Saint George Marathon

It was my sixth marathon and it was by far the best.  I have ran St. George two other times and this time I talked Josh into running it with me.  Since July every date night was dedicated to running our long runs together.   When Josh would get home from work on Friday night around 7 we would pick up the babysitter and head out for our long run.  Some of the runs went well, others went horribly bad.  But we did them.  When it was time for the race I was so worried that we didn't train well enough.  Josh had been having problems with his hamstring and calves cramping up and to make it even worse he came down with a cold 2 days before the race.

We went into the race with 2 goals.  1: We wanted to run it in under 4 hours.  2: We wanted to run the entire thing together.

We got to St. George on Friday afternoon and after checking into our hotel and meeting up with my parents(who we talked into meeting us there to watch the kids while we ran), we went to the expo to get our numbers.  We had fun checking out all of the new gear and Josh got all taped up by the professionals and ready for race day!  We loaded up on pasta and breadsicks and were in bed by 9:30pm.

4:15am came EARLY!  I was so excited.  Race morning is like Christmas morning for me.  We loaded the buses around 5am and made our way up to the starting line.  It was freezing at the starting line!  We found a fire and stayed there until 30 minutes before go time.  After a quick bathroom trip and getting rid of our jackets and pants we were ready to go!

We crossed the start line at around 6:51am.  It was still dark out and it was very quite.  Everyone was so focused and ready to run!  It was awesome.

Our plan was so take is slow in the beginning and if we started to feel like we could push it, we would push it.  Our first mile was just under 9 minutes.  After that, we slowly got quicker.  We trained hills very well so Veyo was no problem.  After that we just kept pushing along.  Around mile 18 Josh got the idea that he wanted to run it in 3 hours 45 minutes.  It was possible, if we maintained our speed.  Which we did.  Josh was an excellent pacer!

We finished in 3:44:45!  Our overall pace was 8:35.  I have no idea how we did it. We had a negative split (our second half was faster than our first), and that has never happened to me!  It was a near perfect race day.  The weather was perfect with a tailwind to help push us up the hills.  It was so perfect that I think I might even have Josh hooked on races.  We won't be doing a full again any time soon, but we would love to find some half marathons to run together.  We are so grateful that we were able to have this experience together, it was so hard but totally worth it!

When I told him he would want mittens he laughed at me.  Im pretty sure he was glad that I got them for him even though he said he wouldn't need them..... the starting line was COLD.

Josh turns 30!

We will NEVER forget Josh's 30th birthday.  When we found out that Josh would be interviewing in Nashville on his birthday I had already had tickets to go to the Keith Urban concert at the Hollywood Bowl.  While Josh isn't a huge country fan(yet, im sure he will convert in Nashville) we have always wanted to go to a concert at the Hollywood Bowl and since it was his birthday we thought it would be the perfect date night.  We figured that with the concert starting at 7pm there was no way he would be able to make it.  I did a little digging and discovered that Keith had 2 opening acts and didn't come on stage until 9pm.  Soooo we booked a flight arriving in Los Angeles at 8:10.  Our plan was for me to drive to the concert and then Josh would take a taxi to the Hollywood Bowl as soon as his plane landed.  We figured he would at least see half the concert....better than nothing!  His plane landed a few minutes early, he had a driver waiting for him, and he made it as Keith Urban went on stage!  The best part of the night was that since Josh came straight from the airport, he had his backpack and suit with him!  The drunk guys around us all thought that him bringing a suit to the concert was such "a great idea".....ya, they really did tell him that.  We still laugh about it.  Being accepted into Vanderbilt was the best gift Josh could have received and we continued to pinch ourselves all weekend to make sure this wasn't all a big dream.  We finished off the celebrating with a dinner and dessert with some of our friends!  Happy Birthday Josh!

His driver.....don't ask how expensive it was.  We were celebrating so we didn't care!

Movin to Nashville...

The decision for Josh to apply for an Orthodontic Residency was not an easy one.  We love living in California and Josh is very happy with his job, but something has always just felt "off".  So without thinking too much about what we were about to get ourselves into, we decided to apply.  The decision came back in the first week of May.  Most schools were starting to accept applications the first week of June so we knew we had to get to work, and we had to do it fast!  I think the earliest we ever went to bed during the month of May was 1am.  As soon as the kids went to bed, our work began.  We wrote a personal statement, a CV, several individual essays for each school, Josh had to study and take the GRE, Josh had to get several letters of recommendation, and we filled out tons of applications!  We decided that we were only going to apply once, so we applied to a ton of schools hoping that Josh would get in this year.  While researching all of the schools and deciding which ones to apply to we both picked Vanderbilt as our #1 pick.  It is only a 26 month program and it is a paid residency, so we wouldn't put ourselves into any additional debt than we already are in.  Most schools are a 30-36 month residency and you pay tuition to attend.....meaning more student loans.

At the beginning of September Josh received an invitation to interview at Vanderbilt.  We were so excited!  He flew out to Nashville on September 26th.  When he got there he started texting me pictures.  First of the temple and second of Sonic.  Two of my top essentials...I could totally live there:)  He had a dinner that night with all of the current residents at a fun restaurant downtown.  He interviewed with 12 other people and they would accept 3.  He was nervous, but he said he felt good about it.

The interview was scheduled for September 27th (his 30th birthday).  The interview started at 11am.  I was a nervous wreck all morning!  I kept staring at my phone waiting for him to call.  Around 2pm that afternoon he finally called.  The first thing he said to me was "I nailed it!"  and soon after he said "so are you ready to move to Nashville?!"  He was accepted about 30 minutes after leaving his interview!  Most schools are part of what is called the match program.  You interview at schools and then you rank the schools and the schools rank you.  In December you receive an email informing you of if you matched with a school and where.  Because Vanderbilt does not participate in that program, we were able to find out immediatly!

The past 18 months since Josh graduated from USC dental school have been quite the journey.  Although we felt really good about taking the job here, once the job started things have never felt "settled."  Until now, we were always so confused about why we would be led to a place that wasn't right, yet we felt so good about it.  Looking back from a different point of view, I can finally see some of the tender mercies that we were blessed with along the way.  Its funny that even though we have not always been planning to go back to school, the work experience that Josh has received thus far has prepared him to be a better applicant for Ortho.  

His residency won't start until next Summer so right now he is just continuing to work.  Zoie will finish school mid June and then we will probably be out of here soon after.  Its hard to think about leaving California.  This has been our home for the past 5 years.  Zoie was 16 months when we moved here and the boys were both born here.  I feel like this is where we grew up and became a real family.  We love the city life and everything it has to offer.  But the thing we will miss most about California is the beach.  I can't even think about it.  The kids aren't going to know what to do without a beach a short drive away!  Although we are sure going to miss living here, we are SO excited about moving to Nashville!  We have heard nothing but great things about Nashville.  People usually tell us that it is a great place to raise a family and that we will never want to leave!  We can't wait to see what the next adventure in our life will bring!

The Central Coast...

We took a little weekend vacation up to the central coast.  We started out trip on Friday afternoon.  I had the car packed up and when Josh got home we were on our way.  We ran into some traffic....obviously.  I don't remember the last time that I didn't run into some traffic while trying to get out of LA!  We stopped in Santa Barbara and grabbed some dinner and then continued on to Morro Bay. We stayed in the cutest little cottage near the water.  Morro Bay is absolutely beautiful.  I would highly recommend it to anyone!  Saturday morning we woke up and went to get breakfast at a cute little cafe.  Then we decided to go on a little jog around the bay to check things out.  Zoie and Zack rode their bikes while Josh and I traded off pushing Luke in the stroller.  We went about 4 miles and had so much fun exploring Morro Bay. 

Next we made our way over to Pismo Beach.  We grabbed some lunch and then made our way to the beach.  It was a beautiful afternoon.  The waves were huge and it was killing Josh that he didn't bring his surf board!  We had  heard so much about Pismo Beach and it did not disappoint!  After playing for a while we headed to Old West Cinnamon Rolls.  They were highly recommended to us by a friend and they were amazing!  Soooo good! 

Watching those huge waves and wishing he had his board!  

We headed over to San Luis Obispo next.  We found bubble gum alley and had fun leaving our mark there.  The kids thought it was so cool!  We did some window shopping and they grabbed takeout and headed back to the beach house to watch the BYU football game.  Everyone was so tired from our fun packed day that we all crashed so early!

Sunday we had a lazy morning and then headed to church.  The church building in Morro Bay is set up on a hill.  There is the most amazing view of the beach and Morro Rock....I should know since I spent most of the meeting walking around outside with Luke:)  The rest of the afternoon we rode our bikes on the boardwalk through Morro Bay and watched the surfers...again, the waves were huge and Josh was just dying that he wasn't out there. 

The Skateboard Museum

 We ate way too much of this...... the best!

It was the most perfect weekend.  We ate tons of good food and spent some quality time together as a family!

Labor Day Weekend

Labor Day Weekend was spent mostly in the water.  We loved it!  On Saturday we made our way up to Ojai to a little water park that we had heard of.  It was perfect for the kids and so much fun!  The water around the play structure was shallow enough that Luke could walk in it.  They also had a lazy river and a few splash pads.  We spent the afternoon there and loved it!

Labor Day took us to the beach.....again!  It really is one of our favorite places to waist the day away at.  The kids love it and all come home totally exhausted and ready for bed!  It was probably one of the most beautiful beach days we had seen in a while.  If you ever visit California, fall beach days are the best!  No wind, beautiful temps, and the crowds have all left!

FUN DAY....

First Day of School!

Zoie and Zack were so excited for school to start this year!  Zoie is at a new school and she couldn't wait to get started so she could meet some new friends.  She woke up early so excited for the day to begin.  She picked out her outfit the night before and had it all layed out on the floor.  If you know Zoie then you know how picky she is with clothes.  I tried to get her to try the clothes on to make sure it was what she wanted to wear but she refused.  As I was making breakfast she came out to inform me that she didn't like the outfit so she was wearing something else.....so typical Zoie!  Her school is just across the street so the boys and I enjoy walking her to school everyday!  So far, she loves it!  Her only complaint is that school is too long!

Zack started his first year of preschool.  After searching for a school that wasn't going to cost me and arm and a leg in tuition, I finally found one!  We were so excited.  It has turned out to be an awesome school and he loves going.  Yesterday he informed me that he only liked playing with the girls.  So I asked him if he was a ladies man and he responded "yes mom, I a ladies man!"  I seriously love that little boy!