st. george

I am SO blessed to have a kind and generous husband...who not only encourages me to run, but has given me the opportunity to do something so fantastic as TRAVEL to go running.

This is my very first (of hopefully many) trips to run a race away from home.

I flew into Las Vegas so I could run the St. George half marathon.

I flew into Las Vegas because it's the closest airport to St. George, Utah.

It also happens to be a destination that Hawaiian Airlines flies to so flying was no problem at all.  :)

My first stop in Sin City was visiting with an old High School friend I hadn't seen since BEFORE high school graduation!  Through Facebook, Shana and I were able to reconnect and had a great chat before my long (ok, it's only 2 hours, but that's long for a girl that lives on a tiny island) drive up to Utah.

We both decided that we look the same as we did back in high school (over 17 years ago) 

And since we both agree....it must be so. :)

This is a picture of the middle of nowhere...some point between the northern most Nevada city and the southern most Utah city.  

I will admit to getting a bit sleepy here...though you can't really fault me.

I was coming off a red-eye flight from Honolulu to Vegas and lets be real here...there isn't much to tease the eye in these parts!

Thankfully, I made it to St. George in one piece and without falling asleep.

My very first stop in Utah was to visit the St. George temple.  

It was BEAUTIFUL!  I felt like I was visiting a piece of church history!  Which technically, I was, since apparently this temple was the very first temple built (finished) in Utah!

There was a lot of history and reverence on the grounds and inside.  And though I will admit to dozing more than a few times during the session (hey, red-eye flight + 2 hour drive, remember!) I am grateful that I was able to visit this most beautiful building.  

After checking into my shady hotel room (and believe me...it was SO creepy!  I had them change my room because the first room looked like it could have been used as a crime scene in CSI!  No joke!), I got my race packet and gear at the health expo.  There was a super nice physical therapist there taping people up.  He done taped me up good!  :)  Now I'm all ready to run!

But first...to get a good nights rest. 

 I can't recall the exact time I woke up...but here I am all dressed and ready to go.

I know, not the most flattering of running gear-but I wasn't running to impress anybody by my looks.

And I forgot to mention that while St. George is typically known as the warmest part of Utah...it IS still Utah.  And it IS the middle of winter.  As luck would have it...it also happened to be one of the COLDEST winters St. George has seen in years.

The temperature?  24°F.

Awesome!

Here I am warming up in my car before the race because I can't get myself to leave the car.

Did I mention it's 24° outside?   

Oh, and I forgot to also mention that I was coming off one of the WORST colds I have ever had.

Runny nose, coughing, sinus pressure, the works.

I medicated myself before the run, but still.  Not feeling fantastic + freezing cold weather?  Not my ideal condition for running 13.1 miles.

But what can you do, right?  

While I HATE pictures of myself running...I'll post these pics anyway.  

Who knows if I'll ever run another race in St. George, Utah! 

So, here I am in my FREEZING cold glory.  I wasn't feeling great, I was freezing cold, and I had lots of layers on...but might as well document the thing properly, right?

 And here I am post-run.

I finished in 1:52.  A new personal record for me...2 minutes less is still a PR, right?

And don't let the sunny blue sky fool you. It was still a freezing cold 25° out.

Besides visiting the St. George temple, I really wanted to check out some famous sites in the area.

After a short nap after the run, I headed out to Zion National Park.

It was less than an hour drive out of the city so I couldn't pass up the opportunity to do some exploring.

The first place I checked out was the Emerald Pools trail.  Unfortunately, part of the path was blocked off due to some precariously melting icicles overhead.  I had to stop and turn around. :(

 But...not to be deterred, I decided to spend the last few minutes of daylight hiking the Watchman Trail.

It's one of the safer, easier trails so I figured I'd give it a go.

It was SO BEAUTIFUL!  And while I found myself huffing a bit towards the top (hey, I just ran 13.1 miles a earlier that day!), it was SO worth the effort!  The weather was perfect (cold, but perfect) and I got to see some sights I had never seen before.  Like a huge deer crossing less than 10 feet in front of me! 

And lastly, before heading back home to Hawaii, I got to see my good friend Gini.  She was supposed to run the half marathon with me, but couldn't because of her daughter's soccer tournament..  We didn't get to run together, but it was great catching up with her and meeting her lovely family in Las Vegas before catching my flight home.

It was a whirlwind 3 day trip for me...with lots of new adventures and yummy food...all by myself.

My first solo trip since I was in college in Japan!  I was a tad nervous but ended up loving every minute of it!

I'm so grateful for an awesome husband who let me take this trip by myself.  And for his awesome company that allowed me to fly for free!  And awesome friends I got to meet up with while on my trip.

Whew!  I'm already looking forward to my next running trip!  :)

laughing gas!

Anna has a cavity.

Or, I should say, she has TWO cavities.  And in order to repair it, the dentist recommended Anna get loopy with some laughing gas.

No, she didn't laugh...but she did great!  Or, I should say, the nitrous oxide gas was great!

She was relaxed, happy, and calm as she watched a dinosaur movie on the iPad mounted above her while the doc fixed her two cavities. 

Easy-peasy!

first game...is a win!

Anna's first game of the season was great!

 We aren't used to seeing her team win, so we were THRILLED!

And...not to sound to boastful, but Anna scored TWO goals! 

She was super happy....mostly because Mitch started a tradition that we all get to go eat ice cream to celebrate soccer goals.

 Personally, I don't think Anna could care less if her team won or lost...so long as she scored a goal and got to eat some ice cream in the end. Which, frankly, isn't a bad philosophy.  

We always tell our kids to do their best...win or lose...that so long as they tried their best, that's all that matters, right?  

 And...when we get to celebrate with ice cream (or frozen yogurt, in this case) we ALL get to reap the benefits.  :)

Way to go, Anna!

let the soccer season begin!

So, the new year has begun and we are in full swing.  

And by "full swing" I am talking about school, homework, and soccer.

The new soccer season has started and with it, a new team for Anna.

We were a bit nervous (since her last team was kind of a disaster!) but this year seems to be off to a most excellent start.  For starters, her team is actually pretty good!

Of course, winning isn't everything...but it does help the girls (not to mention us parents) enjoy the games.  

So, Anna has a new team and she is thrilled...because though we have a new coach, we also have 4 of the same team member as last season!! 

 Spring season for soccer is always nice because the weather tends to be a bit cooler than the Fall season...but the downside is that it also means more rain. 

This day proved no exception.

It started out beautiful and sunny...with a double rainbow to sweeten the view!

 And then half way through practice, it proceeded to DOWN POUR!

Thank goodness I brought my umbrella!

Thankfully, the kids didn't seem to mind all that much.

Rain or shine...GO ANNA!

baby nixon's blessing

January 6th, Elika's baby Nixon was blessed.

Her church started SUPER early (8AM) and with her living an hour away, we had to leave super duper early in the morning to make it on time.  Whew!  Not an easy task!

But, we got there just in time and the blessing was beautiful, as was the weather!  

And simply being there to help celebrate this beautiful new baby into our family made it all worth it.

What a big group! And this wasn't even everyone since many of the little kids ran off to their primary classes without us knowing!

 My Mom and baby Nixon.

After church, we headed to Elika's for some yummy lunch.

Here's Seina and Kela...two small butts fitting snugly in one chair.

And the rest of the gang.  

Or, at least most of them.  So many kids!!

 And then, it being the day after Kaden's birthday, I made cupcakes to also celebrate my son's turning TWO years old!!  Where did the time go?!?  

By this time, he was SO pooped out from running around and playing with his cousins that minutes after finishing his cupcake, he was OUT COLD!

All of us.  

We sure do like these group pictures!!  Ha! 

So many of us!!

happy birthday to kaden!

I cannot believe my baby boy is TWO!

It seems like just yesterday he (quite literally) jumped into our lives!

Our family wouldn't be complete without him for sure!

Here he is...just hours old!

Ahhh...thinking back to the day he was born always makes me laugh and smile...and feel grateful it's ALL over!

If you need a refresher, take a look at my blog post here.

Needless to say, he shocked the nurses and myself in how fast he came!  He came so fast, Mitch wasn't even in the room yet because he had to re-park our car from the ER entrance!  :(

But, alls' well that ends well, and he arrived safely and healthy.  

The girls have all loved him from day one...and that continues to this day!

He's rambunctious and mischievous and definitely a force to be reckoned with.

He loves his Daddy, his Mommy, his sisters, cars, airplanes, and the ipad.  In that order.  

I'm guilty of babying him and have openly acknowledged the fact that I am trying my darnedest to raise a little "Mama's Boy."  

Luckily for everyone else, I haven't succeeded.  No, he's definitely a Daddy's Boy through and through.

♥

Happy New Years!!

I can't believe 2012 is over!!  Where did the time go?!

So, continuing on with the Holiday festivities, we all got together once again for New Year's at my sister Airi's house.  On the menu for this special night was SUSHI!

 Here I am helping to roll out the spicy ahi and california roll sushi...while Seina helped with cutting them up.  I probably got the easier job...have you ever tried to cup up a sushi roll?  

Not so easy!  I know this because after Seina gave up, I cut up the rest of the rolls as well.  

My plate of food.  SO good!

And per tradition...as we got closer to ringing in the new year, we made some Okinawa Soba and inari sushi to munch on while we waited for the clock to strike midnight.

Okinawa Soba is a favorite amongst ALL the kids.

 

Happy New Year 2013!!

Can you see the fireworks in the back??  Probably not very clearly since this was taken with my camera phone...but the view from Airi's lanai is quite spectacular!  What a fun and relaxing way to watch the Waikiki fireworks!

Here's one of my favorite Holiday treats: Zenzai.  Sweet red bean soup with mochi balls.  Mmmm!

 Atau holding baby Nixon in the football hold...the Heisman trophy pose?

 Here we ALL are! 

And to end the night...we celebrated Jonas' 16th birthday!

I cannot believe my nephew is SIXTEEN Years old!!  

Happy Birthday Jonas, and a Happy New Years to all!

Let's hope that 2013 brings many happy blessings and adventures to blog about!