I just love this little 3 1/2 year old who calls me "Momma." Despite his strong willed and feisty personality he brings so much joy into our family. He has the most curious disposition and loves to explore. He also has a sweet little heart that loves to give kisses and hugs. He keeps me laughing with his funny little observations and I love the little adventures we have during the week together. He is my little buddy!
In February we had the privilege to meet a dedicated East Coast father. In the Fall of 2010 this father started running from the East Coast with the goal of running to the Pacific Ocean in order to raise funds and awareness for mental illness. He was running in honor of his young adult daughter who has battled mental illness since her teens. Knowing I have a love of running my mother-in-law sent me a link about what this guy was doing. I was quickly captivated and touched and even more so when I realized he would be culminating his run across the country in Santa Monica. I shared the guys story with Johnny and he and I immediately knew we wanted to be part of this. In March of last year we lost Johnny's youngest brother to mental illness so this is a cause very close to our hearts. The guy was asking that any and all join him for his last mile along the beach. Johnny ran it in honor of Paul and wore one of Pauly's beanies. We are so grateful we got to be part of this and hope to do more in the future to bring awareness to mental illness. Our long term goal is to organize a yearly 5K/10K run/walk with all proceeds going towards mental health causes.
Despite the dismal and cold weather Zeke spent a good deal of time letting the waves chase him along the shore of the ocean :). After the run we all enjoyed a yummy meal along with my mom, dad, grandpa, and grandma who all so willingly joined and supported us.
I have always wanted to run a marathon. To me it is the pinnacle of success in long distance running. The crowning achievement.
I have also always wanted to visit New York City and run in Central Park. Why, I am not sure. I just always have.
When I was in my early 20's I made a goal to run a marathon by the time I was 30. Thirty is fast approaching. In just 6 1/2 months to be exact - yikes!
Fast forward to the present. On Friday my November subscription of Runner's World came in the mail and like always this issue covers in depth the upcoming NYC Marathon. I am always excited to get this issue because I am just fascinated by this marathon. It is so exciting to read about what is to come and what it is like to run there and be a spectator there.
As I was out running yesterday I was thinking all about the NYC marathon and got to thinking that why not try and get into the 2011 or 2012 NYC marathon? Hundreds of thousands of runners from all walks of life run this marathon each year so why not me?!
I got home and excitedly shared my idea with Johnny because I wanted to know if he thought this was a crazy idea, but much to my surprise he said as long as he didn't have to run it he likes the idea and thinks I could totally do it and should go for it.
So, I spent some time researching the ins and outs of this marathon and have determined that in order to get in with a qualifying time I am going to have to be really, really disciplined (think getting up early to run) and work my tail off. The 1/2 marathon qualifier for my age group is 1 hour 39 minutes, which is slightly daunting so we'll see. However, I was also glad to see that even if your time never qualifies you can still enter the lottery in January of each year and try to earn entry that way. If after three years of the lottery you aren't ever selected you are guaranteed a spot in the marathon on the 4th year so that would put me in at least in 2014.
I've got one 1/2 marathon under-my-belt from 2002, a bunch of fairly recent 10k races, and I run all the time, but in order to prep for 26.2 miles in 2011 or 2012 (I hope!) I have decided to create a structured weekly training plan that I am really, really going to try and stick to. I am also going to run a 1/2 marathon this upcoming February and a marathon in May or June so I can achieve my marathon goal by the time I'm 30, and then I'll go from there!
I am just so excited to have something big to work towards accomplishing and I'm also so excited that it will take place in New York :)!
Zeke loves dog biscuits. Whenever we are visiting my parents and he gets a dog bone for Riley he almost always gets one or two for himself too. At first I thought it was kind of gross, but really, when you read the ingredients I can't really see why they would be bad. In some ways they are probably healthier than some of the junk food out there.
So, last week Zeke and I were visiting the animals in a local pet store when I noticed Zeke hovering near the bulk dog biscuit bin. Thinking he wanted to choose something for Riley I told him to go ahead and choose one that we could save for Riley for the next time we saw her. He quickly chose a red, medium sized one, but rather than hand it over to me to pay for it he quickly took a bite out of it and would have continued to eat the whole thing, but I grabbed it from him and convinced him that Riley would really like it. I promise I really do feed Zeke - I imagine it sounds like he is a starving child to go choosing dog biscuits from the pet store :).
Below is what the biscuit looked like when we got home. By the time it got to Riley a few days later it was just a short, little stub.
Zeke turned three this past Tuesday on the 21st. It's amazing to think that he has already been with us for three years. I can't imagine life without him! He has such a happy disposition and I just love being around him (most of the time :) ). I am excited for this year because his little personality is really emerging and I love all of the questions he asks me all day long - such an inquisitive little mind. We went to the zoo recently and I love that at this age I no longer have to cart around a diaper bag or a stroller. Just me and him strolling around the zoo. He loves to practice writing his name and for some funny reason he loves the number 8 and will pick it out on signs wherever we go. He loves Thomas and his train friends. In fact, his newest train pals, Alfie and Jack, go with us everywhere. He also enjoys going to the gym childcare for an hour a day so that mommy can work out, which I am so grateful for. I would have a hard time taking him there if he cried, but because they have toys that we don't have he looks forward to going. Zeke is also a little dancing man. He can't help himself when he hears a beat - I love it! And I love him. I'm so grateful to be his mommy!
*For Zeke's birthday we celebrated with my parents on Sunday with dinner and a fire engine cake. On Tuesday we celebrated by going to Avila Barn, the pet store and having a chicken nugget and fruit salad dinner along with cupcakes by my mom. Zeke was so proud of himself when he blew out his candles :).
I received Buzzy (the graham cracker shaper) as a birthday gift sometime in the mid '80's. Somehow he, along with my Cabbage Patch babies, survived my childhood, high school, college, and into marriage. A few months ago Zeke was in the garage with me and found Buzzy. Once he laid eyes upon him it was love at first sight. He hauled Buzzy into the house and has been enjoying him ever since. What a well made toy Buzzy is to have survived all these years!
Johnny is not particularly fond of his inheritance to Buzzy because he leaves behind quite a mess of graham cracker crumbs, but I have pointed out to Johnny the benefits of this ingenious toy:
Buzzy does not have sharp edges/blade so Zeke can do this unassisted
Graham crackers crumbs are super easy to vacuum up
Zeke will easily play with Buzzy for 30-45 minutes (when you work from home this is a joyful thing!
And now he is learning to accept that Buzzy is probably going to be part of our family for many more years to come :).
We are the Root Family residing here in California. John and I were married on December 1, 2006 in the Los Angeles, California LDS Temple. Shortly thereafter, on September 21, 2007 we welcomed our little boy, Zeke, into our family. We added a second little boy, Max, on July 4, 2011. We love our little family and are enjoying life. We hope our blog will keep our family and friends up to date on the happenings in our lives. Feel free to leave us a comment!
