St. Judes Half Marathon

Friday after work Mister R. and I hopped in the car and headed to Memphis. We met up with my running buddies and had dinner Spaghetti Warehouse. Carb loading is always the fun!! Dinner was filled with fun and laughter. The service and food were sub par in my opinion.

The next morning we were up early! Race day equals big excitement!! A few per-race pictures. Mister R. doesn't run so he kind enough to take my picture. I call him my official photog. 

The weather was unseasonably warm- 70 degrees on December 1st. Crazy weather, no wonder everyone is sick.  I ran with Heather for the first couple of miles. But started feeling yucky around mile 3 with cold chills. I told her to go on without me and ran most of the race by myself. 

Luke spotted me around 3 or 4. The race atmosphere was amazing. People crowed the streets cheering all the runners on. I was touched and moved to tears at times due to the support from St. Jude's patients, their families, and hospital staff. The signs they made were amazing and provided encouragement, expressed their gratitude, and showed their appreciation for all the hard work people that put time and energy to take care of the sick children

Luke was able to capture Jeremy, Kim, and Heather crossing the finish line. He missed Holly and myself. We must have snuck by him!!

Post race photo are the best!! Everyone seemed to struggle a little for some reason or another during the race. No on set a PR. I am so glad to have participated and finished the race. I would definitely recommend this race to everyone. It supports a great cause, has a pretty course, wonderful atmosphere, and is well organized!! 

We walked back to the hotel so I could get clean up, pack, and then grab a bite to eat. We walked downtown to a local burger joint. Just what the doctor ordered. You have to refuel after running for 2 hours of your life.

Luke being a mess. He tries to act like he's not having a good time, in reality I am a ball of fun!! We had a wonderful time honoring and supporting everyone affiliated with the great works of St. Jude's Hospital. We had a great trip!! Hoping to make it an annual event at our house!

Branson 2012

 For as long as I can remember, my mother and I head out on a girls getaway every October. Our destination is normally Branson, MO. (Yes, Branson the land of: Silver Dollar City, old people on tour buses, and outlet shopping) My aunt, Karen, and her niece, Crystal, travel from St. Louis to meet us. So Branson is a good half way point for everyone. We have made this a yearly tradition. This year marked our 21 year anniversary. Its always a fun weekend filled with great stories, good food and better wine, shopping, and most important love and laughter.  Here are a few pictures to recap the years.

2009

 

 

2010

 

 

 

 

2011

 

 

 

2012

Napa unloaded..

 I left town on Saturday morning at the crack of dawn, flew cross country, and landed in beautiful San Fransisco. Bryce greeted us as we filed off the plane. We set out to see the city and all it had to offer. 

 We came upon this beautiful public park. I wanted to invite myself to a local's blanket and enjoy the fresh air.  We hit up China Town and the Pier. The Pier was extremely crowded due to it being Fleet Week. Most branches of  United Sates military were in town. It was an honor to see these heroes walking around in their uniforms. The Blue Angles put on a show at the Pier. Obviously the Pier was packed with peeps. The Sea Lions came out to sun and watch the air show.

On our way out of San Fran went stopped by the Golden Gate Bridge and took time out to snap a few photos. The Bridge is much larger than I imagined and very powerful and grand. I can officially cross that off my bucket list.

Sunday we had a full day of wine tastings and exploring numerous wineries in Napa. We started off at Robert Mondavi, they taught us the ins and outs of wine tasting. Great place to start my wine journey.

The wine makers were harvesting the grapes as we were touring the grounds. It is interesting that this process of wine making has been around for ages. Yet each year the wine makers continue to change and perfect the process to ensure that they are making the most delicious wines year after year. I think being a wine maker would be very satisfying when you develop an award winning wine.

Next we went up the hill and tasted wine at Rutherford. We had a nice time tasting and picnicking. The service was wonderful and the grounds were breath takings.

We finished the day at Del Dotto's cave winery. It was by far my favorite due to the great tour guide, fun group of fellow tour members, and fabulous wine. 

Monday involved visiting several wineries and more wine tasting. We started off at Grgich for grape stomping. I love the episode of "I love Lucy" where Lucy is stomping the huge barrel of grapes. This was definitely a highlight of the day.

The rest of the day was filled with great wine, beautiful scenery, good company, and an abundance of grapes and numerous pictures.

Tuesday started off really rough (having to evacuate our hotel room) but we tried out hardest to make the best of a bad situation. Bryce, mom, and I went out exploring the Napa / St. Helena area for local goods, while Dan worked. We were disappointed in the farmer's market and decided to hit the outlet mall. We went to a local joint called "Gotts Roadside" for lunch. We all enjoyed the roadside atmosphere and fresh fried food.

I thoroughly enjoyed my trip to wine country with my family.  It is always nice to get away from reality and spend quality time with the fam. I would highly recommend everyone to visit the Napa area. California wine country did not disappoint. You can't beat drinking fabulous wine and talking smack to your baby brother.