Marathon Monday- It's actually Monday! -Amy

Hello again, Blogworld.  Get yourselves ready for my weekly marathon training update!

Schedule for last week:
Monday: 3 miles
Tuesday: Turbo Jam
Wednesday: 3 Miles
Thursday: 4 miles (skipped this!)
Friday: Rest
Saturday: 5 miles (turned into 3)
Sunday Rest

Reflection:
So all in all, this was not my best training week.  I had  TON going on at school (it was the last week of school along with a long list of check out duties that kept me busy until roughly 6 pm each night).  Due to the fact that Thursday was my last full day of teaching I decided to trade my run for celebratory drinks.  Also, we had a weekend full of belated celebrations which left very little time to squeeze in a work out.  I was actually really proud of myself that I managed to squeeze in 3 miles this weekend.  We were in La Porte to celebrate Roger's birthday with his family and Father's Day with both of our Dad's.  My weekend agenda went something like this:
Friday night: dinner out and Polish Carnival in La Porte with Roger's family
Saturday day: BIG breakfast made my the one and only wonderful Cindy Jackson
                      Quick Run
                      Drive to Valpo for a Friend's Housewarming party (which was an all night event)
Sunday: Lunch with said Valpo friends before heading back
            Bridges Waterside Grille in Michigan City, IN with my parents for Father's Day.

All in all, it was ROUGH to get in any time to work out.  I managed to run from Roger's house to a local park where I ran around a mile long trail then ran home.  Also, I kicked off THIS training week with a bang by getting up before work today to do a Turbo Jam video.  The good news is, 5 miles was my long run and that is not too challenging for me these days so I didn't miss a really important long run.  I can definitely make it up this week.

On to the next week!

Don't forget to pass along my info if you get a chance:
http://www.active.com/donate/teamsweetness2012/AmyJackson
                                                           

Colorado Camping - Brady

This past Thursday - Sunday, Kevin and I went camping with some good friends out in Colorado. The group was composed of his three best friends from high school, their significant others, and some other friends they've collected over the years.

We had the best weekend. Our campsite was as pretty as can be, we had some awesome adventures - white water rafting, mountain climbing, hot springs, and we spent lots of time sitting around the campfire with people we don't see nearly enough. Below are some of my favorite pictures.

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This first shot is the view from our beautiful campsite. That's a mountain lake in the distance.

Here's another view of our campsite.

Our clean tent, the first night.

As a group we decided to make a little tent city and then leave a hang out area down around the fire. 

 Two awesome dogs were on our trip. This is Meilo, the dog of our friends Matt and Liz.

We took a little hike around the lake and had to cross a river on these logs. This is me right after I made it, shaky ankle and all. 

I skipped out on hiking a "14er," but this is Kevin at the top of a big mountain. Notice the snow on the lower peaks.

Climbing a mountain this high is such a big deal that there's a pad of paper hidden in the rocks that you sign when you make it to the summit. 

We went white water rafting which was a lot of fun. We were allowed to jump in the river at one point, and it was so cold I had this weird reaction where I couldn't stop laughing. 

Me and Indy, our friend Matt and LJ's dog, wearing the cone of shame. If you know my "Papa," Max Sherman, look at this picture and tell me my smile doesn't look exactly like his here. When I saw this picture the resemblance shocked me.

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I don't say it enough, but I feel so grateful both to have such good friends and to have the opportunity to travel as much as Kevin and I do. Our lives are full of great people and great adventures. 

Happy Summer! - Brady

Today's the summer solstice...the longest day of the year. Even though Kevin and I are absolutely exhausted from a camping trip and a couple of subsequent early mornings, we dragged ourselves out of bed at 4:45, poured some iced coffee (with cinnamon and brown sugar - yum - for the recipe, click here), and headed out to the lake to watch the sunrise. Here are some photos - the coffee, the sun, and our sleepy faces. Have a wonderful start to the best season of the year! There's nowhere better than the Midwest in the summertime.

Marathon Monday- Amy

Yes, I'm going to continue calling these posts Marathon Monday even though they don't happen on Mondays sometimes (or, ever). 

Anyways.  Quick Marathon training update:

Running schedule last week:
Monday-Turbo Jam
Tuesday- 3 Miles
Wednesday- Turbo Jam
Thursday- 3 miles
Friday- rest (and/or drink wine)
Saturday- 8th Grade Graduation!
Sunday- 7 miles

Long Run Reflection:

IT'S HOT.  It's MUCH different running these long runs in the hot, humid weather.  For every other race I've ever trained for I've always been training in coldish weather, so this is a big change.  I've noticed that it's difficult to catch a full breath when the weather is so humid.  I have been counteracting this change with LOTS of water and a couple of stretch breaks in the shade to cool down a bit.  I am definitely still getting used to it, but because I know how much I have improved my time and endurance since the first race I ever trained for (a 15k in Nov 2010), I know this is just another obstacle that I need to get used to and overcome.  I am still confident (although sometimes overwhelmed) that I will be successful at finishing this marathon.  I'm a firm believer that if you put your mind to something you will succeed.  I will succeed at this! 

Just a reminder, I still need some help with fundraising!  Any tiny amount or even just sharing the link on your facebook, twitter, or with your family and friends is SO appreciated!

http://www.active.com/donate/teamsweetness2012/AmyJackson

Happy Birthday, Birthday Boy! -Amy

This handsome devil is turning 27 today!

Happy birthday to you... oh, and to your twin brother too!

(

(That picture was taken as a part of  a theme party in college where they were dressed up like the twins in the lost boys from Peter Pan.  Hilarious.)
Love you both!

Wedding Shower Fun -Amy

This past weekend I had the pleasure of hosting a wedding shower for my best friend, Ashlie.  It turned out so well and it was so much fun.  My wonderful grandparents lent their house to me once again for this party (I got married there in July of 2010), and it was again confirmed that my grandparents are the best hosts and have the best party house.

One of the parts of the shower that I was most proud of was the refreshments.  I LOVE to cook and this party showed me that I am actually pretty decent at it and that I may have gotten a slight bit of my grandma's hostess gene.  It all turned out really, really well thanks to tons of help from friends, my mom, and my grandma.  Here are pictures of some of the cuisine that we enjoyed:

Appetizers: Bacon-wrapped dates and water chestnuts, cheese tortellini skewers, and homemade bruschetta

Dessert: Chocolate mouse pie, chocolate covered strawberries, pina colada pie, and fresh fruit (none homemade and the strawberries were dipped by grandma!)

Champagne bar!

We also had a blast with some fun bridal shower games:

Newlywed Trivia- Match the groom's answer (6/15 isn't bad, right?)

Toilet paper dress and veil:

After the shower 15 of the guests enjoyed dinner at an Italian restaurant in La Porte called Enzo.  Then, some of the girls went out to Blue Chip Casino and had a blast dancing the night away.  It was truly a great day with lots of family and friends!  Congratulations Ashlie and Nick!

Some of my very best friends:

 All of us with our Moms!  We are lucky girls!

Camping Adventure - Brady

Last weekend, Kelly, Kelly's good friend (and my new friend) Erin, Kevin, and I had a little camping adventure. We're participating in a CSA this year - that stands for Community Supported Agriculture. We pay them a certain price at the beginning of the season and get a box of their produce every week or so. It's kind of like buying a small share of the farm.

Anyway, the farm we chose is apparently the coolest ever because they invited us out for a Memorial Day Weekend camping trip! It was a blast. I had so much fun I want to drag all of my family and friends there next year.

We arrived on Saturday afternoon and quickly made camp. It was a really simple set up. The family who runs the farm had cleared little nooks in the woods on the property. We chose a shady one, put up our tents, snacked on the ridiculous amount of food we brought along (peanut butter pretzels and Kettle Corn cookies...yum), and got changed.

Once all of the visitors (maybe 30 of us?) met back at the farmhouse, we got a tour of the beautiful grounds. We saw their geese, chickens, fields, baby vegetable plants in their greenhouse, and where they grow mushrooms (that's the photo of the stacked up logs below - so interesting!). Best of all, they took us to a strawberry patch and let us pick some fruit. Let me tell you - there is nothing like eating a just-picked strawberry that's still warm from the sun.

After our tour we had about an hour before dinner. Kevin, Kelly, and Erin ate an entire jar of bean dip, apparently, and I took a nap. It was so nice to sleep in our tent for a little bit.

I don't have photos of the evening, but it was great. They cooked us a dinner made entirely from their own produce along with cheese and meat (for the lone carnivore in our group) from neighboring farms. THEN, my friends, came the talent show. Wow. Hippy renditions of Bob Marley. A very insecure farm intern singing a nice version of "Girl from Ipanema." A didgeridoo (that long Australian horn-type interment) performance. I still think the four of us should have put something together. We all eventually migrated to the campfire, ate smores and marshmallows and drank Leinenkugels, and finally gave up around 10:30 and headed to bed. 

That night Kelly, Erin, and I slept for ten hours. Ten hours! On hard ground out in the woods. Kevin got up early and took a hike by himself and took some photos. Did you know this is how asparagus grows (third photo down)?

We woke up just in time for a very gentle yoga class on the deck of the farmhouse. And then breakfast was more farm and locally grown/raised food, including maple syrup from trees on the property. After we ate as much as we could hold, they took us strawberry and rhubarb picking one more time. They sent us home with what we picked as well as bundles of asparagus and some snow peas they had in storage. 

It was such a cool experience - one of the most interesting weekends I've had in a long time. You can click here to go to the farm's website.