Leavenworth

Leavenworth is about an hour from Quincy. It's a swiss village with a serious christmas market. Helped get us in the christmas spirit.

Silly but fun!!!

Washington

To share or not to share...

The random info first.

-The kids like drinking out of the fancy margarita glasses, compliments of the furnished house. No margaritas of course.

-There's a train that traverses the mountain across from our home that we watch from the balcony.

-Dash loves having a room to himself and so do we.

-We've been locked out of the house twice. No neighbors or cell service. Had to trek down to the HOA in PJs with the kids to scrounge up a key.

-The kids went to the beach and dug for clams and now trade them like coins.

-Kate and Ella love going to the hot tub while it's snowing.

-I felt like I was in the testing center at the pharmacy: new phone numbers, new addresses, new insurances . . . at least birthdays are the same.

-We all have head colds that are pretty miserable.

Overall, I am depressed. Got a Christmas card from a good friend in Alabama. Made me miss my friends all over the country. Miss my sister having her baby this week. Miss my girls in Reno. Miss Gina and Todd and their cute kids.

I am overwhelmed with Ella's school. I was fully planning on homeschooling, but right now, we see and know no one. We have no neighbors. Any school co-op is going to be 45 minutes away. I think I may send her to first grade but I am bugged about it. I just can't get my stuff in order to do it myself right now.

I haven't exercised since we got here. It's freezing and harder to get motivated. I think I am going to have to sign up for another race or something so I have a goal to work towards. Plus endorphins make you happy. I need some endorphins.

On the happy note, we met Kyle's staff. They are lovely and we are lucky to have them. Kyle has been working like a mad man and we can't wait for Jan. 3. I'll try and get some pictures up soon.

Website Launch

GillespieEyeCare.com

santa came early this year

cousins and buddies. t-hammer and dash-man.

Dash loves his cars! Which is just fine by Grandpa Dug!

Santa came to Thanksgiving Dinner. Even laid up with a pick line and serious infection, Grandma Anne still delivers.

Ella asked for a puppy and Kate asked for a kitty. Oh dear.

And because Katie-Kate couldn't resist, neither could I!

Swim lessons

How do you cope with moving away from somewhere you love?

Swim lessons!

I haven't really wanted to run after the marathon. So I am getting a head start on my 2011 resolution. Early morning swim instruction every day until we move out. 7 more days of bliss.

The marathon has made me rethink an ironman. If you are sick of running after a marathon, will you want to do anything after an ironman? Maybe the shorter events are the way to go . . .

Mesquite Marathon 26.2 miles

We came, we ran, we conquered! Mesquite delivered gale-force headwinds and miles of hills but overall a great time!

Best support crew ever! They introduced me to Icy Hot. Why have I never used the stuff? Amazing!

I never hit "the wall" but at about mile 23 I felt that if I didn't eat that second I was going to die. Hurray for granola bars and Mark, who jumped in to run the last 3 miles with me. Total time was 4:39.

Best part of the day was the hot tub! Then we got up at 4:00 a.m., drove to vegas and flew home. I tried to go to church and lasted about 10 minutes. Kyle drove me home and let me sleep. What a great hubby. Next time he is coming with me.

Anyway, here's to another awesome day of being alive and 30!!!

Too much love

So many thoughts and so much to be thankful for.

I am focusing on the thankful part because it helps snuff out the sad parts.

Sad because it has to end. Because I have to leave people that are amazing, again. It is getting really old. If I think about it too much I start throwing things. And crying. And lying in bed all day. So I don't think about it that much.

But today, it is overwhelming me. There are people who have known me my whole life who don't get me like these girls. It sucks I have to leave them.

But instead of being really, horribly sad, I am trying to be really, incredibly grateful. Grateful that I've gotten to know so many shining, brilliant people. Wishing I could show you pictures of all of them and their incredible talents and their incredible goodness.

So back to my story.

I am running a marathon this Saturday and am a little anxious. I have ran a handful of 20-ish milers all pain free, but these last two weeks, when I am simply doing dishes or hanging with the kids my knee has been hurting the wrong kind of hurt. Could it be the weather? An injury? Who knows. All I know is there have been lots of swear words going though my mind this week but I'm trying not to let them out because I need the blessings.

Kyle tried to talk me out of running it. I told him he was Satan and to stop tempting me.

Then I dreamed I was at the marathon. The buses weren't working so I had to hitch hike to the starting line. Then I ran the whole thing but couldn't remember a lot of it so they made me run it again. Can you say nightmare?

My clean laundry is piling up. My husband has sold our washer and dryer, couches, mattress, and piano on craigslist, there are lots of decisions to make about schools and business and whatever, all of my crap is in boxes and in general I am overwhelmed with Christmas and everything that is about to hit the fan.

So with all of this on my mind, a friend sends me a sweet text. Then another drops off some crazy double chocolate drink and makes me laugh. Then another tells me to get my butt over to her house because they are throwing me a surprise marathon party and where the heck am I?

Anyway, this is me feeling very blessed, happy, loved and ready for whatever is going to come this weekend. Sometimes I think I shouldn't have trained for the dang race, I should have just ran it. But I didn't, so let's hope it all goes off smoothly. After all, I have the best support team in the world and 800 IBUs a plenty.

when kate grows up . . .

Kate told me tonight that when she grows up she wants to be a face painting artist. "I will paint anything you want on your face . . . a tiger, a unicorn, a butterfly . . . " I don't think she's kidding either.

thoughtful little dash . . .

Dash is talking up a storm. He can repeat almost any word you give him. He loves his little bike and he wakes up every night and says from his crib, "Mom! Out! Help! Go!" to try and get us to put him in bed with us. He loves to play puppy (surprise!) and anything with wheels or balls.

My favorite picture. I love my little writers.

preview

i'm not sending out christmas cards but if i were . . .

our new digs

We've secured temporary housing in washington, about 10 minutes from kyle's work. Here are some pix. Complete with two golf courses, 5 pools, hot tubs, softball field, gym, and the columbia river. It's a vacation community for people coming over from seattle. The gorge is about 40 minutes away if you like concerts. Plan your visit now. Booking from January to July.

The Marathon Begins . . .

Where to start? Kyle turned in his notice at work. We are buying a practice in Washington State and there is a lot to do in the next two months.

Wrap up loose ends in Reno
Find good schools in new state
Find nice house in new state
Find renters to replace current lease
Move all of our junk
Begin prepping for takeover of new business

Frankly, I’m still not over leaving my friends in Bama so my coping strategy this time around borders somewhere between avoidance and denial. Suffice it to say I love my people and don’t like to leave them.

On the other hand, I am so excited for Kyle to find the opportunity he is looking for. We moved to Demopolis to buy a practice and when it was clear that wasn’t going to work out Kyle began searching for the right thing.

It is an interesting feeling looking at a map of the country and saying, “Okay, where do we want to build a life.” I always thought I would raise my family in Utah, but with limited options there we have expanded our vision.

Our qualifications were 1. Live somewhere that inspires us. 2. Live somewhere we can make a good living and not struggle. 3. Live within striking distance of family.

I hope Washington proves to be all of those things. From my limited experience there it seems like recreation heaven with access to lots of new adventures.

Moving sucks, and that’s that. But when asked to trade the people we’ve met and the experiences we’ve had . . . I choose the people and experiences every time.

I feel like our time here in Nevada has been a gift. Tahoe’s blue water is spiritual. And the people in Reno have been amazing. I don’t know . . . some things change you and you are never the same.

So . . . that’s the Gillespie update. And because we have some dead space in the next month where we have a lot of waiting to do I think I am going to run a marathon. It just seems fitting. After all, thirties are the new twenties, right?

Anyway, miss all of you, wherever you are.

b

Random update

I was super busy with work for a few days there and didn’t have time to help kate clean her room. This is her fishing out everything that accumulated under her bed in that short time. Sort of reminded me of my dad working under a car . . .

The salmon spawning at Tahoe. Awesome.

To hell in a handbasket

What do you do when you get cancer, have a mid-life crisis and feel like your world is falling apart? Have a halloween party like no other. I thought the invitation was delightful enough to share. My uncle C and auntie H know how to roll with it. Love you guys! Wish I could be there.

Oh my little Kate

Oh, kate.

On Tuesday, why did my living room smell like a deli? She took the mustard out of the fridge and painted on the wood floor with it and then took bath towels and wiped it up and put them behind the couch. The world is her canvas and my fridge is her medium.

Today was family pictures. Twenty minutes before it's time to go, Kate decided her beautiful hair would look much better slicked down with conditioner. Fancier, she thought. Long live Kyle and his handywork with a blowdryer.

But for all our her makeup heisting, wall coloring, dress.up-wearing, kate is a lot of fun and knows how to live large. And she knows how to love large, too. We love our Katie, kate.

running

Courtney is the girl right next to me. We are training for a marathon. Actually she is training for it and I am her trainer/support team. All the excercize without any of the pressure. Awesome.

Today we ran 17 miles and it was pain free. I think I could have easily made it 20 but I am trying to not push myself and build strength. Considering knee problems of the past I feel like this is a blessing in my life right now. Years of base miles later I am ready to run.
















Very grateful for Kyle's strawberry jam sandwich at mile 12. I hit a wall of hunger that makes me think next time I better take breakfast a little more seriously.

I would like to be able to run 30 miles or some kind of ultra. We will see how that goes. One of these days I may ride a mountain bike again. After all, it is my first love and definately more fun.