Day Off

After having an extremely busy week at school...I decided to take Friday off.
I couldn't wait any longer to see this sweet baby boy.

His name is Will.
He is my sister Katherine's baby.
He is so darling. It's amazing how much you can love someone so quickly.
He had a very difficult time getting here, you can read all about it here.
We are so happy he is here and doing well after such a rough ride.

Will is such a long baby. 23 inches long, uh that's almost 2 feet!
Might I add that Mike looks so attractive holding him? I think so.

Although Will still hasn't come home to his family, we know he will soon.
He is a strong baby and making good progress.
We love you so much Wallin family!

Tired?

TIRED:  

1. needing rest

2. overused

3. mental or physical exhaustion

4. inability to respond to situation/stimulus 

SYNONYMS: weary, exhausted, fatigued, worn-out, 

drained, wiped out, sleepy, being a first year medical resident

After 4 months of working 80 hour weeks, Mike finally has a whole week off! YAY! Enjoy your week. You deserve it.  (The bad news...I have Parent Teacher Conferences this week, which means no time to hang out. Such a rip off!)

Snow Canyon Half Marathon

Evaluation of Snow Canyon Half Marathon:

THE BADS:

More killer hills than I was expecting. 

(Don't ever believe it when they tell you a race is mostly downhill.)

Which meant missing my goal by 2 minutes. Grrr. Better luck next time.

Being away from Mike the whole weekend.

THE GOODS:

 

Although I missed my goal by 2 minutes, I still got my fastest half marathon time yet. I know it's still not fast compared to others, but I'm proud of myself for improving my time. 

Driving to Zion after the race and seeing the beautiful fall foliage.

Running through Snow Canyon, which brought back many memories of camping there when I was little with all of my cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents.

Hearing my dad call my name and cheer me on with a tenth of a mile to go!  

Getting this sweet action SWEAT BAND! You know I'm totally going to wear it running.

Having my dear friend Jessica cheer me on at the finish line. 

Thanks Jess for coming. It was so fun to see you.

Being able to watch my mom finish another half marathon. 

Have I told you how amazing she is? 

Well she is. 

All in all it was a great weekend and a fantastic race.  

Did you?

DID YOU?

OFF TRACK TIME

Working at a YEAR ROUND SCHOOL= 9 weeks of teaching, 3 WEEKS OFF (off track time), 9 weeks teaching, 3 WEEKS OFF... you get the picture.

Right now is my off track time and I'm loving it.

I've been spending a lot of time with this little one....


I was able to go to my cute cousin's State Cross Country Meet...

My cousin Liesl rocked the race and got her best time of the season! 

I had plenty of time to make this dracula dessert...

and get costumes for our fantastic Halloween party last Saturday.


Mike and I have been spending quality time together, which included carving pumpkins...



And I got to go out to lunch with my cute friend Lacey...

I've loved having time off. I think this is something I could get used to indefinitely.

In 48 hours or less you can.....

In 48 hours or less you can....

Fly to Chicago. Meet your favorite friends and go to dinner.

Stay at one of your dearest friend's house, stay up late talking, then go out to breakfast at a place called the Cubby Hole. You can only imagine how good the food was. NO JOKE.
You can then drive 3 1/2 hours away to the middle of Illinois to a small town called Peoria, making a few very important pit stops on your way, such as....getting lunch at a 50's drive in called The Polk-a-Dot Drive In.
You can enjoy the sculptures of the classics such as Marilyn Monroe found at the Drive In. Mike especially enjoyed this one. 
You can then make another pit stop to the annual Punkin Chunkin festival which is literally in the middle of nowhere.  
You can revel in the excellent company of the festival and the pleasure that comes from pumpkins being shot out of cannons and catapults. 
You can then finish your drive to Peoria, IL, change your clothes in a Taco Bell, attend a banquet honoring teachers of Illinois, catch up with old colleagues, and eat delicious food. 

You can leave a banquet, drive 3 1/2 hours back to Chicago, sleep for 4 hours, catch a flight and be back in Salt Lake City, all in 48 hours or less.

It's slightly exhausting, but a fabulous way to spend 48 hours. I'm glad Mike had the time off to partake in this excellent adventure. We had a blast seeing old friends, and look forward to when we can go back,  but hopefully it will be for a little bit longer than 48 hours. 

Tis the season...

Tis the season....

For going up the canyon and enjoying the beautiful fall colors..

For pulling out your favorite old jackets.
For Pumpkin Shmear from Einsteins...

(It's only available this time of year through November. Try it! You won't be disappointed)
And of course homemade pumpkin cookies....

Can't get enough of these cookies.

I know I said it before but I love fall.  

Don't you agree?  What's your favorite thing about fall?