13.1 Miles Blissful Miles

I ran me another Half Marathon and it was down one of my most favorite canyons.  That alone, usually calls for bliss.  However, this year called for more bliss.  In addition to running with some of my favorite running buddies, my brother joined me for his very first half!  This is utterly amazing and special, folks!

Here we are running in the canyon.
I am in bright orange, Tyler is next to me in black.

Why you might ask?  Well, this cool dude took a serious turn towards a healthy lifestyle and over the last year or so, he has dropped nearly 200 pounds and he can run like the wind!  He eats incredibly healthy, watches portion sizes like a hawk, and he exercises like a champion.  

With his permission, he has allowed me to share his Before-After photo.  A.Maze.Ing!  Need I say more?  So, needless to say, this Half Marathon was indeed a blissful one for more than one reason.

True to form, this half marathon started bright and early.  Race time was at 6am, and we loaded the busses at 4:30am to be taken to the drop-off point in the canyon.  It was still dark when we got there.  

Me and Ty at the starting line.  Seriously . . . the scenery was beautiful!

Race day is always soooo much more fun when I’m in good company.  

Me, Becca, and Jen
I love these girlies sooo much!

I ran with my brother throughout the entire race.  We ran the whole way and only stopped at a few of the aid stations for water.  Here we are at mile 9-ish.  We had some family members come to cheer us on.  While they only saw us for a minute, seeing their faces and hearing their cheers was a nice re-charge for us!  

After crossing the finish line, I was so excited to see two of my most greatest supporters!  My hubby has given up so many Saturday mornings so that I can get my long runs in.  Trust me; this is a huge sacrifice for him. 

And, my little angel has often times spent more time in the jogging stroller than she would ever care for.  They are both troopers and I’m lucky to have their support!

Seriously!  I had such a great time.  One of my most memorable 13.1 miles ever.  We’re all committing to do it again next year.  Come join us!  We would love to have you.  You have a year to get ready.  No excuses!

A Daddy and a Daddy's Girl

Father's Day came and it's always fun to honor Beau.  He is seriously the best daddy in the whole wide world.  The way he loves our little Evie is beyond words.  He lives to come home to her after work, will give up what he loves most to spend time with her, and adores the heck out of her.

The feeling is mutual as Evie loves her daddy.  Her face lights up when she hears the door open as he comes home from work, she can't wait to go out and feed the horses with her daddy, and playing with daddy in any capacity is soooo much fun.  Without getting too sentimental and mushy, tears well in my eyes at the the thought of Evie not growing up with a daddy.  The way she loves spending time with her dad is priceless and does so much for her emotionally.  Adoption . . . what a blessing!  I'm so grateful that these two have each other.

Evie helped daddy open his gifts.  He got a new BBQ set (as he's the BBQ master around here), some new pants, new sunglasses, and an exercise foam roller.  Oh . . . and balloons of course.

And, true to form of being an awesome daddy, he was sure to read several stories to Evie at bedtime.

I love watching Beau be a dad.  He is amazing and I'm so lucky that he's my husband and the father of my children.  He rocks and watching him be a daddy makes me love him more than I already do.

Boating Fun

Along with family members, we also have some friends who have a boat. These fun friends invited us for an afternoon on the lake.  This was our first day on the lake this summer.  We seriously had soooo much fun!

Evie loved being on the boat . . . and, so did we!

Daddy took Evie for her first ride on a tube.
She liked it for the first 30 seconds and then
cried to get off.

Evie begged to get in the water and swim so I gladly jumped in with her.
She insisted on taking the noodle with us so she could "kick" while we
were in the water. The waves in the water took her a little off guard
(not quite the same as the swimming pool) so she
 didn't end up swimming all that long.