Last weekend, Cam and I (and Kiara and Sam) went down to Moab for the Canyonlands Half Marathon. The twinners ran, the significant others supported. Perfect balance if you ask me.

We drove down Friday afternoon and went to the race check in. Cam and Kiara picked up their swag bags, bib numbers, and timing chips and Sam and I discovered the beauty that is the Clif Bar booth. This was my favorite place. I probably had 2 full clif bars if you combined all the samples I had. Consensus: Blueberry Crisp was my all time fave, followed closely by the Crunchy Macadamia Nut bar. Strike that, reverse it. Ah! Actually I just don’t know. They are SO good! I have since checked every store we’ve gone into for both single bars and/or boxes of these flavors and I can’t find them anywhere. Perhaps online it is. Amazon, perhaps? (free gift cards?)

Anyhow, the Calls really represented.

Cam's the really cute, tall one in the white.

Almost at the finish!

woot! :)

Post race, with running buddy cousin, Nicole

enjoying the "best recovery drink ever" He swears by it. And the race provided it, so it must be at least partly true.

4089 is my man! (They got their bib numbers AT the race this time, so I didn't have time to make a t-shirt.)

Sweat lines. He's a hard workin' man! :) And I love that he always brings another shirt to wear so I can hug him without squelching after the race.

Kiara (blue shorts) and cousin Lyndee headed for the finish!

The runners :)

For your viewing pleasure: Kiara and Sam

I’m 100% blown away by the people who run races like this. I’m currently “training” for a 5k. That’s all I’ve got in me right now, lol. And actually I blew off my workout on Tuesday, so I don’t exactly know what to think. (I’ve only been “training” for a week.) The dedication and motivation it takes to finish a race like this is incredible. Love you babe! And way to go all you other runners who I’m somehow connected to!

And major perk of the post-race hoopla at the finish line, the Clif bar booth was up and running and full of samples. :) Gotta love that macadamia nut crunch, erm, blueberry crisp, uhh. Just buy them both!

I realize this is over 4 minutes long, but my favorite part is the AWESOME finish. Worth the wait for sure. :)

Sigh.

I’m proud to call you my fam.

I’m also STOKED to see ALL OF YOU tomorrow!!!

Woot!

Remember how I lost my job? It’s actually been a really good thing. I found a new job at Mikarose and we have enough to get by for now. The sudden drop in our income, though, has caused us to be a little more creative with our dates. Last weekend, I decided to take C to New York City. He’s talked a lot about how much he would love to visit the Big Apple, and since we won’t be able to afford the real thing any time soon, this was the perfect way to spend a Saturday night.

C was going to be at school all day long studying and I told him I would get him all the information he’d need through e-mail. This is what he received:

I just did a quick photoshop job of an existing boarding pass. But, note to self, make it a little more obvious that it’s fake next time! I successfully stressed C out of his mind. He was looking at the boarding time and figuring out when he needed to leave Provo in order to be in SLC on time. Not to mention my phone was dead. Basically, I was trying to tell him that I would pick him up at 6:23 at the WSC turnaround. Message failed. He was waiting for me for a n hour because it says “please be at the boarding gate well ahead of departure time…” darn. after our “rocky departure,” I took him to a real life New York Pizzeria!

Homemade pizza, salad and breadsticks, with cherry limeade to drink. It was yummy! The card on the table said “dessert.” Inside was a note asking him if he’d like to go biking through “central park” and to meet me out back. I had borrowed his cousin’s bike and bikerack so we could haul the bikes and take a ride up the canyon. I haven’t been on a bike in about 5 years and it was a blast! We’re definitely going to have to look into getting me a bike. We were outside, exercising, and talking. It was a whole new world for me!We rode up to a park along the river where his cousin Eric was having a birthday party with homemade cobbler and ice cream. C has basically left me on the no-sugar front, so he enjoyed a big bowl of it before we headed back.

We started and ended the bike ride at the Shops at Riverwoods mall. When we got back, in true New York City fashion, there was a dance party going on. We took a walk around, observed the “nightlife” and headed back to the car, where I surprised C with these:

We cuddled up on the couch and watched the Phantom of the Opera. I was sort of worried C would think this date idea was kind of childish or dumb, but we both had the absolute best time! We’ll see where our next trip takes us. We’ll definitely be doing this again!

C bought me the book Tuesdays with Morrie for Mother’s Day. I had heard so many good things about it, and it definitely did not disappoint! I had finished it within a week and was already begging C to read it too.

Fast forward to a couple weeks ago, BYU was putting on the play Tuesdays with Morrie. [Oh, how I LOVE the talented world we live in!] C snagged us some cheap dress rehearsal tickets and we caught a mid-week show. To say it was incredible would be an understatement. There were only 2 actors, but it didn’t lack humor, intensity, or emotion and had the entire audience engaged the entire time. I was extremely impressed with the delivery and found myself completely immersed in the world they created. Oh, yeah, and they didn’t have a set. It was two actors and a bunch of props. That’s it. But WOW. I wish it were still playing so I could tell all of you to go see it, because it’s worth every penny! But, I guess I’ll have to settle for you just reading the book. [If you haven't read it, please go get it. Like now. Visit your local library! :)]

The show started at 7, and C had class until 6:30, so I decided to pack a picnic. We finally got to use this baby! I made his favorite, Poppyseed Chicken, and surprised him. [yes, I CAN be put together, and on time, every now and again!]

Midweek dates are fun!

This post is long, LONG overdue.

C’s marathon was on June 12th. Corralling the pictures from 3 different cameras has taken a while, but not this long. I don’t really have a valid excuse, but better late than never. Especially for something this amazing! C rocked it.

He had to take off to the starting line at 3:30 in the morning. I am sincerely not a morning person and C was very OK with me not getting up with him. I did, though, want to make sure he felt like I supported him. I don’t make a fuss over him near enough, and what he was about to do was MAJOR. So, I sent him to bed early and made a quick trip to the store.

In the morning, he woke up to this set-up:

Chocolate milk [his favorite recovery drink], power bars, orbit mist [a fabulously quenching gum, just like the commercials say], blister band-aids, and a rubber bracelet with Alma 44:4 on it [his family's scripture that reminds us that God will support].

Behind the shoes, I laid out the shirt I’d be wearing to the finish line, so he’d be able to find me on the sidelines and at the finish easier.

I couldn’t sleep because I was terrified I’d miss the finish like last time. And then, I proceeded to wake up late, due to a dream I was having about trying to get my family out the door to the finish line. Yeesh. I decided against make-up and took off for mile 21 to snap pictures, running numbers in my head to try and figure out if I’d missed C or not. I hadn’t. [woot!]

He came around the bend, looking great! I was so proud of him! His training partner and cousin, Nicole, was about 50 yards ahead of him, which was nice to have a heads up that he was coming soon.

He was making amazing time and in as much pain as could be expected after running 21 miles. He gave me a quick smile and headed on down to the finish line.

I ran back to the car to meet Emilee and her cute little girl at the finish line. We cheered Nicole on as she crossed the finish line, positive that C would be a few strides behind. He didn’t. I started seeing people I remembered being near by him at mile 21. More and more people came in and C was nowhere to be found.

I started getting really really worried. I really knew something wasn’t right. C is one strong, determined man and he wouldn’t just roll over and die, even if he was in pain.

Right before I entered complete melt-down mode [30 minutes later], C came around the corner.

I finally got to see him at the finish line. After he caught his breath and gave me a good smooch, he explained what had happened. Around mile 22, his entire legs cramped up so bad it knocked him over. He had to take some time to stretch, walk it out, and try to get back on the horse. He would jog for a short distance and they would cramp up again. [A little disheartening for being within 4 miles of the finish line!]

He finished strong at just over 4 hours. I got him some chocolate milk and we headed back to the massage tables. His masseuse kept asking him to relax his quads because she couldn’t do anything with the state his legs were in. [ouch!]

Left to Right: Julie [Nicole's Mom], Nicole, C & Kiara [C's Twin Sister]. Julie & Kiara ran the half. Nicole finished in 3 hours 37 minutes and qualified for Boston!

After a nice long nap, we headed up to Rodizio grill so C could get some serious protein. He definitely earned it!