Nicole's Wedding

Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Derek and Nicole Bridge!!

Me and Eliza, the brand new Mom!

I'm so happy for them!

Not only did I get to see Nicole marry her best friend and help celebrate such a special time in her life, but Nicole and I got to chat quite a bit at the reception! It was so good to see her so happy! I wish them the best!

Girls Weekend

Sarah, Mom, and I got to spend some time together last weekend. Eric was out of town for the weekend, so we met at Sarah's and had a great time. Friday night we ate some pizza and watched a movie. It was a very relaxing evening. Saturday morning Sarah and I went for a run together around Pendleton. It was a beautiful chilly morning and a great time to catch up with each other. After showers, we headed over to get manicures!

Showing off the lovely nails!! We also visited an antique shop where mom found some copper items!

They might not like it that I posted this picture, but I love how happy mom and Sarah look together! The rest of the day was spent shopping and it turned out to be successful for all three of us. It was great to spend the time together. I think Sarah has been trying to plan a girls weekend since before I got married. I'm glad it worked out!


This is a picture of the vines that cover our stairs. The flowers smell wonderful. So far the bees that are attracted to the flowers haven't bothered us. Spring has been beautiful in Bloomington!

The rest of our trip...

Race day was such a beautiful day for walking around DC. After a shower, lunch, and a little rest it was good to walk around. We actually got to see a lot Saturday afternoon.

Vietnam War Memorial

Vietnam Nurses Memorial

Korean War Memorial

Lincoln Memorial

Don't we look tiny next to Lincoln?!

Washington Monument

World War II Memorial

We spent Sunday at Mount Vernon.

Monday was rainy so we spent it inside at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. It was a great trip!!

Expo and the Race

This sign was outside the Armory where the expo was held the day before the race. Of course, it provided the perfect backdrop for some photos!

Jess and Craig

Jess and Nancy

Jess and Nancy

We stopped for a late lunch salad at Union Station

Then we had some wonderful pasta the evening before the race!

Nancy, Aunt Gay, Craig, and Uncle Bill

The START line as the sun is coming up the morning of the race!!

The morning started around the mid 40*s, but quickly warmed with full sun and a beautiful blue sky with temps reaching around 75*. The first half of the race was full of spectators and lots of neat landmarks to enjoy. I really had a great half-marathon race, just a totally enjoyable run! My ankle really didn't bother me too much more than the rest of my body. Around mile 18 and 19 my pace really fell and I could really tell that I had taken the past 6 weeks off and hadn't trained to 20 miles like I was supposed to. The last 5 miles were really rough and I was so extremely glad to find that last mile. My spirits rose that last mile and I felt so much relief to finally be done!

When I first decided to run a second marathon, I was really hoping to finish around 4 hours. (I finished the Chicago Marathon in 4:38.) I was pretty much on pace in DC until mile 18 with my finishing time being 4:26. I'm disappointed that it wasn't closer to 4 hours because I still think I'm capable of a better time, but I really don't see myself attempting a marathon anytime in the near future.

I ran last night for the first time since the race. I could tell that my quad muscles are still repairing and the my ankle is still tender. I went back to my sports chiropractor today and she still recommends rest and ice. She said that according to where my pain and tenderness is she is still surprised that it wasn't a stress fracture.

Day One in DC

Our trip to DC started very early last Thursday morning. Our flight was at 6:10!! However, arriving so early allowed us the whole day for sight-seeing! The weather was great and it was a nice day to walk around.

Our first stop was the Supreme Court.

We were able to attend a lecture in the courtroom and learn a little more about how the system works. It was neat to be in the same room that such important people sit to make such important decisions.

We then headed across the street to the Capitol.

We took a tour through the new Visitor Center.

The rotunda is amazing. It is hard to grasp just how tall this area is. Our tour guide told us that the Statue of Liberty could sit on the floor of this building and there would still be room above her head before the top of the ceiling.

The semicircular room, called the Statuary Hall has almost 40 statues. Each state is allowed 2 statues, but not all fit in this room. The tour guide also said that because the statues weighed so much, they were limited to how many the floor could stand to hold.

I just happened to stand next to this guy during the tour and didn't catch his name.

Our last stop was the Library of Congress.

I think the thing I was most impressed with here was the fact that every little detail of the architecture had a story. We had a very knowledgeable docent that explained so much of what we were seeing.

After all that sight-seeing we met a family friend, Helen at a wonderful Italian restaurant, Portofinos in Gay and Bill's old neighborhood. It was a very long day, but very very good day. It was great weather for walking around and seeing so much. It was also nice to sit and chat with Helen and catch up with Gay and Bill! I think we all slept very well that night!

Almost race time...

I finally have a list made...a couple actually and I'm finally getting organized for our trip! I went to my chiropractor this morning for the last time before the race. I have really appreciated everything she has done to help speed up my healing. She was nice enough to extended her hours on two different days and stayed 2 hours after work just to accommodate my schedule.

My ankle is feeling ok. It was a little sore last week after I started slowly running on it again. So we decided that the best chance for my ankle to feel the best was to stop running again. The whole goal is to have fun at the race.

The weather for the race is forecasted to be in 50*s at the start with a high in the 60*s.

I can't wait!

Chicago Mid-Winter

One of the many reasons that I didn't post a whole lot in February was because I spent a few days in Chicago for work! 3 out of the 4 doctors and 2 other co-workers and I went to Chicago Mid-Winter for 3 days. We all took some classes for continuing education and also had a little fun. In the past, a bigger group from the office has gone to the conference, but this year it was just a few of us. Dr. Compton drove Chelsea, Lisa, and me up to Chicago on a Thursday and we were home late on Saturday.

Here is Chelsea and Lisa sitting on the shuttle on our way from our hotel to the conference! Both of them were great to spend time with! It was good to get to know them better.

We stayed at the Hyatt and this was our view from the hotel room. I love Chicago's skyline!

The Hyatt was just off of Michigan so we could just take a quick walk to shopping!

Of course I made us stop to shop at Nine West!! I found some boots that were super on sale! I had totally worn out my old pair of black boots and it was great to find a wonderful new pair!

The other gals wanted to stop at Garrett's, famous for their popcorn. The line was out the door and I soon found out the reason it was so popular! I bought some of their Chicago Mix - cheesy and carmel popcorn mixed! It didn't sound good at first, but it was wonderful!

On the first evening, Dr. Compton took us to the Cheesecake Factory! It was wonderful...

This is one of two pieces of cheesecake that we shared. Of course we didn't really have room for dessert, but we ate it anyway!

Windy City!

When we weren't in class (or shopping) we spent a lot of time on the floor. The expo floor for all the latest and great dental products was huge!! (This is actually the same place that the expo was held for the Chicago Marathon.)

To receive many of the free samples we had to sit through a product presentation. Some were pretty cheesy, some were really flashy, and others were really informative. I almost had enough samples to fill another suitcase!

Unfortunately, the classes that I spent 8 hours in weren't too informative, but I'm still really glad that I had the opportunity to go. I always hate to be away from Craig, but I'm glad that I went.