Since we were driving home from Daniel & Wendy's house on Jon's birthday, we opted to celebrate our birthdays a couple days after we got home. This year I opted for cheesecake and Jon went with a cherry milkshake:
I also went out to lunch with two of my besties:
Not technically for my birthday (it was actually for Summer's), but still lots of fun!
My most memorable gift was from Catherine. I told her that I all wanted for my birthday was for her to say that she loves me. All she could manage was "I deeply enjoy your presence." New favorite Catherine quote.
When I set my goals for 2023, one of my physical goals was to run a 10 K. I asked my runner friend for advice and she sent me a great training program. I made it about halfway though before I figured I could probably go the full distance. And I did.
So I upgraded my goal to a half-marathon. I kinda wanted to do a legit half-marathon (meaning you pay, and run with a bunch of people, and get an official time), but they were like $60+. Plus the idea of handling the nightmare logistics of getting to the venue, and finding parking, and running with hundreds of other people...nah. So instead I signed up for a virtual marathon to be run anytime in the month of May.
I picked a Saturday that was cooler, with a bit of misting rain. Perfect for a long run (another benefit of choosing when you race). I didn't even tell Jon what I was doing because I wasn't quite sure I would be able to finish (because, once again, I had only completed about half of the training program). I had big plans for using Seth's CamelBak, but the stupid thing leaked all over, so I gave it up and ran with a plastic water bottle in my hand the entire time.
-no crowds of people
-starting line is your front door
-cheap as free
Cons:
-there's no one to hand you water or snacks so you have to run with a stupid water bottle in your hand and a fanny pack full of Stingers and Gushers
-finish line is a random spot along the MA & PA trail with zero people to cheer for you
-you have to buy your own swag
The finish was actually kinda lame. I hadn't pushed myself super hard because I was so afraid I would run out of energy near the end. Plus I didn't tell anyone what I was doing, so I had no one waiting for me to finish. Instead I just kinda stopped running and thought, "Shouldn't I feel more tired?" Which was about the point where Jon finally called and asked where I was. He was very kind and came and picked me up since I was still several miles from home (I hate running a prescribed route. I like being able to just randomly pick where I want to go. So I didn't make it all the way back).
Since I didn't get any official race swag, I bought myself two vinyl stickers (since I couldn't decide between them).
Swag #1
Swag #2
I put zero 13.1 stickers on my van, in case you are wondering. But I am still super proud of myself! This was never something I thought I could do. New life goal? Marathon with Kenna!
June was a bit sad because we had to say goodbye to some dear friends. Paul and Tessa and their girls had been our church friends, homeschool buddies, and generally awesome people to have around. We were lucky that we got to keep them a year longer than the Army originally scheduled, but it was still the worst to say goodbye. We threw them a giant party in our backyard to show our love. And, because there is balance in life, we also turned this into a Hello party for Adrian's family, who were FINALLY all here!
A wonderful mix of church and homeschool co-op friends.
Some of the very best people I know are in this picture.
Many thanks to Timmy for hanging out of Catherine's window to get the shot.
And, for extra fun, I also got to make a wedding cake!
It was small and simple, but fun to get to create again!
Also fun to remember the bride as the 8 year old in my Primary class who struggled to sit still and would walk along the seats of the chairs during lessons. I love that we have been able to stay in the same area for long enough to watch entire families grow up.
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