Dave’s First Marathon!!

A few months ago Dave decided he wanted to run a marathon. He comes from a family of runners! His dad has run multiple marathons including Boston as well as a few other longer races. His younger brother has run 3 marathons in MN. And all the boys in the family have run a 1/2. So, when Dave’s resident schedule calmed down for a few months, he decided it was the perfect time to train for a full marathon. He did some research on which marathon would be the best and found out that Florida doesn’t offer any marathons during the summer months. Go figure! So, after much consideration, he found one in Chattanooga, TN that he thought would be a good one. There were only a few hiccups – it was 2 1/2 months away which meant a shorter training schedule AND it was a trail marathon in the mountains, which you can’t train specifically for here in Florida, but he was up for the challenge!

So, on February 27th, he went out for his first run – an easy 10! Do you know how long it would take me to train for an “easy 10”? HA! Not my hubby – 10 miles is cake for him! Training started well, but 2 weeks in he injured his foot playing soccer. That meant about 5 days off from running, but he was able to bike. … Then, 3 weeks before race day, he injured his ankle pretty badly. He ended up seeing an orthopedic about it who suggested at least a week off of running and physical therapy. The other problem – his bike was stolen from work and he couldn’t even compensate for not running by biking to work. Once his ankle felt a little better, he started running again on the treadmill. He didn’t hit the road running until his last 5 days of training. In the midst of all those hiccups, he stayed focused and excited about race day.

Friday before race day we drove the 7 hours to Chattanooga, TN. Fortunately, Ashley, my best friend from high school, and her husband moved to Chattanooga just 3 weeks prior and we were able to stay with them! It was so nice to see them!! Ashley made a special spaghetti dinner with homemade sauce just for Dave in preparation for his run. It was delicious! Dave’s dad also made the trip up from Tampa to support him and arrived later Friday night. We got everything ready for the next morning and tried to get to bed a little early – which was more like midnight! oops!

Dave and his dad got up early Saturday morning to get to the race well before the start time of 8:00am, which ended up getting pushed back to 8:30. Here he is getting ready to start the Scenic City Trail Marathon!

 

And, he’s off…

 

Into the woods he goes… only he’s not going to grandmother’s house! haha! :)

 

We, on the other hand, slept in a bit and met Dave and his dad about an hour and a half into the race. We arrived just before 10 am and met Dave at the 11 mile aid station. He was looking good – full of energy and feeling great. He said his ankle was bothering him a little, but the brace was helping. He grabbed some water and a quick family pic before heading off again!

 

His next stop was at mile 15 so we decided to take a quick tour of the mountain and see the sights of Chattanooga, TN from above. It was beautiful outside! Here we are at the lookout point.

Cori Belle, me, Ashley, & Lochlan

Cori Belle & Pops

It was SO WONDERFUL to have Dave’s dad come up to support him. He was such an encouragement to Dave and we certainly enjoyed getting to spend time with him too!

 

Then, we headed to the mile 15 aid station to meet Dave again. We had a little extra time and took some pictures of Cori and Lochlan playing in the grass with a stick. Lochlan was wearing a sweet little painters hat, which Cori took from him to try on herself. It was so cute watching them interact!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dave made it in, still looking good. It was a much shorter stop than the 11 mile stop and he was off again. Next stop – 20.5 miles. We packed up and drove over to meet him. We got there pretty quickly and had to wait for a bit. Pops decided to run up the trail to meet him and run with him into the aid station. He did that quite a few times and ended up running about 9 miles that morning! Cori was getting hungry at this point and decided she needed a snack. She ate 4 bananas, a few gummy bears, and some Pringles from the aid station. Thankfully the people in charge didn’t mind! :)

 

Dave finally arrived. You could tell his ankle was bothering him, but he was in good spirits to finish. He grabbed a few cold, wet towels to throw on his back, re-hydrated and headed off. Next stop – 23.8 miles – then all the way to the finish. Here he is heading down the mountain after mile 20 …

 

The finish line was an uphill climb out of the mountains and onto a paved road. Couldn’t they have just put the finish on a flat surface!?! The last thing I would want to do if I was finishing a marathon would be to run uphill!!! But the runners did great! Here comes Dave…

 

He finished in 3:58.24 in the top 30. I got the picture from the back and Pop’s got the picture from the front. I thought it was pretty cool that we captured the pictures at the exact same time!! The clock doesn’t lie! :) If you look closely, you can see Cori in the picture above. She was so excited to see her daddy and ran from where you see her in the picture to the finish line. She wanted credit for the marathon too and thought it was a must to cross the finish line! :)

She was a little worried as she watched her daddy sit on the ground while we threw cold towels and water over his head. It was HOT out there, that’s for sure!! After some rest, water, electrolytes, and of course, a mountain dew, he was feeling a little better!

 

We were all so proud of him and so glad we could be there to support him during his first marathon!! It definitely wasn’t an easy first, but he did awesome! Actually, most people there were surprised that he had chosen this marathon to be his first and were very proud of his accomplishment.

 

Congrats, Dave! You are amazing. I love you and am so proud of you!! :)

Celebrating Baby!

A few weekends ago Cori and I headed to Tampa to celebrate my sweet SIL, Missy. Missy is due to have a precious baby girl on June 10th – just 3 weeks before I’m due to have Finley. The Smith family will go from 0 grandchildren to 4 grandchildren in a matter of 18 months! We have Cori Belle (16 months), Taylor Ryan (5 months), Jona Lily (due in less than 4 weeks), and Finley Grace (due in less than 7 weeks). I think it’s such a blessing to welcome all these kiddos into this family and I’m so excited that they are all so close in age! Taylor is going to have a tough job watching out for 3 girls!! But, I’m sure he can handle it! :)

We had a pink and yellow shower for Missy to celebrate her and Jona. Missy has such a bright personality and we thought these colors would fit her and little Jona perfectly! It turned out really cute! I even made Jona a few bows for her arrival. What little girl doesn’t look adorable in a bow? We are teaching the Smith family to love bows, one little girl at a time! HAHA! :)

 

It’s been so fun being pregnant with Missy. I only wish we lived a bit closer to one another so we could have relished in the moment a little more together. I am looking forward to beach week though! Ryan, Missy, David and I are all sharing a condo together and little Jona should be there too! I’ll be 38 weeks going on 39 weeks pregnant at that point. Oh, what fun that will be! HA!

 

Here is Missy getting some parenting practice with CB.

 

After the shower and a much needed nap for Cori, we headed over to visit Pops (also known as Papa Joe and Pappy as we don’t have a grandpa name for him yet! Although, he hates Pappy!!). Cori really does adore both her grandpa’s! They sure are lucky guys to have such a sweet girl love them so much! :) After a lap around the lake in the boat, Cori and Pops decided a swim in the pool was in order!

Mother’s Day

First off, Happy Mother’s Day to all of you mommas out there who may be reading my blog! I sure hope it was memorable, sweet, and special in every way possible!

Last year on Mother’s Day, we stood on stage at our church and dedicated Cori Belle to the Lord. I can’t believe a year has gone by since that special day. This year I feel so blessed to have celebrated Mother’s Day knowing that another sweet girl will be born in a few short weeks. Being a momma is one of the most amazing gifts God could have ever given women. It’s a hard job for sure, but one that challenges me and inspires me to be a better person every day in hopes that I can teach and mold a little girl (soon to be two!) to have a heart for the Lord. After all, that’s what it’s all about. We are here for two reasons – to love God, and love people. I am honored to have the responsibility of teaching that to my children.

 

David got up with Cori when she woke up and told me to keep on sleeping! A little bit later I woke up to the delicious smell of a home cooked breakfast. David and Cori had made me crepes filled with fruit, topped with raspberry syrup and powdered sugar. YUM! There were flowers, a card, my favorite candy bar, and little white board to help me stay organized all set out just for me! Cori, aka David, had written me the sweetest Mother’s Day note! :) That is one thing I can’t wait for – hand written letters by tiny hands! It was absolutely perfect!

 

We headed off to church, then celebrated lunch at no place other than – MOES! haha! After lunch, David and I had a peaceful afternoon while Cori took a nap. We wrapped up the day with a nice dinner at our friends, Rose and Ryan’s, house.

I am so thankful to be married to such an amazing guy who made me feel so special on Mother’s Day. He truly loves and adores me. There isn’t a day that goes by that I doubt his love and devotion to me and our family. Thank you honey for all you do. I wouldn’t be half the wife or mother I am without you!

32 Weeks!

Thursday was the 32 week mark. Only 8 weeks left to go! I feel like this pregnancy has flown by! It sure is different the second time around – I’m chasing around a 16 month old, I haven’t read my pregnancy book since week 28, and I feel like I haven’t done anything special for Finley yet. I think I feel that way mostly because I’m not preparing a nursery for her since the girls will be sharing a room. Cori and I talk about Finley all the time though. We talk about how they will be best friends. Cori knows exactly where “baby Finley” is and she kisses my belly quite often. Those things are special. :)

 

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 32 Weeks

Size of baby: Finley is almost 4 lbs. … I went online to see what object she would be compared to at the moment and a website called babytobeee.com compared her to the length of a knee high boot and the weight of a large pumpkin. HA!

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Gained 20 lbs – man, that feels like a lot!

Maternity Clothes: Forget my regular pants! I'd so much rather wear maternity pants/shorts. There is just something about feeling comfortable! I’m also pretty much wearing tank tops daily. Target has the BEST maternity tanks. I might have one in almost every color available!:)

Gender: It's a girl!!! Finley Grace Smith

Movement: She spends quite a bit of time stretching out my belly! Sometimes I feel like she is pushing against me with her arms and feet at the same time in complete opposite directions!

Sleep: I’m actually sleeping better these days! Can’t complain about that!

What I miss: hmmm – nothing at the moment. Pregnancy has been so good to me!

Cravings: Can I PLEASE have a Samoa cookie?!?! … Ooh, maybe D’lites too!

Symptoms: Heart burn! It’s definitely been worse this pregnancy. I also have a few Braxton Hicks every now and then. I have felt like I’ve had a few real contractions lately, but keeping hydrated helps.

Best Moment this week: Cori has been a bit under the weather these past few days and has been SUPER snuggly. I’ve enjoyed using my belly as a seat for Cori and snuggling with both my girls!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hard to tell because the picture this time around is a lot closer than last times picture. I do think it looks bigger though! … I was looking at the pictures from when I was pregnant with Cori from week 32 and on – boy, did my belly get BIG! 

Fun at the Park!

When my parents were here over Easter weekend, we took Cori to the park. She LOVES playing at the park. Her favorite thing is to climb up the stairs and go down the slide. I swear she could do it over and over and over again for HOURS on end! Makes me wish we had a backyard and a play set, but I shall not covet what I don’t have!! :)

My dad had a great time helping her climb up the slide. I’m not the biggest fan of teaching kids to climb the slide. I’m sure it’s good for motor skills, etc, but the teacher in me says, NO!! I remember being at recess telling my students over and over and over again that we DO NOT climb the slide; we slide down the slide! I’m thanking grandparents all over the world who decided it would be fun to teach their grandkids to climb what all teachers pull their hair out over teaching their students not to!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

She sure was excited once she reached the top! And even more excited to slide down again!

 

Then, it was time to head over to the swings! This particular park didn’t have swings for kids Cori’s age so she had to swing with someone at all times. Fortunately, there were plenty of people to swing with and she had a great time!