Scoots McGee

Who wants to challenge Ev to a speed scooting contest?



Not me! This gal is a speedster.

Moo to Marathon 2012

Today we ran the Eugene 5K. Its part of the Eugene Marathon Weekend. 8,000 people gather in Track Town, USA to take part in the 5K, Kids Dash, Half-Marathon, and Marathon. The slogan for the weekend is "Finishing Where the Legends Run," since the end of the race is a lap around Hayward Field where Prefontaine and other running legends have had careers. I can't lie, I felt like a freaking rock star (even though it was only 3.1 miles) when I was sprinting the last little bit in the stadium. It was so much fun. Here I am finishing (so not flattering, I know).

We ran with our friends the Harris' and the Jensens. This is Zac after his speedy finish:

Zac and Christie (Harris). Christie and I ran together every Tuesday and Thursday for the past little while as part of our "training." The most fun part of our "training" was definitely chit chatting as friends. Christie and Zac destroyed it and both achieved their goals of running it sub 30 minutes.

Here are the Jensens. Bryant pushed BOTH of their kids in a jogging stroller! The Jensens also finished in less than 30 minutes.

Here's everybody:

Snick!

Here is where I insert a little tidbit about my husband AKA William Wallace the freaking MAN! The Eugene Marathon/Half/5k is sponsored by Krusteaz Pancakes. Every year a U of O track runner dresses up as a pancake and runs the 5K. If you beat the pancake then you win free pancakes for A YEAR! Last year the pancake was beat by 16 people, plus the suit weighs about 25 pounds, so Nick and I thought he had a pretty good chance of beating the pastry.

Here's what he looks like:

Anyway, Nick didn't even train AT ALL for the race and he was pretty nervous about beating the pancake since he'd heard the guy this year was pretty good.

Well the pancake this year was more than good. He set a pancake record and ran 5:22 per mile!

Unfortunately Nick didn't beat the pancake (only one person did and his mile was sub 5 minutes), but he did run 6:36 miles. Can I get a huzzah?!

Seriously, Nick is amazing. I hope one of our children inherits those long gams of his. Here are Nick's stats for the race:

Pace: 6:36 per mile

Time: 20:28

Gender place: 23 out of 216

Division place: 4 out of 24

Overall place: 25 out of 516

Incredible, right? Out of the 516 people that ran the race, only 24 beat Nick - and one was the bloody pancake. Plus his division is wicked hard (Men ages 25-29) and he placed fourth (the pancake was in his division too). 

I should probably add that the course was super hilly. The first mile was uphill (a slow, continual uphill) and the second was ridiculously steep. Neither of us was prepared for that! I was definitely sucking wind on the second mile. And now for me. I did pretty well. I was a little disappointed when I saw my time because I FELT like I was running way faster than the time said, but isn't that always the case? When you're music is blaring and you're feeling like a rock star, you feel like the pancake is way behind you trying to catch up instead of the other way around. Oh well, here are my stats:

Pace: 8:44 per mile

Time: 27:08

Division place: 3 out of 36

Gender place: 43 out of 314

Overall place: 136 out of 516

So I'm not the fastest kid in the race, but I was pretty excited when I was 3rd in my age group (Female ages 20-24). A little disappointed I didn't run faster - I seriously thought I was running 8 minute miles, but I guess it was in my head (it usually is). I've run a few 5K's and this one was definitely the most fun. So relaxed and so many different kinds of people. There is even an age group for ages 70-99! Three women and two men were in that age group - amazing! 

Which brings me to the reason for this post, besides the fact that we ran a race today. Today kicked off our first race of 2012, but certainly not our last. I mentioned awhile back about possibly running a longer race this year. Nick and I have been discussing it for quite some time and we both decided that this is the year to run some races together. We've only done one other race together (Half-Marathon) and since I'm not pregnant/nursing now is a great time. So 2012 is Moo to Marathon year. Our goals for the Moo to Marathon program are as follows: Run a 5K, Dirty Dash, 10K, Half Marathon, and Marathon before the year is up. 

I honestly wasn't sure I could do a Marathon - well I'm still not sure I can, but I'm young and if there was ever a time, its now. 

Here's our tentative schedule:

April - 5K

May - 10K

June - Dirty Dash

August - Half Marathon

October - Marathon

We're still working out the details and some of the sign ups for the races aren't even open yet, but we've decided that if we put them on the calendar there is no backing out! After running today I feel mostly anxious about the marathon. I know I can do a half and I had a blast running the 5K today, but a marathon seems incredibly long and sufferable. But I'm stubborn and its a goal that Nick and I have decided to do together in hopes to encourage us both. (He needs less encouraging than I)

We're trying to convince my Dad and maybe my sister to attempt Moo to Marathon 2012 as well. Why not make it a family party! All that said though, today was so much fun. The weather was gorgeous and the friends we ran it with are the bombdizzle.

Here's one last pic of all the girls:

Oh, and I wanted to include this. I always make fun of Nick for his playlists when he runs. Its usually classical, piano, or Enya. I laugh so hard because I can't imagine that this pumps him up, but he claims it gives him the motivation he needs. Here is Nick's playlist from today:

1. The Legend Spreads - Braveheart Soundtrack

2. It Girl - Jason DeRulo

3. Miseria Cantare, the beginning - AFI

4. Dancing through Sunday - AFI

5. Death of Seasons - AFI

6. Paper Tigers - Thrice

7. 99 Problems - Jay Z

Is that the most random playlist you've ever seen? I about died laughing. In iTunes it was titled "Beat the Pancake." I married a stud.

Here's my playlist for fun:

1. One Tribe - Black Eyed Peas

2. Domino - Jessie J

3. International Love - Pitbull

4. Brokenhearted - Karmin

5. Young Forever - The Ready Set

6. Eenie Meenie - Sean Kingston & JB

7. Love in America - JTX

8. I Can't Go for That/You Make my Dreams Come True - Glee Cast

9. Dynamite - Taio Cruz

10. Miracle - Matisyahu

Okay, mine's pretty random too. But still! Nick wins the weirdest playlist contest for sure.

Today was a good day and Nick and I are both feeling excited for this year and what it will bring for our fitness. Ha! That makes us sound way more official than we are, but we'll fake it until we make it.

Flashback Friday: Dated, But Still Dating

Next week is our THIRD wedding anniversary. I can and can't believe we've been married that long/short. Sometimes it feels like we're the same crazy kids who used to stay out until 4 AM listening to Death Cab and making out in Nick's Jeep. (True story: the saddest part about selling our Jeep was saying goodbye to the vessel that held our very first make out sesh... and many thereafter - so sentimental, I know) Other days I feel like ancient kids - so old, so tired, so routine. 

Honestly, I love all those kids.

Snick rocks no matter how we party. Lame parents or grossly in love dating BYU couple - we're cool kids either way. 

Since our anni is just around the corner, I've been thinking a lot about how we used to date and how we date now. As much as I loved the obsessive/new/can't get enough of each other phase, I have to say I way prefer our dates now. I love the familiarity, the deep conversation, how exciting it is to get out sans baby, etc. 

While its so fun to get to know someone (especially someone like Nick), I would feel robbed if I had to go back. I love everything about him and I feel honored to know the best and worst parts of him. As his wife, I've earned the right to know (almost) everything about him and I would never give that up to go back to our dating phase. And while I fondly remember our dating phase as one of the most fun times of my life, our life is so much better now. We're older, but wiser. We're tired, but closer to one another. We're poor, but more creative. We're challenged with parenthood, but we work better together. 

And we've got the Evster.

As if marrying my soulmate wasn't a home run, God gave us the world's most beautiful baby.

My life is awesome.

Seriously.

So today's FF is inspired by our past dating life - while totally rad and mildly inappropriate (see above comment about Jeep), it still doesn't beat what we've got going on now.

Here's a pic of us on one of our most recent dates: Beauty and the Beast on Broadway. 

(Ignore my demon eyes please, although they are proof that we've still got the "fire!")

This is our second date - snowboarding. (My first time!)

3rd date - can't even remember what we did but we definitely christened Nick's Jeep with that holy make out sesh I was telling you about. 

4th date - shooting clay pigeons. 

Take that, Jack Bauer!

Another date I can't remember.

The day Nick met my family.*

* Small side note: We ate Cheesecake Factory before meeting my family. Unfortunately Nick got violent food poisoning and in the middle of playing cards he had to excuse himself a dozen time to vomit/diarrhea in the bathroom. The walls were paper thin and it was not pretty. He passed out from exhaustion on the drive home (luckily I was driving). He somehow made a good impression (Midas, I tell you!) and everyone is able to laugh about it now ... except Nick. I think it still haunts his dreams.

Another date - way more appropriate than it looks. I think we drove to some hot springs.

Meeting Nick's cousins in Mapleton for Sunday dinner.

A way too close facial shot that makes me want to get my teeth bleached RIGHT NOW.

Eating at Chilis for the 200th time - Quesadilla explosion I love you.

One of our many road trips.*

*Since I shared an embarrassing story about Nick it's only fair to even the score. If you know me, you know I have a "delicate" stomach. I don't eat fast food often, but when I do it gets relatively ugly. Anyway, we had eaten In-N-Out like 4 times in 2 days and we were driving back to Utah. I was asleep, riding shotgun, unbeknownst ripping the gnarliest toots of my life. Nick didn't tell me about it until we were married! 

Nick's first trip back to Yakima:

So there you have it. We dated, but we're totally still dating.

And still dating is WAY better than dated.

Happy (almost) Trois Hubs!

They Try to Make Me Go to Rehab...

But I say, "No, no no!"

Pictured in the above photo: Coat, shoes, skirt, cardigan, blouse, headband.

Not pictured in the above photo: Cheetah pajamas, various items of lingerie (for obvious reasons), and several brooches.

One night when Nick was studying I had a revelation, or perhaps an epiphany.

What would it look like if I wore (almost) every item of cheetah that I owned?

It would look totally awesome (and primal). Exhibit A:

I've always been a trendsetter and I'm going to be bold here and say that head-to-toe cheetah is no exception. I'm working it, right?

Just in case you haven't had enough:

Also, for all you naysayers out there who think the Kardashians were cool before the Smarts, I say this:

Khloe wishes she was as en vogue as the real Khloe (moi) and if the cheetah pants don't prove it, I don't know what will. 

Smarts = Real Kardashians

Syd = Real Khloe

PS If Khloe Kardashian wanted to have a walk-off on the Mavericks home court I would totally oblige. 

Bring it, Khlo!

Easter, etc.

Easter was fab. Quiet and simple. We don't have church until 11 so we took our time in the morning and let Ev play with the things in her Easter basket. Okay, she could have cared less about anything in her basket - all she really wanted was the fake grass:

She looked adorable in her Easter dress. (Thanks Grandma She-She!) Ev and her BCF Ally have matching Easter dresses. Hopefully we can get them together sometime this summer and take a picture of them in their outfits.

This was Evie's 2nd Easter. Weird since Easter was the week before her birthday this year and a couple days after she was born last year. For her 2nd Easter Evie received some dresses from Grandma She-She and Grandpa Smart and a touch-and-feel book from Grandma Melinda. From the "Easter Bunny" Evie received some easy to read scriptures (BOM and New Testament), two books, some bath toys, and some stuffed peeps. The Easter Bunny was good to her.

I got the idea to give her the scriptures from my sister. Every Easter her kids receive a reminder of Christ in their basket. Usually in the form of a book, but I really liked that tradition because hopefully when she's older Ev will understand that even though Easter baskets are the bomb, Easter is really about the Savior.

We try to read from her scriptures every night now that she's one, but we are pretty spotty. She's usually cranky, tired and ready for bed, so we're working on making scripture reading with her habitual. She seems to like the pictures in the books, but there is still a lot of text. I think the books we got her would be great for a child learning to read, but maybe not so much for a toddler. 

In addition to trying to remember to read and pray with her every night, Nick has started brushing her teeth. We've also been pretty spotty with this as well. So far she loves when Nick brushes her teeth. She sits still with her mouth open as he brushes! We'll see if that lasts. (Probably not)

Anyway, Easter was wonderful. After church we played with Nick for a little bit and then Nick drove Evie and I up to the Portland airport where we caught a small commuter plane to Yakima.

It was an 8 passenger plane and I was VERY nervous about getting sick/freaked out/having Ev alone, etc. but she did great and so did I!

It was a gorgeous flight. Not cloudy at all and you could see Mt. Hood perfectly. Evie charmed everyone on the plane and loved facing forward and being able to see everything out the window.

Plus the flight was only 40 minutes, so it felt like we were landing not long after we took off.

The reason I flew to Yakima was to attend a fundraiser for the YWCA with my mom. The fundraiser focused on battered women, abuse, and domestic violence. The keynote speaker was Elizabeth Smart. I really wanted to attend so my mom graciously flew Evie and I back home.

The fundraiser was amazing. Elizabeth is an incredible speaker and it was fascinating to hear what she had to say. She spoke for about 45 minutes and recounted "her story" of being kidnapped. I had never heard many of the details she shared and I was quite shocked that she shared such personal information about herself. She spoke frankly and openly about what happened to her the night she was kidnapped and what ensued the following nine months. I wish I had the time/energy to write down all that she said here on the blog so everyone could hear it. It was incredible. She was just so down to earth and calm - you can't help but admire her for what she's doing. Anyway, it was really fun/inspiring/interesting and I'm glad I was able to go with my mom.

Hearing Elizabeth speak about such a difficult trial made me realize (yet, again) what an easy life I have. It also made me so grateful for my two favorite people:

Hear is a video of Elizabeth answering a few questions for the Yakima Herald.

And here's a link if you'd rather read what Elizabeth spoke about.

Wicked

For Nick's birthday, I got us tickets to Wicked. So we drove up to Portland, dropped the Evster off at Aunt Darcee and Uncle Brent's and headed to dinner and the show!

I'll be honest, at first it was SO WEIRD not having Evie with us. We usually spend most of our date nights in because A) We can't afford a babysitter every weekend + date money and B) We like just hanging out. And even though I love just watching movies and making treats on Friday nights, I have to say Wicked was a blast.

We're super corny and asked someone to take our picture:

Waiting for the show to start:

And DINNER. I just have to expound on this because it was so good. We went to the Lake Oswego Grill.  (I put a link to the restaurant just in case you want to look at the menu because I personally love menu surfing - fatty, I know) I ordered the stuffed pork and apple salad and Nick had the prawns and spinach and artichoke dip for an appetizer, and the salmon. For dessert we split this baby:

Berry cobbler. It was divine.

Nick and I kept saying, "This is so weird, this is so weird!" It was so fun to go out, eat good food, and see a show together. But we were definitely excited to get back and see the Evster.

We sung "Popular," all the way home!

(Ironic since we don't need that song in our lives - we are the definition of popularity)

Conference = Gluttony

Like I said, we drove up to Portland for Kim's B-day and it was a straight up blasty-blast. 

The next day was General Conference - hands down my favorite Sunday of the entire year. 

For those of you who haven't met a lot of Mormons or haven't watched the Biggest Loser, we LOVE to eat. I personally think its an integral part of our culture. We don't smoke, drink, or take in part in addictive substances, but we eat, and eat, and eat, and eat. Sadly, food can be addictive too, which is why this post is taking a turn for the hypocritical. I try not to let food run my life, but I too, like many other Mormons love food.

Back to Conference Sunday. Its a day where we spend the entire day in our pajamas, listen to the Prophet of God and his apostles speak tender words of advice, and EAT. I think I burned about 300 calories the whole day - I got up and down from the couch a few times to get yet another plate of food. (true story) Its amazing how you can be so spiritually uplifted and still feel like such a gluttonous slug.

I try not to eat so much, but the food is SO good. Especially when Mama She-She is in town cooking up a storm. Its unreal, folks.

Good food, great family, and even better spiritual advice makes for a fabulous weekend.

Of course in between sessions we goofed off a little:

Below is the HANDS DOWN the worst picture Nick and I have taken together. 

You're welcome:

Somebody LOVES the frosting in between oreos.

I was going to let your mind ponder who that person might be, but Cole makes it too easy to catch him in the act.

Ticket to Ride is just part of our lifestyle now:

Sorry D, you too, make it way too easy.

Ally's bum = juicy peach.

Al is currently obsessed with her cupcake underwear.

She even posed for the camera.

Adorbs, I know.

My goal for next Conference (October) is to hopefully not gain 6 pounds.