Cozumel or Bust!

Spring break is usually a time for me to sleep late, enjoy coffee into the late afternoon, and catch up on reruns of "What Not to Wear." This year, however, Chris and I decided to mix it up and actually catch a few rays of sunshine. We boarded the Radiance of the Seas on Thursday, April 7th out of Tampa with our friends Christina, Troy, and their son Curtiss. We sailed from Tampa to Cozumel and back, returning on Monday. We had a great time and thoroughly enjoyed the warm weather and amazing sunshine. When you're from Ohio, you have to soak up every second of warmth and sun--you never know when you'll see it again. (As proof? It has rained here five of the last seven days and will continue to rain for the next week!) Now...for our next trip....

Spring Break is Here!

The bushes and trees around our house have started to bloom, despite the inch of snow we just received this past week. Nothing says "spring" like the commencement of Spring Break, however! The much anticipated break in the school year is here and I am very, very happy that it is! I plan to enjoy the next three days sleeping in and drinking coffee well into the late morning hours. Ah, the life of vacation!

Before we know it, it will be Thursday and Chris and I will be saying "goodbye" to our lovely pups and this unpredictable Ohio weather as we board our cruise to Cozumel. Four days of sunshine (fingers crossed) and warm temperatures await us (again, fingers crossed!). While it is sad to leave our girls, our wonderful friend Jami will be watching them and loving on them for us while we are gone. Thanks, Jami!! We know they are in good hands with you and your boys.

An update on the running: Last Sunday I ran for 4.5 miles in just over 40 minutes. While running I came down a little funny on my foot and did something to my ankle. I made it through the run not in too much pain. Later that night, though, I felt some burning and aching in my foot. I took Monday off from running but then ran another 4.5 miles on Tuesday. By this point, my ankle was really hurting so I decided to take the next several days off to recover. Saturday (yesterday), I was feeling up to it and ran 4.2 miles with just a little discomfort. I think I am 85% back to normal. I'll try a light run tomorrow just to make sure everything is okay. I do want to run while on the cruise so hopefully all will be good.

Chris has been staying busy celebrating the beginning of Spring by repotting his bonsai trees. He currently has six bonsais and they are all going strong! We both worried that given our collective "black thumbs" the bonsais would not survive. Looks like his thumb is starting to turn a nice shade of green after-all!

The Quest for 10K

For those of you who know me well, you know that sports have never really been my forte. Sure, I love to watch sports and cheer from the sidelines, but actually participating in them? They just are not something I've ever been particularly good at. That being said, this news may come as a bit of a shock...prepare yourself!

I have taken up running and am progressively getting better and better at it. Would I call myself an "athlete?" Maybe not a full-fledged athlete but perhaps an "Athlete Light." I've been running the 5K distance for awhile now and have decided to go ahead and challenge myself further and begin training for a 10K (or about 6.2 miles). I know...this sounds nothing at all like me but it's true! When I started running, it was hard for me to go ten minutes without feeling like I might die. I am now running forty minutes and feeling great!

It's risky putting this up on our blog...now everyone will expect me to actually get through the training and run a 10K. That's scary...but I think it is what I will need to stay motivated. The training program I am using should have me running a 10K distance within next 7 weeks. However, we are going on our cruise in early April so, while I do intend to run on the ship, I'm not sure I'll be as committed to the training as I should be. My goal is to be ready for the 10K run by mid-June.

Chris has started running with me on occasion and he is also working towards increasing his distance. He just started up over the last week or two so he will need awhile to adjust to the rigors of running.

Check back for progress updates!

Groundhog's Day On Ice

Happy Groundhog's Day! Looks like it's going to be a long winter here in Columbus! We woke up this morning with a sheet of ice coating everything. Schools were closed all over central Ohio because of the icy conditions. (Another reason I love my job--snow days!) This is the second day this year we've been off due to the weather. Our first day was on January 21st; we had a few inches of snow then. Things are supposed to turn to rain tonight so I am  going to really enjoy today as I'll likely be back at the "work thing" again tomorrow.

Here are some shots of the ice from last night/early this morning.

Back deck and bushes with ice

Front door coated with ice

Here is Nestle, crunching her way through the ice-covered grass.

Happy Holidays!

This was a whirlwind of a holiday season! We visited both families this year and found ourselves spending a lot of time in the car with Nestle and Hershey. Luckily we all travel pretty well!

Our first stop was in Pickering, Ontario for a visit with our friends, a Christmas Eve celebration with the Mennie clan (Sue's side of the family), and a Christmas morning celebration with Rick and Sue. We next moved on to Peterborough, Ontario for a late afternoon/evening celebration with the Johnson side of the family. It was great to see the families and spend some time in Canada.

We next moved on to Akron where we spent a couple of days with the Youngs and the Klines. The gift-opening was an all day event, something we always enjoy. We ate too much during our stay (those Christmas cookies are just too tempting!) but it was a really lovely visit.

After visiting with each family, we returned home for our own Christmas celebration. Chris gave me two beautiful handbags that I had been stalking at Banana Republic as well as a gift that he'd been meaning to give me since last Christmas....the Wii Fit. Chris got two awesome sweaters and a travel map that is now hung in our bedroom. Nestle and Hershey got some stuffed toys that they love to carry around and sleep on. (It's only a matter of time before the stuffing is pulled out!)

We had a really fun and unique New Years Eve here in Columbus. We booked a delicious dinner and concert at a local jazz club. We had a great time welcoming in 2011 to jazz, dinner, and a champagne toast at midnight

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Thanks to our families and friends who all helped to make this a great holiday season!

Thankful for Family

Happy Thanksgiving! We made the trip to Akron again this year to celebrate with the Youngs and Klines. We had a nice time eating and relaxing with the family and were especially thankful to have Dad feeling better and enjoying himself, despite some pain. Apples to Apples and Cranium were the games on-hand and provided some laughs to burn off some of the Thanksgiving calories.

Here are the sisters trying to get the dishes done after the big feast.

Jake had a basketball tournament on Friday so we were able to see him shoot and score a three-pointer and score 14 points in one game! One of the fathers made the comment to the people sitting around him that Jake is "no joke" on the court.

Happy Halloween!

It's been some time since we have carved pumpkins so this year we decided to dig in (literally!). After some careful inspection, the perfect pumpkins were selected. Here is Chris showing off the goods.

The final products, after considerable work:

Nestle and Hershey were the cutest trick-or-treaters in the neighborhood!

The girls weren't the only ones who played dress up for the day!