nearly thirty minutes trying to take a simple picture.  Someone had dressed up the ducklings with superhero caps that read "make way" and with the finisher medal around Mrs. Mallard's neck it was very appropriate for marathon super heroes. 

Jeremy at the ducklings' private island.

Since we weren't on any type of schedule we slowly walked along the Freedom Trail.  I couldn't walk very fast and any type of stairs or downhill slope was a challenge, but we made it to revolutionary cemeteries, the site of the Boston Massacre, Fanueil Hall, Paul Revere's house, and the Old North Church. 

By then I was spent.  I was getting dizzy again and was just really, really tired.  I wish I had some of my short-sleeve Boston gear to wear that day because it would have helped explain why I looked so pathetic.  But it was fun seeing other runners sunburned and hobbling around Boston.  We shared war stories and helped each other feel like a six-hour marathon was actually a fantastic time.  In contrast to before the race, I actually enjoyed seeing all the other runners this time around.  I felt like I had been part of something historic.  People will be talking about the heat of this race for a long time and I can say, "Hey, I was part of that!  I remember that killer heat!"  Maybe they should put my name in a history book huh?

My Boston Marathon

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.  Wait a second, this isn't a Tale of Two Cities, this is the Boston Marathon.  This is a race that people dream about.  This is a race that marathoners train their whole lives for.  This is an experience that many people only get to have once in their lifetime if they're lucky.  This was a race that should have been one of the best races of my life.  Okay, maybe it was all of that, but it was also the hardest, most tiring, most excruciating, most difficult, most challenging, and most extreme races I have ever run. 

I will preface by saying that when I packed my bags for this race two weeks ago I checked the weather and saw that it was supposed to be around 55 degrees, a perfect temperature for running a marathon.  Not to be outsmarted by the weather though, I packed tank-tops, T-shirts, long sleeve shirts, a jacket, shorts, capris, pants, a beanie, arm warmers, a visor and sunglasses.  I had a feeling the weather would change before the race the next week I just had no idea how much.  Every day while in Nantucket I watched the weather for Monday.  And every day the temperature went up another two degrees, then another, then another.  The night before the race the forecasters were predicting a high of 89 degrees.  That would make this Boston Marathon the second hottest in Boston Marathon history, beaten only by the 100 degree "Run of the Hoses" in 1976.  Race organizers were offering a deferment to any runners who, because of the heat, opted to run next years marathon instead.  4000 runners took them up on that offer.  They also cautioned anyone else to significantly slow down their pace and to make sure they hydrated very well.  I didn't want to take the deferment because I really have no idea what next April holds in store for me.  It would be a shame to let this opportunity slip away from me and I decided to race. 

Having decided to run the race, Jeremy and I headed to the runners expo to pick up my bib number immediately after returning from Nantucket.  As we were walking towards the expo we were surrounded on all sides by runners and their fans.  I started getting nervous.  It was so nice being in Nantucket away from all of the commotion of the race because I don't know if my nerves could have handled it all weekend.  The expo was huge.  Anything you could ever dream of using for running was there; watches, ear phones, clothes, accessories, shoes, gels, granola bars, treadmills, jewelry, and lots of other crazy runners.  We browsed for quite awhile before finding an earphone company that had come up with a neat design for keeping the earphones in your ears even when you're sweaty and slippery.  As we were admiring the headphones a gentleman who was purchasing a pair for himself mentioned, "I love these earphones so much that I would even buy you a pair!"  We smiled and laughed at the joke, but were shocked to discover that he really did buy a pair of $64 ear buds for us.  When we found out what he had done we searched frantically for him but he had disappeared into the crowd.  It was just the first of many acts of kindness shown us while we were in Boston. For dinner we opted to eat at the pasta dinner sponsored by the BAA because I already had a free meal ticket.  We had to wait in line awhile but by talking to the people behind us we found that they were Mormons from Utah and we joked about great talk-appropriate stories that come from events like the Boston Marathon.  Little did I know I would leave with all sorts of stories. 

We finally checked into the Kendall Hotel up in Cambridge (a bed and breakfast full of character, and highly recommended by me) and I was ready to call it a night and get my head in the game for the morning.  Jeremy still had to return the rental car back at the airport and had quite the argument with the GPS on the best way to get there.  What should have been a 20 minute drive took him nearly an hour.  Thank you technology!  Luckily my husband did return to me that night just in time to give me a good night kiss and wish me good luck.

Getting dressed that morning was rather surreal.  I chose the coolest clothes I had, took some extra food and water, crossed my fingers and walked out of the door.  My Philly friend Megan Barnhurst gave me the phone number of a girl friend of hers, Lindsey, and so we were able to meet up before loading the buses.  It was so nice having someone there to share my nerves with.  I had serious butterflies, so did she, and being able to talk about it made it seem a little more manageable and made the one hour bus ride go by much more quickly. 

When we got to Hopkinton I couldn't believe how many buses, runners, and porta-potties there were at Athletes Village.  Most athletes looked like they were totally in control and weren't nervous at all, but I'm sure they were just as nervous as we were. 

9:45 rolled around and it was time for us to drop off our bags and head to our coral.  We walked, and walked, and walked towards that start line.  I just wanted to get this party started and that walk to the corals from Athlete's Village seemed like an eternity.  We were very surprised when one of the emcees started calling out that all runners with white bibs needed to get through, that their corals had already left.  Agh!  There were too many blue bibs in the way and no one seemed to care that we had somehow gotten stuck in the middle of their pack.  We ran up to the corals, ran through the corals, and started running over that start line.  My race had begun!

I knew it was going to be an emotional race, what I didn't know is that I would start crying immediately.  I looked around and saw all of the spectators cheering us on, the Boston Marathon logo everywhere, the caliber of runners I was running with, and just started crying.  Just by making it to the Boston Marathon I had done something extraordinary.  It took me a year of training at 5:00 AM in the cold and dark, giving up sleep, vacations, and enduring a lot of pain, but I did it and was so proud of myself. 

Everyone who had ever run the Boston Marathon warned me not to get too carried away by the crowds at the beginning; they can make you feel like a million bucks and it's too easy to go too fast too soon.  To top it off I knew I had to slow it down because of the heat anyway and trying to keep myself under control was very difficult.  I settled into an 8:30 pace and hoped that would be a good pace for the entire race.  Little kids were everywhere giving high-fives to the runners, music was playing, and it felt amazing to be a part of the experience.  Lindsey and I ran together for the first five miles and were planning on running together as long as we could, but right around that five mile mark I knew I was going to be in trouble.  I didn't know if I was going too fast or if it was too hot, but I knew something had to give if I had a chance of finishing this race.  I started to run for four minutes and walk for one, hoping that the walking would give my body a chance to keep cool in the extreme heat and I could keep it up for the entire race.  I started looking for Jeremy.  I knew that he would be somewhere in the crowd cheering me on but I didn't know where.  Around mile 7 I really, really wanted my husband.  I was hurting bad.  I was starting to get dizzy when I would stop to walk and I couldn't keep cool.  I desperately needed a hug to keep me going.  When I couldn't find him I didn't know what I was going to do. 

I tried everything to keep my body cool and hydrated.  I ran through all of the hoses that the spectators had turned on for us.  I took every Popsicle that was offered to me.  I chewed on chunks of ice.  I ran on the outside of the turns just so I could run in the shade.  I stopped at every water station to take a drink and pour a cup of water over my head.  I actually enjoyed a Wild Cherry flavored Capri Sun, in fact it was the most delicious drink I have ever had.  That alone tells you that was not looking pretty.  Even though I felt absolutely miserable I couldn't help but be supported and uplifted by the amazing energy along the course.  There were people along every inch of that race course and every person was cheering.  My name was written on my bib and random strangers would call out, "Annette! You're doing a great job!  Keep going!"  Other runners would pat me on the back and tell me that I was doing awesome and just had to keep trying.  Little kids were giving us oranges and smiles.  Motivational posters were everywhere cheering on their runners.  I knew that whatever happened to me I had to finish that race.  I couldn't let down the thousands of people cheering for us, my friends and family back home following my every split on the computer, my husband who was trying so valiantly to find me and cheer me on, or myself who had set a goal to run the Boston Marathon and had made it this far already. 

Ironically heart break hill didn't even seem like the biggest obstacle I faced during that race.  I was about three-quarters of the way up the hill before I even realized where I was.  My only clue was a chalk-art drawing of a broken heart drawn by some kids before the race.  If I get the chance to run Boston again, I know that I can totally tackle that hill.  But once I got to the top I must not have been in very good shape.  Another runner asked me if I was okay and I don't really remember answering.  If I did I doubt it was intelligible.  He actually grabbed me and said, "You need help." and guided me to the nearest First Aid tent.  He placed me in the arms of a nurse and said, "Take care of her," before continuing his run.  I sat in that First Aid tent for at least a half hour.  I alternated between laying down because I was very dizzy and sitting up because I was feeling nauseous.  The nurse gave me a cold towel for my head, gave me ice chips and potato chips to chew on, and kept monitoring my vitals.  Unfortunately, I hate potato chips in the best of circumstances.  She ordered me to eat them because I needed the salt, I just couldn't do it they were making me even sicker.  She finally compromised and told me that I could lick the salt off the chips, which is exactly what I did.  I felt like a pretty hopeless case sitting on a cot with a cold towel on my head, licking potato chips.  The nurse asked me if I wanted to get on a bus to the hospital but I pleaded with her to let me finish the race.  I had not suffered the previous 21 miles not to finish the last five.  I promised that I would even walk the last five miles if she would just let me go.  Grudgingly she released me with the condition that I would seek help at the first sign of dizziness.  I was free! 

Unfortunately I only made it another mile before I was on the side of the road throwing up all the water I had been trying so faithfully to put in my system.  Luckily a pair of police officers found me instead of a nurse.  They gave me some water, had me sit down for a bit, and let me go without a fight.  I did feel better after that though.  And I set my sights on the finish line a mere four miles away.  As I walked those last few miles I couldn't help but feel that walking a marathon is so much more difficult than running one.  The pain lasts twice as long!  I have so much more respect for anyone who has ever had to walk a marathon.  I guess the saying is true, "You never know how someone feels until you walk a mile in their shoes."

When I got within a half mile of the finish line I knew that I couldn't walk in.  No matter what I'd promised the nurses earlier, I was going to run down Boylston across that finish line.  I fully expected to cry as I reached that point but I'm pretty sure I didn't have enough energy left in me to cry.  I looked up at my time and couldn't believe that I had run/walked for more than six hours; my official time was 6:17:39.  It took me a full two and a half hours longer than my qualifying marathon to finish that race.  Surprisingly though, I was just as proud if not prouder of my six-hour time.  I finished.  I finished that race despite being in pain, dizzy, and with heat stroke.  I didn't feel the least bit disappointed, I was simply proud. 

The walk from the finish line to the receiving of my medal, my heat blanket, my recovery food, and the bag buses took way too long.  The wheelchairs meant for runners looked more and more appealing, but when I finally gave up there wasn't even a wheelchair near by.  I just sat down in the middle of the road and did nothing but shiver and sweat.  Another nurse noticed and came to make sure I was okay.  She forced more potato chips and Gatorade down my throat before I felt good enough to get going.  Let's be honest though, I really didn't feel good enough to get going, I just wanted my husband.  She found a wheelchair for me and wheeled me to the few remaining bags to find mine, #15201.  At the same moment I found Jeremy so the nurse let me go.  He asked how I was doing and I just fell into his arms crying, "I'm so tired.  I'm so tired. I'm so tired."  We sat down for a few more minutes to let me calm down as I told him about my race.  He had tried so hard to find me, but there were simple too many runners for him to find me.  Next time I think we both need to wear big neon signs. 

Once I stopped crying we started the slow limping walk to the nearest T Station.  When I took out my card to pay my fare, the transportation agents told me not to worry but that runners ride free.  I wanted to cry.  Okay, I did cry.  The subway was packed and I didn't think I would be able to support myself standing up for the whole ride.  A big gnarly man started calling people out saying, "Hey!  There are runners on this train that can barely stand.  This one even has a medical blanket on.  If you're healthy give up your seat huh?"  Thankfully a woman did give up her seat for me.

Back at the hotel I climbed immediately into the bath tub to lay down.  One thing I had forgotten to pack was sunscreen and as I took off my shirt I knew that I was going to be in serious pain the next few days.  My back was to the sun the entire six hours and it was as fried as I've ever seen it.  But it didn't stop me from climbing into that warm tub and laying there for a very long time.  Jeremy came back up to the hotel room with dinner for us.  Bless that man.  After big races my stomach is never settled.  I never really want to eat anything and it's really hard to force myself to eat something.  But steak...for some reason I can always eat a big steak after a race and feel just fine.  So that night instead of partying on the town, we laid in bed eating steak, soup, salad, and juice, and watching The Office. 

Out of the 26,656 runners entered in this year's race, only 22,480 decided to toe the start line.  Out of those who ran only 21,606 finished, even last year's winner had to drop out.  2200 of those runners received medical treatment along the course, 120 of them were rushed to nearby hospitals, and at least 10 of them had to stay overnight.  I may have been one of the slowest runners to finish, but I did it.  And there were still people cheering as I crossed that blue finish line.  It was the longest, most challenging and most rewarding races I have ever run.  My teammates from Redline Running sent me the sweetest congratulations notes after the race and told me that I had the heart of a lion; and that they actually cried when they saw my next check point after my medical stop.  Maybe that's what this race needed to show me, that I can do really hard things.  I don't have to do them perfectly, but I have some awesome dedication that held me through this and for the future.  I really want to the chance to run Boston again though.  It was an incredible experience and I am very glad I did it, but I want to run that course with spirits high.  I want to remember running through Newton, and Wellsley, past Fenway, and run across that finish line feeling proud and confident.  Who knows if I'll get another chance, but I'm glad I had this one.

Nantucket

Jeremy and I just had the most fantastic week together on basically our second honeymoon on Nantucket.  No kids, no worries, no schedule...sooo nice.  Dr. Kushner offered to let us use his home on Nantucket the weekend prior to the Boston Marathon as a nice way to relax before the race, which it was.  However, getting there was like a clip from Planes, Trains, and Automobiles; I took a plane from Utah to Denver, picked up Jeremy, then flew to Chicago for a layover before landing in Boston.  Once in Boston we rented a car to drive to Hyannis, took a taxi to get to the ferry, rode the ferry to Nantucket and grabbed another taxi before getting to the house.  It was quite the traveling sequence but once we were there it was so nice. 

The Kushner's had left the house unlocked for us so we just walked in, very cautiously just in case we were walking straight into somebody else's home!  Once we confirmed that yes, we had the right house, and no we were not trespassing, we explored the home.  It is called the Beach Nut and was absolutely gorgeous.  On the main floor were three bedrooms (including the master suite with double-shower head, steam shower), and a laundry.  Downstairs there was a media room and four bunk beds where you could hop on the elevator to ride to the top floor.  On the second floor there was a beautiful gourmet kitchen, dining area, family room, BBQ porch, and outside dining patio.  It was all decorated in the calming Nantucket color scheme of red, white and blue, with beach-themed decorations everywhere.  It was amazing!  We were exhausted and went to bed soon after exploring the house.  When we woke up however, we were surprised to find that there was even more to explore!  Following a paving stone path led us to the pool, hot tub, Wet Nut beach house, and Little Nut guest house.  Each one of those homes were also equipped with their own kitchen, living room, and two guest rooms in the Little Nut.  Jeremy and I felt just a little bad that there were only two of us there enjoying this incredible property.  We didn't feel bad for long though.  While I went on a run on the beach, Jeremy found breakfast and we hung out pool side for a time.  Getting ready for the day was an adventure...I love steam showers...love, love, love.  I did not want to get out of that shower...but alas, we had an entire island to discover.

We hopped in the Jeep and drove downtown to wander through the shops.  We discovered that most of the island hadn't opened for the season yet.  Most shop and restaurant owners open up on Daffodil Weekend which is April 29th, and we were able to visit while they were still getting their boxes of merchandise unloaded.  So many cute things.  We wandered past the wharf, through an antique shop, and into the Whaling Museum, illegally.  Oops!  The doors were open so we helped ourselves.  We had no idea that they were still closed.  But we learned a lot about the importance of whaling in the history of Nantucket before we were asked to leave.  After eating some clam chowder at the Fog Island Cafe we went back to the house for a nap.  Yes, a nap and I loved every minute of it.  Then we walked across the street to the beach.

It was just cold enough that I kept my jacket on the whole day and dipping my feet in the cold ocean was not even remotely appealing, but we did enjoy seashell hunting for the girls.  We found this neat shell and even though we didn't take it home, we thought it was second-honeymoon picture appropriate. 

After going back to the house we decided it was hot tub time.  We tried to get a picture of us at the house but discovered that our camera didn't have a timer function that we could find.  So I kept trying to push the button and run back to Jeremy before the shutter flashed.  It was only somewhat successful, but I'm still glad it worked out because unfortunately it is the only picture was have the house.  Sigh...

We looked up a list of Nantucket Happenings that evening and found a blues band playing at a local brewery.  It said that food would be served and we thought it might be fun.  When we got there we realized it wasn't our scene.  Yes there was a blues band playing and it was enjoyable to listen to them, but there was only beer, no food.  So we hopped back in the Jeep for a trip downtown to visit an art exhibition opening that night.  While we enjoyed the art, I discovered that I have nothing intelligent to say to true arty-type people.  So we ate the hors d'oeuvres and tried not to make eye contact with anybody.  We really were hungry by that time and picked up some fish and chips at a local karaoke restaurant.  Luckily for us there was no karaoke that night.

The next morning I convinced Jeremy to go on a run with me again around the island.  I like running on islands, sun, waves crashing, seagulls, sea level, ah...so many good things.  After another dip in the pool Jeremy told me that he really wanted to drive the Jeep on the beach.  I decided to go along for the ride, fully expecting an adventure. 

At our first attempt to get on the beach we got stuck in the deep sand and managed to get out of there before too long.  So we decided to try another entry point.  We drove along back roads that led to huge houses hid among the tangled oak that grows on the island.  We wound, we bumped, we thumped and found a lot of beautiful daffodils on the side of the road before finding the access rode to the Great Point light house on the very tip of Nantucket Island. 

We cruised along pretty steadily on the road before it gave way to true beach driving.  Jeremy steadily kept slipping closer and closer to the waves before he had to stop the car entirely.  We were very stuck.  Having never driven in sand before Jeremy thought it would handle a lot like snow, but no.  We tried putting some planks of wood under the tires for some traction and it was working slowly.  We were just about to try a third time when a couple of guys showed up and asked us if we needed some help.  They immediately took their tire gauge to the tires and laughed when they saw it read 35 psi.  Did you know they are supposed to be 15 when driving in sand?  We didn't either.  As soon as we let the air out of the tires the Jeep handled like a dream and we got out of there in no time. 

We made it to the lighthouse and took some pictures before wandering on the beach.  We saw a bunch of seals resting in the sand.  Jeremy got down on his stomach and tried to worm like the seals.  Hilarious!  It's a good thing I got it on video.  We successfully made it off the beach and even found the hidden air pumps near the beach access to fill our tires back up.  Yet another Nantucket secret. 

We headed back into town to pick up some souvenirs for the family before heading back to the Beach Nut with a frozen lasagna and orange dream scicles for dinner.  While dinner was cooking we slaved over a Nantucket sea shell puzzle and finished it just in time.  I thought it was relaxing and romantic :) 

Too soon it was time to leave the island.  I can see why people love Nantucket.  When the island is full of tourists and the locals aren't gone on school vacation I imagine that it is a very bustling place.  But visiting beach destinations on the off-season is a specialty of Jeremy's and mine and I like the emptiness of it all.  I wish I would have taken more pictures of the homes.  There is so much character in the cedar planking and white trim.  I absolutely couldn't get enough of it.  I managed to snap one last picture as we left on the ferry of beautiful Nantucket.

Battle of the khakis

Cambrie and I do battle in the morning while she decides what to wear each day.  If we're not going anywhere, I have reached the point where I don't care what she wears as long as she's not wearing pajamas.  If we are going somewhere we have to reach some compromise so she doesn't look like a complete hooligan.  Today was one of those days.  She chose a long shirt/dress and layered it with sweatpants that were two inches too short for her.  I really didn't want to let her out of the house like that and begged her to choose something different.  But since we were going to preschool I decided to just let it go and went to get dressed myself.  Imagine my surprise when I walked out of my room and saw her dressed like this!  What?  A button up shirt and pants with a zipper?!  You have got to be kidding me!  She was so happy to look like a little grown-up and I couldn't resist taking her picture. 

Of course Kenzie saw her sister posing for a picture and posed for a picture herself.  Ha!  Love it. 

When I dropped Cambrie off at preschool Rachel was shocked, because she had never seen Cambrie in actual pants before.  Wow.  Battle of the khakis was a success today!

Easter weekend

Our Easter weekend was jam-packed with fun Eastery activities (yes, I know...the perfect kind!)  It began with an Easter egg hunt hosted by our HOA, and the best part was that we just had to walk across the street!  Thank you sweet house location.  They had to delay the start of the egg hunt for about 10 min which meant that our girls were going crazy looking at all of the Easter eggs just sitting on the grass waiting to be picked up and their contents pillaged.  While we were waiting we tried to get some pictures with some friends...but the sun wasn't being too cooperative for that.  I don't know about you but I'll take a squinty smile over a snowy Easter any day. 

When the "go" finally sounded Cambrie took off like a rocket and I didn't see her for the next ten minutes or so.  McKenzie was having a rough time picking up eggs fast enough.  As soon as she set her eyes on an egg a big kid would swoop in and take it out from under her.  I eventually found the toddler egg zone where there were still plenty of eggs to be found and lots of slow-moving babies picking them up.  Perfect for Kenz. 

After the chaos was over McKenzie had about five eggs in her basket and I was just hoping that Cambrie did all right fending for herself.  I shouldn't have been worried.  She could not have fit another egg in her basket it was so full. 

I tried to snag a family picture of the three of us having a good time.  I'm actually pretty impressed with how this one turned out.

Then the girls munched on their goodies for a bit before jumping in the bounce castle and then we headed home for lunch. 

Later that afternoon our friends hosted another egg hunt at their house.  By now the girls were warmed up and ready to go. 

Cambrie hunted high and low for her eggs and ended up choosing a Velcro bunny toss game for her prize. 

McKenzie was still a little slower and had to look longer for her egg quota but filled it up without much hassle and found a little bunny sippy cup too. 

While the kids pigged out on their new candy the adults got to have an egg hunt of their own.  The hosts had hidden eggs in the open space behind their house; eggs with ice-cream gift certificates, jewelry, $1, $10, $20, and even one $100 prize.  Everyone was looking for that $100 egg.  It took us a long time too.  We were just steps away from where it was found but still came home with $20.  I can't complain! 

After all of the eggs had been found the kids got to play in the yard.  There was a zip line, which both girls loved, and a little roller coaster.  We have such good friends, it was a blast! 

Later that night we decided we should finally get around to decorating our Easter eggs.  McKenzie kept making me nervous as she climbed all over the counter, a toddler plus a dozen cups of dye...not a good combination.  Ironically I was the one who spilled the one and only spill of the evening. 

Cambrie was very methodical about everything and wanted all of her eggs to look beautiful.  She took great pride in her glitter eggs and sunset egg.  McKenzie on the other hand was just too excited and kept throwing eggs at me until I put them in the dye for her.  But it wasn't that disastrous of an event after all, in fact we had a good time. 

The next morning the girls woke up ready to find their Easter baskets.  The Easter Bunny had forgotten to leave eggs scattered around the house and Cambrie was devastated, thinking that he had not stopped by our house.  It took a lot of hints to convince her that not only did he visit, but he did in fact hide a basket for her.  When she finally found it she was so excited!  She has been asking for her own set of scriptures for awhile and was very pleased that the bunny had answered her request for that and a new CTR ring.

Cambrie helped Miss McKenzie find her basket and then together they ate through their eggs (there were only two filled with candy at this point) then played with their new toys.  They got pens, notebooks, play dough, and colored bubbles. 

Kenzie was eating her candy with her third arm for some reason :)

Once the basket was empty, what else to do but wear it as a hat eh?

The colored bubbles the girls received are actually very colored.  The colors are so vibrant that they actually color whatever they pop on.  They will be fantastic summer sprinkler toys. 

The girls each got new Easter dressed too.  I always make their dresses and typically like to make really pretty dresses.  However, with the clothing battles I'm fighting already I decided to make something that the girls would actually wear without much complaint.  While in Breckenridge earlier this spring I found the cutest fabric to make skirts for all of us, and I am very happy with how they turned out. 

We walked across the street to take pictures of the beautiful girls in their beautiful pictures before church had a chance to ruin the moment.  Cute girls! 

A pretty pose from Cambrie.

And a gorgeous smile from McKenzie.

I made a skirt for myself this year and Jeremy insisted on taking a picture of me too...I guess that's fair. 

Easter dinner was a simple affair this year (Cambrie has been begging for spaghetti for weeks now) but to keep it special we also make resurrection rolls.  You roll jumbo marshmallows (Jesus' body) in butter (burial oils) and rolls in cinnamon sugar (the spices used), then you roll the body in a crescent roll (his tomb) and bake.  When the rolls come out of the oven the marshmallows have melted leaving an empty tomb.  Cambrie thought it was really neat.  We tried hard to help her remember the reason we celebrate Easter and put a lot of emphasis on Christ's resurrection.  It was a really nice weekend.