Bon anniversaire bebe V!

Baby V turned 2! I was the party planner, and had a lot of fun with the Parisian theme (her mom and dad are going to Paris on thursday).I made this Eiffel Tower cake topper out of wafer cookies and royal icing. It made me want to make some gingerbread houses.
Grandpa Casey and Rick (Jake's Dad)
crepe toppings on poke-a-dot plates
V: "uh-oh, uh-oh, see see..."
Her balloons floated to the 2 story ceiling
and she thought she could reach them if she just could jump high enough. Cute.
This dog came with Barbie. He eat......
...and poops. Hahahahahaha!!!!

Piggy Bank

To save money for our trip (see last post) I was going to buy a piggy bank. But then I thought I'll save even more by making my own. Here's my piggy bank made from an Almond Rocca tin.
And the money's already adding up! I think I have at least 35 bucks in there!

England

Clockwise starting top left: Me, Amy, Sunny

My two closest friends now BOTH live in England together, and I'm left alone in Utah. I find myself wishing I was there, not for a vacation, but to be with them. When I got talking to Jake about it we started scheming a possible trip come this spring!

At first I thought it would be selfish of me to spend money on a trip abroad when we have so little. But that thought is starting to sound more and more ridiculous. Relationships are the most important thing to me and priority, and a relationship will die if you only see each other once a decade.

So I'm saving. Saving like it was a depression. I mentioned my plan to spend only what I earn through excersise on basically EVERYthing except bare essentials. That's still my plan, but I'm cutting back even more. Use it up, wear it out, make do, or do without.

A workout at least 1 hour every day ($6), 6 days a week would earn over $1000 by April. Plus I put all my tips in the piggy bank. It's a bit of a sacrifice, but completely worth it. And with gas going down, flights will go down, and we will even be able to spend a little on sight seeing if the tickets are low.

I miss my girls!

The Half

Pictures! So, here we are, around mile 10ish. Exhausted!!! Yes, the glasses are humungo, but I never have to adjust them depending on my angel since the cover my whole face! Haha. Isn't the scenery amazing??? Wow.

Little Grand Canyon Half Marathon

We did it! We ran a half marathon, that's 13.1 miles. The longest we have ever run at one time! It makes me feel so good to cross off one of my "do before I die" items on my list! And to do it with Jake was so fun. When we first started training back in New York, I was pushing him a bit, but once we got home he had to drag me out of be and push me to go the full distance, he had so much drive and energy. And during the race it was the same thing. I would slow down almost start walking and then coach Jake would chime in, "We can do it, come on." We held hands across the finish (how romantic) at a satisfying 2:28:06.

It felt so much shorter though. The view, I'm sure, had something to do with that. It was the most exhilarating view I have ever seen. Especially when experiencing it in person, outside the car at a jogging pace, where you can really soak it all in. The red rocks are so majestic. The different era's of the Jurassic, Triassic and Cretaceous Era’s are evident in it's horizontal layers.
We ran right by this huge ancient Native American pictograph panel (The BuckHorn Panel see below) and saw many petroglyphs along the rock walls along the way.

It was one of those awesome life experiences that was worth the pain and one days waking at 3:45. Maybe a full marathon next time?

This is the place

I'm home! It's good to be back. Things are different here in Utah.

• My hair isn't curly
• I've got hang nails
• I am not on the Internet constantly out of boredom
• Always busy with something
• Doing horribly on my running and healthy eating
• Actually using a blanket when sleeping now
• I drive places (and it feels wierd)
• With friends and family I love (besides just Becca and Jake, whom I also love)

Riverside Park

Jake and I went running in Riverside Park last night. It was the perfect length for us last night, about 3.5 miles. Great since we were running 7. Yes, 7, our longest yet! Lance Armstrong even congratulated us himself! (Albeit, in a recording on my Nike +, but it still felt good).

It was the most beautiful run I've ever taken. Unfortunately I don't run with a camera, so I have no pictures. Running along the Hudson by all the boats felt like we were in Seatle. Then when we came upon an outdoor restaurant after the sun went down atop a stone terace it felt like Paris. Near the south end a Jazz band playing on the peir made it feel like New Orleans, and all the flowers and wide paths just made it so pleasant. I haven't felt so good in a long time!

New York: Loves and Hates

• LOVE Free Concerts. Whether it's symphonies in Central, or rock at Battery.

St. Vincent at Battery Park

• HATE The Heat. The muggy, moist heat that makes the garbage on the streets smolder and stink and our 5th floor apartment with no AC a miserable sauna where I sweat a gallon a day, gross.
  
• LOVE Museums. I could've gone to a museum everyday all day and still not see half of everything I want to see here. (I'm not even counting galleries.) Historic stuff catches my fancy more than I thought it would. Favorites: Tenement, Cloisters, Frick, and Ellis Island.

Becca and Jake, Me at the Met

• HATE Walking, Riding. Walking all day until my feet hurt and are filthy (all I have is flip flops) and that it takes about an hour to get just about anywhere.
• LOVE Central Park. At first I thought "What's the big deal, it's a park." But it's so peaceful and fresh and has so much variety. A good escape from all the traffic and noise. Row boats, strolls, bikes, carriage rides, animals, families, lovers, remote control sailing, musicians, castles, painting, concerts.... so much to do and see. I love the running track around the reservoir.

Me, Strawberry Fields; Josh and Becca, he caught a turtle

• HATE Carrying Heavy Groceries. On the packed subway and up hill.
• LOVE Fire Flies. They make the park sparkle! It turns real life into a fairy tale!!!
• HATE Cost of Living. It is so expensive. All the food is twice or three times as much. It makes me sick, really.
• LOVE Shopping. You can really find anything you want here, in a real store. Which is great if you don't like shopping online.
• HATE Customer Service. Not everywhere, but most employees are fed up by everything and shocked and angry that you may need help or have a question.
  
• LOVE Free Yoga. I hated yoga on video, but love it in a class setting. Lululemon, a great little athletic store, puts it on three times a week, once in store and twice in Bryant Park.

Bryant Park Yoga

Visiting History

Jake's family came out and we had a great time hanging out and seeing awesome stuff. In Philadelphia I felt humbled to walk the same grounds as our founding fathers and run my hands down the same banister as George Washington, the father of our country while at Valley Forge

Liberty Bell, Philly; Jake and Vienna, Valley Forge; Jake in a soldiers bunk, Valley Forge

Then, in Palmyra, to walk the grounds of Joseph Smith and Moroni! Actually seeing where the plates were hidden and the Book of Mormon published was surreal. Then, to walk in The Sacred Grove, where God The Father and Jesus Christ had actually been, with trees who had witnessed it. I can't express how humbled and grateful I feel to all of these great men.

Print Shop of The Book of Mormon; The Sacred Grove