Black Hills 2018 : Day 1- Wind Cave & Custer State Park

Our first night we stayed at the State Game Lodge inside the Park. It was a really beautiful place to stay. We wandered around nearby to blow the car stink off us. The main visitor center was neat, loved the architecture. But the Peter Norbeck Education Center was amazing! The kids loved all the hands on displays. We stayed there for about over an hour. My favorite was watching the bird feeder and identifying the birds coming into to get a bite to eat; River and Skyler liked building a course for a rolling ball; And Robin happily played in the sandbox.

Image Via

The Next Day we got up and out the door and headed to Wind Cave National Park, a "hidden world beneath the prairie".  We did a walking tour where we entered through the natural entrance. It was really neat inside and the kids liked it, especially River. We learned about "box work" and "popcorn" formations. Robin liked saying "popcorn" and "echo". It was really kid friendly, but by the end, Robin was done. She just wanted to run around and touch everything. River earned his Junior Ranger badge and took the oath.  

After wards we drove the Wildlife loop in Custer State Park and visited the old death march- I mean hike, I took Skyler on the first time we visited 5 years ago. We didn't do the whole trail Just wandered in a little and stretched out legs.

Best part was venturing out on an unpaved road all by ourselves through fields of flowers and bison.  We unbuckled the kids and let them ride free with the window down. (Robin sat on sky's lap, remember riding around with no seatbelts as a little kid? those were the days". Sky and River explored the ponds and found all kids of stuff - turtles and Water snakes to name a few. At the top there was a Prairie Dog Village  with tons of the cute little critters. 

The Moab Half Marathon 2017

On March 18, 2017 I fulfilled a dream that has been brewing in me for almost 2+ years, 

I ran the Moab Malf Marathon. Yes, that's 13.1 miles.

I don't even really know where to begin to describe the experience, but sometimes the best way to find the words is to keep looking.

It was miraculous, transformative, healing, exhilarating, and difficult.

I let all the emotions and sensations of the moment wash over me as I ran beside the River of liquid Copper, and they ran the full spectrum. Cold to hot; joy to pain, camaraderie to solitude; weak to strong; excitement to exhaustion; disbelief to amazement. It was a race of Ying and Yang. I let it all wash over me, and run off behind me as I carried on to the rhythm of my own feet, my own breath, my own heart.
And all that was left was my salty sweat and overwhelming gratitude.

The one thing that never caught up to me was the doubt. The doubt that i wouldn't finish.
That sweep bus never had anything on me.

What a beautiful Course, a magical course! I made sure I ran with my head and eyes up. The Red Rock cliffs, the rolling Colorado River, and golden morning light were inspiring. I thought it was going to be all down hill, but it definitely wasn't. It had some long inclines and a killer hill from hell just after mile 9. But I faced that monster and others with a little from my girls SIA and Ke$ha.

By Mile 11, something changed and all I could think about was my cute family waiting for me at the finish. River was so excited to run the last bit of the race and cross the finish line together. He loved the idea of us running the race together and winning. I had left him the bag tag part of my bib so he could wear it. Knowing he was there carried me through that last and most difficult mile. I searched the sidelines for them as I came down the last stretch and my heart jumped as I saw him squeeze between the barriers and we ran and crossed the finish line together hand-in-hand. We both got metals and River that was really cool, so cool he took it with him to show and tell the next week.

I couldnt' have done any of this with out Skyler. He was so supportive and cleared any obstacles that stood in my way, giving up multiple saturdays so that I could spend hours running in the basement watching Project Runway. He's incredible and I am so grateful for him and to him!!

I can do great things. I can do hard things. I can be a wonderful and engaged mom and still follow dreams and have adventures that are not only mine, but mine to share with my little family.

Here are my stats:

Overall I was 1384th

Of all the women I was 775th

In my age division I was 110th

My offical clock time was 2h44m00s

My chip time wa 2h41m20s

my average mile time was 12m18s

I am female.

I am 33.

And I did it!

I am triumphant.

That night as I was laying in bed in our hotel room,

I began looking up options for a next race.

After 13.1 miles, I didn't feel quite done yet. 

Robin Hope : 10 Months

Our little RoRo the explorer is 10 months old, and explorer is a perfect description of her right now. With her perfected crawling, climbing, and pulling-herself-up-on-everything skills - this girl is exploring her environment every day. Her latest endeavor is to play in the kitchen opening the cupboards pulling everything out and climbing in. The tupperware and mixing bowls never stood a chance. She spent a few hours at a friends house the other day and learned how to go upstairs. She's so curious about everything. I was really proud of her when we were visiting the Oregon Coast a couple weeks ago. She loved playing in the sand and on the rocky beaches. She had no hesitations and got down and dirty, crawling and digging and basically having a ball.

I can't believe how quickly she's changing. I can't keep up as she's blazing through all these different stages. They grow and develop so much in the first year. I feel like I am getting to know her better everyday.

Now Robin comes when you call her, crawling excitedly to you. When she wants you to pick her up, she climbs up your legs to standing, which is tricky when I am wearing a skirt and comical when she climbs up on River. He always says, "Uh, I need a little help here," not quite sure what to do. She's about 3/4 of his height already. 

She's becoming so much more social and interactive. She laughs and giggles and plays with us. It's so fun. And her smile is the Best! She laughs and smiles when I sing and dance for her, and when we dance together. We all love our little Robin. She's such a funny, wild sweetheart. I could spend all day watching the funny things she does, like pulling the garbage can over on herself, getting stuck underneath a drawer she pulled out, teasing Charlie with one of his bones, or vigorously swinging around one of her toys. She loves to splash wildly in the bath tub. It's becoming quite the wrestling match to keep her from slipping and sliding all around. But she loves it.

I love her full cheeks and kiss them endlessly. I love her thickening soft hair, bright blue eyes, and plump little hands and fingers.

10 months, that was fast. 

We love you RoRo!

These Two

 

These two are like a silly old couple.

There's so much love and laughter there.

Santa Fe : Part 5 - Bandelier National Monument

River kinda likes his dad :)

Best View of the Hike, 

On our last day we visited Bandelier National Monument, just outside of Santa Fe. It was a fun place to explore. River and Skyler especially loved it because of the more difficult and adventurous pathes, where you inch between Rocks, navigate narrow paths with drop offs, and climb ladders into old Rock dwellings and caves. I was holding my breath at some points worried about River, but Skyler had so much confidence in his son and his abilities and was right there to back him up if he needed. The best was when he got into one of the caves, River took it as an opportunity fro his own personal rock concert and was singing the Geronimo song at the top of his lungs. I took the opportunity and climbed up there too with Robin strapped to my chest. It was very interesting to see how the Native People their constructed their home using the cliff walls. It was quite ingenious.

Don't you just love that last picture?? It's my favorite!! Of course it's of my favorite people too!!