A Week of Madness and Memories, Part II
Continuing from yesterday. . . the rest of my crazy Thanksgiving week--
Thursday: The big T-day! Terence and I got up before the sun to tackle a practice run for the race we are doing together in January. It was at one of the regional parks where we sometimes go hiking. Terence was sore and taking it easy so early on he told me to go on ahead. I took him at his word, figuring he'd catch up for sure the first time I took a break to walk. Nope. I caught a few glimpses of him behind me on the trail the first mile or two and then never saw him again until much, much later. About two or three miles in the sun came up and it was just glorious! Normally you'll never hear me rave about the beauties of the desert but I had a magnificent view of these craggy peaks and a clear blue sky. I couldn't hear another human being but I was surrounded by birds singing and the occasionally rabbit darting across the trail. At this point I was all warmed up and the run was easy. I was exulting in just being alive as I raced up and down ravines and around the dusty trail!
It couldn't last forever. About 8.5 miles in I was exhausted, aching, and my feet hurt like mad. At this point I found myself facing "the mountain." It was straight up, mostly on loose rock. My jelly legs simply couldn't jog up that so I had to walk. When I got to the top I called Terence and found that he was just coming to the bottom of the mountain (I could see him, a little white speck). I could have waited for him, but at that point I only had about a mile left and it was all downhill.
I can't tell you how fantastic I felt when I stumbled back into the parking lot! I've never run so far in one stretch in all my life! Best of all, I now felt completely justified in eating everything and anything I wanted at our Thanksgiving dinner.
Thanksgiving was a crazy big gathering. My cousin Daryl was getting married and all his siblings and parents had joined us for our meal. Fortunately, even with twenty-odd kids under the age of 13, everything went pretty well! None of the food was burned, my parents were not complete basket-cases by mealtime, and best of all, I got to do a lot of baby holding. (My new niece Ally is only 5 weeks old.) I pulled dish duty but as we decided to eat on paper instead of the china, it really wasn't too bad at all. (I think the worst part was just trying to stand that long. My legs still felt like jelly, and I had cracked off three or four toenails with all the downhill jarring.)
When we left we were loaded down with a ton of leftovers (which is a good thing!) I was utterly exhausted, and when we got home we got the kids to bed as quickly as possible. It wasn't over yet....
Friday: Daryl's wedding day! Since I am a compulsive insane exerciser and I knew I was going to be going to a wedding reception, I got up at the crack of dawn again to get in a workout. So yes, I was up at 4:30 again. I spent 90 minutes on the bike trainer then hopped in the shower. Terence and I then dragged all the kids up and loaded them in the van to make yet another trip up to Mesa (the fourth trip in five days). I left Terence and the kids at my mom's house and went with my father to the ceremony at the temple. It was simple and sweet and peaceful and I loved every second of it. Sarah was a glowing bride, and I don't think I've ever seen Daryl smile so widely! After the sealing Dad and I hurried home and I started the process of getting all the kids bathed and nicely dressed. (Tackling B's hair alone is a serious endeavor.) Then we headed over to the wedding luncheon. I enjoyed more time with our extended family and getting to eat (I was famished by that point). I think my aunt may have stressed over it quite a bit, but the whole thing was done well. Check! Another successful part of the wedding down!
After the luncheon we had a window of a couple hours. Terence got in a nap and I tackled the project for B's class with serious intensity. (I still had hours of work to do on it, and I needed to have these 20 Weather Station project folders finished by Monday. Yikes!!) After we fed the kids it was time to head out again for the reception. Daryl and Sarah had chosen to have it at the unholy hours of 6:30-9pm. Ok, I realize that some people considered my 4:30 am wake up to be at an unholy hour, but trust me, if you get up that early, 9 pm might as well be 3 in the morning! We lasted about 30 minutes at the reception. My kids thought it was a fantastic chance to party! Christmas trees and lights! Pie! Hot chocolate! Cousins to run around like mad with! But Mom and Dad started to look like and feel like zombies. Worse, I was super sick to my stomach. Shouldn't have tried to finish M's french silk pie for her! We ended up leaving the party long before they got to any of the fun parts. But we were with Sarah and Daryl in spirit! (Daryl has been like an adopted member of the immediate family ever since he moved out to Arizona on his own--the kids consider him an uncle-- and we are so happy to add Sarah in to the mix! We love her already!)
Saturday: Normally, on Saturday I would get up at the crack of dawn and go for a long run. But after Thursday, there was no way on earth. I did a Jillian Michaels video (no picnic, that) and rode the bike alongside Terence while he braved a run. Next, it was time to put up the outdoor Christmas lights. Then I tried to get another big stretch of work done on B's class project. My dad came and picked M up after lunch, and then we headed out for our weekly hike. Terence got to go with us for once; it was fantastic to have another adult along! Back at home Terence headed out to go watch some football with my brother-in-law and I was on my own with the kids on a Saturday night again. (Normal life around here.) No problem, I had about a gazillion loads of laundry that needed to be done. I finally finished enough that I could crawl into bed about 1:30 am. I've got to quit doing that Saturday nights....
Sunday: Well, Sunday was a blur. Fast Sunday + no sleep + church + B's project + another trip up to Mesa to see the California cousins before they left. Honestly, when I finally crawled into bed Sunday night I was kind of relieved that the holiday weekend was over. I needed a break!!!!
I have gotten that break this week, kind of. Other than setting up the Christmas tree (a battle that involved some serious cleaning beforehand), Terence hurting his shoulder and having to go to a specialist, J throwing up in school, and having to visit Walmart every. single. day. I've been taking it kind of easy!
Thursday: The big T-day! Terence and I got up before the sun to tackle a practice run for the race we are doing together in January. It was at one of the regional parks where we sometimes go hiking. Terence was sore and taking it easy so early on he told me to go on ahead. I took him at his word, figuring he'd catch up for sure the first time I took a break to walk. Nope. I caught a few glimpses of him behind me on the trail the first mile or two and then never saw him again until much, much later. About two or three miles in the sun came up and it was just glorious! Normally you'll never hear me rave about the beauties of the desert but I had a magnificent view of these craggy peaks and a clear blue sky. I couldn't hear another human being but I was surrounded by birds singing and the occasionally rabbit darting across the trail. At this point I was all warmed up and the run was easy. I was exulting in just being alive as I raced up and down ravines and around the dusty trail!
It couldn't last forever. About 8.5 miles in I was exhausted, aching, and my feet hurt like mad. At this point I found myself facing "the mountain." It was straight up, mostly on loose rock. My jelly legs simply couldn't jog up that so I had to walk. When I got to the top I called Terence and found that he was just coming to the bottom of the mountain (I could see him, a little white speck). I could have waited for him, but at that point I only had about a mile left and it was all downhill.
I can't tell you how fantastic I felt when I stumbled back into the parking lot! I've never run so far in one stretch in all my life! Best of all, I now felt completely justified in eating everything and anything I wanted at our Thanksgiving dinner.
Thanksgiving was a crazy big gathering. My cousin Daryl was getting married and all his siblings and parents had joined us for our meal. Fortunately, even with twenty-odd kids under the age of 13, everything went pretty well! None of the food was burned, my parents were not complete basket-cases by mealtime, and best of all, I got to do a lot of baby holding. (My new niece Ally is only 5 weeks old.) I pulled dish duty but as we decided to eat on paper instead of the china, it really wasn't too bad at all. (I think the worst part was just trying to stand that long. My legs still felt like jelly, and I had cracked off three or four toenails with all the downhill jarring.)
When we left we were loaded down with a ton of leftovers (which is a good thing!) I was utterly exhausted, and when we got home we got the kids to bed as quickly as possible. It wasn't over yet....
Friday: Daryl's wedding day! Since I am a compulsive insane exerciser and I knew I was going to be going to a wedding reception, I got up at the crack of dawn again to get in a workout. So yes, I was up at 4:30 again. I spent 90 minutes on the bike trainer then hopped in the shower. Terence and I then dragged all the kids up and loaded them in the van to make yet another trip up to Mesa (the fourth trip in five days). I left Terence and the kids at my mom's house and went with my father to the ceremony at the temple. It was simple and sweet and peaceful and I loved every second of it. Sarah was a glowing bride, and I don't think I've ever seen Daryl smile so widely! After the sealing Dad and I hurried home and I started the process of getting all the kids bathed and nicely dressed. (Tackling B's hair alone is a serious endeavor.) Then we headed over to the wedding luncheon. I enjoyed more time with our extended family and getting to eat (I was famished by that point). I think my aunt may have stressed over it quite a bit, but the whole thing was done well. Check! Another successful part of the wedding down!
After the luncheon we had a window of a couple hours. Terence got in a nap and I tackled the project for B's class with serious intensity. (I still had hours of work to do on it, and I needed to have these 20 Weather Station project folders finished by Monday. Yikes!!) After we fed the kids it was time to head out again for the reception. Daryl and Sarah had chosen to have it at the unholy hours of 6:30-9pm. Ok, I realize that some people considered my 4:30 am wake up to be at an unholy hour, but trust me, if you get up that early, 9 pm might as well be 3 in the morning! We lasted about 30 minutes at the reception. My kids thought it was a fantastic chance to party! Christmas trees and lights! Pie! Hot chocolate! Cousins to run around like mad with! But Mom and Dad started to look like and feel like zombies. Worse, I was super sick to my stomach. Shouldn't have tried to finish M's french silk pie for her! We ended up leaving the party long before they got to any of the fun parts. But we were with Sarah and Daryl in spirit! (Daryl has been like an adopted member of the immediate family ever since he moved out to Arizona on his own--the kids consider him an uncle-- and we are so happy to add Sarah in to the mix! We love her already!)
Saturday: Normally, on Saturday I would get up at the crack of dawn and go for a long run. But after Thursday, there was no way on earth. I did a Jillian Michaels video (no picnic, that) and rode the bike alongside Terence while he braved a run. Next, it was time to put up the outdoor Christmas lights. Then I tried to get another big stretch of work done on B's class project. My dad came and picked M up after lunch, and then we headed out for our weekly hike. Terence got to go with us for once; it was fantastic to have another adult along! Back at home Terence headed out to go watch some football with my brother-in-law and I was on my own with the kids on a Saturday night again. (Normal life around here.) No problem, I had about a gazillion loads of laundry that needed to be done. I finally finished enough that I could crawl into bed about 1:30 am. I've got to quit doing that Saturday nights....
Sunday: Well, Sunday was a blur. Fast Sunday + no sleep + church + B's project + another trip up to Mesa to see the California cousins before they left. Honestly, when I finally crawled into bed Sunday night I was kind of relieved that the holiday weekend was over. I needed a break!!!!
I have gotten that break this week, kind of. Other than setting up the Christmas tree (a battle that involved some serious cleaning beforehand), Terence hurting his shoulder and having to go to a specialist, J throwing up in school, and having to visit Walmart every. single. day. I've been taking it kind of easy!
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