Snapshots of My Adventures: Spring Fever

I think I have a bit of Spring Fever.... Utah weather is so back and forth I don't know what to expect. But I do know I love the sunshine and I'm proud of the few freckles I earned from being outside during my half marathon this past weekend. Dear Sunshine: Please stay every day; I'm through with the snow and rain and wind and cold.

I realized it has been a LONG time since I posted last so here is the latest update:

After having a rough start to my year with medical and dental issues I decided I needed a break. A long break. And a break that is half way around the world. So... next Friday I leave with a group of 5 of my friends to explore Australia and New Zealand. We will have 2 weeks to soak in everything we can. And believe me, we have booked our time while there so every minute will be worth it.
I started training for a 1/2 marathon in January and the big day was this last Saturday. My goal was to RUN the whole thing with no stops and finish under 2.5 hours. Surprisingly I finished with gusto (despite the nasty uphills and ever present head wind) and my time was 2:04:56. I had a laugh when I found out I placed fourth in my age group and almost won a trophy. I might still be sore, 4 days later, but I'm so proud of reaching this goal. Running has never been my strength but I've worked it into one and I actually kind of like it now. I'm going to do at least one more half this year and plenty of 5Ks and 10Ks. Not so sure of the full marathon though.
After all my dental issues of a root canal, wisdom teeth removal, etc., I just had a consultation for braces and those babies are coming on April 27th. Yes, I will be a brace face for the next 2 years people. I was a little unhappy about the thought at first but now I'm learning to em-"brace" it (I'm so funny).
I've been coaching a local swim team for the past 6 mos and recently they asked me to be the head coach. I have my little list of life goals and this was one of them. I accepted and now have a new sense of pride in the work I do with these kids. I'm learning a lot about patience and know I have a lot to look forward to when I'm a parent.

Here is a scattering of pictures from the past few months:

The group at Festival of Colors

I think I look good with a little green chiny-chin-chin.

My Xmas Present to Kelsey: Tickets to Joshua Radin

And there he is himself. Awesome concert,2 rows back from center stage.

2 days post wisdom teeth extraction. Let's just say I look better here than I did on day 5 post surgery. Thank goodness you only get wisdom teeth removed once.

Annual La Caille trip. This time we took some boys with us. Fancy French food, so yummy.

Tyson and I pre-race, praying for sunshine for the next couple hours. Let's go 624 and 625!

Post race with my finisher's medal. Inside secret... I was a little self conscience of the full leg spandex but after 13.1 miles in them I learned to love it. So comfortable and warm on a cold run!