We Did It!

After almost six months of diligent training, my friend Maegan and I finished the Salt Lake Half Marathon! I am so proud of how we did! I did not think we could do it as fast as we did. About three miles into the race, we were talking about the time we would get if we ran ten minute miles. I remember thinking "There's no way we are going to run it that fast!" And we did! The results were posted today and we found out our time was 2:10:07 and that our mile pace was 9:56! I will post pictures from it later, but I just wanted to share the happy news. I am so happy I did it. My favorite part of it all was getting together with Maegan three times a week to chat and run, but the actual race was really fun too. The feeling of accomplishment is wonderful.

Chad also ran the half marathon, and did amazing for not training for it! He ran the first five miles with Maegan and me, and then stopped to walk for a bit. He finished less than twenty minutes after us, despite the fact he didn't hardly train at all and we trained a lot! My brother-in-law Jon ran the full marathon and also did amazing for not fully training for it. Go Jon for finishing your fourth marathon! Wow! My other brother-in-law Preston and my sister-in-law Caytee ran the half-marathon and both did awesome too. Yay for us! Like I said, I'll post pictures later.

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggety Jig

For those of you who requested a report of our vacation, here 'tis.

Chad and I got home two days ago from a two week vacation! Well, the first week was a semi-vacation for Chad, since Mon-Thurs he was participating in a Pediatric Chief Resident Conference to prepare him for his role next year as chief resident. But even that week was like vacation for him compared to the hours he has been working!

On Sat. Mar. 15 we drove to Las Vegas and got there just in time for the Mountain West Conference championship game for men's basketball. Thanks to Chad's friend Rich for getting us tickets! It was quite sad to see BYU lose to UNLV (darnet!), but then Rich took us around Las Vegas for a bit (I have to say it's not my favorite city, but we got to see some pretty sweet circus performers in one of the malls/hotels we went to), and then we visited Chad's friends Bryan and Mariyah who live in Henderson. We spent the night, Sunday morning and afternoon with them (what a lovely family they are!!), and then we drove to Redondo Beach where Chad's conference was.

Monday through Thursday was the conference, and here are some of the highlights from our time there:

-Going to Korea Town and eating Korean BBQ with the two other chief residents in his program
-Getting together with his friend Wendy from medical school, and her husband Brian
-Sleeping in
-Playing tennis in the warm sun
-Walking along the beach
-Reading Goose Girl (another Shannon Hale book--I've decided I really like her books)
-On Wednesday while Chad was in his meetings I went to the Las Angeles temple--I never realized it is smack-dab in the middle of the city! I love the temple so much.

And then on Thursday night we went to WICKED!!!! Big Sigh... I would be very surprised if anyone in the audience loved it more than I did. I am a total sucker for big shows like that! I told my sisters that I don't know how else to describe how I felt at the end of the show other than high. It ended and I just wanted it to go on for another three hours!! Chad spoiled me with really good tickets for my birthday, and let me tell you I think I'll still be giddy on my birthday from how fun that show was! Thanks Chad!!

On Friday morning we went to the Getty Center, a really neat art museum in L.A. that is set on the top of a hill, with incredible views of L.A. You have to take a special little train just to get to it. The architecture and gardens of the place were art alone, not to mention all the awesome pieces of art insde its walls. All the art made me feel like I was taking a step into Europe again, and you all know how much I love Europe! If you go to L.A., I would recommend trying to make a visit there, because it was really neat.

After visiting the Getty Center we drove to San Diego where we spent Friday night to Sunday morning. I liked San Diego oh so much more than I liked L.A. Much greener, prettier, and more open space. On Saturday morning we ran ten miles together along a road just above the beach. I have been training for this run for four months now (my half marathon is in eighteen days!) and Chad ran it with me despite the fact that he hasn't even gone running in a couple of months! My husband is amazing. It was actually really fun to run it, because it was perfect weather, there were a lot of other people on that trail running and biking, and the views of the ocean with people surfing and boogie boarding were so fun--it made the time go by quickly. Thanks again Chad for going with me!

After showering and resting a bit, we went to the San Diego temple. It's beautiful on the outside, and it's just as beautiful on the inside. How lovely to be in the temple with my sweetheart. The temple makes for the best dates!

On Sunday morning we woke up and went to church in Oceanside and then drove to L.A. to hop on our cruise to Mexico! Another gift from Chad. I definitely do not deserve how much he spoils me.

Our cruise was wonderful. I can see why so many people go on cruises for their honeymoon! It was just so relaxing, fun, and stress-free. It was like a second honeymoon for us. Here are some highlights from it:

-Eating all the free (well, kind of free...) and delicious food (of course!)
-Sleeping in and taking naps! (If you go on a cruise, I would recommend getting a room WITHOUT an ocean view, because then when you turn the lights out it is DARK and you can sleep undisturbed by any light no matter what time of day it is! haha :) )
-Playing shuffleboard (I loved that game! I think it's the only game I've ever consistently beat Chad at), ping-pong, and being a part of the Family Wii Bowling tournament
-Talking to the other people on board, including our servers in the dining room
-Taking ballroom dance classes together--we learned the waltz, cha-cha, and swing
-Kayaking to the arch at Cabo San Lucas
-Deep sea fishing in Mazatlan! It's too bad we didn't catch anything, but it was still a ton of fun.
-Puerto Vallarta--sliding down the rocks and into the pool at "El Eden," going to one of the most beautiful beaches I've ever been to, wandering around the old city, wandering around a small town we drove to nearby Puerto Vallarta
-Watching "Bourne Ultimatum" again on the TV in our room
-The Magic show and "Love and Marriage" game show (we weren't in it, just watched it)
-Reading Mara, Daughter of the Nile--I haven't finished it yet, but so far it's been pretty entertaining
-The International Parade of Flags put on by the workers on the ship--so fun!
-Dressing up for the formal nights

And I'm sure I'm forgetting other stuff, but I think you get the point..it was FUN!

But it's also nice to be home again. I love our home, and I love my neighbors, and I love my work. I'm trying to soak all the luxury in to save it for later, because I'm sure life will get a lot harder once we have kids. Chad and I are trying to maximize all the just-the-two-of-us time we have together before we have kids, and I think we're doing a pretty good job of it. :)

Here are some pictures from our trip: (sorry, I only took one during our week in CA)

Me and Beth (another chief resident) and her husband Matt, at Korean BBQ in L.A.
The arch we kayaked to in Cabo.
The view of Cabo from on the ship. (If you look closely you can see my reflection on the window.)

Me chillin' on the boat we took deep sea fishing.

Chad chillin' on the boat we took deep sea fishing.

We are one happy couple.

A fun thing we saw in the streets of Mazatlan.
Me sliding down the rocks in "El Eden" by Puerto Vallarta. This picture cracks me up!! :)

Chad about to slide down the rocks in El Eden.

The beach we went to in Puerto Vallarta. Notice Chad snorkeling in the picture (middle right).
I thought it was such a pretty spot!
The view to our right on the beach. Chad and me with Puerto Vallarta in the background.
My favorite of the three ports--Puerto Vallerta.
The sunset as we were docked in Puerto Vallarta.
Us with the people we ate with every night in the dining room (Mike and Tanya), and our servers Asep and Joseth, on one of the two formal nights.
Notice our beautiful meals--the food was that nice every night.