Valentine's Birthday

Valentine's Day is extra special for us. It's Jason's birthday --- and how he loves being a Valentine's Day Baby! Ha! He thinks it's a day for girls.

Cheesecake with peanut butter M & M's -- his favorite!

How many candles?

All of my Valentines! Love you!

Jewel Girls

Me, Tina, Brittney, Kelly

Kelly is celebrating a birthday this week and Brittney masterminded a surprise Girl's Night Out for the beautiful birthday girl. We took Kelly to Chile's for dinner (her fave) and then drove to Table Mountain to see Jewel perform. Kelly had no idea and squealed in delight when we handed her the concert ticket -- as she was walking through the doors to the theater. Jewel has a soothing voice and it was an acoustic tour. Very relaxing, a sing-a-long kinda night. Amazing! I love these girls! We had a great time. Happy 35th, Kelly!

Disneyland

The Happiest Place on Earth proved to be happy once again. Nearly four years since our last visit, the kids were excited for this mini-vacation (and so were me and Jason). We stayed in the Disneyland Hotel and enjoyed 3 days of park hopping, food, and family time. Jason's brother, Trenton, and his family, joined us on Saturday which was a highlight of our trip.

First photo of the day -- all smiles and it's sunny.

Davis wanted to see Mickey's house immediately. No stoppin' to see Minnie.

Chandler was chosen to attend Jedi training. He feels complete now.

Chandler takes down Darth Vader.

Chandler and I were in a different rocket. I laughed the whole time. Olivia and Davis look petrified. I think this was Davis' first "thrill" rollercoaster. I decided that a pregnant belly and Space Mountain aren't a good mix.

This is the ONLY teacup I'll EVER sit in. Teacups and me -- not a good combo.

Olivia and I pooped out early the 2nd day but not the boys! They played until the park closed Friday night -- rain and all. They walked into the hotel room and I had to stop them at the door. Soaking wet -- and all smiles.

Disneyland -- where dreams come true! Jason's childhood dream was fulfilled. He enjoyed a delicious meal at the Blue Bayou -- the "outdoor" restaurant along the Pirates of the Carribean ride.

Eating lunch at the Blue Bayou with my cute 'lil pirate.

Surf City

Jason, Kelly, and I had an amazing weekend in beautiful Huntington Beach. The marathon course was gorgeous -- the park, the boardwalk, the ocean views, the homes, the people, everything! It was a perfect day. Can't wait 'til next year!

Jason met me and Kelly at 5:30 am for our official send-off. We were excited! Jason ran the 1/2 marathon and accomplished a personal record -- 13.1 miles in 2 hours, 1 min. It's very difficult to sustain that pace for long distances. Great job, Jay! His 1/2 marathon course merged with the marathon course and Kelly and I looked for him in the crowd of 18,000. And he found us! He came running up behind us and we were able to run together for about one mile.

Hot Marathon Moms. Alex, Kelly's son, wanted Kelly to buy a t-shirt at the expo that said "marathon mom." Kelly responded with a definite, "Uh, no thanks." She's one hot marathon mom, though. If you look closely you can see the crystals on my t-shirt that spell --26.2. Kelly put hers on the back. We had to bling, bling the boring black tank!

Our surf board medals! The 1/2 marathon medals are only 1/2 as long as the full marathon medals. It's like "Mini-Me" (for all you Austin Powers lovers).

Jason finished his race about an hour before I did. He waited on the beach at mile 25 for me and ran in the final mile. I needed his support to get through it and I love him for it. I ran my first 20 in great time, but promised everyone I wouldn't push myself. I was fine walking/running the final 6.2, but really wanted to run in my mile 26. I saw the mile posting for 26 and I started to cry. I had three minutes to meet my goal time of 5 hours, so I sprinted in my last tenth of a mile and heard people screaming and cheering me on. I finished in 4:58 and some seconds. That was euphoric. Crossing the finish line is an indescribable feeling. It's the feeling that inspires me to race again.

After the race, we had a picnic lunch in Corona del Mar. I was craving a turkey sandwich on wheat bread -- so good! It was absolutely beautiful! Kelly and I decided that we're gonna move there . . .

A little sore but still smiling. The beach always makes me happy!

Chandler's New Talent!

Chandler just learned how to flip his eyelids! He has lots of fun grossing out Dad, Mom and siblings with this newfound talent. He even wanted to share this talent in Primary singing time today when the singing time chorister asked the kids if they had any suggestions for the song "If Your Happy And You Know It." Everyone sing along! "If your happy and you know it flip your eyelids!" Needless to say, Chandler's suggestion was not adopted for singing time. This kid has a knack for making us smile.

A Look Inside

This morning I had an ultrasound and genetic counseling appointment at Valley Children's Hospital. How amazing it is to see through a big 'ol belly and into the womb! The ultrasound took over an hour and we saw it ALL! The genetic counselor, Cody, was cool and the nerdy scientist in me enjoyed listening to him explain chromosomes, DNA, non-disjunction, meiosis, etc. I think Jason tuned out the Bio lecture. I was all smiles when the technician said the baby is measuring at 12 weeks, 6 days which is 5 days ahead of my first due date. I think the baby is building some muscles from all the running he/she is doing. Yippee! Maybe I'll have this baby on lucky 07-08-09.

Flashback Friday: Guess My Age and Where I am

In an unsuccessful attempt to convert the "craft room" (AKA Mom's messy room) into the nursery, I stumbled upon some photos of me from years ago. I thought it might be fun for my fellow bloggers to guess my age and which city I'm in.

Clues: U.S. city. I've only been to this city once. It's the hottest place I have EVER endured and I lost about 5 pounds of water that day. Historically rich. Famous street. Any guesses?